Zack Plair

Anyone who arrived in the Golden Triangle during the past decade might be forgiven if they assumed the name of the high school football power in Clay County was “West Pointwon.”

A locator map shows where AT&T wants to build a 5G cell tower. Lowndes County owns the property north of the Roger Short Soccer Complex, but the city must approve a permit for the project to move forward. The city’s planning commission will meet at 5 p.m. Monday in the upstairs courtroom at City Hall to discuss the permit. Peter Imes/Dispatch Staff

Dorothy McClung Lewis stands Monday outside First Methodist Church in downtown Columbus. The longtime singer, who goes by the moniker, “The Mississippi Songbird,” has written songs and recorded more than 10 gospel albums. Deanna Robinson/Dispatch Staff

If it were up to the city planning commission, AT&T wouldn’t build a 5G cellular tower on Lowndes County property north of the Roger Short Soccer Complex.

Darren Leach, right, embraces Mayor Keith Gaskin on Monday after Gaskin introduced him to a crowd of about 25 in the Genesis Dream Center. Leach formally announced his intent to run for mayor in 2025. Gaskin endorsed Leach in September after announcing he would not seek a second term. Zack Plair/Dispatch Staff

The city council on Tuesday cleared the way for a event venue to open on Northside. But the approval came over a neighbor’s objection and with some advice for the business owner from a council member.

Mayor Keith Gaskin on Wednesday called out Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston for supposedly engaging in the type of city-county bickering that “hurts citizens” and “holds the community back.”

Despite new ownership, a new name and an updated facade, the former Leigh Mall hasn’t yet shaken its old problem of losing tenants.

As work to reorient Columbus Place storefronts facing Highway 45 “inside-out” nears an end, Hull Group vice president John Mulherin said the company has adopted a new strategy for the redevelopment of the 123,000 square foot part of the property that faces Highway 82, commonly known as the back of the mall.

Mayor Keith Gaskin on Friday vetoed a city council decision to assign two police officers to community service for getting into an altercation in front of the Municipal Complex.