Episode #83
Ambushes and Drug Dealers
Got a question or a tip? Send us a text We break down the latest domino chain in Columbus and Lowndes County politics, starting with shifting ambitions up the ballot and landing on a big local question: What does a city council member owe the voters before running for a different office? Jason Spears’ interest in the District 2 county supervisor race sparks a candid debate about timing, constituent trust, and whether moving from city council to the board of supervisors really increases impact or just spreads it thinner. From there, we wade back into the ongoing Trotter and Regal Hall fight, because it keeps revealing the same problem: unclear rules and too many “exceptions.” If public facilities are meant to generate revenue, what should complimentary use look like, how do you define a real “city event,” and how do you stop governance from turning into case-by-case bargaining? Then we’re joined by retired Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics captain and author Merle Temple, whose book A Ghostly Shade of Pale draws on real undercover experience. Merle shares how he learned to write scenes that feel lived-in, why music matters in storytelling, and what it’s like to revisit Columbus with decades of memories. His account of a 1976 drug deal ambush is as intense as anything in true crime, right down to the bulletproof vest that may have saved a life, plus a surprising connection to Criminal Minds and Hollywood.
