Heads and tales: Work shall make you flee

jonbenet ramsey Update: John and JonBenét: The suspect arrested Tuesday night in Bangkok in connection to the strangulation death of JonBenét Ramsey was raised in Hamilton, about 90 miles northwest of Birmingham. John Mark Karr, already held on unrelated sex charges, confessed to the crime earlier today, but his wife says she was with him in Alabama at the time of the murder. The 1996 murder of the six-year-old Boulder, Colo., beauty queen drew tabloid attention and remained unsolved. Parents John and Patsy Ramsey were the focus of early scrutiny, but were never arrested. Patsy Ramsey died in June from cancer. Karr worked as a substitute teacher in August and September of 1996 at Hamilton Elementary School, but was fired after a parent’s complaint about “language.” JonBenét was murdered that December.
• Former Alabama man tied to JonBenet Ramsey death [Birmingham News]

help wanted

Help wanting: The Personnel Board of Jefferson County has a seemingly simple task: Find qualified applicants to fill jobs in 23 municipalities. At a cost of nearly $12 million in taxpayer money in 2005, it is failing miserably. Cities are wringing their hands over staffing shortages, outdated applicant lists and increased spending for a clearly broken system. The board’s discriminatory past has created the boondoggle it is today. Now, the board is spending another quarter million dollars to find applicants from as far away Miami, Houston and Puerto Rico. Birmingham has had an opening for a heavy equipment operator for three years, and the city’s public works director said, “All 12 candidates had filled out the application in June 2001. I want the best-qualified person available today. I don’t want the best-qualified person who was available five years ago.” Well, if you’re gonna be picky …
• $231,000 marked to help fill jobs [Birmingham News]

Steered straight: Say a big “arigato, y’all” to Honda. The Japanese auto manufacturer has nearly finished its $70 million engine factory expansion in Lincoln. Now it’s spending another $40 million for another expansion, this one adding 41,000 square feet … and 20 new jobs. Straight from the story: “The plant makes the Odyssey minivan and the Pilot sport utility vehicle along with the V-6 engines that go in them. The $1.3 billion plant employs 4,500 people and can turn out 300,000 vehicles and engines each year.” To address the needs of Honda and other would-be employers, Gov. Riley has launched a new workforce training and certification program. This means workers can gain new skills and earn Career Readiness Certificates to land better jobs — and help the state woo new industry. Not bad for a state which has seen the number of families on food stamps rise by a third since 2001.
• Honda plans $40 million expansion at engine plant [Birmingham News]

And you can get it if you try: A 26-year-old Birmingham man is one heartbeat away from the presidency. Jared Weinstein is Bush’s “body man,” the go-to guy for the president’s every need. He described his job thusly, “The president should never have to do more than nod his head or twitch his finger and you know what he wants.” By the way, a nod means coffee, a twitch means invade Iran. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old engineering student at the University of Alabama won nearly $1 million in a Vegas poker tournament. Shannon Shorr of Irondale has earned $1.3 million total this year. And if he needs a body man, we volunteer.
• Birmingham man serves in the president’s shadow [Birmingham News]

Also: