If WBHM’s recent shift away from classical music baroque your heart, then there’s not much we can do for you (except maybe suggest Pandora). In the meantime, Birmingham’s public radio station is taking a greater interest in local news, even bringing newspaper people on the air.

And, they let us sit on the good furniture.

Beginning this week, WBHM will feature Wednesday segments with Birmingham Weekly columnist Kyle Whitmire (I promise I won’t write about myself in the third person again) and Birmingham News columnist John Archibald (booo!!!).

Archibald gets the morning shift, with a segment called “Plugged.” It promises a more heady agenda, focusing on hoity-toity themes. This week’s segment, which you can hear here, focused on trust, whatever that is.

Meanwhile, I get the afternoon shift, talking about who’s backstabbing whom at City Hall and County Commission. The first segment focused on Jefferson County’s last minute attempts to avoid bankruptcy, the mayor’s wrecked plans for free bus fare and his pesky problem of being sued by the SEC.

Not that this is any sort of competition, but in our first week, I totally whipped Archibald at this radio game. However, he does have a better head shot than I do, which through the wonder’s of Photoshop, I’ve now made even better. My photo, which is at least five years old, dates from my first pathetic attempt to grow a full beard.

But neither of us topped the radio professional. Yesterday, WBHM’s Tanya Ott took Mayor Larry Langford to task for his recent unpleasantness with the SEC and on-going Justice Department investigation. According to Langford, the federal investigations into him are the evil machinations of his campaign opponent Patrick Cooper and, of course, the media. It’s all one great conspiracy.

I’m still waiting on my black helicopter.

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THE RACE IS ON: And on and on and on, much like the war in Iraq, which Sen. John McCain will doubtless continue into the 22nd century, should he become the next Commander-in-Chief. Let’s just hope that the eventual Democratic nominee fares better than in the presidential race than poor 8 Belles did in the Derby.

Meanwhile, the nice idea of free bus fares in Birmingham seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur, high drop-outs are to blame for the slow-down of economic growth in Alabama and Randall Specific keeps dying.

If you want to get your mind off the races, a walk on Highland Avenue might be just the thing, at least until better beer is available.    

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Mayor and council president have two interpretations of free transit vote. Read the full story

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Last week, the Birmingham City Council approved a plan from Mayor Larry Langford to make bus fares free for the summer, but in a special-called meeting Wednesday night, many of them expressed second thoughts.

Councilors Steven Hoyt, Carole Smitherman, Valerie Abbott and Carol Duncan said that the council passed the mayor’s proposal too quickly, without having real budget numbers or the consent of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority board.

“We rushed to make a decision without the information, and now we have a problem,” said Councilor Valerie Abbott. “I think we may have acted somewhat in haste. I voted for it, and I’m willing to take my knocks for it.”

BJCTA Director David Hill said Wednesday that the BJCTA could not begin the program unless Birmingham provided the transit sysem with at least some of the money up front.

Councilors referred to the Mayor’s plan as the “3 a.m. plan,” because the Mayor said he woke up the morning before the April 22 Council meeting with the idea to give Birmingham bus riders free rides all summer.

“Council, we have erred, this should never have happened,” said Council President Carole Smitherman.

Six councilors were present at the meeting Wednesday(Roderick Royal, Miriam Witherspoon, and William Bell were absent), but open meetings law did not allow a vote on any issue. Mayor Langford was present at the beginning of the meeting and BJCTA Director David Hill attended as well.

The estimated $800,000 needed for the program would come from $9 million raised in business license fees that the BJCTA plans to spend on new buses. As Birmingham Weekly reported, Mayor Langford had initially promised Hill $17 million for transit, but that number was later changed to $9 million, though Hill did not notice until months later.

“What is the highest and best use for the $800,000 — to offer free rides or repair the buses?” Smitherman asked the transit director.

“Well, obviously it’s to repair the buses,” answered Hill.

Most councilors seemed reluctant to support the Mayor’s program, even if communication issues are cleared up. Smitherman said more citizens had called her office in opposition to the Mayor’s plan than in support of it. Councilor Hoyt argued that the $800,000 free summer rides program is the equivalent of giving a bus away.

“We could have a bus with this money, and that’s been the chief complaint-that busses are breaking down-so how can we give something away when we ought to be buying a bus?” he said.

Councilor Joel Montgomery suggested that the Council approve funds for one month of free rides at next week’s City Council meeting, allowing the BJCTA to begin the free ride system on May 10. Montgomery supported the “3 a.m. plan” last week with the provision that the Council be provided with proper documentation from the Mayor’s office and the BJCTA.

It is not clear when the Council will vote on funding the Mayor’s plan or rescinding their resolution in support of it. Smitherman suggested another special meeting to vote on the plan, but action may be delayed until next Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Until then, riders of Birmingham public transit will pay the standard rate.

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Read the full story and more here.

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SEC sues Langford, Blount and LaPierre

As expected, the SEC has filed a lawsuit in federal court here against Mayor Larry Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. The SEC’s complaint is a civil lawsuit, so nobody is getting arrested or going to jail. That’s the Justice Department’s end of things and they’re still working at it.

In the meantime, the SEC wants Blount, LaPierre and Langford to repay money they received in various bond deals from Langford’s tenure at the Jefferson County Commission. According to the lawsuit, Blount paid off more than $150,000 of Langford’s personal debts, while Langford directed more than $6.7 million in fees to Blount’s investment firm, Blount Parrish.

Read the full story

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More as it comes. Here’s the SEC press release.

Here’s the Complaint

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 20545 / April 30, 2008
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Larry P. Langford, William B. Blount, Blount Parrish & Co., Inc., and Albert W. LaPierre, Case No. Case No. cv-08-B-0761-S (N.D. Ala., filed April 30, 2008)

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, William Blount, and Albert LaPierre. The SEC’s complaint alleges that while Langford served as president of the County Commission of Jefferson County, Alabama (County Commission), he accepted more than $156,000 in undisclosed cash and benefits over the course of two years from Blount, the chairman of Blount Parrish & Co, Inc. Blount Parrish is a broker-dealer based in Montgomery, Alabama.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Langford selected Blount Parrish to participate in every Jefferson County municipal bond offering and security-based swap agreement transaction during 2003 and 2004, earning Blount Parrish over $6.7 million in fees. Moreover, the SEC alleges, Langford and Blount concealed the payment scheme by using their long-time friend, LaPierre, an Alabama registered political lobbyist, as a conduit. The case is the SEC’s first enforcement action involving security-based swap agreements.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that prior to Langford’s election to the County Commission, Blount Parrish had not received any municipal bond business from Jefferson County for years. After Langford won the primary election in 2002 for the County Commission, however, Blount began making payments and conferring other benefits to Langford, funneling funds through LaPierre. The SEC alleges Blount’s efforts were rewarded because Langford, who served as president of the County Commission from November 2002 to November 2007, selected Blount Parrish to participate in $6.4 billion of Jefferson County bond offerings and swap agreement transactions from March 2003 to December 2004. Blount Parrish’s fees for these transactions comprised over 70% of the firm’s annual revenue during the relevant period, according to the SEC’s complaint.

The SEC alleges that of the five municipal bond offerings at issue, Blount Parrish participated as lead or co-underwriter on three municipal bond offerings, and as a remarketing agent on a fourth bond offering. In connection with all five bond offerings, Langford signed the official statements, which were intended to disclose material information to investors, on behalf of Jefferson County. In its role as underwriter or remarketing agent as to four of the bond offerings, Blount Parrish reviewed the official statements and distributed those materials to investors in connection with its sale of these securities. The official statements did not disclose Blount’s payments to Langford.

The SEC further alleges that Langford directed that Blount Parrish be included in four security-based swap transactions, including a $1.5 billion transaction which was the largest swap transaction in Jefferson County’s history. Langford signed letter agreements with the counterparties to the swap transactions representing that Jefferson County had requested and approved fee payments to Blount’s firm for services to Jefferson County in connection with the swap transactions. Other than the swap counterparties, the fees Blount Parrish received on these swap transactions were substantially larger than those received by other professionals on the deals. However, according to the SEC’s complaint, neither Langford nor Blount disclosed to Jefferson County Blount’s payments to Langford.

The complaint charges Langford, Blount and Blount Parrish with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; Blount and Blount Parrish for violations of Section 15B(c)(1) of the Exchange Act and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Rules G-17 and G-20; and LaPierre with aiding and abetting Blount and Blount Parrish’s violations. The complaint seeks judgments against each defendant providing for permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest and a civil money penalty.
The SEC previously prevailed in subpoena enforcement actions filed against Langford and Blount, both of whom had refused to either testify or assert a valid privilege when questioned about these payments during the SEC’s investigation. [Securities and Exchange Commission v. Larry P. Langford and William B. Blount, Case No. 07-23271-MC-Huck-Simonton (S.D. Fla., filed December 17, 2007)] [Litigation Release No. 20400/ December 17, 2007]

The SEC’s investigation is continuing.

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As revealed by Saint Larry the Divine

War on Dumb by Kyle Whitmire

Chapter 1

1 I looked and there in City Hall a door stood open. 2 And I heard a voice say, “It’s time to do something.” 3 At once I was in the chambers, and there stood a podium with the One strutting before it. 4 Behind the podium was a wide dais and on the dais sat nine councilors and in front of the dais sat department heads who had dominion over all the city works. 5 And behind the One stood 12 ministers from the churches of the city. 6 And I heard him say to them: “If we can have a National Day of Prayer and nobody gets upset, don’t get upset about this one here, and even if you get upset, get upset. We’re still going to have it.”

Read the full story

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Here are highlights from Mayor Larry Langford’s prayer rally. Click here for story and more videos.

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Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford loses the suit, keeps the Rolex. Find the story and more video here.

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