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WEEKLY
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LAGNIAPPE
MARCH 23, 2017 - MARCH 29, 2017 | www.lagniappemobile.com ASHLEY TRICE Co-publisher/Editor atrice@lagniappemobile.com
ROB HOLBERT Co-publisher/Managing Editor rholbert@lagniappemobile.com STEVE HALL Marketing/Sales Director shall@lagniappemobile.com GABRIEL TYNES Assistant Managing Editor gabe@lagniappemobile.com DALE LIESCH Reporter dale@lagniappemobile.com JASON JOHNSON Reporter jason@lagniappemobile.com JANE NICHOLES Reporter jane@lagniappemobile.com
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BAY BRIEFS
Mayor accepts public safety director’s resignation, promotes police chief and deputy.
COMMENTARY
Sidewalks are for walking — and cooking and drinking.
BUSINESS
Shoe Station announced a goal of ensuring about 20 percent of its workforce will comprise veterans by 2020.
CUISINE
Executive Chef Bryan Cates is putting a new spin on Kitchen on George.
KEVIN LEE Associate Editor/Arts Editor klee@lagniappemobile.com ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net
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STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com J. MARK BRYANT Sports Writer sports@lagniappemobile.com STEPHANIE POE Copy Editor copy@lagniappemobile.com DANIEL ANDERSON Chief Photographer dan@danandersonphoto.com LAURA RASMUSSEN Art Director www.laurarasmussen.com
COVER
While some sectors may benefit from President Trump’s proposed budget, other local agencies are preparing for cutbacks.
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BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com BETH WILLIAMS Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com ASHLEY KILLIAN Advertising Sales Executive akillian@lagniappemobile.com ALEEN MOMBERGER Advertising Sales Executive aleen@lagniappemobile.com MELISSA EDGE Editorial Assistant events@lagniappemobile.com
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ARTS
Revisiting the possibility of a larger con for Mobile.
MUSIC
London-based indie folk band Skinny Lister will be opening for Flogging Molly at O’Daly’s March 25.
ROSS PRITCHARD Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager jackie@lagniappemobile.com CONTRIBUTORS: Lee Hedgepeth, Jeff Poor, Asia Frey, Brian Holbert, Ken Robinson ON THE COVER: ALABAMA BUDGET BY LAURA RASMUSSEN LAGNIAPPE HD Periodicals Permit #17660 (Volume 2, Issue 26) Copyright 2015 is published weekly, 52 issues a year, by Something Extra Publishing, Inc., 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604 (P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652). Business and Editorial Offices: 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604 Accounting and Circulation Offices: 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. Call 251-450-4466 to subscribe. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652 Editorial, advertising and production offices are located at 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. Mailing address is P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652. Phone: 251-450-4466 Fax: 251-450-4498 Email: atrice@lagniappemobile.com LAGNIAPPE HD is printed at Walton Press. All rights reserved. Something Extra Publishing, Inc. Nothing may be reprinted. photocopied or in any way reproduced without the expressed permission of the publishers.
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26 32 34 38 42 FILM
Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” is an affecting and emotionally meaningful perspective.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Featuring the Azalea Trail Run, Festival of Flowers, Junior League of Mobile rummage sale and more!
SPORTS
The Crepe Myrtle Trail Ride offers the cycling community a unique adventure.
STYLE
Boozie found the Chrichton Leprechaun’s gold on St. Paddy’s Day.
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GOING POSTAL
WITHOUT MALICE Editor: I am appalled at Cynthia Tucker’s column in Lagniappe this past week. You have no idea about the Comic Cowboys and who they are. You have no right to slander them in this manner. I know this group well. They are composed of people from all different backgrounds and beliefs. Some are conservative and some are liberal. But they have always learned to laugh at everyone and everything — including themselves. It is a shame that people like you are calling them racist. They are not racist. They will criticize anyone and everyone equally. If there were more signs mocking “black Americans” this year, then perhaps there was more to mock this year. Face the facts of our country today. What about Black Lives Matter and the chants of “Pigs in a blanket, fry like bacon”? How sick is that? Where is your outrage? Why aren’t you worried about your 8-year-old seeing and hearing that? Oh yes, some of Mobile’s most “distinguished civic and business leaders” are members of this group. So are many of your everyday blue-collar workers. It is a vast group of different individuals and I am personally so sorry that Mayor Stimpson and Councilman Joel Daves dropped out of the organization, but then I understand their reasoning, they were so afraid that Fred Richardson would get back on his racist bandwagon and try to continuously throw this in their face. As for their secret organization, it has
nothing to do with being proud of their satire or being afraid to show their names. Maskers in Mardi Gras organizations wear masks as all members are supposed to be secret. Why don’t you learn your history about Mardi Gras before you get on your bandwagon? Racism in Mobile? Yes, it’s alive and well — because of you, Fred Richardson, and many others who choose to use the race card when it suits them. I, for one, am sick and tired of putting up with having to change things because of people like you calling everything racist when the real racists are people like you. I’m a conservative and obviously you are a liberal. That doesn’t make me racist. I’m tired of being part of the silent majority because of liberals and black Americans calling out just about everything I believe in. We disagree — so be it — but that is not being racist and I hope other people like me will start standing up for their beliefs instead of backing down because of the “racist” tactic. This is 2017 and we are all Americans. Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight — and I owe you nothing. We are all equal so how about laying off the racist comments? When I was younger, liberals were open minded. Where has that gone? Ann Davis Mobile
DON’T FORSAKE THE HELPLESS Editor: I am both pleased and quite concerned about the present legislation that is proposed to replace the Affordable Care Act. I am
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happy the present legislation under consideration maintains health care access for people with pre-existing conditions. However, I am very concerned that this proposed legislation will discontinue the added funding that allowed 31 states to expand Medicaid under ACA. What will these states do in 2020 if this legislation passes? I seriously doubt that a per capita cap will adequately fund health care for the poor, disabled and vulnerable. Quite honestly, I am concerned with the present “worldview” that addresses diminished physical, emotional and spiritual vitality by merely prescribing pills, rather than addressing the underlying causative factors many complementary healing modalities attempt to address. Quite frankly, I do agree with many people who feel increased funding cannot adequately address our societal challenges with health and vitality. Quite simply, our culture must learn our life choices affect our vitality and clarity. However, we must as a society enact a two-step process in tackling our spiraling health care financing challenges. We must educate young minds on the responsibilities inherent in well-being. And until we can redirect the choices of our “children” to greater compassion, we must treat the bodies of those who need physical restoration. We must continue to fund health care for the most vulnerable in society. Certain segments of our society feel justified in ignoring the drain of physical vitality and emotional well-being from those who they perceive are weak, loving and forgiving. Quite simply, “sick” people cannot learn self-mastery if they do not also express well-being. If we reduce health care benefits from Medicaid for
those who are “healing,” we will only create greater societal challenges in the future. Those who are finding restoration will begin to backslide if they are denied health care. But as a society, we must teach our “children” personal responsibility rather than selfish attainment. Spending more money on health care will not solve this societal problem of disregard for the well-being of the more sensitive and creative members of our society. However, removing access to health care for the poor, vulnerable and disabled will widen the gap between those attaining and those suffering. Quite honestly, I address health and wholeness issues like most Christian Scientists and New Thought Metaphysicians. I believe that prayer heals through the application of Divine Mercy. However, part of Divine Mercy is compassion for those not-yet-awakened souls who are unaware of the game of life. Do we disregard their right to “be?” As a society, we must uphold the physical and economic well-being of everyone. Removing access to health care for those seeking restoration is cruel and mean spirited, and will not solve the health care financing crisis our society now faces. However, more funding won’t solve the underlying causative factors creating more expensive health care diagnostic means of correction. Quite honestly, the health care financing challenge of our nations is not economic; instead, it is a moral issue. We must educate our citizens to take responsibility for their daily lives and their perceptions of fairness for themselves and everyone. Ronald Francis David Hunt Mobile
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
Change at the top PUBLIC SAFETY HEAD LANDOLT RESIGNS AMID MFRD CONCERNS BY DALE LIESCH
Photo | Lagniappe
Police Chief Lawrence Battiste, Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Public Safety Director James Barber announce Richard Landolt’s resignation Monday.
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eeks after Mobile City Council members began to question staffing levels at the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department, retired Adm. Richard Landolt has resigned from his post as public safety director; former Police Chief James Barber has been nominated to replace him. Mayor Sandy Stimpson announced the change Friday, March 17, and at a press conference the following Monday told reporters staffing issues within the MFRD would be a “top priority.” He did not go into specifics. “Some of the issues we’ll be addressing have to do with staffing,” Stimpson said. At the March 1 City Council meeting, councilors asked administration staff about “brownouts,” where a MFRD station or company is taken temporarily offline. Councilors questioned the practice at the meeting. They wanted to know, for instance, which neighborhoods would be affected, for how long and what impact the moves would have on response time. In a March 20 letter to firefighters, Stimpson acknowledged that members of MFRD are now better paid and have better equipment than they did when he took office, but he wasn’t satisfied. “In the last couple of weeks, it has become apparent that my administration’s goals for strengthening the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department are not being delivered effectively,” he wrote. “This is partly the result of poor communications. I am writing to set the record straight.” Stimpson went on to cite budget constraints within the department. During budget talks, the administration had requested the department find savings in order to allow for pay adjustments. Stimpson wrote that although many opportunities for savings were discussed, a “failure to implement” these cost-saving options means MFRD is projected to not finish the fiscal year in the black. “The challenge we face between now and year-end, while significant, is more manageable than the challenge we faced in my first year of office,” Stimpson wrote. “We can and will provide the protection and service our citizens deserve and do so within the budget. To do otherwise is not an option.” Stimpson also said appointing a full-time fire chief would be a top priority, although he didn’t give a timetable for an announcement. In the letter, Stimpson wrote he would give more details about a fire chief in the coming days. The city has not had a permanent fire chief since Stimpson took office. He nominated Randy
Smith, who was later removed from consideration. Billy Pappas has been the acting fire chief since late 2014, but has never been up for a confirmation vote. Administration officials have previously said they do not believe there are enough votes on council to approve Pappas as chief. “It is the mission of this administration to ensure MFRD is properly staffed, equipped, compensated and led,” Stimpson wrote. “Over the next few months, we will address the issues that have plagued the MFRD over the last decade or more. The end result will be a better department, delivering better services, by men and women who are more satisfied with their roles.” Barber, who was appointed police chief by Stimpson in 2013, now takes over the public safety director position. MPD Assistant Chief Lawrence Battiste will take over for Barber. Both will need to be confirmed by a supermajority, or five, councilors. The movement at the MPD apparently caught members of the department by surprise on Friday evening. MPD spokeswoman Charlette Solis wrote in an email message to a Lagniappe reporter that she “had just heard the news myself.” City spokesman George Talbot told Lagniappe in a text message Battiste and Barber were discussing the transition with staff members on Monday morning. A press release said Landolt had left to pursue opportunities in the national security field. He did not respond to an email message asking for more details on those opportunities. As for salaries for Barber and Battiste, Stimpson said Monday they have yet to be determined. As public safety director, Landolt made $110,000 per year. Barber, as police chief, made $135,000. Stimpson confirmed Barber would not be taking a pay cut to serve as public safety director, but will no longer be eligible for the retirement deferment program, or DROP, which pays retirees a lump sum in addition to retirement benefits. At a pre-conference meeting Tuesday, March 21, councilors put the confirmations of Barber and Battiste on the agenda. Members seemed likely to vote on them at the meeting. Councilman Fred Richardson said he didn’t foresee any problems relating to the confirmations. Once confirmed as public safety director, Barber would then ask the city’s Police and Firefighters’ Pension Board to retire him after more than 28 years in uniform. He would then be eligible for retirement benefits on top of his salary as public safety director. M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 5
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
‘Costs and Consequences’ DEA BRINGS ‘HARD HITTING’ DRUG EXHIBIT TO MOBILE BY JASON JOHNSON
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rom their origins in makeshift labs around the globe to the toll they take on individuals, families and communities — illegal narcotics and the science that surrounds them are the focus of the latest exhibit at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center. The exhibit, “Drugs: Costs and Consequences,” takes a detailed look at the production, consumption and distribution of illegal drugs. However, it also covers the science behind drugs’ effects on the human body while offering families and students a sobering look at the impact of addiction. Developed by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the DEA Educational Foundation, the exhibit has been seen by more than 22 million visitors in 13 cities around the country. Though it’s only in its second month in Mobile, Executive Director Jan McKay said the Exploreum has already booked tours for more than 12,000 local students. “One of our goals is to get as many children and families through here as we can,” McKay told Lagniappe. “This is a great way for parents to start talking to their kids about drugs because it’s such a good way to start the conversation.” “Drugs: Costs and Consequences” opens with a series of photographs showing people of different ages, races and economic backgrounds who were affected by drugs. From a doctor arrested for overprescribing painkillers to a child targeted by drug traffickers for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the first stop quickly shows no one is immune. From there, the exhibit showcases how drugs are made through detailed recreations of processing labs for heroin
in Afghanistan, cocaine in Columbia and methamphetamine made in homes and hotel rooms here in the U.S. — all modeled after facilities discovered in real DEA drug busts. From start to finish, the event is “hard hitting” in a number of ways. Whether looking into a model of a crack den or examining the often-overlooked link between drug trafficking and global narco-terrorism, McKay said there are many thought-provoking aspects. “It means a lot to me that we actually have remnants from the World Trade Center as well as the Pentagon,” McKay said. “There’s a direct connection between the illegal drug trade and the money it surreptitiously takes out of the country to fund terrorism around the world and here in the United States.” In addition to the illegal drug trade, the exhibit also covers the direct impact drugs have on the human body. In a series of interactive features — including a replicated MRI machine showing a video of various drugs’ effects on the brain — the costs and consequences to human health are easily seen. Key to educating visitors, a reference room offers materials and literature on a number of topics related to drug trafficking, drug use, addiction and treatment. Counselors with local groups such as the Drug Education Council are also available to speak with visitors, and occasionally officials with the DEA and its Educational Foundation are there as well. Last week students from Washington County got to hear from the director of the foundation’s board, David Katz, who was visiting the exhibit with his wife, Gail. Origi-
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nally from Chicago, the couple has stopped in all 13 cities that have hosted the exhibit, which prominently features their late son, Daniel, who died at age 25 from of an overdose of oxycodone and cocaine. “Our country is addicted to drugs, and education is the key. It’s the only way to reach children and teenagers,” David Katz said. “I think they should teach history 101, science 101, English 101, math 101 and drugs 101 in every grade, because we have kids who are smoking marijuana as early as the fourth grade, and parents are allowing them to do it.” Addressing the students, Katz rejected the notion that marijuana is less harmful than other drugs featured in the exhibit. Since its legalization in Colorado, Katz said there’s been a 62 percent increase in traffic fatalities in the state. He also added DEA agents regularly arrest people who say marijuana is how they “got started in the drug business.” His wife, however, focused more on the growing problem of prescription painkiller abuse — offering a word of warning to parents that’s become a common message from the DEA itself. “The closest drug dealer to anyone is their medicine cabinet. Whether it winds up in your kids’ hands or a contractor’s,” Gail Katz said. “It doesn’t discriminate, either. It affects everybody. If you think your child might be using, they are. Your kids can convince you of anything.” One of the most poignant sections of the exhibit is an area toward the end dedicated to the lives and talent lost to drugs. There, photos of Hollywood stars lost to overdoses hang next to those of law enforcement officers killed fighting the crime that follows the illegal drug trade. Blank pads are available for visitors to write in names of loved ones still struggling with addiction, including one simply reading “myself.” At the very top, above pictures of Janis Joplin and Michael Jackson, is a photo of Daniel Katz — young and smiling. Though the exhibit is personal to the Katzes, David Katz said his family is one of many grieving someone lost to addiction. “Everyone in this room knows somebody that’s affected by addiction to drugs or alcohol,” he said. “Every single person, whether they know it or not.” “Drugs: Costs and Consequences” will be at the Exploreum through Sept. 3. The exhibit is intended for families, groups and school field trips. For more information including pricing, contact Monica Dunklin at 251-208-6880 or mdunklin@exploreum.com.
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Lingering odor
STATE ADMITS MERCAPTAN ODOR IMPACTS EIGHT MILE RESIDENTS BY DALE LIESCH
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ulia Lucy’s 5-year-old great-niece is being treated with chemotherapy, but she doesn’t have cancer. In fact, Lucy said her doctors aren’t sure what’s causing the strange blotches to appear on her great-niece’s skin. However, the girl attends school at Indian Springs Elementary School, near where tert-butyl mercaptan spilled in 2008 after lightning struck a Mobile Gas facility in Eight Mile. Lucy and her family are convinced the presence of the chemical used as an odorant in natural gas is the cause of her great-niece’s frequent trips to the hospital. In a statement, Dr. Mary McIntyre of the Alabama Department of Public Health acknowledged the odor is having an effect on residents in the community. “These odors may impact residents’ sense of well-being and quality of life,” she said in the statement. “Mercaptan causes irritation to mucous membranes and has been associated with some of the symptoms reported by the residents of Eight Mile.” McIntyre stopped short of saying the odor was making residents sick, adding a contributing factor to the smell could be nearby marshland, where “the breakdown of organic materials [plants and animals] … results in the release of sulfur and other gases.” “Unfortunately, health assessments alone do not address the question of association or causation,” she said in the statement. “Even though unpleasant odors can impact quality of life, not all odors are toxic. We continue to work with the Eight Mile community.” Lucy said it’s obvious the mercaptan is contributing to the symptoms suffered by residents in the area. She said others just need to take the time and look.
“It’s evident … something is going on here,” she said. “This is something we’ve known for a long, long time.” Lucy said residents were feeling the ill effects before Mobile Gas admitted a leak had occurred in 2012. “We were having all these symptoms,” she said. “We didn’t pop up after we found out and said we were sick.” Carletta Davis, president of the We Matter Eight Mile Community Association, said the findings from ADPH should lead to a public call for “direct action.” She added residents near the impacted area should be moved until the effects of the chemical can be determined. “We had a community meeting in January at Mount Antioch Baptist Church in Whistler,” she said. “Over 100 people said they were impacted there. Until it’s removed from the groundwater and surface water completely, residents need to be moved.” Mobile Gas, under the direction of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, has installed a series of pumps to treat both the groundwater and surface water in the affected areas using ozone. “What Mobile Gas is doing is not enough,” Davis said. “Residents are encountering mercaptan every day. It will be there for generations.” Jenny Gobble, a spokeswoman for Mobile Gas parent company Spire Energy, wrote in an email message the utility is confident it handled the situation correctly. “Since September, when the utility joined the family of Spire companies, our confidence has only increased,” she wrote. “They responded quickly when the odor was first noticed.” Moving forward, Gobble wrote, Spire will “continue to work with experts to improve the systems that treat the water every day.”
Semi-retirement
GRADDICK WORKING AS SPECIAL JUDGE IN COUNTY
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BY DALE LIESCH
udge Charles Graddick wishes he had more to do. Although he technically “aged out” of his position as Mobile County Circuit Court presiding judge in January, Graddick was immediately named a special judge for the circuit and is still hearing cases from time to time. Graddick, though, laments the state budget issues that keep him from having a full docket each week. “I’m a workaholic and I didn’t realize the extent that I am,” he said. “I would prefer to be busier … I wish I had a full load.” Graddick is used sparingly because, while Mobile County is in need of three more judges, the state hasn’t agreed to pay for additional support staff, current Presiding Judge John Lockett said. As it is, Graddick gets no additional salary except his retirement, and he can only work cases when one of two roving court reporters is available. He doesn’t get one permanently assigned to his courtroom, like other judges do. As Graddick pointed out, support staff is not cheap. “The reason we haven’t created more positions is because there’s no money for it,” he said. “You’ve got to have a reporter, law clerk and judicial assistant and that costs,” Graddick said. As a special judge appointed by the Alabama
Supreme Court, Graddick said he provides backup to all judges. He was also able to continue working on some of the cases he’d presided over in his courtroom before Judge James Patterson took his seat in January. “Nothing has really changed, except I don’t have a full court docket,” Graddick said. Lockett called Graddick valuable to the court and said he hoped to “get more value out of him” in the future. Graddick would be juggling various civil and criminal cases as needed. “It might be too early to say,” Lockett said about Graddick’s caseload. “We haven’t established a rhythm.” Ideally, Graddick would be used much like Judge James Wood, who is also a special judge in the circuit. Lockett said Wood tries as many cases as any other local judge. Further complicating the matter, at least early on, were rumors that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was going to name Graddick as the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Lockett said. “There were serious rumors he was going to be the U.S. attorney,” Lockett said. “We were worried we were going to lose him.” Things have changed since then, Lockett said. It doesn’t appear Graddick is still under consideration. “Their loss is our gain,” he said. M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 7
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
Under new management?
CITY BATTLES FOR CAB CONTROL AS RIDE-HAILING SERVICE MENDS IMAGE BY DALE LIESCH
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hough it has had its share of controversy recently, the ride-hailing service Uber still has a presence in Mobile and city officials would like to continue to have control over it. The Mobile City Council and Mayor Sandy Stimpson agreed to back a resolution in opposition of a state House bill that would give control of services like Uber over to the state’s Public Service Commission. The bill would then collect any license fees, in this case $5,000 per year, from transportation network companies and wouldn’t allow cities to collect revenue. In essence, the bill would take revenue away from the cities. At least two members of the local House delegation, Republican Reps. Chris Pringle and David Sessions, each said they’d vote against the legislation as currently written. Pringle, for instance, said he doesn’t understand what the bill would allow the PSC to control. “I don’t know what they would regulate,” he said of the bill. Pringle added passage of the bill would most likely mean hiring more state employees, which he didn’t think would be a popular idea. “I don’t see that happening,” he said. Sessions said he thinks the bill “has several issues,” including safety concerns. “When you’re dealing with public transportation of any kind, you have to consider safety,” he said. Sessions added at least two cities in the state — Mobile and Huntsville — already regulate Uber. He said it wouldn’t be proper to take away that control. Uber, however, supports the statewide legislation. With more than 400 municipalities in the
state, the company stated the current patchwork of “conflicting regulations” means some riders can receive rides while others can’t. “Every day in Alabama, thousands of people depend on Uber for affordable transportation options and flexible work opportunities,” Uber Alabama General Manager Luke Marklin said in a statement. “With a statewide framework, even more Alabamians will benefit from a convenient ride at the tap of a button — and current riders and drivers will count on an even more reliable experience. We thank [state] Rep. [David] Faulkner for his leadership and commitment to ensuring everyone in the state benefits from innovation and new technologies.” Uber spokeswoman Evangeline George added in an email message “There’s no need to have 400 different sets of rules for ride-sharing in Alabama — and 39 states across the country have passed similar statewide bills.” Uber itself has been under intense national scrutiny because of a number of issues. For one, company CEO Travis Kalanick felt pressure for joining President Donald Trump’s business advisory council, according to media reports. The company also took heat from some who felt Uber drivers broke a New York City taxi strike in response to Trump’s first attempt at barring travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. The action led some users to reportedly delete the application from their phones, according to media reports. Acting Chief of Staff Paul Wesch said the city has heard there may be interest from ride-hailing service Lyft to join the Mobile market, but there has been nothing official.
Coalition of the willing BUSINESSES PUSH FOR ‘CLEAN WATER FUTURE’
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BY JASON JOHNSON
ecause the area’s problems with stormwater management and pollution are exacerbated by many sources, addressing them requires an equally diversified response and buy-in from local governments, businesses, private organizations and everyday citizens. A good example of this type of collaboration is the work nonprofit groups such as the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) have done to plan and implement better runoff infrastructure on both sides of the bay. However, private industry has an equal interest in ensuring sustainable and healthy growth can be achieved along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. That is one reason the Clean Water Future campaign was created. Clean Water Future is a joint effort between MBNEP and Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP), a coalition of industry and education leaders dedicated to science-based, environmentally conscious practices in business and community activities. In addition to raising awareness about issues such as stormwater runoff and the pollution it carries, Clean Water Future aims to make protecting local waterways simpler by forming beneficial partnerships, sharing information and techniques, and providing accessible online resources. “We’ve been very involved from the beginning of this program because we feel strongly that businesses and employers should want to do everything we can to ensure we can always enjoy clean water,” PEP Executive Director Jennifer Denson
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said. “A good quality of life and a clean environment are so very important to economic growth and development in our area.” Denson said industry and manufacturing leaders have an extra incentive to get involved and get vocal about point-source pollution because they are often the first to be blamed when water pollution is detected. The reality, according to Denson, is the biggest impact on water quality comes from residential runoff, littering and sediment erosion entering the local water system. Some industry partners involved with Clean Water Future have already been recognized for various environmental contributions. Other than recruiting businesses to get involved in solving the environmental challenges unique to the Mobile area, Denson said part of PEP’s mission is to highlight those already involved — something PEP does in a number of ways including its own annual Environmental Stewardship Awards. “We just want show that anyone and any business can be involved in these types of projects and take steps toward improving and securing the water quality in our area,” she added. “Of course, we look at it from the business angel, but the entire Clean Water Future campaign is about everybody. Whether it’s businesses, individuals or government agencies — we all have something we can do.” More information on PEP can be found at pepmobile.org. Applications to become a partner in the Clean Water Future campaign are available at cleanwaterfuture.com.
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BAYBRIEF | BALDWIN COUNTY
Up the creek FISH RIVER RESIDENTS CLAIM THEY WEREN’T NOTIFIED OF PROPOSED SEWER LINE BY JANE NICHOLES
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Photos | Provided
own along Fish River, residents made it clear Development had sued Fairhope’s Planning Commission the other night they don’t want a sewer line runalleging it was denied subdivision plat approval because it ning under it. intended to use BCSS instead of the city’s sewer system. “We’re here tonight because we were damn BCSS was added later as a party to that lawsuit. well upset,” said Dick Sute, a retired vice president of Both lawsuits were eventually settled, but not until Volkert Inc. and co-organizer of what was intended to be 2007. According to a letter from Matthew McDonald, an an informal meeting of residents to discuss the proposed attorney hired by Fairhope to review pending litigation, sewer line. Fairhope and BCSS entered an agreement on July 13, When elected officials and representatives of Baldwin 2007, stating the city would provide wastewater treatment County Sewer Service turned up March 15, they got an services to BCSS until July 12, 2017. earful from about 50 people who crowded into the Marlow In that letter, dated Dec. 20 of last year, McDonald Fish River fire station. As happened about 15 years ago, wrote that while there was a provision to extend the agreethe interests of developers, landowners, private business ment, “please be advised that the city does not intend, and and public government are again clashing over a quickly will not agree, to extend the agreement.” growing area of Baldwin County. BCSS officials say once access to Fairhope’s wasteOn the west side of Fish River, off Ferry Road near water treatment is cut off, they must go under the river to County Road 32, the privately run BCSS serves 96 serve their west side customers. A statement to customers customers who are linked into a Fairhope city sewer line. on its website says in part, “BCSS is abiding by all guideOn the east side, off the Honey Road boat launch, BCSS lines and permitting requirements, and we sincerely care serves customers with lines that run to its Malbis wastewa- about preventing any environmental impacts. The sewer ter treatment plant. spill risk in the river is minimal. It would take a very sigAs a result of litigation dating to 2002, BCSS and nificant storm surge and scour to cause a problem with the Fairhope agreed the west side customers could be served new sewer line, and cutoff valves are available if a natural by BCSS lines through Fairhope’s wastewater treatment disaster were to occur.” for 10 years, until the agreement expires on July 12 of BCSS Controller Gerry McManus told Lagniappe his this year. The agreement could have been extended, but in company has only one sewer line running under a body of December Fairhope notified BCSS it water now, and that is the Intracoastwould shut off the service and both al Waterway. The company has never parties would have to cap their lines had a problem with it, he said. by the July date. BCSS reacted by making plans to News to Fish River run a 10-inch main under Fish River Fish River residents say they and connect the west side to the east BCSS OFFICIALS SAY ONCE knew nothing about it until after side. It recently received permission the Baldwin County Commission ACCESS TO FAIRHOPE’S to use the county right of way and is approved right-of-way access for the now seeking the necessary permits project on March 7. The vote was WASTEWATER TREATMENT from the U.S. Army Corps of Engi3-0; Commissioner Tucker Dorsey neers and the state Department of IS CUT OFF, THEY MUST did not vote and reportedly left the Conservation and Natural Resources, meeting room during discussion on GO UNDER THE RIVER TO State Lands Division. the item because he has business ties The residents, concerned about to BCSS. SERVE THEIR WEST what could happen in the event of County Commission Chairman an underground pipeline leak in the SIDE CUSTOMERS. Chris Elliott attended the residents’ Weeks Bay Watershed, want to know meeting and was confronted by resiwhy they’re just now finding out dents who wanted to know how the about all this. commission could have approved the “We’re bringing this to a boil,” said Mike Wilson, who right-of-way access without letting them know. organized the meeting with Sute. “That’s what this meetElliott said such matters are usually routine and often ing is for.” don’t come up for a separate vote. The county is obligated to authorize access to rights of way for utilities, communiNot the first time cations services and the like if the applicant complies with In 2002, BCSS sued the city of Fairhope, its planning regulations. In the case of the sewer line, Elliott said he commission and numerous elected and appointed officials separated the item on the agenda for a separate vote so that in federal court, alleging violations of antitrust law includ- people would know about it, and he notified one Mobile ing conspiracy to deny the private company the right to TV news station so the matter would receive coverage. install sewer lines in the city’s subdivision and planning In addition, the BCSS request and accompanying docujurisdictions. One claim was that at least some subdivision ments were discussed in an earlier work session and were developers were told their applications would not be apavailable online at the county’s website, Elliott noted. proved if they did not tie into the city sewer system. However, the title of the item on the agenda referred in BCSS also claimed private testing of water samples part to a “Sewer Force Main Installation on an Unmainalong Fish River showed levels of fecal coliform and entained Right-of-Way off Ferry Road and Boat Launch at terococcus bacteria above what the federal Environmental Honey Road.” “Fish River” did not appear in the title. Protection Agency and Alabama Department of EnvironElsewhere one of the documents says, “This proposed mental Management considered safe for human contact. installation will carry BCSS sewage from the west side of BCSS attributed the contamination to the widespread use Fish River to the east side of Fish River at the boat launch of septic tanks in the area. at Honey Road.” It doesn’t say, “under the river.” That suit also reveals this isn’t the first time BCSS has Elliott said he invited both BCSS representatives and tried to go under the Fish River. In 2002, the company was Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson to meet with residents in an seeking an Army Corps of Engineers permit to do just that, effort to get everyone together and see if there was another and had notified Fairhope of its intent to extend its service way to handle the issue. Those remarks didn’t sit well west of the Fish River in competition with the city system. with Mike Wilson, who told Lagniappe earlier Wednesday In another lawsuit, filed a year earlier in Baldwin BCSS had not been invited by the organizers. County Circuit Court, a private developer called Elite “Don’t hijack this meeting, Chris,” Mike Wilson said.
A proposed 10-inch sewer main has been approved to cross under Fish River at Honey Road. Said Elliott, “Should we have had this meeting six weeks ago? Yes.” BCSS was a major contributor to Elliott’s campaign for county commissioner, donating money both directly and to a political action committee that in turn donated to Elliott. As for Mayor Wilson, who took office in November, she said she didn’t know much more than residents did. The capacity of some parts of Fairhope’s sewer system has been questioned and was one of the reasons for a temporary moratorium on new subdivision lots. Also, one of the new mayor’s first actions was to hire an outside attorney, McDonald, to review all pending litigation in hopes of containing attorneys’ fees. During his research, the mayor said, McDonald came across the sewer agreement which was near expiration. “This was the end of a 10-year lawsuit between Baldwin County Sewer and the city of Fairhope,” she said. The mayor said she didn’t know about the Fish River issue until the residents learned of it, and repeatedly said no one involved with the issue, including BCSS, ever contacted her after she authorized the letter in December. “Nobody called me, nobody made an appointment with me,” Wilson said. McManus noted no one from Fairhope contacted his company before the letter was sent.
Is there a better idea?
Sute said that with 39 years of engineering experience, he’s sure there are alternatives to digging a sewer line under a river in an area that drains first into Weeks Bay and ultimately into Mobile Bay. And more than one resident alluded to the Fish River’s tendency to flood in a heavy rainstorm, such as occurred in April 2014. “You don’t have to run this line under Fish River,” Sute said. One of his suggestions was running the line up and over the river along the underside of the County Road 32 bridge or at U.S. 98, although BCSS officials said they weren’t sure that could be done. Sute also said he knows BCSS trucks some material to Gulf Shores. And, he said, BCSS and Fairhope could extend their agreement or negotiate a new one. BCSS and Mayor Wilson indicated they might be willing to talk over the next 30 days. Meanwhile, little time remains before 96 customers get their sewer lines shut off.
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COMMENTARY | DAMN THE TORPEDOES
Sidewalks are for drinking and boiling ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
THERE APPEARS TO BE HOPE FOR SOME OF OUR QUIRKIER HABITS AS MOBILIANS MAY PERSEVERE DESPITE THE OFTEN SUFFOCATING SNARL OF GOVERNMENT RED TAPE. ”
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this problem as crawfish season moves into full swing. District 2 Councilman Levon Manzie, whose district encompasses the LoDa entertainment area, says he’s even lost sleep worrying about it, as people accuse him, as well as the city, of being behind stopping crawfish boils. Look, we can’t have our City Council people losing sleep over crawfish boils! It’s a tempest in a crawfish pot. (Man, I’ve been waiting this whole column to write that!) Nobody’s been hurt by a crawfish boil. Nobody’s burned down a building. It’s good for the local economy and for people who need to drink beer. The solution seems so simple — make establishments that want to have crawfish boils come down to the Health Department and take a class on it, pay 50 bucks for a permit and then get to boiling. If an establishment’s crawfish chef dumps crustacean juice down the storm drains, snatch their license so that particular place loses its boiling privileges without killing everyone else’s good time. It sounds too easy, so I’m sure there’s some dumb reason it can’t happen. In the meantime, Mayor Stimpson and the City Council have voiced complete support for the boils, so we’ll see how much that means. Hopefully the Health Department can go fight Zika or something and leave the crawfish boils alone. Let our fair town get back to being a place where you can drink a beer on the sidewalk while enjoying the sweet smells of a curbside crawfish boil, knowing your City Councilman is sleeping like a baby.
THEGADFLY
proliferation of outdoor patios where one might wet one’s “whistle.” Some of these dining establishments and watering holes are not lucky enough to possess a “built-in” place for patrons to enjoy libations in the sunshine, and have set up makeshift “patios” on the sidewalks in front of their shops. They have found this to be an easy way to increase their total number of tables without all the hassle and expense of building on. Of course this natural progression of sidewalk dining met with some initial grousing. Some have felt the extra seating impedes the sidewalk, and others may prefer that larger, clearly defined deck areas — such as those big wooden beauties gracing Moe’s BBQ and Heroes Sports Bar — be the norm. But leave it to our old friends at the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to kick thing up to a more ridiculous level. Never forget, this is the agency that made the Zebra Lounge put pasties on the nipples of tribeswomen in a jungle mural on its walls, so they have a solid history of taking things too far. Last fall the ABC gang began cracking down on a years-old regulation that meant those restaurants and bars with homegrown outdoor seating areas could no longer serve alcohol to customers. Remember? They decided to start enforcing this right before the big TenSixtyFive festival downtown, getting everyone in a big tizzy about whether outdoor drinking would be legal or not. Good times. So as it’s stood, thirsty people who are at one of those places without a clearly defined patio area now have to get up and walk inside to order a drink. This is an outrage of the first order — obviously — and I’m not sure how we’re supposed to respect ourselves as a city full of drunks with this kind of inconvenience
hindering the natural flow of alcohol to our livers. Fortunately State Rep. James Buskey recognized this silliness and got a bill passed through the state Legislature allowing restaurants and bars within an entertainment district to serve alcohol on sidewalks or public rights of way adjacent or connected to their buildings. At last check the bill was sitting on the Luv Guv’s desk (hopefully in a dry spot) awaiting signature into law. Good work, Rep. Buskey, for sending the ABC sulking back to their headquarters so Mobilians can drink on the sidewalk the way God intended. And speaking of God, one of the sure signs He/She loves us is the existence of crawfish and that someone born years ago was brave enough or hungry enough to take these little guys out of the mud, throw them in a boiling pot of water with the appropriate spices, sausage and other fixin’s, and eat them. I’ve only lived in one place for any significant period of time where boiled crawfish wasn’t an integral part of spring and it was a major reason I moved back to Mobile. The imbroglio over our traditional crawfish boils started last year, primarily as the result of complaints over whether used crawdad water was being disposed of properly. This bloomed into the Health Department cracking down on sidewalk boils, citing Alabama’s Health Code. Fire code issues have been mentioned as a potential issue, as well. There still appears to be no answer to
Cartoon/Laura Rasmussen
T
here appears to be hope for some of our quirkier habits as Mobilians may persevere despite the often suffocating snarl of government red tape. For the past couple of years two rites of spring have been endangered by seemingly nonsensical rules and regulations that had pretty much (rightly) been ignored for years. And while one of these grand pursuits appears on the verge of being ratified by none other than the Legislature and governor of the great state of Alabama, the other will have to go back to operating with a wink and a nod in order to survive. Of course I’m talking about the local traditions of sitting on sidewalks drinking alcohol and cooking free crawfish on those same sidewalks to serve to bar patrons. The matter is obviously a bit more complex than that last sentence might indicate. Anytime you’re talking about ditch lobsters, open flames, boiling water, metal chairs, booze and state regulations, things are bound to be complicated. First to the seemingly simpler of the two — sitting and drinking on the sidewalk. As the restaurant and bar scene has blossomed in our fair burg, so too has the
MAYOR STIMPSON CITED ‘POOR COMMUNICATION’ IN ACCEPTING THE RESIGNATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR RICHARD LANDOLT.
COMMENTARY | THE HIDDEN AGENDA
When a man loves a woman, he loses a governorship ASHLEY TRICE/EDITOR/ASHLEYTOLAND@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM When a man loves a woman Can’t keep his mind on nothin’ else He’d trade the world For a good thing he’s found If she is bad, he can’t see it She can do no wrong Turn his back on his best friend If he puts her down When a man loves a woman Spend his very last dime Trying to hold on to what he needs He’d give up all his comforts And sleep out in the rain If she said that’s the way It ought to be— Percy Sledge Eve. Delilah. Cleopatra. Elizabeth Taylor. Angelina Jolie. When you think of famous temptresses the name Rebekah Caldwell Mason will not come to mind to anyone outside the state of Alabama. But just as these other famous seductresses were able to do, Mason seems to have charmed our septuagenarian governor right out of office. Gov. Robert Bentley clearly (and rather pathetically) loved a woman (who happened to be his top political adviser) and could not keep his mind on nothin’ else, except making sure his Viagra shipments made their way to the governor’s mansion. He did turn his back on his best friend (former head of Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Spencer Collier) when he put her down … or at least when Collier told him he really needed to break up with her because using state funds to carry on an affair with his married boo could become a crime. Bentley told his friend (who incidentally was Alabama’s top law enforcement official at the time) he would dump her but he didn’t. He supposedly called him up and said he just couldn’t because he was “madly in love with her.” Bentley could not resist Eve’s sinful fruit. Though it was not the apple in this case, as we all know our Eve skillfully used the melons our governor so famously loved to hold. Bentley fired Collier. And Collier repaid the favor by spilling the beans. Bentley divorced his wife, Dianne, who he had been married to for almost 50 years. And so now, after a year of dealing with secret tapes and various convenient political appointments, it seems like America’s unsexiest sex
scandal may be coming to a close. Rumors are swirling in Montgomery that Bentley will be resigning from office in the coming weeks to avoid being impeached. There are numerous investigations that are reportedly still ongoing by the Attorney General’s office, the Alabama Ethics Commission and the House Judiciary Committee into whether he used state funds to facilitate and/or cover up his inappropriate relationship with Mason. Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, who has led the effort to impeach the Luv Guv, told al.com earlier this week that even if the governor stepped down, he expected the Alabama Ethics Commission to pursue criminal charges against him. Even as these investigations were underway, Bentley took Mason and her husband (arguably the only man more pathetic than the Lovernor) to Trump’s inauguration. That woman truly is something else. In a small way I feel sorry for the Guv. I genuinely believe he was so infatuated with Mason, he just lost his damn mind. And he was such an easy target. Goofy and old, the former dermatologist married young and spent all day looking at irregularly shaped moles and popping pimples. Even one ounce of female attention would have been difficult to resist. And clearly it was. It’s hard to believe Rebekah Mason, a sophisticated woman 30 years his junior who was a former beauty queen and TV journalist, had really found her soulmate in Bentley. It seems far more likely she fell in love with the power and the way she became what some described as the “de facto governor.” Not to mention the hefty salary she was paid by some shady fund. Oh, and her husband got a pretty sweet gig and salary out of this as well. You have to wonder now when Bentley sits all alone in the mansion at night if he still thinks she’s worth it. All signs point to yes. He is probably doodling hearts and “Mrs. Rebekah Bentley” on his official stationery to this day. If she plays him for a fool, he’s the last one to know, loving eyes can’t ever see. But it will be interesting to see if he stays just as lovesick as this continues to play out. He will no doubt use close to his “very last dime” in legal fees related to fighting this. And as he most likely loses the office he described as the “greatest honor of his life” and potentially his freedom, will he still think she’s the “good thing’s he’s found.”
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COMMENTARY | THE MONTGOMERY MINUTE
Booze battles on tap in Montgomery BY LEE HEDGEPETH/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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y 1915, Alabama was gripped by the same antialcohol sentiment as the rest of the country: The temperance movement was afoot, and there was little even established politicians could do to prevent it. That year, the Alabama Legislature overrode the veto of then-Gov. Charles Henderson to ban outright the sale of alcohol in the state. “Alabama has beaten her public bars into soda fountains and quick-lunch rooms,” writer Julian Street explained that year in his travel log, “American Adventures: A Second Trip Abroad at Home.” “And though her club bars still look like real ones, the drinks served are so soft that no splash occurs when reminiscent tears drop into them.” Only after searching at length did Street finally find a place to cry into a proper glass, and it was there — in a small shop in Birmingham where the original “bring your own beer” was coined — decades before the phrase became popular. “It was this gentleman who told us that, since the state went dry,” Street wrote of the man in the Birmingham shop, “the ancient form, ‘R.S.V.P.’ on social invitations had been revised to ‘B.W.H.P.,’ signifying, ‘bring whisky in hip pocket.’” Just over a century later, the sale of alcohol is legal in the state, but there are lots of strings attached — all of which connect back — in history or in spirit — to the dry spell that began in 1915. This regular legislative session in Montgomery, several bills dealing with various aspects of seemingly archaic alcohol regulations in Alabama are winding their way through the House and Senate, with one already headed to the governor.
Sidewalk spirits
The first bill, sponsored by Rep. James Buskey, has just
made its way to the governor’s desk, having passed both the House and the Senate. House Bill 185, soon to be law, will, according to Buskey, help Alabama, and particularly Mobile, “catch up to the times” when it comes to alcohol laws. The legislation amends current state law involving Mobile to clarify that sales of alcohol can occur on decks and patios directly adjacent to licensed businesses, even if they’re outside. The clarification became necessary after Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board stepped up enforcement against businesses that serve wine and other spirits — along with food — to customers at tables just outside restaurants in downtown. “I heard from restaurant owners about how cumbersome it’s been, and how bureaucratic it is in many ways, and certainly how it’s not responsive to the need and the demand that our tourists and residents expect when they come downtown,” Mobile City Councilman Levon Manzie has said of ABC’s regulations. Carol Hunter, spokeswoman for the Downtown Mobile Alliance, reiterated that sentiment. “I don’t know what the agenda is. I just know what the result is. The result is the decrease in revenue for the business, the city and the state.” Once Buskey’s bill is law, that’s a decrease in revenue that businesses, the city and the state will no longer have to worry about — and one less unreasonable regulation of Alabama’s alcoholic freedom.
Brunch booze
Another bill that attempts to do away with the ghosts of prohibition past is House Bill 353, sponsored by Rep. Juandalynn Givan. The bill, if passed, would allow localities to roll back the ban on alcohol sales on Sunday — allowing sales after 10:30 a.m. instead of after noon, as is
COMMENTARY | THE GRIOT’S CORNER
Be careful what you wish for BY KEN ROBINSON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A
s President George W. Bush’s Secretary of State, Colin Powell gave his boss some very sage and hauntingly prophetic advice prior to the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003: “If you break it, you own it.” Known as the “Pottery Barn” rule in military and diplomatic circles, it refers to the fact that if you invade a country, are victorious and topple the existing government, you then “own” the country. All its problems, challenges, shortcomings and the end results now become yours. You own it. Looking back, the soundness and wisdom of Powell’s words cannot be overstated. Today, Republicans are staring the Pottery Barn rule square in the face, and the unease it’s creating among them is telling. In the years since the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” was enacted, Republicans have engaged in a consistent effort to dismantle the legislation. No assistance was offered to amend or help fix the problems with Obamacare. The nuclear option was the preferred option: Totally destroy it. Now, however, it’s becoming exceedingly apparent that maybe that wasn’t the wisest course. President Donald Trump commented not long ago “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.” When the rubber meets the road, bumper sticker slogans and vague promises wilt in the face of complex policy issues. The thought of “owning” a problem becomes unnerving. “Repeal and replace” was a popular and oft-heard re-
frain. However, now having to flesh out real solutions and knowing they will own the results, consensus in Congress is difficult to come by. A poll taken on the health care bill up for a vote in the House of Representatives has the support of only 12 percent of Americans. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. Many Republican voters enthusiastically embraced Trump’s message and candidacy. His message of “America First,” though vague and lacking in detail, was incredibly appealing to many. He was seen as the candidate willing to tell it like it is and speak the truth, as opposed to all the other candidates who were viewed as professional politicians willing to lie and deceive the people for personal gain. He was the one willing to look out and speak for the little guy, the common person. It was time to put someone in office like him, someone who would put “America First.” Lacking specifics during the campaign, now the public has been presented with a budget recently released by the White House, and referred to by Trump’s budget director as an “America First” budget. It’s a stunning document. The White House may refer to it as an “America First” budget, but “People Last” is a more appropriate name. The budget has a stated goal of, among other things, increasing military spending by $54 billion and allocating $1.5 billion to build President Trump’s border wall. Crafted to advance the nation’s “hard power” (military, defense and national security apparatus), it does so at the
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the current law. Givan has said the bill would help businesses increase revenues on a day when many say they lose money because of state law involving alcohol sales. “I think people are understanding a little bit more about the bill,” Givan said of the legislation. “I think there’s going to be a huge level of outreach from the business community.” Religious groups, on the other hand, are strongly opposed to the bill. “Twelve o’clock noon is not early enough to start getting drunk?” Joe Godfrey, the head of Alabama Citizens Action Program, a Southern Baptist lobbying group that bills itself as “Alabama’s Moral Compass,” asked of the bill. “We have those roots and tradition as Christians so we should want to try to keep some traditions alive.” HB353 has passed committee but failed to pass an early Budget Isolation Resolution vote, a necessary step in the legislative process, by a vote of 42-44. Rep. Givan says she will continue to pursue passage this session.
Farewell shot for state-owned liquor stores?
Senate Bill 260 is probably the most robust legislation this year dismantling an artifact of the prohibition era: state-controlled liquor stores. For decades, the state of Alabama has owned and operated ABC stores. Originally aimed at completely controlling the sale and intake of alcohol by citizens, the now private-public hybrid of liquor stores across Alabama make some conservatives in the halls of the State House uneasy. Enter Sen. Arthur Orr, who has for years introduced legislation to get the state out of the liquor business. “The fundamental question, I think, for us as legislators and as a state, is should the state of Alabama be in the retail liquor business in the 21st century,” Sen. Orr has said. “Is this truly a function of state government?” So far, Orr’s efforts have been unsuccessful, but not for lack of effort. Instead, an odd assortment of bedfellows — state Democrats, the state’s ABC board and religious groups — have opposed any changes. “Sen. Orr, in his bill, contends that the revenue to the state will remain the same, that it will actually go up because he will be divesting 600 employees,” Dean Argo, an ABC board representative has said. “Our position is that you can’t save something you’re not spending. The state can’t save those 600 employees and benefits because the state’s not spending it. It’s coming from revenue generated from sales.” Despite Argo’s claims, the fiscal note attached to Orr’s bill, and produced by an independent analyst, says the bill “could increase receipts to the [general fund] by an estimated range of $18 million to $21 million annually beginning in … 2023.” But those alleged potential savings haven’t convinced opponents just yet. “There’’s a lot of interest in continuing on the status quo by those involved in the current system,” said Sen. Orr. “But it’s a debate that needs to be had.”
expense of money normally spent on such things as people, natural disasters, the environment, research and diplomacy. Our current Secretary of Defense, the highly decorated Gen. Jim Mattis, stated in 2013 when appearing before members of Congress at a National Security Advisory Council meeting, “So I think it’s a cost-benefit ratio. The more that we put into the State Department’s diplomacy, hopefully the less we have to put into a military budget … If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately.” Well, with the $10 billion the president wants to cut from the State Department, it seems Gen. Mattis may want to start stocking up on ammo. The president’s “America First” budget doesn’t just eviscerate the State Department; it dramatically hurts the working poor and people in small towns and rural areas, people who make up the core of Trump’s constituency. It eliminates or deeply cuts programs such as those that support affordable housing, job training, assistance in paying home heating bills, community banking, nutrition programs, community development grants, community learning centers and even help for homeless veterans. The president’s “America First” budget, which seeks to “redefine the proper role” of the federal government, does so in a fashion that will undermine the economic security, as well as the health and safety, of a large segment of the very people that voted for him. Closer to home, in an area of the country that was solidly for Trump, a proposed 14 percent cut to the Coast Guard, 17 percent cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, 11 percent cut to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a 25 percent cut to Environmental Protection Agency have many leaders extremely worried. Be careful what you wish for. Of course Congress will have the final say about what the 2017 budget eventually looks like, but the president’s proposal is a powerful statement. It also provides a powerful lesson. When it comes to governing, specifics may be boring to hear during a campaign, but they’re important. Simplicity may be appealing, but when it comes to leading a nation, or any political position for that matter, it can be harmful, even dangerous, to elect someone without knowing specifically what they plan on doing once they’re elected. A majority of the electorate saw it as refreshing to finally have a candidate say what they wanted to hear, even though he often spoke in generalities about what he wanted to do. Be careful what you wish for.
COMMENTARY | THE BELTWAY BEAT
Sessions may betray decentralization in pot debate BY JEFF POOR/COLUMNIST/JEFFREYPOOR@GMAIL.COM
I
t is no secret that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a solid “no” vote on the topic of marijuana legalization. Throughout his career, he has voiced his opposition to the substance, both for medicinal and recreational usage. Now, as the nation’s top cop, Sessions has a lot of power, and some fear that he may turn back the federalist wave of state marijuana legalization that has taken place across the country. Currently, recreational use is legal in eight states and the District of Columbia and medicinal use is legal in 19 states. Last week before a confab of state and local law enforcement in Richmond, Virginia, Sessions stuck to his hardline anti-marijuana stance, saying the drug was nearly as dangerous as heroin and rejecting the push to legalize it. “I realize this may be an unfashionable belief in a time of growing tolerance of drug use,” Sessions said. “But too many lives are at stake to worry about being fashionable. I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana — so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.” Federal law is on Sessions’ side. The Controlled Substances Act deems marijuana is treated like every other controlled substance, including cocaine and heroin, and does not recognize any difference between medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. It remains unclear exactly how the Trump Justice Department might choose to reinvigorate federal enforcement of the law in the face of state legalization. Sessions has signaled in interviews and other public appearances the marijuana issue will be dealt with in an “appropriate” way. But this could be a political trap for Sessions and, more broadly, the entire Republican Party. Just to the east, in Florida, the Morgan & Morgan law firm bombarded every Florida media market, including Pensacola, which shares its media market with Mobile. You may have heard some of the radio ads last election cycle that featured the law firm’s founder, John Morgan, making a plea for a yes vote on a ballot initiative legalizing medicinal marijuana. Why would the Wal-Mart of ambulancechasing law firms care about marijuana? One of the tricks the institutional left — which includes trial lawyers — has used to increase potential Democratic voter turnout over the years has been to put these marijuana legalization referendums on the ballot. It did not quite go as planned in Florida. Despite the Florida Medical Marijuana Legal-
ization Initiative winning by an overwhelming 71-29 margin, the state still went Republican for Donald Trump by a narrow 1.2 percent margin. That being said, is marijuana legalization something that will generate a mass grassroots movement in America? The answer is no, but at a time when American politics is so divisive, even an issue like marijuana can turn things on the margins. For the Trump administration and Republicans in general, this might not be the hill to die on. Over the past eight years, Republicans have championed the idea of decentralizing the power in the federal government. During the early days of the Tea Party, as President Barack Obama and the Democraticmajority House and Senate were on the verge of passing Obamacare, one of the things conservatives protested was the federal government ignoring the 10th Amendment. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” the 10th Amendment states. The left mocked and ridiculed the Tea Party platform and labeled champions of the 10th Amendment “Tenthers,” as if they should be dismissed in the same fashion as “birthers” (those who questioned Obama’s birthplace). Tea Party opponents demagogued “Tenthers” as people who backed a part of the U.S. Constitution that led to the Civil War and allowed some Southern states to enact racist anti-voting laws. Now there seems to be a role reversal. Those on the left who mocked the “Tenthers” now want decentralization and federalism when it comes to drug policy. The one-sizefits-all argument may apply to health care, economic and social policy. But on the marijuana issue, it is democracy in action and “for the people” is the mantra. Down the road, Trump could defuse the explosiveness of this issue by publicly stating his endorsement of a laissez-faire policy similar to the Obama administration’s handling of it, but on the grounds of leaving it up to state governments to decide. Given the laundry list of the other things Trump and his allies want to leave up to the states, including environmental regulation, health care and enforcement of immigration, it would be in their interest to not test the waters using the Supremacy Clause when it comes to marijuana. While this isn’t the most important issue of the day facing America, there has still been a lot of buzz generated by Sessions’ heightened role in the federal government, and at some point his department will have to determine how to handle it.
FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND REPUBLICANS IN GENERAL, THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE HILL TO DIE ON.
M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 15
BUSINESS | THE REAL DEAL
Shoe Station hiring veterans BY RON SIVAK/COLUMNIST/BUSINESS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
M
obile-headquartered Shoe Station recently announced the rollout of a three-year hiring initiative targeting current and former members of the armed forces, with the expressed goal of ensuring about 20 percent of its collective workforce will comprise veterans by 2020. “Members of the military make a sacrifice that the rest of us can only imagine. They often spend months or years away from their families engaged in a service whose main reward is a stronger nation,” Shoe Station president Brent Barkin said. “They return home ready to work but often are overlooked by employers. To combat this growing trend, the chain plans to aggressively recruit and promote those who have served or continue to serve the country.” According to a news release, the goal is twofold. First, through contact with local organizations and nonprofits, all openings will be actively broadcast through various channels within local area military communities Shoe Station serves. Second, the application process will take into account time-in-service as job experience. According to Barkin, much of the chain’s job training revolves around keeping a schedule, paying attention to directions, listening to authority and using problem-solving techniques in unfamiliar or unique situations. Randy Lambert, Shoe Station’s vice president of stores, is a Gulf War veteran and will spearhead the program’s implementation. “Military training effectively gives those applicants a boost in the strength of their resumes, one that is typically overlooked in the hiring process because other employers do not count that as work experience,” Barkin said. More information can be found by visiting the com-
pany’s website, various social media channels or inquiring directly via email at hiring@shoestation.com.
Commercial real estate moves
Bright Beginnings Academy, reportedly one of only a few local nonprofits exclusively geared toward treating dyslexic children, is moving into a 10,000-square-foot newly renovated facility located at 3590 Pleasant Valley Road, a few miles from Interstate 65. The facility will serve Mobile and surrounding communities. “This building was purchased on faith and a prayer,” founder and director Gina Englund said. Now in its fourth year, the school was formerly housed at Creekwood Church of Christ, located at 1901 Schillinger Road S. in West Mobile. Current enrollment is 27 students in grades 1-7 with plans to add more grade levels each year moving forward. The organization offers a full-day curriculum including archery, music, art and physical education employing teachers and dyslexia therapists. An educational event will be held March 30, 6 p.m., at the new location, covering the nature of dyslexia. For more information, visit www.brightdyslexics.com or call 251-535-9105. As reported by Lagniappe’s cuisine editor last week, Adana, Turkey-based restaurant franchise Bun-D recently opened a 1,500-square-foot space in downtown Mobile at 1 S. Royal St. Additional reports indicate this is the first restaurant in the chain established in the United States, according to co-owners Omar Serbetci and Fatih Namli. Plans are also in place to open a second location in the next few months at the McGowin Park shopping center that will add 10 employees locally. Jay Roberds with NAIMobile handled the transaction. Established in 2011, Bun-D has nine locations world-
16 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7
wide in four countries with a current footprint in Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom and now the U.S. Plans are in place for aggressive expansion, according to Serbetci, with an expressed goal of opening 41 more sites in the next five years in Poland, Belgium and Italy. The business model relies heavily on a well-developed relationship with NATO-member military facilities, with 50 percent of extant and future growth attributable to onsite construction on bases serving army personnel. According to Sharon Wright with White-Spunner Realty, a local speculator paid $120,000 to acquire a 60-unit self-storage property on Wintzell Avenue in Bayou La Batre. Wright managed both sides of the transaction. Marl Cummings with Cummings & Associates recently reported on three commercial real estate transactions he handled: Some 1,750-square-feet of space at 3202 Dauphin St. in Dauphin Square was leased by Experimac, a retailer and repair shop for pre-owned and new computers, phones and tablets. Fountain of Youth, a business for aesthetics, weight loss and wellness, leased 2,400 square feet of floor space at 6729 Spanish Fort Blvd. at Blakeley Square in Spanish Fort. Some 4,840 square feet of space was leased to Outbreak Daycare and Ministries, located at 1365 Dauphin St. in Mobile. An 11,500-square-foot new commercial property space, located in a shopping center at 18520 Media Drive in Robertsdale, was acquired by a local investor for some $1.8 million. Jerry Friedman with Bellator Commercial Realty worked for the seller.
Yarbrough joins staff at Providence Medical Group
Lindsay A. Yarbrough has joined the staff of Providence Medical Group — Dawes, a full-service primary care office that provides comprehensive family care to children and adults. The office is located at 8833 Cottage Hill Road in Mobile. Yarbrough has been in private practice in Mobile since 2014, providing pediatric, adult and geriatric care in a family practice setting. She earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Bethany College in West Virginia, graduating summa cum laude; a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Pittsburgh; and a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s campus in Suwanee, Georgia. Yarbrough completed her family medicine residency training with the Presence Health Family Medicine Program in Chicago, where she was named chief resident. Currently she is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians.
M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 17
FOOSACKLY’S ($)
$10/PERSON • $$ 10-25/PERSON • $$$ OVER 25/PERSON
COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE ALL SPORTS BAR & GRILL ($) 3408 Pleasant Valley Rd. • 345-9338
AL’S HOTDOGS ($)
CLASSIC HOTDOGS, GYROS & MILKSHAKES 4701 Airport Blvd. • 342-3243
ATLANTA BREAD COMPANY ($-$$) SANDWICHES, SALADS & MORE. 3680 Dauphin St. • 380-0444
BAKE MY DAY ($)
OLD-FASHIONED SOUTHERN BAKE SHOP 156 N. McGregor Ave. • 219-7261
BOB’S DINER ($)
GOOD OLD AMERICAN COOKING 263 St. Francis St. • 405-1497
CAFE 219 ($)
SALADS, SANDWICHES & POTATO SALAD 219 Conti St. • 438-5234
CAMELLIA CAFÉ ($-$$$)
CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN FARE 61 Section St. • Fairhope • 928-4321
CAMMIE’S OLD DUTCH ($) MOBILE’S CLASSIC ICE CREAM SPOT 2511 Old Shell Rd. • 471-1710
CARPE DIEM ($)
FAMOUS CHICKEN FINGERS 29181 US Hwy 98 • Daphne • 375-1104 7843 Moffett Rd. • 607-6196 1109 Shelton Beach Rd. • 287-1423 310 S. University Blvd. • 343-0047 2250 Airport Blvd. • 479-2922 7641 Airport Blvd. • 607-7667 2558 Schillinger Rd. • 219-7761 3249 Dauphin St. • 479-2000
FOY SUPERFOODS ($) 119 Dauphin St.• 307-8997
GULF COAST EXPLOREUM CAFE ($) HOMEMADE SOUPS & SANDWICHES 65 Government St. • 208-6815
GUMBO SHACK ($-$$)
SEAFOOD & SANDWICHES 212 ½ Fairhope Ave •Fairhope • 928-4100
HOOTERS ($)
3869 Airport Blvd. • 345-9544 5470 Inn Rd. • 661-9117 28975 US 98 • Daphne • 625-3910
JAMAICAN VIBE ($)
MIND-BLOWING ISLAND FOOD 3700 Gov’t Blvd. Ste A • 602-1973
JERSEY MIKE’S ($)
AUTHENTIC SUB SANDWICHES 7449 Airport Blvd. • 375-1820
107 St. Francis St. • 415-1700 3244 Dauphin St. • 476-0320 3215 Bel Air Mall • 476-8361 4707 airport Blvd. • 461-9933 435 Schillinger Rd. • 639-1163 1682 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 621-3215 30500 AL 181 • Spanish Fort • 621-3020
CHICKEN SALAD CHICK ($)
CHICKEN SALAD, SALAD & SOUP 2370 S. Hillcrest Rd. Unit R • 660-0501 5753 Old Shell Rd. • 408-3236 1802 US Hwy 98 Suite F• 625-1092
CHI-TOWN DAWGZ ($) CHICAGO STYLE EATERY 1222 Hillcrest Rd. • 461-6599
CONNECTION FROZEN YOGURT ($) 1880 Industrial Pkwy. • 675-2999
CREAM AND SUGAR ($)
COFFEE, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DESSERT 351 George St #B • 405-0003
DAUPHIN ST. CAFE ($)
HOME COOKING 4054 Government St. • 665-4557
LICKIN’ GOOD DONUTS ($) 3242 Dauphin St. • 471-2590
LODA BIER GARTEN ($) PUB FOOD AND DRAFT BEERS 251 Dauphin St. • 287-6871
MAMA’S ($)
SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD HOME COOKING 220 Dauphin St. • 432-6262
3011 Springhill Ave. • 476-2232
MICHELI’S CAFE ($)
6358 Cottage Hill Rd. • 725-6917
MCSHARRY’S ($-$$)
HOTDOGS SANDWICHES & COOL TREATS 3371 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 300–4015
MOMMA GOLDBERG’S DELI ($)
FRESH CARIBBEAN-STYLE FOOD & CRAFT BEER 6601 Airport Blvd. • 634-3445 225 Dauphin St. • 375-1576 107 St Francis St #115 • RSA Bank Trust Building MUFFINS, COFFEE & WRAPS 105 Dauphin St. • 433-9855
NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE ($)
OVEN-BAKED SANDWICHES & MORE 1335 Satchel Page Dr. Suite C. • 287-7356 7440 Airport Blvd. • 633-0096 30500 State Hwy 181 #132 • 625-6544
EUGENE’S MONKEY BAR ($)
FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES ($) BURGERS, MILKSHAKES & FRIES 4401 Old Shell Rd. • 447-2394 4663 Airport Blvd. • 300-8425 5319 Hwy 90 • 661-0071 1225 Satchel Page Dr.• 378-8768
A FAVORITE BARBECUE SPOT 5456 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0001
COTTON STATE BBQ ($)
DOWNTOWN LUNCH 101 N. Conception St. • 545-4682
DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT ($-$$)
ROYAL STREET CAFE ($)
BAKERY 5638 Three Notch Rd.• 219-6379
SATORI COFFEEHOUSE ($)
SERDA’S COFFEEHOUSE ($)
COFFEE, LUNCHES, LIVE MUSIC & GELATO 3 Royal St. S. • 415-3000
SIMPLY SWEET ($)
CUPCAKE BOUTIQUE 6207 Cottage Hill Rd. Suite B • 665-3003
STEVIE’S KITCHEN ($)
SANDWICHES, SOUPS, SALADS & MORE 41 West I-65 Service Rd. N Suite 150. • 287-2793
SUGAR RUSH DONUT CO. ($) 4701 Airport Blvd. • 408-3379
SUNSET POINTE ($-$$) THE BLIND MULE ($) THE GALLEY ($)
OPEN FOR LUNCH, INSIDE GULFQUEST 155 S. Water St • 436-8901
THE HARBERDASHER ($)
MIKO’S ITALIAN ICE ($)
OLD SHELL GROWLERS ($)
HOT SUBS, COLD SALADS & CATERING 6300 Grelot Rd. • 631-3730
THE WASH HOUSE ($$)
RIBS, SANDWICHES & GREAT SIDES 3314 Old Shell Rd. • 479-9898
SOUTHERN COOKING & THEN SOME 1716 Main St. Daphne • 222-4120
O’DALYS HOLE IN THE WALL ($)
FIREHOUSE SUBS ($)
BRICK PIT ($)
BBQ, BURGERS, WINGS & SEAFOOD 19170 Hwy 43 Mt. Vernon. • 839-9927
ROYAL KNIGHT ($)
LUNCH & DINNER 3004 Gov’t Blvd. • 287-1220
562 Dauphin St.• 725-6429
GROWLER STATION AND BITES 1801 Old Shell Rd. • 345-4767
PANINI PETE’S ($)
ORIGINAL SANDWICH AND BAKE SHOP 42 ½ Section St. • Fairhope • 929-0122 102 Dauphin St. • 405-0031
PAT’S DOWNTOWN GRILL ($) BAR FOOD 271 Dauphin St • 438-9585
18 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7
THE PIGEON HOLE ($)
THE SUNFLOWER CAFE ($) INSIDE VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOOD 3055 A Dauphin St • 479-3200
THYME BY THE BAY ($-$$)
33 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-5635
TIME TO EAT CAFE ($)
DOWN-HOME COUNTRY COOKIN 7351 Theodore Dawes Rd. • 653-0228 13665 N. Wintzell Ave. • 824-1119
TIN ROOF ($-$$)
SOUTHERN CASUAL FAMILY DINING 10800 US HWY 31 • Spanish Fort• 621-4995
TP CROCKMIERS ($)
AMERICAN RESTAURANT & BAR 250 Dauphin St. • 476-1890
THREE GEORGES CANDY SHOP ($) LIGHT LUNCH WITH SOUTHERN FLAIR. 226 Dauphin St. • 433-6725
TROPICAL SMOOTHIE ($)
GREAT SMOOTHIES, WRAPS & SANDWICHES. Du Rhu Dr. • 378-5648 570 Schillinger Road • 634-3454
UNCLE JIMMY’S DELICIOUS HOTDOGS ($)
2550 Dauphin Island Pkwy S. • 307-5328
WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS ($) COFFEE AND DONUTS 759 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope • 928-7223
WEDGIE’S ($)
GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE 5955 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6134
WILD WING STATION ($) 1500 Gov’t St. • 287-1526
CHINA DOLL ($)
SEAFOOD, ASIAN & AMERICAN CUISINE 69 St. Michael St • 375-1113
THE TRELLIS ROOM ($$$)
BBQ AND MORE Jubilee Sq.Ctr. Hwy 90, Daphne • 210-2151 McGowin Park Ctr. Satchel Paige Dr. • 471-1050 7721 Airport Blvd. • 380-8957
SANDWICHES, SOUTHWEST FARE, 7 DAYS 1203 Hwy 98 Ste. 3D • Daphne • 626-2440
113 Dauphin St.• 436-0989
E WING HOUSE ($)
809 Hillcrest Rd. • 634-2285
ROSIE’S GRILL ($-$$)
AUTHENTIC IRISH PUB 101 N. Bancroft St.• 990-5100
MOSTLY MUFFINS ($)
FLOUR GIRLS BAKERY ($)
2906 Springhill Ave. • 479-4614
DAILY SPECIALS MADE FROM SCRATCH 57 N. Claiborne St. • 694-6853
DEW DROP INN ($)
15 N Conception St. • 433-2299
ROSHELL’S CAFE ($)
MARY’S SOUTHERN COOKING ($)
GREAT SANDWICHES, COFFEE & MORE 1087 Downtowner Blvd. • 643-1611
MOON PIE GENERAL STORE ($)
195 S University Blvd. Suite H • 662-1829
WRAPS & SALADS 3220 Dauphin St. • 479-2480
MARS HILL CAFE ($)
GREAT DESSERTS & HOT LUNCH 23 Upham St. • 473-6115
DONUTS, COFFEE & SANDWICHES 1976 Michigan Ave. • 442-4846 3876 Airport Blvd. • 219-7369 505 Schillinger Rd. S. • 442-4845 29160 US Hwy 98 • 621-2228
ROLY POLY ($)
AT FLU CREEK 831 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-7766
MONTEGO’S ($-$$)
DUNKIN DONUTS ($)
SANDWICHES, SUBS & SOUPS 2056 Gov’t St. • 476-2777
VON’S BISTRO ($-$$)
BAR-B-QUING WITH MY HONEY ($$)
HOME COOKIN’ LIKE MOMMA MADE. 2804 Springhill Ave. • 473-4739
DREAMLAND BBQ ($)
COFFEE, SMOOTHIES, LUNCH & BEERS. 5460 Old Shell Rd. • 344-4575
D’ MICHAEL’S ($)
CLASSIC BURGERS, HOTDOGS & SETTING 1808 Old Shell Rd. • 473-7872
REGINA’S KITCHEN ($-$$)
CHARM ($-$$)
MODERN GASTROPUB INSPIRED BY JAPANESE KITCHEN 455 Dauphin St • 433-0376
TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN ($$)
JOE CAIN CAFÉ ($)
SANDWICHES & MOMMA’S LOVE 3696 Airport Blvd. • 344-9500 5602 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6556
DELISH BAKERY AND EATERY ($)
FUDGE, PRALINES & MORE 17111 Scenic Hwy 98 • Fairhope • 928-8477
SAISHO ($-$$)
BACKYARD CAFE & BBQ ($)
MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE ($)
HOT LUNCH, DAILY MENU (INSIDE VIA) 1717 Dauphin St. • 470-5231 PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS, GYROS & MORE 7101-A Theodore Dawes Rd. • 653-2979
PUNTA CLARA KITCHEN ($)
‘CUE
SALLY’S PIECE-A-CAKE ($)
JUDY’S PLACE ($-$$)
CHICK-FIL-A ($)
BAKERY, SANDWICHES & MORE 750 S. Broad St. • 438-1511 4464 Old Shell Rd. • 342-8546 107 St. Francis St. Suite 102 • 438-2261
AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM HIMALAYAN REGION 3210 Dauphin St. • 287-0115 400 Eastern Shore Center • 459-2862
SANDWICHES, CATERING & DELIVERY TOO 6920 Airport Blvd. • 414-5444 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-8694 62 B Royal St. • 432-0360
JIMMY JOHN’S ($)
CLARK’S KITCHEN ($-$$)
QUICHES & SANDWICHES 4366 Old Shell Rd. • 343-9889
POLLMAN’S BAKERY ($)
YAK THE KATHMANDU KITCHEN ($-$$)
MEAT BOSS ($)
PIZZAS, SANDWICHES, COCKTAILS 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
CHAT-A-WAY CAFE ($)
CHICKEN FINGERS, SALAD & SANDWICHES. 1165 University Blvd. • 202-0959
HOMEMADE LUNCH & BREAKFAST 104 N. Royal St. • 434-0011
DELI FOODS, PASTRIES & SPECIALTY DRINKS 4072 Old Shell Rd. • 304-0448 SANDWICHES, SOUTHERN CUISINE & CATERING 5817 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0200
PDQ ($)
5401 Cottage Hill Rd. • 591-4842
CASUAL FINE DINING 104 N. Section St. • Fairhope • 929-2219 CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE Battle House Hotel, Royal St. • 338-5493 17111 Scenic HWY 98 • Point Clear • 928-4838
A LITTLE VINO DOMKE MARKET
WINE, BEER, GOURMET FOODS, & MORE. 720 Schillinger Rd. S. Unit 8 • 287-1851
FATHOMS LOUNGE
A TAPAS RESTAURANT & COCKTAILS 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
FOOD PAK
FOOD, WINE & MORE 5150 Old Shell Rd. • 341-1497
POUR BABY
WINE BAR, CRAFT BEERS & BISTRO 6808 Airport Blvd. • 343-3555
FIREHOUSE WINE BAR & SHOP
BARBEQUE & MUSIC Bayfront Park Dr. • Daphne • 625-RIBS 701 Springhill Ave. • 410-7427 4672 Airport Blvd. • 300-8516
216 St Francis St. • 421-2022
SAUCY Q BARBQUE ($)
ROYAL STREET TAVERN
AWARD-WINNING BARBQUE 1111 Gov’t Blvd. • 433-7427
SMOKEY DEMBO SMOKE HOUSE ($) 3758 Dauphin Island Pkwy. • 473-1401
TILMO’S BBQ ($)
FAST BBQ W/ DRIVE-THRU 3249 Dauphin St. • 652-3508
DROP DEAD GOURMET
RED OR WHITE
323A De La Mare Ave, Fairhope • 990-0003 1104 Dauphin St.. • 478-9494 LIVE MUSIC, MARTINIS & DINNER MENU. 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
SOUTHERN NAPA
BISTRO PLATES, CRAFT BEERS & PANTRY 2304 Main St. • 375-2800
THE VINEYARD
UPSCALE WINE BAR 9 Du Rhu Dr. S 201 • 287-7135
BAY GOURMET ($$)
FALAFEL? TRY SOME HUMMUS
BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE ($-$$)
HEALTHY, DELICIOUS MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 3762 Airport Blvd. • 725-1177
A PREMIER CATERER & COOKING CLASSES 1880-A Airport Blvd. • 450-9051 GRILLED STEAKS, CHICKEN & SEAFOOD 720A Schillinger Rd. S. S2. • 607-7200 901 Montlimar Dr • 408-3133
CORNER 251 ($-$$)
HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St • 460-3157
DAUPHIN’S ($$-$$$)
HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH A VIEW 107 St. Francis St • 444-0200
DUMBWAITER ($$-$$$)
SERVING LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 167 Dauphin St. • 458-9573
CHUCK’S FISH ($$)
SEAFOOD AND SUSHI 551 Dauphin St.• 219-7051
7 SPICE ($-$$)
THAI KITCHEN & SUSHI BAR 960 Schillinger Rd. S • 660-4470 3966 Airport Blvd.• 343-5530
CUISINE OF INDIA ($$) LUNCH BUFFET 3674 Airport Blvd. • 341-6171
FUJI SAN ($)
THAI FARE AND SUSHI 2000 Airport Blvd. • 478-9888
GOLDEN BOWL ($)
HIBACHI GRILL & ASIAN CUISINE 309 Bel Air Blvd • 470-8033
HIBACHI 1 ($-$$)
2370 Hillcrest Rd. Unit B • 380-6062
ICHIBAN SUSHI ($)
JAPANESE & CHINESE CUISINE 3959 Cottage Hill Rd • 666-6266
KAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($-$$) QUALITY FOOD, EXCELLENT SERVICE 5045 Cottage Hill Rd. • 607-6454
LIQUID ($$)
AMAZING SUSHI & ASSORTMENT OF ROLLS. 661 Dauphin St. • 432-0109
RICE ASIAN GRILL & SUSHI BAR ($) 3964 Gov’t Blvd. • 378-8083
ROCK N ROLL SUSHI ($$)
273 S. McGregor Ave • 287-0445 6345 Airport Blvd. • 287-0555 940 Industrial Pkwy • 308-2158 6850 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 753-4367
SAISHO ($$)
6455 Dauphin St. • 433-0376
STIX ($$)
610240 Eastern Shore Blvd. • 621-9088
TASTE OF THAI ($$)
9091 US-90 Irvington • 957-1414
TOKYO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE ($$) UPSCALE SUSHI & HIBACHI 364 Azalea Rd. • 343-6622
WASABI SUSHI ($$)
JAPANESE CUISINE 3654 Airport Blvd. S. C • 725-6078
FROM THE DEPTHS
ABBA’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE ($-$$)
BAUDEAN’S ($$)
ISTANBUL GRILL ($)
THE BLUEGILL ($-$$)
4861 Bit & Spur Rd. • 340-6464
AUTHENTIC TURKISH & MEDITERRANEAN 3702 Airport Blvd. • 461-6901
JERUSALEM CAFE ($-$$)
MOBILE’S OLDEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE 5773 Airport Blvd. • 304-1155
KAN ZAMAN ($-$$)
MEDITERRANEAN FOOD AND HOOKAH 326 Azalea Rd • 229-4206
MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH COMPANY ($)
FRIED, GRILLED, STEAMED & ALWAYS FRESH 3300 River Rd. • 973-9070 A HISTORIC SEAFOOD DIVE W/ LIVE MUSIC 3775 Hwy. 98 • 625-1998
BONEFISH GRILL ($$)
ECLECTIC DINING & SPACE 6955 Airport Blvd. • 633-7196
BOUDREAUX’S CAJUN GRILL ($-$$) QUALITY CAJUN & NEW ORLEANS CUISINE 29249 US Highway 98 Daphne. • 621-1991
CRAVIN CAJUN/DIP SEAFOOD ($) PO-BOYS, SALADS & SEAFOOD 1870 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 287-1168
FIVE ($$)
GREAT & QUICK. 3702 Airport Blvd. • 308-2131 274 Dauphin St. • 545-3161 2502 Schillinger Rd. Ste. 2 • 725-0126 6890 US-90 • DAPHNE • 621-2271
KITCHEN ON GEORGE ($-$$)
MINT HOOKAH BISTRO ($)
FELIX’S FISH CAMP ($$)
LAUNCH ($-$$)
OLLIE’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL ($-$$)
FISHERMAN’S LEGACY ($)
GREAT FOOD AND COCKTAILS 609 Dauphin St. • 308-3105 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FOOD 351A George & Savannah St. • 436-8890 HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St. • 432-8000
MAGHEE’S GRILL ON THE HILL ($-$$) GREAT LUNCH & DINNER 3607 Old Shell Rd. • 445-8700
NOBLE SOUTH ($$)
GREAT MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 5951 Old Shell Rd. • 450-9191
MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT & HOOKAH 1248 Hillcrest St • 634-9820
TAZIKI’S ($-$$)
MEDITERRANEAN CAFE 1539 US HWY 98• 273-3337
LOCAL INGREDIENTS 203 Dauphin St. • 690-6824
FAR EASTERN FARE
NOJA ($$-$$$)
4513 Old Shell Rd.• 473-0007
INVENTIVE & VERY FRESH CUISINE 6 N. Jackson St. • 433-0377
OSMAN’S RESTAURANT ($$) SUPREME EUROPEAN CUISINE 2579 Halls Mill Rd. • 479-0006
ROYAL SCAM ($$)
GUMBO, ANGUS BEEF & BAR 72. S. Royal St. • 432-SCAM (7226)
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$) EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE 271 Glenwood St. • 476-0516
SAGE RESTAURANT ($$) INSIDE THE MOBILE MARRIOTT 3101 Airport Blvd. • 476-6400
ANG BAHAY KUBO ($$)
ED’S SEAFOOD SHED ($$)
FRIED SEAFOOD SERVED IN HEFTY PORTIONS 3382 Hwy. 98 • 625-1947 UPSCALE DINING WITH A VIEW 1420 Hwy. 98 • 626-6710
DELI, MARKET AND CATERING. 4380 Halls Mill Rd. • 665-2266
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($)
30500 AL-181 • Spanish Fort • 206-8768 3654 Airport Blvd. • 338-9350
LUCY B. GOODE ($$)
GULF COAST CUISINE, REINVENTED 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
LULU’S ($$)
BAMBOO STEAKHOUSE ($$)
LIVE MUSIC & GREAT SEAFOOD 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
BANGKOK THAI ($-$$)
CAJUN KITCHEN & SEAFOOD MARKET 2005 Government St. • 478-9897
SUSHI BAR 650 Cody Rd. S • 300-8383
DELICIOUS, TRADITIONAL THAI CUISINE 28600 US 98 • Daphne • 626-5286 3821 Airport Blvd. • 344-9995
BANZAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($$) TRADITIONAL SUSHI & LUNCH. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-9077
BENJAS ($)
THAI & SUSHI 5369 D Hwy 90 W • 661-5100
MUDBUGS AT THE LOOP ($) RALPH & KACOO’S ($-$$) THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 1595 Battleship Pkwy. • 626-0045
R&R SEAFOOD ($-$$)
LAID-BACK EATERY & FISH MARKET 1477 Battleship Pkwy. • 621-8366
RIVER SHACK ($-$$)
SEAFOOD, BURGERS & STEAKS 6120 Marina Dr. • Dog River • 443-7318.
THE GRAND MARINER ($-$$) LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 6036 Rock Point Rd. • 443-5700
THE HARBOR ROOM ($-$$) UNIQUE SEAFOOD 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
THE SEAFOOD HOUSE ($-$$)
HEROES SPORTS BAR & GRILLE ($) SANDWICHES & COLD BEER 273 Dauphin St. • 433-4376 Hillcrest & Old Shell Rd. • 341-9464
HURRICANE GRILL & WINGS ($-$$) WINGS, SEAFOOD, BURGERS & BEER 7721 Airport Blvd. Suite E-180 • 639-6832
ISLAND WING CO ($)
EVERYTHING BAKED OR GRILLED 2617 Dauphin St. • 476-9464
751 Azalea Rd. • 301-7964
MANCIS ($)
TIN TOP RESTAURANT & OYSTER BAR ($$)
MCSHARRY’S IRISH PUB ($)
SEAFOOD, STEAKS, & EXTENSIVE WINE LIST 6232 Bon Secour Hwy County Rd. 10. • 949-5086
WINTZELL’S OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$) FRESH SEAFOOD FOR OVER 75 YEARS 605 Dauphin St. • 432-4605 6700 Airport Blvd. • 341-1111 1208 Shelton Beach Rd. • Saraland • 442-3335 805 S. Mobile St. • 929-2322
IS THE GAME ON?
ASHLAND MIDTOWN PUB ($-$$) PIZZAS, PASTAS, & CALZONES 245-A Old Shell Rd. • 479-3278
BAUMHOWER’S ($)
WINGS, BURGERS & PUB GRUB 6880 US-90 #14 • Daphne • 625-4695
BISHOP’S ($)
A SOUTHERN GRILL & BAR 3673 Airport Blvd. • 344-2131
BUFFALO WILD WINGS ($) BEST WINGS & SPORTING EVENTS 6341 Airport Blvd. • 378-5955
BUTCH CASSIDY’S ($)
FAMOUS BURGERS, SANDWICHES & WINGS 60 N. Florida St. • 450-0690
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB ($) BURGERS & BEER 916 Charleston St. • 433-9374
1715 Main St. • 375-0543
GUIDO’S ($$)
FRESH CUISINE NIGHTLY ON MENU 1709 Main St. • Daphne • 626-6082
HOUSE OF PIZZA ($)
3958 Snow Rd C. • Semmes • 645-3400
LA ROSSO ($$)
COMFORT FOOD 1716 Main St. Ste. C • Daphne • 281-2982
MACARONI GRILL ($$)
SMALL PLATES, PIZZAS, PASTAS & WINE 3250 Airport Blvd. • 450-4556
MARCOS ($)
BRILLIANT REUBENS & FISH-N-CHIPS. 101 N. Brancroft St. Fairhope • 990-5100
5055 Cottage Hill Rd. • 308-4888 2394 Dawes Rr. • 639-3535 2004 US 98 • Daphne • 265-6550
MUG SHOTS ($$)
MELLOW MUSHROOM ($)
BAR & GRILL 29740 Urgent Care Dr. • Daphne • 662-9639 6255 Airport Blvd. • 447-2514
OLD 27 GRILL ($)
BURGERS, DOGS & 27 BEERS & WINES. 19992 Hwy.181 Old County Rd. Fairhope • 281-2663
LUCKY’S IRISH PUB ($) IRISH PUB FARE & MORE 3692 Airport Blvd • 414-3000
WEMOS ($)
WINGS, TENDERS, HOTDOGS & SANDWICHES 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-5877
MAMA MIA!
BUCK’S PIZZA ($$)
DELIVERY 350 Dauphin St. • 431-9444
CORTLAND’S PIZZA PUB ($-$$) GREAT PIZZA. LUNCH & DINNER 4356 Old Shell Rd. • 342-0024
GAMBINO BROTHERS ($) HOMEMADE PASTAS & SANDWICHES 873 Hillcrest Ave. • 344-8115
GAMBINO’S ITALIAN GRILL ($) ITALIAN, STEAKS & SEAFOOD 18 Laurel Ave. • Fairhope • 990-0995
PIES & AWESOME BEER SELECTION 2032 Airport Blvd. • 471-4700 5660 Old Shell Rd. • 380-1500 29698 Frederick Blvd.• Daphne • 621-3911
MIRKO ($$)
PASTA & MORE 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-6611
NAVCO PIZZA ($$)
PIZZA, SUBS & PASTA 1368 ½ Navco Rd.• 479-0066
PAPA’S PLACE ($$)
A TASTE OF ITALY. BYOB. 28691 U.S. Highway 98 • 626-1999
PINZONE’S ITALIAN VILLAGE ($$) AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DISHES 312 Fairhope Ave. • Fairhope • 990-5535
RAVENITE ($)
PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD & MORE 102 N. Section St. •Fairhope• 929-2525
PIZZERIA DELFINA ($) PIZZA & PASTA 107 Dauphin St. • 375-1644
ROMA CAFE ($-$$)
PASTA, SALAD AND SANDWICHES 7143 Airport Blvd. • 341-7217
ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL ($$) 3250 Airport Blvd. Springdale Mall• 450-4556
TAMARA’S BAR & GRILL ($)
WINGS, PO-BOYS, BURGERS 210 Eastern Shore Center, Hwy. 98 • 929-0002
TRATTORIA PIZZA & ITALIAN ($$) ITALIAN FOOD & PIZZAS 11311 US HIghway 31 Spanish Fort• 375-0076
VIA EMILIA ($$)
MARIA BONITA AGAVE BAR & GRILL ($-$$) MEXICAN CUISINE 3977 Gov’t Blvd. • 660-4970
OLÉ MI AMIGO ($-$$)
HEARTY MEXICAN FARE 736 holcombe Ave.• 473-0413
HOMEMADE PASTAS & PIZZAS MADE DAILY 5901 Old Shell Rd. • 342-3677
POOR MEXICAN ($)
OLÉ MI AMIGO!
ROOSTER’S ($)
TASTE OF MEXICO 5452 Hwy 90 W • 661-5509
TAQUERIA MEXICO ($-$$)
AZTECAS ($-$$)
CAFÉ DEL RIO ($-$$)
MOUTH WATERING MEXICAN FOOD 1175 Battleship Pkwy • 625-2722
CINCO DE MAYO ($) MEXICAN CUISINE 260 Azalea Rd. • 375-1095
DAUPHIN ST. TAQUERIA ($)
ENCHILADAS, TACOS, & AUTHENTIC FARE Ok Bicycle Shop • 661 Dauphin St. • 432-2453
EL MARIACHI ($)
763 Holcombe Ave • 473-0413
FUEGO ($-$$)
OUTSTANDING MEXICAN CUISINE 2066 Old Shell Rd. • 378-8621
HACIENDA SAN MIGUEL ($-$$) TASTE OF MEXICO 880 Schillinger Rd. S. • 633-6122 5805 US 90 • 653-9163
LA COCINA ($)
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE 800 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-0783 830 W I65 Service Rd. S • 378-5837 4663 Airport Blvd. • 342-5553
LOS ARCOS ($)
QUAINT MEXICAN RESTAURANT 5556 Old Shell Rd. • 345-7484
3050 AL 181 • Spanish Fort • 621-7433 LATIN AMERICAN FOOD 211 Dauphin St. • 375-1076 AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FLAVOR 3733 Airport Blvd. • 414-4496
NO GAMBLING CASINO FARE BEAU RIVAGE:
875 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 888-952-2582
BR PRIME ($$-$$$)
FINE DINING ESTABLISHMENT.
FLAVORS BUFFET ($-$$) ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET
IP CASINO:
850 Bayview Ave. Bilox • 888-946-2847
THIRTY-TWO ($$$) SEAFOOD, STEAKS, WINE
TIEN ($-$$)
INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
HIGH TIDE CAFÉ ($)
CASUAL & RELAXING, EXTENSIVE MENU
ISLAND VIEW:
3300 W. Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 877-774-8439
BEACH BLVD STEAMER ($) SEAFOOD
CARTER GREEN STEAKHOUSE ($$-$$$) RICH TRADITIONS, STEAK, SEAFOOD
C&G GRILLE ($)
LARGE BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER MENU
PALACE CASINO:
158 Howard Ave. Biloxi • 800-725-2239
COAST RESTAURANT ($-$$)
MIGNON’S ($$$)
BURGER, WINGS, PIZZA
JIA ($-$$)
PLACE BUFFET ($-$$)
STALLA ($$)
EXOTIC CUISINE AND SUSHI
STACKED GRILL ($-$$)
TERRACE CAFE ($)
TREASURE BAY:
HARD ROCK CASINO:
THE DEN ($-$$)
ITALIAN COOKING
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, LATE NIGHT
777 Beach Blvd.Biloxi • 877-877-6256
STEAKS, SEAFOOD, FINE WINE INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
BURGERS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
1980 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 800-747-2839 INTIMATE & CASUAL WITH DAILY SPECIALS
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$)
CQ ($$-$$$)
HARD ROCK CAFÉ ($)
BLU ($)
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)
WIND CREEK CASINO:
SEAFOOD
AMERICAN FARE & ROCKIN’ MEMORABILIA EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE
SATISFACTION ($-$$)
SOUTHERN FAVORITES BUFFET
HARRAH’S GULF COAST:
280 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 288-436-2946
ELEGANT ATMOSPHERE & TANTALIZING ENTREES LOUNGE WITH COCKTAILS & TAPAS MENU
303 Poarch Rd. Atmore • 866-946-3360
FIRE ($$-$$$)
PRIME STEAKS, SEAFOOD & WINE
GRILL ($)
CONTEMPORARY & OLD-FASHIONED FAVORITES
MAGNOLIA HOUSE ($$-$$$) FINE DINING, SEAFOOD AND STEAKS
SEND LISTINGS TO LISTINGS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 19
CUISINE | THE REVIEW
Cates steers Kitchen on George into sublime waters BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR
T
he greatest part about visiting Kitchen on George is that every few years or so it’s going to change, usually for the better. Our little corner of George and Savannah is currently undergoing another one of those changes under Executive Chef Bryan Cates. Chef Cates comes to Mobile by way of the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Charleston, with a few impressive stops along the way. Since he’s filled the void after Chef Gillian Clark left KOG, I’ve been waiting to stop in for an official review of the “new” place. A while back I was fortunate enough to attend a wine dinner with Chef Cates at the helm and was thoroughly impressed. So for this review I decided to tie it in with a prebirthday dinner for Catherine and a warm-up to a huge set of St. Patrick’s Day plans. At the time of this review the menu had changed very little, but there were some items I don’t recall having tried. Catherine has gotten comfortable enough on these reviews that she thinks she can call the shots. It was the night before her birthday, so I let her. Without even asking me she ordered the Shrimp Bruschetta ($13). I couldn’t argue with that. It was an amazing mix of corn, tomato, basil and jalapeño over focaccia bread with a creamy roasted garlic mascarpone. Wow, it was more than I expected. The flavors were layered and phenomenal, with a southwestern vibe. I had to have the Hudson Valley Foie Gras Mousse ($14). I’m into foie gras and this is one to remember. The centerpiece is a crouton made from brioche bread about the size of a bagel, crunchy but forkable, with this port-marinat-
WORD OF MOUTH
The perfect combination BY ANDY MACDONALD
Thousands of pounds of crawfish, gallons upon gallons of gumbo, hot dogs and chips, Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream, Fairhope Brewing Co. and of course bluegrass! Yes, this is my favorite time of year, when the St. Mary’s Knights of Columbus hold their 15th annual Crawfish and Bluegrass Extravaganza. This afternoon and evening of happiness will be held rain or shine Saturday, April 1, 4-9 p.m. on the grounds of St. Mary Catholic School. The corner of Old Shell and North Lafayette will be oozing with seafood and live music as Fat Man Squeeze (playing for our 14th consecutive year) and Delta Reign take the stage. There’s a bit of a departure from the “bluegrass only” lineup, with our buddies The Modern Eldorados bringing their rockabilly sound. The evening will be capped off with
ed mousse and dollops of Bordeaux cherry gelée that lent a complex flavor to the dish. The ever-popular sweet and salty combination could turn anyone into a fan. The oyster game here is as good as it’s ever been. Alabama fried oysters ($9) were exactly what I’d been looking for. These particular ones, I was told, came from the Gulf. That’s all they would say, but the cornmeal batter had a little spice to it and was amped up by the addition of Sriracha aioli. I’ll say I am proud of Catherine for making the turn toward fried oysters. When we met she’d only take on the chargrilled or charbroiled variety. Now it’s a fight to see who will get the last one. Thankfully I think the food scene is over the “Sriracha is great on everything” phase, but Sriracha was great on this. Cut into aioli the heat wasn’t more than most could handle. So don’t steer clear of these if you’re someone who doesn’t like it too hot, but there is some Sriracha in there. Just enough. The Soup Du Jour ($6) was broccoli and cheese. That sounded pretty boring to me until the waitress told me the cheeses. Romano, Gouda, cheddar and goat cheese made this run-of-the-mill soup stand out. We asked for some hot sauce (not that it needed anything, we are just hot sauce freaks with soup) and were treated to a choice of Sriracha or Tabasco. I think we tried a little of both. This had become a meal of sharing. Every dish we had was for two and the entrée was no different. They had a steak dish on special that was calling me but in the end I couldn’t resist the Pontchartrain Catch of the Day ($29). Our waitress was again kind enough to oblige our order-
punk band Black Irish Texas headlining. Proceeds from this event will benefit Veterans Recovery Resources, which provides mental wellness and addiction recovery services to all veterans who need help. Advance tickets are $30 per person, $35 at the gate. High school students aged 13-18 go for $15 at the gate and children 12 and under get in free. Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2718141 or in person at Zoghby’s Uniforms locations, Mobile Popcorn Co., St. Mary School and Picker’s Paradise.
ODWA plant swap
It’s time for the 2017 Old Dauphin Way Association’s Plant Swap, Saturday, April 1, from 10 a.m. to noon. The event is a stressfree way to exchange plants (including herbs, fruits, veggies, flowers, etc.) in the parking lot of Central Presbyterian Church at 1260
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ing of one dish and had the kitchen split it into two plates. I am grateful to her for her efforts, though we don’t like to make too big of a fuss and would have gladly taken on this dish Lady and the Tramp style. Today’s catch was snapper, lightly blackened and just done the way it should be. Served over a bed of Conecuh jambalaya with a mushroom cream sauce, a scattering of Gulf shrimp was the only way it could get better. I’m a saucy kind of fella. I love sauce for just about anything, but in my old age I’ve taken to enjoying the less-smothered dishes that don’t overpower the fish. Many Pontchartrain dishes overload the sauce. This one was spot on. It was even great as leftovers, as I hope you would have guessed if you’ve been tallying up how much we’d eaten at this point. There was zero room for dessert. Here’s the catch: Things seem to be running smoothly at Kitchen on George and those of you who visit with any regularity may be thinking that not much has changed. I’ve since spoken to Chef Cates and learned he’s in the process of rolling out a new menu. Before you regulars freak out, they will be keeping some of their staple items like the aforementioned Pontchartrain and shrimp and grits. The exciting thing is they will be offering three-, five- and seven-course tasting menus at dinner service (with reservations) in the renovated upstairs dining area. There will also be daily themed specials: Monday, burgers; Tuesday, noodle bowls; Wednesday night, barbecue; Thursday, steamers; and Friday, tastings. Imagine Gulf fish crudo and all kinds of experiments with small batch, hyper-locally produced ingredients and vegetables and herbs from their garden. This puts diners in a unique position where they may try something that will never be on a menu. Chef Cates says the dessert menu items will rotate flavor profiles as well but stay in the realm of the dish descriptions. And let’s be honest, some of the best parts about this place are the desserts. Sometimes a glass of wine and chocolate anything is all I need. Yes, Mobilians can get into a bit of a rut and fear change, but things are changing for the better at Kitchen on George. The new menu is hopefully rolling out by April 17 so keep your minds and mouths open. Until then most of you know what to expect from the Oakleigh hotspot.
Kitchen on George 351A George St. Mobile 36604 251-436-8890
Dauphin St., across from the Alabama School of Math and Science. For each plant you bring you can take home another of your choosing. It’s a great way to meet like-minded folks who are into plants and pick up something less familiar. Visit www.odwa.org for more information.
Cajun Cook-Off huge success
The numbers aren’t in yet for the amounts raised for the Child Advocacy Center of Mobile, but the teams have been awarded. This past Saturday, the 3rd annual Downtown Cajun Cook-Off had people lined up around Cathedral Square waiting for the gates to open. When the 10 a.m. bell rang, the ticket holders were treated to the best food yet, with lots of rice, crawfish, shrimp and Conecuh in almost every dish. In the judges’ tent we were treated to four dishes every 15 minutes and I think we got the
top three correct. As a blind judge, I had to go out and see who created the spectacular plates and the winners were not such a surprise. The mix of actual restaurants versus a few non-restaurant teams proved to be a level playing field with the judges. Third place went to The Brickyard for their incredible sliders that were so good I set my tastings to the side so I could finish them later. The Garage may as well open a restaurant because I think they’ve placed every year. This year their trio of pistolettes (stuffed with gumbo Z’erb, a pork and rice version and a crawfish étouffée with cheese) took second. Dauphin’s Steve Zucker and friends were the only actual restaurant to place but his shrimp étouffée had a dark roux that was unmatched. Every judge in the tent commented about it. All three were fantastic. Next year will be even better! Recycle!
M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 21
COVER STORY
Gulf Coast weighing implications of Trump’s budget proposal
W
BY JASON JOHNSON, DALE LIESCH AND JANE NICHOLES
ith a Republican in the White House and GOP majorities in both houses of Congress, it’s likely the conservatives who’ve long called for federal budget cuts will get their wish in the coming fiscal year. When President Donald Trump’s proposed budget leaked from the Office of Management and Budget last week, its key points were consistent with promises he made as a candidate. Notably, “the budget blueprint to make America Great Again” includes a 10 percent increase in military spending — bringing the possible defense budget to $574 billion in 2018. Those proposed increases and a defense appropriations bill that pushes for a larger naval fleet have been welcome news for Austal USA, which employs around 4,000 people in Mobile building two vessels for the United States Navy. However, the additional funding for defense and homeland security is made possible through deep cuts proposed in other federal programs, and with agencies with large local footprints in the crosshairs, the Mobile area could have as many budgetary losers as it does winners when Congress begins ironing out the details. While Alabama’s representatives in Washington are quick to point out Trump’s recommendations are just that, many also have a general support for his fiscal priorities. “This process has only just begun, and the beauty of our system of government is that while the president has an important role in identifying key national priorities, it is Congress that decides how taxpayer dollars are spent,” Alabama Sen. Luther Strange said. “I am encouraged that the president’s proposal prioritizes efforts to rebuild the military and cuts the influence of the EPA down to size. These are promising first steps for the thousands of Alabamians behind the cutting edge technologies used by our armed forces, as well as those who have struggled under the prior administration’s overreaching regulations.”
HUD cuts would impact Mobile
Chairwoman Kimberly Pettway told Lagniappe the Mobile Housing Board has long feared drastic reductions such as the $6 billion cut proposed for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Trump’s first budget. “It does not appear that affordable housing is a priority for this administration,” she said. “We had hoped to see otherwise.” With that said, MHB will be somewhat insulated, as all of its properties slowly make the transition to the Rental Assistance Demonstration program. That will allow MHB to partner with private developers to inject more capital into projects; former Executive Director Dwayne Vaughn previously said the program would prevent MHB housing from reeling too badly from major cuts at the federal level.
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Instead of relying on funds for low-income public housing, RAD allows agencies to move to a voucher-based system, under a 20-year deal, where private developers manage the properties. While that program helps stabilize funding year after year, the current budget proposal would strip more than $300 million away from HUD’s housing choice voucher [Section 8] program and pull more than $1.3 billion in funding from public housing repairs, according to Eric Jefferson, director of Mobile’s Housing First. When asked if agencies could work around that level of cuts, Jefferson said “It depends.” “No,” he said. “Not unless they give specific tax cuts to organizations that will make up the difference.” The cuts would have an impact on some of MHB’s “supportive services,” Pettway said. “If things remain as they appear, I fear we’re going to be quite constrained as [it] relates to supportive services,” she said. “You certainly can’t have a $6 billion cut without feeling it. We’re remaining hopeful.” U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Montrose, said if the budget cuts make it through Congress intact, agencies like MHB would have to be more proactive in working with private developers in order to create housing options for low-income residents. “We want to see more done with less money,” Byrne said. “We need to be thinking outside the box.” The goal of public housing, Byrne said, is to ultimately get residents out of it. “We don’t want to lock people into public housing forever,” he said. “It’s a sign of [government] failure, if someone has spent their whole life in public housing.” In addition to cuts to low-income public housing, the possible reduction in the HUD budget could completely wipe out funding for the HOME program, which provides federal money for the development of new affordable housing units in the state. Ashley Kerr, project manager for the Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama, said since there is no state money allocated for affordable housing Trump’s cuts could hit particularly hard. “When it came out we were expecting it to be bad,” she said. “It’s pretty devastating to Alabama going forward.” The HUD cuts would also eliminate the Choice Neighborhoods planning grant program, Kerr said. MHB benefited from two Choice Neighborhood grants in the last few years. The grants helped the board organize community meetings related to its transformation plans for properties on the city’s north and south sides. The budget also calls for elimination of the Community Development Block Grant program, which would have a negative impact on the city. Byrne called CDBG a “good program that has worked well for big and small towns.”
“I hope we don’t cut it,” he said. Other cuts, such as those reported to hit the U.S. Coast Guard, might not actually happen, Byrne said.
Defense spending increases
Trump’s spending plan looks to increase military spending by more than $50 million, which could be good news for the Mobile area. The increase means a need for the full complement of 52 Littoral Combat Ships, Byrne said. In addition, the budget would mean more ships being built at Ingalls in Pascagoula, where a large number of Byrne’s constituents work. Byrne said the increased spending for the military was a must for two reasons. He said the U.S. has been living off an advantage it gained in the Cold War for more than 20 years. At the same time, the country’s adversaries — such as North Korea, Iran and others, including terrorist organizations — have been increasing their investment in weaponry, Byrne said. “The gap is closing,” he said. “It would be irresponsible for us not to recognize it.” He compared the U.S. now to 1930s Europe during the rise of Germany and Adolf Hitler. “We don’t want to get caught flat-footed,” he said. While he had no new details on the proposed Interstate 10 bridge over the Mobile River, Byrne said there are tax credit programs within the proposed budget that could bring the long-awaited project closer to reality. Byrne said the federal government is currently waiting for the Alabama Department of Transportation to move forward before anything further can be done.
Mobile Bay NEP
Despite being a reliable bloc in one of the country’s reddest states, Alabama’s Gulf Coast has a cultural and economic softspot for environmental protection, as evidenced by nationally recognized conservation programs like the Forever Wild land trust. Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Director Roberta Swann said when she moved from Massachusetts it was evident people on the Gulf had “water running through their veins.” “You would think everybody would want to be an environmentalist because it’s what everybody does, but yet, it seems nobody likes environmentalists … we’re all tree huggers,” she joked. “I found out pretty quickly most of that is just semantics — everybody’s a conservationist, but to be an environmentalist means you’re a liberal.” No matter the label, Swann and her staff would be significantly affected if the 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency in Trump’s budget comes to pass. Unlike some grant-funded organizations, the country’s NEPs are funded through a specific line item in the EPA budget because the program is authorized through the Clean Water Act. MBNEP has spent more than a decade evaluating environmental stressors that affect the local estuary and produced a number of comprehensive plans to address those issues and making growth planning more sustainable in the future. It’s also undertaken some of the more planning-oriented projects funded with money from the BP oil spill — stretching its $600,000 federal allocation into restoration work valued in the millions. Swann said while its current model requires outside grants and local support, MBNEP’s success in securing those additional funding sources has been possible in part because the EPA funds the majority of its operating expenses. Though still it’s unclear what a 31 percent reduction to the EPA would mean locally, Swan said MBNEP would almost certainly have to rethink how it prices out labor for grant applications and work performed for local governments. “The diversity of our funding sources has helped keep us resilient against cuts, but that’s not to say that a 31 percent cut wouldn’t make a huge dent in our program,” Swann said. “However, we’ve been told time and again that the president recommends, but Congresses decides, and we have strong congressional support.”
COVER STORY Weeks Bay Reserve
Another organization that would be directly affected by cuts to the EPA is the Weeks Bay Reserve, which could lose 70 percent of its funding if Trump’s proposed budget cuts come to pass. The Baldwin County land reserve receives funding from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association — another agency that appears to headed for deep rollbacks of its congressional funding. “It’s going to take some time for anything to happen,” Executive Director Yael Girard said. The budget year for which the cuts are targeted is fiscal 2018-2019, so the cut would not go into effect until Oct. 1 of 2018, she said. But the foundation isn’t taking any chances and is publicizing the risk now. If there is no public outcry, the cut could get lost among the rest of the proposals in the budget and by the time it comes before Congress, it could be too late to save NERRS, Girard said. With only 30 percent of its funding remaining, the Reserve would have to shut down most or all of the research being conducted on Weeks Bay. Current projects include studies on the best ways to use plantings to help stop erosion and preserve coastline. Planting density, how well plantings do in certain sands or soil, slopes and the effects of sea level rises are examples. Girard said researchers are gathering the information in anticipation of receiving funds for restoration from BP oil spill money. Not only will that information not be available if NERRS is eliminated, but graduate students who are doing the research might not be able to complete their advanced degrees, she said. Girard said the education component could also suffer, as schoolchildren might not be able to visit the reserve for programs. Overall, roughly 8,000 people visited the reserve last year.
Effect on ADEM
Part of Trump’s approach to EPA funding relies on states taking a more active role in funding and enforcing their own environmental policies. While that idea is supported by many congressional Republicans, not every state prioritizes the environmental equally. While Byrne is no stranger to criticizing the EPA, he told Lagniappe he does have concerns with how a blanket cut to the agency might impact an already underfunded Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “What’s true about ADEM, and true with a lot of other agencies, is that the state provides minimal or sometimes no funding, which has made them overly reliant on the federal government,” Byrne said. “The problem is, the federal government is going to be making some serious cuts, so the leaders of Alabama are going to have to decide what it is we want and what we’re willing to pay for, instead of sitting back and waiting on Uncle Sam to send a check.”
If the state budget cleared the Legislature today, it would mark the third year ADEM has received little to no operational dollars from the state — a steep reduction that prompted a 100 percent increase in the agency’s permitting fees since 2014. Currently, almost 40 percent of ADEM’s budget comes from EPA grants that fund the state’s enforcement of federal environmental laws. Under Trump’s proposal, though, those grant programs would also be trimmed by 30 percent, which Director Lance LeFleur said would likely mean a 15 percent reduction in ADEM’s overall budget. “Most of our costs are personnel costs, so when we look at costs, we look at them in terms of reductions in staffing,” LeFleur said. “If we take the cut of 30 percent and apply it to our budget, we would be looking at a reduction of somewhere around 40 employees, which is around 7 [percent] to 8 percent of our overall headcount.” According to LeFleur, though, that percentage isn’t far from ADEM’s “normal attrition rate,” which is why he said the agency isn’t anticipating layoffs but could end up looking at “a kind of hiring freeze.” However, LeFleur said ADEM’s workload will likely see a comparable reduction because the administration and EPA head Scott Pruitt plan to eliminate a number of programs. The problem environmental organizations like Mobile Baykeeper have with LeFleur’s assumption is ADEM’s history of “lax enforcement” before the state began slashing its allocation to the department in 2008. According to Baykeeper Executive Director Casi Callaway, even before those cuts a single employee would be responsible for monitoring and inspecting thousands of permits related to stormwater construction sites, water and air quality, underground storage and more. “The list of things ADEM does, or is supposed to do, is massive, and even though [LeFleur] is saying they’ll only lose around 40 people, we’ve already lost 100 people just from what’s happened at the state level,” Callaway said. “It’s impossible to do all that, so they don’t do it, and what you’re going to find is the majority of that is going to be pulled from monitoring and enforcement.” Callaway said her biggest concern is ADEM’s funding dropping to a level that would prevent it from enforcing the law on violators even when organizations like Baykeeper bring them to the state’s attention. With no regulatory authority of the industries that receive environmental permits, Callaway said there’s only so much watchdog groups can do. “The biggest thing the environment is going to lose is someone ensuring businesses, industry and developers abide by the law,” she added. “We’re losing the cop, even if it was an ineffective cop to begin with.”
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ART ARTIFICE
Is Mobile ready for a big con? BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR/KLEE@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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he day was typical for what’s become one of the central Gulf Coast’s most successful gatherings built around creative pursuits. In short, Pensacon was kicking. For one Mobilian on hand, it was an eye opener. My wife and I shared some seats and conversation with Uncle Henry for the better part of an hour talking about the spectacle, the fans moving around us at artists’ tables and wandering the vendors’ floor beneath us. Uncle Henry couldn’t stop with the praise and amazement. When you impress an irascible curmudgeon, it’s notable. “What impressed me the most was when I found out they had a late cancellation with a guest and landed Sean Astin on a moment’s notice. That’s when I knew they had some serious money behind this,” Uncle Henry said. Uncle Henry mentioned the visible economic activity, the people on the streets and in hotels and restaurants. He pointed to the new tax revenue for the city as some vendors told him it was one of the highlights of their year. We discussed space I’ve spent in this paper lauding a similar idea for Mobile. The Azalea City has even more to its advantage than Pensacola as far as facilities, hotels, etc. Mayor Sandy Stimpson is always hitting the “familyfriendly” note in his statements, and this arena was filled with such. “I’ve never felt safer at a public event of this size,” Uncle Henry said, enthralled by the amiable vibe. He saw for himself why the experience often exceeds the imagination.
We did agree on another imagined scenario, though. Were someone to load Mobile city officials and tourism personnel onto a bus, drive them over and let them see Pensacon for themselves, they would quickly start wondering, “How can we get something like this for our town?” The numbers speak for themselves. Kat Bishop, Pensacon’s director of marketing and communications, said attendance this year was 28,500. The hard numbers for this year’s economics aren’t in yet,
THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. KAT BISHOP, PENSACON’S DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, SAID ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR WAS 28,500.” but she noted the previous three years together amounted to about $8 million. This should easily pass $10 million after 2017 is included. When 2018 VIP passes went on sale March 15, they sold out in three minutes. Their host hotel, the Pensacola Grand, booked up in 38 minutes. While Biloxi’s Coast Con has been around 40 years and
MOJO melds crime, jazz
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Correction: Last week, Artifice mistakenly named the University of South Alabama as one of the contributing entities for the Mobile Museum of Art’s new William Christenberry exhibit. They are not. Also the Christenberry who fashioned the referenced Tornado Table and lantern is William Andrew Christenberry III, the featured artist’s son. He is a professional artist and furniture maker.
American culture. Entrance is $15, $12 for students and military, and $10 for MOJO members. Entrance includes a light jambalaya dinner, and a cash bar is available. For more information, call 251-459-2298, email mobilejazz@bellsouth.net or go to mojojazz.org.
Deep-fried scandal
Anyone’s business is everyone’s business in a small Texas town. When that someone is a family matriarch who expires while involved in some extramarital shenanigans in a seedy hotel, it just gets that much juicier. That’s what Mobile Theatre Guild (14 N. Lafayette St.) will bring to life when they stage Del Shores’ outrageous comedy “Sordid Lives.” This show directed by Tania Radoslovich runs March 24 through April 9. This colorful clan comes together in the wake of the wandering woman’s death. The members include one fellow who ventured to West Hollywood to find himself, another who spent 20 years under institutional care since divulging his desire to
dress like Tammy Wynette and another, scarred by a traumatic pig-bloating incident. Curtain is at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 and $15 for students, military and seniors. For more information, call 251-433-7513 or go to mobiletheatreguild.org.
Red-light insight
In 1888, Mobile legalized prostitution in a zone on the western end of its First Ward that became known as the Tenderloin District. It lasted about 30 years. The Historic Mobile Preservation Society presents “Negotiated Affections,” a discussion of the hundreds of women who called the Tenderloin home and became property owners and entrepreneurs through its opportunities. It takes place Thursday, March 23, 5:30 p.m. at the Cox-Deasy Cottage of the Oakleigh estate (300 Oakleigh Place). Admission is $10, free for HMPS members. For more information, call 251-432-1281.
ARTSGALLERY
Conjure a classic detective, with fedora and trench coat, and a red neon sign blinking through the slats of a worn venetian blind. Now, what music does your imagination supply? If it’s a lonely trumpet or swaggering saxophone, you’re in good company. So, how did we come to associate crime thrillers and film noir with jazz? The story’s not simple, since those legendary Humphrey Bogart flicks didn’t feature jazz music at all. It took something other than just the hard-boiled detective to wed music with story themes to make something now as American as baseball. The Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed (MOJO) will trace the marriage of these art forms on Monday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. at their monthly Jazz Jambalaya. Mobile filmmaker Gideon C. Kennedy will join Lagniappe arts editor Kevin Lee in presenting “Jazz Noir” at Gulf City Lodge (601 State St.) in downtown Mobile. Saxophonist Rebecca Barry leads a combo of guitarist Jim Green, bassist Josh Titford and drummer Cori Walters as they recreate some of the more notable themes and soundtracks in
our own Mobicon has existed in some form since the 1980s, neither has approached the impact of Pensacon, which has made a big splash quickly. The organizers of Quest Con, slated for Mobile’s Convention Center this coming Oct. 20-22, hope to change that. They’ve been in planning for nearly three years. Quest Con director Chad Leitenberger is upbeat about their chances. He said it sprung from the background he and other organizers have in online gaming and convention attendance. “We want experiences for people to do that will take all three days,” Leitenberger said. He said their areas of emphasis will be gaming and cosplay. Quest Con has The Gulf Coast Exploreum on board with kids’ events, and they are in talks with the History Museum of Mobile. There will be an open-air market called “The Wrecking Yard” in Cooper Riverside Park which he has tagged “a Mad Max, barter town-type thing free to the public.” But what about that all-important ingredient that turned Uncle Henry’s head: capital? The cash to cast a wide pop culture net and bring celebrity guests that lure casual fans is part of what brought Pensacon such remarkably quick success. Leitenberger said their producers — three in Biloxi, one in Virginia — can pony up. “Obviously there is some word of mouth and social media but we’re not going to hit our big advertising until about three to four months out,” Leitenberger said. Do they have bigger names, notable names under contract they haven’t announced yet? “Yeah, a lot,” Leitenberger said. For right now, the soon-to-be-retired firefighter is hopeful. The new event is growing faster than anticipated. “We started out wanting half the [convention center] exhibit hall, four panel rooms and a ballroom and within six months we had the whole thing. The public support is amazing. We’ve got people from San Diego, Grand Rapids, Chicago buying tickets,” Leitenberger said.
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BAND: FLOGGING MOLLY, SKINNY LISTER DATE: SATURDAY, MARCH 25, WITH DOORS AT 6 P.M. VENUE: O’DALY’S IRISH PUB, 564 DAUPHIN ST., WWW.ODALYSIRISHPUB.COM TICKETS: $32.50 ADVANCE/$39.50 DAY OF SHOW; AVAILABLE THROUGH TICKETFLY
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’Daly’s Irish Pub is keeping the raucous spirit of St. Paddy’s Day alive for one more weekend with performances by Flogging Molly and Skinny Lister. In its early years, Skinny Lister performed a hybridized rock sound influenced heavily by British folk, which it captured on albums such as “Forge and Flagon” and “Down on Deptford Broadway.” However, the heavy indie influence found on the band’s latest effort, “The Devil, The Heart, The Fight,” is evidence Skinny Lister is evolving. Taking a break from packing for the band’s United States run, vocalist Lorna Thomas phoned from across the pond to discuss the band’s changing sound, and what Skinny Lister has in store for the Azalea City. Stephen Centanni: How do you prep to go overseas and tour in the U.S.? Lorna Thomas: I’ve never given it a thought! I pile up my dresses and take them to my mum’s to iron my dresses. She irons my dresses. Then, I put the flagon in the case, and we’re ready to go. It takes me about an hour to pack. Centanni: How would you compare your American audiences to the ones back home? Thomas: I wouldn’t say that they’re very much different. They’re equally rowdy and fun.
Centanni: How would you describe Skinny Lister? Thomas: Skinny Lister are a group of friends who have great fun playing music, having a party and traveling the world together. Centanni: Where did the band name come from? Thomas: The band name is boringly and basically a nickname that Dan (Heptinstall), who plays acoustic guitar, gave to a skinny kid in his class whose name was Stephen Lister. He just thought he’d borrow it for some reason. Centanni: I’ve been listening to the new album, and really enjoy the songs dedicated to specific people like the songs “Geordie Lad” and “Charlie.” With songs like that, I always wonder who served as the inspiration. Who are these songs about? Thomas: Well, “Geordie Lad” is a song about our first bass player, who left after Warped Tour. I guess it’s like an open letter to him to see how he’s doing, because we don’t speak as much as we perhaps should. So, his name is Dan Gray, but he’s from a place in the north of England called Newcastle. If you’re from there, you get called a “Geordie.” It’s a nickname for somebody from that particular area. It’s kind of a heart-on-sleeve: “What are you doing?”/“I hope everything is good.” Then, “Charlie” is about a childhood friend of Dan’s. They grew up on the same council estate. One year, Charlie wasn’t doing very much. Then, the next
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MUSIC
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
FEATURE
Skinny Lister’s ‘tribal’ roots of British folk
year, he was moving out to Hollywood. Dan wrote the song about him just as flew out to Hollywood. Since then, he’s done some great things. Yeah, that’s Charlie. Centanni: One thing I’ve also noticed about the new material is that Skinny Lister has evolved greatly since your album “Down on Deptford Broadway.” Some of your band members have backgrounds in indie rock, and this album seems to have more of an indie rock edge to it. Was that a goal or just creative evolution? Thomas: I think it’s creative evolution. I think the first album is very folky and pastoral. When we got together, we were playing in folk sessions together in London, and we were going to festivals and playing quite traditional music. I think they’re the beginnings of mixing Dan’s pop sensibilities with the folk that Sam (Brace), Max (Thomas) and I kind of grew up with. So, it was it the beginnings of a merging of styles. With “Down on Deptford Broadway” we went on Van’s Warped Tour, we went on tour with Flogging Molly and we went on tour with the Dropkicks (Dropkick Murphys). So, things got a little bit rowdier. We added the drums to be more dynamic. When we had the drums, writing would take us to different places. Yeah, I guess it’s just evolved naturally. “The Devil in Me” on the latest one was definitely an experimental track. I think with our mix of instruments we can afford to push the boundaries a bit and try different things. There’s that element of folk within us, but why not vary it up and make it fun and experiment a bit. Centanni: The new album made me think about all the British songs over the years with that British folk influence. What do you think it is about those influences that make them still resonate throughout British rock? Thomas: Well, for us, we used to play some of Dan’s songs that were quite separate from the folk stuff. We basically used to go busk down on the Thames where it is quite touristy and things. We would also play at house parties. We found that when we would play the traditional English tunes, everyone would start dancing, tapping their feet, dancing and clapping. It also goes hand in hand with the drinking and the party. It’s kind of tribal, I guess. It’s within us. We found that was a good way to get people dancing, and we wanted to play festivals. So, it just kind of all merged in together, really. I just think there’s something about folk music that speaks to something within, really. Centanni: What do you have in store for your audience in Mobile? Thomas: I would say that it’s going to be very energetic. We fully encourage and endorse crowd participation. If you get to the front, you might be lucky enough to taste my flagon of rum, which I pass out to everybody in the crowd. We want everyone to dance and sing and come and have a great time.
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MUSIC BRIEFS
Meanwhile, on Mars
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
Band: Charlie Mars Date: Wednesday, March 29, at 8 p.m. Venue: The Listening Room, 78 St. Francis St., www.thelisteningroommobile.com Tickets: $25 artist donation
Photo | Facebook.com | Charlie Mars
S
ituated on a quiet section of St. Francis, The Listening Room caters to local music fans who want to experience music in an aurally pristine environment. However, The Listening Room’s loyal patrons are not the only ones enjoying this downtown venue’s ambiance. Singer-songwriters such as Charlie Mars have also enjoyed its intimacy. Last year, this Oxford, Mississippi, troubadour rolled into the Azalea City with tracks from his album “The Money,” the final installment in his “Texas Trilogy.” Mars returns to Mobile next week to take his audience on a musical trip from the flatlands of Texas to the sandy streets of “Beach Town,” his followup to “Texas Trilogy.” The Listening Room will serve as the launching point for the tour promoting his latest effort. So far, Mars has used two singles to give the masses a preview of an album sold exclusively at live shows. While most beach-centric tunes invoke summer vacation season, the album’s title track employs gentle instrumentation and vocal work to create a balladic portrait of beachside living during the cooler months. “Dream Kitchen” contrasts with its fun, upbeat attitude. Clever lyrics regale listeners with the complications that can stem from having a partner who is infatuated with Southern Living magazine kitchen designs.
Hearing voices
Band: Johnny Hayes & the Loveseats Date: Saturday, March 25, 10 p.m. Venue: Flora-Bama, 17401 Perdido Key Drive (Pensacola), www.florabama.com Tickets: $5 (21+)/$15 (18+) at the door
Those familiar with the NBC talent competition “The Voice” will know Johnny Hayes. As a member of Adam Levine’s team, Hayes has been introducing the world to the soulful goodness of his vocals. Fans of “The Voice” are just now discovering what the Southeast already knows. Whether solo or with his backing band, the Loveseats, Hayes has spent several years spreading his original music from Music City to the Azalea City. While his original material is quite versatile, Hayes’ constant is the unfiltered emotion he pours into each song. His self-titled solo EP is a three-song, seamless trip across the worlds of country and blue-eyed soul. With the Loveseats backing, Hayes has released singles such as “Roll Home Baby,” which features Mark “Sparky” Matejka (Lynyrd Skynyrd) on lead guitar. Hayes uses this song to give listeners a delicious serving of edgy, Southern-fried rock and soul. Those who discovered Hayes through “The Voice” will experience a different side of him at the Flora-Bama.
The Steeple will rock
Band: Class of ‘85 Birthday Bash with The White Animals Date: Saturday, March 25, 6 p.m. Venue: The Steeple on St. Francis, 251 St. Francis St., www.thesteeplemobile.com Tickets: $50 (limited number), available through Ticketfly
1985 brought us Ronald Reagan’s second term, the space shuttle Atlantis, the Nintendo Entertainment System and the advent of Southern alt. rock. During this time, The White Animals roamed freely across their home region, using their college rock to establish a dedicated fanbase that took root in the Southeast and branched into the national scene. The band enjoyed opening for bands such as Talking Heads, The Ramones and The Kinks. Their music video for “This Girl of Mine” even found regular rotation on MTV. Last year, The White Animals performed before an energetic audience at the Spring Hill Swim Club. This time, the group will provide the first rock show to be held at The Steeple on St. Francis. Judging from their last visit, the band’s performance will be a nostalgic trip into the world of ‘80s Southern alt. rock. White Animals fans won’t be disappointed with the band’s flawless delivery of their catalog.
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AREAMUSIC LISTINGS | March 23 - March 29
THUR. MARCH 23
Bluegill— Soulshine Duo Blues Tavern— Doobious, 8:30p Cockeyed Charlie’s— JJ Felix’s— Jeri Flora Bama— Dave McCormick, 2p// Rusty Tabor, 5p/// Mark Sherrill, John Joiner, Chris Newbury and Mel Knapp, 6p/// Tyler Mac Band, 6p//// Hung Jury, 10p//// Kyle Wilson Trio, 10:15p//// Lee Yankie and the Hellz Yeah, 10:30p Lulu’s— Lefty Collins, 5p Manci’s— Phil and Foster, 7p The Merry Widow— Glass Mansions, Phil & the Blanks, 9p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Stereo Dogs w/Clark Shaw Jazz Band, 6p Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Matt Slowik, 6p Wind Creek Casino— Michael Stacey Band, 8p
FRI. MARCH 24
All Sports Bar & Billiards— DJ Markie Mark, 10p Big Beach Brewing— Phil and Foster, 6:30p Bluegill— Lee Yankie, 12p// Cary Laine Duo, 6p Blues Tavern— Ric McNaughton Band, 9p Crooked Martini—Tommy Morse Band, 9p Felix’s— Light Travelers Flora Bama— Jay Hawkins Duo, 1p// LeaAnne Creeswell Duo, 2p/// Logan Spicer, 4p//// Jack Robertson Show, 5:30p//// Big Muddy, 6p//// Johnny Barbato Trio, 6p//// Mel Knapp, 6p//// Rusty Tabor, 9p//// Mario Mena Band, 10p//// Brian Hill Trio, 10:15p//// Anthony Orio Band, 10:30p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Perkins Road, 9p Listening Room— The Krickets Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 5p Manci’s— Robert Sully, 7:30p The Merry Widow— Eleemnts: Beat Battle, 9p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — Jeri, 8p Moe’s BBQ (Foley) — 3 Bean Soup Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Robert Lee, 6:30p O’Daly’s— Gene Murrell,Tony Edwards and David White, 10p Old 27 Grill— Jimmy Lee Hannaford, 6:30p
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Soul Kitchen— Honey Island Swap Band, 9p Tacky Jacks (Gulf Shores)— Alexa Burroughs, 5:30p Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Damien Lamb Duo, 5p Wind Creek Casino— Fortag, 9p
SAT. MARCH 25
Alchemy— Mobtown Revival, 10p Big Beach Brewing— The Chillbillies, 6:30p Bluegill— David Chastang, 12p// Lucky Doggs, 6p Blues Tavern— Taylor Made Blues Band, 9p Cockeyed Charlie’s— DJ Chill, 10p Felix’s— Abro Trio Flora Bama— Jezebel’s Chill’n, 1p// Big Muddy, 2p/// Jay Hawkins Trio, 2p//// Lefty Collins, 4p//// Tim Kinsey, 5p//// Jack Robertson Show, 5:30p//// Al and Cathy, 6p//// Josh Buckley Band, 6p//// Logan Spicer and Tony Ray Thompson, 9p//// Brian Hill Band, 9:30p//// Johnny Hayes and the Loveseats, 10p//// Rusty Tabor, 10:15p//// Anthony Orio Band, 10:30p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Perkins Road, 9p Listening Room— Eric Erdman Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 5p Manci’s— Causeway Queens, 7:30p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Matt and Sherry Neese, 6:30p Saenger— Matisyahu Soul Kitchen— Jeezy, Lil Durk, 8p Tacky Jacks (Gulf Shores)— Jimmy Lee, 12p// Three Bean Soup, 5:30p Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Marty McIntosh, 11a// Retrobution, 6p Traders— Journey to MArs Wind Creek Casino— Fortag, 9p
SUN. MARCH 26
Big Beach Brewing— Davo, 3p Bluegill— Jamie Adamson, 12p// Fortag, 6p Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— Smoky Otis Trio, 12p// Alabama Lightning, 1p/// Songs of Rusty, 1p//// Zachery Diedrich, 2p//// Christina Christian, 5p//// Kim Carson and the Real Deal, 5:30p//// Perdido Brothers, 6p//// Josh Buckley Band, 9:30p//// Jay Williams Band, 10p//// Jezebel’s Chill’n, 10:15p
Frog Pond— Grayson Capps, Sugarcane Jane, Lilly Hiatt, John Abney, Sergio Webb, Corky Hughes, 2p Lulu’s— Greg Brown, 1p// Delta Reign Duo, 5p Old 27 Grill— Lisa Zanghi, 11:30a Tacky Jacks (Gulf Shores)— Lisa Christian, 2p Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Gerry Gambino Duo, 11a
MON. MARCH 27
Felix’s— Bryant Gilley Flora Bama— Gove Scrivenor, 2p/// Tim Kinsey, 5:30p//// Cathy Pace, 6p//// Whyte Caps, 10p//// Petty and Pace, 10:15p Lulu’s— Brent Burns, 5p The Merry Widow— Giantology, Cyster Sister, Hibachi Stranglers, 8p
TUE. MARCH 28
Bluegill— Quintin Berry Butch Cassidy’s— Mac Water Cockeyed Charlie’s— Jordan Bramblett Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— T. Bone Montgomery, 2p// Jay Hawkins Duo, 5:30p/// Perdido Brothers, 6p//// Zachery Diedrich Duo, 9:30p//// JoJo Prez, 10p//// Mario Mena Duo, 10:15p The Hot Spot— Brent Burns, 5p Listening Room— Team Super Liam ft. Acoustic Punch Lulu’s— Ronnie Presley, 5p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — Anna McElroy, 6p
WED. MARCH 29
Bluegill— Ross Newell Blues Tavern— McBros, 8p Felix’s— Jimmy Lumpkin Duo Flora Bama— Neil Dover, 2p// Johnny Barbato, 5:30p/// Rhonda Hart and Jonathan Newton, 6p//// Lee Yankie Trio, 9:30p//// Jay Williams Band, 10p//// Shane Owens Trio, 10:15p Listening Room— Charlie Mars Lulu’s— Jon Cowart, 5p The Merry Widow— Reverend Horton Heat W/ Unknown Hinson & The Goddamn Gallows, 7p Shipp’s Harbour Grill— Brent Burns, 5p
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FILMTHE REEL WORLD
The commercialization of war
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BY ASIA FREY/FILM CRITIC/AFREY@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
AREA THEATERS CARMIKE CINEMA’S Wynnsong 16 785 Schillinger Rd. S. (251) 639-7373 CRESCENT THEATER 208 Dauphin Street (251) 438-2005 HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 18 1250 Satchel Paige Dr. (251) 473-9655
ng Lee’s artistic output continues to astonish in its diverse subject matter and depth of beauty. From his crystalline adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” to “The Ice Storm,” a mordant exploration of sexual mores in 1970s suburban Connecticut, through the visually miraculous “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the more recent “Life of Pi” or his masterpiece, “Brokeback Mountain,” each new chapter in Lee’s filmography is at least worth watching. (I’m admittedly omitting “The Hulk”…) His latest, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” is a drama set in the Iraq War and adapted from a bestselling, awardwinning novel by Ben Fountain. The soldiers of Bravo Squad find themselves celebrities when a daring mission is recorded for all the world to see. The star of the footage is Billy Lynn, who rescues his doomed, beloved commanding officer (Vin Diesel) and engages in harrowing hand-to-hand combat. When these traumatized young men are trotted out for a hero’s welcome at an NFL game, grim reality meets cheesy display with dark humor. The film works in familiar, even overused wartime images, motifs and stories, but that is
the point. It is a film about how people can compartmentalize the unimaginable horrors of combat and make them into palatable clichés. At the center of it is the character of Billy, and his performance is what makes the movie work. In the role of Billy Lynn, previously unknown actor Joe Alwyn is tremendously affecting. His baby face projects purity, but he is forced into the army after attacking his sister’s ex-fiance, and his superiors often bring up his troubled past. They also praise him as the rare young soldier whose training seems to kick in when it’s supposed to. His sister (Kristen Stewart) is distraught about the dangers he faces and wants him to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and an honorable discharge. As they negotiate the nonsense of the halftime show, the soldiers are wined and dined in lavish VIP suites and wait anxiously to hear whether their famous mission will result in a lucrative movie deal. Steve Martin shows up as the wealthy team owner; it’s interesting to watch him in non-comedic work (and with a passable Texas accent). The men’s looming redeployment hangs over everyone and the threat of violence both against them and from them is a particularly interesting contrast. They
are trained to fight and kill in Iraq, and it’s pretty interesting to see them in a similar situation in the United States, at a supposedly safe, televised event which is itself a high-definition spectacle of violence. War will not go away anytime soon, and neither will books and films about war. Ang Lee succeeds in bringing to the screen a perspective that, if not exactly new, is certainly affecting and emotionally meaningful. He also brings technical innovation, which is only detectable in a few movie theaters, and of course not in home viewing: Lee filmed this story at a super high frame rate, with ultra high-definition 4k resolution and 3D. After the 3D accomplishment of “The Life of Pi,” this experiment was actually described as disturbing and even unwatchable, the same kind of criticism leveled at another high frame rate film, “The Hobbit.” Rather than glorify gore, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” shows us the emotional toll, through the wide eyes of its star — an ordinary and extraordinary young man in the center of a media circus — of impossible expectations, family troubles, a complex war and his own coming of age. “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” is currently available to rent.
RAVE MOTION PICTURE JUBILEE SQUARE 12 6898 U.S. 90 Daphne, (251) 626- 6266 CARMIKE CINEMAS 23151 Wharf Ln. Orange Beach (251) 981-4444 COBB THEATRES PINNACLE 14 3780 Gulf Shores Pkwy Gulf Shores (251) 968-7444 EASTERN SHORE PREMIERE CINEMA 14 30500 Alabama 181 #500 Spanish Fort, Al (251) 626-0352 Information accurate at press time; please call theaters for showtimes.
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Photos | Sony Pictures Entertainment / BBC Films
FROM LEFT: Kristen Stewart and Joe Alwyn as siblings struggling with a relationship after war. In “A United Kingdom,” Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London in the late 1940s. NEW IN THEATERS A UNITED KINGDOM
POWER RANGERS
Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana shocks the world when he marries a white woman. Carmike Jubilee Square 12
LIFE
Astronauts (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds) discover life on Mars; problems ensue. All listed multiplex theaters.
NOW PLAYING
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST All listed multiplex theaters. LA LA LAND SING-ALONG All listed multiplex theaters. LION Crescent Theater, Carmike Jubilee Square 12, Carmike
A group of high school kids infused with unique superpowers harness their abilities in order to save the world. All listed multiplex theaters.
SLAMMA JAMMA
Wrongfully accused and sent to prison, a former basketball star prepares for the national slam dunk competition while finding redemption in himself and in those he loves. Regal Mobile Stadium 18
Wharf 15 KONG: SKULL ISLAND All listed multiplex theaters. TABLE 19 Cobb Pinnacle 14 LOGAN All listed multiplex theaters. THE SHACK
All listed multiplex theaters. BEFORE I FALL All listed multiplex theaters. GET OUT All listed multiplex theaters. ROCK DOG All listed multiplex theaters. THE LEGO BATMAN
THE BELKO EXPERIMENT
An ordinary day at the office becomes a horrific quest for survival when 80 employees at the Belko Corp. in Bogotá, Colombia, learn they are pawns in a deadly, outrageously violent game. Regal Mobile Stadium 18, Carmike Wynnsong 16
KATAMARAYUDU
This Indian film is about an honest man who has a violent streak. Regal Mobile Stadium 18
MOVIE All listed multiplex theaters. FIFTY SHADES DARKER All listed multiplex theaters. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 All listed multiplex theaters. HIDDEN FIGURES All listed multiplex theaters.
LA LA LAND All listed multiplex theaters. A DOG’S PURPOSE Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema, Regal Mobile Stadium 18, Carmike Wynnsong 16 SPLIT All listed multiplex theaters.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS MARCH 23, 2017 - MARCH 29, 2017
GENERAL INTEREST Festival of Flowers The largest outdoor flower show in the Southeast. March 23-26 at Providence Hospital campus, 6801 Airport Blvd. Visit festivalofflowers.com. Annual rummage sale The Junior League of Mobile hosts its annual rummage sale March 23-26 at 266 Azalea Road in Mobile. For tickets to presales and more information, visit juniorleaguemobile.org. 2017 Wharf Boat and Yacht Show March 23-26 at The Wharf in Orange Beach. Visit wharfboatshow.com for tickets and details. Negotiated Affections “Negotiated Affections: The Women of Mobile’s Historic Red-Light District” will be presented by Raven Christopher, archivist at the Alabama Department of History and Archives. Thursday, March 23, 5:30 p.m. at 300 Oakleigh Place, Mobile. Visit historicmobile.org. Buds & Brews Thursday, March 23, 7-11 p.m. at Providence Hospital. Benefiting the Providence Foundation. Tickets online at FestivalofFlowers.com or call 251.639.2050. Clothes swap Thursday, March 23, from 6-8 p.m. join GFWC Women’s Club of Saraland for a ladies’ clothing swap and rummage presale. Cost is non-perishable food items. 216 Highway 43 N., Saraland. Call 251-6790191. St. Mary Parish anniversary St. Mary Catholic Church in midtown Mobile will celebrate its 150th anniversary March 25-26. For more information call 251432-8678 or email mrnaman@stmarymobile. org. Holi Color Festival This Indian festival of color will be Saturday, March 25, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at USA Student Center, 350 Campus Drive. Free. Details at facebook.com/ ISAUniversityofSouthAlabama. Bottle show The Mobile Bottle Collectors Club’s 44th annual Show & Sale, will be Saturday, March 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Daphne Civic Center, 2603 U.S. Hwy 98. Call 251957-6725 or email vinewood@mchsi.com. Library book sale Friends of the Library host their annual book sale Saturday, March 25, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 26, 1-6 p.m. Abba Shrine Center, Hitt Road and Schillinger. Call 251-208-7902. Express Employment Clydesdales The Express Employment Clydesdales will be coming to the Mobile Civic Center on Tuesday, March 28, at 4 p.m. Free; donations to the Children’s Miracle Network accepted. Call 251-476-8210 and select number 1. Public art policy community meeting The Mobile Arts Council will discuss a preliminary strategic plan and solicit community feedback. Wednesday, March 25, 10 a.m. Call 251-432-9796.
Legacy Leadership The Area Agency on Aging and the University of South Alabama will present a free Legacy Leadership Institute for older adults. March 27-31, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the USA Faculty Club. Call 251-867-0256. Free salon services Remington College Cosmetology Program will provide prom-bound students free haircuts, updos, manicures, pedicures and makeup. 4368 Downtowner Loop S., Friday, March 24; Friday, March 31, and Friday, April 7. Call 251-342-4848.
Conception St. Bella Voce Women’s Chorus will present the Lenten concert.
MUSEUMS Colonial Day at the Fort See what life was like in Colonial Mobile! Friday, March 24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fort Conde. Admission is free. Call 251-3010270.
Dauphin Island Boardwalk Talks Boardwalk Talks are held the first and third Wednesday of each month at 11:15 a.m. at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd. Call 251-861-2141.
Toastmasters Do you want to learn how to deliver a speech like a pro or gain leadership skills to advance your career? Toastmasters International meets regularly at six locations in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Visit www. toastmasters.org for more information.
FUNDRAISERS “Cardinals in the Courtyard” To celebrate its first year and honor its founder, St. Michael Catholic High School will host its inaugural “Cardinals in the Courtyard” on Saturday, March 25, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Visit www.stmichaelchs. eventbrite.com. Mobile SPCA Rummage Sale The Mobile SPCA will hold its Giant Rummage Sale Friday and Saturday, March 24 and 25. Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 620 Zeigler Circle West. Call 251-633-3531,
ARTS Spanish Moss Miniature Art Show This 7th annual miniature art show runs until April 1. Southern Art and Framing, 4693 Airport Blvd. Magnifying glasses are available. Email litterox@aol.com. “Sordid Lives” The show runs three weekends, March 24 through April 9, at Mobile Theatre Guild, 14 N. Lafayette St. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Visit mobiletheatreguild.org or call 251-4337513. “Much Ado About Nothing” Joe Jefferson Players present Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” on March 24, 25, 31 and April 1 at 8 p.m. and March 26 and April 2 at 2 p.m. JJP is located at 11 S. Carlen St. Call 251-4711534. Lenten music Christ Church Cathedral will host its “Meditation and Music in the Church” luncheon Wednesday, March 29, at 12:30 p.m. in the Chapter House, 115 S.
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SPORTING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Azalea Trail Run Saturday, March 25, 8 a.m. 10K, 5K and 2K races. Register online at events.com. Hometown NFL Huddle United Way’s 2nd annual Hometown NFL Huddle charity golf tournament will be Friday, March 24, at Magnolia Grove. Registration begins at 7 a.m. with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Visit uwswa.org.
Distinguished Lecture Series University of South Alabama Gulf Shores campus, 19470 Oak Road W. Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. To register, 251-4607200 or www.usacontinuinged.com.
Midtown Optimist Club Join Midtown Optimist Club every Wednesday at noon for lunch at Azalea City Golf Course. Call 251-348-3542.
Thursdays at MMoA Every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Mobile Museum of Art offers free admission to all visitors. No reservations are necessary. MMoA is at 4850 Museum Drive. Call 251208-5200.
Photo | Courtesy of DI Sea Lab
Windows of the Sea Dauphin Island Sea Lab announces the permanent exhibit “Windows to the Sea,” to the Estuarium. Visit disl.org “Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasure” A new, highly interactive exhibit at GulfQuest features more than 500 authentic artifacts recovered from deep-ocean shipwrecks. Visit www.gulfquest.org.
Beginner Tai Chi Beginner Tai Chi classes are now being offered in Stirling Hall (behind All Saints Episcopal Church, 151 S. Ann St., Mobile) every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon. You may join the classes at any time. Email rjvarley@comcast.net. Bridge lessons The Mobile Bridge Center offers free bridge lessons each Tuesday at 6 p.m. at 1510 University Blvd. Arrive a few minutes early to register. Call the Bridge Center at 251666-2147, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fitness classes New fitness classes are in progress at Palmer Pillans Middle School: Tone It Up! Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30-6:15 p.m. and Yoga for Fitness & Relaxation, Thursday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. To register or more “Christenberry: In Alabama” On the occasion of Alabama’s Bicentennial information, call 251-463-7980 or go to Celebration, this exhibit honors artist William communityactivitiesprogram.com. Christenberry’s exploration of themes related to his native state. Mobile Museum Dance classes of Art, 4850 Museum Drive. Adults $12, New dance classes are in progress at seniors $10, active military and students $8, Palmer Pillans Middle School: Belly Dancing children under 6 free. Through June 4. Call for Beginners, Tuesday, 6-7 p.m.; Basic 251-208-5200. Ballroom, Monday, 6:30-8 p.m.; Beyond Basic Ballroom, Wednesday, 6:30-8 p.m. To register or for more information, call 251“Faces of Africa” 463-7980 or go to: communityactivities. The History Museum of Mobile’s exhibit com. “Faces of Africa: A Mystical View of Tribal Heritage” runs through Monday, July 31. Call 251-208-7420. Holy yoga Tamara William leads lunchtime holy “Drugs: Costs and Consequences” yoga at The Steeple on St. Francis every The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Wednesday. Cost is $15. Participants will Center and the U.S. Drug Enforcement connect with Christ in mind, body and spirit. Administration team up to present a Call 251-656-3269. powerful interactive exhibit of the effects of drugs on individuals and society. Through Ballroom dance August. Visit exploreum.com. Azalea Ballroom Dance Club hosts dances the second and fourth Tuesday of every Fairhope’s founding month, 7-9:30 p.m. at Via Health, Fitness There is quite a story behind Fairhope’s founding in 1894. Learn more about it at the & Enrichment Center, 1717 Dauphin St. Email cyoungblood9278@gmail. Fairhope Museum of History, 24 N. Section St. The museum is open daily (except com, call 251-623-9183 or visit www. Sunday and Monday) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. azaleaballroomdanceclub.com. Call 251-929-1471. Tea for Two Tuesday afternoons at 2 p.m. the Fairhope Museum of History hosts a tea with a lecture on Fairhope history. March 28 speaker will be Fred Bostrom. Call 251-9291471. Little Discoveries “Outside the Box,” aimed at children 6 and under, explores how innovation and creativity can lead to a world of possibilities, starting with a simple cardboard box. Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Call 251-208-6893 or email jholland@exploreum.com.
Ballroom dance The Moonlight Chasse Ballroom Dance Society hosts dances the first and third Monday of every month, 7-9:30 p.m. at Hot Wheels Skating Rink in Daphne. Email cassief13@aol.com.
WORKSHOPS Genealogy class Genealogy for beginners is offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Call 251-4637980 or visit communityactivitiesprogram. com.
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NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE TAKING THE FIFTH BY ALAN ARBESFELD / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ ACROSS 1 Chest protectors 7 The 2000s, with “the” 14 Camry competitor 20 Fisher of fashion 21 Coming up 22 1943 conference site 23 “Put that Southern state on next month’s agenda”? 25 Like some wedding cakes and stadiums 26 Sulk 27 Pooh’s pal 28 New York : The Big Apple :: ____ : The Big Guava 30 Pain in the neck 31 Go off course 32 What a male babysitter may sport? 36 Panama, e.g.: Abbr. 37 Numbskull 38 Minuscule, informally 39 Romantic liaison 42 Shared with, as a story 45 Ending with chick 46 Spoils, in a way 47 Playing a fifth N.F.L. period, say 48 Romanian currency 50 Capital of Yemen 54 Race pace 55 ____ volente (God willing) 56 Like a fired Broadway star? 59 Small handful 62 Comedian Smirnoff 64 Auric Goldfinger, to James Bond 65 Leave thunderstruck 66 Color in “America the Beautiful” 68 Do to do 69 A.A.A. and B.B.B. 71 Jai ____ 72 One in a crowd at a bookstore? 73 Total 74 Billiards feature 75 South American greeting 76 Eskimo-____ languages 77 Winter hrs. in Vail 78 Sweaty, irritable rabbit? 83 Suffix with nod84 Follow 86 Really bother 87 Grp. in the Oscar-winning documentary “Citizenfour” 88 Kunis of “Black Swan” 89 Stuck 92 Bit of bar food
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94 Real hoot 96 Commotions 97 Setting for many Stephen King novels 99 “The Persistence of Memory” artist 100 “Pencils down!” 101 What’ll feed everyone at a tailgate party? 104 “What else could it be?!” 107 Road to the Forum, e.g. 108 “Lovergirl” singer ____ Marie 109 Christmas-song contraction 110 Broadway star Rivera 112 Supermodel Bündchen 114 Reformed barbarian? 118 Start of a marital spat? 119 2000s TV hit set in Baltimore 120 Guinness entry 121 Vocal quavers 122 A cross might be given for it 123 Invites across the threshold DOWN 1 Held in reserve 2 Queen topper
3 Jostle 4 Move, informally 5 Is unobliged to 6 Soldier, for one 7 Curtain fabric 8 Ticked off 9 Wear and tear 10 Some sporty cars 11 Popular landscaping plants 12 Compact 13 Dreaded comment on a returned exam 14 Lead-in to boy or girl 15 Island chain? 16 1993 film that garnered Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscars 17 Turnaround too tempting to pass up? 18 Wand wielder 19 “What happened next?” 24 Puzzle inventor Rubik 29 Brandy fruit 33 Unpopular baby name 34 Formation fliers 35 Hour in the graveyard shift 37 Target of a 1972 ban 40 It’s inescapable 41 “Shoot!” 42 Nice piece of change 43 Plays without a break
44 “Check out the Argentine soccer star!”? 45 500, e.g. 49 Exercitation 51 Grp. that might have a launch party 52 Where kids get creative in school 53 Diving equipment coinvented by Jacques Cousteau 56 Shout from an arm waver 57 Exodus 58 They may have many chapters 60 Part of the brain that controls involuntary functions 61 Reds, Blues or Browns 63 World Cup chant 67 Start to practice? 70 Schedule position 79 Baltic Sea feeder 80 2005 horror sequel 81 Undercover operation 82 Stuffy-sounding 85 Heavenly 88 Picture of health, in brief? 89 Tense 90 First African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar 91 Tivoli’s Villa d’___
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SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Crepe Myrtle Trail Ride offers cyclists a unique adventure BY J, MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY
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hanks to the efforts of community action groups and government officials, Mobile County has become well known among bicycle enthusiasts for providing more opportunities to ride and for making those trips safe. There is no better example of this joint venture than the Crepe Myrtle Trail Ride. Last year, more than 400 riders took advantage of the distinctive course. The next trek will be Saturday, April 1, with the starting point at Arlington Park (1814 15th St. S.). Onsite registration opens at 7:30 a.m.; the ride gets underway at 8:30 a.m. Mobile United’s Natural Resource Committee organized the first outing in 2014 as a way to draw awareness to the proposed Crepe Myrtle Trail Bike and Pedestrian Path. The CMT would be the southern leg of the Mobile Greenway Initiative, a multi-use waterfront trail stretching from Langan Park in west Mobile along Three Mile Creek and then to Dog River. This year’s bike ride, sponsored by Airbus and presented by Mobile United, offers the rare chance to travel along the western edge of Mobile Bay through the Aeroplex at Brookley and down the peninsula of Bayfront Road. The new turnaround spot is McNally Park. The ride is the only time people on bikes have access to this portion of the proposed CMT. Special permission has been given by the Mobile Airport Authority and the USA Foundation for access. “The Crepe Myrtle Trail Ride is a great opportunity for our community members to get outside and become connected to our natural resources,” Hanlon Walsh, one of the event’s organizers, told Lagniappe. “Riding through Brookley Field and along the western shore of Mobile Bay is truly a unique experience.
“Participating in this event is important because it supports the long-term vision of the Mobile Greenway Initiative — a healthier community and higher quality of life for residents of Mobile.” Survey responses from last year’s riders have led to upgrades. The goal is to make the ride safer and more enjoyable while raising money that will go toward creation of the CMT. For the first time there will be a $10 registration fee for riders 13 and older until March 30. Registration on the day of the race will be $15. Riders aged 8-12 can participate for free. “The energy and motivation that came from the 433 riders in 2016 inspired us to find out what makes this trail ride so important to them,” said Jeff DeQuattro, executive director of the Delta Bike Project and one of the ride’s organizers. “We surveyed the participants and found out that over 90 percent of the people that rode did so because they wanted to support the Mobile Greenway Initiative to build several miles of multi-use trails throughout the city of Mobile. “Also, we asked people if they would be willing to pay to attend future rides if proceeds went towards the creation of a Crepe Myrtle Trail, and over 92 percent said they would. The cost this year is $10, which is very low compared to other specialty rides. And this is the only time of year that people get to ride bikes along Mobile Bay, continuously from Arlington Park to McNally Park, and back.” DeQuattro said some comments from the survey suggested a sponsorship program be available for people not able to afford the entry fee. Limited scholarships are available, so please contact Mark Berte at mberte@joinACF.org before March 30 for more information. The CMT Ride is again dedicated as the “Steve Perry
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Memorial Ride.” Perry passed away in 2016 at the age of 72 from injuries sustained when he was hit by a truck while riding his bicycle. Helmets are now required for all persons in the CMT Ride, whether on a bike or in trailers and as tagalongs. No riders under age 8 are permitted unless they are in a trailer or riding as a tagalong. No training wheels are allowed on bikes. Children should be experienced riders and able to ride the full 10.6 miles. Other partners in the CMT Ride are Alabama Coastal Foundation, Bicyclemobile.org, Brookley By the Bay, City of Mobile’s Parks and Recreation, Delta Bike Project, Dog River Clearwater Revival, Downtown Mobile Alliance, Mobile Airport Authority, Mobile Area Water & Sewer System, Mobile Baykeeper, Mobile County Health Department, Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, Partners for Environmental Progress, Team Share the Road, The Peninsula of Mobile and USA Foundation. Riders may sign up online at www.CrepeMyrtleRide.com through March 30. The route can be viewed at www.strava.com/routes/7524111. For more information, contact Katherine Pitman at 251-432-1638 or kpitman@mobileunited.org, or Casi Callaway at 251-433-4229 or callaway@ mobilebaykeeper.org.
ATR reaches milestone
The Azalea Trail Run will celebrate its 40th anniversary on March 18. It is one of the premier 10K races in the United States. The schedule also includes a 10K wheelchair race, a 5K event and a 2K fun run. The action starts at 7:55 a.m. Because much of the course is flat, fast times are common. In 1995, Joseph Kimani came within 2 seconds of setting a world record in the men’s open division (27:41). Then in 2001, Abraham Chebii (27:26) and Thomas Nyariki (27:30) ran the third and fourth fastest times ever in a 10K. Records have been set in the men’s masters and grandmasters divisions. For additional information, visit www.pcpacers.org/atr/index.html or call 251-473-7223. • For the 14th consecutive year, Baldwin Bone & Joint is sponsoring the Many More Miles campaign. The effort collects shoes for the homeless outreach programs of Wings of Life and Discovery Ministries. The first 200 pairs were donated in 2003; last year, the initiative collected 1,899 pairs. Elementary school students in Mobile and Baldwin counties again have the chance to collect shoes and earn money for their physical education programs. Shoes can be donated at Baldwin Bone and Joint (1505 Daphne Ave., Daphne), Dr. Glenn Glass (1303 Main St., Daphne), McCoy Outdoor Co. (3498 Springhill Ave., Mobile) and USA’s Student Recreation Center. The final shoe drop-off will be at Saturday’s Azalea Trail Run. For more information, call 251-621-5387.
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STYLE HOROSCOPES AQUARIUS’ LEADERSHIP IS SMOKING HOT ARIES (3/21-4/19) — After seeing the
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excuse repeatedly used in the public sector, you’ll soon begin telling everyone you “resigned” from your last job and were not, in fact, canned for never showing up. Within a few months, you’ll become quite good at “tenderizing” those resignations. TAURUS (4/20-5/20) — Initially, you’ll be curious why masked assailants keep accosting you with hot branding irons at your own home. However, you’ll eventually learn that members of PETA were able to discern your identity from a grainy Polaroid pinned on the “ManMeat Challenge” board at a local burger joint. GEMINI (5/21-6/21) — Your addiction to the internet will become evident when your service gets disrupted for a week. After watching your entire DVD collection and writing a blog entry on a napkin, you’ll start asking neighbors if there are any funny pictures of their pets you can look at. CANCER (6/22-7/22) — Hoping to capitalize on the recent success of sports documentaries, you’ll help to introduce “Nickelback Demolition Night” at Hank Aaron Stadium. Unfortunately, you clearly haven’t watched the end of the TV documentary on the 1979 baseball promotion. Don’t worry, you’ll soon get the gist. LEO (7/23-8/23) — You’ll run for mayor on a platform to convert sidewalks into Slip ‘N Slides. You won’t be elected, but your idea will be implemented. An icy winter in 2018 will lead to many injuries and a flurry of lawsuits. VIRGO (8/24-9/22) — You’ll invent a new game called “beerball,” debuting it at the newly named Herndon-Sage Park. The object will be for a “batter” to run the bases before the designated basemen can chug a beer. The game will be forfeited by inebriation. LIBRA (9/23-10/22) — You’ll lobby the state Legislature to sell Mobile and Baldwin counties to Florida to ease the burden in the state budget. While you want Alabama to fix its financial woes, your real goal is to get some medical weed. SCORPIO (10/23-11/21) — You’ll set a new record at the Azalea Trail Run this weekend — slowest time ever in your age group. But glory will be yours when you defeat the raw oyster eating record at Wintzell’s afterward. SAGITTARIUS (11/22-12/22) — As rumors swirl about the governor’s impending resignation, you maneuver to gain a prominent role on the transition team. You’ll create a communications consulting firm using your initials and try to seduce Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey. CAPRICORN (12/23-1/19) — To solve a controversy over sewage treatment in Baldwin County, you’ll introduce a novel idea — composting. As a result, this year’s silver queen corn crop will be more robust than ever, and it’s an added coincidence that the waste will be in the corn, rather than the other way around. AQUARIUS (1/20-2/18) — Now that the previous public safety director has stepped aside, you’ll restore order and integrity to the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. Response times may not improve, but the annual calendar shoot will be more risqué than ever. PISCES (2/19-3/20) — Concerned over the possibility of losing your health insurance coverage, you’ll start making healthier choices. Regular jogs and better eating will help lower your cholesterol, but the health care debate in Washington will keep your blood pressure elevated for the foreseeable future.
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STYLE BOOZIE
Gimme da gold! BY BOOZIE BEER NUES/SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
Photo | Michael Dumas Image Arts
Thousands gathered at Callaghan’s to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
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beer and burgers were great too! Oh, and I can’t forget about the cute little, maybe 3-ish-year-old boy picking up trash. He was working hard to Keep Mobile Beautiful!
I want da gold! Gimme da gold!
While on the subject of Callaghan’s, I can’t forget to let y’all know of a pretty amazing award our favorite OGD pub picked up last week. I mean, it is a pretty freaking big deal! Callaghan’s Irish Social Club was named Southern Living magazine’s Best Bar in the South!!! Damnnnnn, I told y’all it was a big deal! First of all, that’s huge for Mobile — we beat out some pretty stiff competition city wise, think Charleston, New Orleans, Savannah, Nashville, etc. I guess that’s why Callaghan’s has won all of the Nappie Awards for Best All Around Bar. If Mobilians see it as the best bar, why not the rest of the South? And in second place was the Flora-Bama! I’d say we know how to party! Congrats to both bars for placing. Boozie loves you and apparently so do some others!
ell, well, we made it through another holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. I mean, I’ve never done a DNA test but every year around March 17, I am as Irish as they come and celebrate like any good Irish woman would! Well, maybe not like any Irish would because unlike some of you crazy kids, I couldn’t be at O’Daly’s at 6 a.m. Friday morning. Now that I’m getting on up there in age I can’t drink that long. But like Callaghan’s says, you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning! One Irish Car Bomb and a side of Boozie, cheers!
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First thing is, did anyone ever find the gold from the Crichton Leprechaun? If not, I am kinda thinking about starting a search for it. Every year the Crichton Leprechaun gets brought up and I like to remind all the people who laugh that they are welcome for the first “trending” video. I mean, that thing is gold itself. Anyway, O’Daly’s started out St. Patrick’s Day for Mobile bright and early and carried on through the night, along with Callaghan’s and Lucky’s Irish Pub. While Boozie had to work, I hear the party started on time, and nothing says good morning like Jameson and coffee. Saturday morning, aka St. Paddy’s round 2, O’Daly’s was back at it with their annual Green Dress Run. While I don’t like to get up early — or run, for that matter — if I was going to do a run this might be the one. My spy said a few people ran while pulling an ice chest and wagon with coolers, while others ran with beers and green bushwackers! See where I am going with this? My spy said the people-watching is also great! She said she had two favorite costumes. One was a lady on a leprechaun’s shoulders, maybe not a real leprechaun, but still it was fun! Her second fave was the guy dressed as a Ninja Turtle. We’re talking green painted arms, head and face and equipped with a sword. While the Green Dress Run was going on I was just waking up to begin preparing for my day at Callaghan’s. I felt like I was running a little behind but by the time we arrived the party was just getting started! Boozie’s favorite things of the day were Robby Amonett painting the crowd from the roof of Callaghan’s. I’m going to assume one of the people with a white shirt on in the painting is me! Then it was also super cool when the Coast Guard helicopter flew over. Of course the bands,
Honored
Crazy Cajun
The second annual Cajun Cook-Off took over downtown Mobile last Saturday afternoon. My spy said the crowd was huge this year but lines still moved quickly. They also said The Garage and Brickyard were definite favorites, with lines that ran all over the square. But there were no disappointments. It was hard to just make a decision as to what you wanted to eat. And of course Stereo Dogs rocked the crowd, along with Harrison McInnis, Ryan Balthrop, John Milham, Jon Cook and Marc Hendrix. Oh, we can’t leave off how lots of people were mesmerized by the guy who showed up on spring legs and bounced all over the square and up and down Dauphin Street. Boozie’s spy kept waiting (OK, kind of hoping) for a major crash, but it never happened.
Spotted
New Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was spotted dining at The Noble South Friday night. He was probably dying to get out of Montgomery for a night. Can you blame him? Well, kids, that’s all I’ve got this week. Just remember, whether rain or shine, dramatic or scandalous or just some plain ol’ chili lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!
LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made and continuing by WILLA WASHINGTON in the payment of the indebtedness for condominium assessments as provided by Section 358-17, Code of Alabama (1975), as amended and as described in and secured by that certain Declaration of Condominium of Executive House, Condominium executed by AMERICAN CONDOMINIUM, INC., on the 24th day of March, 1981, and recorded in Apartment Ownership Book 13, Page 1, (all recording records herein cited refer to the records in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama), and as provided by the ByLaws and amendments thereto recorded in the aforesaid Apartment Ownership Book and the latter, recorded in Book LR7314 at page 1192 and in Book LR7484 at page 1764, the undersigned EXECUTIVE HOUSE OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. having declared indebtedness due and payable in accordance with the terms and conditions of said documents and the undersigned having filed a notice of lien recorded on the in Book 7486, page 107 in said records, notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell at public outcry for cash to the highest bidder, during the legal hours of sale between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the 17th day of April, 2017 at the Mobile County Courthouse, 205 Government Street, Mobile Government Plaza, Mobile, Alabama, the following described real property in the County of Mobile, State of Alabama which address is Unit 13, 18 South Catherine Street, Mobile, Alabama 36604 being the property described as follows: Unit 13, Executive House, a condominium, according to that certain Declaration and Exhibits thereto dated 3-24-81 and recorded in Apartment Ownership Book 13, Page 1 of the records in the office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama, together with an undivided 1/26 interest in the common areas and facilities declared in said Declaration to be appurtenant to the above described unit. This sale is made for the purpose of paying the indebtedness above referenced, as well as interest thereon and expenses of foreclosure, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. Furthermore, the property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the undersigned, nor the officers, directors, managers, members, attorneys, agents or authorized representatives of the undersigned make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition, including those suggested by Code of Alabama (1975), Section 35-4-271, are expressly disclaimed. The sale is subject to all prior liens, encumbrances, exceptions, taxes and assessments in said records. The aforesaid person is not to undersigned’s knowledge or belief a member of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, and not under any legal disability. The sale may be continued from time to time or cancelled. The undersigned reserves the right to bid at such sale and to credit the amount of the indebtedness to the purchase price thereof. Under certain circumstances, Alabama law gives some persons who have an interest in the property the right to redeem the property and may also afford programs to help persons to delay or avoid foreclosure. EXECUTIVE HOUSE OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. ASSESSOR AND LIENOR J. Michael Druhan, Esquire Attorney for Assessor and Lienor P. O. Box 6 Mobile, Alabama 36601 (251) 202-5529 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 30, 2017
PROBATE NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: DEBORAH R. HILBURN, Deceased Case No. 2017-0413 Take notice that Letters of Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 14th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. DIANNA IMSAND as Executrix under the last will and testament of DEBORAH R. HILBURN, Deceased. Attorney of Record: JOSEPH O. KULAKOWSKI. Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, April 6, 2017.
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: WYMAN MADISON Case No. 2015-2231 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been
granted to the below named party on the 14th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. JASMINE J MCCUTCHEON as Administratrix of the estate of WYMAN MADISON, deceased. Attorney of Record: HENDRIK S. SNOW, Esq. Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, April 6, 2017.
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: BRADLEY SCOTT RIVERS Case No. 2017-0073 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 9th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. DEBORAH SMITH as Administratrix of the estate of BRADLEY SCOTT RIVERS, deceased. Attorney of Record: JAMES M. ORR JR, Esq. Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, April 6, 2017.
NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING February 17, 2017 Case No. 2015-2263-2 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of CRYSTAL LEE ELLIOTT, Deceased On to-wit the 10th day of April, 2017 at 10:30 AM in COURTROOM 1, THIRD FLOOR, Mobile County Government Center Annex, 151 Government Street the court will proceed to consider the PETITION FOR FINAL SETTLEMENT as filed by AUDREY SEDDON. NOTICE is hereby given to all parties in interest who may appear and contest same or file a proper responsive pleading thereto if they then think proper. DON DAVIS, Judge of Probate Attorney: HENDRIK S. SNOW, 50 ST EMANUEL ST, MOBILE, ALABAMA 36602 Lagniappe HD March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: WILLIAM LEROY, Deceased Case No. 2017-0377 Take notice that Letters of Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 8th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. MEGAN ANNE LEROY as Executrix under the last will and testament of WILLIAM LEROY, Deceased. Attorney of Record: DEENA R. TYLER. Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 30, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: THOMAS JAMES FLOOD Case No. 2016-2407 Take notice that Ancillary Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 7th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. JOAN ADGALANIS as Administratrix of the Ancillary Estate of THOMAS JAMES FLOOD, deceased. Attorney of Record: KENNETH A. WATSON. Esq. Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 30, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: JOHN WILLIS KANE, Deceased Case No. 2017-0381 Take notice that Letters of Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 8th day of March, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. JAMES KANE as Executor under the last will and testament of JOHN WILLIS KANE, Deceased. Attorney of Record: JOHN R. PARKER. Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 30, 2017
PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE NOTICE OF COMPLETION In accordance with Chapter 1, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, notice is hereby given that H&H Electric Co., Inc. has completed the contract for Mobile Bay Bears scoreboard installation at Hank Aaron Stadium PR-076-17 in Mobile, Alabama. All persons having any claim of labor, material, or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify the Architectural Engineering department, City of Mobile, P.O. Box 1827 Mobile, AL 36633. Lagniappe HD March 23, 2017
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT. SYNOPSIS: Relating to Mobile County and the countywide civil service system; to amend Act No. 470 of the 1939 Regular Session (Acts 1939, p. 298), as amended, which established the countywide civil service system; by amending Section XI relating to the pay plan; to remove public safety employees from the exception to hiring at midrange to allow all professional and technical classes of positions to be treated equally. Lagniappe HD March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2017.
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Class 2 municipalities; to prohibit the State Department of Public Health from regulating or requiring a permit for intermittent food service establishments that otherwise do not prepare, sell, or distribute food in its regular line of business when that food service establishment prepares or distributes food in association with a regional celebratory event or custom. Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 30, April 6, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 4763 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2005 Volkswagen New Jetta 3VWSF71K05M615455 1997 Lexus ES300 JT8BF22G2V0014338 1999 Cadillac Catera W06VR52RXXR020526 2005 Pontiac G6 1G2ZH548854170513 2005 Hyundai Elantra KMHDN46D65U980804 2011 Toyota Camry 4T1BF3EK9BU631582 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1050 N Hickory St., Loxley, AL 36551. 1995 Ford Taurus 1FALP52U0SG231096 2015 Dodge Dart 1C3CDFBB2FD159370 1998 Buick Riviera 1G4GD2219W4701492 2015 Chrysler 300 2C3CCAAGXFH891784 2010 Dodge Journey 3D4PG5FV8AT110120 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe KM8SC13D62U199809 2007 Ford Escape 1FMYU03Z37KA13756 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 15030 Butler Rd., Wilmer, AL 36587. 1997 Pontiac Bonneville 1G2HX52K4VH204971 2002 GMC Denali 1GKEK63U52J194589 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5971 Hwy. 90, Theodore, AL 36582. 2001 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WF52E019178912 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 30864-A Bryars Lane, Spanish Fort, AL 36527. 2003 Mercedes E500 WDBUF70J63A225988 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2000 Halls Mill Rd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2007 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WT58K879226848 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 23291 McAvliffe Dr., Robertsdale, AL 36567. 1998 Chevrolet C/K1500 1GCEK19RXWR149835 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 217 Circle Dr., Prichard, AL 36610. 2003 Toyota Camry 4T1BE32KX3U641689 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix 2G2WC55CX71189793 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 9540 Broughton Place, Stockton, AL 36579. 1999 Honda Accord 1HGCG5643XA103807 2005 Chrysler 300 2C3JA63H35H582396 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1878 9th St., Mobile, AL 36615. 1991 Chevrolet P30 1GBJP32J8M3308033 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5388 Hwy. 90 W., Mobile, AL 36619. 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix 2G2WR554871180050 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 21, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1963 Canal St., Mobile, AL 36606. 2003 Mazda 6 1YVHP80DX35M31267 Lagniappe HD March 16, 23, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3254 Valley Rd., Mobile, AL 36605. 1996 Dodge Dakota 1B7FL26P3TS578474 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 814 Seminary St., Prichard, AL 36610. 1992 Geo Prism 1Y1SK5463NZ070430 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1257 Dabney Dr., Mobile, AL 36605. 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood 1G6DW52PXTR707083 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 6281 St Luke Church Rd., Stockton, AL 36579. 2001 Ford Ranger 1FTZR15E81TA68165 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2510 McLaughlin Dr., Mobile, AL 36605. 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe 1GNEK13RXXR153613 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5824 Hwy 90 W., Theodore, AL 36582. 2016 Nissan Altima 1N4AL3AP3GC228954 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 4805 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier 1G1JC1242VM129173 Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
These vehicles will be sold on 04/27/2017 at 5781 Three Notch Rd. Mobile Al. 36619 at 9am NISS JN8DR09X13W710165 FORD 1FTYR10D64PA12748 HOND 2HGEJ6672XH576562 NISS 3N1AB6AP4CL634175 NISS JN8AR05S4VW191922
Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 4763 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2008 Mercedes E350 WDBUF56X08B277523 2015 Honda Civic 2HGFG3B58FH503152 2001 Volvo S60 YV1RS58D212072937
Deadline for legal advertising in Lagniappe HD is every Monday at 3 p.m. Lagniappe HD is distributed each Thursday.
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5971 Hwy. 90, Theodore, AL 36582. 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe 1GNEK13Z63R172010
Lagniappe HD offices are located at 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604.
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 28, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 205 Flamingo Dr., Robertsdale, AL 36567. 1995 Toyota 4Runner JT3VN39W2S8079941
For more information or to place your ad call Jackie at 251-450-4466. Or email at legals@lagniappemobile.com
Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
Lagniappe HD March 23, 30, 2017
M a r c h 2 3 , 2 0 1 7 - M a r c h 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 43