I hope everyone had fun playing in the snow today. It looks like it missed us again as we start this new year. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable holidays, now we head into the 2010 with big plans. Here are our updates:

City Council At Large Open House: Ms. Devine and Mr. Rickenmann invite you to their first Open House of the year, to be held Wednesday, January 13, from 5:00 to 8:00pm. You are welcome to come and discuss ideas and questions you may have as this will be held at the new Parks and Recreation facility at the Edisto Court Center, 1914 Wiley Street, off Rosewood Drive. Call 5453061 to schedule a time to speak to the Council persons.

Martin Luther King Day Celebration: The City of Columbia will once again hold their annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration, Monday, January 18, at King Park, 2300 Greene Street, next to Five Points. This year's event will begin at 4:00pm, I recommend you arrive early as the seats do fill quickly.

Additionally, at 3:00pm, at the intersection of Greene and Harden, the city will hold a news conference to announce the honorary designation of a section of Harden Street from Blosson to Bull, as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. At that time a historical marker will also be unveiled.

State of the City Speech: Mayor Bob Coble will give his final State of the City Speech Thursday, January 28. The event will be at the Metropolitan Convention Center and the public is invited. The speech is at 6:00pm and there will be a reception afterwards.

Upcoming dates to remember: March 6 will be our department's next SuperSaturday, Columbia 101. City of Columbia departments will have displays and booths to answer your questions and provide information on their services as well as have several educational sessions. The event will begin at 10:00am and the location is TBA.

April 6 is City of Columbia elections, be sure your registration cards are up to date.

Candidate Forums: If your neighborhood is planning a meeting/forum/social with some of the political candidates for mayor or council, please let me know. Several groups of neighborhoods have plans to hold forums so you can see who you want to vote for; OR, not for.

Crime: I couldn't start the year off without an update on these issues. Several neighborhoods have been experiencing mail theft, so you need to keep your eyes open for folks in your neighborhood checking out mailboxes. Watch out for yours and your neighbors.

Some of you are getting updates from NIXLE, I hope these are beneficial. Let me know your thoughts.

Jeff Rainwater
545-3383