Singer-songwriters
at Mypeople.com stage.
(Rolls right off the tongue.)
Marty Stuart brings
country to the lawn-chair crowd
afraid of Coke Stage.
Los Lonely Boys a
slice of “Heaven” in summer.
Viva la Raza!
Is that John Hiatt?
Weird hearing his voice instead
of other singers’.
• • •
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Miller Lite Stage is
big blast of testosterone
straight down your throat, bitch.
Allman Brothers’ reach
extends to this band and that.
Ties to whipping post.
Leaderdog, Shinedown,
Puddle of Mudd and Trapt all
sound the same to us.
Snoop Dogg dropped Doggy
years ago, but he’s still the
leader of rap pack.
• • •
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Your tax dollars at play: For the second time in two months, a former Jefferson County commissioner has been convicted of conspiracy. Jurors decided today that Jeff Germany funneled money through a nonprofit agency to himself, his wife, his ex-girlfriends and current friends. He faces a possible 10 years in prison; sentencing is Sept. 21. If one more gets locked up, at least we’ll have a quorum. [print version]
• Former Jeffco Commissioner Germany Found Guilty [Fox 6]
What a waste: Speaking of the commission, the other former member/criminal steered work to F.W. Dougherty Engineering, which designed the $52 million pumping station at Valley Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. That’s part of a $400 million upgrade. With us so far? Thanks to the firm’s incompetence, the commission is shelling out an additional $26.5 million today to repair and rebuild the pump station. The firm, by the way, didn’t take out enough insurance on the project. And yet, no one’s made a pithy T-shirt or panties about the super sewer debacle …
• Jeffco to pay $26.5 million to fix sewer pump station [Birmingham News]
Convicts of the county: Tuesday, a jury convicted Ronald Wilson, a county engineer, and Pugh Construction guilty of more sewer shenanigans — this time bribery and conspiracy for him, conspiracy for the firm.
• Jury convicts Jeffco engineer, construction firm in sewer case [Birmingham News]
Penny pinchers: By now, you may have lost all faith in the county’s ability to manage public funds, protect the infrastructure or stay out of jail. Fret no more, the county is guarding those dollars zealously. County employees have the option to buy back into the retirement plan (in a dispute lasting 28 years!), though the county fought the state law and lost. Because it will cost the county millions of dollars, it is eliminating retirement health insurance for the up to 774 employees who exercise their legal buyback option. See, they’re not all corrupt … some are just petty and vindictive.
• Jeffco to restrict retiree health plans [Birmingham News]
Also:
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The City Stages 2006 eBay fund-raiser ended at 2 a.m. this morning. You probably didn’t hear about it.
The downtown music festival, still trying to erase its half-million-dollar debt, has tried all sorts of wild schemes to raise money. But the online auction seems saddest of all: 18 items, 12 bids (on only four items), $241 in profit and zero publicity.
Going once, going twice …
Updated
Mason Oasis:
Nice place to visit, but would
not want to toke there.
Air-conditioned church
provides gospel, jazz, and, um,
gospel. And Celtic.
• • •
Read more haiku.
Criminally hip: Birmingham is often accused of being behind other cities in trends. Take heart, citizens: The latest FBI stats show the crime rate in 2005 increased significantly in Birmingham and other major cities. Murder here jumped 79 percent, while only increasing 44 percent in Charlotte, N.C., 42 percent in Kansas City, Mo., and 38 percent in Cleveland. The rate dropped in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York.
• Violent Crime on Rise in Big U.S. Cities [Associated Press]
Singles out: American Idol and Birmingham native Taylor Hicks has his debut single out, “Do I Make You Proud,” with “Takin’ It to the Streets” included. A portion of the proceeds benefits the American Red Cross. If coronation pop songs aren’t your thing, may we recommend a ballad for Katrina relief?
• American Red Cross to Benefit From Sale of New American Idol Taylor Hicks’ Single ‘Do I Make You Proud’ [press release]
Stages unplugged: Birmingham Weekly has its official guide to City Stages 2006 out on newsstands today. You’ll have to run out and pick up a copy, because it ain’t available online yet.
• City Stages 2006 issue [Birmingham Weekly]
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Hey, you kids, get off
Coke Stage. Don’t trust anyone
over 70.
Hank Jr. cranks up
redneck party, part of a
fam’ly tradition.
Morris Day weekend:
Call Jerome, if you want to,
all around the world.
Surf sounds ring hollow.
Will real Beach Boy please stand up?
Be true to your scheme.
• • •
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Taken for a ride: It’s all well and good when public officials, such as a city council member, take the bus to show how lousy the bus is. The media lands a nice one-day story. But then, they go back to their comfy cars, often subsidized by taxpayers, and the problems remain. Such was the case Thursday for a transit meeting, taking place on National Dump the Pump Day. “(Transit authority head Hugo) Isom said he would have participated in the observance but the bus heading to his office doesn’t arrive till 10 a.m.” Since a judge ordered the prison chief to fix overcrowding or face jail time, we recommend a similar sentence to public officials: Whatever shape you leave the bus system in, you’re sentenced to abandon your cars and ride the lines for five to 10 years, no parole.
• Councilwoman’s bus ride highlights difficulties [Birmingham News]
Up from bribery: Alabama’s quest to become a civil rights tourist destination has become popular with at least one faction: lobbyists. The Center for the Public Integrity, a Washington nonprofit investigative organization, says that they’re funding junkets to sites in Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham to cozy up to members of Congress. The Faith and Politics Institute in Washington has arranged seven trips in nine years for lobbyists and lawmakers, which included a tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The head of the Faith and Politics Institute said, “From my 20 years of experience in Washington, however, I know well … most lobbyists are not depraved evildoers exploiting the public interest for private gain.” Yes, but we’re pretty sure the Constitution still says a lobbyist counts as only three-fifths of a person.
• Rights tours criticized [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Save our ships: Down in Bayou La Batre, shrimp season kicked off on Wednesday. But shrimpers have one small problem: Their boats can’t leave port. They’re not even in the water, but in the trees. Nine months after Hurricane Katrina, the seafaring town is still looking for recovery help. Ironically, some voters are crediting Gov. Riley’s response to the crisis for their votes in last week’s primary. [narrated slide show]
You can help ongoing recovery efforts.
• 100-Ton Symbols of a Recovery Still Suspended [New York Times]
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Rock fest at News Stage!
Local acts play in sunlight
to empty crossroads.
Where’s gray-haired guy with
Lil’ Memphis Blues Orchestra?
Soul Patrol, shut out.
Kids with guitars strut
until time to return home
over the mountain.
• • •
Read more haiku.
With the Waldrep, Stewart & Kendrick City Stages Presented by Lanny Vines & Associates — or as we call it here on Earth, City Stages — just a week away, it’s time to plan your schedule.
But who to see? What to hear?
Why, fear not, music fans: Have we got a mix for you. Eighteen tracks (one for each year of the downtown music festival) to showcase a little bit of everything: country, funk, hip-hop, Cajun, rock, jazz, Latin and more.
No great overarching message can — or should — be culled from the results of Tuesday’s state primaries. Certainly not with a turnout of 38 percent.
As 6/6/(0)6 passes into history, Alabama still stands, daring to defend its rights. Losing candidates may be temporarily shaken from their world of denial by landslide defeats, but the future is wide open. Isn’t it?
What’s left to rail against in this election in 2006, 2008 and beyond? Gays are contained, for now. The Ten Commandments and the rule of law still cohabit peacefully, though out of wedlock. And godless neo-Nazis can’t become attorney general. Maybe state treasurer, but definitely not AG.
Have Alabamians managed to avoid once and for all eternal damnation?
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