Nutri-Sweet Baby James Taylor, whose saccharine tunes have been lulling baby boomers to sleep ever since Suzanne committed suicide rather than listen to his drivel, performed last night at the Arena for $40 bucks a (grand-)pop. Those in attendance report that it was mellow, and the Handyman sang his all-time hits with excellent backup. But that's old news. What's happening today is this:

The Brad Cole ad has been revised so as not to be offensive to the intended beneficiary.

I just realized that if Maggie Flanagan is elected as mayor and Priscilla Pimentel is voted on City Council, it would mean two redheads on the Council. I think there may be a city ordinance against that. At present there's a well-balanced mix of follicles on the Council--why tilt the balance? (Of course if Brad Cole is elected, his conservatively-cut sandy strands will blend well with all but the most extreme metal-heads.) Will Priscilla go blonde? Will Maggie shave her head in solidarity with the Bald Knob Coalition of Concerned Networkers? What hat will stately Sheila Simon wear?

Meanwhile, a tip of the hat to one of Carbondale's "native son's," 1984 CCHS graduate, Peter Gregory for putting up $20,000 of his own money for The Southern Angels Business Plan Contest in partnership with the SIUC Office of Economic and Regional Development's Southern TECH to develop regional technologies and local businesses. A total of $40,000 will be awarded to contestants in different categories, with $7,500 the top amount. Details of the plan are available at the Southern Angels website.
Here's a photo I snapped at the press conference yesterday. Sorry about the poor quality. br>

That's Peter "Moneybags" Gregory, second to the left, next to Maggie Flanagan's husband, Ray "of Light" Lenzi, and two blondes with very important jobs with the Office of Regional Economic Development at the university, all of whom undoubtedly enjoy the musical stylings of everyone's friend, James Taylor.