EXCLUSIVE: The Galleria 10, in operation since the mid-’80s in Hoover, will close its doors Sunday.
The movie theater, part of the Regal chain based in Knoxville, has faced competition over the years from the Carmike 10 (now a “bargain” theater) and in the past year, the Rave Motion Pictures Patton Creek 15. Just how long could 35 screens forbidden to show the same movies compete in the same 1-mile radius?
[Updated]
Doctor, feel good: We love "House," even if the plots are repetitive. We even love our 'Bama cheerleader Sela Ward as she banters with our crotchety-but-brilliant physician. When she quips around the House, she quips around the House. Forgive us.
• Sela Ward Brings Heart to ‘House’ [Associated Press]
But what kind of tree would she be?: Barbara Walters has picked her 10 most fascinating people of the year … with two months to go. You’re definitely not on it, but Birmingham’s own Condi Rice is list-worthy, along with half of TomKat (we’ll let you guess which half). Will she make the Secretary of State cry? Or vice versa? Find out Nov. 29 on ABC.
• Cruise, Hatcher Make Walters’ ‘Fascinating’ List [Zap2It]
CeCe does Daisy: Birmingham friendster Courteney Cox goes limey on us with a new reality/comedy series. “Courteney Cox and David Arquette present ‘Daisy Does America,’ a fresh, new comedy series that unleashes funny woman Daisy Donovan on an unsuspecting America. Daisy just wants to fit in wherever she goes, but since she’s pretty much a disaster at everything she tries, the results are unpredictable and hilarious. Don’t miss the premiere of ‘Daisy Does America’ Tuesday, December 6 at 10/9c on TBS.” Look for the Condi/Daisy 2008 presidential ticket.
• ‘Daisy Does America’ [TBS]
Also:
City of Lights burns,
Youths riot around the clock,
Zut! No mime is safe.
Engines rev all day
Scattering leaves to and fro
Rakes!!! For heaven’s sakes!
Crime declares victory in war on crime: Southside is under siege, and the cops are twiddling their thumbs. “Once you leave the main area, you’re more open to someone waiting for a person to commit a crime of opportunity on you on the way back to your car. My advice is carry just a little bit of money, and give it up if someone asks for it. It doesn’t take much. Five dollars is enough for a small crack rock or a cheap beer over at Raymond’s Market.” Whose suggestion is this? Sigh. A cop’s suggestion.
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• A Thin Blue Line [Black and White]
Making a killing: And the homicide rate in Birmingham has skyrocketed. Only 55 murders by this time in 2004, but 86 this year. And counting.
• Birmingham’s Homicide Total For ’05 Now At 86 [Associated Press]
Oops! Their bad: Not only did a West End couple in their 70s face a screwed-up police raid at their house — it was a raid by Hoover cops. What, are Birmingham cops so busy missing out on crime that they have to outsource?!
• Couple sue Hoover over police raid [Birmingham News]
Also:
So comfortable
In my afternoon stupor.
Sleep, perchance to nap.
Time to wash the clothes.
Dryers getting colder fast.
Quarter gets you five.
Save him a seat: Frank Matthews, a k a “God’s Gangster,” took Tuesday’s city council runoff defeat to incumbent Carol Reynolds with his usual graciousness. “The African-Americans and particularly those in District 2 who voted for Carol Reynolds — they can go straight to hell. This is not sour grapes; this is just truth.” Matthews, who is black, also told the Jews they could go to “Jewish hell,” Muslims to “Muslim hell” and Hispanics to “East L.A.”
• Bell takes council seat back [Birmingham News]
The sky is falling — on you: The latest Disney-sans-Pixar animated offering, “Chicken Little,” opens today at Patton Creek in Hoover in … 3-D. Now, if they could just add some dimension to “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” …
• ‘Chicken Little’ in digital 3-D in select locations Nov. 4 [press release]
Upon further review, the jury sentences the offense to a 15-yard penalty: “The state Supreme Court sided with the Alabama High School Athletic Association on Thursday and ended Litchfield High’s football season. The court, with an 8-0 vote and a one-page ruling, voided an Etowah County circuit judge’s ruling Wednesday over Litchfield’s appeal that it had not violated AHSAA rules.” Ah, lawyers, the cause of — and solution to — all of life’s problems.
• Supreme Court rules in favor of AHSAA, not Litchfield [Montgomery Advertiser]
Spaced invader: A dang foreigner attorney from Flori-la-dee-da is at the center of a Fayette County civil case, in which family members of two slain police officers and a dispatcher are suing the maker of “Grand Theft Auto.” Why? Because the convicted murderer played it. A lot. The lawyer in question, Jack Thompson, represents the plaintiffs and blames his participation on his obsessive playing of the board game “Clue.”
• Attorney is subject in ‘video game’ case [Tuscaloosa News]
Also:
Birmingham-area libraries have geared up with new tech, making life easier for patrons and staff.
What time to party?
So few dates to select from …
Holidays a daze.
The good folks at Drink at Work discovered an amusing take on Birmingham culture. Comedian Christian Finnegan wrote about his bizarre encounter with a surly drunken Marine during his recent set at the Comedy Club at the Stardome in Hoover.
No nudes is bad nudes (or, Show us your conTrITion): The law has been on the books for years, but rarely enforced. Sigh. Why now?
• Alabama ABC to Begin Enforcing Topless Dancing Ban [AP]
The price of winning: “The Birmingham City Council made provisions [Tuesday] to celebrate newly elected city leaders on the same day that voters decided who those leaders would be. The council approved $12,000 for inaugural activities and named the Metropolitan Development Board as the fiscal agent for planning. “
• Birmingham City Council OKs inaugural funds for new leaders [Birmingham News]
The check is in the mail, but the mailbox is in the Gulf: “Total insured losses caused by Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are about $34 billion, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, which has more than 1,000 members. The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 1,367 consumer complaints since the storm concerning adjusters not showing up, an inability to reach insurers and insufficient settlements.”
• Hurricane Survivors Wait for Insurers [AP]
Can’t solve the problem by throwing Methodists at it: Baptists served 22,000 meals in two days to hurricane survivors in Florida.
• Alabama Baptists respond to Wilma’s devastation [Alabama Baptist]
Also:
TV joy surging
Guest stars, breaking news, big changes …
Bless my box it’s sweeps!
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