Sheriff applauds the
polite motorist. But still
writes out the ticket.

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How bad is traffic in the Birmingham metro area? Forbes magazine says we have the worst commute among small cities, costing us 33 hours a year. Some 37 percent make it to work in less than 20 minutes.

The city ranked as having the best commute among small cities is Corpus Christi, Texas.

What’s being done to save us? Well, Mayor Langford proposed free rides on MAX buses to help combat rising gas costs, but both the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority and the city council have balked. So far, City Hall hasn’t provided promised cash to actually pay for the free rides. Not that the transit system hasn’t been broken for years.

Perhaps a more innovative solution comes from CommuteSmart Birmingham, which will pay you $2 a day (up to $120 in three months) for switching from driving alone to an alternate method: bike, walk, carpool, telecommute or even ride the bus.

Does Birmingham have what it takes to fix the transportation situation? Or are we all doomed to spend more time stuck in our cars and more money at the pump?
• Forbes: In Depth: Best And Worst Commutes In Small Cities

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Patches of snow dot
patches of dead grass. Morning
sun frozen in sky.

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In the land of links,
the only true hazard is
roads and trees and such.

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Smack a piñata,
remember the Alamo,
maybe tequila.

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Drawn back to the coast,
drawn back to the need for me,
drawn back to service.

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Upstanding players
swarm blackjack table with cards
dealt by bored dealer.

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May means more more more when it comes to fun events and fresh air.

If you’re going to eat local, this weekend’s a good time to start.

The ninth annual Pepper Place Saturday Market starts its five-month run on Saturday. Local crops, local flowers, local music and demonstrations by local chefs fill the mornings from 7 a.m. to noon.

And don’t forget: Tonight and Saturday, check out the Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil with Fergie, T-Pain, Gavin DeGraw, Flo Rida and 3 Doors Down. See and hear the lineup.

Will you be heading out to these local events this weekend? Tell us.
• Official site

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The chicken salad
taunts the croissant. The pickle
gives a sour look.

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Or, Awards you’ve never heard of for a site you sometimes read

We’re pleased to announce that Wade on Birmingham is a finalist for the 58th annual Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards, specifically in the Humorous Commentary category in the Online Division.

The annual competition, held by the Society of Professional Journalists, includes entries from 11 states across the Southeast.

The articles selected were “Wade’s 101: Nick Saban’s To-Do List” and “The Other Crucial Vote.” (See, mocking football coaches and daily newspapers can pay off …) (Though we’re not 100 percent sure if we picked these entries or other articles. Oh, well.)

Competing in the same category is columnist Brian Hicks of the (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier. He has written four books and won numerous South Carolina Press Association Awards, including 1998’s Journalist of the Year. (One time in high school, we won honorable mention in a drag queen contest.)

Alabama’s only other finalist, WBHM (90.3 FM), earned a spot in the Public Affairs Reporting category in the Radio Division for its “Searching for Safetown” series.

Organizers will announce the winners in June.

Also:

• The complete list of finalists

Coffee, gossip, check
e-mail, lunch hour, filing,
surf Web, pack up, leave.

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Jefferson County’s debt crisis could be the worst in U.S. history, thanks to bond swaps and other financial shenanigans. Who’s to blame? The government says Larry Langford, former head of the county commission and current head of Birmingham.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint today against the mayor for taking more than $156,000 in cash and benefits, in exchange for helping his good buddy Bill Blount get in on the bond swap action worth more than $6 million in business. Also named is Al LaPierre, another Langford pal/lobbyist/former head of the state Democratic Party. The SEC accused LaPierre of receiving $219,500 from Blount to help win the county’s financial business.

Langford and LaPierre have denied any wrongdoing.

At the heart of the case, accusations of concealed payments, backroom deals and financial mismanagement of public funds of the worst kind. Meanwhile, the mayor continues to propose sketchily detailed projects and funding for the city. Where, and how, will it all end?

Also:

• The SEC press release
• How Langford’s $70,000 clothing crunch may have cost billions to county residents (PDF)
• Langford: “My whole life has been put out in the public. Name me another official that’s been put under that type of scrutiny.”
• WBHM interviews Glenn Gordon of the SEC (MP3)
• Fox 6 explains the complexities of municipal finance in Bond Deals 101

• Birmingham News: SEC files civil complaint against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, banker and lobbyist

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I am no robot.
I am no robot. I am
no robot. I am no …

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They drive further and
further to get away, yet
build strip malls nearby.

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The sticker gives up
its spot on the windshield but
leaves ghostly footprint.

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