Lagniappe: August 10 - August 16, 2017

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WEEKLY

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LAGNIAPPE

AUGUST 10, 2017 - AUGUST 16, 2017 | www.lagniappemobile.com ASHLEY TRICE Co-publisher/Editor atrice@lagniappemobile.com

ROB HOLBERT Co-publisher/Managing Editor rholbert@lagniappemobile.com GABRIEL TYNES Assistant Managing Editor gabe@lagniappemobile.com DALE LIESCH Reporter dale@lagniappemobile.com JASON JOHNSON Reporter jason@lagniappemobile.com KEVIN LEE Associate Editor/Arts Editor klee@lagniappemobile.com

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BAY BRIEFS

A Mobile municipal judge and city prosecutors are at odds over the degree to which body camera footage can be admitted into trial.

COMMENTARY

The election season is winding down, but the rhetoric is heating up.

BUSINESS

The Grounds has purchased an additional 65 acres to increase its footprint.

CUISINE

ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com

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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 BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com

It’s not a romantic destination, but for 50 years The Royal Knight has offered good Southern fare with quirky appetizers.

COVER

With no clear front-runner in the U.S. Senate primary election scheduled Aug. 15, Republican candidates are likely headed for a runoff.

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BETH WILLIAMS Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com ALEEN MOMBERGER Advertising Sales Executive aleen@lagniappemobile.com RACHEL THOMAS Advertising Sales Executive rachel@lagniappemobile.com MELISSA EDGE Editorial Assistant events@lagniappemobile.com

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ARTS

Actors Paul Hurley and Christie Maturo will debut their Now Theatre Co. Aug. 18 with a performance of “Constellations.”

MUSIC

David Shivers will celebrate his 17th birthday with the release of his debut album Aug. 11 at Callaghan’s.

ROSS PRITCHARD Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager jackie@lagniappemobile.com CONTRIBUTORS: Ron Sivak, Jeff Poor, Asia Frey, Brian Holbert, Ken Robinson, John Mullen ON THE COVER: REPUBLICAN REPLAY

BY LAURA RASMUSSEN POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652.

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26 32 38 40 43 FILM

Nacho Vigalondo’s odd monster movie “Colossal” isn’t perfect but it is intriguing, and certainly worth watching.

SPORTS

Daphne’s United States Sports Academy provides concussion training to local high schools.

SCOPES

Leo goes back to school and voting for Senate nonsensically.

STYLE

Feeling the love at a Kenny Chesney concert and watching Mobile on the boob tube.

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BAYBRIEF | MOBILE

Is this thing on?

CITY OF MOBILE CHALLENGING ITS OWN JUDGE OVER BODY CAM RULING

BY JASON JOHNSON

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s discussions of police body cameras have swirled publicly, the city of Mobile has been quietly taking action to override one of its own judges for prohibiting prosecutors from “mentioning or referring to anything” captured in footage of an arrest in which they failed to produce a video.

While the issue is rooted in a misdemeanor case, there’s concern a ruling from Mobile Municipal Court Judge Shelbonnie Hall might impact what evidence prosecutors are allowed to introduce in future cases where body camera footage wasn’t recorded or isn’t available.

In January 2016, Terry Druckenmiller was charged with driving under the influence, and there’s no dispute that his arresting officer was wearing a body camera at the time.

Druckenmiller’s attorney, L. Daniel Mims, claims the footage from that camera first became an issue around four months later, when a city prosecutor mentioned that “there may be dash camera or body camera footage.” As such, Mims filed a motion requesting a copy.

During a hearing about that request, the arresting officer seemed to acknowledge the existence of some kind of footage. In excerpts from a June 30, 2016, transcript, the officer is quoted as saying, “I don’t have any footage. I asked my supervisor for it and he said he couldn’t release it to me.” A city prosecutor followed up by adding, “Yeah, certain protocol.”

Despite those comments, a subsequent brief filed by city prosecutor Cherlina P. Monteiro seems to suggest the footage from the officer’s camera might have been deleted or may have never been recorded at all, which would appear to violate MPD’s internal body-camera policies.

“A search of the MPD’s data storage determined that no video footage existed and/or ever existed,” Monteiro

wrote. “If the officer’s camera was operational, and ‘if’ it recorded any of the events on January 19, 2016, by April 19, 2016, it was no longer available.”

Monteiro explained that “once the MPD’s computer data storage reached full capacity, new video feed recorded over old data.” Because the department doesn’t review or save all of the footage it collects, Monteiro wrote that “no one can state what, if anything, was captured by the arresting officer’s body camera.”

The behind-the-scenes discussion has been occurring as the city has defended against criticism for not releasing certain body camera footage, and in some cases not recording any.

While Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich does not prosecute municipal offenses, she previously told Lagniappe body camera footage is the same as any other piece of evidence collected in an investigation. Rich has also directed all law enforcement agencies not to disclose video footage to the public until it has been submitted as evidence in a trial.

However, when no such evidence could be produced for Druckenmiller’s trial, Mims filed a motion to prohibit any testimony related to anything that could have been seen in footage from the arresting officer’s body camera, if such footage ever actually existed.

In December 2016, Hall granted that request — prohibiting prosecutors from “mentioning or referring to anything captured on video by the body camera they failed to produce.”

While Monteiro declined a request for comment, briefs she filed indicate there was at least some concern Hall’s order might set a precedent. She suggested complying with Hall’s order in future cases would “require untold man

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hours” from MPD and could potentially make the municipal court responsible for reviewing body camera footage and storing any pertinent data.

With those concerns, the city went above Hall’s head and petitioned the Mobile County Circuit Court to review her ruling. Records indicate the petition was filed the day before Druckenmiller’s trial was to restart. Now it’s on hold until a decision on Hall’s ruling is appealed in circuit court.

According to Monteiro, “barring the city’s officer from testifying” at Druckenmiller’s trial would be “tantamount to dismissal of the city’s case.” She also called Hall’s ruling an “abuse of the trial judge’s discretion” and “a gross disruption in the administration of justice.” “[It] would act to require all police interaction with the public resulting in a charge of a violation, including petty crimes such as ‘not wearing a seat belt,’ to only be prosecuted if the city recorded the event,” she wrote. “[The city would be required to] produce the recording for the defendant’s ‘fishing expedition’ to determine whether there is any possibility that ‘potentially’ exculpatory evidence ‘may’ be captured.”

Hall’s ruling might seem unusual, as DUI cases often rest heavily on officer testimony, but it’s not unprecedented. In October 2015, Pennsylvania saw a similar outcome when an officer was barred from testifying in a DUI case after failing to preserve dash cam video from the incident.

While the city’s request to the circuit court could could resolve the issue, it was not filed immediately, and the timing seems to have raised even more concerns among Druckenmiller’s defense team.

On the original trial date, March 9, Hall happened to be on vacation, which left Judge Holmes Whiddon handling the cases on her docket. According to Mims, the city “vehemently argued” for the trial to continue as scheduled, but Whiddon reset it for a later date after Hall’s return.

Then, the day before that trial started, the city made the move to petition the circuit court — a series of schedule changes that has raised accusations of “judge shopping.”

“Although the city was prepared to have a trial in front of Judge Whiddon on March 9, the placement of the trial back onto Judge Hall’s docket apparently warranted [circuit court intervention],” Mims wrote. “The city’s actions are tantamount to judge shopping. It is evident that the city would have proceeded with the trial of the defendant had the case remained on Judge Whiddon’s docket.”

So far, none of those factors has been addressed in circuit court, though Judge Jay York is expected to issue an order from a July 26 hearing sometime in the near future.

Either way, the decision could have a lasting impact as Mobile — a city where “police use of body cameras is in its infancy” — continues to figure out how best to use this new technology.

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BAYBRIEF | MOBILE

Eleventh hour

POLITICAL FORUMS INCREASE AS MUNICIPAL ELECTION DRAWS NEAR

BY DALE LIESCH

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he organizer of the city’s only youth political forum said Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s campaign canceled the incumbent’s appearance after the date was changed to accommodate him.

Reggie Hill, founder of Success 4 the Future, a division of Mu Kappa Phi Music Organization, said he adjusted everything to allow Stimpson to attend, yet Stimpson pulled out anyway over a perceived attack from challenger Sam Jones on youth violence.

“I’m unsatisfied by the response,” Hill said.

“The youth want to be part of the solution.”

In an email statement, Stimpson campaign manager Candace Cooksey wrote that Hill never properly coordinated with the campaign on the Friday, Aug. 4, date and there were conflicts in the mayor’s schedule.

“While we did receive an invitation to the forum, we were unable to confirm the mayor’s attendance,” Cooksey wrote. “Promotional material was created without confirmation from the mayor’s campaign.”

Stimpson has taken a recent focus to curb youth violence and introduced an internship program, Youth Empowered for Success, as part of the solution. Hill, for his part, said he applauds YES, although he believes more can be done.

Challengers for mayor and all City Council seats joined Bess Rich, the lone incumbent, at the Aug. 4 forum at the Fuse Factory downtown. Youth members of Mu Kappa Phi not only asked questions of the candidates, but also hosted and moderated the forum.

Each council candidate was given four minutes to speak. Mayoral challenger Anthony Thompson was also given four minutes to speak. In a different format, former Mayor Sam Jones was asked questions directly.

District 1 City Council challenger Perry Berens told the group Mobile needs to figure out how to keep young talent from leaving the city. Challenger Timothy Hollis explained the city could do a better job maintaining parks in the district, while Cory Penn, another District 1 challenger, said he wanted to take the area “to the next level.”

Berens, Hollis and Penn are all challenging Councilman Fred Richardson for the seat.

Richardson did not attend the forum.

District 3 City Council challenger Leola Chaney told the youth in attendance her opponent, Councilman C.J. Small, wasn’t doing enough to push the community forward. Small did not attend the forum.

District 4 City Council challenger Robert Martin said he recognizes youth are the future of the city and would like to continue to be involved. Councilman John Williams, his opponent, did not attend the forum.

District 5 City Council challenger Arianna McArthur said the city is at a point where it can become anything residents want it to be.

Incumbent Councilman Joel Daves did not attend the forum.

Both candidates for District 6 — incumbent Rich and challenger Deryl Pendleton — attended the forum. Pendleton said he is very concerned about crime, education and taxes. Rich said she wants to help keep communities stable.

Mayoral challenger Anthony Thompson said he believes everyone deserves a chance at success. He said he cares about people.

Jones was asked if he believed Mobile would vote along racial lines. “Yes, I do,” he responded. Jones said the political climate in Mobile has changed since his first election in 2005. At that time, he said, “I was judged by the content of my character” and won even though he was the only black person in the race.

Jones told the youth his top three concerns were crime, education and opportunity. On crime, Jones said it is important to get the community working with police and for the police to be more proactive instead of reactive. On education, he said the city should work with the school system to improve failing schools. On opportunities, Jones said it’s important to realize some don’t have the same economic opportunities as others.

In addition to an endorsement from the local transit union, Jones also picked up an endorsement this week from longshoremen in the port.

Meanwhile Stimpson earned the endorsements of the local firefighters union, the Mobile Police Association, the Mobile County Law Enforcement Association and the Mobile Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association.

Now open 24/7

MOBILE FIRE CHIEF CLAIMS ALL STATIONS ARE NOW STAFFED AND OPEN

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BY DALE LIESCH

ince a new chief was sworn into office in May, the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department has stopped the practice of routinely shutting down fire stations or trucks, also known as brownouts. Chief Mark Sealy said he was able to stop the practice while maintaining the department’s budget by moving “eight or so” firefighters from administrative positions back to trucks.

“I asked guys on trucks to do more with less,” he said. “We reorganized the entire department. We restructured it from the top down.”

Sealy’s administration looked at everything with efficiency in mind and has consolidated some higher-level positions within the fire code and EMS divisions.

“The most important thing is response,” he said. “Everything else is support. We took sup-

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port jobs and put them on trucks.”

The move appeases the local firefighters’ union, which for months has argued against the brownouts. Union President Matt Waltman said while there are still concerns over staffing shortages, the union sees a new direction.

“Things are looking up,” he said.

The staffing issues Waltman referenced, especially “riding short” — where there aren’t enough firefighters to fully staff a truck — is something that will be fixed over time, he said.

“The ranks are depleted,” Waltman said.

“Fortunately, we have enough to keep all trucks on duty in all three shifts.”

One station that was shut down under a recent budget crunch after a raise was announced was near the now abandoned Josephine Allen Homes.

Sealy said the station is now open and operating.

BAYBRIEF | MOBILE

Small living large?

MOBILE CITY COUNCILMAN DENIES WATERFRONT HOME IS HIS PRIMARY RESIDENCE

BY DALE LIESCH

Photo | Lagniappe

Mobile City Councilman C.J. Small said a luxury waterfront home he owns outside city limits is not his full time residence but rather simply an investment.

T

he location of District 3 City Councilman C.J. Small’s $1.1 million Dog River home is raising eyebrows as the Aug. 22 municipal election draws near. The house on Dog River Road is one of three owned

by Small, according to information from the Mobile County Revenue Commissioner. It also happens to be outside the city limits, with a Theodore address.

Small also owns a historic home at 951 Marine St., which is in District 3, and another on Smith Street. In an email message, Small said the home on Marine Street, which is worth just under $120,000 according to tax records, is his permanent residence and the one where he spends most of his time.

As for the larger waterfront house some 12.1 miles away from his district residence, Small referred to it as an investment.

“It was purchased in 2011 as investment property that allows me, my family and business colleagues an occasional opportunity to enjoy one of Mobile’s greatest assets, beautiful Dog River,” he wrote. “I don’t live there.”

Small said he claims a homestead exemption on the Marine Street home. The state allows a homeowner to apply the exemption to one property. The exemption allows the homeowner a $68 rebate on a property tax bill, as well as a reduction in the percentage of assessed value used.

Leola Chaney, Small’s challenger in the Aug. 22 election, doesn’t buy his explanation. She said she finds it hard to believe he would live full time in a house worth so much less than the

other 20 minutes away.

“It’s wrong,” she said. “As a leader in this district, you have to lead by example.”

Lori Lein, general counsel for the Alabama League of Municipalities, said the residency of someone running for an city office is often hard to prove. A court of law is usually the only place a question like that can be answered, and a judge or jury would have to consider evidence aside from where the officeholder lays his or her head. Evidence could also include where an individual picks up his or her mail and where an individual is registered to vote, Lein said.

Meanwhile, campaign records indicate that an employee of Stimpson’s campaign initially worked for Chaney. Erica Perkins Cooley was listed as a member of Chaney’s campaign committee in her May report to the Mobile County Probate Court. But Cooley was also recently paid $5,000 as a consultant for Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s re-election campaign.

Chaney said Cooley never worked for both campaigns at the same time. In fact, Cooley told Chaney she “got promoted” to work on Stimpson’s campaign.

Stimpson campaign manager Candace Cooksey said Cooley has been paid a total of $7,500 for diversity outreach. Cooksey said there was no “promotion” as the campaigns are not connected. When the team was deciding who to bring onto the staff, Cooley came to mind, Cooksey said.

“Erica is a leader in the community and is a supporter first,” Cooksey said. “She’s talented, smart and brings a lot to the table.”

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BAYBRIEF | GULF COAST

The bends

SPRINGHILL MEDICAL CENTER ONE OF FEW TREATING DECOMPRESSION SICKNESS

BY JOHN MULLEN

D

iving for dollars is big business along the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida as tourism officials market offshore offerings to scuba enthusiasts.

And as Lagniappe reported Aug. 3, local and state governments and private organizations keep adding offshore attractions on the Gulf floor to lure more and more divers to stay in the hotels and condos and eat in the restaurants. Alabama recently announced it will add a 250-foot vessel off the coast of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach this fall or early winter.

But all this worries Julio Garcia, program director at the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbarics at Springhill Medical Center in Mobile.

A hyperbaric chamber is vital to treating divers who suffer from decompression sickness during a dive. What is sometimes called “the bends” occurs if divers surface too quickly after a deep-water dive. It can cause a variety of symptoms from simple limb pain to paralysis or even death.

Just about every hospital along or near the Gulf Coast in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has chamber facilities.

But only two along an approximately 600-mile stretch of the coast — prime diving destinations— use those facilities to treat decompression sickness.

“My hospital here in Mobile, Springhill [Medical Center], and Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers are the two facilities on the Gulf Coast that treat diving emergencies,” Garcia said. “This is a major public safety issue.”

It wasn’t always that way, Garcia said. Back when the aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk as a diving reef off Pensacola, several hospitals jumped on board to offer treatments in their hyperbaric chambers. But that changed quickly, Garcia said.

“At that time, Escambia County really stepped up to the

plate,” he said. “Baptist Hospital in Pensacola said ‘this is what the community wants to do, we’re going to support this by opening up our hyperbaric chambers to the treatment of decompression illness.’

“That was great until about until Dec. 31, 2010, when Baptist put out a letter to the community saying ‘due to internal reasons we are no longer going to do that.’ After they did that there was a domino effect along the Gulf Coast.”

Candy McGuyre of Baptist Hospital said the change in 2010 was made for a variety of reasons.

“Facilities that offer emergency hyperbaric services for critical or unstable patients have dedicated chambers for trauma-level cases,” she said. “Those facilities have specially trained physicians available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We just didn’t have enough physicians to be able to provide that continuous coverage. We weren’t able to maintain it. It’s a higher level of trauma care.”

That level of treatment, McGuyre said, requires a special chamber and Baptist’s facilities aren’t up to that level.

“They are not trauma-level chambers, where health care providers can enter and exit that chamber in order to maintain vitals, make sure that airway support is maintained,” she said. “We do have a good relationship with Springhill so if we receive anyone here, they are transferred to Springhill.”

Garcia’s facility treats about 12-15 patients a year suffering from decompression sickness and almost all are from Florida. Springhill is the go-to place in about a 200-mile radius if a diver develops symptoms.

“A patient doesn’t find it out until they need our services,” Garcia said. “All of a sudden, they are sitting at a hospital that has a hyperbaric unit, such as Panama City, and they are having to be air-medevaced all the way to Mobile,

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Alabama, to a small community hospital to get treated.

“This is a national outrage, but it’s even more of an outrage to me in Florida because you’re seeking the tourist dollars. And you are not providing medical services for these individuals. It’s mind-blowing to me.”

Getting treatment takes time. It’s about a six-to-nine-hour time frame for a diver with symptoms in the Gulf to get to a hyperbaric chamber, Garcia said.

“There’s been one fatality, in November of 2016, in Pensacola,” Garcia said.

“So far this year we’ve had eight injuries from the Northwest Florida corridor, as far away as Panama City.”

Dive instructor and boat operator Gary Emerson of Gary’s Gulf Divers in Orange Beach said protocol is to treat the symptoms immediately. He’s never had a diver suffer from decompression sickness but he has seen cases on other boats.

“First of all, we put them on oxygen, and we’ve taken classes to be qualified to do this,” Emerson said. “That’s the first line of defense, put them on 100 percent oxygen. You would, of course, immediately start heading in. We get in contact with the Coast Guard.”

The Coast Guard will tell the boat operator where to go and have first responders in an ambulance or a helicopter waiting to transport. In Orange Beach, that usually means the heliport at the Alabama Marine Police facility at Perdido Pass.

Divemaster John Rice also leads dive trips into the Gulf from Alabama. He said the latest incident he can recall was from 2014.

“The diver was transported by helicopter to Springhill and made a full recovery,” Rice said.

Rice said anyone going for dive trips with him is urged to get Diver Alert Network insurance.

“We recommend any certified diver should carry DAN Insurance,” Rice said.

“DAN will coordinate emergency evacuation as well as cover the cost of the medical treatment, decompression chamber.”

Garcia said another problem plaguing the dive industry is lack of government oversight of scuba diving.

“Another problem with the industry as a whole is there is not any regulatory agency per se,” he said. “There is no mandate from anyone on the treatment of this industry. You don’t have to have it.”

Yet the popularity of diving and marketing of the dive destinations grows every year, he said, citing the Florida Underwater Trail and state-sponsored lionfish rodeos, where diving spearfishermen round up the invasive species.

Garcia says his facility will continue to provide the service to divers, but lack of other hospitals treating decompression has him concerned.

“My question to the community, and has been for a while, why is a little small community hospital in Mobile taking the brunt of Florida’s tourist industry?” he said. “It’s hard to get a good answer on that.”

BAYBRIEF | EDUCATION

Union blues AEA SEEKS TO MAINTAIN PRESENCE IN LOCAL SCHOOLS

BY JASON JOHNSON

A

day before students returned in the Mobile County Public School System Aug. 8, Superintendent Martha Peek found herself under oath, defending recent changes to the access third-party groups will have to local schools this year.

Three representatives of the Alabama Education Association (AEA) brought the legal challenge against Peek and other administrators after it was revealed that “vendors” — including AEA — wouldn’t be allowed to attend MCPSS’s new-teacher orientation last week.

Because it exists in a “right-to-work state,” AEA isn’t a union in the typical sense, even though many of its functions are the same. It offers liability insurance to its members and represents the interests of public education employees in disputes with their employers.

In the past, when new teachers arrived for the week-long orientation, AEA representatives would be among several vendors present on the MCPSS administrative campus in West Mobile.

There, the organization had also been allowed to give short presentations to teachers.

In 12 years with AEA, representative Eric Beck said he’s always attended MCPSS orientation events, adding the organization tries to reach “as many MCPSS employees as possible, to lessen those activities during the school year.”

However, three days before this year’s orientation, AEA was informed its representatives would not be allowed on any school campus without a “letter of introduction” approved by by the superintendent. When a group of 13 AEA employees tried to obtain those letters, their application was denied based on a board policy that hasn’t been used in more than a decade.

In his testimony Monday, AEA representative Jesse McDaniel said the change would likely hurt AEA’s recruitment and its ability to represent roughly 4,500 members within the MCPSS system.

“It’s been very harmful to recruitment already, and going forward — if this is allowed to stand — it will create a level of intimidation where employees are unable to have representation at the school level,” McDaniel said. “If a principal is to discipline an employee, not only will they have the burden of asking for representation, but they can be told, ‘Well, we’ve got to take this downtown, if you’ve got to have representation.’ That’s the reality this will create.”

The issue arose this year because of Board Policy 9.11, which governs the access thirdparty groups have to MCPSS sites. As written in 2007, it would require third parties to obtain a “letter of introduction” to access any school property. Despite that, the standing practice for AEA for years has been to simply coordinate any visit with the supervisor of that location.

The AEA has suggested Peek might have violated protocol by changing MCPSS policy without seeking input from the Board of School Commissioners. Peek, however, maintains the only change has been to start implementing a policy the school board has already approved.

To put a greater emphasis on school security and address what she says is a growing number of “vendors” who want access to local schools,

Peek and other administrators made the decision to start enforcing the 10-year-old board policy this year.

If left unchanged, it likely means AEA employees will be prohibited from visiting any MCPSS facility during regular school hours, as Peek has clearly stated she has no intention of granting anyone’s request for the “letter of introduction” the policy requires.

“Times change, and concern about people having entrance into the school has certainly increased,” Peek said. “For better or worse, there has also been an increase in the number of people who are looking to have a captive audience. They know we’re the largest business in Mobile, that we have employees who are there for a specific period of time and they want access. We’re very attractive to a whole host of outside vendors.”

In court, Peek said some of those vendors include not just other advocacy groups such as the Alabama Federation of Teachers but also professional and personal services, including “masseuses who want to come in to offer stress relief” to staff members during the school year.

Peek said she wants teachers to focus on teaching and doesn’t want schools to become “a marketplace,” even if the service being sold is union representation. However, Peek did acknowledge the value of AEA, of which she has previously been a dues-paying member.

According to Peek, MCPSS has a history of working with AEA. She also pointed out that, despite the recent friction, officials agreed to make membership information available at last week’s orientation on AEA’s behalf. When it comes to recruiting, though, Peek said AEA exists as part of a “marketplace” she’d rather not distract from school activities.

Yet Judge Roderick P. Stout, who heard oral arguments in the case this week, said he was somewhat bothered by classifying the AEA as a vendor given the frequent role it plays in disputes between MCPSS and its employees.

“This is an advocacy group, which represents some 50-plus percent of your employees and goes head-to-head with management and with you from time to time — it causes me some problem to lump them in with book salesmen or uniform salesmen,” Stout said, speaking to Peek directly. “They would probably say this is an effort to put them in a broader group, the effect of which could quell, interfere or diminish their capacity to represent employees during controversies against you.”

Stout said Peek had raised legitimate concerns about the AEA staff’s distinct roles as advocates for local teachers and as recruiters seeking new members. However, Stout pointed out that in Peek’s previous testimony, she couldn’t recall an incident where AEA’s presence created a disruption to school operations.

Attorneys for MCPSS and the AEA are currently working privately to find a compromise on the issue. However, if an agreement isn’t reached, a follow-up hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14, where Stout will hear closing arguments from both sides and and make a determination himself.

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BAYBRIEF | MOBILE

Face to face MAYORAL CANDIDATES DEBATE HOUSING, FINANCES AND RACIAL ISSUES AT WPMI FORUM

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BY DALE LIESCH

f viewers believed the two main candidates to be Mobile’s next mayor, then each had a hand in correcting the city’s financial structure and neither could be blamed for the condition of its public housing.

Incumbent Mayor Sandy Stimpson and former Mayor Sam Jones, one of the challengers in the Aug. 22 election, blamed each other for the shortcomings of the Mobile Housing Board of Commissioners during a televised debate Monday night on WPMI Local 15.

A report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General released in 2016 documented the board’s financial noncompliance and conflicts of interest dating back to 2011.

Because the board awarded a contract to Superior Masonry, which is owned by the half-brother of State Rep. Adline Clarke, a vice president for the board’s nonprofit arm, Mobile Development Enterprises, the board had to pay back millions in nonfederal funds to HUD. Jones said during the debate he hadn’t read the report, but thought the commissioners at the time were doing a good job. He said he mostly reappointed former Mayor Mike Dow’s selections.

Stimpson accused Jones of “stacking the board” just before leaving office in 2013. Stimpson added that HUD visited his office shortly after he was sworn in to inform him Mobile had the third-worst Housing Board in the country.

In a rebuttal, Jones accused Stimpson of “stacking” the board with real estate agents — referencing Stimpson’s newest appointee, Reid Cummings — interested in selling board property to private developers.

While not a real estate agent, former MHB Chairman Clarence Ball is listed as the registered agent at the low-income tax credit-funded Oleander Park Apartments, according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website.

Previous reporting in Lagniappe confirmed the apartments accept voucher applications through the Prichard Housing

Board. Ball, who chaired MHB during Jones’ administration, was reappointed by Jones and currently employs the former mayor.

In a question to Jones, Stimpson touted his own financial accomplishments of building a reserve and giving multiple raises to city employees, including police officers and firefighters. He asked the former mayor if his election would result in a decline in the city’s revenue.

In response, Jones said all of the revenue the city enjoys under Stimpson was because of Jones. He touted two annexations he said increased the tax base by $72 million.

All told, Jones said he was responsible for some $236 million coming into city coffers.

Jones also knocked Stimpson for his initial veto of the three-year extension of the 20 percent sales tax increase that resulted in the capital improvement plan, or CIP. The former mayor said Stimpson had Councilman Joel Daves vote to override his veto so the tax extension would pass.

“Those comments are amusing,” Stimpson quipped.

Stimpson said he vetoed the tax increase at first because residents weren’t satisfied with it. He said they were told it would be used for things it wasn’t. Instead, he said, it went into the general fund budget.

In rebuttal, Jones said a council ordinance required that 25 percent of the tax increase went into the general fund.

Stimpson also hit Jones on the city’s bond rating because of a lack of reserves during Jones’ tenure as mayor. Jones said the city’s bond rating never changed after he left office.

Ratings agency Moody’s did review the city’s bond rating in early 2014, and while it ultimately remained the same, the bond rating agency downgraded the city’s outlook to “negative.” In a report, Moody’s said it had revised the outlook based on concerns over the city’s financial health in 2012 and 2013 during Jones’ time in office.

“The negative outlook reflects the rapid deterioration of general fund liquidity and reserves … as a result of sizable

fund balance appropriations that were used to offset rising fixed costs, various expenditure overruns and fluctuation in sales tax revenues,” the report read.

Moody’s has since upgraded the city’s outlook to “stable,” while Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings advanced the city’s rating. In a statement provided

by Stimpson, the company attributes the city’s strong financial performance to cost-saving measures adopted by all departments and better-than-budgeted revenues.

Jones said he thinks the “rainy day fund” or reserve was at zero when he left office. He called the publicity of a shrunken reserve a “PR effort.” Stimpson said accountants hired by the city under Jones said there was no “rainy day fund.”

In a question to Stimpson, Jones asked the incumbent about his membership in the Comic Cowboys parading society. The controversial group that decorates Mardi Gras floats with abrasive cartoons made headlines in 2017 for displays many in the community felt were racist. Stimpson told Jones he joined the group before running for office and resigned once he saw the signs that ran in the actual parade on Fat Tuesday. Jones accused Stimpson of resigning only after local media reported he was member.

Several media reports at the time referenced Stimpson’s public resignation as confirmation he was in the group. However, as Jones said in the debate, Stimpson admitted to seeing the signs beforehand at an unveiling party. At the time, Stimpson said he didn’t know if the ones he objected to were going to run in the parade. News of his resignation came almost a week after the initial reports of the offensive signs.

On the cuts in WAVE transit routes, Stimpson said he made a decision that was in the best interest of the city’s residents, as the cuts affected service in parts of the county. Jones said the cuts not only impacted residents of other cities and towns coming to work and spend money in the city, but was “demeaning” to those who are disabled or elderly.

Two other mayoral candidates were not invited to the debate. Anthony Thompson and Devonette Ely did not meet the thresholds put in place by WPMI to be considered for the debate. A candidate had to have 5 percent support and raise $5,000 in contributions in order to be included.

Thompson said he felt the thresholds were unfair to a candidate not running to raise money. He blamed lack of media coverage on his lack of support in recent polls.

Thompson is running on a platform to “make Mobile healthier,” but he doesn’t necessarily mean in the physical sense.

Thompson said he supports BayFest and thinks there should be an independent committee to nominate police and fire chiefs. Without it, he said, the positions become more political.

BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY

There goes Casey!

SOME GAMING TO REMAIN AT GREYHOUND PARK AS LIVE RACING ENDS

BY J. MARK BRYANT

J

ust days before a celebration to mark the 44th anniversary of its opening, owners of Mobile Greyhound Park announced the end of live greyhound racing at the facility. The last day of live action is set for Saturday, Aug. 19.

Wind Creek Hospitality and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians made the announcement on July 31. Each employee was notified personally of the decision before the news release was posted.

“In response to declining market demand, Mobile Greyhound Park (MGP) will eliminate live races at our park at the end of August,” the news release stated. “We will continue to offer simulcast of races originating from other locations.

“In 1991 there were 62 active greyhound tracks unsupported by other forms of gaming. Today, Mobile Greyhound Park is only one of two. Of course, this will bring changes for team members and kennels currently serving MGP.” Magi Williams, the public relations manager for Wind Creek Hospitality, told Lagniappe the iconic building off Interstate 10’s Exit 13 would remain open even without the dogs.

Rumors that PCI Gaming Authority — an enterprise of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians that purchased a controlling interest in 2009 — would move more gambling operations to the site are unfounded. Williams said Alabama law

does not allow for that.

Unlike the Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore, the dog track is not located on reservation land. The casino in Atmore operates as a Class II gaming facility, where regulations require gaming machines in Alabama to be bingo-based or use pull tab-based technology.

“Electronic bingo is not available to us because it is prohibited by state law,” she said. “We do and will continue to offer betting on simulcast races and at our poker tables.”

The owner of VictoryLand, a former live greyhound park in Macon County, has been fighting to offer electronic bingo at that facility. In 2013, state authorities seized 1,615 machines and $263,000 cash during a raid. Despite an unfavorable Alabama Supreme Court ruling, VictoryLand reopened with 500 machines in 2016. A recent review of VictoryLand’s Facebook page indicates gaming machines are in operation. VictoryLand still offers simulcast greyhound and thoroughbred wagering.

In a 2015 Lagniappe article, Mobile County Racing Commissioner Edward Menton said tracks without those additional revenues have consistently gone out of business around the country since the 1990s. Casino gambling in Mississippi and state lotteries have combined to cut into greyhound racing profits.

Approximately 30 employees will lose their jobs when racing ends. Some are being offered positions at other

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Wind Creek Hospitality facilities including Pensacola Greyhound Park and Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Atmore.

“We will continue to offer poker and simulcast as gaming options; the only thing going away is live racing,” Williams said. “We will also continue to employ the majority of our team members.”

Other entities could be affected by the decision. The Mobile County Racing Commission, which is tasked with regulating dog races and managing the tax revenue it generates, has employees who work directly with live racing dogs.

Some of the tax revenue went to local municipalities, public education institutions and pension funds for first responders.

By 2015, more than $135 million in revenue had come from the greyhound park. The largest recipient at that time was the University of South Alabama, which had accepted $51 million in proceeds. Those yearly checks to USA, though, had fallen from $3 million in 1987 to just $41,000 by 2014.

The main attraction for more than four decades has been the greyhounds that chase Casey, the mechanical rabbit, around the dirt track.

“We also have plans in place to assist kennel owners with relocation, adoption and ongoing care of the approximately 400 greyhounds currently providing service to MGP,” the news release states. “Some of the animals may be moved to many different tracks around the country, including our Pensacola Greyhound Park. Some will be adopted into loving homes.

“We routinely place over 600 greyhounds each year through Mobile Greyhound Pet Adoption Kennel and we have relationships with approximately a dozen other adoption agencies across the country that will help with placement.”

Mobile Greyhound Park started its adoption program for retired racing dogs in 1992. Anyone interested in adopting a greyhound can phone The Mobile Greyhound Pet Adoption Kennel at 251-653-5000, ext. 102, for details.

The only live greyhound racing left in Alabama is at the Birmingham Race Course. In fact, Alabama is just one of six states where greyhound racing remains operational. According to Grey2K USA, a group that works to end greyhound racing, 40 states have declared the sport illegal. The states where tracks still exist are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Texas and West Virginia.

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COMMENTARY | DAMN THE TORPEDOES

Election season winding down and heating up ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

P

robably the most important thing we learned from Mobile’s first mayoral debate Monday night is that the best way to end up on Sam Jones’ sh** list is to forget to invite him to a

Small living large

And just a couple of weeks before the election, Mobile’s District 3 Councilman C.J. Small has some controversy brewing.

Seems C.J. no so long ago put the finishing touches on a $1.1 million house just across Dog River. The house is not only outside his district, it’s outside the city, which has his opponent questioning where Small lives.

These types of things always raise eyebrows. Councilwoman Bess Rich faced scrutiny four years ago because she

and her husband owned a home on the Eastern Shore with another individual and the Riches had their homestead exemption on that house. The homestead exemption typically is assigned to the place someone considers his or her primary residence, but it’s also not a really big amount of money.

In Small’s case the homestead exemption is still on his home on Marine Street in District 3 right next to the mortuary he owns. He says he lives there but uses the waterfront mansion 12 miles away to “enjoy Dog River.”

When you’re a City Council member and you build a house just a few miles away that looks like it ought to have “Trump” printed on its side, people are bound to talk. In the 15 years I’ve been doing this job, I’ve seen a few people try to claim residence in a district when they lived somewhere else, including a county commissioner who claimed he lived in a shed. It didn’t even have a doorknob, just a padlock on the door.

I guess it’s primarily a question of “optics.” Do people believe a guy is going to build Mar-a-Lago 12 miles away and then not live there? While the law is pretty specific about where someone’s residence is, proving they don’t live there is an entirely different issue. Maybe the other question is if spending a significant amount of your time living outside your district is your goal, then why be a councilman?

But C.J., please remember if you do have any parties at your swank pad, send Sam an invite.

THEGADFLY

party.

The debate between Mayor Sandy Stimpson and former Mayor Jones wasn’t full of “You’re no John F. Kennedy” moments. Political zingers were in short supply and WPMI’s broadcast kind of made both men look like the debate was happening on the bottom of the ocean. I’m still not sure why the picture didn’t fill my TV screen, but then again my television is pretty old. The moderators did a fine job, but overall production values were somewhere in the early ‘80s cable access show range.

The debate lacked the racial rhetoric Jones whipped out at the first debate four years ago when he started ranting about people “up the hill” and “down the hill.”

We got the slightly more subdued Sam who pitched the racial division in a more subtle fashion. Stimpson, for his part, seemed a bit nervous and left some huge Jones softballs just hanging out there. Overall, though, Stimpson got his point across.

One of the more telling things about the debate came as each man got to ask the other two questions.

Stimpson asked Jones why he’d left office with the city’s “rainy day” fund at zero, and also about problems with the Mobile Housing Board. Jones asked Stimpson about resigning from the Comic Cowboys, and why “Sam Jones” had been left off the guest lists at a few high-profile ribbon-cutting celebrations. I think this began the part of the debate where Jones spoke of himself almost exclusively in the third person.

While the Comic Cowboys question caused a little squirming by Stimpson and was red meat for Jones’ supporters, if the second most burning issue facing the city is “Why wasn’t I invited to your party?” you have to wonder about Jones’ priorities. I’m not even sure what he was getting at. He asked the question like there was some great conspiracy to keep him from getting at some pigs in a blanket, mini quiches and a plastic cup full of Kool-Aid. It left me with this mental image of a sad Sam Jones standing by his mailbox dressed in a suit, waiting for his invitation. Tear emoji.

The other memorable moments from the debate were Jones’ claims about the city’s bond rating being the same as when he was king of Government Plaza — not true — and the spirited discussions about why Carnival Cruise Lines left and then came back. Jones said who the mayor is doesn’t make a difference (even though he took credit for every other economic development project in a 60-mile radius), but Carnival announcing an extension of their contract just weeks before the election may serve as rebuttal to that statement.

We still have one more mayoral debate to go before the Aug. 22 election, so hopefully we’ll get more answers on this invitation scandal.

their problems, but Strange has been held against the ample teat of establishment Washington like no other I’ve ever seen.

The disgraceful — and I believe illegal — way he was appointed interim senator is something establishment D.C. thinks it can simply wash away with a river of PAC money.

I still haven’t met anyone who says they’re voting for Strange, or at least will admit it, and my gut feeling is he’s going to struggle and not make the runoff. We’ll see if my gut is right or if that’s just last night’s pizza.

Moore secured the all-important Chuck Norris endorsement the other day, which at the very minimum meant I had to hear a bunch of dumb Chuck Norris jokes. Sure, the endorsement also means Moore will grab the vast majority of the karate/martial arts vote, as well as that of “Walker: Texas Ranger” lovers, but the silent change agent here might also be the groundswell of Total Gym owners heading to the polls with their ripped abs.

We won’t know for sure who Alabama’s next U.S. Senator is next Tuesday, and probably not even who the Republican nominee is, but the primary will at least send a bunch of wannabes home.

More than anything, this election will be a referendum on whether dumping millions of dollars on a slimy candidate is more important to voters than ethics or truth. True, the three Republican front-runners — Luther Strange, Mo Brooks and Roy Moore — all have

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Cartoon/Laura Rasmussen

And the next senator is …

COUNCILMAN C.J. SMALL KEEPS AN EYE ON DISTRICT 3 FROM HIS DOG RIVER MANSION.

COMMENTARY | THE HIDDEN AGENDA

Holy ‘Molie!’ These are our choices?

ASHLEY TRICE/EDITOR/ASHLEYTOLAND@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

O

n Tuesday, Alabamians will head to the polls to choose who will be our next United States senator. The field is so crowded most of us couldn’t name more than three or four contenders.

The three who have emerged as front-runners are former Alabama attorney general and current Bentley-appointed U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore.

Without question, I am going to have to take a long, hot shower after casting my vote, no matter who it’s for. And I will probably still feel dirty.

Strange would have been the easy choice if he hadn’t gone sleazy with Bentley.

I don’t care that the Luv Guv and the Jolly Green (or red) Giant of senators “say” they didn’t talk about the investigation that Strange said was happening and then said (when it was politically convenient) wasn’t “necessarily” happening. I’m sorry.

Even if I believed they didn’t talk about the Lovernor’s legal woes at all when Bentley was “interviewing” him, Strange should have never put himself in the running for this position while his office was investigating Bentley.

Because, of course, the optics are horrible. So horrible, it just may lose Strange the position he was clearly willing to sell his soul to a horny little ol’ devil for, despite the massive amounts of money the Mitch McConnellcontrolled Senate Leadership Fund has been dumping into the state.

In addition to the Bentley filth that Strange just can’t seem to wash away, it is very obvious “the Swamp” wants to keep Strange as one of its creatures and that is pretty icky too. I laughed out loud last week when I caught an ad from Luther proclaiming he was going to help Trump “drain the swamp,” when his entire campaign is supported by the “PAC” of alligators and snakes who have been wallowing in that muck for years. Clearly, the man will say or do anything to keep this position. And that should tell us all we need to know.

But we are the state that sent Roy Moore back to office after he was removed the first time. And then, shockingly, he was removed again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, we should be forced to forfeit our right to vote as a state.

I have a hard time seeing why anyone would vote for a man who clearly has no respect for the rule of law. You have to respect the pillars of our democracy in order to protect and preserve them. Moore clearly thought he was above the judicial branch, not once but twice.

What makes us think he’ll operate any differently in the legislative one?

I have been talking with friends all over the political spectrum over the last couple of weeks, asking them, “Gun to your head: Luther Strange or Roy Moore?” My most liberal friend, I think, almost suffered a heart attack while considering the choices. Even my most conservative friend just crinkled up his face as if he were in pain and shook his head in disgust. Another friend, also disappointed in the choices, said, “Well, at least if Roy Moore wins, he won’t run for governor and he will be

Mitch McConnell’s problem, not ours.”

This is where we have gotten in Alabama politics. We have to hope one of our perennial bozo political candidates wins an office so we don’t have to deal with him in another. What a depressing silver lining to contemplate.

And finally we have Rep. Mo Brooks. He has been the main target of the Senate Leadership Fund, which has spent a fortune on advertising, among other media strategies, to defeat him. They have been going after him so hard, in fact, that when you Google “Mo Brooks” the first thing that comes up is a website paid for by the SLF, mobrooksmolies.com.

When I first read it, I was like, Mo Brooks Molies? What the hell are “molies?” And what is Mo Brooks doing with them? Is it something he needs to have removed from his back because of too much sunbathing in his youth?

Or is it something he takes before going to see Skrillex? Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once I clicked on the site, which also basically claims Brooks loves Isis (Go ahead and laugh. It’s so pathetic and transparent it’s ridiculous.), I realized it was “Mo Brooks Mo Lies,” not precancerous skin growths or hallucinogenic drugs. Well, aren’t they clever? Mo Money, Mo stupid political advertising.

The funny (and sad) part about the Brooks campaign though is that he now has to prove he really does love Donald Trump, like, so much he wants to marry him and have babies with him (babies that the Donald will no doubt love even less than Eric and Tiffany — ouch!).

See, Brooks was the Alabama chair of Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign so he naturally talked a lot of smack about Trump during the primary, as many other Republicans did. So Luther and the SLF have been running ads with clips of Brooks saying he didn’t support Trump. Now Brooks has been countering with ads saying he did, in fact, support our current president. But I am just not sure Brooks’ ads have been “lovey dovey” enough.

I’m hoping in the final weekend before the election we will get an ad that shows Mo Brooks tonguing a picture of the president and subtly suggesting he pleasures himself while reading “The Art of The Deal.” I kid, but good Lord, this is just how ridiculous it has gotten.

But the mental image I just created there is making me want to throw up too, so I am sorry.

This whole election is bile-inducing.

I really don’t know if it even matters which one of these clowns makes it up there. They will all just vote however they are told to vote and recite the talking points the party tells them to. And defend a guy who I swear was about two sentences away from launching into telling the Boy Scouts about chasing tail in New York, all while saying their faith and Christian values are the most important things to them.

Well, I guess I should say they will defend him until the powers-that-be tell them not to.

It really doesn’t matter, we might as well just send Bear Bryant’s hat, a slice of Lane Cake or a jar of white BBQ sauce up there to represent us. Any of which would probably be just as effective and definitely less embarrassing. Sigh.

Somebody give me a “Molie” and tell me this has all just been a bad dream.

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COMMENTARY | THE GRIOT’S CORNER

Keeping dreams of college alive

BY KEN ROBINSON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

he “summer melt.” When a phrase like that is used down in these parts, one generally tends to think of the sweltering heat and humidity that must be endured this time of year. With heat indexes that almost daily top out over 100 F., inducing profuse sweating after just a brief time spent outdoors, it can be easy to think one is melting.

However, in the context I’m using it, “summer melt” refers to that time of year when recent high school graduates’ dreams and aspirations of attending college or some sort of postsecondary school melt away. As disappointing and discouraging as it sounds, it’s a phenomenon that doesn’t escape most educators and education policy advocates.

In the spring, many high school seniors jubilantly walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. It’s an accomplishment of which they can rightly be proud. Both they and their loved ones see this as the first step toward attaining the needed education and skills to achieve the coveted American Dream: a good job, eventually own a nice home and be able to provide comfortably for one’s family. To make this dream possible, plans for attending a two- or four-year college or specialized training program in the fall are typically articulated and hoped for by all.

Unfortunately, as summer slowly makes its way toward fall, many of those dreams and plans melt away.

Statistically, around 40 percent of those who graduated from high school with the intentions of attending some postsecondary school in the fall never make it. In a time when it’s almost impossible to get a well-paying job without some type of specialized skill or degree, this missed opportunity can set many young people on a path of economic insecurity and deprivation.

To reverse this “summer melt” phenomenon in Ala-

bama, educators and advocates have hit upon an effective and powerful remedy: FASFA completion. FASFA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is a form filled out annually by current and prospective college students.

Based on the information reported in a student’s or potential student’s FASFA, an expected family contribution (EFC) is determined. The FASFA doesn’t give or take money away from anyone, but through the EFC that is reported to colleges and universities, awards for needs-based aid (both federal- and school-based) are determined based on computations from the FASFA data.

Why has filling out a FASFA proven so effective in combating the summer melt? Because according to data from the U.S. Department of Education, nine out of 10 students who complete a FASFA attend college the following fall! More importantly, in a state such as Alabama, which has a higher number of poor and low-income students, around 60 percent of those who file a FASFA end up qualifying for Pell Grant aid of up to $5,920 a year — money that can turn dreams of attending college into reality.

This is why in January 2016, Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to combat poverty in Alabama by eliminating obstacles to prosperity through a variety of means, started the Cash for College program.

According to Alabama Possible Executive Director Kristina Scott, “The cost of college [technical and academic education] is a major barrier for students and families, and those who are most likely to qualify for financial aid, including Pell Grants, have the least knowledge of its availability and of the process to obtain it.”

For example, she explained that in the 2014-2015 school year, due to Alabama’s low FASFA completion

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rate at the time (remember that around 60 percent of Alabamians qualify for a Pell Grant) that year, “Alabama students and families left around $58,731,020 in Pell Grant aid on the table unused.” So, you combine this with the fact that even for those who may be aware of the need to fill it out, “... the FASFA has more than 100 questions and is more complex than a typical tax return.” The result is a serious barrier to a college education exists for many Alabamians.

Cash for College was started as a collaborative effort to prioritize FASFA completion among Alabama’s graduating high school seniors. To date there are approximately 207 high schools from around the state working in partnership with the effort.

Those efforts are bearing fruit. During the 2016-2017 school year, 14.4 percent more Alabama high school seniors filed their FASFA than in 2015-2016.

That significant increase allowed Alabama to be ranked ninth nationally for “Growth in Total FASFA’s filed by High School Seniors.” Thankfully, Alabama

CASH FOR COLLEGE WAS STARTED AS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO PRIORITIZE FASFA COMPLETION AMONG ALABAMA’S GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. TO DATE THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 207 HIGH SCHOOLS FROM AROUND THE STATE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EFFORT.” is in a top 10 list for something positive.

The goal is to keep building on this momentum. According to Scott, Alabama Possible wants to create within Alabama a “college-going culture,” to ensure “every Alabamian is equipped for today’s and tomorrow’s economy.”

Creating such a culture is critical. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce has published data showing that 62 percent of Alabama jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate, but only 37 percent of current working-age adults have the required credentials. As Scott observed, “That’s a big gap to make up!” She went on to say, “In a low-income state like Alabama, filing the financial aid form is essential for anyone who wants to continue their education after high school or go back to school to complete a new credential.”

Indeed it is. It’s an essential, but too often overlooked, step in keeping dreams of college and a better future alive.

COMMENTARY | THE BELTWAY BEAT

Do they think you’re stupid?

BY JEFF POOR/COLUMNIST/JEFFREYPOOR@GMAIL.COM

E

very election, whether it is an on-year race for the presidency — with a dozen other contests on the ballot — or for a seat vacated mid-term by Jo Bonner or Jeff Sessions, Alabamians are subjected to the same worn-out campaign radio and television commercials.

The ads are entirely predictable. Candidate A’s ad might feature a menacing voice suggesting self-serving graft or corruption by their opponent.

Candidate B’s ad responds with folksy voices proclaiming their support for B and why B is “a better choice for Alabama.” The candidates change. The formula and message rarely do.

Have you ever asked yourself this: Who, perhaps driving down Airport Boulevard or on Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay, hears one of those ads on the radio and comes to the conclusion that they must simply vote for candidate A or B based on that advertisement?

Those ads probably influence a very small percentage of the public as a whole. Many people change the station when ads come on, or are oblivious to the fact there is even an upcoming election. And those who are aware and plan on voting have likely already made up their minds.

Politics is a strange business when it comes to money. For some well-funded candidates, the campaign treats funding as if the money might burn a hole in its pocket and spends the cash wherever it can.

Consider the millions of dollars Luther Strange’s supporters have spent to secure his seat in the upcoming special election. An organization such as the Senate Leadership Fund can bombard the airwaves. Some of those ads are head-scratchers: “Mo Brooks is a toady of Nancy Pelosi.” Or “Roy Moore is actually not a zealot, but a snake-oil salesman wanting to get rich off of a religious-based legal nonprofit.”

The people who are aware of next week’s election likely already have an idea about who Moore and Brooks are. So why are these attack ads running in the first place?

When it comes to organizations like the Senate Leadership Fund, they need these off-year special elections to justify their business models.

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterms, a fundraiser can go to a wealthy donor and point to the success they had spending money in this special election and convince that donor to write a check.

Some of it is so incestuous that these wellfinanced storefronts pay their in-house print shops to print those glossy inserts that are in the daily newspaper (or in the case of Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville, the every-other-

daily newspapers). Then later on they can tout the money they spent in a special election to get that candidate elected.

In these cases, the end game is not necessarily to get a radio listener to vote for candidate A or B, but rather to show that the organization worked on behalf of the candidate to get them elected. The goal is actually to get donors to write another check in future races.

Fair enough. It’s a free country. We have a First Amendment. They can do whatever they want to with their money.

But doesn’t it seem a little insulting that these campaigns see voters as mind-numb simpletons swayed by a little folksy dialogue around the kitchen table?

“Sure, let’s blast this out on the local country music station. Those hillbillies will eat this up.”

It’s not just political advertising to which this seems to apply. Watch any college football game or NASCAR race. They think they know the target demographic. They believe a viewer will be swayed by two middle-aged men sitting in a car being goofy to go eat onion rings at a Sonic, or go out and buy a car because, “Love — it’s what makes a Subaru.”

The heartbeat of the marketing world is in New York City on Madison Avenue. The people who work on Madison Avenue want to reach affluent suburbs in Middle America with enough disposable income to buy their products.

Generally, the ad executives determining what appeals to Middle America are not Average Joes from Anywhere, USA. Some are Ivy League educated. They live in New York City, where life is different from anywhere else in America. In fact, they probably have very little in common with their target audiences — from education to lifestyle to worldview.

Just consider the politics. There is an institutional left-of-center bias. It might not be intentional in most cases, but it is still there. Have you ever wondered why so many commercials for products such as soda, cars and box stores end up pushing globalism, environmentalism and diversity?

“For every $1 spent at company Y, we’re giving .00001 cents to the Global Whale Saving Fund. Making a difference, it is what we do.”

There is a lot of money in advertising, which is to be expected in a consumer-driven economy.

If marketers, pushing both in products and candidates, want to get the max effect per dollar spent, it might be time to reconsider the assumption that we are all rubes. Otherwise, people will just tune it out. Many already have.

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BUSINESS | THE REAL DEAL

The Grounds is growing

BY RON SIVAK/COLUMNIST/BUSINESS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

A

ccording to Carlisha Hartzog with Hartzog Consulting, The Greater Gulf State Fair Inc. has purchased 65 acres of land immediately adjoining the existing property in West Mobile. The purchase will nearly double the footprint of The Grounds, situated at 1035 Cody Road in Mobile, expanding the fairgrounds from 96 acres to more than 150.

Expansion plans include a new entry point to The Grounds. Plans for future use include, but are not limited to, further development of year-round entertainment and the launch of agricultural programs.

Construction on downtown Mobile’s largest residential project in more than half a century will begin before the end of the month, according to a news release.

Jackson, Mississippi-based developer Leaf River Group will break ground on Meridian at the Port Aug. 16. The nearly $50 million project will create an estimated 260 new apartments on Water Street just north of the International Trade Center.

Per local developer Stacey Ryals, plans are in place to start construction on Sevilla Place Apartments, a 120-unit complex to be built due west of the recently opened OWA amusement park at 10113 Foley Beach Express in Foley.

Birmingham-based Gateway Development Corp. is a partner on the Sevilla project. Reed Construction in Bay Minette is the builder and HRG Design Build Solutions’ architect Jeff Hudson designed the apartment plans. The complex is scheduled to open in mid-2018.

Jacksonville-based Stellar, a firm focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services worldwide, has opened a new refrigeration office at 5520-1 Business Parkway in Theodore.

The company provides support for OEM aftermarket parts from all major manufacturers and alternative suppliers.

Other services include 24/7 emergency refrigeration service, compressor rebuild and repair, regulatory compliance and

system optimization.

“The opening of this new office allows us to more effectively support our clients and the markets we serve in the Gulf Coast region,” Jeff Williams, senior vice president, refrigeration services, said. “The new staff will fill in the gaps between our existing Florida, Texas and Birmingham locations.”

Currently the company employs some 600 workers worldwide, according to its website.

Jubilee Fitness/CrossFit Jubilee leased 4,100 square feet of office/warehouse space at 27468 World Court in Daphne.

The company will serve as a health and wellness training facility, offering group CrossFit, personal training and full nutrition programs.

A grand opening will be held Saturday, Aug. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eric Windham of Coldwell Banker Reehl Properties represented the landlord and David Dexter of NAI Mobile worked for the tenant.

April Eubanks, one of the three owners/operators of Jubilee Fitness/CrossFit Jubilee, works as a pharmacist and will be leading the nutrition program. Alongside Eubanks, other owners/operators include husband Mark Eubanks and Josh Daniel.

Down South Native has leased 1,200 square feet of retail space at Schillinger Place Shopping Center, 2502 S. Schillinger Road in Mobile. Plans are in place for the men’s and boy’s clothing retailer to open this fall. Angie McArthur, broker associate with Stirling Properties, managed the transaction.

Local bar Bubble Lounge, located at 5546 Old Shell Road in Mobile near the University of South Alabama campus, is under new ownership, according to sources familiar with the deal. Plans are in place for upgrades to the property but no timelines were given as of press time.

Accurate Tax & Payroll Service recently leased 1,560 square feet of retail space at the Forum Shops, 3385 N.

16 | L AG N I A P P E | A u g u s t 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 - A u g u s t 1 6 , 2 0 1 7

Schillinger Road in Semmes. The company is relocating to this site from its former space and plans to open early next month. Jill Meeks, senior leasing executive with Stirling Properties, handled the transaction.

Ozanam Pharmacy adds board members

According to a news release, Marylou Hyland, Rev. Levon Manzie and Jimmy Lyons have joined the board of directors of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy.

Hyland is an active community volunteer and artist who has experience in fundraising for several local organizations, including the Ronald McDonald House and McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. Manzie represents District 2 on the Mobile City Council and is co-pastor of St. Joseph Baptist Church. Lyons is president and CEO of SSI Group Inc. Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a fully functioning licensed pharmacy that provides prescription medications to uninsured and underinsured individuals. Ozanam’s services are free of charge to individuals who qualify based on household income.

In 2016, Ozanam dispensed more than 26,000 prescriptions with a combined retail value of over $1.7 million to 1,600 patients residing in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties.

The pharmacy is funded in part by the Mobile County Commission, Baldwin County Commission, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Catholic Charities, United Way of Southwest Alabama, the city of Mobile and the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission.

Providence recognized as technology innovator

Providence Health System was one of only nine health care facilities in Alabama to be named a 2017 “Most Wired” hospital, according to results of the 19th annual HealthCare survey released by the American Hospital Association. The distinction recognizes the use of technology to improve communication, patient safety and patient-provider relationships.

Providence was recognized for its use of wireless technology for patient telemetry, infusion pumps, nurse call and medication dispensing. A key use of technology at the hospital is maintaining electronic health records that contain a patient’s medical history, nurse notes, physician notes, results of testing, monitoring and other details of the patient’s health.

The hospital’s electronic orders entry system decreases error risk, provides greater legibility than handwritten orders and expedites care. Another system at the hospital transmits real-time alerts when a patient’s lab values are outside normal readings, allowing providers to respond immediately with appropriate intervention.

The survey of 698 participants, representing an estimated 2,158 hospitals — or 39 percent of all hospitals in the United States — examines how organizations are leveraging IT to improve performance for value-based health care in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, quality and safety, and clinical integration.

A u g u s t 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 - A u g u s t 1 6 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 17

FLOUR GIRLS BAKERY ($) 809 Hillcrest Rd. • 634-2285

GROWLER STATION AND BITES 1801 Old Shell Rd. • 345-4767

FIREHOUSE SUBS ($)

PANINI PETE’S ($)

HOT SUBS, COLD SALADS & CATERING 6300 Grelot Rd. • 631-3730 $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

BRICK & SPOON ($)

3662 Airport Blvd. Suite A • 525-9177

BUCK’S DINER ($)

CLASSIC AMERICAN DINER 58 N. Secion St. Fairhope • 928-8521

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 ($)

DELI FOODS, PASTRIES & SPECIALTY DRINKS 4072 Old Shell Rd. • 304-0448

CLARK’S KITCHEN ($-$$)

SANDWICHES, SOUTHERN CUISINE & CATERING 5817 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0200

CHAT-A-WAY CAFE ($)

QUICHES & SANDWICHES 4366 Old Shell Rd. • 343-9889

CHICK-FIL-A ($)

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

FOOSACKLY’S ($)

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

JERSEY MIKE’S ($)

AUTHENTIC SUB SANDWICHES 7449 Airport Blvd. • 375-1820

JIMMY JOHN’S ($)

SANDWICHES, CATERING & DELIVERY TOO 6920 Airport Blvd. • 414-5444 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-8694 62 B Royal St. • 432-0360

JOE CAIN CAFÉ ($)

PIZZAS, SANDWICHES, COCKTAILS 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000

JONELLI’S ($)

1252 Govenment St.• 301-7556

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

JUDY’S PLACE ($-$$)

CHICKEN SALAD CHICK ($)

PUB FOOD AND DRAFT BEERS 251 Dauphin St. • 287-6871

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 ($)

HOME COOKING 4054 Government St. • 665-4557

LICKIN’ GOOD DONUTS ($) 3242 Dauphin St. • 471-2590

LODA BIER GARTEN ($) MAMA’S ($)

SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD HOME COOKING 220 Dauphin St. • 432-6262

MARS HILL CAFE ($)

GREAT SANDWICHES, COFFEE & MORE 1087 Downtowner Blvd. • 643-1611

MARY’S SOUTHERN COOKING ($) 3011 Springhill Ave. • 476-2232

COFFEE, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DESSERT 351 George St #B • 405-0003

MICHELI’S CAFE ($)

DAUPHIN ST. CAFE ($)

MCSHARRY’S ($-$$)

HOT LUNCH, DAILY MENU (INSIDE VIA) 1717 Dauphin St. • 470-5231

D’ MICHAEL’S ($)

PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS, GYROS & MORE 7101-A Theodore Dawes Rd. • 653-2979

D NU SPOT ($)

22159 Halls Mill Rd. . • 648-6522

DELISH BAKERY AND EATERY ($) GREAT DESSERTS & HOT LUNCH 23 Upham St. • 473-6115

DEW DROP INN ($)

CLASSIC BURGERS, HOTDOGS & SETTING 1808 Old Shell Rd. • 473-7872

DUNKIN DONUTS ($)

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

E WING HOUSE ($)

6358 Cottage Hill Rd. • 725-6917 AUTHENTIC IRISH PUB 101 N. Bancroft St.• 990-5100

MIKO’S ITALIAN ICE ($)

HOTDOGS SANDWICHES & COOL TREATS 3371 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 300–4015

MOMMA GOLDBERG’S DELI ($) SANDWICHES & MOMMA’S LOVE 3696 Airport Blvd. • 344-9500 5602 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6556

WILD WING STATION ($)

INSIDE THE MOBILE MARRIOTT 3101 Airport Blvd. • 476-6400

CHINA DOLL ($)

PDQ ($)

SAISHO ($-$$)

CUISINE OF INDIA ($$)

VON’S BISTRO ($-$$)

FUJI SAN ($)

TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN ($$)

GOLDEN BOWL ($)

THE TRELLIS ROOM ($$$)

HIBACHI 1 ($-$$)

BAR FOOD 271 Dauphin St • 438-9585

GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE 5955 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6134

CHICKEN FINGERS, SALAD & SANDWICHES. 1165 University Blvd. • 202-0959

1500 Gov’t St. • 287-1526

POLLMAN’S BAKERY ($)

85 N. Bancroft St. Fairhope • 990.8883

BAKERY, SANDWICHES & MORE 750 S. Broad St. • 438-1511 4464 Old Shell Rd. • 342-8546 107 St. Francis St. Suite 102 • 438-2261

PUNTA CLARA KITCHEN ($)

FUDGE, PRALINES & MORE 17111 Scenic Hwy 98 • Fairhope • 928-8477

R BISTRO ($-$$)

334 Fairhope Ave • Fairhope • 928-2399

REGINA’S KITCHEN ($-$$) ROLY POLY ($)

ROSHELL’S CAFE ($)

2906 Springhill Ave. • 479-4614

ROSIE’S GRILL ($-$$)

SANDWICHES, SOUTHWEST FARE, 7 DAYS 1203 Hwy 98 Ste. 3D • Daphne • 626-2440

THE WINDMILL MARKET ($) YAK THE KATHMANDU KITCHEN ($-$$)

AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM HIMALAYAN REGION 3210 Dauphin St. • 287-0115 400 Eastern Shore Center • 459-2862

‘CUE

BACKYARD CAFE & BBQ ($) HOME COOKIN’ LIKE MOMMA MADE. 2804 Springhill Ave. • 473-4739

BAR-B-QUING WITH MY HONEY ($$) BBQ, BURGERS, WINGS & SEAFOOD 19170 Hwy 43 Mt. Vernon. • 839-9927

BRICK PIT ($)

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 ($-$$)

LUNCH & DINNER 3004 Gov’t Blvd. • 287-1220

BBQ AND MORE Jubilee Sq.Ctr. Hwy 90, Daphne • 210-2151 McGowin Park Ctr. Satchel Paige Dr. • 471-1050 7721 Airport Blvd. • 380-8957

ROYAL STREET CAFE ($)

DREAMLAND BBQ ($)

ROYAL KNIGHT ($)

HOMEMADE LUNCH & BREAKFAST 104 N. Royal St. • 434-0011

SALLY’S PIECE-A-CAKE ($) BAKERY 5638 Three Notch Rd.• 219-6379

SATORI COFFEEHOUSE ($)

COFFEE, SMOOTHIES, LUNCH & BEERS. 5460 Old Shell Rd. • 344-4575

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 ($-$$)

AT FLU CREEK 831 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-7766

RIBS, SANDWICHES & GREAT SIDES 3314 Old Shell Rd. • 479-9898

MEAT BOSS ($)

5401 Cottage Hill Rd. • 591-4842

MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE ($) BARBEQUE & MUSIC Bayfront Park Dr. • Daphne • 625-RIBS 701 Springhill Ave. • 410-7427 4672 Airport Blvd. • 300-8516

SAUCY Q BARBQUE ($) AWARD-WINNING BARBQUE 1111 Gov’t Blvd. • 433-7427

SMOKEY DEMBO SMOKE HOUSE ($)

BAY GOURMET ($$)

A PREMIER CATERER & COOKING CLASSES 1880-A Airport Blvd. • 450-9051

BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE ($-$$)

THE HARBERDASHER ($)

HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St • 460-3157

SOUTHERN COOKING & THEN SOME 1716 Main St. Daphne • 222-4120

THE SUNFLOWER CAFE ($) INSIDE VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOOD 3055 A Dauphin St • 479-3200

THYME BY THE BAY ($-$$)

CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE Battle House Hotel, Royal St. • 338-5493

THE WASH HOUSE ($$)

17111 Scenic HWY 98 • Point Clear • 928-4838

THAI FARE AND SUSHI 2000 Airport Blvd. • 478-9888 HIBACHI GRILL & ASIAN CUISINE 309 Bel Air Blvd • 470-8033 2370 Hillcrest Rd. Unit B • 380-6062

ICHIBAN SUSHI ($)

JAPANESE & CHINESE CUISINE 3959 Cottage Hill Rd • 666-6266

A LITTLE VINO

KAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($-$$)

WINE, BEER, GOURMET FOODS, & MORE. 720 Schillinger Rd. S. Unit 8 • 287-1851

LIQUID ($$)

DOMKE MARKET

QUALITY FOOD, EXCELLENT SERVICE 5045 Cottage Hill Rd. • 607-6454

FOOD PAK

AMAZING SUSHI & ASSORTMENT OF ROLLS. 661 Dauphin St. • 432-0109

FOOD, WINE & MORE 5150 Old Shell Rd. • 341-1497

POUR BABY

WINE BAR, CRAFT BEERS & BISTRO 6808 Airport Blvd. • 343-3555

RICE ASIAN GRILL & SUSHI BAR ($) 3964 Gov’t Blvd. • 378-8083

ROCK N ROLL SUSHI ($$)

216 St Francis St. • 421-2022

273 S. McGregor Ave • 287-0445 6345 Airport Blvd. • 287-0555 940 Industrial Pkwy • 308-2158 6850 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 753-4367

RED OR WHITE

SAISHO ($$)

FIREHOUSE WINE BAR & SHOP 323A De La Mare Ave, Fairhope • 990-0003 1104 Dauphin St.. • 478-9494

ROYAL STREET TAVERN

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

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

HEALTHY, DELICIOUS MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 3762 Airport Blvd. • 725-1177

THE GALLEY ($)

THE PIGEON HOLE ($)

CASUAL FINE DINING 104 N. Section St. • Fairhope • 929-2219

LUNCH BUFFET 3674 Airport Blvd. • 341-6171

DROP DEAD GOURMET

SEAFOOD AND SUSHI 551 Dauphin St.• 219-7051

113 Dauphin St.• 436-0989

SEAFOOD, ASIAN & AMERICAN CUISINE 69 St. Michael St • 375-1113

3966 Airport Blvd.• 343-5530

FALAFEL? TRY SOME HUMMUS FROM THE DEPTHS

THE BLIND MULE ($)

OPEN FOR LUNCH, INSIDE GULFQUEST 155 S. Water St • 436-8901

MODERN GASTROPUB INSPIRED BY JAPANESE KITCHEN 455 Dauphin St • 433-0376

THAI KITCHEN & SUSHI BAR 960 Schillinger Rd. S • 660-4470

3758 Dauphin Island Pkwy. • 473-1401

GRILLED STEAKS, CHICKEN & SEAFOOD 720A Schillinger Rd. S. S2. • 607-7200 901 Montlimar Dr • 408-3133

DAILY SPECIALS MADE FROM SCRATCH 57 N. Claiborne St. • 694-6853

SAGE RESTAURANT ($$)

CHARM ($-$$)

CHUCK’S FISH ($$)

CORNER 251 ($-$$)

DAUPHIN’S ($$-$$$)

HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH A VIEW 107 St. Francis St • 444-0200

DUMBWAITER ($$-$$$) 9 Du Rhu Dr. Suite 201 167 Dauphin St. • 445-3802

FIVE ($$)

7 SPICE ($-$$)

ABBA’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE ($-$$) 4861 Bit & Spur Rd. • 340-6464

BAUDEAN’S ($$)

FRIED, GRILLED, STEAMED & ALWAYS FRESH 3300 River Rd. • 973-9070

THE BLUEGILL ($-$$)

ISTANBUL GRILL ($)

A HISTORIC SEAFOOD DIVE W/ LIVE MUSIC 3775 Hwy. 98 • 625-1998

JERUSALEM CAFE ($-$$)

ECLECTIC DINING & SPACE 6955 Airport Blvd. • 633-7196

KAN ZAMAN ($-$$)

QUALITY CAJUN & NEW ORLEANS CUISINE 29249 US Highway 98 Daphne. • 621-1991

AUTHENTIC TURKISH & MEDITERRANEAN 3702 Airport Blvd. • 461-6901 MOBILE’S OLDEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE 5773 Airport Blvd. • 304-1155 MEDITERRANEAN FOOD AND HOOKAH 326 Azalea Rd • 229-4206

MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH COMPANY ($)

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

MINT HOOKAH BISTRO ($) GREAT MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 5951 Old Shell Rd. • 450-9191

BONEFISH GRILL ($$)

BOUDREAUX’S CAJUN GRILL ($-$$) CRAVIN CAJUN/DIP SEAFOOD ($) PO-BOYS, SALADS & SEAFOOD 1870 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 287-1168

ED’S SEAFOOD SHED ($$)

FRIED SEAFOOD SERVED IN HEFTY PORTIONS 3382 Hwy. 98 • 625-1947

FELIX’S FISH CAMP ($$) UPSCALE DINING WITH A VIEW 1420 Hwy. 98 • 626-6710

FISHERMAN’S LEGACY ($) DELI, MARKET AND CATERING. 4380 Halls Mill Rd. • 665-2266

MONTEGO’S ($-$$)

TIME TO EAT CAFE ($)

KITCHEN ON GEORGE ($-$$)

OLLIE’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL ($-$$)

LUCY B. GOODE ($$)

MOON PIE GENERAL STORE ($)

LAUNCH ($-$$)

TAZIKI’S ($-$$)

TIN ROOF ($-$$)

MAGHEE’S GRILL ON THE HILL ($-$$)

FAR EASTERN FARE

LULU’S ($$)

4513 Old Shell Rd.• 473-0007

MUDBUGS AT THE LOOP ($)

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

MOSTLY MUFFINS ($) MUFFINS, COFFEE & WRAPS 105 Dauphin St. • 433-9855

NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE ($)

FATHOMS LOUNGE

O’DALYS HOLE IN THE WALL ($)

SMALL PLATES AND CREATIVE COCKTAILS 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE 271 Glenwood St. • 476-0516

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)

THAI & SUSHI 5369 D Hwy 90 W • 661-5100

33 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-5635

15 N Conception St. • 433-2299

EUGENE’S MONKEY BAR ($)

WEDGIE’S ($)

COFFEE AND DONUTS 759 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope • 928-7223

GREAT FOOD AND COCKTAILS 609 Dauphin St. • 308-3105

OVEN-BAKED SANDWICHES & MORE 1335 Satchel Page Dr. Suite C. • 287-7356 7440 Airport Blvd. • 633-0096 30500 State Hwy 181 #132 • 625-6544

195 S University Blvd. Suite H • 662-1829

BENJAS ($)

PAT’S DOWNTOWN GRILL ($)

HOOTERS ($)

MIND-BLOWING ISLAND FOOD 3700 Gov’t Blvd. Ste A • 602-1973

TRADITIONAL SUSHI & LUNCH. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-9077

GUMBO, ANGUS BEEF & BAR 72. S. Royal St. • 432-SCAM (7226)

WRAPS & SALADS 3220 Dauphin St. • 479-2480

JAMAICAN VIBE ($)

ROYAL SCAM ($$)

WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS ($)

GUMBO SHACK ($-$$)

3869 Airport Blvd. • 345-9544 5470 Inn Rd. • 661-9117 28975 US 98 • Daphne • 625-3910

2550 Dauphin Island Pkwy S. • 307-5328

2579 Halls Mill Rd. • 479-0006

ORIGINAL SANDWICH AND BAKE SHOP 42 ½ Section St. • Fairhope • 929-0122 102 Dauphin St. • 405-0031

SANDWICHES, SUBS & SOUPS 2056 Gov’t St. • 476-2777

SEAFOOD & SANDWICHES 212 ½ Fairhope Ave •Fairhope • 928-4100

UNCLE JIMMY’S DELICIOUS HOTDOGS ($)

562 Dauphin St.• 725-6429

OLD SHELL GROWLERS ($)

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DOWN-HOME COUNTRY COOKIN 7351 Theodore Dawes Rd. • 654-0228 13665 N. Wintzell Ave. • 824-1119 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

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FOOD 351A George & Savannah St. • 436-8890 HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St. • 432-8000 GREAT LUNCH & DINNER 3607 Old Shell Rd. • 445-8700

NOBLE SOUTH ($$)

LOCAL INGREDIENTS 203 Dauphin St. • 690-6824

NOJA ($$-$$$)

INVENTIVE & VERY FRESH CUISINE 6 N. Jackson St. • 433-0377

OSMAN’S RESTAURANT ($$) SUPREME EUROPEAN CUISINE

MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT & HOOKAH 1248 Hillcrest St • 634-9820 MEDITERRANEAN CAFE 1539 US HWY 98• 273-3337

ANG BAHAY KUBO ($$)

BAMBOO STEAKHOUSE ($$) SUSHI BAR 650 Cody Rd. S • 300-8383

BANGKOK THAI ($-$$)

DELICIOUS, TRADITIONAL THAI CUISINE 28600 US 98 • Daphne • 626-5286 3821 Airport Blvd. • 344-9995

BANZAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($$)

HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($)

30500 AL-181 • Spanish Fort • 206-8768 3654 Airport Blvd. • 338-9350 GULF COAST CUISINE, REINVENTED 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858 LIVE MUSIC & GREAT SEAFOOD 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858 CAJUN KITCHEN & SEAFOOD MARKET 2005 Government St. • 478-9897

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 ($-$$)

916 Charleston St. • 433-9374

THE GRAND MARINER ($-$$)

SANDWICHES & COLD BEER 273 Dauphin St. • 433-4376 Hillcrest & Old Shell Rd. • 341-9464

SEAFOOD, BURGERS & STEAKS 6120 Marina Dr. • Dog River • 443-7318.

LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 6036 Rock Point Rd. • 443-7540

THE HARBOR ROOM ($-$$) UNIQUE SEAFOOD 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000

THE SEAFOOD HOUSE ($-$$)

HEROES SPORTS BAR & GRILLE ($)

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FRESH CUISINE NIGHTLY ON MENU 1709 Main St. • Daphne • 626-6082 3958 Snow Rd C. • Semmes • 645-3400

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MACARONI GRILL ($$)

SMALL PLATES, PIZZAS, PASTAS & WINE 3250 Airport Blvd. • 450-4556

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A SOUTHERN GRILL & BAR 3673 Airport Blvd. • 344-2131

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A TASTE OF ITALY. BYOB. 28691 U.S. Highway 98 • 626-1999

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DELIVERY 350 Dauphin St. • 431-9444

BEST WINGS & SPORTING EVENTS 6341 Airport Blvd. • 378-5955

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FAMOUS BURGERS, SANDWICHES & WINGS 60 N. Florida St. • 450-0690

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PIZZA, SUBS & PASTA 1368 ½ Navco Rd.• 479-0066

GREAT PIZZA. LUNCH & DINNER 4356 Old Shell Rd. • 342-0024

ITALIAN, STEAKS & SEAFOOD 18 Laurel Ave. • Fairhope • 990-0995

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PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD & MORE 102 N. Section St. •Fairhope• 929-2525

PIZZERIA DELFINA ($) PIZZA & PASTA 107 Dauphin St. • 375-1644

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SEND LISTINGS TO LISTINGS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

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CUISINE THE REVIEW

Serving Mobile since ‘67, with good reason

BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR | FATMANSQUEEZE@COMCAST.NET

THE ROYAL KNIGHT 3004 GOVERNMENT ST. MOBILE 36606 251-287-1220

Photo | Daniel Anderson

I

The Royal Knight, a Mobile establishment celebrating its 50th anniversary, offers Southern favorites in a comfortable atmosphere. ’d like to think of myself as a good Mobilian, one who tries to embrace and participate in the traditions, visit the spots that have stood the test of time, immersing myself in the things that give the Port City its character, all while inviting others to do the same. There is one place I regret never having visited until now — The Royal Knight Restaurant and Lounge.

I’ve heard a few folks speak on its behalf, singing the Knight’s praises for its good Southern food, but it has slipped my mind for so long. Ashley and I were just saying how it’d been so long since she and I had a meal to ourselves, so I thought this shady spot was the perfect place to take the boss on a lunch date.

This was new territory for both of us and we weren’t quite sure what to expect. I arrived first with my dark sunglasses, fedora and trench coat, making my way past the bar to the collection of tables scattered about the would-be dance floor.

“Is this the kind of place you just sit where you like?” I asked.

I was assured it was by the bartender, who was slinging more tea and water than beer and whisky, so I sat at a comfortable spot with a great view of the front door.

Only a minute or two passed before the lovely Mrs. Trice came in from the parking lot dressed as inconspicuously as I was, sans fedora but more expensive eyewear. I had a glass of unsweet tea waiting for her. There were too many things to do today for this to be a drinking meeting, though I’d gladly have ordered her something with more potential should she have expressed interest. She seemed as busy as I was so we did not deviate from the straight and narrow.

When you think of this place, what comes to mind is country

WORD OF MOUTH

Shotgun BBQ Sauce the new pride of Mobile For years the pride of Chickasaw has been Hall’s Sausage. Don’t worry, it still is, but we now have a new reason to celebrate our neighbors to the north with Shotgun BBQ Sauces, Spices and Rubs!

Founded by Ed and Angela Pederson, this local sauce is taking the city by storm with multiple television appearances and a pretty big following. I received a couple of bottles for sampling and was immediately impressed with the Original and Double Barrel versions.

Original was delightfully sweet and held a fair amount of heat when sampled off the finger. This diminishes when sampling with

cooking, but I will say the menu is a lot larger than I would have guessed. I counted 20 different appetizers including gems like Dang Bang Shrimp, Bacon Wrapped Oysters and Crab Stuffed Jalapeños. That’s a lot of goodness to narrow down.

Ultimately we chose two apps beginning with Ditch Dogs ($7). Bite-sized pieces of Conecuh sausage were battered and deep fried, served with a side of ranch, of course. This seems like a signature dish for the Royal Knight. Toothpicking a nugget or two and dipping it in the preferred bar food condiment led Ashley to say under her breath, “There ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

Out of 20 appetizers you cannot just pick one. Debris Fries ($8) made the cut this time. I knew I wasn’t going to order the debris po’boy for my entrée so I had to get my debris somehow.

The roast beef was a little on the chunky side and the gravy was what you’d expect. It was a pretty good way to carb-load before the main course.

The specials of the day were lasagna or dumplings. There was a back and forth on the part of Ashley as everything sounded so good. You could tell she wanted the dumplings but the Hamburger Steak ($10) won her over. This is definitely the one you want if you like that sort of thing. The brown gravy and the thick, juicy patty were every country girl’s dream come true.

With a choice of two sides, Ashley first chose a side salad with blue cheese dressing. This somehow counteracted the fried sausage and french fries we’d been picking on. She brought it all back to reality by ordering fried okra as her second option.

Though she loved her hamburger steak, I could see she’d had to make a tough decision. I ordered the Chicken and Dumplings ($10) like a gentleman should and offered her as much as she

meat or bread, creating a very smooth kick that even the kids will enjoy. The Double Barrel version seems to be a little spicier, but again, not overpowering.

Both are fine examples of why we should buy local. Speaking of which, you can find these at most Greer’s, Food For Less and Food Champs in our fair city. The sauce has even been used by Bob Baumhower’s Daphne restaurant. Pick up some — it could be your new go-to sauce.

Of course this sauce is perfect for any type of meat, but don’t neglect it as a dipping sauce for crackers, chips, fries or veggies. Put it on the side or put it on top, you’ll love it either way. Check out their Facebook page or visit shotgunbbqsauce.com for news and online purchasing.

They don’t have a restaurant so you’re

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could stand. Again, this is really good Southern country cooking.

I too was feeling the effects of our appetizers so the same salad was a refreshing option. I ate as much of it as I could. Unable to stand anything else fried on our table, I thought it best to have turnip greens as my other choice.

We ordered a ton of food and took our time eating it. One thing I should say is that Ashley is a really good listener. I must have rambled on about myself for the better part of the meal as we discussed relationships, what the kids are into these days, the latest trends and fashions. We must have had a good conversation because there were gravy stains on our clothes and our table looked as if we’d made several trips to a buffet.

I have no idea if The Royal Knight has dessert or not. I didn’t look for it. I didn’t want to think about it. And although we didn’t finish a single thing, we did enough damage to each dish that there wasn’t enough to take home for any sort of a proper future meal.

I love this place. The food is good. The ambience is that of the bars in which I hung out during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It’s terribly unromantic and just what I wanted it to be. They will get by just fine serving solid Southern fare with quirky appetizers. But wait, there’s more!

The Royal Knight also serves breakfast daily. Weekdays they open at 6 a.m. but wait until 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

You can have your eggs, biscuits, pancakes and build-your-own omelets until 11 a.m., when the menu shifts to lunch.

This place has been around since 1967. What took me so long to get here? Embrace the old places like this one. They are around for a reason. You won’t need your glasses or trench coat.

going to have to make your own banana pudding.

Alabama barbecue book

What is a guy from Milwaukee doing writing a book about Alabama barbecue?

Who does he think he is? Well, when you graduate from the University of Alabama with a doctorate in history, I would imagine you’ve spent a little more than a few study breaks within the walls of some of our finest smoky joints on your journey to becoming a professional historian.

That’s the story behind Mark A. Johnson and his new book, “An Irresistible History of Alabama Barbecue” (American Palate/ The History Press). This book can serve as a guide to our current hotspots as well as

a historical reference to those who came before and shaped our ‘cue landscape.

With profiles of institutions such as Big Bob Gibson’s, Dreamland, Jim and Nick’s and of course Moe’s Original, the older readers can travel down memory lane as they gaze upon the black and white photos in this paperback, while the younger scholars get a history lesson and enjoy a recipe or two.

We take our barbecue seriously in Alabama. From wood pit to white sauce, we have our own thing going and this book is great for those who live and eat here or for any barbecue lover wanting to broaden his or her horizons to see that Alabama is a force to be reckoned with in the world of meat.

Be on the lookout. Christmas is just around the corner.

Recycle!

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COVER STORY

Prelude to the primaries — US Senate seat up for grabs BYJEFF POOR/ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I

n less than a week Alabamians will head to the polls to cast a ballot for who they want to serve alongside Sen. Richard Shelby in the United States Senate.

This primary election is unique for the Yellowhammer State. The race is happening in an off-cycle year, after an emotionally draining presidential campaign. Additionally, the primary is occurring in the heat of August, a time of the year when voters aren’t accustomed to going to the voting booth.

With all these unusual election elements, it is anyone’s guess what headlines will dominate when Alabamians awake on Aug. 16.

outspend anyone who might think they could compete against him, into oblivion.

But Strange’s appointment has been controversial due to Bentley’s involvement and humiliating exit from office. The controversy and Strange’s reputation as an “establishment” figure has opened the door for at least two other candidates to be serious threats for the Republican nomination, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Polling, which historically has not been the most reliable of indicators in Alabama elections, shows a tight three-way race. Early polls had Moore with an advantage over Brooks and Strange, but that gap has narrowed.

Should a candidate in this contest be unable to earn 50 percent of the vote, the next step in the nominating proHow did we get here? cess is a runoff between the field’s top two. As of now, Last November, the seemingly impossible — and, that possibility appears to be practically a certainty. to many in Washington, D.C., unthinkable — hapStrange hails from Mountain pened: Donald Trump won the Brook, the wealthiest municipalpresidency. Trump’s election ity in Alabama and a suburb of opened a number of Cabinet possiBirmingham, the state’s most bilities for then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, populous city. one of Trump’s earliest big-name While Strange seemingly has REPUBLICANS NOW CONsupporters. population on his side, it has been Trump eventually appointed, and TROL THE HOUSE, THE SENdifficult to pin down exactly where the Senate confirmed, Sessions as U.S. Attorney General.

ATE AND THE WHITE HOUSE, his base’s enthusiasm lies. The former Alabama attorney general is 2-1 Luther Strange, Alabama’s BUT SO FAR HAVE NOT BEEN in statewide campaigns and the area former attorney general, immediboasts a surprising dearth of Strange ately announced his intentions to ABLE TO DELIVER ON THEIR signage. In fact, there is none on the run for Sessions’ seat. As a stopgap before a special election could take BIG PROMISES OF THE LAST major thoroughfares.

In 2006, he won the Republican place, now-former Gov. Robert nomination for Alabama lieutenant EIGHT YEARS WHEN THEY Bentley offered Strange the open governor, handily defeating George seat, which Strange accepted.

WERE OUT OF POWER. Wallace Jr., son of the iconic former Bentley exited office last April Gov. George Wallace, and curafter he was exposed for having rent opponent Mo Brooks. In what an extramarital affair with his politiwould be a bad year for Republicans, Strange lost in the cal aide, Rebekah Mason. general election to Jim Folsom Jr., son of another iconic As one of her first official acts in office, Bentley’s former Alabama governor, “Big” Jim Folsom. replacement, Gov. Kay Ivey, immediately moved the Strange would come back in 2010 to win the Alabama special election for the seat from 2018 to this August. attorney general’s seat, beating incumbent Troy King for When the qualification deadline passed in May, nine the GOP nomination and Democrat James Anderson in Republican candidates and six Democratic candidates the general election. In 2014, Strange was re-elected with had declared their candidacy for the seat. nearly 60 percent of the vote.

In this race, he is optimistic.

Three Republicans emerge as front-runners “I’ve always had tough races, but I’ve been blessed to Early on, it appeared this election could be a cakehave been elected statewide twice, and we’re just taking walk for Strange. He was officially the incumbent. He our message to the people and it’s going really well,” was going to have the backing of the Senate Republican Strange told Lagniappe over the weekend at a candidates’ leadership and would be able to raise enough money to forum in the Birmingham suburb of Trussville.

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Brooks is a former Madison County commissioner and now U.S. congressman, first elected to public office in 1982. That 35-year run has allowed Brooks to build a dedicated following in the northern part of the state, which includes Huntsville.

It will be difficult for any of the candidates to top Brooks in any of the precincts north of the Tennessee River and a high turnout in Madison County could be Brooks’ secret weapon in a low-turnout event.

“I would hope we have strong turnout throughout the state,” Brooks told Lagniappe in a phone interview. Brooks added that he hoped those that “know him best” would be the ones not to be swayed by any of the advertising attacking him.

Anyone who has followed Alabama politics over the years knows Roy Moore. Moore comes out of Etowah County, where he originally made a name for himself in the 1990s as a circuit court judge with a wooden plaque displaying the Ten Commandments mounted behind him in his courtroom.

That display drew the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union, a relatively unpopular organization in Alabama. The ACLU filed suit in 1995 and the attendant controversy made Moore a national figure.

The attention Moore received from that suit catapulted him to win an election for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Moore has continued to be a controversial figure. He twice won the statewide election for chief justice and in that role was twice removed from the bench.

His track record as a statewide candidate is mixed. Despite having two successful runs for chief justice, he also has had two unsuccessful runs for governor, drawing 33 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against incumbent Gov. Bob Riley in 2006 and just 19 percent in a crowded 2010 primary.

This senate race might be Moore’s best showing yet in a statewide race, given the competition he is facing. His two runs for chief justice were downballot races. This election he is running in the only race on the ballot.

At this late stage, depending on the poll, Moore is often shown to be the candidate to beat. In an interview with Lagniappe at a candidate event hosted by the Shelby County Republican Party on Friday, Moore was optimistic.

“We got the greatest grassroots support I’ve ever had,” Moore said.

“We’ve got volunteers raising money for the campaign. I mean, it’s just that unusual. Social media is overwhelming.”

Moore insists it is not just name identification that has him as the top dog.

“People know what I stand for and they have known for a long time,” he said. “It’s not just name recognition. It’s identity recognition. I think people appreciate that I’ve stood up for the principles for which we were founded.”

Democrats have a contest

In a one-party state, as Alabama has been since the 2010 election, many often overlook the Democratic primary in statewide elections.

Presumably, the next officeholder in a statewide election is decided at the party level and that is why the candidates put such an effort into winning the Republican primary.

However, there are some who believe if Moore is the eventual nominee for the GOP, his caustic presence could motivate enough Democrats and crossover Republicans to show up in a low-turnout general election just to vote against him.

Seven candidates are vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Of those seven, two candidates have emerged as frontrunners: former U.S. Navy officer Robert Kennedy Jr. and former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones.

Jones made a name for himself as the Clinton-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama in the late 1990s leading the prosecution after the re-investigation of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham.

However, some polling shows Jones with a large deficit compared to

COVER STORY Kennedy — one that may allow for Kennedy to avoid a runoff by crossing the 50 percent threshold.

Turnout is the name of the game

Even with a local media hyperfocused on this contest, overall turnout is expected to be low given that the race is the only one on the ballot and is taking place less than a year after a contentious presidential election.

“A primary in general is going to have fewer voters than a general election, and this is sort of an unusual time for a primary,” Dr. Joseph L. Smith, chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Alabama, said in an interview with Lagniappe. “So, I won’t be too surprised if there’s very low voter turnout.”

The question is which candidate has the most dedicated supporters in an off-year contest.

That’s where geography could play a role.

Brooks represents Alabama’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and has not faced a serious threat since his first run against incumbent Rep. Parker Griffith, a Republican who was elected two years earlier as a Democrat but switched parties in the middle of his term.

In his only other bid for statewide office, the 2006 lieutenant governor’s race, Brooks did not fare well. At the time, he was an unknown commodity outside his home region in northern Alabama’s Madison County.

Since 2006, Brooks has made more of a name for himself as a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and more recently as one of the “heroes” of a shooting that took place at a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, before a charity congressional baseball game.

It would not be surprising to see Brooks outperform the polls on primary day given his affiliation with the conservative movement in Alabama. The conservative grassroots in the state tend to boast supporters who are willing to show up and vote, regardless of the stakes.

Roy Moore, whose home base is Etowah County, does not necessarily have one area of the state where he dominates.

His supporters traditionally have been dispersed throughout Alabama. But he should still do well in precincts where the population is concerned about social issues.

One might look to counties that are still “dry” — that prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages — as areas where Moore might be a strong vote-getter. The counties of Cullman, Blount, Monroe, Coffee and Geneva are all dry, but are in different parts of Alabama.

Such places, however, do not tend to be the most populous. Will those counties be enough for Roy Moore to back up his poll numbers?

Moore’s showing in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary with 19 percent of ballots cast gave him a fourthplace finish behind Tim James, Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley. Things could be different in a low-turnout contest.

“I would say that the more extreme voters who are more on the edges — the more extreme conservative voters and liberal voters are the ones who tend to show up for primaries,” Alabama’s Smith explained to Lagniappe. “It may be that Roy Moore’s support comes from that sector disproportionately. If you put those things together, it does suggest that a low-turnout election might be better for Roy Moore

than if it was Brooks or Strange.”

Strange does not seem to have a particular hometown advantage, either. Although his home base is Mountain Brook, outside of Birmingham, one would have to believe his advantage lies with the more establishment parts of the GOP. One indicator could be where Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, did well in the 2016 presidential primary. Although Rubio finished behind Donald Trump and Ted Cruz statewide, he was the top vote-getter in the parts of the “over the mountain” Birmingham suburbs of Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Hoover as well as in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Mobile.

The well-funded Strange campaign doesn’t seem to be employing a strategy of targeting particular geographical areas but instead is saturating all five of Alabama’s media markets.

Trip Pittman, local spoiler?

Although he has not come close in polling to any of the three frontrunners in the GOP primary, Baldwin County’s State Sen. Trip Pittman should be a factor in the Republican vote-rich precincts in Southwest Alabama.

Political insiders have told Lagniappe Pittman could take away votes from Luther Strange and Mo Brooks in Mobile and Baldwin counties given his name recognition locally. In Baldwin County, Pittman’s vote-getting potential could be enough to give Roy Moore a shot at winning that county outright.

Pittman insists he’ll be more than just a Baldwin and Mobile county phenomenon. Last week Pittman started running radio spots all over the state, including in Birmingham and Huntsville.

“I’m from Birmingham,” Pittman said when asked

by Lagniappe about his statewide strategy. “I was born in Birmingham. I’m from Jefferson County. I’m running statewide. I’m in the National Guard. You know, I serve as a state senator. I pass the budget that affects the whole state.

I’m running in the whole state and you know, I’m looking for votes all across the state.”

The attack ad controversy

Both Moore and Brooks have been the targets of an attack ad campaign by the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that has been pro-Luther Strange.

Initially, the group focused on attacking Brooks with advertising that questioned his loyalty to President Trump, who overwhelmingly won both Alabama’s Republican presidential primary and the state in the 2016 general election.

The ads have focused on comments Brooks made while supporting Trump’s opponent Sen. Ted Cruz in last year’s GOP primary.

Brooks has called the attacks unfair and noted he eventually came around to support Trump in the presidential election with financial support to get out the vote in Florida. Additionally, Brooks has highlighted that he has backed all of Trump’s early legislation.

According to Brooks, the millions of dollars the Senate Leadership Fund has spent on Strange’s behalf will make the incumbent a toady for McConnell.

“Well, it’s quite clear that Luther Strange, if he wins,

it will be because of loyalties to Mitch McConnell,” Brooks said to Lagniappe. “Kentucky already has two senators. They don’t need a third.”

In recent days, the Senate Leadership Fund has also started targeting Roy Moore. One of its ads, titled “More for Moore,” suggests that Moore and his wife financially benefited from his Foundation for Moral Law, an organization Moore was a part of after being removed the Alabama Supreme Court in 2003.

At the Shelby County GOP forum Aug. 3, in which both Strange and Moore participated, Moore condemned the attacks on his wife, adding that it “hurt him badly” to see her attacked.

Moore told Lagniappe, however, that people should not expect his campaign to levy a counteroffensive on the airwaves.

“I will not stoop and demean myself to that level,” Moore said. “I will not criticize a candidate. I haven’t done so far in my advertisements. Tonight, I just simply stated that there was a lot of false advertising going on. And it’s very unique in a race where there is three at the top, and one of them is blistering both candidates with false advertising. Somebody should look at that.”

Birmingham’s WERC talk host JT Nysewander asked Strange about his opponents’ complaints on Sunday at the Trussville candidates’ forum. Strange replied that he had no control over the content of the Senate Leadership Fund’s ads.

When Lagniappe asked Strange about Brooks’ contention that he would be Kentucky’s third senator if elected, Strange dismissed the comments altogether.

“There’s no whining in politics,” Strange said. “I’m not whining about the Never Trump PACs against me, so that’s just part of politics.”

National implications

Strange’s reliance on massive ad buys is keeping him in the race and some polls have him way out in front. But will it be enough in lieu of a ground game to get out the vote on his behalf?

If it is, McConnell and his Senate Leadership Fund will be able to flex their muscle in future Republican primary contests and perhaps even bolster their fundraising efforts.

However, if it fails it could send a political shockwave throughout the country. If Strange is unable to make the runoff next week, it could raise the same types of questions House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faced about her leadership role after her party bet big on Jon Ossoff in a June special election in Georgia. Ossoff lost by four points to Karen Handel.

Republicans now control the House, the Senate and the White House, but so far have not been able to deliver on their big promises of the last eight years when they were out of power. Much of that has been because of the Republicancontrolled Senate’s inability to pass any significant legislation under McConnell’s leadership.

If McConnell is unable to push Strange across the finish line this year, it could send the signal McConnell is vulnerable and imperil him as the Senate’s top Republican.

Jason Johnson contributed to this story.

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ART ARTIFICE

Actors debut new company at Laidlaw

BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR/KLEE@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

W

hat would you change in your life? What if those changes already exist, your choices were all different and everything that can happen does happen? For actors Paul Hurley and Christie Maturo, that becomes reality on Aug. 18.

That’s when their performance of Nick Payne’s lauded stage play “Constellations” manifests onstage at the University of South Alabama’s Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. The exploration of love and free will amid a quantum multiverse of possibilities sold itself to their new production company.

“This was one of the 10 most-produced plays in this country last year. I think a big part of that is regional theaters see two people, no set and it’s all sort of actordriven,” Hurley said.

At the outset of the single act, Roland and Marianne meet at a barbecue. She comes on to him, makes a joke.

He responds, “In a relationship.”

In a flash, they’re meeting again, same scenario and dialogue. This time he responds with “I just broke up with somebody and this isn’t going to work out.”

Another restart and this time Roland’s married. It shifts again. Once more into the romantic breach and they match.

Roland the beekeeper listens as theoretical physicist Marianne explains ideas of numerous universes spawned in every moment and the odd opening clarifies. For 75 minutes they go through a relationship’s twists, dissolution and resolution, elation and tragedy. It’s a clever and wellcrafted storytelling method.

“All that aside, the relationship of the two characters is so lovely and charming and full of ups and downs and turns that it drew me to want to do it,” Maturo said.

Considering its minimalist presentation, the barebones task is best filled by accomplished thespians.

Hurley and Maturo hold the resumes for it. They’re both Equity actors with a decade of repertory work. Both hold graduate degrees.

Maturo has done regional and national TV commercials, is a Second City Conservatory grad and spent years in the Las Vegas cast of the immersive theater event “Tony and Tina’s Wedding.” She also co-wrote and starred in the web series “Hey You, It’s Me.” She joined the faculty at Midwestern State University two years ago.

Hurley has a lengthy record with Shakespearean and classical theater companies in Chicago, New York, St. Louis, Milwaukee and numerous other cities. He joined the USA faculty in 2015.

The pair crossed paths at a Meisner technique workshop in Oregon last summer. They each noted their respective college locations — Mobile and Wichita Falls, Texas — were two hours from professional theater. Collaboration was sparked, grants were written for performance in both cities and Now Theatre Co. was born.

The play runs Aug. 18-20 in Mobile. Friday and Saturday curtain is 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.

Tickets cost $16, $14 for seniors/military/USA faculty and staff and $12 for students. For tickets, call 251-460-6306.

Brand new Midwestern faculty member Sally Story

is the director. Rehearsals have been ongoing in Texas and soon they’ll be in Mobile running through vital tech rehearsals.

“There’s about 50 universes in the play. A couple go on for four or five pages but some last for two lines then flip on to the next. Lights and sound will transition from one universe to the next,” Hurley said.

Maturo researched the physics filling Marianne’s mind. After boggling her grey matter, she cut to the essence.

“The science is all over my head and honestly, it wasn’t going to help me play this character. It’s more about her passion for the subject and what life could be,” Maturo said.

What was the play’s biggest challenge for each?

“Being honest in [Marianne’s] illness. Toward the end, she’s having dif-

MATURO HAS DONE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL TV COMMERCIALS, IS A SECOND CITY CONSERVATORY GRAD AND SPENT YEARS IN THE LAS VEGAS CAST OF THE IMMERSIVE THEATER EVENT ‘TONY AND TINA’S WEDDING.’ ” ficulty with any linear train of thought and communicating. I want to do that honestly and not have it come across as theatrical or for show,” Maturo said.

Hurley pointed to the whiplash pacing, going from highs to lows, intensity to relaxation in a relationship’s key points — endlessly. They run a scene’s arc, then immediately do it again. And again.

“Getting engaged. Breaking up. Getting back together. Seeing terminal illness. Everything is high stakes, and in one second you erase all of it and start in a completely different place. It’s basically like this: You end one scene crying and the very next scene you start with a joke and there’s no transition. It’s a one-second change,” Hurley said.

“So how long do y’all anticipate being in therapy after this is over?” I asked.

“Well, we’re actors, so forever,” Maturo quipped.

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MAC shifts fundraiser

The Egyptian-style Temple Downtown (corner of St. Francis and Claiborne) will play host to Mobile Arts Council’s “Throwdown 6: Retribution” on Sept. 15, 6-9 p.m. The silent auction/ arts competition has been a great success and focal point for the arts community in the last half-decade.

This year’s competitors for the 90-minute creative event — think “Iron Chef” for the eyes — are the winners from previous years. Devlin Wilson (Throwdown 5), Rando Dixon (Throwdown 4), Ameri’ca Tickle (Throwdown 3), Amanda Youngblood (Throwdown 2) and Nancy Raia (Throwdown 1) will have their creations auctioned off at the conclusion, to the highest bidders.

The silent auction consists of paintings, photographs, ceramics, sculptures, tickets for performances and weekend getaways, among other items donated by area artists and organizations.

Attendees can nosh, sip adult libations, mingle or simply watch the artists in action. DJ Ron Anthony will supply music.

Tickets and sponsorship information are available at mobilearts.org.

ARTSGALLERY

a deadline looms for participation by Mobile’s visual artists.

Mobile Arts Council and the city’s Special Events Department When Reginald Rose penned the play “12 Angry Men,” will launch “Creative Crossings,” a street art competition for he created a classic drama of American jurisprudence and the frailties of the human condition that has never lost its relevance. artistically enhanced crosswalks downtown.

Up to six artists will be chosen to create their designs on the Since its 1954 television debut it has been reinterpreted for street during the festival. Temporary art materials (spray chalk, stage along with small and large screens, with impressive chalk, pastels, etc.) will be provided, along with shade tents and results.

Chickasaw Civic Theatre will hold auditions for this timeless lunches for competitors. The winner will receive $600. Designs could potentially be chosen as permanent crosswalks. cultural touchstone Aug. 14 and 15 at 6 p.m., at Lola Phillips Artists are allowed an assistant during the event. They will Playhouse (801 Iroquois St.). As indicated by its contemporary have from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to create designs. Judging begins title of “12 Angry Jurors,” the auditions are open to men and afterward and prizes awarded at 6 p.m. women 18 or older who want to fill the cast of 13.

Eligible artists must live in the Mobile area and be at least 18 Show dates are Oct. 20-29, with Friday and Saturday shows years old. Preference is given for Mobile Bay-centric content. at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Original full-color designs must be submitted on the temFor more information, call 251-457-8887 or go to cctshows. plate provided at mobilearts.org. Submission deadline is Sept. com.

6. Email them to lgafford@mobilearts.org or drop them off at the Mobile Arts Council.

Public art opportunity Submission forms and details are available at mobilearts.org.

Though the TenSixtyFive festival isn’t until late September,

Anger channeled for CCT auditions

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BAND: DAVID SHIVERS ALBUM RELEASE PARTY DATE: FRIDAY, AUG. 11, 7 P.M. VENUE: CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB, 916 CHARLESTON ST., WWW.CALLAGHANSIRISHSOCIALCLUB.COM TICKETS: CALL 251-433-9374 FOR MORE INFO.

O

n Aug. 11, David Shivers will celebrate his 17th birthday at Callaghan’s, with a live performance and release of his solo debut, “The Flood.” Younger than many of his local music peers, Shivers has created an album that radiates poignant honesty and a musical prowess even seasoned songsmiths are unable to capture.

Shivers’ lifelong musical passion is a romance kindled by his fascination as a 6-year-old with the classic rock his parents loved, especially Led Zeppelin.

“It was so original and out there, not in a bad way,” Shivers said of his influences. “You don’t hear music like that these days, that catches your ear. When you see Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin playing on stage, hearing all that blows your mind, especially when you’re 6 years old.”

His love for classic rock evolved into an interest in the guitar. When he was 12, Shivers came under the tutelage of guitar teacher Patrick Imsand, an instructor at the University of South Alabama. Imsand introduced Shivers to not only technique and theory but also the world of classical guitar.

While the classical guitar style opposed the young musician’s organic blues rock style, Shivers flourished under Imsand. In fact, his talent on the strings reached the halls of William Carey College, where he was offered a music scholarship. The dean of William Carey’s music department at the time was shocked to discover the then 14-year-old’s talent.

MUSIC

BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

FEATURE

A coming-of-age story

though he found it relaxing, he encountered moments of frustration because of his commitment to creating a high-quality album.

“I complained to my parents about doing all the work, but you kind of have to do it,” Shivers said. “My album is like my little baby. I had to take care of it and do everything that I could do to put it out there. It takes up a lot of time, but that’s what I’m dedicated to.”

As far as the instrumental tracks on “The Flood,” Shivers was responsible for the keyboards “Making a blues guitar player move into classical and guitar tracks “with the help of a couple of friends.” He tapped his uncle Zal Chitty to lay music might seem like a sin in the guitar world, but it down bass tracks.

Shivers also tapped a notable Azalea City percussionist to handle the album’s drum track. really opened me up to the different possibilities and Sam Gaston’s impeccable talents have been used in a variety of musical environments, ranging different things that you can do with the guitar and from metal to experimental jazz. Even though Shivers admits his lack of proficiency on drums, the different ways that you could musically express he still had a major role in the rhythms that drive “The Flood.” yourself with the guitar,” Shivers said.

“I’m not very good on the drums,” Shivers explained. “[Gaston] did every bit of it. I still Shivers also began to pen original songs during his preteen years, with a more task-based approached wrote all the drum parts, and he went in there and followed my lead.”

As a finished product, “The Flood” is filled with beautifully arranged songs reflecting Shivthan a natural one. He says it was a challenging ers’ early maturity as a songwriter. Even though all of the songs pull from real-life experiences, exercise that began with him saying, “I’m going to write a song.” Shivers says the following hours were he says he made an effort to write each song from a third-person perspective to make them filled with the frustration of brainstorming lyrics and relatable for all his listeners.

Soulful blues vocals and sensual guitar highlight “Sweet Diane.” While he cites his current arrangements. These days, Shivers’ songwriting is girlfriend, Erin, as inspiration, he composed this song in a way that could be universal. more natural, and its challenges more welcome.

Gentle runs across the acoustic mingle with a smooth slide to deliver the social commentary “Now, I’ll get a lyric idea in my head for a full song, but I just won’t have the pieces to complete it,” of “Song of Triumph.”

“I was really upset or distraught with all the global fighting going on in the world and how Shivers said. “It’s all about finding those pieces and it feels wrong to join either side,” Shivers said. “It was me saying that you can do what’s right, putting them together. It’s like a puzzle.”

“The Flood” is a collection of Shivers’ completed whether it’s a fight or not. You don’t have to pick a side and believe what you want to believe and do what you want to do, and it can be your song of triumph.” musical puzzles. This album is a personal release Shivers says he is excited to release this album to new listeners, and has been enjoying the on more than a musical level. After his first studio positive reaction his songs have been receiving at local performances. Seeing audience memexperience at 13, Shivers decided to compile his bers singing along to his music has been a great thrill for the young songwriter. Shivers also own collection of gear and build a personal studio. hopes “The Flood” will generate new listeners who not only enjoy the music but also appreciNot only did he record and mix the album there, he also took on mastering duties. The end result reflects ate the experiences inspiring his songs.

“I hope everybody can find their favorite song on the album,” Shivers said. “I really want a production quality on par with many professional people to give me feedback, and tell me, ‘Man, I really like that song and can relate to it.’ I studios. can’t wait to go out to these gigs with people that I haven’t seen before or contacted me on Shivers says recording in-house allowed him to Facebook. I want to see new fans come along.” work in a stress-free, low-cost environment. Even

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MUSIC BRIEFS

Gulf Coast rock

BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM

Band: Bantam Foxes, South Carlen Date: Friday, Aug.11, 9 p.m.

Venue: Alchemy Tavern, 7 S. Joachim St., 251-441-7741 Tickets: $5 at the door

Photo Facebook | Bantam Foxes

T

his double-shot lineup will feature indie rock sounds from Mobile and New Orleans.

The Big Easy’s Bantam Foxes have made a number of fans in the Azalea City through their memorable performances at the past two SouthSounds music festivals.

Twins Sam and Collin McCabe are the heart of this musical project. Together, the McCabes have brought New Orleans’ growing indie rock scene to the rest of the world.

Bantam Foxes combines grimy guitar sounds with appealing indie rock grooves.

Local newcomer South Carlen will be peddling its sonic wares to the music-hungry crowd. This quartet boasts a sound that combines “influences of ska, math rock, hardcore and indie.” South Carlen is using social media to spread the sounds of “Like a Bullet,” its first single. If this song is a proper representation of the band’s sounds, then South Carlen is a fresh addition to the local indie rock scene. The track’s lyrical and instrumental arrangement proves South Carlen takes its craft seriously. Intricate guitar work and rhythm provide a great environment for its vocals to thrive.

Celebrate the City Band: Celebrate the City Date: Friday, Aug. 11, 6 p.m.

Venue: Bienville Square Tickets: Free

Over the past few years, Mobilians have begun to recognize their city will find any excuse to throw an epic party — and this event will be a celebration of the city itself, its citizens and everything the Azalea City has to offer.

Organized by new promotor Outsiders Presents, Celebrate the City will focus on promoting unity in the city through its passion for music. The celebration coincides with the August installment of LoDa ArtWalk.

After the second-line and marching bands set the mood, two great collaborative jams will take place. First, Yellowhammer will take the stage with a number of impressive guests — Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi All-Stars), Johnny Sansone and Jake Peavy himself. The next collaboration will be an eclectic mix combining New Orleans funk and brass with hip-hop. George Porter Jr. will join the Dirty Dozen Brass Band along with rapper/beatboxer Doug E. Fresh for a set that should keep the crowd on its feet.

Power of Peace

Band: The Isley Brothers Date: Friday, Aug. 11, 8 p.m.

Venue: Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, 875 Beach Blvd. (Biloxi), www.beaurivage.com Tickets: $39.95-$69.95, available through Ticketmaster

The Isley Brothers are bringing more than 50 years of funk, soul and rhythm and blues to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This group’s legacy began in 1959 with the immortal party hit “Shout.” As the decades passed, The Isley Brothers successfully evolved with the times. Before the conclusion of the ‘60s, the group’s catalog boasted seven albums along with unforgettable singles such as “Work to Do” and the funk anthem “It’s Your Thing.”

With an album released each year, the ‘70s proved the band’s most prolific decade. Singles such as “Fight the Power” showcased the band’s ability to master the musical trends of the time. By the end of the ‘80s, The Isley Brothers’ studio album momentum slowed greatly. After the millennium passed, band found a new generation of fans through modern soul hits like “Busted.”

The Isley Brothers are touring in support of their latest effort, “Power of Peace,” a collaboration with Carlos Santana. Many might consider “Power of Peace” one of the group’s greatest albums — each song shines with its mix of the Isleys’ old-school funk and soul and Santana’s expert fretboard work.

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AREAMUSIC LISTINGS | September 1 - September 7

THUR. AUG 10

Bluegill— Al and Cathy Callaghan’s— Bobby Butchka Cockeyed Charlie’s— JJ Dority’s Bar and Grill— Matt and Sherry Neese, 6p Felix’s— Grits N Pieces Flora Bama— Zachery Diedrich, 2p// Brittany Bell Duo, 5p/// Dueling Pianos, 5:30p//// Mark Sherrill, James Daniel, Chris Newbury, 6p//// Ben Callaher, 8p//// Andy Brasher Band, 10p//// Brian Hill Trio, 10:15p//// Oliver’s Twist, 10:30p Hangout— Whyte Caps, 6p// Ryan Dyer, 10p Lulu’s— Lefty Collins, 6p Manci’s— Ross Newell SanBar— Jim Andrews Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Damien Lamb, 6p Veets— Phil and Foster, 8p Wind Creek Casino— The City, 8p

FRI. AUG 11

Alchemy— Bantam Foxes w/ South Carlen, 10p All Sports Bar & Billiards— DJ Markie Mark, 10p Beau Rivage— The Isley Brothers, 8p Billy B’s— Pearls of Trinity, 8p Bluegill— Matt Neese, 12p// Harrison McInnis Band, 6p Cockeyed Charlie’s— Shifting Tracks, 10p Dority’s Bar and Grill— Lefty Collins, 6p Felix’s— Blind Dog Mike Flora Bama— J. Hawkins Trio, 1p// LeaAnne Creswell Duo, 2p/// Greg Lyons, 4p//// Reed Lightfoot Band, 5p//// Jack Robertson Show, 5:30p//// Bruce Smelley Duo, 6p//// Dave McCormick, 6p//// Ben Gallaher, 8p//// Mason Henderson Duo, 9p//// Andy Brasher Band, 10p//// Alabama Lightning, 10:15p//// Mario Mena Band, 10:30p Golden Nugget— Tanya Tucker Hangout— Yeah Probably, 7p// DJ Delamora & Sin Fin, 11p IP Casino— Jamey Johnson, 8p Listening Room— The Resurrection of Abe Partridge and The Psychedelic Peacocks, 8p Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 6p Manci’s— Rondale and the Kit Katz Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — C Dub and The Money Monies, 8p Moe’s BBQ (Foley) — Brandon White, 6p

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Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Quintin Berry, 6:30p Moe’s BBQ (Semmes) — The Dunaway Brothers SanBar— Platinum Premier Duo Soul Kitchen— Fly By Radio, 10:30p Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Jason Justice, 6p Veets— The Family Jewels, 9p Wind Creek Casino— The City, 9p

SAT. AUG 12

Alchemy— Lustravi, Cruse the Flesh, Led by Serpents, 10p Bluegill— Shea White, 12p// Fat Lincoln, 6p Callaghan’s— Memphis Strange Cockeyed Charlie’s— DJ Chill, 10p Dority’s Bar and Grill— Johnny Barbato and the Lucky Dogs, 6p Felix’s— Bobby and Jana Fin’s— Rhythm Intervention, 8p Flora Bama— Hung Jury, 12p// Mario Mena Duo, 1p/// Rollin in the Hay, 1p//// J. Hawkins Duo, 2p//// Big Muddy, 4p//// Destiny Brown, 4p//// Tim Kinsey, 5p//// Jack Robertson Show, 5:30p//// Davis Nix Duo, 6p//// Ben Gelleher, 8p//// Kevin Swanson, 9p//// Andy Brasher Band, 10p//// Brandon White Duo, 10:15p//// Foxy Iguanas, 10:30p Garage— Sylvester Band, 9p Golden Nugget— Hangout— Ja’Rhythm, 7p// G-Rivers, 11p Listening Room— The Beaumont Hughes Band Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 6p Moe’s BBQ (Foley) — Shelby Brown, 6p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Adam Holt Duo, 6:30p Moe’s BBQ (OBA) — Fuzzy Iconic Duo Moe’s BBQ (Semmes) — Glass Joe River Shack— Pearl of Trinity, 8p SanBar— Christina Christian Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Jamie Adamson, 11a// Pierce Parker, 6p Veets— The Family Jewels, 9p Wind Creek Casino— The City, 9p

SUN. AUG 13

Alchemy— Chief Slac, 3p Bluegill— Shea White, 12p// Redfeild, 6p

Callaghan’s— Artisanals Cortland’s Pizza Pub— Sergio Rangel, 1p Dority’s Bar and Grill— Jeri Trio, 6p Felix’s— Jimmy Lumpkin Flora Bama— Foxy Iguanas Trio, 12p// Al and Cathy, 1p/// Songs of Rusty, 1:30p//// Alabama Lightning, 2p//// Dave Chastang, 2p//// Davis Nix, 5p//// Jezebel’s Chill’n, 5:30p//// Perdido Brothers, 6p////Yeah, Probably, 10p//// Brian Hill Duo, 10:15p Lulu’s— Greg Brown, 1p// Cadillac Attack, 6p Manci’s— Eric Erdman Saenger— North by Northwest Tacky Jacks (Orange Beach) — Gerry Gambino, 12p// Matt Slowick, 5p Veets— Bruce Smelley, 8p

MON. AUG 14

Dority’s Bar and Grill— Eric Erdman, 6p Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— Gove Scrivenor, 2p// Lee Yankie, 5:30p/// Cathy Pace, 6p//// Ja Rhythm, 10p//// Petty and Pace, 10:15p Lulu’s— Brent Burns, 6p

TUE. AUG 15

Bluegill— Mobile Big Band Society Butch Cassidy’s— David Jernigan, Dr.Tom and Karl Butts Cockeyed Charlie’s— Jordan Bramblett Cortland’s Pizza Pub— Matt Neese, 7:30p Felix’s— Johnny Hayes Flora Bama— T. Bone Montgomery, 2p// J. Hawkins Duo, 5:30p/// Perdido Brothers, 6p//// Yeah, Probably, 10p//// Alabama Lightning, 10:15p Listening Room— Peter Case Lulu’s— Jimmy Lumpkin, 6p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Quintin Berry, 6p

WED. AUG 16

Bluegill— Matt Neese Callaghan’s— Phil and Foster Felix’s— Jamie Adamson Flora Bama— Neil Dover, 2p// Tony Ray Thompson, 5:30p/// Rhonda Hart and Jonathan Newtown, 6p//// Red Clay Strays, 10p//// Bruce Smelley Duo, 10:15p Listening Room— Robert Cline Jr. Lulu’s— Webb Dalton, 5p Veets— Mark Willis & Friends, 8p

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Out-of-control drinking FILMTHE REEL WORLD can have colossal consequences

I

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

t is hard to pull off a story as strange as “Colossal,” in which a self-destructive alcoholic woman accidentally triggers the appearance of a giant monster, and this film does not consistently succeed, but it is nevertheless riveting, challenging, unforgettable and very funny. Stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis are fantastic and it’s a worthwhile experience to see two actors keep the viewers from rooting for them. Everything about this freaky little flick is unusual.

Anne Hathaway stars as Gloria, an unemployed writer living in New York City whose out-of-control drinking leads her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) to kick her out of his apartment. This film gives us no straight good guys from the first scene — while Gloria’s behavior is certainly wrong, Tim is rather unfeeling and totally uptight. With nowhere else to go, Gloria heads to her empty childhood home in upstate New York, where she runs into an old school chum, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis.)

Oscar seems like a nice fellow who owns his late father’s bar, which is perfect

for the hard-drinking Gloria, but after a night spent blackout drunk, Gloria wakes to a horrifying global news story: a huge Godzilla-esque monster has appeared in Seoul, South Korea, and killed hundreds of people. (Very) improbably, Gloria discovers she is connected to this monster’s appearance, and once she convinces Oscar and her other new friends of the connection, things get even weirder.

At odds with a cheesy monster premise is the story of the relationships between these terribly damaged, and basically just terrible, people. The many drinking scenes are very tightly written and portrayed. With an excellently controlled pace, this becomes a wellobserved drama of abusive personalities that would stand alone without the monster elements. But of course, when you have this understated relationship drama that intersects with a low-budget monster film, you get the kind of movie Spike Jonze might have written.

“Colossal,” however, is more emotionally accurate but less inventive than one of a Jonze’s classics, and this film’s director, Nacho Vigalondo, fails

to create and unite wildly disparate and fanciful plot elements with the genius of Jonze. Vigalondo himself described his film as “Being John Malkovich” meets “Godzilla.” This is an apt description, but “Colossal” has different strengths and weaknesses.

The arcs the characters take are almost as surprising as the appearance of a monster in Seoul, and the explanation slowly doled out deepens not just the plot but our understanding of the allegory we must come to realize is at work.

There are, however, no easy answers.

“Colossal” isn’t perfect but it is certainly intriguing, and it’s certainly worth watching. Even with its problems, it is still more fun to watch and think about than many smoother but less ambitious ideas on film.

The painfully realistic characters created by Hathaway and Sudeikis are the most remarkable elements in a film full of remarkable elements. Like its flawed protagonist, “Colossal” is imperfect, but it is also a peculiar experience well worth your time.

“Colossal” 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 Photos | Neon / Lion’s Gate Entertainment

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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FROM LEFT: When reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, out-of-work party girl Gloria (Anne Hathaway) gradually comes to the realization she is somehow connected to it. In “The Glass Castle,” a young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction from their poverty.

NEW IN THEATERS THE GLASS CASTLE

In this film based on a memoir, four siblings must learn to take care of themselves as their responsibilityaverse, free-spirit parents both inspire and inhibit them.

When sober, the children’s brilliant and charismatic father captured their imagination. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Meanwhile, their mother didn’t want to take on the work of raising a family. AMC Jubilee Square 12, AMC Mobile 16, Cobb Pinnacle 14.

ANNABELLE: CREATION

After the death of their daughter, a dollmaker and his wife are terrorized by a doll. All listed multiplex theaters.

THE NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE

The evil mayor of Oakton has decided to bulldoze Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place. Surly and his ragtag group of animal friends band together to save their home, defeat the mayor and take back the park. All listed multiplex theaters.

NOW PLAYING MAUDIE Crescent Theater DETROIT All listed multiplex theaters.

KIDNAP All listed multiplex theaters.

THE DARK TOWER All listed multiplex theaters.

ATOMIC BLONDE All listed multiplex theaters.

FIDAA Regal Mobile Stadium 18.

THE EMOJI MOVIE All listed multiplex theaters.

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS All listed multiplex theaters.

DUNKIRK All listed multiplex theaters.

GIRLS TRIP All listed multiplex theaters.

WISH UPON All listed multiplex theaters.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES All listed multiplex theaters.

SPIDER MAN: HOMECOMING All listed multiplex theaters.

DESPICABLE ME 3 All listed multiplex theaters.

BABY DRIVER All listed multiplex theaters.

CARS 3 All listed multiplex theaters.

WONDER WOMAN All listed multiplex theaters.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 10, 2016 - AUGUST 16, 2016

GENERAL INTEREST Absentee Election Office The Absentee Election Office for the Aug. 22 city of Mobile municipal election is now open on the first floor of Government Plaza, 205 Government St. The hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 251-208-7377.

Mobile Tiki Week Mobile Tiki Week runs through Aug. 12.

Included bars are the OK Bicycle Shop, The Merry Widow, The Noble South’s Sidecar Lounge and The Haberdasher, with each bar featuring original tiki cocktails (and more). Call 251-229-2718.

Cuts for kids During the month of August, Remington College will provide free back-to-school haircuts for students 17 and under at 4368 Downtowner Loop S., Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 251-342-4848 for appointments. Walk-ins are also welcome.

AIDB information Certified professionals with Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) will discuss the services offered to help those with vision and hearing loss. Thursday, Aug. 10, at 9:30 a.m., Ben May Main Library, 701 Government St. Call 251-2087078 or email jsigler@mplonline.org.

Cocktails and Conversation Historian Raven Christopher presents “Negotiated Affections: A History of Prostitution in Mobile,” Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Gulf City Lodge, 610 State St. Free for members of the Downtown Mobile Alliance, $5 for nonmembers. Email tstrickland@downtownmobile.org.

Mental Wellness Conference Starting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, there will be a discussion about crisis issues in mental health care services for families in South Alabama. Goodwill Easter Seals Center, 2440 Gordon Smith Drive.

Call 251-404-3924.

Mobile Back to School Bash Hosted by Mobile City Council President Gina Gregory on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2-6 p.m. at the Hillsdale Recreation Center, 558 E. Fellhorn Road. Swimming, face painting, balloon clowns, hot dogs and hamburgers and screening of a family-friendly film.

Physician assistant positions The University of South Alabama Department of Physician Assistant Studies will provide information on the program, admission requirements and the application process. Thursday, Aug. 10, 3 p.m. in USA’s Health Science Building. Call 251-445-9345.

Bay Minette Back to School Bash This year’’s “Community Back to School Bash” will be held 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at Lyle Underwood Stadium, E. 6th Street in Bay Minette. There will be live music, giveaways and more.

Fairhope farmer’s market The city of Fairhope hosts an outdoor farmer’s market Thursdays, 3-6 p.m., through Nov. 2 behind the Fairhope Public Library downtown on Bancroft Street. Call 251-929-1466.

Celebrate the City Celebrate the City is a free concert in Bienville Square Friday, Aug. 11 at 6 p.m., featuring Doug E. Fresh, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, George Porter Jr. and more. In conjunciton with Artwalk. For more, search “Celebrate the City” on Facebook.

Free family movie night Join Dauphin Island on the West End Beach for a free movie at dusk on Friday.

This week’s film is “Soul Surfer” (Friday).

USS Alabama 75th anniversary Battleship Memorial Park will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the USS Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 12. Live music at 10 a.m., ceremony begins at 11 a.m. Admission and parking is free all day. Visit www. ussalabama.com or call 251-433-2703.

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Delta cruise On Saturday, Aug. 12, Blakeley State Park hosts a cruise of the lower MobileTensaw River Delta. Departing the Blakeley Park dock at 6:30 p.m., the cruise will be narrated, with complimentary snacks and drinks, before a twilight return to dock by 8:30 p.m. Call 251-626-5581.

Global Leadership Summit Summit host City Hope Church invites local business owners and their leadership teams to attend a two-day summit Aug. 10-11, at City Hope Church (4693 Airport Blvd., Mobile) and Malbis (29964 Saint Basil St., Daphne) campuses. Visit cityhope.cc/gls.

Saenger film series Saenger Theatre’s Summer Classic Movie Series continues Sunday with “North by Northwest.” Cost is $6 per adult, $3 per child 12 and under and for seniors 60 and over. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., film begins at 3 p.m. Call 251-208-5601.

Mobile Mayoral Debate WKRG will host a debate between Mobile’s mayoral candidates Monday, Aug.

14 at 6 p.m. at Davidson High School. Visit www.wkrg.com.

TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church. For more information, call 251-625-6888.

Water Balloon Battle of Mobile Bay To mark the 153rd anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay, a water balloon battle will be held in Cathedral Square on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 5:30 p.m.

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.

Midtown Optimist Club Join Midtown Optimist Club every Wednesday at noon for lunch at Azalea City Golf Course. Call 251-348-3542.

Toastmasters Toastmasters International meets regularly at six locations in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Visit www.toastmasters.org for more information.

FUNDRAISERS “50 Days of Giving” The Shoppes at Bel Air is carrying out its “50 Days of Giving” program. On Saturday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., participants can adopt a duck for $5 for a chance to win a cruise while raising money for Ronald McDonald house. Call 251-375-1297.

ARTS LoDa Artwalk Join downtown Mobile art galleries, institutions, studios and unique shops as they open their doors and welcome you inside Friday, Aug. 11, 6-9 p.m. in the Lower Dauphin Street district.

“The Little Mermaid” Join Chickasaw Civic Theatre for its production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” Aug. 4-20. Visit cctshows.com to for showtimes and tickets.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Visit www. asama.org.

“Windows to the Sea” “Windows to the Sea” is the newest permanent exhibit at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab 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.

“Willy Wonka — The Musical” Playhouse in the Park’s production of “Willy Wonka — The Musical” runs through Sunday, Aug. 13. Curtain times are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Visit playhouseintheoark.org.

“Drugs: Costs and Consequences” The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration team up to present a powerful interactive exhibit of the effects of drugs on individuals and society. Through August. Visit exploreum.com.

Sunset concert Dauphin Island West End Beach invites you for a Sunday concert at sunset (5:45 p.m.) featuring Reggae theme Ja’rhytm.

Admission is $5 and goes toward preserving the Little Red School House.

Fairhope’s founding Learn more about the 1894 founding of Fairhope at the Fairhope Museum of History, 24 N. Section St. The museum is open daily (except Sunday and Monday) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 251-929-1471.

MUSEUMS “The Underwater Forest” A documentary about an ancient forest just off the coast of Alabama will be screened Thursday, Aug. 10, at 5:30 p.m. at the Exploreum; $10 ticket includes the documentary and discussion with the film’s director, Ben Raines.

“Right on Course” “Right on Course,” an original painting by world-renowned sports artist Rick Rush, is available for viewing at the United States Sports Academy’s American Sport Art Museum & Archives. Free to the public from

Little Discoveries “Outside the Box,” aimed at children age 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.

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 251-208-5200.

WORKSHOPS “Helping Children Cope with Divorce” An educational program focusing on how effective parenting can lessen the negative impact on children of divorce and parental separation. Saturday, Aug. 12, at 8 a.m.

Class registration required, cost is $50. Call 251-602-0909.

SPORTING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears are back in action at Mobile’s Hank Aaron Stadium. The team takes on Jacksonville Aug. 16-20. Call 251479-BEAR. Hula lessons Open enrollment for the Mobile branch of Hawai’i’s Halau Ka Lihilihilehua ‘O Hopoe Kuikanani will be Aug. 11, 3-6:30 p.m.

Come learn traditional Hawaiian Hula. Call 251-463-6822. Classes will be held at 5566 Andrew Road, Suite D. Group rides South Alabama and Mississippi Mountain Bike Association invites all levels of cyclists to join them every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. at USA Bike Trails and Sunday at 9 a.m. at Chickasabogue Park. Email carrie@ rideSAMBA.com.

Weekly 1K/5K Every Thursday evening at 6 p.m., join Red Beard’s Outfitter and Cortlandt’s Pub in the Spring Hill Village Shopping Center for a 1K or 5K run and walk. No cost to participate.

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 251-666-2147, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fitness and athletics classes New fitness classes are in progress at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Curvy yoga, Tone It Up ! (fusion workout), Zumba, basketball clinics (ages 8+) and sports conditioning (ages 8-17). To register or for more information, call 251-463-7980 or visit communityactivitiesprogram.com.

Dance and art classes Summer classes offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School include belly dance, ballroom dance, ballet and tumbling (ages 6-8), beginning piano (ages 8+), watercolor painting, zombies and superheroes art, and pet portraits art. Call 251-463-7980 or go to communityactivitiesprogram.com.

Pickleball for adults (indoors) Offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School, Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. Great sport for all ages combines tennis, pingpong and badminton on a court one-fourth the size of a tennis court. Call 251-463-7980 or go to communityactivitiesprogram.com.

Ballroom dance Azalea Ballroom Dance Club hosts dances the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, 7-9:30 p.m. at Via Health, Fitness & Enrichment Center, 1717 Dauphin St. Call 251-623-9183 or visit azaleaballroomdanceclub.com.

Ballroom dance The Moonlight Chassé 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.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE

BY DESIGN

BY ISAAC MIZRAHI AND DAVID J. KAHN / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ TO MARK THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD, WHICH DEBUTED IN 1942, WE ARE PUBLISHING A SERIES OF PUZZLES CO-CREATED BY FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO SOLVE THE TIMES CROSSWORD, WORKING TOGETHER WITH REGULAR TIMES PUZZLE CONTRIBUTORS. THIS COLLABORATION IS BY THE DESIGNER AND TV HOST ISAAC MIZRAHI, TOGETHER WITH DAVID J. KAHN, A RETIRED CONSULTING ACTUARY IN NEW YORK CITY. THIS IS DAVID’S 172ND CROSSWORD FOR THE TIMES. ACROSS 1 Little bit 4 Chickenhearted 9 Spur-of-the-moment 13 “Word just got out …”

19 Funny Gasteyer 20 Offer a thought 21 Shakers’ movement?

22 Loren of “Marriage ItalianStyle” 23 Top limit, for short 24 Flaunt a loose dress at a soiree?

27 Text changes 29 Mideast royal name 30 Fair-hiring letters 31 Vogue rival 32 Overstuff 33 Title of a fashionindustry seamstress’s tell-all?

38 With 53-Across, goethite, e.g.

39 N.F.C. North rivals of the Bears 40 Support under a tank?

41 “Enrol,” for “enroll”: Abbr.

42 Ones who fix toys?

43 Grub 44 Flapper wrapper 45 Ideal 49 Chipper greeting 51 Cellphone chip holder 53 See 38-Across 54 Personal guide 56 What some wrap dresses are?

60 D.C. summer setting 61 ____ pants 62 Plot at home, maybe 63 Fantasy writer Michael 64 “____ who?”

65 Exercise with keys 66 Way off base?

67 Unwanted pressure 69 Bit of a grind 71 Get the gold 72 Author Michael ____ Dyson 74 “Frozen” snow queen 75 Mars vehicle 76 Scatter 77 Like a model’s hairstyle?

81 Calendario opener 82 Argentine article 83 Northern Indiana county or its seat 84 Kind of pressure 85 Souls 88 French possessive 89 Bundle 92 Shiner 95 Boating aid 96 Civil War inits.

97 Ding maker 98 Kind of street

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99 Takes fashion photos using an unorthodox camera angle?

104 More limited 105 “Keep it ____” 106 Bylaw, briefly 107 Plane-related 108 N.B.A. notables Korver and Lowry 109 Shorten some couture dresses?

115 Bach’s Partita No. 6 ____ Minor 116 Resistant (to) 117 Swift ending for a bad stage performance 118 Chill-inducing, say 119 Writer/critic Hentoff 120 Got the impression 121 Uneasy 122 Ground breaker 123 Chicago rumblers

8 Keeps from proceeding 9 Loses 10 Order member 11 Klingons, e.g.

12 Tower with many eaves 13 Suffix with 105-Across 14 Christmas threesome 15 Banned supplement 16 Not worth ____ of beans 17 Go through 18 Historical trivia 25 Vandals 26 ____ party 28 Decagonal 33 A butter alternative 34 Actress Vardalos 35 Little Boy, e.g., informally 36 Got out of 37 Stud site 44 Dust jacket part, usually 45 Revenue source for a DOWN magazine 1 Last Scottish king to die in 46 Inspects a battle fashion designer’s offerings?

2 How you might do something 47 One who says, “I’d like to dumb have …”

3 Preferred means of arriving at 48 AOL alternative a fashion show?

50 Food-prep class at school 4 Some rescues 51 Very short climb 5 Subj. for CNBC 52 Chilling, so to speak 6 Putin’s peace 54 Ruins as a dog might 7 Stain that’s hard to remove 55 Food in the field

56 Cantina treats 57 Top of the world 58 Quattro minus uno 59 Edict 67 “Take it!”

68 Nutmeg State collegian 70 Cry of exasperation 73 Warlords, e.g.

78 Medium-to-poor 79 Ideal 80 Drunk’s problem 84 Cop’s target 86 Cans 87 One may be tipped 89 Goes through 90 Creator of an ancient pyramid scheme?

91 Ring around the collar 93 Place for cannons 94 Winter apples 96 Holiday scene 97 You, once 99 Some Latinas: Abbr.

100 Pitch 101 Like some floors 102 Order member 103 Long-winded 108 Leg bender 110 Advantage 111 ____ Xing 112 Put in, as hours 113 Glass on public radio 114 Suffix with fact

ANSWERS ON PAGE 40

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SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW

USSA joins South in concussion education

BY J. MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY

W

ith the 2017 football season just a few weeks away, the United States Sports Academy recently provided concussion prevention education to players from Fairhope High School.

The program addresses the issue of sport-related concussions among young athletes. A study recently published in the medical journal JAMA found 99 percent of deceased NFL players’ brains that were donated for study showed signs of the neurodegenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. “Concussion education is very much needed, especially at the youth and high school levels,” said Dr. Brandon Spradley, USSA’s director of sports management. “Much of what we hear about concussions comes from sports media covering the NFL and other professional sports. Sometimes young athletes are forgotten about and neglected.

“Our hope is that this program will educate thousands of young athletes about the signs and symptoms of concussion.

Our goal is for young athletes to have the right attitude and mindset towards concussion and improve their behavior and willingness to report concussion symptoms.”

Over the past year, USSA has worked with the University of South Alabama’s Department of Neurology and the Mobile County Public School System on the Concussion Awareness Program (CAP), funded in part by a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association to South Alabama.

South Alabama and USSA developed procedures for use by the school system to better protect student athletes from the negative health consequences of concussions. First, everyone involved in contact sports programs receives training on concussion awareness and prevention. Second, protocols are put in place to ensure student athletes who receive concussions are not allowed to return to play until approved by medical professionals.

Dr. Vincent K. Ramsey, USSA’s chair of sports exercise science, said a letter of cooperation was recently signed to expand the CAP partnership to all high schools in the Baldwin County Public School System.

With Fairhope’s players, Ramsey and Spradley provided student athletes, coaches, trainers and parents with an online tutorial application to evaluate and build upon their knowledge of concussions. Student athletes are required to complete the tutorial as part of the program.

“Last year, with the NCAA grant, we went to every Mobile County high school and tested every football player through the [CAP],” Ramsey said. “Athletes take a questionnaire, then watch a video with information about concussions and how they would report, then they would take the quiz again.

“The results show a statistically significant improvement in the athletes’ levels of knowledge of concussions, as well as their perception of what a concussion is and what they should do to report it and recover.”

Officials at South Alabama are seeking a $1.6 million grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build on the progress already made by CAP. They hope to expand the program to a wider geographical area, as well as serve younger athletes. USSA would provide the educational component of the concussion prevention program as a subrecipient of the grant.

Dr. Anthony Martino, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at USA College of Medicine, has practiced neurosurgery for 25 years. He is CAP’s principal investigator along with Dr. Ashley Marass, an assistant professor in USA’s College of Nursing, and Ramsey. Spradley, as well as USA Professor Dr. Benjamin Hill and Mary Wilstrup, USA pediatric clinical nurse, are also involved.

Repeated blows to the head and recurring concussions cause CTE. The disease has been blamed for cognitive and

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intellectual impairment, mood disorders, depression, drug abuse and suicide attempts. NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau killed himself in 2012, and was found to have CTE. Along with the CAP program, USSA offers a free online course on sportrelated concussions that provides an in-depth review of the risks, prevention, recognition, treatment and management of sport-related concussions. The course is available at www.ussa.edu. For more information, call the Daphne-based university at 251-626-3303.

SHC golfer in U.S. Amateur field

Spring Hill College men’s golf senior Wesley Hunter shot a 3-under par 141 over two rounds in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 17-18 to qualify for the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship. The event will be at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, Aug. 14-20.

“We are very proud that Wesley has achieved this goal that he has worked so hard for,” SHC head coach Steve Hodges said. “He’s done a great job so far and we know he’s going to keep it going in California.”

Hunter, who graduated from St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile, took a red-shirt status and did not compete last season at SHC. However, he shot a 73.19 average with four individual championships during his sophomore and junior campaigns with the Badgers.

1st & 10 Club announces speakers

The 1st & 10 Club will kick off its 18th season with C Spire as the title sponsor on Monday, Aug. 21 at the Mobile Marriott. South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones will speak at 5:30 p.m.

Also on the schedule are ESPN personality and former SEC coach Tommy Tuberville on Sept. 11, University of Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll on Oct. 23 and SEC Network personality and former LSU star Booger McFarland on Nov. 6. On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the coaches, athletic directors and players from the Dollar General Bowl will appear.

“Fans around here are passionate about football and we’re excited to be involved and support an organization that is delivering quality sports and entertainment programming in this region,” said Jim Richmond, vice president of marketing for C Spire.

Along with the speakers, the club honors high school scholar students and student-athletes at each meeting. Students are selected from high schools in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Scholar award winners are eligible for one of several scholarships offered by the Dollar General Bowl. The scholarships will be awarded at the Dollar General Bowl Mayor’s luncheon on Dec. 22.

For more information, visit www.DollarGeneralBowl.com or call 251-635-0011.

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STYLE HOROSCOPES AND THE NOMINEE IS …

ANSWERS FROM PAGE 36

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LEO (7/23-8/23) — It’s back to school time and you’ll return uninvited just to brush up on state history and possibly make new friends. Someone will steal your lunch money. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate with the least flexibility.

VIRGO (8/24-9/22) — In celebration of the USS Alabama’s 75th birthday, you’ll host a flag-raising ceremony and a 21 water gun salute. In recognition of the USS Drum, you’ll hold your breath through the tunnel. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who has dabbled in poetry.

LIBRA (9/23-10/22) — You’ll challenge Doug E. Fresh to a rap battle and lose. But the performance will secure you a verse on Sonny Bama’s latest single. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who is off most Fridays.

SCORPIO (10/23-11/21) — You’ll pay a visit to The Royal Knight and order a biscuit with a single cup of country gravy.

No one will ever harsh your mellow. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who is mad chillin’.

SAGITTARIUS (11/22-12/22) — You’ll purchase waterfront property as an “investment opportunity,” indifferent to the fact that mobile homes never appreciate and a stagnant ditch is not actually “waterfront.” You’ll vote for the lone female Senate candidate.

CAPRICORN (12/23-1/19) — You’ll be more excited than the Crocodile Hunter when you encounter a local manatee pod this month. You’ll be so awed by the experience, you’ll gain 400 pounds and begin living in a pool. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who saved the whales.

AQUARIUS (1/20-2/18) — You’ll invite Mobile’s mayoral candidates to debate the best MoonPie flavor. Not surprisingly, the underdog will admit he’s always preferred Orion Choco Pies. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate with the prettiest dog.

PISCES (2/19-3/20) — You’ll find yourself in a sticky situation down at the Acme Glue Factory. You would have made millions too if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate with the biggest comic book collection.

ARIES (3/21-4/19) — You’ll solve two cities’ least important problems by trapping the coyotes in Spring Hill and relocating them to Fairhope’s overpopulated goose ponds. You’ll be awarded a key to Wilmer. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who doesn’t care about college football.

TAURUS (4/20-5/20) — Fresh off a late summer trip to a water park, you’ll design something similar for your backyard. You’ll be disappointed when the zoning board rejects your signature Wedgie Maker for setback and height violations. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who prefers Butch Burgers to Callaghan’s.

GEMINI (5/21-6/21) — Growing increasingly concerned the Aug. 21 solar eclipse will signal the beginning of the end, you’ll cross three things off your bucket list this week: eating plain oatmeal; sitting in silence for 24 hours; and hugging an unshorn sheep. You’ll vote for the Senate candidate who secretly cross-dresses.

CANCER (6/22-7/22) — Feeling nostalgic, you’ll get a tattoo of that weird, geometric “S” shape drawing all the kids did in the margins of their homework back in the day. Wait, they still do that? WTF is that thing anyway? You’ll wait until the general election to vote in the Senate race.

F U T U R E S H O C K

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LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals will be received by Bishop State Community College, at the Yvonne Kennedy Business Technology Center, President’s Board Room (Room 340) on the Main Campus at 351 North Broad Street, Mobile AL, 36603; 2:00pm TUESDAY, AUGUST 29th, 2017, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read for: OPEN END AGREEMENT FOR MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTS CULINARY RECEPTION RENOVATIONS AND UPGRADES For Bishop State Community College Mobile, Alabama The Work of the project includes, but is not limited to, selective demolition, new construction, coordination and supervision of the entire project, and all related work, as indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the amount of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000, must accompany the bidder’s proposal. Performance and statutory Labor and material Payment Bonds, insurance in compliance with requirements, and verification of E-Verify enrollment will be required at the signing of the Contract. The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc., 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250, Mobile, AL 36602, Attn: Ashley Morris (251) 460-4006 Ashley.Morris@gmcnetwork. com. Prospective Bidders may examine the Bidding Documents at the Issuing Office on Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and may obtain copies of the Bidding Documents from the Issuing Office as described below. General Contractors may procure plans and specifications from the Architect upon payment of a deposit of Twenty dollars ($20.00) for a one time administrative fee for digital/file sharing access or One hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) (printed) per set. Contractors are encouraged to use the digital plans. Refunds will be issued for printed sets only issued by the Architect to each general contract bidder on the first two (2) sets issued submitting a bonafide bid, upon return of documents in good and reusable condition within ten (10) days of bid date. Additional sets for General Contractors, and sets for subs and vendors, may be obtained with the same deposit, which will be refunded as above, less cost of printing, reproduction, handling and distribution, which is estimated to be the same as the deposit amount. Checks shall be made payable to “Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc.” Bid documents will be mailed only upon receipt of deposit. No bid documents will distributed later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled opening of bids. Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Architect will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including Addenda if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office. For the list of plan holders on this project visit http://www.gmcnetwork.com/bids/ All bidders bidding in amounts exceeding that established by the State Licensing Board for General Contractors must be licensed under the Provision of Title 34, Chapter 8, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended, and must show such evidence of license before bidding or bid will not be received or considered by Architect or Owner. The bidder shall show such evidence by clearly displaying his or her current license number on the outside of the sealed envelope in which the proposal is delivered; Bidder must also include his or her current license number on the Proposal Form. No bid may be withdrawn after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids for a period of sixty (60) days. A PRE-BID CONFERENCE will be held at the same location where bids will be received, at 10:00AM TUESDAY, AUGUST 15TH, 2017 for the purpose of reviewing the project and answering Bidder’s questions. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is strongly recommended for all General Contractor Bidders and Subcontractors intending to submit a Proposal. This project is being bid, under the provisions of Alabama Act 2000-684, which require the General Contractor, in part, to take advantage of the Owner’s tax exempt status, obtain necessary certificates and other documentation required from the Alabama Department of Revenue, make payment for all materials, and to administer the sales and use tax savings portion of the project, as a part of their Bid. Additional qualifications and requirements for General Contractor Bidders and separate Subcontractors are indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technical errors if, in their judgment, the best interests of the Owner will thereby be promoted.

BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Mobile, Alabama Dr. Reginald Sykes, President GOODWYN, MILLS & CAWOOD, INC. MEMBERS, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250 Mobile, AL 36602 Phone: (251) 460-4006 Fax: (251) 460-4423 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10, 17, 2017

STORAGE DISPOSAL NOTICE OF SALE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Alabama Statutes, that the goods stored in Units rented by occupants listed below will be sold to the highest bidder at a Public auction Online at www.storagetreasures.com on August 25, 2017 at 10:00 am to satisfy liens claimed by STORAGEMAX MIDTOWN, together with all costs of sale.

Wilmette McCoy, Clerance J. Alston Jr., Shelia Leek, Marcelene K. Lewis. Any of the above goods may be withdrawn from sale by STORAGEMAX MIDTOWN at any time without prior notice.

Lagniappe HD Aug. 10, 17, 2017

FORECLOSURES FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on July 20, 2012, by Rayford M. Gardner and Georgia L. Gardner, as Grantees to Iras Development Company, Inc., as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book 6922, Page 561, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to EMON, LLC, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book 7362, Page 65 and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on August 31, 2017. Lot 90, as per plat of TIMBERLAND, UNIT IV as recorded in Map Book 98, Page 41, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; including a 1995 Chandler VIN# CH1A10438 Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. EMON, LLC Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD July 27, Aug. 3, 10, 2017

FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on April 29, 2014, by Stephanie S. Weaver, as Grantee to Roberts Road Estates, Inc., as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7157, Page 128, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to Chunchula Sixty, LLC, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7165, Page 1596 and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on August 31, 2017. Lot 22, as per plat of ROBERTS ROAD, UNIT II as recorded in Map Book 130, Page 49, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Chunchula Sixty, LLC Holder of said Vendor’s Lien. WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD July 27, Aug. 3, 10, 2017

FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on October 17, 2013, by Olivia J. Hatcher and Angie C. Bosarge, as Grantees to Mary Jackson Delaney Sweet f/k/a Mary A. Jackson Delaney, as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7089, Page 446, and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on August 31, 2017. Lot 39, as per plat of FIELDVIEW ESTATES, as recorded in Map Book 93, Page 55, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; including a 2005 Double Wide General Manufactured home bearing VIN# GMJGA10560574 A/B Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Mary Jackson Delaney Sweet f/k/a Mary A. Jackson Delaney Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD July 27, Aug. 3, 10, 2017

FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on April 24, 2014, by Gay Lee Davidson, as Grantees to Burlington, Inc., as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7143, Page 1433, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to THE AVILA GROUP, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7149, Page 1475 and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on September 7, 2017. Lot 22, as per plat of BURLINGTON UNIT II as recorded in Map Book 87, Page 51, Probate Court of Mobile County, Ala-

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bama; Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. THE AVILA GROUP Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10, 17,2017

MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness secured by that certain mortgage executed by Patrick Gustafson, a married man, originally in favor of PNC Mortgage, a division of PNC Bank, National Association, on the 24th day of February, 2012, said mortgage recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama, in Book 6869 Page 1261; along with that certain Order recorded in Bk: LR7516, Pg: 1872; the undersigned PNC Bank, National Association, as Mortgagee/Transferee, under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said mortgage, will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash, in front of the main entrance of the Courthouse at Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, on September 14, 2017, during the legal hours of sale, all of its right, title, and interest in and to the following described real estate, situated in Mobile County, Alabama, to-wit: All that certain parcel of situated in the County of Mobile and State of Alabama. From the Southeast corner of Lot 30, Pines Addition to Alpine Hills as per plat recorded in Map Book 16, page 28, Probate Court records, Mobile County, Alabama; thence run North 18 degrees 19 minutes East along the East line of Lot 30, a distance of 21.00 feet to the Point of Beginning of the property herein described; thence continue North 18 degrees 29 minutes East along the East line of lot 30, a distance of 74.23 feet to the Northeast corner of lot 30; thence Westwardly along the North line of Lot 30 a distance of 161.22 feet to the East line of Lucerne Drive; thence Southwardly along said East line 90.00 feet to the Southwest corner of Lot 30, thence North 81 degrees 05 minutes East 138.32 feet to the Point of Beginning. Being the same property as conveyed from Steven Hults, and wife, Joanne Hults to Patrick Gustafson, as described in Book 6290 Page 1009, dated 11/13/2007, recorded 11/16/2007 in Mobile County records. Property street address for informational purposes: 1106 Lucerne Dr, Mobile, AL 36608-4117 THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS, SUBJECT TO ANY EASEMENTS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND EXCEPTIONS REFLECTED IN THE MORTGAGE AND THOSE CONTAINED IN THE RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE OF PROBATE OF THE COUNTY WHERE THE ABOVE-DESCRIBED PROPERTY IS SITUATED. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD WITHOUT WARRANTY OR RECOURSE, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO TITLE, USE AND/OR ENJOYMENT AND WILL BE SOLD SUBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION OF ALL PARTIES ENTITLED THERETO. Alabama law gives some persons who have an interest in property the right to redeem the property under certain circumstances. Programs may also exist that help persons avoid or delay the foreclosure process. An attorney should be consulted to help you understand these rights and programs as a part of the foreclosure process. This sale is made for the purpose of paying the indebtedness secured by said mortgage, as well as the expenses of foreclosure.

The successful bidder must tender a non-refundable deposit of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) in certified funds made payable to Sirote & Permutt, P.C. at the time and place of the sale. The balance of the purchase price must be paid in certified funds by noon the next business day at the Law Office of Sirote & Permutt, P.C. at the address indicated below. Sirote & Permutt, P.C. reserves the right to award the bid to the next highest bidder should the highest bidder fail to timely tender the total amount due. The Mortgagee/Transferee reserves the right to bid for and purchase the real estate and to credit its purchase price against the expenses of sale and the indebtedness secured by the real estate. This sale is subject to postponement or cancellation. PNC Bank, National Association, Mortgagee/ Transferee Rebecca Redmond SIROTE & PERMUTT, P.C. P. O. Box 55727 Birmingham, AL 35255-5727 Attorney for Mortgagee/Transferee www.sirote.com/ foreclosures 393803

Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 24, 2017

PROBATE NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: JAMES WENDELL CLARK, Deceased Case No. 2017-1125 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 19th day of July, 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. PATRICIA F. CLARK as Executrix under the last will and testament of JAMES WENDELL CLARK, Deceased. Attorney of Record: PRO SE Lagniappe HD July 27, Aug. 3, 10, 2017

NOTICE OF SALE The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 9540 Broughton Place, Stockton, AL 36579.

2001 Buick Park Ave

1G4CU541114252525

Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1110 S Thomas Ave., Prichard, AL 36610.

2014 Chevrolet Camaro 2G1FB1E37E9157091 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 712 Chin St., Mobile, AL 36610.

2001 Ford Expedition 1FMRU15W41LA22898 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 4133 Springdale Rd., Mobile, AL 36609.

1996 Chevrolet Impala 1G1BL52P8TR151877 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2825 Pleasant Valley Rd., Mobile, AL 36606.

1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera 1G3AM54N6N6343086 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 21621 County Rd. 64, Robertsdale, AL 36567.

1984 Chevrolet Z28 1G1AP87G2EL209059 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5891 Sunshine Lane, Mobile, AL 36619.

2000 Nissan Frontier 1N6ED27T1YC400369 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 107 Rainey Circle, Daphne, AL 36526.

2007 Kawasaki EX250 JKAEXMF107DA39647 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 5713 Three Notch Rd., Mobile, AL 36619.

2000 Ford Econoline 1FTNE2425YHB86386 2006 Cadillac STS 1G6DW677860179115 2004 Ford Expedition 1FMPU17L74LB47506 1997 Mercedes C230 WDBHA23E5VF531569 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5471 A Hwy. 43, Satsuma, AL 36572.

2007 Toyota Camry 4T1BE46KX7U018482 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 7880 Glider Ave., Mobile, AL 36695.

2001 Lincoln Town Car 1LNHM83W81Y621541 1987 American Wrangler 2BCCV8146HB526529 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 121 Shiloh Dr., Daphne, AL 36526 1982 Harley Davidson FXRS 1HD1EBK14CY123828 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 4763 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613.

2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse 4A3AC84H13E211027 2011 Hyundai Elantra 5NPDH4AE6BH012073 1996 Ford Explorer 1FMDU32X3TUB45625 2009 Nissan Sentra 3N1AB61E09L653880 2003 Saturn L200 1G8JU54F63Y574994 2012 Nissan Maxima 1N4AA5AP2CC831485 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 8430 Hwy. 188, Coden, AL 36523.

2004 Nissan Quest 5N1BV28U44N331018 2012 Honda CBR250 MLHMC4104C5200057 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544.

2003 GMC Yukon 3GKFK16Z73G207232 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe 1GNEC13T1YJ180787 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2GCEC13T961202602 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 42419 Nicholasville Rd., Bay Minette, AL 36507.

1995 Honda Civic 1HGEG8650SL022800 2000 Chevrolet Malibu 1G1ND52J1Y6245338 2005 Ford F250 1FTSW21P95EB20209 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 6351 McCrary Rd. Ext., Semmes, AL 36575 2012 UTLO UTIL 16› Open RH718224 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 952 Seneca St., Mobile, AL 36605.

2007 Honda Accord 1HGCM56847A082574 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time - 2pm, if not claimed - at 6874 Dauphin Island Pkwy., Mobile, AL 36605.

2008 Ford LGT Convt.

1FTVX12578KC09705 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 6786 Isle Wood Dr., Mobile, AL 36605.

2002 Nissan Altima 1N4AL11D82C280051 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 473 Mobile St., Mobile, AL 36607.

2004 Chevrolet Tahoe 1GNEC13Z14J330606

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 122 Baldwin Rd. Apt. 4, Satsuma, AL 36572.

1999 Honda Civic 1HGEJ8142XL088109

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time - 2pm, if not claimed - at 7836 Jones Rd., Wilmer, AL 36587.

2004 Ford Mustang 1FAFP42X04F129811

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 1037 St Stephens Rd., Prichard, AL 36610.

1999 Ford Expedition 1FMRU17L4XLC16682 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2GCEK13T861114692

Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 558 S Wilson Ave., Mobile, AL 36617.

2010 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WB5EKXA1164639 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2GCEK13J981251657 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 08, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 934 Josephine St., Prichard, AL 36610.

2000 Ford Mustang 1FAFP4441YF155553 Lagniappe HD Aug. 3, 10. 2017

Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 7032 Airport Blvd., Mobile, AL 36608.

2012 Nissan Altima 1N4AL2AP2CN526369 2013 Toyota Camry 4T1BF1FK7DU276756 2009 Honda Accord 1HGCP26799A159004 2000 Chevrolet ‹S›Truck 1GCCS19W8YK109892 2014 Chrysler 200 1C3CCBAB2EN208735 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

LAGNIAPPE LEGALS The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 1125 US Hwy. 31 N. Lot 36, Bay Minette, AL 36507.

2002 GMC Envoy 1GKDS13S622124235 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544.

2007 Buick Lucerne 1G4HP57297U140338 1992 Honda Accord 1HGCB7541NA221279 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 1907 Bradshire Dr., Mobile, AL 36695.

2004 Honda Accord 1HGCM82644A014325 2010 Toyota Camry 4T1BF3EK1AU023800 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 2251 Costarides St., Mobile, AL 36617.

2000 GMC Sierra 2GTEC19T0Y1177972 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 10305 Moores Rd. Lot 1, Grand Bay, AL 36541.

2001 Chevrolet Silverado 1GCEC14W71Z159614 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 718 Thorrs Ave., Prichard, AL 36610.

2006 Infiniti G35 JNKCV51E96M509607 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 1904 N McKenzie St., Foley, AL 36535.

1997 Dodge Ram Truck 3B7HF13Z8VG770063 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1004 Maryland St., Mobile, AL 36604.

1988 Chevrolet Camaro 1G1FP21E7JL138655

STYLE BOOZIE

Mobile is all over the boob tube!

BY BOOZIE BEER NUES/SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

S

chool is back in session! Insert eye rolls, because all my teacher friends have done nothing but complain that summer went by too fast and they need another week.

Yes, they do have to deal with kids all day, and God bless them for that, but I sure would love a long vacation or, shoot, even just a week off.

I mean, I do hate that it is back-to-school time because these upcoming weeks are slow going for the gossip world. Summer is over, football hasn’t started and, well, we’re just left with the heat. But no worries, I have all the cool things that went down to tell you about!

When the sun goes down

Kenny Chesney is no stranger to The Wharf in Orange Beach — how could he be when all his songs are about the beach?! Anyways, he was back for more this past Saturday night and Boozie’s spy was there to enjoy the flip-flop wearing fun!

At first she was worried about the rain, but then remembered how Jimmy Buffett played through the rain and lightning a couple of years ago and ended up with perfect weather!

Midland opened; he’s best known for his new song “Drinkin’ Problem.” That song really speaks to me. Plus I saw an article on the internet that said beer might help with pain, so I too will call it a solution!

My spy said girls were ready for Kenny when it came to their attire. She spotted lots of cowboy boots, cut-off jean booty shorts and plaid button-up shirts, some even tied up. Yee-haw! She

also said one girl was sporting a huge Jim Beam menu; talk about walking advertisement. She also reported lots of fun dancing and singing along!

She said at the end Kenny signed autographs for the people up near the stage! Sounds like more fun than Boozie had: While I was out Saturday night the power went out at the bar. They still were making drinks and people were yelling “free shots!” but that didn’t happen.

I wanna be perfect …

Mobile has been making waves in the TV world! First we have all the Food Network shows and now some others! We’re still waiting to hear when LoDa Bier Garten and Von’s Bistro will be featured on “Ginormous Food.” Just thinking about those two places makes me hungry! But our city has already been featured on some other shows.

As I’m sure many of you saw, “The First 48” that was filmed in Mobile aired last week on Thursday night. A lot of people were negative about the show and talked bad about Mobile being on the show. While Boozie is like many of you and likes to think we live in a perfect place that is beautiful and sunny all the time, I know that every city has crime. But I learned while watching the show that Mobile’s Homicide Team solves three out of four cases, which is above the national average, so that says something! Go, Mobile! (Remind me not to kill anyone.)

I also thought the show made MPD and the homicide team look good! They both went straight into action and solved the crime. Oh, and

we can’t forget the show did give us props for being, “home of the oldest Mardi Gras in the U.S.” Take that New Orleans!

On a different note, one night while enjoying “Botched,” a show about plastic surgery gone bad, where two doctors, Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow, go back and fix the mistakes, a lady named Maria who grew up in Mobile was on the show! It was never said whether she still lives here but she said she grew up here. They showed a few pictures of her when she was younger and you could just tell it was Mobile. Maria was seeing the two docs because of preventive mastectomy gone wrong.

Boozie doesn’t think the surgery was done in Mobile, but if it was, it probably wasn’t done by any Nappie finalist for Best Boob Doc, because like Maria said, it was “just a mess” when referring to her breast.

The two doctors fixed her up and even gave her 3D tattooed nipples!

What?...

The strangest rumor I heard this week was that someone claims to have seen Mobile Public Safety Director Jim Barber talking to ousted, Russian-loving former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Then again maybe Boozie’s source had too much vodka. That would be pretty strange.

Well, kids, that’s all I’ve got this week. Just remember, whether rain or shine, dramatic or scandalous, or just some plain ol’ Kenny lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!

Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 305 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. N., Prichard, AL 36610.

2005 Dodge Magnum 2D8GV58285H683170 1987 Chevrolet Caprice 1G1BU51HXH9111590 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 614 Dow Ct., Bay Minette, AL 36507.

2008 Nissan Altima 1N4AL21E68C140149 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on September 15, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 5681 Hwy. 90, Theodore, AL 36582.

2000 Nissan Frontier 1N6ED27T8YC381934 2012 Ford Focus 1FAHP3F28CL201761 2009 Mercedes C300 WDDGF54X19R068811 2010 Nissan Altima 1N4AL2AP3AC163217 Lagniappe HD August 10, 17, 2017

These abandoned vehicles will be sold on 09/14/2017 at 9am at 5781 Three Notch Rd. Mobile AL 36619 CHRY 1C3EL45X66N283238 FORD 1FMCU0DG2CKB57249 OLDS 1G3AJ55MOT6335870 TOYO 5TENX22N98Z507397 CHRY 1C3EL55R74N200260 HOND 1HGCM56825A079945 FORD 1FTSE34L74HA51275 DODG 2B7HB21X4MK443289 FORD 1FMZK03196GA38439 HOND 1HGCF866X2A045998 JAYC 1UJBJ02M6156D0322 TOY 1NXBU4EE8AZ221747 CHEV 1GNES16S166144054 DODG 3B7HF13Z0YG134273 FORD 1FMYU03111KD90815 CHEV 2G1WB58K869236457 TOY 2T1CG22PXYC321138 KIA KNAGD126355403519 CHRY 4C3AG52H72E061144 DODG 2B4FP25B9YR775312 MERC 2MEFM75W72X617600 CHEV 2GCEC19T141379794 MAZD 4F4CR16X4RTM48743 TOY 4T1SV21E2LU113411 HOND 1HGCG16551A063707 FORD 1FAFP34361W111264 DODG 1D7HA16D04J226254 SATU 5GZER13738J127937 JEEP 1J4GK48K32W202704 DODG 3D7HA18N42G198446 FORD 2FMZA51675BA05329

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