There’s a new fashion among former Fortune 500 CEOs in Birmingham this week, as U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller has modified Richard Scrushy’s pre-sentencing release, as well as his wardrobe. In an order issued Monday, Fuller said that the former HealthSouth CEO is to wear a GPS tracking device — typically as an ankle bracelet — at all times, and that he may not leave the Middle and Northern Districts of Alabama without express permission from a court officer, presumably Fuller himself.

In February, Scrushy had permission to visit Disney World in Orlando, Fla., but after he took an unauthorized trip by yacht from West Palm Beach to Miami, prosecutors and probation officers accused him of testing the waters or even trying to flee the country. In a hearing last month, Scrushy said he would have taken his yacht, Chez Soiree, into open waters had weather permitted. Prosecutors argued that rough seas had prevented Scrushy from fleeing into international waters.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Coody accused Scrushy of being “coy” with his probation officers and reminded him that he was a convicted felon. However, Coody restricted Scrushy to wear the GPS tracking device only on trips outside of the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama. The new order requires him to wear the device at all times.

Last year, a jury in Montgomery convicted Scrushy of federal charges that he bribed former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. Fuller has set a sentencing date for both men on June 26.

— Kyle Whitmire

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A bond underwriter seeking business with the city of Birmingham says that an acquittal he received from a federal judge eight years ago in Miami was a full exoneration of public corruption charges brought against him there, but a closer look at U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks’ acquittal judgment reveals that Calvin Grigsby’s interpretation of the order is generous, to say the least. In fact, Judge Middlebrooks dismissed the charges against Grigsby and two other defendants largely on a technicality, but not before he blasted the defendants for greed and public corruption.

“The Government has presented substantial evidence of greed and public corruption, the placement of private interests over those of the public,” Middlebrooks wrote. “Accountability was non-existent; financial controls were ignored and indeed disdained.”

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EARTH DAY IS OVER: But the planet’s still trashed. If you’re at all committed to protecting the environment and preserving natural resources on the other 364 days of the year, you might want to learn a thing or two about the Alabama Environmental Council. Founded in 1967, the AEC works to create environmental awareness by promoting wise management of natural resources. And they recycle — 600 tons of newspaper, glass, plastic, aluminum, mixed paper and cardboard every year at the oldest nonprofit recycling center in the state. Located at 2431 Second Ave North, the AEC recycling center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and accepts old cell phones and printer cartridges, as well as all of the recyclable materials mentioned above. To learn more about local recycling efforts or other Alabama Environmental Council projects, visit www.aeconline.ws

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THE WAY OF THE PILGRIMS: The latest effort from National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick is a rich and resonant retelling of how in the 17th century, a small group of English Christians fled from their homes to embark on a journey to a New World. Mayflower: A Story of Community, Courage and War makes it clear that the settlement of Plymouth Colony was hardly the hunky-dory scene we have come to imagine through storybook accounts of history. The settlers did arrive in November (they had planned on arriving in summer), low on supplies, and the Wampanoag Indians were not only excellent hosts, they saved the settlement from certain destruction. There was a first Thanksgiving and the pilgrims and Indians lived more or less in peace for half a century after it, but all hell broke loose when Philip, heir of Wampanoag chief Massasoit, launched a war on the settlers. More than 5,000 people were killed over 14 months, and the politics of the New World were irrevocably altered. Philbrick will read from and sign copies of his book this Friday during a reception at Brooks Hall on the Samford University campus. The program starts at 6 p.m. For more information, call 870-4242 or visit www.alabamabooksmith.com.

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More than a year after a Montgomery jury convicted them of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, former HealthSouth CEO Richard M. Scrushy and former Ala. Gov. Don Siegelman will go to court again, this time to be sentenced for their crimes on June 26.

According to prosecutors, Scrushy gave the then-governor two checks worth a total of $500,000, which Siegelman then used to pay campaign debts after the failed 1999 Alabama lottery referendum. In exchange, Siegelman guaranteed HealthSouth an appointment to the Certificate of Needs Board, a state hospital regulatory agency.

In addition to those charges, the jury also convicted Siegelman of one charge of obstruction of justice. According to the prosecution’s case, Siegelman used the sale of a motorcycle to disguise money he received from a contractor doing business with the state.

Since the convictions, Scrushy’s lawyers have filed a bizarre series of motions, claiming that emails they received anonymously show that jurors were discussing the case among each other before deliberations and that jurors used material from the Internet, which they are forbidden from doing.

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller has ruled that the emails are not material, as the defense cannot show evidence of their authenticity.

— Kyle Whitmire

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JAY BOY ADAMS SAYS HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW: Tells a story about a man who was married to a devil of a woman. One day, after 10 years of marriage, the wife sends the husband out for a loaf of bread and he just never comes back. “That’s what happened to me,” Jay Boy Adams says. “I just disappeared.” The Lone Star state troubadour emerged out of the crowded Texas songwriting field of the 1970s with a record deal and big tours of his own in the latter part of the decade. He played gigs with The Band, Jackson Browne and Joe Ely. But in 1982, Adams walked away from everything. Tired of the game, he stepped off the tour bus and, instead, started making tour buses. Adams founded “Roadhouse Transportation” and spent the last 16 years supplying wheels for the likes of Shania Twain, Peter Frampton and Patti Labelle. Now, he’s finally ready to play again, having recently released his first album in two decades, The Shoe Box. You can hear this legend of Americana, blues and country shake off the dust at WorkPlay this Thursday, April 26. He’ll make an appearance as the special guest of Stephen Stills (you may have heard of Stills, too – he used to be in this little outfit known as Crosby, Stills & Nash). Show time is 8 p.m. and a few $40 tickets are still available, standing room only. 380-4082 or www.workplay.com

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FROM THE LOOKS OF THE PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: The Mobile-based rock quartet Hamelin doesn’t leave the Gulf area very often, which is a very good reason to head to Café Firenze this Wednesday, April 25. Band members Ross Newell, Adam Lynn, Jonny Brown and Garrett Thorton say their influences include Counting Crows, Bob Dylan, Incubus, The Band and Coldplay – pretty big shoes to fill, but if they are half the musicians any of those guys are it promises to be a good show. Singles from their CD, Paintings on the Wall, saw airplay in Mobile as well as in neighboring Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and as far away as Pennsylvania. Even if the Bayfest and Boo Radley’s regulars don’t float your boat, beer and bingo will be on hand to entertain you and yours. Music starts at 9 p.m. Café Firenze is located at 110 Inverness Plaza at the corner of Hwy 280 and Valleydale Road. For more info call 980-1315 or sneak a peak at the band at www.myspace.com/hamelin.

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Birmingham’s favorite pet parade is still a month away, but it’s not too early to get into the Do Dah Day spirit (and the spirits) at their kickoff party tonight at The Oasis. Beginning at 6 p.m. there will be food, music and prizes. Candidates for Do Dah Day King and Queen will campaign for votes. (Voting for royalty? Okay.) Proceeds from the event will benefit animals in Jefferson County. For more information on the party and this week’s parade, visit www.dodahday.org

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Birmingham News investigative reporter Brett Blackledge may have won the Pulitzer Prize last week, but he lost the beauty contest.

In a snarky post on her Huffington Post blog, Colleen Werthmann ranked several of the winners by “hotness” in her “Gravitas-Challenged Pulitzer Prize Winner Hottie Rundown.” Werthmann scored each Pulitzer winner on a scale of 1 to 4 Moleskines, those trendy notebooks you see for sale at Barnes & Noble.

The good news for Blackledge is that not all of the Pulitzer winners were featured in the blog post. The bad news is that, of those who were, he came in dead last, with a score of 2.75 Moleskines. If that weren’t bad enough, he came in behind novelist Cormac McCarthy, and that guy’s, like, 73 years old.

At least, Werthmann didn’t size up Blackledge with this picture (above) from his bio on the Pulitzer website. We haven’t seen a mug shot that bad since Joel Montgomery kissed the pavement. And that thing above his right ear — is that a booger?

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An investment banker seeking business with the City of Birmingham has a checkered history of indictments, allegations of political payola and courtroom exonerations, but some city councilors have expressed interest in doing business with him and his firm, postponing a major bond deal until he can get an audience with Mayor Bernard Kincaid.

On Monday, investment banker Calvin Grigsby pitched the Birmingham City Council to give his firm, Grigsby & Associates, at least part of a $142 million bond deal, which will finance $53 million in new projects and pay $25 million toward existing projects, including the Railroad Reservation Park downtown. The remaining $64 million will refinance old debt.

Grigsby did not tell the council that he was indicted twice in the late 1990s for what federal prosecutors claimed was a kickback scheme at the Miami Ports. After a wide-reaching FBI sting in Miami, called “Operation Greenpalm,” prosecutors accused Grigsby of conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering, but none of the charges stuck.

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