I had an engaging conversation recently with a classmate about the presidential race, specifically about Sen. Barack Obama.

In a speech a few weeks ago, Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, complained that Gov. Bob Riley had the audacity to lead a campaign to raise money for Republican candidates in 2010.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley doesn’t think Alabamians should be taxed on federal tax rebates. A number of state lawmakers don’t believe Alabamians should be taxed on federal tax rebates. And neither do we.

It was reported this week that a record 550 lobbyists have already registered in Montgomery in an attempt to wield their influences on our Legislature this year.

A body never knows. I now have proof that I am not the only person in the outside world with roots in Lamar County.

Frontrunner status is a funny thing in politics.

Auburn Public Library needs new furniture for its new digs, and at today’s meeting, it’s asking the city to help.

The library’s expansion, a building to house youth services, is scheduled to be finished in April. But they need new furniture - shelves, chairs and tables - to house patrons and books, Library Director Margie Huffman said.

Planning to title his talk, “The Loveliest Potemkin Village on the Plain,” led to some explanations for an AU historian.

The historian explained that a Potemkin village was derived from a period of history of Russian empress Catherine the Great. Legend has Prince Grigorij Aleksandrovic Potemkin setting up facades as the royal barge went down the river to prevent her from seeing poverty and misery of the regions he governed.

The pecan trees in the front yard may appear dead with no leaves or nuts, but in time their health and strength will be abundantly clear to all.

The Alpha Tau Omega chapter at Auburn University has been struggling since its charter was pulled and a chapter secretary and treasurer stole nearly $1 million, but it’s recovering. Current leadership reports ATO is actually stronger than ever, like the trees.

In the hours after a powerful line of storms ripped through the southern half of the state, help was already on the way.

The Salvation Army of Montgomery and Selma now have mobile feeding support units in place in some of the hardest hit areas of Prattville and Lowndes County, according to Mark Jones, public relations director for the Salvation Army’s ALM Divisional Headquarters.

Opelika Mayor promises to ‘give away every nickel’ if 38 percent salary approved.

The Opelika City Council could make a decision tonight whether the mayor and council members’ pay should increase by as much as 57 percent - marking their first salary increases since 1992.

A tornado struck Prattville on Sunday afternoon and caused significant damages to many homes and businesses as store employees and customers scrambled into makeshift shelters. Two people were critically injured, 27 had minor injuries and no deaths were reported, officials said.

Fans and athletes - even Aubie - attended the Auburn University women’s basketball game against South Carolina on Sunday wearing pink from head to toe.

Throughout Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, fans could be seen wearing pink shirts, shoes, caps, jackets and sweaters. Some fans were waving pink shakers and holding pink balloon dogs.

On the court, players on both teams wore pink T-shirts during their pregame warmups. During the game, Auburn players wore pink socks and headbands, and the AU coaches, including head coach Nell Fortner, sported pairs of pink high-top sneakers.

A tornado damaged or destroyed about 200 homes and businesses in Prattville, outside Montgomery, where Mayor Jim Byard said crews searched for people trapped in the wreckage. No fatalities were immediately reported, but two people were critically injured, said Fire Department official Dallis Johnson. Twenty-seven people had minor injuries, officials said

Some decisions are as natural as breathing.

In October 1960, not long after she turned 19, Marilyn Pryce Hoyt made the easiest and perhaps one of the most significant decisions of her young life. Atlanta college students were planning a sit-in demonstration, much like the ones staged in Greensboro, N.C., earlier that year. The night before, leaders asked the assembled group who among them was willing to get arrested. The idea of black students sitting down at a white lunch counter and demanding service was bound to have consequences.

Severe thunderstorms packing potential tornadoes and brief downpours swept across Alabama on Sunday afternoon, with no major damages reported.

The Auburn University Big Event was bigger than ever this year with a record number of volunteers and outreach projects in two counties.

Longtime local resident and attorney Ben Hand was recently appointed as one of two municipal judges for the City of Opelika.

In 366 days ... all ‘rabbit ears’ will need a little help. Analog over-the-air broadcasts will cease Feb. 17, 2009, when they will be replaced a digital signal. If you have an analog TV, you’ll need a digital-to-analog converter box to watch TV with a rooftop antennae or ‘rabbit ears.’

After a stellar performance at the recent 2008 Honda Battle of the Bands, the Tuskegee University’s Marching Crimson Piper Band was selected to appear on the Emmy Award-winning talk show.

Lee County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information leading to the identification of individuals who investigators believe may be involved in a check forging scam.

Local group offers extended family to parents with adopted children from Asian countries

The South College Street building that recently housed Hooters will soon be a new sports-themed restaurant.

The number of people signed up for Auburn University’s emergency notification is only going to increase in the wake of Thursday’s shooting at Northern Illinois University.

After waiting three years, a destroyed bridge will finally be rebuilt, connecting the two sides of a rural town.

Later this month when the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County holds its Inaugural Bowling Event, there will hopefully be a lot more strikes.

To make this team, there aren’t any tryouts held and every roster member gets inked to a long-term contract. The C.A.S.T. Ministries (Christian Amputee Support Group) is a non-profit support group for amputees and their families that officially incorporated in November 2006.

Their playlist reflects a belief in a higher power. And now they’re operating at full power.

With all the talk of economic woes, I wonder if the negative rhetoric is doing any good.

In the Feb. 8 edition of the Opelika-Auburn News, the paper’s newest columnist (Brittany Branyon) jumped into the controversy over our involvement in Iraq with a handful of red herrings.