Well, THAT was disappointing, wasn’t it?

I am talking, of course, about Jacksonville’s debut on “American Idol.” Not what I was hoping for. I have heard a few local singers and I know there are some out there who can do better than what we saw Tuesday night. 

The best part of the night was at the end with Ann Marie Boskovich’s amazing voice, and she isn’t even from Jacksonville. I didn’t catch where she is from but I think somewhere in Tennessee.

I didn’t hear anyone who said they were from Jacksonville who was any good. Several made it to the Hollywood round but I wouldn’t think they would have much of a chance of going very far. The best local talent I remember hearing was Sharon Wilbur but she seemed too stuck on herself to generate much audience appeal. Only one other singer from the area made it to Hollywood, Joshua Ulloa, but his gimmicky voice would appear to leave little room for growth. The American Idol does not appear in his future.

Simon Cowell summed it up best when he said “Jacksonville’s not very good” about halfway through the broadcast. He’s right. Nobody stood out.

One thing that wasn’t surprising, however, was the snapshot of some snapping alligators that appeared in one of the pictorials that Idol is fond of doing. I would have bet good money that “Idol’s” producers would throw in gratuitous stock footage of a mess of gators. I mean, don’t we all have alligators swimming around in our back yards?

All in all, Jacksonville bombed on its first audition. Think we will ever get a second chance at stardom?

*************************************

Speaking of bombing, why did a Northeast Florida county commission authorize a non-binding straw vote on early alcohol sales in the last election, if they were not even going to discuss the issue? The Clay County, Fla., Commission put forth an effort to get the electorate’s feelings on early Sunday alcohol sales only to completely dismiss a 60 percent positive vote on such a move. And the measure didn’t even get a second. The commissioners must not have wanted to have a vote for early alcohol sales on their records. Another example of government not listening to the public. But that is nothing new, is it? I wonder if commissioners know there are restaurants that will serve their customers alcohol before 2 p.m. on Sundays and just not charge them for it? I know this to be the case in at least one popular area eatery and I am sure others do it, too.

**************************************

The proposal to discontinue paying supplements in one school district has the potential to disrupt athletic programs. Eliminating supplements would save the Clay County, Fla., school district $3 million and would, in effect, curtail most, if not all, the county’s sports teams.

The final decision on such a move lies with the district’s school board members, one of whom also wants to consider going to a 4-day work week. 

It is unlikely that the board members will go that far in either case. I don’t think they would ever hear the end of it from parents if either, or both, of those things happened.