Heads and tales: Costs of living
By Wade KwonUpdate
March madness: A cow at an unnamed Alabama farm tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as mad cow disease. It’s the third known case in the United States (after Washington and Texas). Effects include tremors, loss of eyesight, loss of bodily function, dementia, respiratory arrest and death. No treatment or cure exists.
• Alabama cow tests positive for mad cow disease [Associated Press]
Mi condo es supremely expensive condo: Condo fever is running at an all-time high downtown, and spreading to outlying areas. How much? Anywhere from $100K to more than $1 million. One appraiser says, “If those higher-end units sell (at City Federal), I guess the sky is the limit.” Let’s hope Birmingham isn’t headed for a condo market crash, like Miami or Atlanta.
• Lofty prices [Birmingham Business Journal]
Homicidal tendancies: Ten weeks into 2006, and we’re running ahead of last year’s homicide total. Birmingham police count 21 homicides, five more than at this point in 2005. We’ve got one word: Duck!
• Birmingham records 21st homicide this year [Associated Press]
Meter unmade: Paying too much for water and sewer? Your odds are going up. Jefferson County workers were responsible for 1,494 misread meters that led to billing adjustments. The county commission will vote Tuesday to hire more workers to deal with a backlog of customers wanting refunds. A Birmingham Water Works official cited a meter misread daily rate of 0.08 percent. Montgomery (0.7 percent), Tuscaloosa (0.17 percent) and Mobile (0.14 percent) have higher error rates, while Huntsville (0.06 percent) has a lower one.
• Water-meter woes swamp Jeffco [Birmingham News]
Also:
- Moving party offers only pizza, lite beer to tired sweaty pals
- Amusement park boasts shorter lines, fewer visitors than ever
- The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!
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