26 MAY 09: Tearing It Up

Recently National Public Radio claimed there are two seasons of the year in Chicago - the winter season and construction season. It appears right now parts of Columbus are the same way. And the construction is NOT happening at schools -- which might be part of the secret plan for getting the sales tax approved in September.

We'll start at the Government Center, where the rules for getting inside change today. The usual south public entrance near Ninth Street is closed for "temporary" renovations. Hopefully this will be more temporary than the terms of Columbus Councilors.

You can still enter the Government Center from Ninth Street, but you'll need to enter on the Plaza Level. You can't walk around and down a hidden breezeway during the renovations - so hopefully you won't mind if paparazzi are standing outside, to see if you're a celebrity.

City officials tell the Ledger-Enquirer the renovation will lead to a new security station at the Ninth Street entrance, which will move visitors along faster. The project will include new flooring and nicer walls - but there's no word on whether more pictures of Mayor Jim Wetherington will be added.

Even during the renovation, the fanciest entrance to the Government Center will remain closed. I'm talking about climbing the steps along Tenth Street to the outdoor plaza. That entrance was closed after the September 2001 attacks - and I'm not sure Rocky Balboa could run up those steps now, without being stopped for questioning.

The other big renovation this week is on Armour Road. The North Columbus Branch Library will remain closed through Thursday, due to air conditioning maintenance. We certainly don't want readers sweating on the magazines - because the slick covers could leave them on the floor in ruins.

The extended shutdown of the North Columbus branch comes while the moving process continues at the Mildred Terry branch. So as school children begin their summer break, the local library system has two of its four buildings closed. Now we'll really see if the security guards at the central library do more than walk around.

Dick McMichael's blog has an interesting picture of the Mildred Terry moving process. Soldiers from Fort Benning are helping with the process, and even rolling a piano down Veterans Parkway from one building to the other. Rolling?! Aren't these young men in weight training, for critical moments like this?

But that blog also reveals the new Mildred Terry library will wind up costing almost twice the original estimate, at $4.7 million. School board members blame this on construction delays, and admit the new building was a low priority. Besides, the Historic Columbus Foundation could have filed a lawsuit - arguing an overcrowded old building is still nice and old.

Don't forget the Mildred Terry branch is having a "silent auction" Wednesday of items from the old building. This is your chance to bid in an oak bookcase, metal shelves used to hold books - and maybe even stacks of the Columbus Times which were left for visitors to have for free.

-> How are the Thursday night poker games going? Read about them and more at our other blog, "On the Flop!"
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E-MAIL UPDATE: NASCAR finally ran its big race near Charlotte Monday, and David Reutimann was declared the winner. But first....

When the Coca Cola 600 was postponed last night due to weather,Fox 54 aired the most offensive cartoon I have ever seen..The language was trash and the violence was unforgivable. I hope they can claim they didn't know it contained filthy language and cock fighting and animals getting hit by cars...

I think I know which Fox cartoon you're talking about. I make it a habit to avoid all of them. But really now - didn't the "animals hit by cars" stuff start with Wile E. Coyote?

Let's see what else was on people's minds on Memorial Day 2009....

+ The Port Columbus naval museum's holiday program included the firing of the Civil War-era cannon above the Riverwalk. People across the river in south Phenix City have no reason to complain - because this happened around noon, when everyone should have been awake.

+ Several local churches held a celebration called "Life Fest" at Lakebottom Park. The way it rained at times during the afternoon, the friend who misspelled it "Life Vest" might have been more accurate....

+ The semifinal high school baseball series between Carrollton and Columbus was rained out, and rescheduled for today. Columbus High's Randy Jordan Field doesn't have a tarp, so plastic sheeting was bought over the weekend to cover the field. Huh - none of the players have Boy Scout tents?!

+ Auburn University missed the NCAA baseball tournament, while virtually every other area college made the field. Even my alma mater Kansas is in the tournament, heading to a regional at North Carolina. Someone should order basketball coach Roy Williams to go on vacation in the Caribbean right now.

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