Poll dancing: Jefferson County voters can renew or reject Tuesday a pair of property taxes that generates $15 million annually for the county school system. That is, those who know a vote’s afoot. Does money make a difference? A recent “20/20” report says, “National graduation rates and achievement scores are flat, while spending on education has increased more than 100 percent since 1971. More money hasn’t helped American kids.”

Update: See Stossel’s report (41 min.).

• Hammonds: Two school taxes critical [Birmingham News]

Tube tribe: For a good chunk of the 20th century, TV watching was a shared experience, even as we hid away in our homes. Now, viewing parties are bringing us back together, if only for 60 minutes at a time. One such party involves the Monday night ritual of watching the popular action epic, “24,” at a Hoover steakhouse. But will anyone come to our “E-Ring” party next week?
• Tubing together [Christian Science Monitor]

Our digital past: Melinda at the library tipped us off that the Birmingham Public Library has put part of its archive online. History buffs and curious browsers can see newspaper articles, photos, engravings and other odds and ends. For example, check out a few clippings from our favorite newspaper. The library system has quite a bit of good stuff going on, from new self-checkouts to librarians training as storytellers.
• Birmingham Public Library Launches New Digital Collections (press release) [Birmingham Public Library’s Digital Collections Blog]

Also:

• Waiting room magazines preview '99 cars, trucks
• State of the city: Alabama
• Teen fans use camphone to document concert, car ride, late-night trip to gas station mart

• • •

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Saturday was fun
but today demands notice.
Where has weekend gone?

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Sparkling wine, chatter,
various dead plants, creatures.
It’s what’s for dinner.

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The Wal-Mart way: Textile manufacturer Russell Corp., founded in Alexander City, is cutting 2,300 jobs by the end of 2007. Of those, 1,700 will be in the United States — 1,250 in Alabama alone. “Russell spokeswoman Nancy Young said Friday the company would phase out the positions as part of a restructuring meant in part to help it reduce costs and continue selling men’s fleece products to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The company said it previously lost a contract to sell fleece products for boys to Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer. The loss meant Russell had too much manufacturing capacity, making cutbacks necessary, Young said.” Ah, Wal-Mart. Can’t survive without 'em, can’t really survive with 'em. PBS’ “Frontline” exposed the retailer’s do-or-die tactics in this 2004 report.
• Russell to cut 2,300 jobs by late '07, mostly in Alabama [Associated Press]

Power steering: When it comes to car manufacturing, where do you think of? Detroit? That’s so last century. Welcome to Alabama, with its wide range of new car styles, prices and ability to adjust quickly to market demands. “The Alabama four — Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota — all added jobs and production capacity in 2005.” Forget textiles — think Tercels.
• While Detroit sputters, Alabama’s auto industry revs up [Mobile Register]

Midnight has broken: Prattville native Wilson Pickett was one of 11 children. As a teen, he sang in a gospel group in Detroit. But when he went solo, he made hits, including “In the Midnight Hour.” Most were recorded in Memphis or Muscle Shoals. Pickett died Thursday at age 64.
• Wilson Pickett, 64, Soul Singer of Great Passion, Dies [New York Times]

Also:

• Fatter kids to provide abundant Soylent Green
• Car dealers abandon downtown for underwater lair
• My grandmother can’t read this blog

• • •

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Nurse hunts for shy vein.
Don’t make me watch don’t make me–
I’m … going … to … faint.

• • •

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Congratulations to Richard Kirby of Birmingham, winner of two tickets to see Mo Rocca on Saturday at the Alys Stephens Center. He’s the author of Cadet Spiff’s Deep Space Log. He and his guest will also be guests at the after party as an added treat.

Update: Richard gives his Rocca review.

And thank you to everyone who entered. As a small token of gratitude to our readers for linking to Wade on Birmingham, you’ll receive a free button, made lovingly by ButtonGuy.org. Just drop me a line with your snail mail address and I’ll get it to you right away.

(In fact, if you still wanna link up, I’ll still toss you a free button. Let me know your URL and your snail mail address to claim your swag.)

Thank you to all of our readers for reading Wade on Birmingham.

Passage of time brings
us one step closer to death.
At least we have cake.

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Innocent until proven wealthy: Reporter Jay Reeves has the talker of today: A columnist published in a black-owned newspaper claims Healthsouth founder Richard Scrushy paid her $11,000 to write favorable pieces. The check came to her the same day Scrushy hired a PR agency owned by the founder of the newspaper. The PR firm also cut a check to the columnist’s preacher, one of the black clergy present at Scrushy’s fraud trial. Scrushy denies any knowledge of the payoffs. If the allegations are true, then Scrushy should run for mayor, because he’s been a bigger friend to the black community than Richard Arrington or Bernard Kincaid put together and could win in a landslide. (Thanks to Mike for the tip.)
• Writer: Scrushy Bought Sympathetic Stories [Associated Press]

Speaking of trainwrecks: Our pal Jenny Bone Miller has a report on Wednesday afternoon’s train collision in Lincoln, forcing the evacuation of 500 because one burning train had sodium cyanide. Three railroad workers and one resident were injured. “The wrecked trains blocked the escape route of about 52 residents in 30 homes along Lomar Drive. Emergency management officials ordered those residents to take shelter in their homes, closing doors and windows and turning off ventilation systems.” The Federal Railroad Administration has piles of stats, such as different causes for Norfolk Southern accidents from the last 10 years.
• Trains crash near Lincoln [Anniston Star]

Log in, tune up, drop off: Bands interested in playing at this summer’s City Stages now have an online option for “auditioning.” The three-day downtown music festival is taking submissions through April 15 via Sonicbids, which handles electronic press kits for musicians and bookings for other festivals such as North Carolina’s popular MerleFest. But will it even be called “Vines & Waldrep City Stages 2006” after the title sponsor pulled a classic rocker move and broke up after its first headlining gig?
• Submit Your Band For Vines & Waldrep City Stages 2006 (press release) [City Stages]

Also:

• Protestors seek to preserve Saks location from reverting to dirt pile
• Bar patron accepts free drink, yet fails to ‘loosen up’
• ‘Real World: Birmingham’ turns out to be seven strangers stuck in elevator

• • •

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1. blur of days
   I did this Sunday.
   (Or was that last Saturday?)
   Is today Tuesday?!

2. what to wear
   Fall fashion forecast,
   Everything goes in cycles.
   Black is the new black.

3. cubicle blues
   Office pal takes off
      for better job — so happy!
   (Can I have his desk?)

(more…)

Caught on film: Oscar-nominated producers Alan (shown here) and Hugh Hunter are at Sundance this week. They’re usually scouting films and talent, but this year, they’re front and center with Lakeview-based Hunter Films’ latest production, “Dreamland.” (And no, it’s not about the rib joint …) The four screenings are already sold out, which should help them with their goal of finding a distributor.

Also, our pals Kelly, Erik, Cat and Kelly from Sidewalk are blogging at the festival, which officially starts Thursday. (The RSS feed is a little wonky.) Also, check out their photos. We’d be jealous, but we’re going to catch a double feature later today of “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and “Yours, Mine and Ours” at the Festival 18.
• On their way to Sundance [Birmingham News]

I’m only happy when she reigns: Birmingham native Deidre Downs’ tour of duty is nearly at an end. The Samford student has served as Miss America 2005 since October 2004, but her 16-month reign is only the third-longest in the history of the beauty pageant scholarship competition. After handing over the title Saturday, she’ll finish up her undergraduate degree, then head to medical school. For her trouble, she met Tony Danza and received a $50,000 scholarship. Too bad a Birmingham pair (attending Auburn) won five times that much eating live camel spiders on Tuesday’s “Fear Factor.” The Miss America pageant airs at 7 p.m. Saturday on CMT.
• A long, distinguished reign [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Neighborhood comic book club deadlocked over ‘toughest sidekick’ debate
• Leave a penny, take a penny program nets three cents, plastic button
• Colleges settle rivalry by throwing ball at elevated metal circles

• • •

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If you can’t stand heat,
get the hell out of ‘Bama
in winter??! Warm spell.

• • •

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Highway hidden by
sheets of rain; 18-wheeler
nearly engulfs me.

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Just a friendly reminder: We’re giving away two tickets to see Mo Rocca this Saturday at the Alys Stephens Center on Southside.

It’s easy, so enter before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Also, if you really really want tickets, a couple of other places are also giving away Mo tix … (We share because we care.)

• You can send your name and daytime phone number to contests@readbw.com by end of today.
• You can also enter at Al.com, which is also holding a live chat with Rocca at 2 p.m. today.

Good luck!

Bobsleds and breadsticks: Bessemer native Vonetta Flowers is heading back to the Winter Olympics to compete in bobsled. The one-time Summer Olympics hopeful will look to repeat her gold-medal-winning performance in February in Turin, Italy. Another victory could cement Alabama’s lock on bobsledding …
• USBSF picks Alabama native to US Bobsled team [Associated Press]

War on terriers: In Jefferson and Shelby Counties, the animal shelters killed 10,438 cats and dogs in 2005. And that’s an improvement over 2004. About two of every three animals at the shelters are euthanized, thanks to irresponsible owners who don’t spay/neuter their pets.
• Humane Society ends year on top [Birmingham News]

Our missed Brooks: Before Rosa Parks, a black soldier made his stand on a Montgomery bus. Pfc. Thomas Edwards Brooks refused to re-board from the back entrance, and it cost him his life. The forgotten foot soldier could be honored with a statue or a marker some 56 years later.
• Five years before Parks, black soldier’s defiance on bus fatal [Associated Press]

Also:

• Southside research lab invents potential cure for winter blahs
• West End woman can’t find a man
• Lonely thunderstorm visits metro area, leaves lighter

• • •

Send us your news tips.

Super Bowl XL
(extra large?) demands presence
of new huge TV.

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