I think we’d all say that we’re appreciate Staples wanting to look out for those in California not aware of the state’s new law that prohibits the use of cell phones while driving unless you’re using a hands free device.

What they probably don’t want to do though is scare a bunch of folks that aren’t being affected by it, especially those of us here in Alabama and the other 45 states where there is no such law (yet), as pointed out in this piece on The Consumerist.

Thanks for the tip, David.

Folks here in Birmingham don’t necessarily have to feel alone anymore when it comes to sales taxes. Earlier this month the City of Chicago raised the sales tax to 10.25%, making it the highest sales tax in the United States. That hasn’t been the only thing that’s gone up for Windy City inhabitants as pointed out in this report published in The University of Illinois at Chicago’s paper, The Chicago Flame.

Not sure what would happen if I had to pay an extra 13.25% on top of the price of a Grapico…

It’s somewhat fitting that on Bastille Day, it looks like we’re about to see some fireworks coming from City Hall here in Birmingham, AL. That’s because late last night the Birmingham City Council announced that they would meet with representatives from Mayor Langford’s office to go over their latest budget proposal later today.

They also announced that they would be removing most of the mayor’s initiatives from the draft budget and  unanimously not accepting $1 million per councilor in discretionary funding promised to them by Langford during last year’s mayoral campaign. These moves could be because of reports that the tax increases enacted early during Langford’s term have not collected as much as first hoped.

1868:

Alabama was officially re-admitted into the United States of America. Robert M. Patton ceeded Governorship to William H. Smith.

2006:

Former Bishop of Alabama George M. Murray died.

Courtesy:

I’m heading to my Friday morning meeting with Whitney and I noticed an interesting site:

acnatta/Flickr.

After checking with the crew, they confirmed my worst fears. It seems that the New Vulcan Ale House won’t be opening after all. No official word on what actually happened though we’re sure that folks around town will be quite upset by this development. You may want to check out their MySpace profile for more information.

iPhone line at The Summit. acnatta/Flickr.

Do we really need to say any more? This is the line at The Summit at around 6:15 this morning.

By the time you see this, AL.com should have already hit the area and prepared some video for later on. Fox 6 was already there when I pulled up. And I have a feeling there will be a few folks that will blame Highway 280 traffic for being late to work today while secretly waiting for the new Apple iPhone 3G. Just saying…

1956:

Actress Sela Ward was born.

2005:

VJ’s on the Runway re-opened in its current location near the Birmingham International Airport.

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