Birmingham Blues

I hope all the dads out there get some love and appreciation today. You’ve earned it.

Congratulations, Kyle, on this well deserved honor!

On Saturday, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Medill School of Journalism announced the winners of the 13th annual Altweekly Awards at the association’s convention in Philadelphia. Birmingham Weekly’s ‘War on Dumb’ took first place for best political column in the 55,000-and-under circulation division.

The weekly column by staff writer Kyle Whitmire examines political culture in Birmingham and Alabama.

One of the columns submitted was Letter of Our Laws, which detailed Mitt Romney’s Alabama money laundering operation. It’s a must-read for anyone who cares about transparency (or the lack thereof) in campaign funding, and I’ve linked to it and emailed it over and over.

Kudos to Kyle and to the Weekly!

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ETA: Hat tip to Blues reader Peggy.

If you’re an early riser (or if you want to set your DVR/VCR), check out some of The Music Man cast on Good Day Alabama tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. We’ll be featured throughout the show, which runs from 6:00 to 9:00 AM on Fox 6 in Birmingham.

We have four shows remaining: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM at Virginia Samford Theatre.

All reports I’ve heard and seen from last night’s Pride parade say turnout was high and fun was had by all. There were a few protesters from a church in Georgia. I think they’d be called “outside agitators” if they were here to espouse a progressive cause.

PRIDEFest will be held this afternoon and evening at Sloss Furnace. Everyone is welcome, but be sure to dress for the heat and drink lots of water. For more information, click here.

The Central Alabama Pride parade is tonight in Five Points South.  Line-up begins at 6:30 PM, with stepoff at 8:30 PM. Everyone is welcome! The girls and I will be at the theatre, but Dear Husband and nephew Zach will represent our family in fine style. I hope they will see some of you there.

In the midst of this week’s theatre craziness, I missed the Birmingham City Council’s passage of a resolution supporting Central Alabama Pride week. Thanks to Valerie Abbott and the Councilors who stood up to the mayor’s bigotry.

The Birmingham News theatre critic gives The Music Man four out of five stars. Well done, cast and crew!

This is cool!

Scientists have a plan to stop the greatest chain of aquatic extinctions in the United States, which began when Alabama’s rivers were dammed in the 20th century and river creatures were cut off from everything they needed.

Scientists say they can reunite parts of the Alabama River system, using locks built for navigation to move the ecosystem’s most important species upstream during migration.

Ultimately, they believe they can reconnect the Cahaba River to the Gulf of Mexico using the two southernmost locks on the Alabama River.

In the spring, many fish in the state’s rivers swim from the Gulf of Mexico hundreds of miles upstream to spawn. Many fish will not spawn without a long migration, and others need to travel to find good habitat.

Along the way, they often carry juvenile mussels that live on the fish as parasites for a few weeks before they drop off. Some fish are more important in providing food for bigger fish or birds.

But those connections have been halted by dams and locks for decades, leaving graveyards of shells of extinct mussels on riverbanks and fish that are rarer with each generation.

The Army Corps of Engineers has successfully used the lock systems for the Appalachicola River to move fish in Florida and Georgia.

Now, scientists say it may be simple and free to reverse much of that damage. They are proposing to begin by using the locks at the Claiborne Lock and Dam to ferry migrating fish upstream in the spring.

…Before the locks and dams were put on the rivers, Alabama shad traveled as far upstream as Iowa, millions of the fish populating the nation’s rivers. Before the program to move them upstream, as few as 9,000 Alabama shad may have survived in the Apalachicola. They are listed as a federal species of concern.

Studies on the Apalachicola showed that as many as 40 percent of those fish would get on the locks and go upstream if the locks were filled with water the night before.

An easy, cheap approach that will help to maintain the amazing diversity of Alabama’s rivers. I can get behind that.

Since I’m too tired to think clearly about current events, I’ll flog my show instead. The Music Man opens tonight. There will be three performances this weekend and four next weekend. It’s a fun, family-friendly show. Lots of kids and teens in the cast, great dancing, lively music. Come travel to River City with us.

If you’d like tickets, click here for more information.

Gaynell Hendricks won the Democratic nomination for Jefferson County tax assessor yesterday with 60% of the 14% turnout. Some here will remember that this is the same Gaynell Hendricks who did everything she could to overturn Patricia Todd’s election and get herself crowned the nominee in Alabama House District 54. Quoth Ms. Hendricks:

“This is a victory for the citizens of Jefferson County,” Hendricks said from her campaign headquarters on 4th Avenue North. “It goes to show that with hard work, honesty, sincerity, and, most of all, God on your side, we can accomplish great things.”

You’d think if God had really been on her side, God would have made sure she got that House seat she wanted so badly. Oh, and note to Gaynell — invoking God, presumably the Christian God, when the incumbent you defeated happens to be Jewish? Really tacky.

I’m going to go puke now.

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ETA:  al.com is now reporting that voter turnout might have reached a stunning 15%.  Of course, this may not be an accurate reflection of the Democratic turnout in Jefferson County, but it’s the best numbers I can find so far.

Question for those of you who had a primary today: How was the turnout in your area? I think it’s been pretty pathetic here. I just got back from voting, and the poll workers nearly fell on my neck with gratitude. I think they were getting sick of their own company; this is an all-day-and-into-the-evening gig for them, and they hadn’t had much business. I was the only voter there, and I parked right in front of the door.

On Super Tuesday, I was voter #301 at 8:30 AM. Today, I was voter #227 at 2:40 PM. All I can say for that is it could have been worse.