Top-down and grassroots presentations prolong the conversation

Birmingham is bleeding. After a homicidal four-day stretch over the holiday weekend with nine deaths, police officers have long days and nights ahead keeping the peace. But the city continues to bleed residents, too, forcing schools to consolidate shrinking resources in an already troubled system.

Can we turn it around?

I visited two evening forums this week to hear what leaders and citizens had to say about crime and education, two issues that continue to limit Birmingham in numerous ways.

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Then and now

Fed up: Since the campaign last fall, we knew this was a possibility, a dark cloud on the horizon. And so, it has happened.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Mayor Larry Langford, alleging he took cash to help friends profit from sewer system bond swap deals while he served on the Jefferson County Commission. As you may recall, mishandling of the sewer has put the county on the brink of record bankruptcy, not to mention convicting three former commissioners.

Not a peep from the SEC since April, but Langford has talked to the media, most notably this interview with WBHM (90.3 FM).

And if you need a preview of the defendant’s possible testimony in court, we have the video, after the jump …

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Then and now

Does not compute: Back in his Fairfield days, Mayor Langford set up a charity with pals John Katopodis and Richard Scrushy to get computers to kids. Except that tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars went to him, Katopodis and a gay porn star. All of this came out in court as HealthSouth and Katopodis sued each other.

Both sides settled in March without revealing the terms of the deal. Frankly, plenty was revealed already.

Meanwhile, Langford’s latest effort to give computers to kids rolls on, having ordered an additional 14,000 laptops this week without Birmingham school board approval. The technology upgrades could cost millions for a system already struggling to keep facilities open.

More on Larry Langford and John Katopodis.

Keep reading for more updates, plus a scandalous photo of yours truly, after the jump …

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Birmingham mayor Larry Langford takes a few minutes to talk with WBHM’s Tanya Ott in an eye-opening interview about his SEC legal woes. The interview — 8 minutes, 27 seconds — is worth a listen [MP3], if only to document the city’s sad slide into oblivion. Anyone want to do a transcript?
• WBHM (90.3 FM): Langford Speaks

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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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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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Paintings in the park: Swing by Linn Park for the 25th annual Magic City Art Connection. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday, with artists from all over, plus Corks and Chefs, that sumptuous gathering of the Birmingham’s finest cuisine.
• Official site

Bargains in the Belk: The Junior League of Birmingham has its annual Bargain Carousel. Maybe you need clothes, or toys, or furniture, or about a hundred other things. See one of the largest “garage sales” over at the abandoned Belk at Century Plaza, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday is $5. Proceeds from the event fund the organization’s year-round service projects.

Don’t forget: You can also dump your old electronics and computers Saturday at Century Plaza.
• Official site

God vs. gangstas: If you’re on hand this evening for the art festival, stick around, because some performance art is gonna blow your mind. Mayor Langford, having purchased thousands of sackcloths with personal funds, will have a prayer rally in Linn Park at 6 tonight. Like his predecessor Bernard Kincaid (who threw a “funeral” for crime), Langford wants the community to don the sackcloth and ashes, declaring “It’s time to pray.” LaLa meets dada. Excellent.
• Park drips with irony, intolerance [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Barons gear up for pointless season
• City’s surreal index dangerously high
• Segway plant considers moving to state, very slowly

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Because we’re still writing 2007 on our forged checks …

Then and now

Pizza Bowl 2: Crust Never Sleeps: The Papajohns.com Bowl by the numbers …

• 32,023 | attendance in 2006
• 35,528 | attendance in 2007
• 3 | Birmingham’s previous bowl games (Dixie, Hall of Fame Classic and All-American)
• 300,000 | payout in dollars
• 21 | rank among 32 bowls in viewership
• 1.9 | Nielsen rating for 2007 game
• 1.6 | Nielsen rating for the 2007 Independence Bowl (Alabama over Colorado)
• 15-20 | average wait time in minutes for pizza at halftime at Legion Field

By the way, who won that game? Who played in that game?

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Jefferson County has never been in more financial trouble. Thanks to years of bonds and swaps, the interest payments have escalated to $3.2 billion (never mind the principal) on the infamous sewer improvements. Those bonds have been downgraded to junk status. And don’t forget an extra $1.4 billion owed, originally borrowed for school construction. Meanwhile, county commissioners are scratching their heads just figuring out how to pay the tab, even sending representatives to New York to beg for help from creditors. It’s a crazy system, one that has states and cities fighting these seemingly arbitrary bond ratings.

In case you were unfamiliar with the guilty parties, let us reacquaint you with the commissioners who favored these pricey deals: Mary Buckelew, Bettye Fine Collins, Jeff Germany, Larry Langford (under investigation by the SEC), Steve Small, Shelia Smoot and Gary White (convicted for corruption). As the county goes broke, we’ll be over here, digging for change in the couch.
• The Birmingham News: Sewer-bond debt crisis gets uglier

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Once upon a time, Mayor Larry Langford wanted to give computers to all the good little boys and girls across the kingdom city. So he gathered up a million dollars to distribute through his charity. Only the bad ol’ charity instead gave $10,000 to Langford, $28,000 to his buddy John Katopodis and another $30,000 to untrained computer technician/Playgirl centerfold/gay porn star Ryan Idol.

This ain’t a fairy tale, but the sordid details from depositions [Langford | Katopodis] in a lawsuit filed by HealthSouth against Katopodis, who ran the charity in question created by then Fairfield mayor Langford. Today, the Birmingham city council tabled any further action on buying cheap laptops for schoolkids — also to be run by Katopodis — until answers appear.

No wonder, as Katopodis has had quite a history with HealthSouth and unsubstantiated claims, but thanks to his friendship with Langford, has no problem asking for more public funds for his buddy Frank Stuart Sr. and his shady outfit Stuart Consulting Group.

Should Langford be judged by the company he keeps? The questions he evades? The public dollars he casually tosses around? Or the hubris that flies in the face of the holiness he promotes so fervently?
• Birmingham News: Suit challenges Langford’s first computer charity

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Then and now

Hello, Larry: After a relatively subdued campaign, Jefferson County commissioner Larry Langford bested nine other candidates to become Birmingham’s mayor. Soon thereafter, second-place finisher Patrick Cooper challenged Langford’s residency in court, only to drop it two months later.

The mayor-elect wasted no time in stirring things up, even though he wouldn’t officially take office until November. (See below.)

Check out his inauguration on Nov. 13 …

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Chalk one up for the new Langford administration, one that has yet to be sworn in, cleared of election challenges or legal hurdles. After meeting twice this week with Mayor-Elect Larry Langford, police chief Annetta Nunn will step down to become a technology consultant with the department.

Nunn, who made history as Birmingham’s first female police chief in 2003, oversaw a skyrocketing homicide rate, even as other violent crimes dipped slightly. It’s more than a year since we called for her ouster, after her repeated demonstrations of ineptness at fighting crime. But if that seems like too short a period, just remember that more than 110 murders took place while she remained on the job since then.

The next question: Who will succeed her, and how will that chief get criminals off the streets?
• Birmingham News: Birmingham Police Chief Nunn to step down

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Birmingham has a new mayor, and surprisingly, without a runoff.

Unofficial results show that Jefferson County commissioner Larry Langford beat nine other candidates, including incumbent Bernard Kincaid, to win today’s election outright by a hair. Langford earned 26,227 votes, for 50.33 percent — a 172 vote margin of victory. His closest competitor was attorney Patrick Cooper, who won 15,392 votes, for 29.54 percent of the vote.

Kincaid, who served for two terms, placed third with 4,234 votes, or 8.12 percent.

With 52,111 votes cast in the mayor’s race, the turnout was around 45 percent.

Cooper hasn’t conceded, saying during a TV interview that he would consider asking for a recount, given the very tight margin. Another factor to consider would be any uncounted absentee ballots.

Langford ran on the slogan “Let’s Do Something,” pitching a one-point plan to fight crime: putting criminals in jail. He claimed it would take a “crazy man” to lead Birmingham, and that he was just such a man. During a TV interview, he promised a whirlwind of activity in the first 100 days in office, mentioning that a domed stadium would show outsiders that the city could move forward on a major project.

This run marked his second try for the top office in Birmingham, after a failed run in 1979.

The day was marked by low voter turnout, somewhat hampered by confusion over polling places. City officials claimed mailed sample ballots provided correct locations, but up to 100 voters were turned away from one station due to confusion or miscommunication.

What should the new mayor tackle first? And should Cooper contest the results?

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Complete Vote 2007 coverage.

Polls are open: It’s time to pick a mayor in Birmingham.

Ten candidates are vying for the title, including the incumbent, Bernard Kincaid. Surprisingly, 10 is a far smaller field than past years: 1999 had 14 candidates, and 2003 had 18(!) memorable names, like That Guy, and That Other Guy.

The Birmingham News’ poll indicates that Larry Langford (right) and Patrick Cooper (left) are headed for the runoff, while the other eight candidates, including two-termer Kincaid, have no chance.

With 18 percent undecided and a 4.9 percentage point margin of error, should we trust the results?
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As Election Day draws ever closer, the money men are hard at work behind the scenes. Case in point: Two-term mayor Bernard Kincaid, left, is fighting off eight other candidates. At least his campaign war chest is full, thanks mostly to one man, attorney Donald Watkins and his $95,000 contribution. Oh, PAC transfers, is there anything you can’t do?

The self-proclaimed scandal-free candidate returned the love with $40 million in city deposits in Watkins’ Birmingham-based bank, Alamerica. That’s a lot of free toasters. See, everybody wins!

Other big money candidates include Carole Smitherman ($94,750 from 30 PACs) and Larry Langford ($79,000 from 14 PACs). And it’s all legal. Scandalous, but legal.
• Birmingham News: Kincaid’s campaign has one big contributor | City is Alamerica’s top patron

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