NO ALTERNATIVE

Starting this month, there's a new feature in the back of the Hill Rag (but not yet online) called "The Nose." Wait a minute, doesn't Baltimore's City Paper already have a regular column by that name? Yes, I think it does. And I'm pretty sure my hometown Willamette Week used to have a similar feature by the same name. Who is this Nose character? Any relation to Publius?

Nevertheless, I welcome the new column, even if I rarely ever pick up the paper (or its sister covering my area, Capital North). It's bound to be more interesting than the hiatal Loose Lips in DC's City Paper, which I've always found perpetually dull. So leading off with a blurb on the Mayor-for-Life isn't a bad way to start:

When former At-large Councilman, Mayor, Mayor, Mayor, Ward 8 Councilman, Mayor Marion Barry ran for the Ward 8 City Council seat last November, his slogan was 'Ward 8 Needs a Fighter.' On January 17th, one of his first actions as Ward 8 City Councilman was to cancel the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Parade in Ward 8 because he felt it was too cold.

Hold on, which ward are we talking about here? Also: In their list of positions held by Barry, they forgot "federal prison inmate." Looks like "The Nose" has a few kinks to work out. Not Barry, though. He's in fine form:

Participation in the parade was always free until this year when forms were distributed saying that checks were to be made payable to the Barry Parade Committee at $100 a whop.

That old coot, he's still got it!

---

posted by WWB at 1:09 PM |