Good Day, Selma

Getting ready for election time

We have a couple of elections coming up. One for county officials and one for municipal officials. Then, we have the biggie for president. So much going on, it's enough to make someone's head spin. Time to hit the campaign trail with the video cameras and the blogs.

So what do you guys say about the elections? Is it always this quiet at qualifying time?

City Council Meets Tonight

Lots of old business on the city council agenda, especially a request for the audit management letter. No audit is complete without one, really. Council members in opposition to Mayor James Perkins Jr. have complained of problems getting one. This is an election year. Will the mayor let it go? Will council members have to pound away to get it? Watch as the drama unfolds.

First Easter for the Marathon Man

For those of you who are new readers to this blog, the Marathon Man is my grandson. I call him this because it took him more than a day to get here. It seems he didn't want to leave his warm, dark, safe space. He has been with us since June 2007. These are joyful months.

This is Marathon Man's first Easter. He's still too young for his grandmothers to tell him why the Easter bunny brings eggs. He went to his first stations of the cross on Friday, but is still too young to sit through Easter vigil. Perhaps next year, we will all attend Easter vigil together.

Running on empty

What makes good leadership? What makes good local leadership? Do we have an example of leadership sitting on the city council? You tell me.

A war zone

Sometimes I wonder if the old man the other day didn't say the right thing when he called Selma a "war zone" at night. Right now, its 11:14 p.m. Thursday and the police are going to 8th Ave., where somebody has reported a man beating a woman with a bat.

EMA

I'm really impressed with the Dallas County EMA layout. Pam Cook, the director, took me through there today. Those folks know how to take care of business.

Cold and Wet

The Jubilee is cold and wet here in Alabama, but nobody's spirit is dampened. Folks are out in front of the newspaper, getting ready for tomorrow's entertainment. Water Street, where the newspaper fronts, is fenced off. There won't be as many dignitaries here as were in the past because Sen. Hillary Clinton is in Mississippi and Sen. Barack Obama is set to spend Saturday in Columbus, Miss. Like U.S. Rep. Artur Davis said, Alabama's primary was in January, not March and not April. Candidates have to go where the votes are, especially in a heated race like this one.

Oh, come on now, do you really expect a Republican presidential candidate to come to the Black Belt of Alabama and celebrate the civil rights movement?