In Columbus, Gaymon and others explained, CAVEs dominated for years. They say the no-growthers opposed and prevented Interstate 85 from passing near the city. They were content to keep the city dependent on textiles and the military. They fought bond packages and sales tax boosts for improvements. That led to trouble in River City, as Columbus calls itself. The resulting period of economic stagnation and blight along the river front and in neighborhoods finally awoke the city. The CAVEs lost clout. Community go-getters now tend to ignore them.

County Council Chairwoman Alice Cycler handed me a copy of an editorial from a North Florida newspaper last week. It talked about CAVE dwellers, CAVE meaning Citizens Against Virtually Everything.