Montgomery Coffee House

[Southron]

It's easy to get off-topic, so this is a thread where we can discuss anything concerning the Montgomery area that wouldn't warrant a thread of its own or otherwise be posted on this site. Feel free to contribute anything you like, as long as you show respect towards others and comply with the rules of Urban Planet.

[Southron]

Today is election day in Montgomery, with the mayor's office and city council seats up for grabs. I've been a big fan of Mayor Bobby Bright and his leadership over the past few years, but he's run a really lousy campaign, and I wouldn't be surprised if Scott Simmons forced him into a runoff. If he gets in a runoff, he may be in serious trouble. Does anyone have any thoughts about the mayor's race?

[Southron]

Congressman Terry Everett announced today that he's retiring. There have been rumors that Mayor Bright may run for this congressional seat. Any news on who the potential candidates might be?

[Southron]

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright will announce tomorrow that he is running for US Congress in the 2nd district, which is being vacated by retiring Rep. Terry Everett. Bright moved to a downtown loft so that he would be in the district, and will announce his campaign in his hometown of Ozark in the Wiregrass.

Relocated Bright confirms campaign

He's running as a Democrat in a fairly Republican district, so he has his work cut out for him. He grew up in the Wiregrass, though, so he may be able to get more votes there than other Democrats.

[Southron]

Congressman-elect Bright announced he was resigning as mayor January 5th and endorsed his executive assistant, Michael Briddell, in the upcoming mayor's race. The field is wide open, with the possibility of 10 or more candidates. The list of other potential candidates I've heard about include Willie Cook, Charles Jinright, Todd Strange, Art Baylor, Scott Simmons, and several more. What do y'all think about the race?

[Southron]

There's some good news regarding crime in Montgomery. According to the FBI violent crimes were down 24% for the first half of 2008 as compared to 2007. Murder was down 43%, robberies down 33%, and property crimes down 2.4% during that 6 month period.

FBI reports crime down in Montgomery

FBI data: click here

[Southron]

FUTURE Montgomery magazine ceased publication due to the recession. The bi-monthly info that it provided about all the good stuff going on downtown and around the city will be missed. Hopefully it'll be back when the economy picks up.

[brad0022]

FUTURE Montgomery magazine ceased publication due to the recession. The bi-monthly info that it provided about all the good stuff going on downtown and around the city will be missed. Hopefully it'll be back when the economy picks up.

[brad0022]

Knology launches its latest innovation in Montgomery / Prattville

"We can

[Southron]

FYI - author James Howard Kunstler is in Montgomery today to make a free presentation at the art museum.

From the announcement on the Hampstead website:

His multimedia presentation will focus on how the financial crisis, energy challenges, and suburban sprawl are all inter-related problems. But, rather than just identify problems, Kunstler will discuss the key steps that we can take to reverse the current challenges and embrace sustainable, time-honored development practices in the River Region.

[brad0022]

FYI - author James Howard Kunstler is in Montgomery today to make a free presentation at the art museum.

From the announcement on the Hampstead website:

There was a blurb in the Advertiser about this but, predictably, the paper chose not to mention anything about the topic of Kunstler's presentation. It'll be interesting to see if the paper actually covers the event and prints some of his comments. Kunstler is a controversial figure (I don't agree with everything he says), but he is spot on when he talks about the effects of sprawl.

Event info:

James Howard Kunstler Book Signing, Wine & Cheese Gathering 6 - 7 pm

James Howard Kunstler Presentation 7 - 8 pm

Venue: Montgomery Museum of Fine Art Free and open to the general public

Sponsored by: The Hampstead Institute and The City of Montgomery