Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford takes on the Galaga arcade game after his lunch.

Buzz Aldrin says…”I have only two passions…space exploration and hip-hop.”

It was after midnight when Ariel Wade rolled into the drive-through at the 24-hour White Castle, one block from the State Capitol. Wade rolled away “madder than fish grease” after the staff refused to hand over any burgers.

The reason: She was riding in an electric mobility scooter. The drive-throughs are for licensed motor vehicles only. White Castle says it’s a safety measure that’s standard in the industry, to keep pedestrians from getting creamed by cars.

But Wade, who uses the scooter because of degenerative arthritis in her back, says the policy discriminates against people who don’t or can’t drive. The White Castle dining room closed at 11 p.m., so she had no choice but to order her Slyders in the drive-through.

Complimentary burgers and consoling words from the district manager the next day haven’t stopped Wade from taking her gripe to a law firm that advocates for the disabled. Her drive-through dispute now could test a relatively uncharted area of disability law. “You can try to butter me up all you want to. Free meals ain’t going to work,” said Wade, 37.

The confrontation on Rice Street pits the venerable 418-restaurant straight-edged hamburger chain based in Columbus, Ohio, against a onetime exotic dancer from New Orleans who until recently worked selling bingo tickets at a St. Paul bar.

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A Valley Station Road church is sponsoring an “Open Carry Church Service” in late June, encouraging people to wear unloaded guns in their holsters, enter a raffle to win a free handgun, hear patriotic music and listen to talks by operators of gun stores and firing ranges.
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Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church said the first-time event is “basically trying to think a little bit outside the box” to promote “responsible gun ownership and 2nd Amendment rights.”

The event, slated for late Saturday afternoon, June 27, is being promoted with online posters, including one using a red font resembling splattered blood with the words: “Open Carry Church Service.”

Pagano said the poster wasn’t intended to glorify bloodshed and that the lettering was just “a font that somebody developed.” And he said he didn’t want the event to be confused with regular Sunday worship at the Assemblies of God congregation.

“It’s just a celebration we’re doing to coincide with Fourth of July,” he said. “There are people who own firearms and do so responsibly and enjoy them as a sport, maybe like golfing or bowling.”

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