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8 JUL 04: BOOM BOOM BOBBY
What an interesting discovery I made while driving on Cusseta Road Wednesday night. A big "Bobby Peters for Superior Court Judge" sign has gone up just outside the front door of the Boom Boom Room! Don't you wonder how many customers THERE he can name....
First the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Bobby Peters for Judge. Now it appears the notorious Boom Boom Room has as well! With backing this widespread, Judge Roxann Daniel may be in big trouble - but you have to wonder a bit if
Columbus is, too.
The Boom Boom Room was one of the businesses declared off-limits for soldiers by Fort Benning last week. We don't think the generals are allowed to make political endorsements - but where DO these candidates stand on punishing SOA
Watch protesters?
Given the news from that club in recent weeks, would YOU want an endorsement from the Boom Boom Room if you were running for office? Well, OK, there ARE strip clubs registering people to vote for John Kerry....
Of course, the managers of the Boom Boom Room are free to endorse whomever they wish. But with that big Bobby Peters sign just outside the door, don't you think school board candidates will be holding their breath for the next few days?
(I can see the owner's bumper sticker now: "I let people shoot each other in my parking lot - and I vote!")
To be fair, the Boom Boom Room might not be the worst endorsement Bobby Peters can have right now. Jose Ricci might be backing him....
That was stunning news to hear Wednesday morning - that Jose Ricci of "Ritmo Latino" fame had been indicted on embezzlement charges. If you heard a big sigh of relief in south Columbus, that came from Mimi Woodson's house. A potential Council challenger may be out of the way.
A federal indictment claims Jose Ricci embezzled more than $300,000 of the profits, while he did catering work for Aramark at the Columbus Civic Center. So if the cream sauce on your chicken seemed lacking, he might have skimmed that, too.
Jose Ricci was a founder of "Ritmo Latino Radio" last year - but Clear Channel Radio disclosed it will NOT take the station off the air because of this indictment. So Jim Foster's prayer for seven-day gospel music on WSHE-AM still hasn't been answered....
Attorney Stephen Hyles indicated Jose Ricci is NOT involved with Ritmo Latino Radio anymore. I guess that explains why that station is playing so much Spanish rap music on weekends now.
While Jose Ricci has emerged as a leading Hispanic businessman in Columbus, "Ritmo Latino" quietly has had some setbacks. Telecasts on TV-16 didn't last long last year. The newspaper "La Voz Hispana" hasn't had an issue in a couple of months. And the nightclub on North Lumpkin didn't do anything for Venezuelan Independence Day.
By the way, did you know the city of Columbus now has a Spanish version of its web site? I stumbled onto it the other day, while looking up some information. So if I send Mayor Poydasheff an e-mail in Spanish, he'd better not reply in Russian.
BLOGGER'S NOTE: Due to a very busy schedule Wednesday, we were unable to get to your e-mails. We'll try to fit them in over the next couple of days....
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