INVITE: The Riot Society

Commencement: 10:00

Venue: Sugar Bar (525 Park Street)

VIP Access: Text (406-3072)

Mezzanine Drinks (Available 10:30 – 11:30 p.m.)
$1 Top Shelf Drinks

Performances
Ductape
Kid Chaos
Matt Majik
Mark Mayhem

INVITE: Third Friday Dance Party

Commencement: 9:00

Venue: Skullys (1151 North High Street)

Age Range: 18 and over

Drinks (Available All Night)
$2 Vodka Shots

Performances
Braindouble
Dave Espionage
DJ Inform
Dre Fire
Sketchy Pete

Quick Read

Mike Pramik and Jack Torry commence this edition with an excellent article on President Obama’s housing plan… And Dan Gearino perfectly compliments their work, with his feature on the auto industry’s bleak prospects…

Sports leads with great coverage of the Buckeyes loss (yes, I said loss) to Northwestern… But, Rob Oller misses an opportunity…. He should have written about the loss and how it should never (ever) happen… You don’t lose to Northwestern in basketball… That’s like losing to Duke in football… Instead, Oller spends a dozen pedestrian paragraphs supposedly discussing Rick Nash’s leadership, despite his lack of playoff experience (In reality, the column read like a pep talk for Nash)…

Unfortunate Announcement

The Gossip CBUS and McFadden’s “Wear & Win Party” has been postponed… We hope to announce a rescheduled date in the future.

Finally! Coleman Campaigns For Cops

NBC 4: A $787 billion injection into the American economy has supporters hoping for new jobs, a way to keep old ones and help erase a long and deep recession. As President Barack Obama was signing the bill into law, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman was making plans to visit the President this week, saying he’s going to fight for every dollar…

President Obama mentioned Central Ohio directly in his speech about the stimulus package Tuesday. “Recruits like the ones in Columbus, Ohio, who were told that instead of being sworn in as officer, they were about to be let go,“ he said.

“I think the President recognizes that Columbus is a very important part of this country or he wouldn’t have mentioned it in the signing of this stimulus bill,“ Coleman said.

Coleman is going to Washington on Thursday to meet with the President and ask for stimulus money to bring those Columbus police recruits back. Twenty-seven Columbus recruits were cut in January following months of training and just days before they were scheduled to join the force. Safety was on the minds of Columbus residents Tuesday night.

More than 400 positions have been eliminated in the last year, but it’s the police positions that are most alarming. But if the money will come, when that would be and the amount Columbus will see isn’t certain yet. The funds cannot be used to fill in the budget gap, officials said. The money would have to be used to create jobs.

INVITE: OSU Greek Guest Bartending Competition Semi-Finals

Commencement: 10:00

Venue: Lodge Bar (Arena District)

Cover: $2

Thursday’s Paring: Tau Kappa Epsilon vs. Phi Kappa Psi

Drinks (Available All Night)
$2 Budweiser (16 ounces)
$2 Bud Light (16 ounces)
$2 Three Olive Bombs
$1 Washington Apple Shots

Synopsis
The Lodge Bar Guest Bartender Competition pairs 4 sororities and 4 fraternities involved in a single elimination tournament. 2 houses will face off each week in an attendance-based competition to see who can bring the largest crowd. Invite everyone you know to support you! There will be a sheet at the door where guests will sign in, marking who they came to see. Whoever brings the most people will advance to the next round until we have a winner.

INVITE: VIP Thursday

Commencement: 10:00

Venue: Sugar Bar (525 Park Street)

VIP Access: Text (406-3072)

Drinks (Available All Night)
$3 martinis
$2 Bombs
$1 Wells

Where the Money At?

NBC 4: A major law enforcement organization is asking for your help for donations so they can continue programs that keep Central Ohioans safe. OSU’s Archie Griffin, along with law enforcement officials from around Central Ohio came together Wednesday for a common cause to kick off an annual fundraiser aimed to raise much-needed money for the Law Enforcement Foundation of Ohio… Eileen Songer with the foundation said that by appealing to businesses and individuals, they hope to raise at least $175,000. That’s money that Songer said is essential to keep local communities safe. For more information, visit http://www.lef-oh.org/.

Obviously, this is a difficult economy… However, with Mayor Coleman cutting cops by the day… This is an important cause…

NBC 4: Speaking at the Community Roundtable Wednesday morning, Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy spelled out some of the direct effects the stimulus plan could have on your life. Kilroy said residents can expect to see 15,000 jobs added to the local economy, thanks to the stimulus package, as well as funding for worker training in growing fields such as health care. Other benefits that may touch your life include a 2009 payroll tax credit of $800 for couples and $400 for individuals. By the time the tax credit takes effect in June, Kilroy said the savings will average $52 a month.

$52 a month? That will almost, not pay, any bill anyone has…

Help Combat Cancer

The Colleges Against Cancer Committee, part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, has announced a $20,000 goal. Economic circumstances are difficult… However, this is noblest of noble causes… Gossip CBUS will be donating… You should donate also… Below is the personal request I received from one of the CACC’s members…

As most of you know, I have been involved with Relay for Life for the past 3 years, helping to raise money for the American Cancer Society for cancer research and awareness. This year I have pledged to raise 1,000 dollars and I have a long way to go to reach my goal!

This year, hundreds of thousands of people will hear the words "You have cancer", and there's a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love. We have all been touched by cancer in some way ... and we all have the power to make a difference. That's why I have chosen to fight back right here in my own community by participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

I want to invite you to join me in the fight against cancer by making a donation in support of my efforts. Further down in this message is a link to my personal Relay For Life® web page where you can make an online contribution. Every amount, no matter how small, makes a difference and provides hope. You can also sign up to join my team and learn more about Relay and how it's changing lives.

Relay For Life brings more than 3.5 million people from across the country together each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much. This fun-filled, overnight event empowers everyone to help fight cancer by raising money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society's lifesaving mission. Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we will celebrate, remember, and fight back.

Who Needs Motive?

NBC 4: Columbus Police responded to a shooting about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday on the city’s north side and the motive may be a fight about keys. According to police, Jerry Chandler and Christopher Ford were involved in a physical altercation with one another. Those involved told detectives the fight was over a set of keys to a vehicle. After the fight had ended, Ford pulled a gun from his vehicle and headed towards Chandler’s apartment in the Nantucket apartment complex on Belcher Drive. Three shots were fired and hit Chandler. Ford fled the scene and returned to his residence. Chandler was transported by CFD Medic to Riverside Hospital in critical condition.

Seriously? The reason one person shot another person was keys?

10 TV: Police said a woman was attacked with a box cutter late Tuesday on the city's east side. Investigators said someone approached the woman in the 1000 block of East Main Street at about 11 p.m... The person had a box cutter and cut the woman in her head, police said.

Numbers forty-three and forty-four illustrate that in this city, no reason at all is a reason…

Quick Read

Aaron Portzline's feature (sports) on Blue Jackets Coach Ken Hitchcock is rivoting... The piece is especially brilliant when compared with Ken Gordon's bland column on NFL Draft picks... "The Need For Speed" (yes, was actually his headline) is a piece reporters type ever year...

Correctly, Metro leads with the Jennifer Brunner and Lee Fisher announcements... Unfortunately, the story covers nothing beyond the fact that they announced...

Joe Blundo's (Life and Arts) suggestions for the city budget are also amusing...

Brunner, Fisher Commence Campaigns

As Gossip CBUS first reported, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher have announced their 2010 Senate campaigns. Brunner entered via a video message. Fisher entered via a press conference, with the endorsement of Governor Ted Strickland.

Both of these announcements were anticipated. On January 23, Gossip CBUS reported that Brunner had already chosen staff. On February 5, Gossip CBUS reported that Fisher and Strickland had discussed Fisher’s potential exit from the 2010 gubernatorial re-election campaign.

After commencing his career as a State Representative, Fisher served as a State Senator from 1982-1990. From 1991-1995, he served as Ohio’s 44th Attorney General. Since 2007, he has served as Ohio’s 65th Lieutenant Governor.

From 1983 to 1987, Brunner served as Secretary of State Deputy Director and Legislative Council. From 2000-2006, she served as a Franklin County Common Pleas Judge. On November 7, 2006, she was elected Ohio’s 49th Secretary of State.

Residents Repel Armed Assailants

NBC 4: CPD received calls about shots fired in the area of Waylan Drive and Villa Drive close to 10:30 a.m. Apparently, a homeowner was standing in his front yard in the 1400 block of Waylan Drive when two men came up and allegedly put a gun to the homeowner’s head. The two suspects and the homeowner went inside the home. Apparently, other people in the residence fought off the reportedly armed suspect. The suspect took off and dropped his firearm, according to police. CPD officers found the firearm and said the incident was an attempted armed robbery. All of the victims in the Waylan Drive home were fine.

Quick Read

Robert Vitale leads off with an outstanding story on the potential collapse of the city’s building permits department…

Bob Baptist (sports) types an interesting story on the Buckeyes potential for an NCAA Tournament slot (Apparently, it’s a lock)… And Metro features a pair of intriguing stories… Encarnacion Pyle’s excellent read on the Ohio State-Columbus State medical school pipeline and James Nash’s feature on the state house mock safety drill, which would have made an excellent sidebar…