Little bit about a lot of nothing and some things worth noting agian

A new Barberitos restaurant will be opening in the old Shishkabobby's/Gautreau's location in Town Center this weekend. Board of Education chair David Weeks and company have apparently completed the transformation and we will see beans and guacamole coming out of that restaurant soon. Not so sure about getting lots of traffic in and out of there, but good luck in this tight economy opening anything and making it stick. All businesses are going the extra mile with promotions or sometimes giving up the ghost after losing or at least not making money recently. I know of one longtime Watkinsville business that is probably going to stop being open in October, and they are not selling the old Allen's sign.

Just wanted to let you know that two times in a row, going to the Publix in Watkinsville, I saw former Board of Education candidate Ashley Hood shopping for her family, and this time the entire Hood entourage was sighted piling into their SUV and teenage cheerleading champion daughter Madison was smiling this time, asking where my Obama shirt was (in the wash). I do not think I had ever seen her other (older) kids in person. I admire and respect anyone with that many kids who can keep it together and still have time to chat in the grocery store.

I still think Ashley would have been a better Board of Education member rather than Kim Argo, but the voters of Oconee County did not agree with me, which is nothing new. I also hope Ashely gets on the Planning Commission some day, but I think her lone foray into attempted public service left her ego crushed.

Saw Ray Goff going into Publix as well. No news to mention from the owner of Cracker Barrel and other business concerns in Oconee from this former UGA football coach. Hope new UGA basketball coach Mark Fox will follow suit of his predecessor Dennis Felton and move to Oconee County much like football coach Mark Richt.

Great job by all with the successful fourth Athens Regional Classic golf tournament at Jennings Mill. Hope Nationwide will return to the insurance industry and stop sponsoring golf and stock car racing tours to perhaps bring a degree of dignity back to the beleaguered insurance industry besmirched by the likes of AIG. Maybe some wealthy IT interest like IBM or Microsoft will take over the sponsorship of the AAA of golf tournaments and they will resign to come back here for another four years. I know there was a lot of grumbling amongst merchants in Oconee and especially Watkinsville that the much anticipated crowds never came to local restaurants and businesses from the golf tournament, but generally speaking you cannot bank on crowds from sporting events to help pay for your lease or other expenses.

The Watkinsville City Council is having a special called meeting tonight to listen to concerns about beer and wine sales in convenience or grocery stores inside the city limits. It starts at 5:00 pm at the Community Center and I cannot make it there until 5:45 at the earliest. I believe that even though Mike Link and Brian Brodrick will probably vote against it, I salute them both for sticking to their guns and especially in Brian's case, working with Mayor Jim Luken and Council member Samantha Purcell to craft as tight an ordinance as possible to prevent the convenience stores from turning into alcohol hangouts, even with just beer and wine. I think it is just Sam and Joe Walter who will be at his meeting, but I could be wrong about this. Please attend and politely address the council members with your concerns or support.