Archive for August, 2006
Wednesday Night Lights: Breaking up is hard to do
Thursday, August 31st, 2006Beat hated rival Spain Park? Easy. Broker peace between split celebrity couple Alex and Kristin? Awkward.
In the land of “Two-a-Days,” the only thing that can stop the Hoover Bucs is … juicy breakup gossip.
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Heads and tales: Rank you very much
Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
The fat(test) of the land: Alabama, step away from the buffet. Two-thirds of us are fat, making us the second-fattest state in America, says a study by the Washington-based nonprofit research group, Trust for America’s Health. Mississippi was fattest, and Colorado was 51st (including the District of Columbia). A map of the Bible Bloated Belt shows the South leading the way in the supersizing of the world, with top showings in diabetes and high blood pressure. It’s so bad, Birmingham’s mayor has already put us on a routine of proper eating and exercise. And one Trinity cafe is finding success selling half-portions at half-price. Can the state lead the way to a thinner nation, or die(t) trying?
• Alabama gets fatter, No. 2 in country, report says [Birmingham News]
Going for broke: One-sixth of us are poor, making us the eighth-poorest state in America, says the latest U.S. Census report. Mississippi had the most families below the poverty line; New Hampshire had the fewest. In 25 years, the rate has fluctuated somewhat. Alabama’s median household income was $36,879 in 2005. And while the Birmingham-Hoover metro area was above the state average, blacks and Hispanics are faring terribly, with about 25 percent falling below the poverty line.
• State’s 17% poverty rate is nation’s 8th highest [Birmingham News]
Getting housed: Birmingham ranks ninth among 130 cities in high-cost mortgages, according to a report from social justice group, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Nearly half of the mortgages refinanced here were at 3 or more percentage points above the national average. Blacks and Hispanics in cities often face fewer choices in loan products and services, forcing them into high-cost loans. A map shows cities in the South and Midwest gouging consumers who can afford it least. For them, the American dream is more like an amortized nightmare.
• City ranks high in costly mortgages [Birmingham News]
School standings: Among universities, Alabama A&M ranked 24th according to Washington Monthly magazine. And the unique survey is based on three criteria: helping poor people get into school and graduate, fostering scientific and humanistic research, and instilling an ethic of service to country. Paired with the survey is the cover story with a title that says it all: “Is our students learning?” Well, is they?
Plus, Hoover High ranks No. 1 in football in the USA Today Super 25.
• A&M gets high rank [Birmingham News]
Also:
- Ernesto boycotts Alabama
- Demopolis body shop owner moves fantasy football franchise to L.A.
- Five Points South demonstrators make love, not sense
• • •
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empowered suits
Wednesday, August 30th, 2006The upside of Katrina
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006Hurricane Katrina caused more than $80 billion in damage and killed nearly 2,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of refugees swarmed the surrounding states, many never to return home.
While Mississippi and Louisiana suffered tremendous losses, Alabama was spared the worst of the destruction.
Is it possible that this Category 5 hurricane had an upside for the state?
trendy beatdown
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006Heads and tales: False alarm
Monday, August 28th, 2006
The bitter beginning: By a 95-87 vote, the state Democratic Party upheld Patricia Todd’s victory for the District 54 house seat on Saturday. By the numbers:
- 59: Vote margin of victory in the July 18 runoff;
- 81: Days since the June 6 election to declare a winner;
- 3,000: Amount paid by runner-up Gaynell Hendricks’ mother-in-law to challenge the contest;
- 25,000: Amount paid by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which Todd disclosed late, sparking the challenge;
- 18: Years since candidates were required to follow the rule that knocked out both candidates prior to Saturday’s decision.
Once again, Todd becomes the first openly gay member of the Legislature. On to Montgomery.
• Alabama Democrats reinstate gay candidate for Legislature [Associated Press]
Do not assume: John Mark Karr, arrested in Thailand for the murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, won’t be charged. A DNA test showed he wasn’t at the the crime scene 10 years ago. Since his whirlwind tabloid debut nearly two weeks ago, we’ve learned that Karr grew up in Hamilton and taught as a substitute teacher there, and also ran a daycare out of his home. The case remains open.
• Timeline of John Mark Karr Between 1996 and 2006 [Associated Press]
Soaring cost of health care: Everyone’s favorite corporate scalawag Richard Scrushy now owes HealthSouth more than $50 million in repayment of bonuses, a figure that grows by more than $15,000 a day in interest, or a Hamilton a minute. Wonder if that money will ever be repaid in full — not that the shareholders will ever see a dime.
• Scrushy told he must pay $51.5 million [Birmingham News]
The starstruck Enterprise: Country singer George Jones has a new home of sorts. He and his wife are calling the southeast Alabama town of Enterprise their home for part of the year, as he becomes spokesman for a real estate company based there. The couple also plans to open the Possum Holler Restaurant (Jones’ nickname is the Possum). Some new residents are plunking down money for lots next door to keep up with the Joneses, including a Florida lottery winner. To quote Dennis Miller, “And you thought there were a lot of zeroes in the prize total …”
• Possum Finds Happiness in a Small Town [Black and White]
Also:
- Katrina refugees welcomed as permanent scapegoats for city
- Red Mountain decried for alleged past Communist ties
- Vestavia Hills shown to consume trendy restaurants at alarming rate
• • •
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statue of limitations
Monday, August 28th, 2006pulpy love
Sunday, August 27th, 2006Wednesday Night Lights: Kickoff
Saturday, August 26th, 2006The hourlong premiere of “Two-a-Days” introduced a ragtag squad playing its heart out to prove itself on the field and off in a game that makes boys into men.
Unfortunately, that ragtag squad was crushed 50-29 by the show’s stars, the Hoover Bucs. The new teen reality series followed several players as they prepared for their biggest game ever, a season opener on ESPN, the first high school game televised by the cable channel.
But on MTV, endless drills and cussing coaches aren’t enough. You need pizzazz, you need oomph. You need … pimply melodrama.
a registry grows in bloomingdale’s
Saturday, August 26th, 2006lured in
Friday, August 25th, 2006It’s on. On notice.
Friday, August 25th, 2006It’s a Colbert Nation call to arms, the MySpite top 8.
Thanks to BJ, who put us on notice first (see after the jump).
Heads and tales: No representation without vexation
Thursday, August 24th, 2006
54, forfeit or fight: In case you were worried that 2006 would be the dullest election year in Alabama history, along comes the strange case of District 54, and along with it, the demise of the modern Democratic Party.
It started out with five candidates, with black businesswoman Gaynell Hendricks, shown at far left, and white lesbian activist Patricia Todd slugging it out in what was supposedly a clean runoff fight. (We take that back, by the way. Nasty fliers and hurled insults made for a sickening contest.) Todd won it in a squeaker, becoming the first openly gay member of the Legislature. That is, until Hendricks cried foul, with her mother-in-law challenging the vote.
Hendricks’ camp cried foul over Todd’s late campaign finance form disclosing a contribution from a gay and lesbian group. Todd’s camp cried foul over Joe Reed, chairman of the black caucus, who they blamed for issuing the challenge; he has denied it, though he has openly campaigned for a black representative to remain in power in this majority black House district.
After a delayed hearing, a state Democratic Party made a surprising move today, voting 5-0 to disqualify both candidates based on an obscure rule. That’s right: Everyone loses, which apparently is the new motto for the Democrats. How serious is this infraction? No party candidate has bothered to file a disclosure statement with the chairman in 18 years, including current gubernatorial nominee, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley.
The party’s executive committee will hand-pick the representative Saturday, overriding two legitimate votes by the public, both favoring Todd.
So the question is: Which is worse in Alabama politics: being gay, black, white, female, corrupt, a sore loser, a Democrat or a complete ass? The answer will be revealed this weekend.
• Democratic Party committee asked to disqualify gay candidate [Associated Press]
Get wrong with God: It’s not the just the liberals who are imploding. The Christian Coalition of Alabama has defected from the Christian Coalition of America, calling the national group too pinko. And believe it or not, it’s likely the powerful state group — the third to defect this year — will continue long after the national one has thumped its last Bible. And Election Day is only 11 weeks away …
• National, Alabama Christian Coalition separate [Associated Press]
Also:
- Wanted: Rep for District 54. Great hours, good kickbacks.
- VH1 plans reality TV series around city’s has-been pro teams
- Katrina still missing after one year; suspect arrested in Thailand
• • •
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