IT’S GREAT TO SEE Greg Edwards stand up and lead the charge for the investigation into the shady ADICA dealings. Keep up the great work, Greg.

THE GBI SHOULD BE able to investigate free from political pressure to make the bad things just disappear.

ON THE TOPIC OF eyesores, anybody been downtown lately? Way to go, Mayor Willie Adams … you and your good buddy Don Buie are two of a kind.

I THINK THERE SHOULD be a new Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority board. How was this man able to swindle so much of this money, give it away, keep some give to a wife and girlfriend, and whatever else and the board not know? If that were the case, then why did we need an ADICA board? What makes it so bad there was an attorney on the board and there were still no bylaws. True enough, he brought an issue to light, but there are ways that the issue of how the funds were being spent could have been brought up before the board. Just like they discussed other issues and voted, they could have voted to see the books.

MANY OF THESE ‘BOARDS’ – including ADICA – are comprised of social and very local gadflies who don’t bear the scars and don’t have the experience of creating startups and managing them successfully through difficult times. Phil Cannon may practice law and is probably a very nice, honest fellow, but he is hardly any more qualified to sit on any “advisory board” than Buie was to be a “CEO.” The fault of missing by-laws isn’t Cannon’s just by virtue of his law degree — bylaws are the responsibility of a board chairman and to a lesser extent the treasurer.

OF COURSE, ADICA NEEDS new board members. How on earth can anyone think differently? The failure to fulfill the fiduciary duty is OBVIOUS.

DOES MAYOR ADAMS THINK the people of Albany are really that STUPID?! Focus on the “good things” happening, and the city is finally secure! Hah! He’s already caught; just doesn’t know it yet!

I DON’T THINK BUIE was all of the cancer that the mayor is speaking of. We’ll see when the GBI report comes in and I bet they will find others that were involved.

JUST BECAUSE OUR MAYOR, city manager, ADICA board and most the commission are bad, you can’t write all black people off as unfit for public office. However, I would like to beg the black community to look harder for more creditable candidates to replace this miserable lot. Do not be intimidated by these people; they work for you. Hold their feet to the fire and let them know they are responsible for their actions.

I STILL WANT TO know why Buie hasn’t been charged with anything. This was embezzlement, plain and simple; so, now he’s let off the leash to run off with his tail between his legs just to make a third repeat offense!?! Well, what goes around, comes around, he’s going to get his sooner or later.

THE CITY OF ALBANY will move on, but again instead of taking back our neighborhoods, we should take back our government from stupid press releases like the mayor’s.

MR. BUIE WAS ALSO involved in the Wildcats contract. Wonder what took place in that one? Time for an audit. Its time for Albany citizens to be put in leadership positions as the nationwide search provided by the headhunter consultant has been a failure and cost thousands. How many have come and gone?

WAIT ONE MINUTE, MR. Mayor. You don’t speak on topics such as gang activity, robberies and all the other bull-junk crimes that these thugs do to this city, but yet you are gonna say “enough is enough, let’s move on from Buie”? I don’t think so. We as citizens of the city deserve to know you elected figures do. We PAY you. You answer to us. WALB, you guys are doing your job and what a job you all are doing. Keep up the good work and dig. Maybe what we need to do is dig up what Mr. Mayor is pushing you all to leave alone. What’s the connection? There is Buie, City Manager Alfred Lott and the mayor all in on this. You guys need to find that out. We need to get them out of office before they hurt this city anymore.

IT SOUNDS LIKE ADAMS is trying to protect his cronies. Fire all of the crooks. Stay tuned; more will be uncovered after the GBI and FBI are finished. If the problems at ADICA were truly solved, we would have moved on already, but sadly they are not. The board must go to ensure no more theft occurs. What an example to set for the community, asking citizens to turn a blind eye while we are being fleeced blind! If denying the truth is acceptable to you, Mr. Adams, realize it is not to the rest of us. We expect more. Some of us want honest government.

ADAMS THINKS WE ARE stupid. What is he hiding? No sir, we are not satisfied with the cover-up Adams and Lott are doing.

YOU’RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT? After weeks of a very loud silence coming out of the mayor’s office regarding this lurid affair, this is the best he can do? The problem with the news reports we get is that it’s not ENOUGH! If the truth be known, probably 75 percent of the story has yet to be told! Keep digging, though! A $50,000 grant — to a board member, nonetheless, instead of the $5,000 that it should be. Prior federal convictions for Mr. Buie. Remind me of how much the Carver swimming pool cost per kid this summer? I only hope that the DA office under Mr. Edwards will be much tougher than his predecessor.

ONE GLARING FACT ABSENT from the sales pitch of downtowners is: How realistic is downtown development in the midst of the current local and national economic environment? Albany and Dougherty County taxpayers are strained and drained. Unemployment is traditionally higher here than the rest of Georgia. Businesses city-wide are starving. Cooper is leaving. The county raped property owners with a ridiculous property value reassessment (don’t forget these folks at election time). Tax rates are very high here. People are leaving. All of this results in a steadily shrinking taxpayer base. Will downtown continue to drain money unabated? At a time like this? Step 1 to picking up the pieces: Have the city and county post monthly spending data online.

SANFORD BISHOP, WHAT IS a Totally Teen Zone? How much did it cost us? Why did you vote for Cap-n-Trade? How much will Cap-n-Trade cost poor citizens of Southwest Georgia? Man up. Answer for how you vote.

ALICE HAWTHORNE WAS A wonderful lady and a good friend to all.

I AM A SMALL BUSINESS owner in Albany who was promptly advised to take down a small banner on my building. Ten nights ago I was robbed of a large amount of merchandise and have yet to be visited by the detective who was supposed to visit the crime scene in 24 to 48 hours. What’s wrong with this picture?

I AM A FORMER victim of domestic violence. I was a real victim, but I have also witnessed over and over again that a lot of men get arrested just because their girlfriend or wife is mad at them for cheating or something and when the police are called out, they are so angry at their companion that they will tell the police that the husband or boyfriend hit them. I have seen it done over and over again. I have even heard women talking about it. They lie on their mate just because they are mad about the infidelity. I don’t know Albany police officer Jason Weaver that Well, but I hope that this is one of those cases where his wife can eventually tell the truth and free this black man. But if he did it, then he deserves what he gets.

WHAT BLACK MAN?

WhatCha-Say, Albany? Is an anonymous forum about local issues compiled from edited comments made on TheAlbanyJournal.com , WALB.com , SWGApolitics.com , Topix.com , other websites, and reader emails.  Personal attacks and known inaccuracies are not published.  To participate, email ajournal@thealbanyjournal.com.  The Albany Journal is not responsible for views published in WhatCha-Say, Albany?

To launch our new Hope for the Hungry and Homeless mission, mission:change is pleased to host a Sleep Out in Albany, GA on January 30, 2009.

So what exactly is a Sleep Out? We don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of it before. After all, this is the first Sleep Out event meant to raise money and awareness for the homeless by inviting all participants to spend the night outside, in the elements, in a self-provided cardboard box.

Outside? Cardboard box? In January? Yup. The goal of the event is to recreate (to a degree) the plight of the homeless so that those of us who have a roof over our heads and central heating can experience, even if for a night, what it’s like to go without. Just remember, you’ll be sleeping outside in whatever box and blankets you bring to raise money for people who currently know no other kind of life.

Surely there’ll be more than just sleeping outside in boxes? Absolutely. Along with providing a few creature comforts like barrel fires and pots of soup (along with whatever other food local businesses decide to donate), the Sleep Out also seeks to entertain (with live music from local bands) as well as educate (through guest speakers from area food banks and homeless shelters as well as the homeless themselves). It’s our goal to not only raise as much money as we can, but to teach people all the ways they can continue making a difference in their community.

So where’s all this money going to? All funds raised during the Sleep Out will be divided between the Albany Rescue Mission (who provide transitional shelter for the homeless), the FoodBank of Southwest Georgia (who provide food and grocery items to more than 300 partner agencies comprised of soup kitchens, rescue missions, abuse shelters, and other charitable non-profit organizations) and the Flint River Habitat For Humanity (who aim to eliminate substandard housing amongst extremely impoverished people).