Amphitheater is history

Amphitheater is history
COLUMBUS -- After a dozen years as a concert venue, an amphitheater is for sale with the owner saying the property may have more value as real estate than as a place to watch a show. Los Angeles-based Live Nation said on Wednesday that it has hired the CB Richard Ellis real estate firm to find a buyer for Germain Amphitheater near burgeoning Polaris Mall after the 2007 season. Chief Executive Michael Rapino foreshadowed the sale in November when he told investors that amphitheaters in smaller markets may be sold. Local real estate brokers say the land could be sold for retail development at more than 500,000 an acre. It was bought in 1993 for 50,000 an acre. As the number of concert venues in Columbus has grown, the number of events at Germain has declined. The amphitheater hosted 22 concerts in 2006 and 18 in 2005, compared with 38 to 40 a year during its first four years of operation.
Jessica pulls out
NEW YORK -- Unhappy with her second try at paying tribute to Dolly Parton for the "Kennedy Center Honors," Jessica Simpson has pulled out of the show. Simpson drew unwanted attention earlier this month when she flubbed the words to Parton's "9 to 5" during a taping of the annual show, grew flustered and fled the stage. Producers gave her a second chance at the song. But after Simpson saw a tape, she requested the second attempt be pulled from the show, which airs Tuesday on CBS. "She really wasn't happy with her performance and she did want it to be perfect for Dolly, who she idolizes," said Cindi Berger, a spokeswoman for Simpson.
Diddy's a daddy
NEW YORK -- Sean "Diddy" Combs and girlfriend Kim Porter became the parents of twin girls Thursday morning, with the hip-hop impresario flying in from a movie set in Canada for the birth at a Manhattan hospital, said Combs spokesman Robert Zimmerman. The first arrived at 7:56 a.m., weighing in at 5 pounds, while the second girl was delivered two minutes later and weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces. Combs, 37, already has a son, Christian, with Porter. He's also the father of a son, Justin, with ex-girlfriend Misa Hylton-Brim.
The Donald, Rosie spar
NEW YORK -- The Miss USA partying episode has led to a war of words between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. O'Donnell, co-host of the ABC television morning talk show "The View," said on Wednesday's show that Trump's news conference with Tara Conner had annoyed her "on a multitude of levels." "Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America," O'Donnell said to roars of audience laughter. "Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting, I mean both inside and out," Trump shot back on the syndicated entertainment show "The Insider." "Take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver." Trump, owner of the Miss Universe Organization, which includes Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, said Tuesday at a news conference that he would allow Conner to keep her title if she settled down and entered alcohol rehab.
Today's birthdays
Lady Bird Johnson is 94. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton is 62. ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer is 61. Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) is 60. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey is 58. Singer Robin Gibb is 57. Rapper Luther Campbell is 46. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 44.
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