Whatever happened
to ol’ what’s-his-name, you know,
the one with the mole?

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Clock counts down minutes
till quitting time, weekend fun.
Tick, tick, tick, tick … yay!

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Ring of fires: Five Bibb County Baptist churches were torched earlier today, as police suspect arson. A sixth fire in Chilton County took place Thursday afternoon, but may not be related because of construction work already under way on site. Several churches had predominantly white congregations, unlike the Alabama church fires in 1996, all with black congregations. One church had been standing since 1886.
• String of fires damage or destroy five rural Alabama churches [Associated Press]

Greetings from Detroit: We hear talk of some sort of sporting contest to decide a champion team, a super match in a bowl-type setting. In case you can’t tell a Seahawk from a Steeler, we also hear some pretty filmed advertising spots will supplement the game. But if you absolutely need someone to cheer on, how about Alabama all-time rushing leader Shaun Alexander? Not only is he a Seattle standout, he brought in a record 28 touchdowns this season and earned the NFL’s MVP title. We’ve no doubt he’ll XL Sunday in Detroit (Roman numeral humor!). And he’s not the only Crimson Tider playing for the Seahawks.
• Seahawks’ Long Journey Has Reached Last Stage [New York Times]

The Six-Billion-Dollar Plan: If Alabama had an extra, oh say, $3 billion lying around, should we spend it on building more schools or improve hurricane evacuation routes? Heck, if we had $6 billion, we could do both. Can we afford not to do either one? Dare to dream.
• Schoolhouse building blues | State wants $3 billion for hurricane evacuation [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Shoppers snag big-screen TV sets for Puppy Bowl II on Animal Planet
• Downtown diner’s greens far from it
• March declared Black Geography Month

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This cold nasty morn,
outside conditions rain down
on bleary workers.

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It’s not downsizing, it’s DiGiorno: Kraft Foods is closing the DiGiorno pasta plant in Hoover, cutting 61 jobs. It’s part of the corporation’s plan to cut 8,000 jobs and close 20 factories. While profits are up, one report says it’s because Americans are eating out more than cooking at home. Pasta la vista, baby.
• Kraft Foods closing pasta plant in Hoover [Birmingham News]

Down from the mountain: The Birmingham Museum of Art has scored another grand exhibit, Pompeii: Stories from an Excavation. The show, possibly in October 2007, will have relics buried in the 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Birmingham will be one of three stops for the exhibit in the United States. Meanwhile, the museum features Ethiopian art in a double exhibit: “Ethiopian Art from the Walters Art Museum” and “Painting Ethiopia: The Life and Work of Qes Adamu Tesfaw” starting Sunday.
• Museum among three U.S. stops for Pompeii relics frozen in time [Birmingham News]

Orange and black and blue: The Auburn University board of trustees has failed a big exam. It asked for an independent review of the school’s operations and leadership in November. The report, released Tuesday, reinforces the long-standing rumblings: bad leadership from the trustees, along with the faculty senate and alumni board. Ouch. And leading this parade of mismanagement? His name rhymes “Bobby Lowder.” The report goes on to make 142 recommendations, but and none of them have to do with recruiting top-rated linebackers.
• Report blasts Auburn leadership [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Local high-stakes pinochle tournament fails to attract drunken card sharps
• Deer take to runway to protest airport encroachment
• Days like this match mother’s dire premonitions from childhood

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She doesn’t answer
but lets it pass aside as
a touchy subject.

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Against the odds: For those keeping score, Gambling is illegal in Alabama, but “gambling” 😉 is still cool. Circuit Judge Scott Vowell ruled that the Birmingham Race Course’s sweepstakes is legal (or close enough). Gov. Riley promised to close the loopholes in state gaming laws. It’s really hard to know who to pull for in this fiasco: greedy gaming interests who’ll bleed the community dry, or overzealous pols and cops looking to pander to conservative voters. As always, we side with the hookers.
• Judge rules race course games legal but a ‘sham’ [Birmingham News]

King’s queen: Heiberger native Coretta Scott King died Monday at age 78 after battling cerebral vascular disease and ovarian cancer. She fought for women’s rights and the end of apartheid in South Africa. When she first met her future husband, Martin Luther King Jr., she was put off … because she thought he’d be taller. According to the timeline, she watched the King Day ceremonies on television two weeks ago, the 20th anniversary of the federal holiday.
• Coretta Scott King, a Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 78 [New York Times]

Financial security: Wallace Malone, founder of former Birmingham-based SouthTrust Bank, is leaving the Wachovia family. For his trouble, he’ll receive $135 million, and that’s on top of the $473 million worth of Wachovia stock from the 2004 buyout. Malone is putting $60 million toward founding a charity, though probably not for the thousands laid off. Hey, we hear the race course is hiring …
• Banker to Receive $135 Million Parachute [New York Times]

Also:

• Lakeview trendiness expected to grow record 11 percent
• Hamas announces Alabama gubernatorial candidate, Ron “Bubba” el Fayid
• Book your post-Valentine’s Day binge drinking now

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Our pals Mike and Mandy over at Our Place have a fun contest under way: a weekly scavenger hunt.

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