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WEEKLY
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LAGNIAPPE
JANUARY 26, 2017 - FEBR UARY 1, 2017 | www.lagniappemobile.com ASHLEY TRICE Co-publisher/Editor atrice@lagniappemobile.com ROB HOLBERT Co-publisher/Managing Editor rholbert@lagniappemobile.com STEVE HALL Marketing/Sales Director shall@lagniappemobile.com GABRIEL TYNES Assistant Managing Editor gabe@lagniappemobile.com DALE LIESCH Reporter dale@lagniappemobile.com JASON JOHNSON Reporter jason@lagniappemobile.com JANE NICHOLES Reporter jane@lagniappemobile.com
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BAY BRIEFS
Richard Landolt, Mobile’s little-seen public safety director, is said to be a “policy guy” who works “behind the scene.”
COMMENTARY
Rob gets called to the principal’s office.
BUSINESS
American Airlines will upgrade service at Mobile Regional Airport.
CUISINE
The building that formerly held Yen Vietnamese restaurant has found a worthy Mexican food tenant in El Mariachi.
KEVIN LEE Associate Editor/Arts Editor klee@lagniappemobile.com ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net
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STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com J. MARK BRYANT Sports Writer sports@lagniappemobile.com STEPHANIE POE Copy Editor copy@lagniappemobile.com DANIEL ANDERSON Chief Photographer dan@danandersonphoto.com LAURA RASMUSSEN Art Director www.laurarasmussen.com BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com BETH WILLIAMS Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com ASHLEY KILLIAN Advertising Sales Executive akillian@lagniappemobile.com ALEEN MOMBERGER Advertising Sales Executive aleen@lagniappemobile.com MELISSA EDGE Editorial Assistant events@lagniappemobile.com
COVER
The Mobile Arts Council hosts the 2017 Arty Awards, recognizing the most notable artists, patrons and contributors to Mobile’s arts scene.
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ARTS
Just when you thought Mardi Gras couldn’t get any more festive, the Alabama Contemporary Art Center is bringing the circus!
MUSIC
ROSS PRITCHARD Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager jackie@lagniappemobile.com CONTRIBUTORS: Asia Frey, Lee Hedgepeth, Brian Holbert, Maria Lombardi, Jeff Poor, Ken Robinson, Ron Sivak ON THE COVER: ARTY AWARDS BY DANIEL ANDERSON LAGNIAPPE HD Periodicals Permit #17660 (Volume 2, Issue 18) Copyright 2015 is published weekly, 52 issues a year, by Something Extra Publishing, Inc., 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604 (P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652). Business and Editorial Offices: 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604 Accounting and Circulation Offices: 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. Call 251-450-4466 to subscribe. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652 Editorial, advertising and production offices are located at 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. Mailing address is P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652. Phone: 251-450-4466 Fax: 251-450-4498 Email: atrice@lagniappemobile.com LAGNIAPPE HD is printed at Walton Press. All rights reserved. Something Extra Publishing, Inc. Nothing may be reprinted. photocopied or in any way reproduced without the expressed permission of the publishers.
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Surfer Blood is back on the road with “Snowdonia,” its first album since the death of guitarist Thomas Fekete last year.
FILM
“The Girl on the Train” is a well-made melodrama that would be unwatchable if not for Emily Blunt.
SPORTS
A guide to the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
MEDIA
Kelly Foster moves up to co-host LOCAL 15 TODAY, while WKRG’s Alan Sealls is elected 2018 president of the National Weather Association.
STYLE
During Senior Bowl week, Boozie finds it raining MoonPies and Reece’s.
J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 3
GOING POSTAL of view given were those people who had real estate interests and politicians in power who Ashley: In regard to your Jan. 19 column, “Puttering are connected to real estate interests. Yes, I know that if there is no growth, the through purple political purgatory,” if this artiarea will stagnate and die. I also know that cle was attempted humor it sure was not funny uncontrolled growth not only causes traffic due to the sorry state of totally biased, untrue reporting that dominates the media nowadays. jams, more crime, more taxes and a collapse of the quality of life in Baldwin County. A balThe “golden shower” report has been proven by passport records to be a total pile of BS that ance of both extremes is needed — but I think the developers want, pay for and get the other is so typical by our irresponsible media. Mobile and Baldwin counties need accurate extreme. Why is it that politicians in the city and reporting because we sure do not get it in the county governments call for tax increases extremely biased Mobile Press-Register. The MPR has to be a poster boy for a nearly worth- when more people move in the area? I thought the additional people would bring in the adless waste of precious trees due to their total sellout to the ultra lair, highly corrupt, citizens ditional needed taxes. But according to what I read, the politicians want more people to pay be damned, what’s in it for me, pay-to-play even more taxes. Democrats. I never understood the MPR’s They always use the schools as the “tax marketing plan of trying to sell their insanely hostage.” As population rises linearly, taxes liberal views to totally Red Baldwin and the rise exponentially. If I am incorrect, people conservative newspaper buyers in Mobile living in New York and California would be County. I appreciate Lagniappe’s efforts in reporting paying the lowest taxes in the nation. Already the sewage capacity of the utilities questionable political deals. Please continue to are topped out and the overcrowded roads call do this good work and I suggest that you leave for tens of millions of dollars for upgrades. what I hope was attempted humor to someone People already living in the area will pay the funny. brunt while the real estate developers will Charles Kettell make the profits and take our quality of living Spanish Fort with them as they move out of the area and look for another area to rob and pillage. Uncontrolled growth stresses us all Do not bother to rebut with the “various Editor: fees” the developers pay. These fees are a I would like to offer another point of view one-time fee that comes to nothing of paying concerning Jane Nicholes’ article about subdithe true cost of what they are doing to the resivisions springing up all over the Eastern Shore dents. The reason why the houses are selling as (Jan. 19). I wished that another point of view fast as they are being built is because the true was offered to the uncontrolled growth being cost of the house is being subsidized by the allowed in Baldwin County. The only points existing residents, causing a false economy in
Keep it real
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It didn’t feel like a protest against Trump. It was a protest against racism and sexism, a protest against the things that divide us and keep us separate. The young woman standing next to me during the speeches chanted “We The Protest That Wasn’t Are One. We Are One.” I love her. To the editor: We are one with those in Eugene … 10,000 On Jan. 21, I went to the March for Hustrong in a city smaller than Mobile. One with man Rights in Mobile. As a “sister march” to the women in London who wore suffragette the Women’s March on Washington, it was uniforms with sashes that read “Same Sh*t, organized in three days by a Spring Hill ColDifferent Century.” One with the folks in lege student. I kind of wanted to go and kind Antarctica (now that was a picture). And one of didn’t. I’m so weary of the angry rhetoric with those who stood on the Mall and cheered in light of the recent election and really didn’t as Trump was inaugurated. want to hear any more. The T-shirt I wore shows a black [hand] and I waffled all morning and made up my mind a white hand curved to make a heart, “Hate not to go. Instead, I tuned into the Facebook Won’t Win.” Live broadcast of the Washington March. It Hate only wins in the absence of love. I looked so exciting. But this is Mobile. didn’t face dogs or riot police or fire hoses or A woman who appeared to be about my tear gas when I marched yesterday. My chalage was carrying a placard that read “I Can’t lenges are different. I don’t get to choose those Believe I Still Have To Protest This Sh*t.” As I wish to be “one” with. I don’t get to use the a child of the ‘60s I marched for civil rights “hate won’t win” slogan to convert others but and for women’s rights. And yes, it appears that I do still have to protest this sh*t. So, I put to remind myself. I don’t get to talk the talk without also walking the walk. A reminder that on my “already been worn yesterday” T-shirt if I am “going low” I can choose to “go high.” that says “Hate Won’t Win” and folded a pink I was one of millions who marched. I bandana into a headband (having sent my three like to think we were marching for change, cute little knitted pink “pussycat hats” to be not against anything. Those who marched worn in marches in Washington and Eugene) across that bridge in Selma 50 years ago were and went to protest. instrumental in bringing about change. Ghandi But it didn’t feel like a protest. No flags were burned. No bottles were thrown. No cops marched to the sea. What changes will we see as a result of those millions marching? were hassled. It felt like … love. One of the quotes that was used in the The press labeled the March on Washington and the sister marches as “anti-Trump” demon- speeches Saturday was “Be The Change You Want To See In The World.” Amen. strations, but there was very little anti-Trump Judi Prickett rhetoric and negativity. It was empowering, Mobile exciting, and it was loving. the housing market. Charles Lake Fairhope
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
‘Policy guy’ PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR IS SAID TO WORK ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ BY DALE LIESCH
W
hile some have questioned the role retired Adm. Richard Landolt has played in the administration since being hired, Mayor Sandy Stimpson said last week that he is vitally important as the city’s director of public safety. Landolt, who is paid $110,000 and moved to Mobile from Fairhope since being hired in 2014, hit the ground running. In his first interview with Lagniappe, the former director of operations for U.S. Africa Command shared plans for station renovations, closures and combinations that could save the city money. Stimpson said Landolt is still overseeing some of those station plans, including the building of a new fire station in Crichton. “He’s still engaged in all those conversations,” Stimpson said. Stimpson added that Landolt works as a liaison between the mayor’s office and Mobile Police Chief James Barber and Assistant Mobile Fire-Rescue Chief Billy Pappas. “He’s in conversation with them every day,” Stimpson said. “He communicates with me.” Some close to the situation have questioned why Barber and not Landolt seemed to play a larger role in the city’s public reaction to the officer-involved shooting death of 19-year-old Michael Moore and during budget negotiations, when both the police and fire departments asked for raises. Stimpson said Barber was the point person during press conferences discussing Moore’s death, but Landolt attended multiple meetings on the subject. Council President Gina Gregory agreed in an email message. “From what I recall following the Michael Moore shooting, Landholt was always in the background and part of all updates, news conferences, etc., while Chief Barber was out front and the spokesperson for his department,” she wrote. A source close to the fire department praised Barber for his work arguing for police and fire raises, but complained that Landolt’s presence could have gotten firefighters the equity raises police officers received. The raises gave all sworn officers and all firefighters below the rank of captain $5,000. In addition, however, police officers received an additional 2.5 percent raise for every five years of service. Councilman John Williams said he understands Landolt’s position is more of a behind-thescenes role. “It’s not an oversight position,” he said. “We don’t need two chiefs. Every other department does their own budget.” Williams added that he didn’t miss Landolt during the budget process and when it comes to the “nuts and bolts” he doesn’t call him, but relies instead on Pappas and Barber. In an interview last June, Dick Cashdollar, who served as public safety director under former Mayor Mike Dow, considered himself more of a “policy guy.” “I don’t see my job as micromanaging you on a day-to-day basis with tactical deployment in the police department,” he said. Instead, Cashdollar said he would work with the chiefs on development of budgets and budget priorities. He added that he worked as a liaison between the administration and council. “I’ll be the person that deals with the City Council on law enforcement issues so you can spend your time developing and managing and leading your departments,” he said. In that previous interview, Cashdollar said the top issue facing law enforcement budgets then and now is salaries.
“If you look at what [Mobile] pays police and firefighters and compare with other cities, the folks here aren’t getting a good deal,” he said. “Why can’t we attract the kinds of people and quantity of people we need, why do we have so much trouble? There are a lot of businesses out there competing for the same people and most of them pay a lot more than the city does.” Cashdollar did not return a call seeking comment for this story. Councilman Joel Daves said Landolt is very active behind the scenes and called him a “first class” guy. In addition, Stimpson said Landolt has been helpful in issues involving the Navy, given his background. The former commander of the Amphibious Force for the 7th Fleet in Okinawa, Japan, he has worked with U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne in helping to secure the LCS program, Stimpson said, as well as securing several visits from various Naval vessels. It was recently announced that Mobile will be one of 15 cities to host Navy Week, at the end of next month. Landolt also oversees Pat Brennan, the city’s director of waterfront. He also holds a seat on the board of the Mobile County Communications District. Dewayne Patrick, president of the local firefighters union, said Landolt is present at Employee/Employer Relations Committee meetings the union holds.
Fire chief
The union wants Landolt and Stimpson to hire more firefighters to prevent companies from having to ride without the preferred number of people and to nominate a fire chief, after three years in office. When Landolt first took the job, he started vetting various candidates for fire chief, including the then-nominee Randy Smith. Landolt, at one point, was even considering having two chiefs — one to deal with the day-to-day operations and another to deal with policy. Since removing Smith from consideration and naming Pappas as the interim chief in September 2014, Stimpson appears willing to stand pat without making a recommendation to council. A year ago, Stimpson said he wouldn’t nominate Pappas because he didn’t know if the votes for confirmation were there. In an email, city spokesman George Talbot said the administration’s stance on the fire chief issue had not changed. Councilors have recently showed support for Pappas and all have said the department is running smoothly as is. “Though we haven’t had an appointment of a fire department chief, we have had interim chiefs who have done a good job filling the position,” Gregory wrote. “Pappas, who is currently leading the department, is someone most councilmembers have known and worked with for years. I believe until the mayor brings us a candidate for the chief’s position, Interim Chief Pappas is well qualified to lead the department.” Councilman Fred Richardson and Daves were reluctant to comment on a possible fire chief nomination. Specifically, Richardson said he was going to “stay in my lane.” Daves said he hadn’t heard any complaints about it. “It’s the mayor’s deal,” Daves said. “I’m not going to stick my finger in the mayor’s business.” Councilman Levon Manzie said he thought Pappas was doing a good job and would consider him for chief, but would also like to see more diversity. “I have nothing against [Pappas],” Manzie said. “I’m concerned about diversity in all of the public safety divisions.” J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 5
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
More money, more problems SHERIFF EYES ‘AMAZON’ TAX FOR PAY RAISES, TRAINING BY JASON JOHNSON
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he sales tax Alabamians pay for online purchases is already generating far more revenue than expected, and Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran is gearing up for a legislative play that could bypass the County Commission and direct some of the local proceeds straight to his office. Earlier this month, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office gave notice of a bill expected to be filed in in the 2017 legislative session that, if passed, would create a “segregated fund” within the county government “known as the 21st Century Policing and Economic Fund.” In short, it would direct county revenues from the “Simplified Seller Use Tax Remittance Act” — commonly referred to as the “Amazon bill” — to fund a competitive salary schedule and merit raises for MCSO deputies and correctional officers while also helping fund the adoption of policies recommended by former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Task Force on 21st Century Policing. According to an early draft, the bill would direct the Mobile County Personnel Board to perform “a biennial salary survey” of the three largest municipal and county law enforcement agencies and then adopt a salary schedule “based on the median salaries” of those agencies. A full copy of the draft legislation is available at lagniappemobile.com. In recent years, Cochran has expressed repeated concerns about the difficulty of recruiting and retaining “quality employees.” Citing things like “low pay and benefits” as well as the “negativity directed toward law enforcement,” Cochran said it’s been tough to remain competitive and described earmarking online sales revenue as “the only solution [he’s] seen.” “We’ve had problems being able to come up with the funding to be competitive with other law enforcement agencies for several years, and as a result, we’ve been losing a large number of deputies and corrections officers,” he said. “It’s been steadily increasing the last few years, but we’re also having difficulty recruiting and retaining good quality candidates.” According to Cochran, MCSO has been spending roughly $500,000 per year to train new recruits only to see them leave for other jobs. He said his proposed bill could provide benefits incentivizing employees to stay on the job by properly funding the merit system the county “consistently doesn’t follow.” “The underlying reason is there’s never enough money in the budget after everything else is paid for,” Cochran said. “So, I’ve worked with the Legislature for a number of years on what I think is an opportunity to earmark some of these new monies.” Julie P. Magee, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Revenue, said the state is projected to take in around $40 million a year in revenue through the 8 percent use tax added to most of Alabamians’ online purchases. That revenue is collected monthly by the state, where half of it stays, but the remaining 50 percent is distributed to cities and counties based on population. According to Magee, Mobile County is projected to receive around $840,000 per year, while the city of Mobile can expect around $640,000 annually. At the moment, the funds are sent quarterly to cites and counties, though Magee said the
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Revenue Commission plans to ask legislators to amend the law and allow monthly distributions. “When it first passed, we never dreamed it would be so successful. As of about three weeks ago, we had nearly 78 online retailers participating,” Magee said. “I don’t think there’s any single district where [the expected revenue] is a game changer, but it’s still a significant amount of money that isn’t designated to a special purpose and that, honestly, most weren’t expecting.” Magee said use taxes aren’t earmarked for a specific purpose on the state level, but with the influx of new revenue, she expects to see more bills like Cochran’s filed as legislators return to Montgomery. However, earmarking county funds at the state level takes control away from county commissioners, which could make Cochran’s bill a tougher sell to the local delegation. So far, Cochran said his proposal has generated “various levels of support and some level of concern” among the commissioners, though the commissioners were only recently made aware of the sheriff’s plan. “There was no conversation about this before it was drafted and advertised, at least not with my office or the county administrator,” Commissioner Connie Hudson said. “It’s still very early, but based on what I know so far about what’s been proposed, it could have a dramatic effect not just on the new taxes being collected, but possibly on the entire budget.” Commissioner Jerry Carl has pushed for larger pay increases for Cochran’s officers in the past, and recently told Lagniappe he understands the sheriff’s concerns. However, despite being “positive” about the bill, Carl said he’s still looking for “more details” about what percentage of the new revenue would be diverted to the MCSO under the proposed legislation. It could likely take support from all three commissioners to pass the kind of local legislation Cochran is considering, which could prove challenging as Commission President Merceria Ludgood already seems to be even more cautious of the plan than her colleagues. Recently, Ludgood said using state legislation to address local budget concerns reminded her of laws passed in the 1980s that increased funding to the Mobile County District Attorney’s office — laws that eventually led to an ongoing and costly lawsuit between the county and its top prosecutor, Ashley Rich. “I think it’s best for everybody to come together and decide what direction we want to go instead of going through Legislature and taking away that level of control from the county,” she added. “I’m sensitive to his concerns and all of the issues facing his office, but without knowing how much money we’re talking about and establishing some way of determining when we’ve fixed the problems, I don’t know that this is something I can support.” At this point, even Cochran is unsure about every detail and has yet to lock down a sponsor to carry the bill. However, he’s planning to get together with state and local officials to address some of their concerns before the regular session starts Feb. 5. “I’m not wanting to try to take away any of their authority, I’m just trying to get them to understand the situation,” Cochran said. “I’m certainly not trying to get every bit of it.”
BAYBRIEF | POLITICS
Color coded COURT DETERMINES STATE’S LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING UNCONSTITUTIONAL BY LEE HEDGEPETH
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One of the districts ruled unconstitutional was House District 99, which is represented by James Buskey and includes much of north Mobile. The three-judge panel, which included 11th Circuit Court Judge Bill Pryor — who is on Trump’s short list for the Supreme Court — found that changes to Buskey’s Mobile district, including the splitting of precincts, couldn’t be adequately defended by Alabama in court. “Three split precincts — Semmes First Baptist, University City Church of Christ and Little Welcome Baptist Church — exhibit clear patterns of racial sorting, and Alabama offers no explanation for these patterns,” the lengthy opinion says. “These three precinct splits place a significant number of black people in District 99 on the basis of race … We find that race predominated in the design of House District 99. We further conclude that District 99 does not survive strict scrutiny. Because the state has not provided a strong basis in evidence for its use of race, we must enjoin the use of District 99 in future elections.” The redrawing of House District 99 and the other 11 in question will likely lead to changes in other districts — a significant shifting of the current election map, something pointed out by James Blacksher, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “The ripple effect will require redrawing most, if not all, of the state districts in both the Senate and House,” Blacksher said. Sen. Gerald Dial, a veteran Republican who helped craft the original map, said he thinks lawmakers should
Photo | Alabama Senate
labama lawmakers will have yet another monumental task to accomplish when they meet for their annual session beginning Feb. 7: senators and representatives will have to redraw at least 12 state legislative districts before the next election cycle following a federal court ruling that their creation was unconstitutionally motivated by race. Last week a federal three-judge panel issued an opinion outlining why a dozen of the state’s legislative districts — drawn by State House politicos following the 2010 census — improperly use race, instead of permissible factors like political affiliation, as a reason for particular mapping decisions. The decision came as a mixed victory for the plaintiffs, a group of black lawmakers and a group of black activists who argued that the Alabama lawmakers relied heavily on race in drawing the maps, inappropriately “packing” minority voters into the same districts and thereby lessening their electoral clout. The opinion, which came only after a United States Supreme Court opinion asking the lower court to more closely scrutinize Alabama’s motives, found only about a third of the districts challenged are unlawful, something Attorney General Luther Strange applauded in his statement reacting to the recent decision. “We are pleased that the court upheld the constitutionality of two-thirds of the state legislative districts under challenge,” Strange said in a statement. “We will determine the next steps in consultation with the legislative leadership and the governor.”
SENATE DISTRICT 26 (YELLOW) NEAR MONTGOMERY IS A GLARING EXAMPLE OF HOW RACE WAS USED TO DRAW LINES. be able to address the court’s issues with the 12 districts primarily by sitting down with those senators and representatives affected by the ruling. “I think what we will do will get the affected individuals in a room … and have a one-on-one look at what we’ve got to do to meet requirements of the court,” Dial said. “We won’t be adverse to any of those individuals.” According to the ruling, a new legislative map meeting minimum legal standards must be approved by the Legislature before the 2018 primary and general election cycle begin.
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BAYBRIEF | BALDWIN COUNTY
Re-slicing the pie BALDWIN SCHOOL BOARD HOLDS UP ITS END OF SALES TAX DEAL BY JANE NICHOLES
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he Baldwin County school board has agreed to a tax tradeoff with the County Commission, and the next move is up to the local legislative delegation. In return for the commission enacting a penny sales tax to replace one that will expire next year, the school board Jan. 19 approved restructuring a second, older penny sales tax to provide as much as $5 million a year more to the commission for roads and bridges. In contrast to the commission’s action earlier this month, the school board’s action was marked by extensive public debate. The second penny tax dates back to 1984. It originally was split among the school board, the county and Faulkner State Community College, with 55 percent of the proceeds going to the Baldwin public schools, 40 percent to the County Commission and 5 percent to Faulkner, now known as Coastal Alabama Community College. The school board, by a vote of 4-2, agreed to flip-flop the percentages between the schools and the county, giving the county more money and the school board less. Board members David Cox and Tony Myrick voted against the change. Board member Cecil Christenberry was absent. The penny sales tax enacted by the County Commission replaces a temporary tax expiring on May 31, 2018. Although part of the deal, it is not affected by the school board’s decision. The changes in the second penny tax, however, must be approved by the Legislature and will have to be pushed forward by the seven-member Baldwin delegation. Sen. Trip Pittman, for one, has reservations. The temporary tax had been extended previously by a vote of the citizens. “My preference was that they get a
chance to vote on it again,” Pittman told Lagniappe. Pittman also said the County Commission acted at “the 11th hour” in making the tax permanent. He said the local delegation will have to evaluate the school board resolution passed Thursday. Regardless, Pittman thinks some action may be needed to amend the allocation of the second penny tax because Faulkner State is now the flagship of the Coastal Alabama Community College system. Not only has the name changed, Pittman said, but the Baldwin delegation needs to ensure that the 5 percent allocated to the former Faulkner State remains in Baldwin County rather than going to other schools in the new system. Rep. Steve McMillan said he thinks the delegation will ratify the school board’s action, but will have to discuss it together. “I think there’s room for discussion, but I don’t think there will be any significant changes,” he said. Prior to the school board’s vote, members of the public were given the opportunity to speak not only at the Thursday meeting, but earlier in the week during an unusual work session at Silverhill Elementary. At that work session on Jan. 17, School Superintendent Eddie Tyler declared that the permanent penny sales for public schools passed by the County Commission was the start of a new partnership between the two bodies. Tyler had declined to speak about his role in the process of passing the tax until then. He described the event as “surreal” and something he did not expect until he learned that at a least a majority of commissioners favored the idea. “I had a hard time believing this because we live in the most conservative county in Alabama. We do not often see such bravery among politicians that runs contrary to
the general anti-tax policies of the South,” Tyler said. “Boy, was I wrong.” The temporary penny tax has been in effect for several years but had been subject to renewal. The $38 million to $40 million it brings in annually was critical to the school system, but the system could make no long-term financial projections that included it, school officials said. They were working on how to make drastic cuts, including elimination of teaching positions, when former Superintendent Larry Newton came up with the idea of asking the commission to enact a permanent tax. Tyler said even he did not know about it initially. “It has been suggested that this proposal, this resolution, was done in the darkness of night. This did not and could not happen because of the Open Meetings Act,” Tyler said. “Until the day of the County Commission meeting I had not discussed this matter with the board. In fact, I mentioned to [Commissioner Frank] Burt, when he and I met, that I had not discussed this proposal with my board because, again, it would violate the Open Meetings Act.” In fact, the vote was taken publicly, but those involved have come in for criticism because it was not discussed publicly until the day of the commission meeting, and the agenda item was not posted until Friday afternoon before the New Year’s holiday weekend. Tyler, however, said legislators, commissioners and school board members had been meeting about the tax issue for a year. “This issue has been covered in the press for well over a year,” he said. “There should be no surprise to anyone that resolving the penny tax and creating long-term stable funding are the priority No. 1 for this system.” Board President Shannon Cauley said members of the public are usually not allowed to speak during a work session, only in the regular board meeting. On Tuesday, she let anyone who wanted to speak up on the tax plan have his or her say. “The school board has no authority to levy our own funding,” Cauley said. The permanent tax provides stability to the system and lets board members focus on improving the schools, not on how to get through the latest financial crisis. Cox, who voted against the plan two days later, expressed reservations about the loss of the nearly $5 million that would go to the county. That, plus the rejection by voters of a 1-mill property tax that will expire in 2018, would not leave enough money for capital projects such as classroom additions or new schools, he said. Tyler said the sales tax money wasn’t a loss to the school system, but an investment in safe roads and bridges on which school buses and children travel. He also said the school system was saving $7 million a year by switching to Google Chrome laptops for students from the MacBook laptops in which the system previously invested.
BAYBRIEF | FAIRHOPE
Plenty of politics FAIRHOPE UTILITIES CONSULTANT BAILS OUT DAYS INTO NEW JOB BY JANE NICHOLES
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he Fairhope City Council got through a work session and meeting Monday without sniping or shouting among themselves and Mayor Karin Wilson. But fallout continued from a previous meeting that was marked by heated argument over a contract to evaluate the city utility system. The firm that won the contract at the Jan. 9 meeting, HMR, withdrew Monday. Company president Scott Hutchinson read aloud HMR’s letter of withdrawal, which Council President Jack Burrell said he received just a couple of minutes before the start of the work session. Hutchinson said he reviewed a video of the Jan. 9 work session that included shouting among Burrell, Wilson and Councilman Kevin Boone over Wilson’s recommendation that an out-of-town firm should get the contract. He said it was “very uncomfortable to watch,” and that he feared HMR was being used as “a political football.” In addition, he said, the scope of work to be included in the contract had been changed late last week. The final cost depended on negotiations between HMR and Wilson once a firm had been approved by the council. Hutchinson said HMR was well-qualified to do the work. As a Fairhope resident, he said the decision to decline the contract was difficult but was in the best interests of HMR. “Believe me when I say that I want what’s best for Fairhope, but I also want what’s best for
HMR,” he said. The evaluation of sewer, water and natural gas capacities and needs is considered crucial to managing the city’s growth. The council has issued a moratorium on new residential subdivision and multi-family project applications. The last several council gatherings have been marked by arguments and criticism among council members and Wilson over several different issues. HMR’s withdrawal Monday left Wilson and the council looking for a fourth consultant to do the work. Wilson’s original selection didn’t get a second and never came to a vote as council members questioned the firm’s qualifications. The second firm she recommended, from the Tuscaloosa area, set off the Jan. 9 confrontation, with council members saying they wanted to do business locally. The council then substituted HMR and approved it during its regular meeting. This time around, there was no shouting. Council members and Wilson tossed out names of several locally based consultants and quietly settled on the firm of Goodwyn Mills Cawood, a Southeast regional architectural and engineering operation with offices in Mobile and Fairhope.
A “bizarre” resignation
However, when council members asked who had changed the scope of the work last week, they were told it
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was Scott Sligh, who resigned last Friday after what was reportedly less than a week on the job as Fairhope’s director of operations. The position was intended to supervise the utilities department as well as handling other other duties. Former Mayor Tim Kant also served as utilities superintendent, and that position had been vacant since Wilson took office in November. In a letter to council members Burrell said he received Monday, Sligh said he resigned because “there has been a turn of events in my personal life in which my family will need me at home more, not less.” He wrote that he would be returning to his previous position at Riviera Utilities and that his family “must take top priority, always.” Sligh served as Fairhope’s electric superintendent before leaving for Riviera Utilities in 2015. In his lengthy letter, he pointed out problems in the utility system, praised Wilson and defended her handling of what he called the “tree light debacle,” in which criticism of how holiday tree lights were strung led to a last-minute purchase of more lights. The letter included at times cryptic language that seemed to refer to city politics. “Fairhope also lacks a strong network of employee resources and faces a real shortage of leadership in the employee ranks — possibly by prior design,” Sligh wrote. In the final paragraph, Sligh said in part, “I know there are those who will believe otherwise no matter what I say, but I want to stress that my decision had nothing to do with her, her ideas, her personality or any other thing having to do with Mayor Wilson. Anyone who underestimates her resolve and determination does so at their own peril.” Burrell called the letter “bizarre.” He said he thought Sligh was a good choice for the position and his hiring was one of the best decisions Wilson has made since taking office. But, he said, “I’ve never seen a resignation letter like this.” Burrell also told Lagniappe that the council should consider making the job an appointed position, meaning the council would appoint someone as it does the city clerk, police chief and some other positions. Sligh’s abrupt departure and how the job will be filled were not discussed during Monday’s meeting. Lagniappe could not reach Sligh for comment.
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Helping hand
PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT BRINGS RESOURCE PROVIDERS TOGETHER BY JASON JOHNSON
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full day of running errands — visiting the license commission, paying off a court fine, visiting the dentist — can be difficult to organize for anybody, but for the homeless, it can be nearly impossible. One of the goals of Project Homeless Connect, an annual event sponsored by the nonprofit Housing First Inc., is consolidating a full range of vital services into one central location so those who need them most can have access that could otherwise prove difficult. “Just think, if I was homeless and needed to get a photo ID and my vision checked and I needed something done through the court system, it’d be difficult to run around and do all that with very limited resources,” Eric Jefferson, executive director of Housing First, said. “So we thought, ‘How great would it be if we could get everybody in one place … just for one day?’” While the idea may seem simple, bringing together volunteers and service providers from the Mobile County Health Department, South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program, Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles, AltaPointe, the Department of Human Resources, the Mobile Housing Board and the Veterans Administration — to name a few — is trickier in practice. For starters, it requires a fairly large area. Fortunately, The Grounds, home of the Greater Gulf State Fair, has offered a space to host the event for the past two years. According to Jefferson, that saves Housing First an annual cost that “would be upwards of $95,000.”
Payback time
Project Homeless Connect has been able to organize dozens of service providers and assist hundreds of homeless individuals since it started in 2013. Last year, it drew more than 325 homeless to The Grounds, where they received not only basic medical and hygiene services but also job opportunities and legal assistance. “The University of South Alabama medical school students provide health screenings and the volunteer lawyers program provides legal services for individuals who may have issues they need to get resolved [that] can keep them from getting housing,” Jefferson said. “You’ll also have city and the county courts there, and they’ll actually be able to hear cases that day.” Other services include Ransom Ministries’ Clean Machine, a self-contained, 22-foot trailer with two bathrooms, three washing machines and three dryers that will allow those attending the event to shower and do laundry at no cost. The Delta Bike Project and Delta Dogs will also be on hand to offer bicycle repair services and basic veterinary care for those who have pets. This year’s Homeless Connect Event is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27. Services will be offered from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Grounds, 1035 Cody Road N. in Mobile, 36608. Free transportation will be offered from WAVE Transit bus stops to Providence Hospital, where a shuttle will transport clients to The Grounds. For more information, call 251-445-8016, email sharon@hfal.org or visit hfal.org.
FORMER CONTRACTOR CLAIMS ‘WRONGFUL TERMINATION’ AFTER TESTIMONY
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BY JASON JOHNSON
he whistleblower who testified against Mobile County Revenue Commissioner Kim Hastie at her 2015 criminal trial has taken the first step toward filing a wrongful termination lawsuit, adding to the outlying legal issues that still surround the three-year-old allegations. Victor Crawford, who was employed by Mobile County for 26 years in a number of capacities, saw his longstanding computer programming contract with the License Commission terminated less than six months after testifying against Hastie. County Commissioners voted 2-1 to terminate Crawford’s contract in December 2015 at the request of License Commissioner Nick Matranga, who sat with Hastie’s family and friends throughout her two-week trial and was appointed as her replacement when she took over the Revenue Commission. At the time, Matranga said Crawford’s termination had “nothing to do with [Hastie’s] trial,” and was instead due to the cost of the county’s contract with Crawford’s company, APL Software Inc. According to Matranga, the average cost of that contract was $47,000 a month. However, others saw his termination as retaliatory, including County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood, who at the time said she believed Crawford’s cooperation in Hastie’s trial was “absolutely the underlying motivation” for the decision — a theory the former contractor seems to share. On Jan. 13, Crawford filed notice of a wrongful termination claim with the county, which is usually the first step in any lawsuit brought against the commission or other county officials. In the document, Crawford claims “Kim Hastie, the Mobile County Revenue Commission and the Mobile County Commission” violated state and
federal law when they terminated APL Software’s contract; if a lawsuit moves forward, they will most likely be the defendants. On Jan. 18, Mobile County Attorney Jay Ross told Lagniappe the county has “received the claim” and would “review and process it as we do other claims.” Crawford was a key witness in the case against Hastie. After blowing the whistle to federal authorities, he wore a hidden camera, provided hundreds of documents to prosecutors and worked with the FBI to bill the county for services Hastie was aware he hadn’t performed. She was also accused of “extorting” Crawford into hiding payments to a political consultant within his monthly invoices, buying presents for her office Christmas party and covering her qualifying fee in the 2014 Republican primary. While the three-page complaint goes on to rehash a number of claims from Hastie’s federal indictment, Crawford also discussed the aftermath of the trial and how it affected his work at the License Commission under Hastie. Among other things, Crawford claims he was no longer allowed to attend conferences or participate in staff meetings and teleconferences with state officials — all of which he claims “interfered with [his] ability to effectively perform” his work. Crawford also wrote that Hastie and her former deputy license commissioner and co-defendant, Ramona Yeager, “stopped communicating” with him after the 2015 trial concluded. When a claim like Crawford’s is filed, the county typically investigates the allegations through a third-party administrator — a requirement of the county’s excess-insurance carrier. As of now, there’s no way to know when or if Crawford might move forward with a formal civil lawsuit. J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 9
COMMENTARY | DAMN THE TORPEDOES
Progress inside ‘failing’ schools ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
dore’s various academies — they have them for engineering, dentistry, nursing, marketing, arts and humanities, business and leadership. While we didn’t visit all of these, the nursing and dental academies were full of students who seemed engaged and active. And they also featured some creepy “patient” dolls and disembodied heads for dental work. There was even a dental chair, but I passed up an opportunity for a quick checkup. At the end of the tour, Peek asked, in a way a teacher might ask a young student, “Well, did you learn anything today that changed your mind?” I said I hadn’t, because I’m still not convinced our skyrocketing graduation rates go hand-inhand with a skyrocketing level of proficiency, and aren’t just making the system and state look better when the kids aren’t really learning more. But maybe that short answer is a bit harsh. A quick trip around a couple of high schools isn’t going to wipe away questions about just how much our students are learning and whether the people graduating in the middle to low end of each class are really ready for college or work, but I did come away feeling like even some of these “failing” schools are doing work that is beneficial to a lot of students and will have a lasting effect on their lives. Despite the endless wrangling over how exactly we measure whether MCPSS is pumping out well-educated students, it does look like even in some of our “failing” schools Peek and her employees are accomplishing things of which they can be very proud.
THEGADFLY
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impress, but it did. I had heard about these academies but never seen one up close, and certainly B.C. Rain’s Aerospace Training Facility was far more advanced that I would have imagined. But the really impressive thing was talking to the students and asking them what the academy means to them. Most of the students I spoke with are convinced they want a career in the aerospace field and are optimistic about the prospects. It certainly seemed to me that regardless of what the tests said, B.C. Rain is meeting some pretty important student needs with the success of that academy. The students let Jason and I take a couple of turns on the flight simulator, crashing digital Blue Angels and 747s into crowded virtual neighborhoods — Oh the humanity! — before we jumped on Interstate 10 for the trip to Theodore. There we met Superintendent Peek and Principal Chip Menton. Somehow or another — probably because I don’t get out of my chair enough — I’d never met Peek in person, so I was curious how she’d address my offending column. After she made me write, “I will not ever question MCPSS statistics again” 500 times on a chalkboard, everything was good. Whew! Menton took us on a tour of his school, professing to being rather shell-shocked Theodore had landed on the failing schools list. Theodore is the only Mobile County school on the list that has a poverty rate of less than 50 percent, so they’re not in familiar territory. He and Peek showed us through Theo-
Cartoon/Laura Rasmussen
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got called to the principal’s office last week, so to speak. Apparently my column a few weeks ago questioning the veracity of massive increases in graduation rates both locally and statewide over the past few years didn’t go over so well at the Mobile County Public School System campus. The school system’s director of communication, Rena Phillips, shot me an email detailing a number of the successes being accomplished throughout MCPSS and also invited me out for a dreaded high school tour. I’m not going to lie. The idea of touring high schools wasn’t a real thriller. I kind of figured it would go like this: They’ll take me to see all the smartest students at the best schools, then say, “See how great we’re doing?” and expect me to suddenly realize exactly how awesome things really are. Maybe 25 years in the news business has left me a bit jaded. So it sounded like a perfectly good waste of an afternoon, but I figured it’s not bad sometimes to get out of my thoroughly worn office chair for something other than lunch. In addition to getting sucked up in the state’s scandal over suddenly boasting graduation rates that would put Huckleberry Alabama among the top three states in that category, MCPSS also was recently dinged by the Alabama Department of Education as having eight schools designated as “failing.” Among those were high schools B.C. Rain, Blount, Vigor, Williamson, Theodore and LeFlore. MCPSS Superintendent Martha Peek had brushed these “failing” designations off as the result of the state giving sophomores the ACT Aspire test for the first time and using that to determine progress. In an article last week, Peek told Lagniappe reporter Jason Johnson she believed the failing designations were unfair and “detrimental” to schools that ended up wearing that scarlet F. “I think it’s a very narrow outlook at what students are doing, and it isn’t based on educational practices as much as politics,” Peek said. “I think it’s very unfair to the students and the faculty and staff members because they’re not failing and they’re not low-performing.” While I could see her point — to a degree — it also still sounded a lot like the kind of deflecting that’s pretty standard when the school system gets bad news. So with all of that as a backdrop, Jason and I headed out to B.C. Rain last Thursday to meet Phillips for a tour. She had set it up for us to see both Rain and Theodore High — two failing schools. Immediately we met Principal Marlon A. Firle. I was sort of surprised he wasn’t off on a movie set somewhere because Mr. Firle looks like a principal out of Central Casting — big, tall, distinguished, most definitely in charge and with a voice that makes Darth Vader’s sound adenoidal. We quickly headed for the Aerospace Training Facility — one of the signature academies established at 12 area high schools over the past four years. The aerospace academy was clearly designed with an eye toward preparing students for jobs in Mobile’s burgeoning aircraft industry, and I have to say despite my cynicism it was impressive. Students were working on computers drafting aerodynamic designs, putting rivets in the outer shell of an actual commercial passenger jet and tinkering with an actual jet engine. They checked tools in and out of the tool shop and seemed genuinely excited to talk about what they were doing. Yes, it was definitely a dog and pony show meant to
FORMER GOV. DON SIEGELMAN MUST SERVE OUT HIS SENTENCE AFTER OBAMA DECLINED TO GRANT HIM A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON.
J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 11
COMMENTARY | THE HIDDEN AGENDA
Forget about the ceiling until you can shatter the walls ASHLEY TRICE/EDITOR/ASHLEYTOLAND@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM I don’t like to talk much with people who always agree with me. It is amusing to coquette with an echo for a little while, but one soon tires of it. — Thomas Carlyle
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ast Saturday, millions of women, men and children participated in women’s marches across the country, voicing their opposition to the Trump presidency and support for women’s rights, health care and equal opportunity. Folks across the country hoisted a variety of handcrafted signs up in the air, some simply reminding how “FUNdamental” and important the rights of women are. Others referencing lady parts like “Viva la Vulva” or “Build a Uterine Wall.” Many employed the P word. Others used the opportunity to still say they supported Hillary Clinton or to call Trump a “racist Chee-to” or a “fascist” or a “white supremacist” or make fun of his hair (“we shall overcomb” — I don’t care who you are, that one’s just funny). It was inspiring to see so many banding together to stand up for what they believe in. But at the same time, it has also been disheartening to see so many women attacking each other in the days leading up to and after the march. The first controversy arose even before the first pink “lady part” hats were passed out. Originally, pro-life groups who also opposed Trump’s vulgar “grab them by the P” comments wanted to participate. But after social media outrage, pro-choice groups put the kibosh on this, even disinviting a pro-life women’s group who was sponsoring the event. I think this was a very shortsighted move and just from a purely political perspective, a gross tactical error. Ladies, united we stand, divided we fall. Who do you think is going to “grab” more attention from politicos on both sides of the aisle in Washington? A group of protesters who can be easily written off (rightly or wrongly) as a bunch of Hillary’s liberal sore losers or a group of “progressive, pro-choice women marching arm in arm with conservative pro-life women”? Think about the difference in those headlines. I can assure you the latter would have packed a much more powerful political punch. But politics aside, ladies on both sides of the reproductive rights debate, do you really think if we just keep screaming inside of our own echo chambers anything is ever going to change for women as a whole? Perhaps we will never find an “unhappy medium” on abortion, and I say unhappy because even pro-choice women know there is nothing happy about having to make that choice. But there are many other issues where we can find threads of commonality. I think most women can agree all women should have access to gynecological care as well as affordable birth control, breast and annual exams. We all agree it is never OK to grab a woman inappropriately. And we all want to see our daughters grow up to have the same opportunities as our sons. If we can find the ties that bind us rather than fixate on the few that separate us, we will
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have a much stronger force and ability to effect change. I realize for many in the women’s movement there is no room for finding common ground. If you are not pro this enough or anti that enough, it is my way of the vajayjay or the highway. And I think that is unfortunate. We’re not a bunch of robots on “Westworld.” After the women’s march, a woman penned a response that went viral saying she was not a “disgrace to women” because she did not support the women’s march. Her basic argument was that she felt she had it pretty darn good as a woman in America and she called on women to fight for the rights of women who lived in more oppressed countries. I thought she had some excellent points. But the anonymous woman was excoriated online. There must be a thousand open letters dedicated to her. Most of them are rebuttals essentially saying — look lady, we aren’t talking about women who can afford to go to marches and get annual exams, we are fighting for the ones who can’t. Or the letters reminded her of all of the women of the past who fought for the rights she now enjoys or stated how ridiculous it was to tolerate sexism from our president just because we don’t live in a dirt hut in countries where we our genitals can be mutilated. Also, all excellent points! And I’d be willing to bet this “unknown writer” would absolutely agree with all of those points too. This is what drives me crazy with social media outrage. Sometimes we are all saying the same thing but don’t hear each other because we are too busy screaming at each other in ALL CAPS. I have seen countless people arguing over this march — and sadly it’s mostly women wrangling with each other. Ladies, though we all have the same set of X chromosomes, we are a diverse lot. And thank god for that! I believe in a woman’s right to control what happens to her own body, but I absolutely respect the viewpoint of women who are prolife. And even moreso now that I have my own children. I think there are way more great men in this country who support women and want what’s best for them than the other way around. I loved Scarlett Johansson’s speech at the Washington march, but I hated Madonna’s. I get why the P word was appropriated for these purposes, but I do not want to have my woman card revoked because I don’t want to use it all the time. (Because I don’t! I hate that word as much as I hate the words “menses,” “juicy” and “moist.”) Let’s not forget we are wonderfully complex creatures. We have a whole range of thoughts and ideas on topics forged out of a lifetime of our own experiences. I do not know what the next four years will bring, but I am quite certain if we spend it tearing one another down because we don’t think in exactly the same ways, we have a much greater chance of not accomplishing the things we can agree on. The comfortable echo chambers we find it so easy to reside in are going to have to be shattered before anything can be done about that pesky ceiling made of glass.
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COMMENTARY | THE BELTWAY BEAT
Nowhere to go but up BY JEFF POOR/COLUMNIST/JEFFREYPOOR@GMAIL.COM
WASHINGTON — As you may or may not have heard, President Donald Trump was sworn in last week with the lowest approval numbers in the history of approval polling for a president-elect. According to a Fox News poll, 37 percent of Americans approve of Trump, while 54 percent do not. The dip of those numbers, which were already low heading into his contest with Hillary Clinton, can be attributed to the barrage of negative media coverage dating back to his election win last November. But let’s analyze this, because there’s a myth and a reality to Trump and his administration. Some would have you believe he’s horrible — racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist, jingoistic and so on and so forth. Let’s take Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s appointee for U.S. Attorney General. If you’ve watched his critics on cable news, you might think that he was a cross-burning grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. And every time he is in the
can backfire. The bar has been set so low for Trump that the moment he does something demonstrably good, and it won’t take much, he’ll bounce back. Throughout the campaign, he was the comeback kid. He overcame the “grab her by the pu—y” audio to win the White House. There is a precedent for Trump to overcome low polling. Furthermore, after a media that completely blew it in terms of polling and prognostication, the credibility of this approval polling is in question. Certainly Trump got some breaks earlier on with the media. But once he shored up the GOP nomination, the coverage was brutal. How is it that this man and his “basket of deplorables” find themselves in the White House? This wasn’t supposed to happen. And it wasn’t until 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, that many believed it would happen. What many of Trump’s critics don’t get is the connection he has with his supporters. Those supporters were already wary of the NONETHELESS, THIS EFFORT TO media to begin with this constant MARGINALIZE TRUMP CAN BACKFIRE. and haranguing isn’t going to change as THE BAR HAS BEEN SET SO LOW FOR TRUMP many minds as it once could in the era THAT THE MOMENT HE DOES SOMETHING of Trump. DEMONSTRABLY GOOD, AND IT WON’T TAKE Much like former President George W. MUCH, HE’LL BOUNCE BACK. Bush, the Trump administration is going to take a lot of hits spotlight, we relitigate his 1986 appointment to from the press. But like the Bush administration, the federal bench, which was denied by the U.S. the Trump team is going to be prepared for it. Senate. We got a hint of that over the weekend when However, if you’re an Alabamian and are White House press secretary Sean Spicer made somewhat aware of politics, the racist label an appearance in the briefing room and gave a placed on Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (as very combative statement about a false report if his name was proof) is not what many of us claiming Trump had removed a bust of Martin have seen with our own eyes. Luther King Jr. from the Oval Office, and then Even if you’re a Democrat and do not care challenged those claiming the inauguration atfor his politics, the aspersions cast on Sessions tendance was significantly down. by his opponents are hardly fair. His colleagues While those types of gestures won’t move in the U.S. Senate over the past 20 years know the needle a whole lot, they will be received apbetter. provingly by his core supporters and they won’t Yet, that’s the hand that is being played. Atnecessarily damage his standing in the polls tack Trump and his administration at all costs. because he’s already pretty low. Throw everything you can at him — Russian There’s nowhere to go but up from here. hacking, “alt-right” connections, unfairness of Once he starts implementing his policies and the Electoral College, hypocrisy because his real change is underway — as in the employclothing line was made in China, his Cabinet ment rate increases and Americans start having appointees are racist, etc. more money in their wallets — his depressed You get the idea. numbers will go up, and in a significant way. But with a presidential election cycle that No matter what he does, he won’t likely win won’t begin until Iowa caucuses in January over the Democrats that vociferously opposed 2020, what’s the point of all of this? Is using him and continue to do so. But winning those all of this ammunition on Trump really going people over isn’t as important as holding onto to stop him from doing what he wants to do as the support he got in Pennsylvania, Michigan president? and Wisconsin. It may slow him down, as in it might take an If manufacturing does indeed return, Demoextra week for him to get his Cabinet approved crats will have a hard time unseating him in 2020. by the Senate. But you’re not going to stop him. For now, the expectations are low. If we are Even if the opposition has an eye on the 2018 supposed to believe he is incompetent and illmidterms, it’s not the best of scenarios for the suited for the job, it puts Trump and his team in Democratic opposition. a better position than you might think. And now Nonetheless, this effort to marginalize Trump it’s up to them to seize upon that opportunity.
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COMMENTARY | THE MONTGOMERY MINUTE
A Strange case for impeachment BY LEE HEDGEPETH/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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labama Gov. Robert Bentley thinks he’s gotten off easy. After his admitted “inappropriate” relationship with former top aide Rebekah Caldwell Mason and all the fallout it brought — a divorce from his wife of 50 years, a sordid tape of he and Mason aired on national news outlets and much more — Bentley has been able to hang onto something he should’ve lost long ago, something that’s protected him from accountability for his actions: his job as Alabama’s top politician. And although some of the state’s top political forces seem bent on letting his malfeasances go, they shouldn’t. Gov. Bentley has used his office and its benefits not to further Alabama’s interests, but to further his own love interests, and it’s time for the governor to go. Much of the governor’s public problems began with his divorce from former First Lady Dianne Bentley. Following the split, rumors began to swirl about an affair, fueled by whisperings of a tape of Bentley and his alleged mistress. Eventually, the audio recording of a phone conversation between Mason and the governor, made by a Bentley family member, was leaked. “You’d kiss me? I love that,” Bentley can be heard saying in the recording. “You know I do love that. You know what? When I stand behind you and I put my arms around you, and I put my hands on your breasts, and I put my hands on you and pull you in real close. Hey, I love that, too.” That explicit part of the tape, describing Bentley’s actual actions (although the governor still denies a “physical” relationship), already seems to rise to an impeachable offense — one of “moral turpitude.” But it is other parts of the tape that bring the real issues with the governor’s affair into focus. “But, baby,” he tells Mason, “let me tell you what we’re
gonna have to do, we’re gon’ have to start locking the door. If we’re gonna do what we did the other day we’re gonna have to start locking the door … You know what, it is kinda scary. Somebody open that door? Mmm…” Bentley’s actions — as he explains himself — involve manipulating state property to facilitate his affair: “I love when you come to see me,” the governor continues. “You know, I’ve been thinking … I am going to rearrange the office if Wanda retires. She’s not gon’ retire, she’s going to work part-time, but I think that would be a good time to do it. I don’t want ‘em right there. Honestly, I really don’t. And it doesn’t have anything to do with you and me — well, part of it does — but really and truly I don’t think somebody needs to be right there listening to
GOV. BENTLEY HAS USED HIS OFFICE AND ITS BENEFITS NOT TO FURTHER ALABAMA’S INTERESTS, BUT TO FURTHER HIS OWN LOVE INTERESTS, AND IT’S TIME FOR THE GOVERNOR TO GO.” every word that is said in that office; I just really don’t.” And it didn’t stop there — that’s just what’s on tape. According to flight logs and Bentley’s own recounting, after an argument with the former First Lady at their residence in Tuscaloosa, the governor accidentally left his wallet. Realizing this once he reached the Gulf Coast for an event, Bentley had law enforcement officials fetch the
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wallet. ALEA officials later confirmed that the wallet — and no other passengers — were flown from Tuscaloosa to Baldwin County on the taxpayers’ dime. In another incident, Gov. Bentley brought Rebekah Mason to a Celine Dion concert in Las Vegas while in town for a Republican Governors Association meeting, even naming Dion an honorary Alabamian. According to several sources, during the trip Bentley shed his security detail to gain more privacy. The trip was originally billed to taxpayers, but the RGA eventually reimbursed Bentley for the costs — after media had inquired about the expenses and Mason’s involvement. All of this — and enough to fill dozens more articles — should have quickly led to the governor’s impeachment, or at least to a lengthy, thorough hearing considering it — but it didn’t. Instead, once Rep. Ed Henry, a staunch conservative, garnered enough votes to start impeachment proceedings, the state’s political leadership flipped the script. Attorney General Luther Strange sent a letter to the head of the impeachment committee, Rep. Mike Jones, saying it would be “prudent and beneficial to delay the work of the House Judiciary Committee.” “I respectfully request that the committee cease active interviews and investigation until I am able to report to you that the necessary related work of my office has been completed,” Strange wrote to Jones. Rep. Jones complied, and halted the impeachment hearings. What’s happened since has been nothing if not an undeniable political farce. AG Strange — selfproclaimed prosecutor of all things unethical — is now not so intent on seeking justice when it comes to the governor’s misdeeds. Instead, he’s claiming the governor was never being investigated, a move sure to curry favor with the man who now has the power to appoint Strange to his dream job of U.S. Senator. At a recent Mobile GOP event, Strange told Lagniappe he doesn’t have any comment on a potential impeachment and that his asking for a halt to the proceedings had nothing to do with the governor. “The Legislature has their job to do; we have our job to do. Beyond that, I don’t really want to comment on anything that might be pending out there. The Legislature has to make their own decisions,” Strange told members of the media, including Lagniappe. “I think I’ve made this clear before — with some of the articles that are written — we’ve never said that we’re investigating the governor. We asked the Legislature to hold off because they were involved in a very public matter. We felt there were some common issues we needed to address. Beyond that I haven’t commented, and I don’t plan to comment.” The truth is, though, Strange did comment — not just to the public but to the head of the impeachment committee — and in doing so obstructed justice for us all. Gov. Bentley abused his office, and it’s time our attorney general let the Legislature do something about it. It’s a Strange case for impeachment, but it’s what Alabama deserves.
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COMMENTARY | THE GRIOT’S CORNER
Unity from community BY KEN ROBINSON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T
he early morning of Monday, Jan. 16 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — was as beautiful, as it was full of purpose. Like many in communities across the country, I had arrived at Tricentennial Park in Mobile to give my time and energy to something bigger, and of far greater importance than myself — my community. The third Monday of January, nationally recognized as the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, has become more than just a commemoration of the inspiration and vision Dr. King gave to our nation, but also of the commitment, service and change that his life exemplified. To honor his legacy, Americans throughout the nation gather to serve on this day. As it should be, King’s name has become synonymous with the call to service, with the call to sacrifice and with the call to community. The Martin Luther King Day of Service Community Clean-Up at Tricentennial Park, organized through the collaborative efforts of groups such as Mobile Baykeeper, Alabama Coastal Foundation, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and a plethora of others, was a call to our community to assist in cleaning up one of our vital waterways: Three Mile Creek. The response was phenomenal. Black and white, young and old — more than 300 people — came out to do the unglamorous work of picking up trash and removing debris. From area businesses to local fraternities and sororities, high school groups, families and individuals, a diverse array enthusiastically answered the call to service. Using descriptive and picturesque language like only he can, Mobile City Councilman Fred Richardson aptly referred to it as the “mother of all clean-up campaigns.”
It was impressive. At the end, more than 170 tires and a “mountain of trash [bags]” was grand evidence of the effort and commitment of all who labored. However, what did and still does impress me most about being there and bearing witness to the event is the realization of how powerful the spirit of “community” is, and the things it can accomplish. Division is a serious problem in America today. Many national polls show it is a real concern for many Americans. In any healthy democracy, difference will always be present, and difference should always be appreciated. Difference can bring fresh insight, perspective and awareness. Difference can also prevent societal stagnation, and spark economic and cultural innovation. Division, however, is different. Division in society brings about a fracturing, an undermining and a breaking down of the mechanisms that allow a society to reach the consensus or togetherness needed to push a society forward. Division impedes the process of governing by making compromise (which is a political necessity in a democracy) nearly impossible. Whereas difference is definitely not an enemy to society, division most certainly is. Healing our division nationally begins with how we interact with and work with each other locally — it starts with community. The 300-plus people gathered at Tricentennial Park on the King Day of Service — that assembly of difference who united that morning with a sense of purpose — showed what is possible when members of a community prioritize and invest their time and energy into advancing those goals and objectives most beneficial
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for all. The majority in a community will agree that a clean environment, or safe streets, or good schools, or a robust local economy are good things, but it’s not until there is a collective investment in trying to make these realizable that they become more than just lofty words or goals. As King often stated, individuals have to see their existence as part of something larger than themselves, and also feel the responsibility to engage personally in furthering the betterment of that larger community. The more individuals have a concern for the community at large and feel a personal pull to impact it in a positive way, the greater the chance that community will be a place of progress and opportunity for all. Accordingly, it is less likely such a community will be a place of destructive division. It doesn’t mean there will be agreement on every issue, but consensus and compromise — those very important traits of a healthy democracy — will be much easier to reach. King has rightly been called by scholars and political leaders of all stripes
TO HONOR HIS LEGACY, AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE NATION GATHER TO SERVE ON THIS DAY. AS IT SHOULD BE, KING’S NAME HAS BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE CALL TO SERVICE, WITH THE CALL TO SACRIFICE AND WITH THE CALL TO COMMUNITY.” one of our “modern-day founding fathers.” As one writer insightfully noted, “He [King] offered a hopeful, transcendent idea of how America could be truly great.” King took our founding ideals and re-energized them, he connected those ideals with the hopes, dreams and aspirations of every American and showed that we all play a part in making the founding promises of this country something from which all can benefit. King made clear that difference does not exclude one from the promises and ideals upon which our nation is built. The hard work of this, though, begins at the community level. This past weekend has been a momentous one in many ways. As many of us contemplate the very long road ahead and the obstacles that face us as a nation, may we remember the road to unity begins close to home. It begins when we work to engage and build on that most important of societal levels: the local community.
BUSINESS | THE REAL DEAL
County and other significant centers of commerce in the metro area.
American Airlines upgrades local service BY RON SIVAK/COLUMNIST/BUSINESS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
M
obile Regional Airport announced in a news release that American Airlines has scheduled a major upgrade to its service there, with added capacity and business class seats to both hubs served from Mobile (MOB). The Dallas (DFW) route currently has three daily departures flown with a 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft. Starting March 6, all three flights will be served with a CRJ-900 aircraft, which has nine first-class seats and 76 seats in total. The Charlotte (CLT) route has four daily departures currently flown with a 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft. Starting April 4, two of the four departures will be flown with CRJ700 aircraft, which has nine first-class seats and 65 seats in total. “At the beginning of 2016 we started a strategy to foster competition, increase service and positively impact fares. American Airlines is investing in our community by adding an additional 80,000 available seats to this market annually, using larger aircraft and providing first class service for their customers,” said Roger Wehner, executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority. “We want to thank them for their confidence in our market. It’s our hope everyone will evaluate American Airlines’ service to Dallas and Charlotte as they plan their travel.” Overall, this ramp-up represents an increase of more than 40,000 departing seats annually and more than 80,000 extra seats added to the Mobile market. Passengers traveling to the east coast or west coast can now book first-class tickets on American Airlines to both hubs served from Mobile. “In 2016 a new course was plotted, and we embarked on a turnaround and the results have been significant and record setting,” Wehner said. “We want to thank our loyal customers and the tens of thousands of new customers that joined us. We believe, working with our current and future
airline partners, that 2017 will produce more exciting news and improvements.” When combined with regional partner American Eagle, American Airlines offers an average of about 6,700 flights daily to 350 destinations in 50 countries. For more information about the airline carrier, visit its website.
Exchange 202 is “Coolest in Alabama”
Mobile-based co-working space Exchange 202 was recently selected by the Women Digital Nomads travel website as “coolest co-working space in Alabama.” The Exchange 202 is listed in good company alongside several well-known work spaces such as WeWork in Chicago, NextSpace Union Square in San Francisco and The Farm SOHO in New York. “In the heart of Mobile sits a building that instantly feels like you are in an urban center in a major metropolitan area. The Exchange, located at 202 Government St., houses a community of entrepreneurs, organizational leaders and cutting-edge professionals,” Women Digital Nomads co-founder Chrys Tan said in the article. “Work is done for the good that it brings, but recognition of that work is pretty cool. On the list are some of the most amazing names in the business and companies that have been real role models for our work. None of this happens without amazing members, investors who believe and community partners,” said Exchange 202 chief catalyst and co-founder Todd Greer in a recent social media post. To date there are a handful of co-working and incubator spaces that have successfully sprouted up or are in development over the past two years in the area, primarily focused around Mobile’s business district and adjacent to downtown’s burgeoning “tech corridor.” According to sources, additional plans are in place for co-working growth to continue, targeting sites in Baldwin
Fuse Project taps Jones for new position
Fuse Project recently announced that Stephen Jones has been named as its new executive assistant. For the past year, Jones has been involved with Fuse Project as an intern assisting with all Fuse Project events. “We are thrilled to have Stephen, who already has a strong knowledge and passion of Fuse Project’s mission. His past experiences with our organization will serve him well in his new role as he works to engage the community through new and exciting events and philanthropic opportunities,” Adrienne Golden, executive director of Fuse Project, said. Jones most recently worked as the marketing specialist for the University of South Alabama’s Student Center. In that role he was responsible for working with the student center’s administration to create and execute student engagement programs. He is also is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public relations, with a minor in political science, from USA. Active on campus, he is vice president of the Public Relations Student Society of America, South Alabama Chapter, as well as a Jaguar Productions committee member, a peer educator for domestic violence prevention and a counselor for Camp MASH. Fuse Project is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with the primary goal of supporting local projects that promote health, fitness, education and social responsibility to benefit children along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
Milling and Cumbest create partnership
Milling Commercial Realty recently announced the formation of a partnership between Jeremy Milling and Brent Cumbest, who served as the owner and operator of Cumbest Properties for 22 years. Prior to the merger, Cumbest provided commercial brokerage, management and consulting services for clients and developed more than 25 real estate projects along the central Gulf Coast. “Over the years, Jeremy and I noticed that our separate firms shared common goals and it just made sense that we become partners,” Cumbest said. “I have known Brent personally and professionally for many years and feel like our common desire to provide a client-centric approach was an excellent foundation for a partnership,” Milling said. “Our merger will provide a great benefit to our clients and I’m confident our company will grow and succeed.” Founded in 2012, MCR is licensed in Alabama and Mississippi and is a fullservice boutique commercial real estate firm serving the Gulf Coast The company specializes in office, industrial and downtown redevelopment projects. It has also launched a new interactive website with a database of commercial facilities and properties available for sale or lease.
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CUISINE THE REVIEW
Have a yen for Mexican? Check out El Mariachi
EL MARIACHI 763 HOLCOMBE AVE. MOBILE 36606 251-473-0413
BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR | FATMANSQUEEZE@COMCAST.NET
EVER HAVE A MARGARITA THAT TASTES LIKE DISHWATER? THIS WAS CERTAINLY NOT ONE OF THOSE … IT WAS SLIGHTLY FRUITY, AND AS FAR AS SWEETNESS GOES IT STAYED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD.
most in this area. It was never super packed, it wasn’t overly fancy, but for people like Rob, David Rasp, Pete Mackey and myself it was a special treat to visit the unassuming eatery. So special, in fact, that on many occasions the waiters would finish my sentences when ordering for the oft-tardy Rasp. We mourned the day we were told to cross Interstate 65 for summer rolls and pho as the place shut down without warning. There was no “Save the Yen” campaign, nor was there a countdown to the end of days. We showed up to locked doors on a usual Thursday lunch. It didn’t take terribly long for a new restaurant to fill the void, this time in the form of Mexican cuisine. El Mariachi replaced our old favorite to glowing Facebook reviews, as some people in this town believe there cannot be enough Mexican food. It was finally time for me to give it a try, so I called in Catherine and Pete for what would be my first look at the old stomping grounds. El Mariachi has a clean, slick look to it, basically Yen with different accents. The interior of the building hasn’t changed much that I can remember. I arrived before my guests and began the evening with a margarita, which I desperately needed
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Photo | Daniel Anderson
I
am trying to think of the most unsettling news of a restaurant closing since my tenure as a fancy cuisine editor began some seven-plus years ago. There have been a few heartbreakers. The Mobile food landscape has been drastically altered since that time known as “before the Saints won the Super Bowl.” For the most part the change has been for the better, but the one that really left a hole in our hearts was when Yen bit the dust. Yen was this Holcombe Avenue destination that had a select piece of our fair city’s dining club (and I use these words pretty loosely) hooked. It was Vietnamese food better than
EL MARIACHI BRINGS HEARTY MEXICAN FARE AND TASTY MARGARITAS TO HOLCOMBE AVENUE, AT THE FORMER YEN SITE.
after a long but productive week. Ever have a margarita that When on a review, if the place has a dish that bears its tastes like dishwater? This was certainly not one of those. I name I often get it, thinking it’s probably a good representatake mine on the rocks with no salt, and loved this version. It tion of what the restaurant is going for, its chance to shine so was slightly fruity, and as far as sweetness goes it stayed on to speak. That would be the Number 1, El Mariachi Special the right side of the road. Dish ($17.99). Another giant plate of food, the numero uno Cat and Pete arrived as I was receiving my complimentary touches all of the bases with steak, chicken and shrimp. salsa and Popun Dip ($7.50). The salsa was as good as most The 6-oz. steak was a smallish, tough piece of meat. The in the city, but I was excited about the popun dip. I’d never chicken was pounded thin before cooking and the shrimp heard of this appetizer, but a thick, almost were of a small to medium size. There soupy bowl of beef, chicken, rice and was a bit of salad with slices of avocado cheese served with the same tortilla chips as well as rice and beans, and though the that came with the salsa is a great way to menu promised tortillas I received none. warm up the taste buds. We left not a drop I didn’t need the extra calories, anyway. in the bowl and Catherine commented she Really, the only thing special about this EL MARIACHI HAS A could have just ordered that for dinner. entrée is that it is the most expensive The menu is full of the usual Mexican menu item. It is definitely not what this CLEAN, SLICK LOOK TO fare, save the cheese sticks and chicken place is all about. They do much better IT, BASICALLY YEN WITH wings on the appetizer page. There is than that. menudo as well as chicken, beef or shrimp I was also sad to see that although they DIFFERENT ACCENTS. THE soup. Of course there are signature dishes, offer seafood dishes there is no Mexican INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING shrimp cocktail, which I have grown fond but Pete decided to go with the Pedro Classic, Number 16 Tacos Dinner of in my later years. Sadder still that there HASN’T CHANGED MUCH ($7.99). This trio came out hard and full of were no mariachis I could tip to serenade beef. What more could you ask for under Pete. But please don’t take my complaints THAT I CAN REMEMBER. 10 bucks? That’s my kind of eating. No the wrong way. This is a pretty good beans, no rice, just great hard-shell tacos restaurant and you should definitely go with tons of cheese, lettuce and tomato. for a quick lunch and return for dinner Catherine, our resident Mexican food fanatic, weighed when you can take advantage of the recently acquired liquor the value of the combination platters and finally settled on license. Pete had a couple of Modelo Negras that were very Combo 8 ($9.25), explaining that, while similar to Combo complementary to the tacos. 3, Combo 8 is far superior and only a quarter and a penny Stick to the classics. I can’t wait to return for Mexican more. From left to right the hot plate began with a beef burtacos, as they do have pastor, lengua, chorizo and carnitas with rito, a chicken enchilada, a beef taco and a chalupa. There raw onion and cilantro. This place doesn’t replace Yen for was no way she was going to finish this meal. Bang for the me, but at least we got a good Mexican joint out of the deal. buck, this is a monster. Maybe you’re right, you can’t have too many of those around.
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5319 Hwy 90 • 661-0071 1225 Satchel Page Dr.• 378-8768
FOOSACKLY’S ($)
$10/PERSON $$ 10-25/PERSON $$$ OVER 25/PERSON
COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE
ALL SPORTS BAR & GRILL ($) CLASSIC HOTDOGS, GYROS & MILKSHAKES. 3408 Pleasant Valley Rd • 345-9338
FAMOUS CHICKEN FINGERS. 310 S. University Blvd. • 343-0047 2250 Airport Blvd. • 479-2922 7641 Airport Blvd. • 607-7667 2558 Schillinger Rd. • 219-7761 3249 Dauphin St. • 479-2000
THE GALLEY ($)
OPEN FOR LUNCH, INSIDE GULFQUEST 155 S. Water St • 436-8901
GULF COAST EXPLOREUM CAFE ($)
PITA PIT ($)
211 Dauphin St. • 690-7482
POLLMAN’S BAKERY ($)
BAKERY, SANDWICHES AND MORE 750 S. Broad St • 438-1511, 4464 Old Shell Road • 342-8546, 107 St. Francis St. Suite 102 • 438-2261
REGINA’S KITCHEN ($-$$) SANDWICHES, SUBS AND SOUPS. 2056 Gov’t St. • 476-2777
ROLY POLY ($)
WRAPS & SALADS. 3220 Dauphin St. • 479-2480
HOMEMADE SOUPS & SANDWICHES 65 Government St • 208-6815
ROSIE’S GRILL ($-$$)
SEAFOOD AND SANDWICHES 212 ½ Fairhope Ave • 928-4100
ROYAL KNIGHT ($)
SEAFOOD, SANDWICHES, SALADS & SOUPS. 4513 Old Shell Rd. • 408-9622
ROYAL STREET CAFE ($)
MIND-BLOWING ISLAND FOOD. 3700 Gov’t Blvd. Ste A • 602-1973
SANDWICHES, SOUTHWEST FARE, 7 DAYS. 1203 Hwy 98 Ste. 3D, Daphne • 626-2440
SAUCY Q BARBQUE ($) AWARD-WINNING BARBQUE. 1111 Gov’t Blvd. • 433-7427
SMOKEY DEMBO SMOKE HOUSE ($)
3758 Dauphin Island Pkwy. • 473-1401
TILMO’S BBQ ($)
FAST BBQ W/ DRIVE-THRU 3249 Dauphin St. • 652-3508
DROP DEAD GOURMET BAY GOURMET ($$)
A PREMIER CATERER & COOKING CLASSES. 1880-A Airport Blvd. • 450-9051
FIREHOUSE WINE BAR & SHOP
RICE ASIAN GRILL & SUSHI BAR ($)
RED OR WHITE
ROCK N ROLL SUSHI ($$)
216 St Francis St. • 421-2022
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 AND PANTRY. 2304 Main St. • 375-2800
FALAFEL? TRY SOME HUMMUS
3964 Gov’t Blvd. • 378-8083
273 S. McGregor Ave • 287-0555, 6345 Airport Blvd. • 287-0555, 940 Industrial Pkwy • 308-2158
TASTE OF THAI ($$)
9091 US-90 Irvington • 957-1414
TOKYO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE ($$) UPSCALE SUSHI & HIBACHI. 364 Azalea Rd. • 343-6622
WASABI SUSHI ($$)
JAPANESE CUISINE. 3654 Airport Blvd. S. C • 725-6078
7 SPICE ($-$$)
PHO YEN ($)
HEALTHY, DELICIOUS MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 3762 Airport Blvd. • 725-1177
AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE CUISINE. 763 Holcombe Ave. • 478-5814
CORNER 251 ($-$$)
ABBA’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE ($-$$)
FROM THE DEPTHS
SATORI COFFEEHOUSE ($)
DAUPHIN’S ($$-$$$)
ISTANBUL GRILL ($)
FRIED, GRILLED, STEAMED & ALWAYS FRESH. 3300 River Rd. • 973-9070
AUTHENTIC SUB SANDWICHES 7449 Airport Blvd • 375-1820
SERDA’S COFFEEHOUSE ($)
DUMBWAITER ($$-$$$)
JERUSALEM CAFE ($-$$)
A HISTORIC SEAFOOD DIVE W/ LIVE MUSIC. 3775 Hwy. 98 • 625-1998
STEVIE’S KITCHEN ($)
FIVE ($$)
KAN ZAMAN ($-$$)
ECLECTIC DINING & SPACE. 6955 Airport Blvd. • 633-7196
CAFE 219 ($)
SANDWICHES, CATERING & DELIVERY TOO. 6920 Airport Blvd. • 414-5444 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-8694 62 B Royal Street • 432-0360
THE SUNFLOWER CAFE ($)
KITCHEN ON GEORGE ($-$$)
MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH
QUALITY CAJUN & NEW ORLEANS CUISINE. 29249 US Highway 98 Daphne. • 621-1991
CAMELLIA CAFÉ ($-$$$)
PIZZAS, SANDWICHES, COCKTAILS. 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
CAMMIE’S OLD DUTCH ($)
HOME COOKING. 4054 Government St. • 665-4557
CARPE DIEM ($)
PUB FOOD AND DRAFT BEERS 251 Dauphin St • 287-6871
CLARK’S KITCHEN ($-$$)
SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD HOME COOKING. 220 Dauphin St. • 432-6262
CHAT-A-WAY CAFE ($)
GREAT SANDWICHES, COFFEE & MORE. 1087 Downtowner Blvd. • 643-1611
AL’S HOTDOGS ($)
CLASSIC HOTDOGS, GYROS & MILKSHAKES. 4701 Airport Blvd. • 342-3243
ATLANTA BREAD COMPANY ($-$$) SANDWICHES, SALADS & MORE. 3680 Dauphin St. • 380-0444
BAKE MY DAY ($)
OLD-FASHIONED SOUTHERN BAKE SHOP 156 N. McGregor Ave • 219-7261
THE BLIND MULE ($)
DAILY SPECIALS MADE FROM SCRATCH. 57 N. Claiborne St. • 694-6853.
BOB’S DINER ($)
GOOD OLD AMERICAN COOKING 263 St. Francis St • 405-1497 SALADS, SANDWICHES & POTATO SALAD. 219 Conti St. • 438-5234 CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN FARE. 61 Section St., Fairhope • 928-4321 MOBILE’S CLASSIC ICE CREAM SPOT. 2511 Old Shell Rd. • 471-1710
DELI FOODS, PASTRIES & SPECIALTY DRINKS. 4072 Old Shell Rd. • 304-0448
GUMBO SHACK($-$$) THE HOUSE ($-$$)
JAMAICAN VIBE ($) JERSEY MIKE’S ($) JIMMY JOHN’S ($)
JOE CAIN CAFÉ ($)
JUDY’S PLACE ($-$$)
LODA BIER GARTEN ($)
CREAM AND SUGAR ($)
COFFEE, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DESSERT 351 George St #B • 405-0003
DAUPHIN ST. CAFE ($)
HOT LUNCH, DAILY MENU (INSIDE VIA) 1717 Dauphin St. • 470-5231
D’ MICHAEL’S ($)
PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS, GYROS & MORE. 7101-A Theodore Dawes Rd. • 653-2979
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 ($)
DONUTS, COFFEE AND SANDWICHES 1976 Michigan Ave • 442-4846 3876 Airport Blvd • 219-7369 505 Schillinger Rd. S. • 442-4845 29160 US Hwy 98 • 621-2228
E WING HOUSE ($)
COFFEE, SMOOTHIES, LUNCH & BEERS. 5460 Old Shell Rd. • 344-4575
COFFEE, LUNCHES, LIVE MUSIC & GELATO. 3 Royal St. S. • 415-3000 SANDWICHES, SOUPS, SALADS & MORE. 41 West I-65 Service Rd. N Suite 150. INSIDE VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOOD 3055 A Dauphin St • 479-3200
TIN ROOF ($-$$)
SOUTHERN CASUAL FAMILY DINING 10800 US hwy 31 • 621-4995
TP CROCKMIERS ($) AMERICAN RESTAURANT & BAR 250 Dauphin St. • 476-1890
THREE GEORGES CANDY SHOP ($)
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FOOD. 351A George & Savannah St. • 436-8890
MAGHEE’S GRILL ON THE HILL ($-$$) GREAT LUNCH & DINNER. 3607 Old Shell Rd. • 445-8700
NOBLE SOUTH ($$) LOCAL INGREDIENTS 203 Dauphin St. • 690-6824
ROYAL SCAM ($$)
6358 Cottage Hill Rd. • 725-6917
WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS ($)
MICHELI’S CAFE ($)
2550 Dauphin Island Pkwy S. • 307-5328
MCSHARRY’S ($-$$)
COFFEE AND DONUTS 759 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope • 928-7223
AUTHENTIC IRISH PUB 101 N. Bancroft St • 990-5100
MIKO’S ITALIAN ICE ($)
HOTDOGS SANDWICHES & COOL TREATS 3371 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 300–4015
MOMMA GOLDBERG’S DELI ($) SANDWICHES & MOMMA’S LOVE. 3696 Airport Blvd. • 344-9500 5602 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6556
MONTEGO’S ($-$$)
FRESH CARIBBEAN-STYLE FOOD & CRAFT BEER. 6601 Airport Blvd. • 634-3445 225 Dauphin Street • 375-1576
MOSTLY MUFFINS ($) MUFFINS, COFFEE & WRAPS. 105 Dauphin St. • 433-9855
NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE ($)
OVEN-BAKED SANDWICHES & MORE. 252 Azalea Rd. • 341-3533, 1335 Satchel Page Dr. Suite C. • 287-7356 7440 Airport Blvd. • 633-0096 30500 State Hwy 181 #132 • 625-6544
OLD SHELL GROWLERS($) GROWLER STATION AND BITES 1801 Old Shell Rd. • 345-4767
PANINI PETE’S ($)
WILD WING STATION ($) 1500 Gov’t St. • 287-1526
YAK THE KATHMANDU KITCHEN ($-$$)
AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM HIMALAYAN REGION. 3210 Dauphin St. • 287-0115 400 Eastern Shore Center • 459-2862
BONEFISH GRILL ($$)
MEDITERRANEAN FOOD AND HOOKAH 326 Azalea Rd • 229-4206
BOUDREAUX’S CAJUN GRILL ($-$$)
COMPANY ($)
GREAT & QUICK. 274 Dauphin St. • 545-3161 2502 Schillinger Rd. Ste. 2 • 725-0126 6890 US-90 (DAPHNE) • 621-2271
MINT HOOKAH BISTRO ($) GREAT MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 5951 Old Shell Rd. • 450-9191
OLLIE’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL ($-$$) MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT AND HOOKAH 1248 Hillcrest St • 634-9820
FAR EASTERN FARE
GUMBO, ANGUS BEEF & BAR. 72. S. Royal St. • 432-SCAM (7226)
3662 Airport Blvd. • 378-5466
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE. 271 Glenwood St. • 476-0516
SAGE RESTAURANT ($$) INSIDE THE MOBILE MARRIOTT. 3101 Airport Blvd. • 476-6400
SAISHO ($-$$)
MODERN GASTROPUB INSPIRED BY JAPANESE KITCHEN 455 Dauphin St • 433-0376
BAMBOO BISTRO ($$)
BAMBOO FUSION ($$) 2400 Airport Blvd. • 307-5535
BAMBOO STEAKHOUSE ($$) Sushi Bar. 650 Cody Rd. S • 300-8383
BANGKOK THAI ($-$$)
DELICIOUS, TRADITIONAL THAI CUISINE. 3821 Airport Blvd. • 344-9995
BENJAS ($)
BBQ, BURGERS, WINGS & SEAFOOD 19170 Hwy 43 Mt. Vernon. • 839-9927
THE TRELLIS ROOM ($$$)
CHARM ($-$$)
A FAVORITE BARBECUE SPOT. 5456 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0001
ZEA’S ($$)
CUISINE OF INDIA ($$)
BACKYARD CAFE & BBQ ($) HOME COOKIN’ LIKE MOMMA MADE. 2804 Springhill Ave. • 473-4739
BAR-B-QUING WITH MY HONEY ($$)
BRICK PIT ($)
COTTON STATE BBQ ($) DOWNTOWN LUNCH 101 N. Conception St. • 545-4682
DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT ($-$$)
BBQ AND MORE. Jubilee Sq.Ctr. Hwy 90, Daphne • 210-2151 McGowin Park Ctr. Satchel Paige Dr. • 471-1050 7721 Airport Blvd • 380-8957
FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES ($)
CHICKEN FINGERS, SALAD & SANDWICHES. 1165 University Blvd. • 202-0959
MOBILE’S OLDEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE. 5773 Airport Blvd. • 304-1155
TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN ($$)
‘CUE
BARBEQUE & MUSIC. Bayfront Park Dr., Daphne • 625-RIBS 701 Springhill Ave. • 410-7427 4672 Airport Blvd. • 300-8516
PDQ ($)
THE BLUEGILL ($-$$)
SUPREME EUROPEAN CUISINE. 2579 Halls Mill Rd. • 479-0006
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)
RIBS, SANDWICHES & GREAT SIDES. 3314 Old Shell Rd. • 479-9898
MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE ($)
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SEAFOOD, ASIAN AND AMERICAN CUISINE 69 St. Michael St • 375-1113 CASUAL FINE DINING. 104 N. Section St., Fairhope • 929-2219
CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE Battle House Hotel, Royal St. • 338-5493 GOURMET ROTISSERIE. PRIME RIB & SEAFOOD. 4671 Airport Blvd. • 344-7414
A LITTLE VINO DOMKE MARKET
WINE, BEER, GOURMET FOODS, & MORE. 720 Schillinger Rd. S. Unit 8 • 287-1851
FATHOMS LOUNGE
A TAPAS RESTAURANT & COCKTAILS 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
TRADITIONAL SUSHI & LUNCH. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-9077 THAI & SUSHI 5369 D Hwy 90 W • 661-5100 THAI KITCHEN AND SUSHI BAR 960 Schillinger Rd. S • 660-4470 LUNCH BUFFET 3674 Airport Blvd. • 341-6171
PO-BOYS, SALADS & SEAFOOD. 1870 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 287-1168
ED’S SEAFOOD SHED ($$)
FRIED SEAFOOD SERVED IN HEFTY PORTIONS. 3382 Hwy. 98 • 625-1947
FELIX’S FISH CAMP ($$) UPSCALE DINING WITH A VIEW. 1420 Hwy. 98 • 626-6710
FISHERMAN’S LEGACY ($) DELI, MARKET AND CATERING. 4380 Halls Mill Rd. • 665-2266
THE GRAND MARINER ($-$$) LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE. 6036 Rock Point Rd. • 443-5700
THE HARBOR ROOM ($-$$) UNIQUE SEAFOOD. 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($) 3654 Airport Blvd. • 338-9350
LUCY B. GOODE ($$)
GULF COAST CUISINE, REINVENTED. 200 E. 25th Ave., Gulf Shores • 967-5858
LULU’S ($$)
LIVE MUSIC & GREAT SEAFOOD. 200 E. 25th Ave., Gulf Shores • 967-5858
MUDBUGS AT THE LOOP ($) CAJUN KITCHEN & SEAFOOD MARKET. 2005 Government St. • 478-9897
RALPH & KACOO’S ($-$$) THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT! 1595 Battleship Pkwy • 626-0045
R&R SEAFOOD ($-$$)
LAID-BACK EATERY AND FISH MARKET 1477 Battleship Pkwy. • 621-8366
RIVER SHACK ($-$$)
SEAFOOD, BURGERS & STEAKS. 6120 Marina Dr., Dog River • 443-7318.
TIN TOP RESTAURANT & OYSTER BAR ($$)
GOLDEN BOWL ($)
WINTZELL’S OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$)
THAI FARE AND SUSHI 2000 Airport Blvd. • 478-9888 HIBACHI GRILL & ASIAN CUISINE. 309 Bel Air Blvd • 470-8033
HIBACHI 1 ($-$$)
2370 Hillcrest Rd. Unit B • 380-6062
KAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($-$$)
POUR BABY
LIQUID ($$)
WINE BAR, CRAFT BEERS & BISTRO 6808 Airport Blvd. • 343-3555
CRAVIN CAJUN/DIP SEAFOOD($)
FUJI SAN ($)
FOOD PAK
FOOD, WINE AND MORE. 5150 Old Shell Rd. • 341-1497
BAUDEAN’S ($$)
AUTHENTIC TURKISH & MEDITERRANEAN 3702 Airport Blvd. • 461-6901
BANZAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($$)
BAR FOOD 271 Dauphin St • 438-9585
PAT’S DOWNTOWN GRILL ($)
INVENTIVE & VERY FRESH CUISINE. 6 N. Jackson St. • 433-0377
BEEF, LAMB & SEAFOOD. 4356 Old Shell Rd. • 340-6464
VON’S BISTRO ($-$$)
FIREHOUSE SUBS ($)
BURGERS, MILKSHAKES & FRIES 4401 Old Shell Rd. • 447-2394 4663 Airport Blvd. • 300-8425
GREAT FOOD AND COCKTAILS 609 Dauphin St. • 308-3105
UNCLE JIMMY’S DELICIOUS HOTDOGS ($)
DREAMLAND BBQ ($)
HOT SUBS, COLD SALADS & CATERING. 6300 Grelot Rd. • 631-3730
SERVING LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 167 Dauphin St. • 458-9573
3011 Springhill Ave. • 476-2232
TROPICAL SMOOTHIE ($)
ORIGINAL SANDWICH AND BAKE SHOP. 42 ½ Section St., Fairhope • 929-0122 102 Dauphin St. • 405-0031
195 S University Suite H • 662-1829
HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH A VIEW 107 St. Francis St • 444-0200
OSMAN’S RESTAURANT ($$)
MARY’S SOUTHERN COOKING ($)
CHICAGO STYLE EATERY 1222 Hillcrest Rd. • 461-6599
HIGH QUALITY FOOD AND DRINKS 251 Government St • 460-3157
GREAT SMOOTHIES, WRAPS & SANDWICHES. Du Rhu Dr. • 378-5648 570 Schillinger Road • 634-3454
QUICHES & SANDWICHES. 4366 Old Shell Rd. • 343-9889
CHI-TOWN DAWGZ ($)
HOMEMADE LUNCH & BREAKFAST. 104 N. Royal St. • 434-0011
NOJA ($$-$$$)
MARS HILL CAFE ($)
CHICKEN SALAD, SALAD & SOUP. 2370 S. Hillcrest Rd. Unit R • 660-0501 5753 Old Shell Road • 408-3236, 1802 US Hwy 98 Suite F• 625-1092
LUNCH & DINNER. 3004 Gov’t Blvd • 287-1220
GRILLED STEAKS, CHICKEN & SEAFOOD. 720A Schillinger Rd. S. S2. • 607-7200 901 Montlimar Dr • 408-3133
LIGHT LUNCH WITH SOUTHERN FLAIR. 226 Dauphin St. • 433-6725
MAMA’S ($)
SANDWICHES, SOUTHERN CUISINE & CATERING 5817 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0200
CHICKEN SALAD CHICK ($)
BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE ($-$$)
QUALITY FOOD, EXCELLENT SERVICE 5045 Cottage Hill Rd. • 607-6454
AMAZING SUSHI & ASSORTMENT OF ROLLS. 661 Dauphin St. • 432-0109
SEAFOOD, STEAKS, & EXTENSIVE WINE LIST. 6232 Bon Secour Hwy County Rd. 10. • 949-5086
FRESH SEAFOOD FOR OVER 75 YEARS 605 Dauphin St. • 432-4605 6700 Airport Blvd. • 341-1111 1208 Shelton Beach Rd., Saraland • 442-3335 805 S. Mobile St. • 929-2322
IS THE GAME ON?
ASHLAND MIDTOWN PUB ($-$$) PIZZAS, PASTAS, & CALZONES. 245-A Old Shell Rd. • 479-3278
BAUMHOWER’S ($)
WINGS, BURGERS, PUB GRUB 6880 US-90 #14, Daphne • 625-4695
BISHOP’S ($)
A SOUTHERN GRILL & BAR. 3673 Airport Blvd. • 344-2131
BUFFALO WILD WINGS ($) BEST WINGS & SPORTING EVENTS. 6341 Airport Blvd. • 378-5955
BUTCH CASSIDY’S ($)
FAMOUS BURGERS, SANDWICHES & WINGS. 60 N. Florida St. • 450-0690
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB ($) BURGERS & BEER. 916 Charleston St. • 433-9374
HEROES SPORTS BAR & GRILLE ($) SANDWICHES & COLD BEER. 273 Dauphin St. • 433-4376 Hillcrest & Old Shell Rd. • 341-9464
HURRICANE GRILL & WINGS ($-$$) WINGS, SEAFOOD, BURGERS AND BEER 7721 Airport Blvd. Suite E-180 • 639-6832
ISLAND WING CO
EVERYTHING BAKED OR GRILLED 2617 Dauphin St. • 476-9464
MANCIS ($)
1715 Main St. • 375-0543
MCSHARRY’S IRISH PUB ($) BRILLIANT REUBENS & FISH-N-CHIPS. 101 N. Brancroft St. Fairhope • 990-5100
MUG SHOTS ($$)
BAR & GRILL. 6255 Airport Blvd. • 447-2514
OLD 27 GRILL ($)
BURGERS, DOGS & 27 BEERS & WINES. 19992 Hwy.181 Old County Rd. Fairhope • 281-2663
LUCKY’S IRISH PUB ($)
IRISH PUB FARE & MORE. 3692 Airport Blvd • 414-3000
NAVCO PIZZA ($$)
AZTECAS ($-$$)
WINGS, TENDERS, HOTDOGS & SANDWICHES. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-5877
PAPA’S PLACE ($$)
CAFÉ DEL RIO ($-$$)
WEMOS ($)
ZANDER’Z ($-$$)
WINGS, BEERS AND DRINKS 1850 Airport Blvd • 471-5520
PIZZA, SUBS & PASTA. 1368 ½ Navco Rd.• 479-0066 A TASTE OF ITALY . BYOB. 28691 U.S. Highway 98 • 626-1999
PINZONE’S ITALIAN DOWNTOWN ($$) ITALIAN, CATERING, TO-GO. 312 Fairhope Ave, Fairhope • 990-5535
TASTE OF MEXICO 5452 Hwy 90 W • 661-5509
BR PRIME ($$-$$$)
CASUAL & RELAXING, EXTENSIVE MENU.
COAST RESTAURANT ($-$$)
ISLAND VIEW:
JIA ($-$$)
STALLA ($$)
BEACH BLVD STEAMER ($) CARTER GREEN STEAKHOUSE ($$-$$$) C&G GRILLE ($)
FINE DINING ESTABLISHMENT. BURGER, WINGS, PIZZA
MOUTH WATERING MEXICAN FOOD 1175 Battleship Pkwy • 625-2722
EXOTIC CUISINE AND SUSHI
CINCO DE MAYO ($) MEXICAN CUISINE 260 Azalea Rd. • 375-1095
ITALIAN COOKING
MAMA MIA!
PINZONE’S ITALIAN VILLAGE ($$)
DAUPHIN ST. TAQUERIA ($)
TERRACE CAFE ($)
DELIVERY. 350 Dauphin St. • 431-9444
RAVENITE ($)
FUEGO ($-$$)
HARD ROCK CASINO:
BUCK’S PIZZA ($$)
AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DISHES 312 Fairhope Ave, Fairhope • 990-5535
CORTLAND’S PIZZA PUB ($-$$)
PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD & MORE 102 N. Section St. • 929-2525
GREAT PIZZA. LUNCH & DINNER. 4356 Old Shell Road • 342-0024
GAMBINO BROTHERS ($) HOMEMADE PASTAS & SANDWICHES. 873 Hillcrest Ave. • 344-8115
GAMBINO’S ITALIAN GRILL ($) ITALIAN, STEAKS & SEAFOOD. 18 Laurel Ave. Fairhope • 990-0995
GUIDO’S ($$)
FRESH CUISINE NIGHTLY ON MENU. 1709 Main St., Daphne • 626-6082
LA ROSSO ($$)
COMFORT FOOD. 1716 Main St. Ste. C, Daphne • 281-2982
MACARONI GRILL ($$)
SMALL PLATES, PIZZAS, PASTAS AND WINE 3250 Airport Blvd. • 450-4556
MELLOW MUSHROOM ($)
PIES & AWESOME BEER SELECTION. 2032 Airport Blvd. • 471-4700 5660 Old Shell Rd. • 380-1500 29698 Frederick Blvd, Daphne • 621-3911
PIZZERIA DELFINA ($) PIZZA & PASTA 107 Dauphin St. • 375-1644
ROMA CAFE ($-$$)
PASTA, SALAD AND SANDWICHES. 7143 Airport Blvd. • 341-7217
ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL ($$)
Springdale Mall 3250 Airport Blvd. • 450-4556
TAMARA’S BAR & GRILL ($)
WINGS, PO-BOYS, BURGERS. 210 Eastern Shore Center, Hwy. 98 • 929-0002
TRATTORIA PIZZA & ITALIAN ($$) ITALIAN FOOD & PIZZAS. 11311 US HIghway 31 Spanish Fort• 375-0076
UNCLE MADDIO’S PIZZA JOINT ($) HOMEMADE PIZZA & GOURMET SALADS 7765 Airport Blvd. • 639-5010
VIA EMILIA ($$)
HOMEMADE PASTAS & PIZZAS MADE DAILY. 5901 Old Shell Rd. • 342-3677
OLÉ MI AMIGO!
ENCHILADAS, TACOS, & AUTHENTIC FARE. 661 Dauphin St. • 432-2453
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, LATE NIGHT
OUTSTANDING MEXICAN CUISINE. 2066 Old Shell Rd. • 378-8621
777 Beach Blvd.Biloxi • 877-877-6256
HACIENDA SAN MIGUEL ($-$$) TASTE OF MEXICO 880 Schillinger Rd. S. • 633-6122 5805 US 90 • 653-9163
LOS ARCOS ($)
QUAINT MEXICAN RESTAURANT. 5556 Old Shell Rd. • 345-7484
LA COCINA ($)
SEAFOOD
HARD ROCK CAFÉ ($)
AMERICAN FARE & ROCKIN’ MEMORABILIA.
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$) EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE.
SATISFACTION ($-$$) SOUTHERN FAVORITES BUFFET
HARRAH’S GULF COAST:
MARIA BONITA AGAVE BAR & GRILL ($-$$)
MAGNOLIA HOUSE ($$-$$$)
TAQUERIA MEXICO ($-$$) AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FLAVOR. 3733 Airport Blvd. • 414-4496
NO GAMBLING CASINO FARE BEAU RIVAGE:
875 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 888-952-2582
RICH TRADITIONS, STEAK, SEAFOOD
LARGE BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER MENU.
PALACE CASINO:
158 Howard Ave. Biloxi • 800-725-2239
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$) MIGNON’S ($$$)
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE. 4633 Airport Blvd. • 342-5553
MEXICAN CUISINE. 3977 Gov’t Blvd. • 660-4970
3300 W. Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 877-774-8439
280 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 288-436-2946 FINE DINING, SEAFOOD AND STEAKS
FLAVORS BUFFET ($-$$) ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET
IP CASINO:
850 BAYVIEW AVE. BILOXI-- • 888-946-2847
THIRTY-TWO ($$$) SEAFOOD, STEAKS, WINE
TIEN ($-$$)
INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
HIGH TIDE CAFÉ ($)
STEAKS, SEAFOOD, FINE WINE
PLACE BUFFET ($-$$) INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
STACKED GRILL ($-$$)
BURGERS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
TREASURE BAY:
1980 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 800-747-2839
THE DEN ($-$$)
INTIMATE & CASUAL WITH DAILY SPECIALS.
CQ ($$-$$$)
ELEGANT ATMOSPHERE & TANTALIZING ENTREES.
BLU ($)
LOUNGE WITH COCKTAILS & TAPAS MENU.
WIND CREEK CASINO:
303 Poarch Rd. Atmore • 866-946-3360
FIRE ($$-$$$)
PRIME STEAKS, SEAFOOD & WINE.
GRILL ($)
CONTEMPORARY & OLD-FASHIONED FAVORITES.
SEND LISTINGS TO LISTINGS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 23
CUISINE | WORD OF MOUTH
Baumhower’s Senior Bowl Tailgate Challenge this Saturday BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR
O
ne of Mobile’s greatest attractions on a national level is the Senior Bowl, and for the past 13 years the festivities have begun with the Baumhower’s Senior Bowl Tailgate Challenge. This Saturday, Jan. 28, teams of amateur chefs will flood the parking lot of Ladd-Peebles Stadium from 9:30 a.m. to noon to compete for more than $3,000 in prizes in eight different food categories. Best appetizer, seafood entrée, wings (careful, Bob Baumhower will be in attendance and he knows wings) and barbecue entrée will have some stiff competition. Best dessert must include Reese’s products (proud sponsor of the Senior Bowl) in the recipe. “When Reese’s partnered with the Senior Bowl in 2014 it seemed a natural to add a Reese’s dessert to the mix,” Baumhower says. “Our judges definitely love it.” Participants are judged on originality, presentation and the right combination of food, so the overall party theme is another category in play. And in keeping with the party spirit, there are alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage categories. Judges for this year’s competition are not short of talent and accomplishments. Along with Baumhower of Alabama and Miami Dolphins fame we will have Hugh Green, who played 11 seasons with the Dolphins and the Buccaneers. Robert “Dr. Doom” Brazile Jr. of the Houston Oilers will be there with his teammate, legendary safety Vernon Perry. On a personal note, I am most excited about Mark “Super” Duper, a man I admired in his Dolphins heyday. Also joining the NFL stars will be Dave “Gumbo Crusher” Holloway and Dauphin’s executive chef Steve Zucker. Roosevelt Patterson played for Vigor, went on to the University of Alabama and is now back in the Port City, where he remains heavily involved with football. Entry forms for the Tailgate Challenge can be found at Baumhower’s Wings in Daphne. If you think you have what it takes to walk out on that field and receive the trophy you’d better act fast — spots are filling up.
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For more information, visit them online at www.baumhowers.com or on their Facebook page.
Low Brim seeks a future for craft beer in Foley
In the early stages of development, Low Brim Brewing aspires to be Foley’s first craft beer brewery. Low Brim has plans for a taproom, a 15-barrel capacity brewery with 13 tanks and all the necessary equipment overseen by head brewer Jacob Waters, a passionate home brewer for the past several years who has a background in the chemical manufacturing industry. Sales and distribution will fall under the watchful eye of Patrick Burke. According to Low Brim’s website, they are already honing a few recipes while generating funding and building out the brewery. These include:
JUDGES FOR THIS YEAR’S COMPETITION ARE NOT SHORT OF TALENT AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ALONG WITH BAUMHOWER OF ALABAMA AND MIAMI DOLPHINS FAME WE WILL HAVE HUGH GREEN, WHO PLAYED 11 SEASONS WITH THE DOLPHINS AND THE BUCCANEERS.” Checkmate, a light-bodied golden ale; the medium-bodied Dapper IPA; the Nightcap brown ale; and the dark wheat Dunkler Engel. A crowdsourced fundraiser campaign is underway to offset building costs. Be a part of history and visit www.lowbrim.com to show your support.
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COVER STORY
Mobile Arts Council presents the 2017 Arty Awards BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR
A
little later but bigger than ever, the Arty Awards are here again. The annual salute to Mobile-area creative contributions has new digs, a new date and an array of old and new faces. On Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m., Alabama Contemporary Art Center (301 Conti St.) gets its turn to host Mobile Arts Council’s annual “Oscar-style” ceremony honoring the Mobile-area creative community. Plans are to fill the night with suspense, congratulations and overall good times. “We’re going to have an hour of music from the Tyler Mac Band, then the awards ceremony and then another hour of music. There’s going to be a surprise performance from some special guests, too,” Arty Awards Chairperson Devin Ford said. It’s bound to be warmer than last year’s version, held on a frigid December night in the Gulf Coast Exploreum courtyard. Perfect for champagne, but heaters were a necessity. Fairhope potter Susie Bowman created the physical award given to this year’s winners from among 27 nominees in nine categories. Two awards — Lifetime Achievement and Patron — have already been announced for Tut Altman Riddick and the Jake Peavy Foundation, respectively. “We’ll have a slideshow and speak a little bit about each nominee, which we didn’t do last year. Plus, we’ll have their quotes flash while the band is playing and all that,” Ford said. Organizers will rein in one of the trickier components of these affairs. Only Lifetime and Patron recipients are allowed remarks after winning. “We’re trying to keep the awards portion short. It’s supposed to be more like a celebration of the arts so we want the event to be really fun,” Ford said. Heavy hors d’oeuvres from Smith’s Catering plus wine and beer are included. Tickets are on sale through the MAC website at $30 each before the day of the event. “Last time I checked we had a little over 200 tickets gone with sponsor tickets, sold tickets and nominees tickets. We have maybe 100 left,” Ford said last week.
The sound of Mobile’s soul
If seniority counts among the nominees, one has it over all others. That’s because Performing Artist nominee The Excelsior Band has been a Mobile tradition since 1883. Formed at the Creole Firehouse as part of the celebration around founder John A. Pope’s newborn son, they started marching in parades the following year. Now few big moments happen in Mobile without them.
“We do so many weddings and second lines that we probably do 500 gigs a year. There’s weddings most every week, conventions, parades and things for the city. A lot are private affairs so people don’t realize how much we play,” bandleader Hosea London said. A Winter Haven, Florida, native, London moved to Mobile in 1976 and began a 25-year stint at the Albert P. Brewer Center. Looking to keep his trumpeting chops in shape, the instructor joined Excelsior around that time. “The leader back then was James Seals, the band director at Bishop State. He kept doing it until he passed away and I took over about 15 years ago,” London said. The Excelsior Band is listed on the website for the Alabama State Council on the Arts, is in the Encyclopedia of Alabama, was inducted into the Gulf Coast Ethnic and Heritage Jazz Festival Hall of Fame in 2012 and is enshrined in the Mobile Carnival Museum. Excelsior members have taught in the Alabama Folk Arts Apprenticeship programs and have been included in numerous promotional materials for Mobile tourism and Mardi Gras. They were recently featured on Catt Sirten’s television program “Live from Avalon,” itself another nominee for an Arty Award. “We’ve got our annual Mother’s Day concert coming in Oakleigh and Catt’s big band concert in Daphne,” London said. London listed Excelsior’s 10 members with ease. “Trumpeters Leroy Bosby, Danny Mosely and me, sousaphonist Charles Hall, saxophonists James Moore and Theodore Arthur, trombonists Carl Cunningham and Laquin Cannon, drummers Leon Rhoden and Jerome Bryant. They run from their early 30s to way up past retirement age. It impresses me a band can stay together this long because musicians can be kind of crazy. The guys trust me, though,” London said. It’s obviously a lifetime commitment. London has put 40 years into it. “My predecessor played until he passed away. Most of the time, that’s how we step down,” London said.
‘Absolutely floored’
A native New Yorker, Bob Spielmann spent a life in sales before he moved to Mobile to become WKRG’s national sales director. He wasted little time helping the arts. “I moved here in 1982 and got involved with Mobile Jazz Festival in 1984 or ’85. J.C. McAleer was in charge then. When he left about five years later, then I became president,” Spielmann said. He remained at the helm of the organization for the next two decades. The last big event staged by the group was a multi-day show in Cooper Riverside Park in con-
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junction with Mobile’s Tricentennial Celebration. “We also had the National Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, too, which ran in conjunction with the Mobile Jazz Festival, when we used to have all these different colleges in,” Spielmann said. Long retired from WKRG, Spielmann was quick to throw in his efforts when the Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed arose in 2001. He’s been on MOJO’s board of directors since it began. On the cusp of his 91st birthday, Spielmann is remarkably active, mobile and vital. Most Mobilians have encountered him with little realization. “I’ve been ushering at the Saenger, say, 16 years. Actually I started because I wanted to get involved with the symphony and then I got involved in all the other events that were happening there,” Spielmann said. He went on to usher for Mobile Opera when they still utilized the Mobile Civic Center. “With [Retired Senior Volunteer Program] RSVP we do all that stuff with the Joe Jefferson Players and the Mobile Theatre Guild. We do ushering or whatever they want us to do because they need all the volunteer help they can get. I’ve even run the elevator at JJP,” Spielmann laughed. It’s apparent why he earned a nomination for the Artys’ new Art Soldier
ON FRIDAY, JAN. 27, AT 7 P.M., ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER (301 CONTI ST.) GETS ITS TURN TO HOST MOBILE ARTS COUNCIL’S ANNUAL “OSCAR-STYLE” CEREMONY HONORING THE MOBILEAREA CREATIVE COMMUNITY.” category, an honor intended for essential but low-key personnel normally behind the scenes and nearly anonymous to the general public. He was shocked at the nomination. “All of a sudden I got this big envelope in the mail all about the Artys and I saw my name on it and I was absolutely floored. I said, ‘This can’t be right, there’s a mistake in it somewhere. I don’t even know what an Art Soldier is,’” Spielmann recalled. His wife Margaret was just as excited. “Oh, she’s calling up everybody and telling the kids and whatever, telling them, ‘Your father’s going to be a celebrity.’ I said to my son Scott, ‘If I should win this thing, I’m going to have to come over to your house and show you my Arty.’ And he said, ‘Oh Dad, you get so dirty,’” Spielmann laughed.
A great life
There are few artistic Mobilians who haven’t encountered Dorothy “Tut” Altman Riddick. The recipient of the Artys’ Lifetime Achievement Award has her hands in a lot of mediums. She’s a painter, sculptor, writer, poet, photographer, printer and patron. A sign at the door of her home welcomes visitors to the “Riddick Fun House.” It’s noted for its wealth of art and creativity, on every surface, in every direction. Paintings, sculptures, fabrics, photos, you name the medium and it’s present. Plenty of the talent is homegrown — Charles Smith, Bertice McPherson, Dale Lewis and so on. “I think it’s very important for us to think in terms of supporting the
COVER STORY person we know,” Riddick said. Hailing from tiny York, Alabama, in Sumter County, her parents’ divorce meant she grew up in the care of her grandmother and her Aunt Elizabeth, both strong-willed, both creative. Her aunt would regularly take her to the theater in Birmingham and she was encouraged to read as widely and often as possible. “I was surrounded by art growing up because my grandmother had a degree in painting from Judson College and all the paintings in her house she had hanging up. So I was always drawing and carrying on like that,” Riddick said. Her headstrong nature emerged early. “My real name is Dorothy but everybody always called me Tut all the way through high school. My mother was Dorothy and I didn’t want to be a ‘Little’ anything,” Riddick said. She attended Huntingdon College and Livingston University before transferring to the state university, where she was active in theater and became part of a national championship debate team. Riddick came to Mobile and taught at Glendale Elementary School and Murphy High School. “They said if I taught art for a year then the next year they would be able to afford to get me to do debate team. You know, I started teaching art and I found another niche. Then is when I really got into painting myself. I went to the art students’ league and I went to the Penland School of Crafts, I even went to Paris one time,” Riddick recalled. She met a young Harvard-educated lawyer named Harry Riddick and they married within a year. Harry’s status allowed Tut insight into local spending habits. “I’m not against Mardi Gras because it’s another art form, but so much of people’s money in Mobile goes into it. I do wish people would maybe support in their homes some local artists, because we’ve got some damn good ones,” Riddick said. Riddick has published several books. She returned to York to found the Coleman Center which houses the city library, a small art museum and a crafts workshop. In 2012, she was the focus of the exhibit “I Am York. Tut Altman Riddick: My People and Places” at the Mobile Museum of Art. The retrospective included more than 60 of her works covering more than a half-century of production. The University of West Alabama unveiled a Dorothy (Tut) Altman Riddick Mezzanine Art Gallery in 2015. “In 2013 I was made a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame, right there with George Washington Carver. I’ve had a great life and I’m still having a great life,” Riddick said.
ARTY AWARD NOMINEES ART EDUCATOR Eric Browne
Browne is theatre director at Baker High School FAME Academy. The Baker Theatre Department earned “Best in Show” in Studio Theatre at the 2016 State Trumbauer Theatre Festival plus 10 other trophies and recognitions. Browne also directed at Joe Jefferson Playhouse and was guest director at Theatre USA.
Robert Holm
Holm is a professor of music and head of the piano division at the University of South Alabama, principal pianist for the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, pianist at Dauphin Way Baptist Church and served as past president of Mobile Music Teachers Association.
Paige Vitulli
Vitulli has taught at the University of South Alabama more than 15 years. She is currently an associate professor in the College of Education’s Leadership and Teacher Education Department and program director for the Art Education Graduate Program.
ARTISTIC DESIGN Ron Barrett
Barrett is the creative mastermind behind much of Mobile’s Mardi Gras, overseeing ball decorations, costumes, floats, backdrops and sets.
Tripp Gustin
Gustin is the manager of graphic arts at Visit Mobile as well as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and cartoonist.
Jayson D’Alessandro and i-Team Mobile
The Mayor’s Innovation Team adds capacity to city government by introducing design thinking and data-driven solutions to look at old problems in new ways.
Art Soldier
Dr. Steven Alsip Alsip is an active volunteer with the Chickasaw Civic Theatre as a board
member, performer and crew and has more than 60 stage credits from area community theaters and Mobile Ballet. He spearheaded CCT’s fundraising campaign “Light a Fire,” was an adviser for area youth performance activities and helps with the McGill-Toolen drama department.
Bob Spielmann
Red Cup Revolt Red Cup Revolt is an art-based cultural movement whose mural work can be seen at 401 Dauphin St., Zander’z Sports Bar and Grill, Kazoola’s, Paparazzi Hookah Lounge and more.
ARTISTIC INNOVATION
Fry Building Project The Fry Building Project is a mini movement of decorative downtown window displays. The windows throughout downtown have included more than 20 artists and contributors.
Live from Avalon
Live from Avalon is a live music program recorded in Mobile’s historic Bernheim Hall, exclusively featuring local performers and original music that is then broadcast on Alabama Public Television.
Thomas Perez
Perez is a satirical playwright who produces works with The South of the Salt Line Theatre. He has published several books of memoir and fiction; his 2016 work, “Sister Mary Bartholomew’s Basic Training Manual for Religious Tyrants,” is a humorous look at parochial education.
John Sledge
Sledge is senior architectural historian with the Mobile Historic Development Commission and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. The latest of his five books won the Clinton Jackson Coley Award from the Alabama Historical Association. His next book, “These Rugged Days: Alabama in the Civil War,” will be published in 2017.
VISUAL ARTIST JD Crowe April Livingston Devlin Wilson
PERFORMING ARTIST Excelsior Band
Dr. Thomas Rowell
The Lost Garden
The Lost Garden is a group effort from dedicated volunteers. Karen Bullock oversees general operations by connecting various artists and discussing various possibilities for the project.
Rowell is the Coordinator of Vocal Studies and directs USA Opera Theatre. He teaches studio voice, vocal pedagogy and song literature. He has performed locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Lauren Woods
BUSINESS
Woods is in her 11th season as a principal dancer with the Mobile Ballet Company and has studied in New York at the Joffrey Ballet School, Steps and Ballet Arts at City Center, in addition to American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive at the University of Alabama and Charleston Ballet Theater.
Hargrove Engineers PNC Bank Wind Creek Hospitality
LITERARY ARTIST Frye Gaillard
Gaillard is writer-in-residence at the University of South Alabama and winner of the Lillian Smith award for best Southern fiction. His 2016 work “Go South to Freedom” is the story of a self-emancipated slave family.
ORGANIZATION
Mobile Big Band Society Mobile Fashion Week Mobile Museum of Art
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ART ARTIFICE
Big Top and Mardi Gras married at ACAC BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR/KLEE@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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hen Mardi Gras renews in a couple of weeks, Mobile’s biggest street-life carnival will be prey to Mother Nature’s whims. There’s one place the show will go on despite the weather, thanks to a new event in a familiar building. Say hello to “Cirque du Mardi Gras” at the Alabama Contemporary Arts Center (301 Conti St.) Feb. 1-14. In a place that’s seen paintings, installations, films and sculpture, performance will be in focus. “We have an amazing contortionist who shoots a bow and arrow with her feet while doing a one-hand stand. We have a guy who juggles insane strange objects, can balance things on his nose and face. He can walk the edge of a sword,” organizer and ringmaster Kevin Venardos said. He adds comedians, acrobats, aerialists, fire breathers, even a band of musicians tagged the Lost Cause Minstrels, and says they’re all tied together “with a kind of storytelling element.” Venardos certainly has the background for this project. Though one of the youngest ringmasters ever in the history of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, he started with more commonplace performance aspirations. The New York native graduated from Ithaca College in 1998 with a degree in musical theater and hit the Big Apple with dreams of Broadway. Venardos toured with Theatreworks USA’s “Curious George” show as The Man in the Yellow Hat. He landed some extra work on daytime soaps such as “The Guiding Light” and did voiceover work to boot.
“Then I submitted for an open call for this crazy job and for some amazing reason they decided to give this kid the opportunity to be the ringmaster. It was just like that, and started an odyssey the likes of which you could never imagine if you took a lifetime dreaming it up,” Venardos said. After five years, he sensed a need for more control over his long-term viability. He paired his musical theater
SAY HELLO TO “CIRQUE DU MARDI GRAS” AT THE ALABAMA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER (301 CONTI ST.) FEB. 1-14. IN A PLACE THAT’S SEEN PAINTINGS, INSTALLATIONS, FILMS AND SCULPTURE, PERFORMANCE WILL BE IN FOCUS. ” background with his love of the circus and emerged with his own venture. “You have to believe in something beyond the almighty dollar to get it going. Once it gets going it’s a great thing because people need happiness. They need inspiration. If you can do that and if you can keep it in the margins, there’s a huge country out there that wants
Mardi Gras expert for Learning Lunch
Baldwin Pops celebrate 20 years
In 1997, band directors Steve Sims and Joe Riemer joined
forces with musicians Regina Bush and Tom Robinson, along with the then-director of continuing education at Faulkner State College in Fairhope, to launch a new musical venture for Baldwin County. Mobile Pops veteran Riemer wanted to replicate the success on the Eastern Shore. Close to 60 musicians turned out for their first rehearsal. They filled venues in Fairhope, Daphne and Foley and experienced widespread success. They also provided music scholarships to deserving students. Now led by current director Dr. Roger Jones, the Pops will celebrate two full decades of bringing rich sounds to residents of Alabama’s most widespread county. The anniversary concert takes place Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. at the Fairhope Civic Center (161 N. Section St.). The concert will include a Fairhope history segment, selections from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” and other favorites, and a new piece written by Jones. The show is sponsored by the City of Fairhope and the Fairhope Single Tax Corp. For more information, visit baldwinpopsband.com or find them on Facebook.
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Chickasaw holds ‘Music Man’ auditions
The Chickasaw Civic Theatre (801 Iroquois St.) will stage the American musical classic “The Music Man” May 5-21 and is seeking enthusiastic performers. Auditions for the work about a con man’s encounter with a Midwestern small town will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, and Monday, Jan. 30, both nights at 6:30 p.m. The cast includes 10 male and 10 females characters. They are a variety of ages. Any prepared song will do for auditions. Please bring sheet music for the accompanist. Everyone will be asked to work on basic dance steps with the choreographer. Dance auditions are in groups. Reading auditions are in groups. No special preparation is needed. Rehearsals begin in mid February. Expect three per week to begin, four per week as opening nears. For more information on characters and schedule, visit cctshows.com/auditions or call director Nedra Bloom at 251463-4837.
ARTSGALLERY
Mobile Mask publisher Steve Joynt has built quite the reputation as an authority on Mobile’s Mardi Gras. The fifth annual issue of his pre-Lenten must-have is out now, so you know the season is at hand. This seasoned journalist, who spent 11 years with the PressRegister, will be the guest speaker at the Wednesday, Feb. 1, Learning Lunch program at the History Museum of Mobile (111 S. Royal St.). Joynt will share the history of two historically rich and trend-setting parading organizations, the Cowbellion de Rakin Society and the Order of Myths. Admission to the Learning Lunch is free. As always, guests are encouraged to bring their own lunch and enjoy enlightening presentations on a wide range of historical and cultural topics. For more information, call Jennifer Fondren, curator of education, at 251-301-0270 or email fondrenj@historymuseumofmobile.com.
it,” Venardos said. In a time when the Big Top is bowing out, Venardos feels he’s looking ahead, not mourning times past. “My friends in my network who have been following me through the years know we’re the future of American circus. Small is good and we can adapt with the digital world,” Venardos said. A gig in Las Vegas opened doors for his troupe’s appearance at the Greater Gulf State Fair. They turned heads there and opened doors elsewhere. “Last October, some local entrepreneurs and the folks at the Alabama Contemporary Arts Center saw what we were doing and said, ‘This is awesome. It’s like a Broadway show and a circus. Let’s do a Mardi Gras circus,’” Venardos said. So through Valentine’s Day, the arts facility on the south side of Cathedral Square will be the showplace for “Cirque du Mardi Gras.” Performance times for the roughly 90-minute shows will be structured around parade schedules. Venardos has done his background work. He appeared before the Mobile City Council, talked to local historians and visited the Carnival museum in constructing the story arc. “Mobile has a unique Mardi Gras story, different than anyone else’s Mardi Gras story. So we have characters inspired by Joe Cain or the Merry Widows or any of the other characters in the pantheon of Mobile,” Venardos said. Jazz and other Mardi Gras music is to be implemented. Other locals will be on display in an artists’ market the website describes as “a deluxe midway with carnival games, gourmet circus delicacies and more.” Venardos said early arrivals for the shows can meet performers and get a glimpse inside their performances. There is a charitable element as well. Visitors to their website at venardoscircus.com will find a “Golden Tickets” link. It doesn’t involve a chocolate factory but a chance for patrons to buy tickets to be gifted to area youth. “I’m going to match up every one of these Golden Tickets with a local kid who can’t afford one, and I’m going to bring busloads of kids to see the circus who couldn’t have afforded it before,” Venardos said. Hopes are this will run the gamut, appeasing a variety of tastes. “This will be the kind of thing where you can come in top hat and tails and have a nice cocktail, if you’re over 21, or just have cotton candy and popcorn,” Venardos said.
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FEATURE
MUSIC
Photo | Facebook
SURFER BLOOD SATURDAY, JAN. 28, AT 9 P.M. THE MERRY WIDOW, 51 S. CONCEPTION ST., WWW.THEMERRYWIDOW.NET TICKETS: $13 ADVANCE/$15 DAY OF SHOW, AVAILABLE AT VENUE AND ITS WEBSITE “Snowdonia” is Surfer
Surfer Blood comes to Mobile ahead of ‘Snowdonia’ release
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Blood’s first album since the death of guitarist Thomas Fekete last year. He was replaced by Mike McCleary.
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
est Palm Beach’s Surfer Blood used its 2010 debut “Astro Coast” to gather a devoted nationwide audience. As the indie pop revival gained momentum, “Astro Coast” represented an up-and-coming band that preferred to stick to the rock side of the indie world. While indie pop inched forward into the mainstream, Surfer Blood maintained its own style with the sophomore effort “Pythons.” While the band compiled the songs on “Pythons,” frontman John Paul Pitts says he and his fellow bandmates wanted to experiment with their sound. Their departure from Warner Brothers left the members free to create art on their own terms, but Pitts says the new sounds that were surfacing did not coagulate with the other songs on “Pythons.” They were consequently placed on hold until after its release.
Pitts says the band then revisited the new material, “fleshed it out” and molded their sonic experimentation into the 2015 release, “1000 Palms.” While this album was undeniably Surfer Blood, it was filled with indie pop overtones that were an obvious departure from the band’s previous releases. “Thinking about it today, it’s like the mushroom risotto of Surfer Blood albums,” Pitts said of “1000 Palms.” “A lot of skill and thought went into it. I think it’s really an impressive record, but it’s not what you want to eat every day.” Pitts admits he and his bandmates were quite satisfied with “1000 Palms.” However, he also admits he missed the band’s trademark indie rock. As the band toured, he began penning songs that would become the band’s upcoming release, “Snowdonia.” Though Surfer Blood’s new material marks a return to its groundwork in indie rock, fans are already expecting the unexpected — largely due to the absence of the late Thomas Fekete’s guitar and creative influence. In 2015, Fekete was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that cut his life short the next year. When Fekete revealed his tragic diagnosis to Pitts, the band was preparing for a world tour in support of “1000 Palms.” Fortunately, high school friend Mike McCleary volunteered to fill Fekete’s spot on the road. “He learned the songs in the back of the van on the way to SXSW,” Pitts said. “We didn’t know how it was going to go, but we were going to fulfill our commitments. We were freaking out on the inside. It was tough at first. We have definitely fallen into our own now.” During both touring and composing the songs for “Snowdonia,” Pitts not only missed Fekete’s guitar, but also Fekete’s influence on his own writing process. Pitts says Fekete and former bassist Kevin Williams were sources of input for his song ideas. With both absent, he was left to compose songs on his own. But Fekete’s creative spirit lived on. As he wrote the tracks for “Snowdonia,” Pitts would consider what Fekete’s opinion of a song might have been. Even though he succeeded in compiling eight songs for “Snowdonia,” Pitts says this process was
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new and sometimes difficult, both creatively and emotionally. “It felt like a different band at first,” Pitts said. “That was really heartbreaking for me to lose someone who I could bounce things off on the stage, someone to help me finish my songs and someone to show me new bands. That’s someone that Tom has always been for me. To learn to do without that was really difficult for that 2015 year.” Songwriting was not the only task Pitts took on by himself. The frontman decided he would also be solely responsible for engineering the album, marking the first time he wrote, recorded and engineered an album since “Astro Coast.” He is the first to
tains a classic indie sound forged in the fires of alt. rock when it was still alternative. “Six Flags in F or G” could be considered one of the album’s most interesting tracks. Described by Pitts as a “dark polka,” this rollicking anthem begins in a world of surf rock riddled with reverberated vocal work. A little over two minutes in, the track trades intensity for rock ‘n’ roll serenity. This single track began as two songs, which explains its abrupt change in style and attitude. “I wanted to marry that idea, that was something so rigid, with the next part that was really loose,” Pitts said. “I was listening to The Breeders a lot when I was writing that part. I wanted to take those two
That was really heartbreaking for me to lose someone who I could bounce things off on the stage, someone to help me finish my songs and someone to show me new bands … To learn to do without that was really difficult for that 2015 year.
say he used “trial and error” during the creation of “Astro Coast.” Since then, Pitts says, Surfer Blood has had the opportunity to record with many great producers and engineers. This experience gave him the knowledge to both produce and engineer “Snowdonia” with confidence. “I feel like I’m becoming a better producer than I used to be and a better engineer,” he said. “This album is so personal to me. With me writing everything again alone and having so much control over every step of the process, it just seemed right to try exploring other options.” Fans who have followed Surfer Blood from the beginning will be pleased with the overall sound of “Snowdonia.” From start to finish, this album main-
aesthetics and make it one song. They weren’t working as individual songs. I’ve always been a fan of the false ending.” With “Snowdonia” going public on Feb. 3, Surfer Blood’s audience at The Merry Widow is sure to sample the new material in addition to past favorites. Ultimately, Pitts says, he’s very proud of this “proper full-length,” which clocks in at 42 minutes. He hopes Surfer Blood fans will appreciate the album’s flow, as well as its various dynamics. Listeners shouldn’t expect what Pitts describes as “the verse/chorus tied up in a package.” “I’m really, really proud of the movement on this record,” Pitts said. “I think it’s great to listen to as an entire piece of music. I hope people give it a chance. I think they’ll be rewarded when they try it.”
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Blue-eyed soul
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
BOZ SCAGGS SATURDAY, JAN. 28, WITH DOORS AT 6:30 P.M. HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO, 777 BEACH BLVD. (BILOXI), WWW.HRHCBILOXI.COM TICKETS: $19-$79, AVAILABLE THROUGH TICKETMASTER
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Photo | Facebook | Boz Scaggs
B
oz Scaggs first made his presence known in the ‘60s as a member of the Steve Miller Band. After two albums with Miller, he began establishing his own musical legacy as a blue-eyed soul icon. Charting high on Billboard’s U.S. R&B chart, Scaggs’
1976 release “Silk Degrees” served as his breakout album. The smooth soul groove of “Lowdown” and the rocking rhythm of “Lido Shuffle” earned him diverse legions of followers. In the years that followed, Scaggs expanded his audience with a continuous flow of new material. His latest release, 2015’s “A Fool to Care,” is one of
Scaggs’ most interesting albums. It begins with several shots of swamp pop with “Hell to Pay,” featuring Bonnie Raitt. “Last Tango on 16th Street” slips into a world of exotic jazz. “There’s a Storm A Comin’” is a beautiful country anthem straight out of the ‘50s. Overall, “A Fool to Care” could be considered Scaggs’ testament to his love of music.
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MUSIC BRIEFS
Diva at the Rodeo
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
BAND: JULIE ROBERTS DATE: FRIDAY, JAN. 27, AT 9 P.M. VENUE: MIDNIGHT RODEO, 7790 TANNER ROAD, 251-639-2222 TICKETS: $8 GENERAL/$35 VIP, AVAILABLE THROUGH TICKETFLY
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idnight Rodeo has become one of the Azalea City’s hottest venues for catching modern country superstars. Julie Roberts will be the next country artist to grace this West Mobile honky-tonk’s stage. Roberts got her big break while working for the Mercury Nashville label. Her 2004 selftitled debut on Mercury Nashville broke into the top 10 on Billboard’s U.S. Country chart and earned gold status. In the years that followed, Roberts’ fans watched as she earned ACM, CMA and CMT nominations and performed on “The Tonight Show” and “Good Morning
Photo | Facebook | Julie Roberts
America” — which even used her song “Good to Go” as its theme for two years. Four years have passed since Roberts’ last album, “Good Wine & Bad Decisions”, but fans can expect new releases from this country diva in the near future. She recently joined forces with Shooter Jennings and his “multi-format recording company” Black Country Rock. Her first offering since connecting with Jennings is a Danny Dawson song called “Why Can’t I Have You?” For this single, Roberts lays smooth vocal work on a bed of country twang. This track serves as a harbinger for her next release, which is coming in “early 2017.”
Electric wail
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
BAND: SKYLA BURRELL BLUES BAND DATE: SATURDAY, JAN. 28, AT 9 P.M. VENUE: THE BLUES TAVERN, 2818 GOVERNMENT BLVD., WWW.BLUESTAVERN.COM TICKETS: FREE
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obile’s only blues room is bringing back the guitar-infused sounds of Skyla Burrell. For more than a decade, this West Coast native has entertained crowds with her immaculate guitar style and electrifying blues. While Burrell’s studio recordings are impressive, her live show is her greatest weapon, with a delivery that is energetic and unforgettable. When they take the stage, Burrell and her band seize the opportunity to stretch out into fantastic blues jams. The group’s past
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shows at The Blues Tavern have made many instant fans. Burrell will be showing the Azalea City crowd her “Blues Scars,” the title of her latest release on the VizzTone Label. The album takes listeners on a journey through the world of blues. From rhythmic shuffles to funky grooves, “Blues Scars” caters to blues enthusiasts with a lineup of versatile cuts invigorated by a thin common thread of rock. Burrell’s guitar work sparkles brightly through the album, each track filled with her strings’ electric wail.
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AREAMUSIC LISTINGS | January 26 - February 1
THUR. JAN 26
Bluegill— Tim Kinsey Blues Tavern— Chris Gamble w Rock Bottom Blues, 8:30p Callaghan’s— Lee Yankie Celtic Irish Pub— Jamie Hyatt Cockeyed Charlie’s— JJ Felix’s— Grits N Pieces Flora Bama— Gove Scrivenor, 1p// Dueling Pianos, 4:30p/// Mark Sherrill, Chris Newbury, John Joiner & Mel Knapp, 5p//// Kyle Wilson, 9:15p Listening Room— Lauren Murphy and the Psychedelics Manci’s— Karl Langley and Brandon White McSharry’s— Rock Bottom, 7:30p Wind Creek Casino— Triggerproof, 8p
FRI. JAN 27
All Sports Bar & Billiards— DJ Markie Mark, 10p Big Beach Brewing— Crackerjack Diamonds, 6p Bluegill— Less Hall, 12p// Jeri, 6p Blues Tavern— Cosmic Bullet, 9p Cockeyed Charlie’s— Journey 2 Mars, 10p Crooked Martini— Yeah Probably, 8:30p Felix’s— Brandon Bailey & Pierce Parker Flora Bama— Jay Hawkins Duo, 2p// Lucky Doggs, 5:30p/// Alabama Lighting, 6p//// Rhythm Intervention, 10p//// Logan Spicer & Tony Ray Thompson, 10:15p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Supercharger, 9p IP Casino— Clay Walker, 8p Listening Room— Jimmy Lumpkin and the Revival Main Street Cigar Lounge— Eric Erdman, 8p Manci’s— Light Travelers McSharry’s— DJ Chi, 10p The Merry Widow—
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Big Deal Burlesque ft. Roxie Le Rouge, 9p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — Charlie Wilson Band Moe’s BBQ (Foley) — lefty Collins , 6p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Glass Joe, 6:30p O’Daly’s— Gene Murrell, Tony Edwards and David White, 10p Soul Kitchen— Trapezoid Ent: Eclectic Vibes, 10p Wind Creek Casino— Triggerproof, 9p
SAT. JAN 28
Alchemy— ATragicVictory reunion show w/Son of a Gun, 9p Big Beach Brewing— Broken Down Car, 6p Bluegill— Brandon Bailey, 12p// Al & Cathy, 6p Blues Tavern— Skyla Burrell, 9p Callaghan’s— Senior Bowl Party with Daddy Longlegs Cockeyed Charlie’s— DJ Chill, 10p Felix’s— Les Hall Duo Flora Bama— Big Muddy, 1p// LeaAnne Creswell, Darrel Roberts, 2p/// Jack Robertson Show, 5:30p//// Jezebel’s Chill’n, 6p//// Kyle Wilson Band, 10p//// Brain Hill Duo, 10:15p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Supercharger, 9p Hard Rock (Live) — Boz Scaggs, 8p IP Casino— Tommy James and the Shondells, 8p Listening Room— Danika Holmes ft. Jeb Hart Manci’s— Stephen Sylvester McSharry’s— DJ Boom, 10p The Merry Widow— Super Blood, 9p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Brittany Grimes, 6:30p Saenger— Winter Romance Soul Kitchen— Frank Foster, Lainey Wilson, Hannah McFarland, 8:15p Wind Creek Casino— Triggerproof, 9p
SUN. JAN 29
Alchemy— Brunch with a Cause, 3p Bluegill— Lee Yankie, 12p// Josh and Ross, 6p Blues Tavern— Dr. Bob, 6p Callaghan’s— Edward David Anderson Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— Jason Justice, 12:30p// Perdido Brothers, 4p/// Mario Mena Duo, 8:30p Frog Pond— Billy McLaughlin and Roman Street, 2p IP Casino— Asian Show, 9p Listening Room— Brent Loper Manci’s— The Krickets McSharry’s— Traditional Irish Music, 6:30p Saenger— Winter Romance
MON. JAN 30
Felix’s— Lee Yankie Flora Bama— Founders and Friends, 12p// Cathy Pace, 4p/// Petty and Pace, 7p
TUE. JAN 31
Blind Mule— David Chastang Blues Tavern— Dr. Bob, 6p Cockeyed Charlie’s— Jordan Bramblett The Cove (GS)— Ron, Bert & Marvin Felix’s— Tim Kinsey Flora Bama— T-Bone Montgomery, 3p// Rick Whaley and John Cook, 7p The Spot (OBA) — Brent Burns, 5p Listening Room— Davis Coen Lulu’s— Ronnie Presley, 5p
WED. FEB 1
Bluegill— Les Hall Boudreaux’s Cajun Grill— Ryan Balthrop, 6p The Cove (GS)— Ron, Bert & Marvin Felix’s— Bust Duo Lulu’s— Jon Cowart, 5p
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FILMTHE REEL WORLD Emily Blunt makes ‘The Girl on the Train’ enjoyable
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BY ASIA FREY/FILM CRITIC/AFREY@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
AREA THEATERS CARMIKE CINEMA’S Wynnsong 16 785 Schillinger Rd. S. (251) 639-7373 CRESCENT THEATER 208 Dauphin Street (251) 438-2005 HOLLYWOOD STADIUM 18 1250 Satchel Paige Dr. (251) 473-9655
o say that “The Girl on the Train” is better than “Gone Girl” doesn’t say much, because the movie adaptation of “Gone Girl” was simply ridiculous. “The Girl on the Train” is not simply ridiculous; it’s slightly ridiculous, but it also has Emily Blunt in it, and she is so good that we stay with her through the film’s cheesiest and most obvious moments. Plus, Allison Janney shows up to rake everyone over the coals, and that improves any film. Like that other dark, sexy thriller that calls a woman a girl, this movie leads us down several twisty roads in the hands of a series of unreliable narrators. Rachel (Blunt) rides a commuter train into Manhattan every day, and is obsessed with a pretty stranger and her seemingly perfect life as it flashes by. We learn that the stranger doesn’t just live in an undeniably fabulous house; it’s two doors down from Rachel’s old house, where her ex-husband now lives
with his new wife, for whom he left Rachel. She can’t stop staring at the block and the life from which she was evicted. Rachel is a particularly unreliable narrator because, ever since she and her husband failed to conceive and her marriage hit the skids, she has been a blackout drunk. So when her obsessive staring at the unknown woman, whose name is Megan, leads her to witness the woman kissing another man, and when that woman subsequently goes missing, unanswerable questions arise. This is a well-made melodrama that would have been unwatchable if not for Emily Blunt. It also would have been a lot better if someone more memorable had played the role of Megan. She becomes the pin that ties all the characters together, but actress Haley Bennett is a sexy cipher in what should be an important role. Many of the film’s characters carry out many of the film’s key actions in the name of sex, more often than not in pursuit of having it with Megan. While
sexuality can certainly be a nuanced, vital element of a character, it’s pretty straightforward and not terribly interesting in “The Girl on the Train.” And as the object of desire, Bennett barely registers beyond a taut physique. If you haven’t read the book and don’t know all the plot twists, “The Girl on the Train” is an exciting, watchable excursion into a world of booze, murder and gaslighting, and at least it has a female lead. It also has the most sinister discussion of breastfeeding I have ever seen, and, as two of the women discussed the benefits of working motherhood versus staying at home, we veered into a trenchant if brief debate of interesting issues. Soon, however, most of the characters resumed copulating in the shower, further driving home the not undesirable resemblances to “Fatal Attraction.” It’s not as good as that, mind you, but Emily Blunt brings some brains along for the ride. “The Girl on the Train” is currently available to rent.
RAVE MOTION PICTURE JUBILEE SQUARE 12 6898 U.S. 90 Daphne, (251) 626- 6266 CARMIKE CINEMAS 23151 Wharf Ln. Orange Beach (251) 981-4444 COBB THEATRES PINNACLE 14 3780 Gulf Shores Pkwy Gulf Shores (251) 968-7444 EASTERN SHORE PREMIERE CINEMA 14 30500 Alabama 181 #500 Spanish Fort, Al (251) 626-0352 Information accurate at press time; please call theaters for showtimes.
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Photos | Universal Studios / The Weinstein Company
FROM LEFT: Emily Blunt plays a divorcee who becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life. “The Founder” tells the true story of the McDonald’s Corp. NEW IN THEATERS THE FOUNDER
The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc is impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and sees franchise potential. He soon maneuvers himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a multi-billion-dollar empire. Carmike Wynnsong 16, Carmike Jubilee Square 12, Carmike Wharf 15, Cobb Pinnacle 14
RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now she must return to where the nightmare began. Regal Mobile Stadium 18
A DOG’S PURPOSE
The soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. Allegations of animal cruelty have surfaced against this film. Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema
Eastern Shore PASSENGERS NOW PLAYING Premiere Cinema, Regal All listed multiplex
SPLIT All listed multiplex theaters. LA LA LAND Crescent Theater, Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema 14, Cobb Pinnacle 14, Carmike Wharf 15, Carmike Wynnsong 16 MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Carmike Wharf XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE All listed multiplex theaters. JACKIE Carmike Wynnsong, Cobb Pinnacle 14, Carmike Wharf 15 LION Carmike Wynnsong 16, Cobb Pinnacle 14 PATRIOTS DAY All listed multiplex theaters. LIVE BY NIGHT
Mobile Stadium 18 SLEEPLESS All listed multiplex theaters. HIDDEN FIGURES All listed multiplex theaters. MONSTER TRUCKS All listed multiplex theaters. THE BYE BYE MAN All listed multiplex theaters. A MONSTER CALLS Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema, Regal Mobile Cinema 18, Cobb Pinnacle 14, Carmike Wharf UNDERWOOD: BLOOD WARS All listed multiplex theaters. FENCES Regal Mobile Stadium 18, Cobb Pinnacle 14, Carmike Wharf 15, Carmike Wynnsong 16
theaters. ASSASSIN’S CREED All listed multiplex theaters. SING All listed multiplex theaters. WHY HIM All listed multiplex theaters. ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY All listed multiplex theaters. MOANA All listed multiplex theaters. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM All listed multiplex theaters. TROLLS Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS JANUARY 26, 2017 - FEBRUARY 1, 2017
GENERAL INTEREST Out of the Gutter Dr. Esther Katz will discuss Margaret Sanger’s opening of the first birth control clinic in the U.S. 100 years ago in Brownsville, New York. Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. at Marx Library Auditorium, University of South Alabama. Call 251-415-1109. Mobile Project Homeless Connect A range of free services will be offered to Mobile’s homeless onsite at The Grounds this Friday, Jan. 27, from 8 a.m. until noon. WAVE Transit buses will provide free rides to and from the connecting shuttle to The Grounds. To volunteer for this event, call 251-445-8016. Senior Bowl Meet the Players event The Coca-Cola Meet the Players event is Friday, Jan. 27, from 3:30-6 p.m. at the Mobile Convention Center and free to the public. Please visit www.seniorbowl.com for more information. Senior Bowl The 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl is scheduled to kick off Saturday, Jan. 28, in Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 1:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, call 888-736-2695 or 251-432-4109, or online at www. seniorbowl.com. Krewe de la Dauphine This colorful and expansive parade of floats, marching bands, vintage cars and more will travel west along Bienville Boulevard, from Dauphin Island Sea Lab to the condos, on Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning at 1 p.m. A Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier Experience a day in the life of a Civil War soldier on Saturday, Jan. 28, at historic Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island. There will be cannon and rifle firings, drill and blacksmith demonstrations, open-hearth cooking and more throughout the day. Call 251-8616992. Pottery Barn Grand Opening To celebrate its grand opening at Legacy Village, Pottery Barn will
be hosting a series of events at its new store Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 27, at 9 a.m.; Saturday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 29, at 1 p.m. Nix Center 5th annual Volunteer Fair The James P. Nix Center will host its 5th annual Volunteer Fair on Monday, Jan. 30, from 1-3 p.m. in the Nix Center Ballroom. The fair will feature organizations in the Baldwin County area that are seeking volunteers. Call 251928-2835. Winter Wednesday at Bellingrath Bellingrath’s Winter Wednesday sessions are held each week through Feb. 22 in the Magnolia Room. “Growing Vegetables” with Bill Finch takes place Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 10:30 a.m. Call 251973-2217, ext. 111, to register or via email, bellingrath@bellingrath. org. 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 Do you want to learn how to deliver a speech like a pro or gain leadership skills to advance your career? Toastmasters International meets regularly at six locations in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Visit www.toastmasters. org for more information.
FUNDRAISER The Charity Chase Run to win money for your favorite charity on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 a.m. University of South Alabama intramural fields. Visit thecharitychase.com.
ARTS Arty Awards The Mobile Arts Council
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awards achievement in 11 categories. Hors d’oeuvres, drinks, entertainment. Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Friday, Jan. 27, 7-10 p.m. $30 www. brownpapertickets.com.
Jan. 29, at the Joe Jefferson Playhouse, 11 S. Carlen St. Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 251-471-1534 or visit www. joejeffersonplayers.com.
Mobile Symphony The Mobile Symphony Orchestra presents “Winter Romance.” Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2:30 p.m. Saenger Theater. mobilesymphony.org.
Last Friday Art Night Dauphin Island Art Gallery is where it’s happening on the Island on the last Friday of each month. Last Friday Art Night features local art and history, food, beverages, music and socializing. Dauphin Island Art Gallery is located at 918 Bienville Blvd. For more information call 251-861-3300.
Cathedral Pop: Sacred Favorites In Christ Church’s third annual Cathedral Pops concert, hear Cathedral musicians perform sacred favorites, both old and new. Sunday, Jan. 29, 4 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 115 S. Conception St. “A Ghostly Soiree” You are invited to share some spirits with the spirits of the Swift-Coles Historic Home for “A Ghostly Soiree” on Friday, Jan. 27, and Friday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. both days. Tickets include a buffet and beverages. Visit sbct. biz. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” opens “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is about the dynamics of a dysfunctional, wealthy Southern family as they gather to celebrate their aging patriarch’s birthday. The show runs Jan. 27 through Feb. 12. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Order tickets online at mobiletheatreguild.org. Opening weekend of “Ripcord” This hilarious new play opens Friday, Jan. 27, and runs until Feb. 12. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2:30 p.m. For tickets, visit thearte98.org. Auditions for “The Music Man” Chickasaw Civic Theatre will hold auditions for “The Music Man” Sunday and Monday, Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, at 6:30 p.m. at 801 Iroquois St. in Chickasaw. More information is available at cctshows.com and the Chickasaw Civic Theatre Facebook page. “Chapter Two” Performances through Sunday,
MUSEUMS “Cirque du Mardi Gras” Join Alabama Contemporary Art Center for “Cirque du Mardi Gras,” a one-of-a-kind cirque experience for all ages. Performances run Feb. 1-14. For tickets, visit venardoscircus.com. Built to Last Join Mobile Museum of Art and Scott Wetter as he shares the nuanced secrets of early American furniture making on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. at MMoA. Call 251-208-5200. Fairhope’s Founding There is quite a story behind Fairhope’s founding in 1894. Learn more about it 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. Tea for Two Tuesday afternoons at 2 p.m. the Fairhope Museum of History hosts a tea with a lecture on Fairhope history. The Jan. 31 speaker will be Tod Jonson. Call 251-929-1471. Little Discoveries Outside the Box: This “Little Discovery” in the Exploreum’s Wharf of Wonder, aimed at children 6 and under, explores how innovation and creativity can lead to a world of possibilities starting with a simple cardboard box. Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Call 251-208-6893 or email jholland@ exploreum.com.
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 251-2085200.
SPORTING EVENTS/ ACTIVITIES Bridge lessons The Mobile Bridge Center offers free bridge lessons each Tuesday beginning 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. New Year’s Resolution exercise classes Palmer Pillans Middle School has new exercise classes: yoga, Guts, Butts & Thighs, Guns & Buns, Ab Attack and Yoga Tone. Call 251-463-7980 or visit communityactivitiesprogram.com. Dance classes Palmer Pillans Middle School offers new dance classes: Beginning Ballroom, Beyond Basic Ballroom, Dance Fit Line Dance, and beginner and intermediate Belly Dancing. Call 251-463-7980 or visit communityactivitiesprogram.com. Holy yoga Tamara William leads lunchtime holy yoga at The Steeple on St. Francis every Wednesday. Cost is $15. Participants will connect with Christ in mind, body and spirit. Call 251-656-3269. Ballroom dance Azalea Ballroom Dance Club hosts dances with live music the second and fourth Tuesday of every month; 7-9:30 p.m. at Via! Health, Fitness & Enrichment Center, 1717 Dauphin St. Email cyoungblood9278@gmail.com, call 251-623-9183 or visit www. azaleaballroomdanceclub.com. Ballroom dance The Moonlight Chasse Ballroom Dance Society hosts dances the first and third Monday of every month, 7-9:30 p.m., at Fitzpen Place, 11247 State Highway 31 in Spanish Fort. Email cassief13@ aol.com.
2017 MARDI GRAS SCHEDULE SATURDAY, JANUARY 28
• 1 p.m. - Krewe de la Dauphine (Dauphin Island)
(St. Ignatius Catholic School) • 6:30 p.m. - Mystic Stripers Society (Mobile, Route A)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
• 6:30 p.m. - Conde Cavaliers (Mobile, Route A)
• 6:30 p.m. - Crewe of Columbus (Mobile, Route A) • 6:30 p.m. - Mystical Order of Mirams (Orange Beach) • 6:45 p.m. - Maids of Jubilee (Fairhope)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25
• 1 p.m. - Town of Dauphin Island Parade (Dauphin Island)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10
• 2 p.m. - Krewe of Riviere du Chien <kids> (St. Andrews Loop) • 2 p.m. - Order of the Rolling River (DIP) • 2:30 p.m. - Bayport Parading Society, Mystic DJ Riders (Mobile, Route A) • 6:30 p.m. - Pharaohs, Order of Hebe, Conde Explorers (Mobile, Route A)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
• 2 p.m. - Krewe de la Kids of Heron Lakes <kids> (Heron Lakes Circle)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
• 12:30 p.m. - Mystics of Ashland Place <kids> (Lanier Avenue)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16
• 6:30 p.m. - Order of Polka Dots (Mobile, Route A)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
• 6:30 p.m. - Order of Inca (Mobile, Route A) • 6:45 p.m. - Apollo’s Mystic Ladies (Daphne)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18
• 10 a.m. - Hickory Ridge Kids Krewe <kids> (Timberly Circle) • 2 p.m. - Mobile Mystics, Mobile Mystical Revelers, Mobile Mystical Friends (Mobile, Route A) • 6:30 p.m. - Maids of Mirth, Butterfly Maidens, Krewe of Marry Mates (Mobile, Route A) • 6:45 p.m. - Knights of Ecor Rouge (Fairhope)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19
• 2 p.m. - Mystics of Children <kids> (Rosswood Drive) • 6:30 p.m. - Neptune’s Daughters, OOI (Mobile, Route A)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 (PRESIDENTS DAY)
• 6:30 p.m. - Order of Venus, Order of Many Faces (Mobile, Route A)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
• 6:30 p.m. - Order of LaShe’s (Mobile, Route A)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
• 10 a.m. - Order of Impalas <kids>
• 11 a.m. - Foley parade (Foley) • 11 a.m. - Krewe of Kids <kids>, Krewe of Goats, Prichard Carnival Association (Krewe of Goats Prichard route) • Noon - Floral Parade, Knights of Mobile, Mobile Mystical Ladies, Order of Angels (Mobile, Route A) • Noon - Mystic Revelers (Bay Minette) • 2 p.m. - Krewe of Mullet Mates (Mullet Point) • 5:30 p.m. - Mystics of Pleasure (Orange Beach) • 6 p.m. - Mystics of Time (Mobile, Route A) • 6:45 p.m. - Shadow Barons (Daphne)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 (JOE CAIN DAY AND OSCARS)
• 2 p.m. - King Elexis I Motorcade (Mobile, Route E) • 2:30 p.m. - Loyal Order of the Firetruck (Daphne) • 2:30 p.m. - Joe Cain Procession (Mobile, Route A) • 5 p.m. - Le Krewe de Bienville (Mobile, Route A)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27 (LUNDI GRAS)
• Noon - King Felix III, Floral parade (Mobile, Route A) • 1 p.m. - Prichard Mardi Gras Association Parade (Prichard) • 3 p.m. - MLK Business and Civic Organization, MLK Monday Mystics, Northside Merchants (Mobile, Route D) • 6:45 p.m. - Order of Mystic Magnolias (Fairhope) • 7 p.m. - Infant Mystics, Order of Doves (Mobile, Route F)
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 (FAT TUESDAY)
• 10 a.m. - Gulf Shores Parade (Gulf Shores) • 10:30 a.m. - Order of Athena (Mobile, Route A) • 12:30 p.m. - Knights of Revelry, King Felix III, Comic Cowboys (Mobile, Route A) • 2 p.m. - Orange Beach Parade (Orange Beach) • 2 p.m. - MAMGA Mammoth Parade (Mobile, Route B) • 6 p.m. - Order of Myths (Mobile, Route C)
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SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Senior Bowl continues to be launching pad for next NFL stars BY J. MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY
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Photo | Reese’s Senior Bowl
ven with the growing presence of the NFL championship in 2011. Although the Crimson Tide lost Scouting Combine and the numerous college pro the national title game, he had a tremendous night against days, the impact of an appearance in the Senior Clemson with 7 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack and Bowl remains impressive. Of the 110 players in 2 fumble recoveries. For the season, he had 16.5 tackles last year’s game, 87 were drafted while 15 more signed for loss, second in the SEC. free agent contracts. “He put together a really positive season,” Savage said This might well be the case again on Saturday when of Anderson. “He had several big plays during Alabama’s the 68th annual all-star game is played at Ladd-Peebles playoff run.” Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Savage mentioned several other players he’s eager to “This is the ultimate job fair for college football playsee at practice: ers,” Executive Director Phil Savage told local media. • Donnel Pumphrey of San Diego State — “Al“You compete against the best on the field, and then you though he is just 5-[foot]-9 and 180, he plays big,” meet with the scouts off the field. Savage said. Pumphrey became the all-time FBS rushing “You really don’t know what impact one simple leader this year with 6,405 yards and led the nation with discussion can have on your future. In four years, that 2,133 yards rushing. scout might be a head coach or general manager who will • O.J. Howard of Alabama — Savage said Howard remember your talk back at the Senior Bowl.” could be the first tight end taken in the draft. “He has the Savage and his staff study college athletes throughout the size [6-foot-6, 250 pounds] and the versatility to play United States in preparing the rosters several positions.” each year. While many participants • Forrest Lamp of Western come from the Power 5 conferences, Kentucky — “He is athletic enough stars from lesser-known programs to play either offensive tackle or ofcan also earn admission. fensive guard.” THE COACHING STAFFS “I love going to the small schools • Montravius Adams of Auburn and finding that one guy who can — As a senior defensive tackle, he FROM CLEVELAND AND compete with an SEC player,” was second-team All-American. “He CHICAGO HAVE BEEN SESavage said. “This gives everyone can really elevate his draft stock with a chance to go one-on-one with a a good week,” Savage said. LECTED TO WORK THE SEcoach and then sell their story.” • Zay Jones of Louisiana Tech — Last year, Carson Wentz was “He had something like 158 catches NIOR BOWL. THE BROWNS known only as the quarterback of this year, which led all FBS wide WILL OVERSEE THE SOUTH powerhouse North Dakota State receivers.” University. Following an impressive • Cooper Kupp of Eastern SQUAD AND THE BEARS week in Mobile, he was the second Washington — “He is the all-time player drafted and ended up as the NCAA leader in receptions, yards THE NORTH TEAM. starter in Philadelphia. and touchdowns. I saw him at the “Your college career has come Manning Passing Academy, and he is to an end, and the pro game is so something special.” The grandson of different,” Savage said. “The Senior Bowl is the first step New Orleans Saints Hall of Famer Jake Kupp, he was the for many to reach the next level. You just have to go out 2015 Walter Payton Award winner (the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy). and prove yourself.” • Connor Harris of Lindenwood — The linebacker at the small Missouri school is the NCAA’s all-time leader, Who to watch One such player hoping to make a statement on the South with 635 tackles, and the Cliff Harris Award winner for National Small College Defensive Player of the Year. roster is Antonio Pipken from Tiffin University. He is the third quarterback in NCAA Division II history to gain 2,000 yards rushing and 10,000 yards passing in a career. Senior Bowl notes “He could be the next one-in-a-million player,” Savage • The coaching staffs from Cleveland and Chicago have said. “He is a great athlete who also played basketball in been selected to work the Senior Bowl. The Browns will college. A player like Antonio has a lot to gain here.” oversee the South squad and the Bears the North team. The game will be a homecoming for Alabama line“Both teams are picking very high in the NFL Draft,” backer Ryan Anderson, who helped Daphne to a state Savage said. “They will be at the top of each round. Being
ALABAMA LINEBACKER RYAN ANDERSON, OF DAPHNE, HAD 16.5 TACKLES FOR LOSS THIS SEASON, SECOND IN THE SEC. here gives them an excellent chance to judge the players.” • All practices will be held at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the afternoons and broadcast by ESPNU and NFL Network. “Having all the practices in the afternoons makes it much more accommodating for the fans,” Savage said. • The Senior Bowl has entered a multi-year agreement with Adidas to supply game uniforms and footwear. “We are very excited about the quality of the product,” Savage said. “Adidas is making inroads with the NFL, and this gives them a chance to show off their products to future NFL stars.” • A new public-safety bag policy has gone into effect for fans. Bags carried into the stadium must be: clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and not exceed 12x12x6 inches; 1-gallon clear plastic freezer bags; or small clutch bags that do not exceed 4.5x6.5x2 inches (these may be carried along with one of the clear bag options). • The Coca-Cola Meet the Players event is Friday, 3:30-6 p.m., at the Mobile Convention Center. Fans will get to interact with the players while getting autographs and pictures. • The Reese’s Senior Bowl Experience will be Friday, 3-6 p.m., at the Mobile Convention Center, where fans can enjoy several interactive displays and special activities. • The Food for Less Tailgate Party will be Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the East parking lot of Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Passes are limited to the first 3,500 fans to purchase a sideline seat to the game. • Baumhower’s Tailgate Challenge will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon on game day. In this competition, which began in 2004, participants are judged on their combination of food, originality and presentation. The winner will be recognized during the first half. • Tickets are on sale at the Senior Bowl offices at 151 Dauphin Street, by phone at 251-432-4109 or online at www.SeniorBowl.com. “The tickets are $30, $20 and $10,” Savage said. “This is the best bargain in football. During the season people were talking about all the pro prospects when Alabama and LSU played, but no game will have as many NFL players as the Senior Bowl.”
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MEDIA MEDIA FRENZY
Foster promoted to morning anchor at Local 15 BY ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE GRAMMAR LESSON BY JOEL FAGLIANO / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ ACROSS 1 Kind of kick 8 Product of evaporation 15 Apple product 20 Keep in 21 Brunch-menu heading 22 Parts of college courses 23 Sources of stress for many modern workers 24 Utopia? 26 Part of the Dept. of Transportation 27 Channel buildup 29 Packers’ grp.? 30 Old tabloid fodder 31 Piece still under consideration for a magazine? 37 Org. concerned with water quality 40 Balsa or balsam 41 Budgetary excess 42 Signal meaning “no disease on this ship” 44 Hurt sharply 46 Workers in some labs, informally 48 Interminable task 49 “____ Must Die” (Claude McKay poem) 50 “Village” newspaper that’s namby-pamby? 53 Bull’s urging 54 Fashion guru Tim 55 Behave 56 ____ of reality 57 Admitted (to) 59 Jacket material 60 Percolate 62 The “kid” in “Here’s looking at you, kid” 64 Kia model 65 Common flower that’s poisonous to eat 66 Santa’s nieces and nephews? 71 Indiana Jones trademark 74 ____ department 75 Uber-owned company that makes self-driving trucks 76 Agreement 80 Result of a year-end review, maybe 81 “That so?” 84 Also-ran for the golden apple, in myth 86 “I don’t reckon” 87 Home to Weber State University 88 Obama’s signature health law, for short 89 Like shoppers worrying about getting the right gift? 92 ____ pad 93 Top 95 Scheduled to arrive 96 Like kitsch 97 Fleet for many a commuter airline 100 Doctor’s orders, for short
101 Japanese soup 102 Specimen, for example: Abbr. 103 Jailhouse? 108 Prohibitionists 110 Craggy peak 111 Several CBS dramas 112 Short, for short 113 The Prada that one really wants? 118 Part of a postal address for a G.M. plant 121 Thomas of the N.B.A. 122 ____ Aquino, Time’s Woman of the Year in 1986 123 With 113-Down, product of flax 124 Miners’ aids 125 Women’s fashion magazine 126 Warning before lunging DOWN 1 Genre for TV’s “Stranger Things” 2 First name in late-night 3 Unseemly 4 W. Coast air hub 5 When tripled, symbol of evil 6 Toddler garment 7 Amber, e.g. 8 Hand-held dish that doesn’t crunch 9 Outback animal 10 Blue Cross competitor 11 Muddy mixture 12 Makes fizzy 13 Network standard for
smartphones, for short 14 Recipe abbr. 15 Time to go home 16 Skinny 17 Truck driver? 18 And so on: Abbr. 19 Alphabet string 25 Panegyric 28 Boater’s wear 32 Is off 33 Foul-smelling 34 Set of principles 35 “Will ya look at that!” 36 Kind of computing 38 Foe of the Cheyenne 39 Something set in a meeting 43 Insect that spends its larval stage inside a fruit 44 Hot tubs 45 Knight club 46 Car company that owns SolarCity 47 Golfer’s need 51 “There it is!” 52 Grand 58 Source for “Book of the Marvels of the World,” circa 1300 59 Chinese philosopher Mo-____ 61 Part of a club selling clubs 63 Well ventilated 65 After ____ (to some extent) 67 ’Fore 68 HBO political satire 69 Non-prophet group? 70 Sch. in Knoxville 71 Dowdies
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72 Cafe 73 Nickname for a Gilded Age businessman with a penchant for jewelry 77 “In Trump We Trust” author, 2016 78 Distillery item 79 Not we 81 “That deep, blue, bottomless soul,” per Melville 82 Lacks 83 Part of un jour 85 Ghost story? 88 Most fit 90 Awkward time at family movie night 91 New York City’s ____ River 94 Almost falls 98 Amps, with “up” 99 Vehicle at a ski resort 101 Light cotton fabric 104 Wild 105 Long arm 106 Covered in frost 107 Pass over 109 Gather 113 See 123-Across 114 Troop grp. 115 Roll call response in une école 116 Wernher ____ Braun 117 Scale note 119 Dutch financial giant 120 Govt. org. that offers a monthly “Puzzle Periodical”
ANSWERS ON PAGE 48
he search to find a new co-host for “LOCAL 15 TODAY” ended where it began, with the station moving longtime meteorologist Kelly Foster into the position, filling the spot Kelly Jones left in September. The Kelly-for-Kelly swap came after a number of tryouts and interviews, but the search ended just before Christmas when station leadership decided they already had the right person on staff. “I’m thrilled to be the morning anchor at Local 15, my hometown market,” Foster said in a press release. “Having grown up just 30 minutes west of Mobile, I’m honored to bring the news to my family, friends and the community I love so much. Kelly Foster The Local 15 morning team truly make it a blast to come to work every day.” Foster grew up in Pascagoula. The change also means weekend meteorologist Jake Dunne has moved over to mornings and will be handling Foster’s former duties three days a week. She will continue to handle the weather two days a week. Foster will join veteran newsman and
anchor Darwin Singleton on the morning desk. “Darwin, Kelly and Jake are the perfect personalities to get your day started. Their collective experience, credibility and energy are a winning combination,” News Director Bob Noonan said. “LOCAL 15 TODAY” airs weekday mornings from 5-7 a.m.
Sealls selected president of National Weather Association
WKRG-TV Chief Meteorologist Alan Sealls was recently elected 2018 president of the National Weather Association, an affiliation of more than 2,500 meteorologists nationwide. The six-time Emmy Award winner was selected by his peers from a group of 12 candidates working throughout the United States. The NWA represents “operational meteorology,” so its membership is not limited to broadcasters. Sealls has been a member of the association more than 30 years. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in meteorology from Cornell and Florida State, respectively. In the past he has served as an NWA Seal panelist, chairman and councilor. Part of the NWA’s mission is teaching and promoting meteorology, and the group offers grants for teachers as well as scholarships for students. To that end, Sealls has produced more than 30 weather videos for schools that are distributed nationwide by Discovery Education. He also teaches weather broadcast each spring at the University of South Alabama.
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STYLE FEATURE
From Mobile to D.C. with ‘bellies full of fire’ BY MARIA LOMBARDI/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
O
n Friday, the 20th of January, a group of 53 women and men from Mobile, from young to old, hopped on a bus headed to Washington, D.C., arms loaded with protest signs and bellies full of fire. I was among that group, and excited to participate in the Women’s March. The reasons we each felt called upon to attend varied, but we shared a collective desire to mobilize and stand up for each other’s humanity. That energy of love and positivity radiated from the bus ride throughout the march, when our 53 voices suddenly became half a million to form a colossal chorus that miraculously managed to stay in tune. I spoke to a few of my fellow Mobilians on the bus to find out what brought us together on that day to make the long ride north. My seatmate, Heather Glass, 30, who works in Student Affairs at Spring Hill College, marched because she feels there is a “tipping point in the country, and also within myself, where, up until now, I didn’t really put in the work for everything that I believe in. You know, I feel this way, I vote this way, but I haven’t actually gotten down and dirty and done anything. I feel like this is the the jumping-off point for that. Now’s the time to put thoughts and words into action.” When asked about her goals relating to this experience, Glass said her objectives were to network, build the energy for coming back and gather information from grassroots organizations on how to actually get results
from elected officials. Glass is a registered Democrat. When asked if she thought more people should run as independents, she said she wasn’t sure. After some consideration, she said it could be beneficial because more voices could be represented. She also encouraged more minority involvement in politics. Glass says she herself has no desire to run for office because she doesn’t feel “informed enough,” but would love to see other women get more involved, which is a sentiment I would hear echoed throughout the trip. One of the younger women, Taylor Scott, 21 and a student at University of South Alabama, said, “I’m marching for equality. Equality for brown people, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, reproductive rights for women. I’m marching for equality all over. I just want it to be equal, for everyone to have a voice.” Her goal was simple: “I want to make sure our voices are heard.” When asked if she felt represented by our government, her answer was “Not really.” Should more women run for office? “Yes, I feel like we’re missing that.” But Scott said she does not want to run for office because she doesn’t feel qualified. April Livingston, a Mobile artist in her 30s, had a unique response to why she’s marching. “I’m marching for the ladies during World War II who were working and making the country run while the troops were away, doing the jobs no one thought they could do.” Livingston she she has no particular political affili-
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ation, and, if anything, considers herself a humanist, “like [author Kurt] Vonnegut.” She described two-party politics as an antiquated system and expressed a need for a reboot. During the march, Livingston dressed up as a Rosie the Riveter-style WWII-era working woman, complete with welder’s mask, gloves, coveralls and requisite face grit. Patrick Crabtree, a retired schoolteacher, was one of just three men on the bus, the other two being a father and his young son. Crabtree wanted to participate in this march because he believes that “one man’s oppression is another man’s, and being part of a minority in many ways, being gay and having crossed the color line dating [...] I see the subtleties of the institutional racism.” Furthermore, he continued, “being an educator, I’ve seen it in the classroom.” This march was not Crabtree’s first rodeo, as he has been activist for “a
THE REASONS WE EACH FELT CALLED UPON TO ATTEND VARIED, BUT WE SHARED A COLLECTIVE DESIRE TO MOBILIZE AND STAND UP FOR EACH OTHER’S HUMANITY. THAT ENERGY OF LOVE AND POSITIVITY RADIATED FROM THE BUS RIDE THROUGHOUT THE MARCH, WHEN OUR 53 VOICES SUDDENLY BECAME HALF A MILLION TO FORM A COLOSSAL CHORUS THAT MIRACULOUSLY MANAGED TO STAY IN TUNE. while.” He identifies as a Democrat, which he believes to be “the party of the common man.” Regardless of differences in identity and personal politics, it became clear that the march was a gigantic launch pad for many of us who had never been active for a cause before, along with those of us who had. We gathered together in great numbers to show solidarity and support for one another, to give each other the encouragement we need to keep us mobilized for our individual leaps forward. It seems to have worked, as many of us on the bus ride home excitedly asked each other, “OK, what’s next?”
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STYLE HOROSCOPES VIRGO’S BUSINESS PLAN NOSE-DIVES
ANSWERS FROM PAGE 44
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AQUARIUS (1/20-2/18) — You’ll host your own Senior Bowl this week when you recruit two teams of septuagenarians for an epic game of full-contact pigskin. But the game will be forfeited when a quarterback throws his back out and your linebacker breaks a hip. PISCES (2/19-3/20) — After weeks of failing to clean up after yourself, you’ll implement a two-drink minimum for those visiting your home in hopes that libations might distract from your unkemptness. Unfortunately, you’ll enforce the rule on yourself as well, which will do you no favors in the quest for tidiness. ARIES (3/21-4/19) — You’ll make the mistake of momentarily forgetting two of your dinner guests have extremely opposing views of America’s 45th president. After two hours of competing hyperbole, you’ll suggest that maybe one person can’t destroy or surpass 200 years of democratic tradition — a statement that somehow angers everyone. TAURUS (4/20-5/20) — Sadness will “Creep” in after you discover #alternativefacts isn’t a resurgence of ‘90s alt rock trivia. However, “In the Meantime” you’ll “Enjoy the Silence” and try not to let it turn you into a “Basket Case.” Despite feeling “All Mixed Up,” you’ll try to be the “Better Man.” GEMINI (5/21-6/21) — Despite an uptick in the number of muggings in the downtown area, you’ll forgo buying a concealed handgun in favor of a less lethal form of protection: fighting squirrels. The Bienville Square Nine, as they’ll be known, will keep you from being victimized any time soon. CANCER (6/22-7/22) —You’ll open the world headquarters of the Lucasite church. The new religion will be based on George Lucas’ Star Wars films, as if they actually happened in the past. You’ll end each prayer with “May the Force be with you.” LEO (7/23-8/23) — You’ll take Carnival a little too seriously when you vow to only eat meat until Fat Tuesday. Ambitious as it may be, it will only increase your blood pressure and cholesterol. It will also decrease your libido, but luckily your significant other won’t want to sleep with you anyway. VIRGO (8/24-9/22) — To one-up Dauphin’s in the view department, you’ll create the first blimp restaurant. You’ll settle on the name Floaters, after you discover Blimpies is already taken. You’ll close up shop after the Feds threaten to shoot you down for interfering with air traffic. LIBRA (9/23-10/22) —You’ll call in sick to work with a goal of spending a bright winter day riding up and down in the glass elevators of the Government Plaza tower. Unfortunately, you’ll pick the wrong day and only get one trip before it’s time to go home and get ready for the next day. SCORPIO (10/23-11/21) — You’ll welcome the return of the Mardi Gras season by changing your name to Chief Flaccabinoseminole and speaking a language you believe to be French. You’ll be simultaneously sued by the Native American Rights Fund and slapped by a beautiful Parisian. SAGITTARIUS (11/22-12/22) — Your gig as the emcee at the Arty Awards will flop when you open with the joke, “Who’s ready to get this Arty started?” The entire room will collectively sigh when you follow up with “We’re going to Arty like it’s 1999.” CAPRICORN (12/23-1/19) — You decide to become a prison pen pal to former Gov. Don Siegelman after Obama declined to commute his sentence. But you’ll find his time on the inside has really screwed with his head, as the only thing he writes is “Karl Rove” over and over again.
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LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com LEGALS STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Mobile County; to amend Act No. 470, H. 952 of the 1939 Regular Session (Acts 1939, p. 298), as amended, which creates and establishes the countywide Civil Service System in Mobile County; to establish procedures for self-recruitment and hiring by an appointing authority; to provide for certain adjustments and steps within the grade or range; to provide for the adoption by the governing body or delegated authority for personnel policy guidelines and operational standards; to provide for the purchase of excess annual leave; to provide that employees funded by federal or state funds or private grants are in the unclassified service; to provide that, with approval of the board, an order of lay-off can be determined under exceptional circumstances by the critical needs of the appointing authority; to provide that laid-off employees will be placed on the re-employment list for the same classification; to provide that all classified employees shall be subject to all the rights and protections provided by the laws and rules of Mobile County Personnel Board and that nothing shall limit or impede the ability of a classified employee to file a complaint or grievance with the Personnel Board. Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9, 16, 2017.
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Mobile County; to establish a separate and distinct fund within county government to be known as the 21st Century Policing and Economic Fund; to provide for dedicated revenues to the fund; and direct the expenditures for certain purposes. Lagniappe HD Jan. 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Class 2 municipalities; to empower any Class 2 municipality in the State of Alabama to authorize, by municipal ordinance, the operation of lowspeed vehicles upon certain city streets of the municipality under limited circumstances and conditions. Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9, 2017.
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Mobile County; imposing an additional fine for unlawful parking in a space designated for persons with disabilities or a space where official signs prohibit parking; and providing for the distribution of funds collected. Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 9, 2017.
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Class 2 municipalities; to amend Section 22-6- 220 and Section 22-6-221 of the Code of Alabama 1975, to ensure that any Integrated Care Network shall include a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) which shall be an equal option for qualifying individuals in an area where PACE exists; to require that the Alabama Medicaid Agency and an integrated care network shall enact regulations to provide that all PACE participants shall be exempt from passive enrollment without a waiting periods; and to provide for dis-enrollment from the integrated care network to enroll in a PACE program. Lagniappe HD Jan. 12, 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: USA FACILITIES STORAGE BUILDING FIRE PROTECTION (SPRINKLER) SYSTEM University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Project No. 16-21 Bid No. 7010502 Bids will be received and clocked in at 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the Uni-
versity of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd. N, AD245 (Administration Building) Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N, AD001 (Administration Building) Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 12, 19, 26, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: USA RENOVATION SERVICES BUILDING STORM DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Project No. 16-96 Bid No. 7010601 Bids will be received and clocked in at 3:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, February 9, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available January 17 and only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd. N, AD245 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama. edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N, AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@ southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 12, 19, 26, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama USA Facilities Storage Building Fire Alarm BID NO. 7010501 Bids will be received and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 N. University Blvd. AD 245 (Administration Building) Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX#(251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama. edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N. AD001 (Administration Building) Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: USA CENTRAL PLANT to GAMMA PARKING LOT UNDERGROUND PIPING IMPROVEMENTS University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Job No. 16-99 Bid No. 7010602 Bids will be received and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, February 9, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd. N, AD245 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Tuesday, January 26, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N, AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: FEEDER TO OUTDOOR FOOTBALL PAVILION University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Job No. 15-61 Bid No. 7011005 Bids will be received from and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time from prequalified contractors only, on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd., N., AD245 (251) 460-6151 FX#(251) Mobile, AL 36688 PH# 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held Wednesday, February 8, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and Consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N., AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: FEEDER TO PHASE 3 HOUSING University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Job No. 15-73 Bid No. 7011201 Bids will be received from and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time from prequalified contractors only, on Thursday, February 23, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd., N., AD245 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX#(251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held Wednesday, February 8, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and Consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is sched-
uled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N. AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: HVAC UPGRADES to the USA TOWNHOUSE University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA Job No. 16-78 Bid No. 7011901 Bids will be received and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, February 23, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd. N, AD245 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N, AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 4611370 (mmayberry@southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9, 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama Instructional Laboratory Building Roof Replacement USA JOB NO. 15-89 BID NO. 7011001 Bids will be received from pre-qualified roofing contractors only, and clocked in at 2:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, in Room AD245 of the USA Administration Building, on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama 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. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Purchasing Department 307 University Blvd, N., AD245 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held at Tuesday, February 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. local time, in Room AD 023 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and Consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. A tour of the Project site is scheduled immediately after the conference. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the address listed below. 307 University Blvd. N., AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-7127 FX# (251) 461-1370 (mmayberry@ southalabama.edu) Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALES NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time -12pm – at 301 N. Wilson Ave., Prichard, AL 36610. 2008 Pontiac G6 1G2ZG57B984212055 2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette 1GHDX03E34D145756 2007 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WT58K379232296 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 1010 Baltimore St. Apt. 82, Mobile, AL 36605. 2000 Ford Crown Vic 2FAFP71W1YX145276 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 - Time - 12pm – at 1419 E. I65 Service Rd. S., Mobile, AL 36606. 2005 Cadillac CTS 1G6DP567050137626
Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm – at 3401 Wellborne Dr. E., Mobile, AL 36695. 2005 Honda Accord JHMCN36465C000311 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time -12pm - at 4113 Yorkshire Lane, Mobile, AL 36609. 2007 Pontiac G6 1G2ZF58BX74106536 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm - at 4763 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2007 BMW 750LI WBAHN83597DT74441 2007 Chrysler Sebring 1C3LC46K77N505295 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan 2D4GP44LX6R701118 2007 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WB58K779365971 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm - at 9551 Creekside Dr. N., Irvington, AL 36544. 2000 Chevron GMT-400 1GCGC24R1YR184057 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm - at 10563 County Rd. 48, Fairhope, AL 36532. 1994 Ford LGT Convt 1FTHX26K9RKA04519 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544. 1999 Honda Civic 1HGEJ8240XL076846 2000 Honda Accord 1HGCG1652YA021232 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm – at 5971 Hwy. 90, Theodore, AL 36582. 1997 Mercury Marquis 2MELM75WXVX726088 1988 Toyota Tercel JT2EL32HXJ0216529 2001 Chevrolet Prizm 1Y1SK52851Z410305 1992 Ford Ranger 1FTCR10U4NTA91338 2011 Mitsubishi Galant 4A32B2FF9BE022883 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 - Time -12pm – at 6425 Spanish Fort Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL 36577. 1993 Jeep Cherokee 1J4FT68S4PL594749 2007 Toyota Scion JTKDE177770149178 2006 Chevron Equinox 2CNDL13F366150923 1999 Ford Windstar 2FMZA5141XBC43212 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm – at 204 11th St.,Chickasaw, AL 36611. 2005 Nissan Sentra 3N1CB51D15L557020 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on February 24, 2017 Time - 12pm – at 212 Bessemer Ave., Prichard, AL 36610. 2007 Toyota Camry JTNBE46K773003444 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
ABANDONED VEHICLES The following abandoned vehicles will be sold at 9am on February 17, 2017 at 5781 Three Notch Rd Mobile Al. 36619 Ford 1FTPW12VX8FA72358 Jeep 1C4AJWAG0DL582640 Niss 1N4AL2AP5CC206183 Toyo JTMZFREV7GJ069934 Lagniappe HD Jan. 19, 26, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 4763 Lott Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2004 GMC Sie 1500 2GTEC19T241136186 2000 Toyota Camry 4T1BG28K5YU972098 2014 Toyota Corolla 2T1BURHE3EC025196 2003 Chevrolet K1500 3GNFK16Z63G151450 2015 Nissan Sentra 3N1AB7AP9FL688713 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 3301 N. Schillinger Rd., Semmes, AL 36575. 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe C15 1GNEC13Z73R152300 2009 Hyundai Sonata 5NPET46C09H471507 2009 Chevrolet Aveo KL1TD66E49B671588 2008 Toyota Camry 4T1BE46K58U206182 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017.
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 5388 US Hwy. 90, Mobile, AL 36619. 2001 Ford Focus 1FAFP36361W235967 2010 Chevrolet Malibu 1G1ZA5EK1A4156532 2009 Nissan Altima 1N4AL21E59C142654 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE
Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 3927 Government Blvd. #H, Mobile, AL 36693. 2003 GMC Sierra 1GTHK29UX3E112049 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 18595 Media Dr., Robertsdale, AL 36567. 2007 Toyota Corolla 1NXBR32EX7Z783609 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 – Time - 12pm - at 420 Bell Lane, Saraland, AL 36571. 2002 Dodge Ram Truck 3D7HA18N42G168900 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm – at 11543 Olivia Dr., Wilmer, AL 36587. 1998 Chevrolet GMT-400 2GCEC19R9W1234946 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 15930 Greeno Rd., Fairhope, AL 36532. 2005 Chevrolet Corvette 1G1YY24U955100430 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 1775 St. Stephens Rd., Mobile, AL 36617. 2005 Nissan Altima 1N4AL11DX5C161387 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 3747 Government Blvd. Suite A1, Mobile, AL 36693. 2001 BMW 525I WBADT334X1GF40117 2005 BMW 645CI WBAEK73495B326492
Let it rain MoonPies and Reese’s! BY BOOZIE BEER NUES/SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
I
t’s time to kiss the New Year’s resolution of trying to lose weight goodbye. Why is that, you ask? Well, Carnival season is here, that’s why! You can’t keep up a diet during Mardi Gras, and if you can you must teach me how! Right now I am on a strict King Cake-only diet. I’ll add some MoonPies to mix things up this weekend. Yep, that’s right. The first parade rolls this Saturday on Dauphin Island, then there’s no stopping us! I mean, seriously, if this past weekend’s weather didn’t stop us from partying – and it didn’t – nothing can! I’m ready for MoonPies to fall from the skies, beads in my hands and marching bands. And of course, all the beer and Mardi Gras cheer! But first, this past week’s gossip!
I’m gonna be somebody
The Steeple is becoming a very hot spot! If it isn’t hosting a wedding, it has some pretty big names in the music industry playing there, and this past weekend there were both! Country singer Travis Tritt performed Friday night, and then Saturday night there was a wedding. While I don’t know who got married, I do know more on Tritt. First off, my spy said the concert was so much fun! She said he played all of his popular songs, including her favorite, “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.” She said the best part of the night was how intimate the concert was — like he was playing just for them. The worst part of her night: the couple in front of her being intimate. Guess they forgot they weren’t at home. Oh well. You just can’t stop that lovin’ feelin’ some time. I also had a diehard Alabama fan spy at the concert. I mean, go figure, right? Anyway, that spy spotted former Alabama quarterback Jake Coker! He was even nice enough to stop to take a picture with them. Rolll Tide! No word on if anyone screamed that during the concert. All in all, it sounds like a good night. Boozie can’t wait to see what other folks will perform at The Steeple.
EpiPen not included
It’s that time of year again (besides Mardi Gras), when all the senior football players head to Mobile for Senior Bowl! There are events scheduled throughout the week, but Boozie’s favorite night is the invitation-only Meet the Players, which was on Monday night. I must admit I did not go to “meet the players,” but to meet the Reese’s dessert bar. Those who know me, know Reese’s are my jam! If you are allergic to peanuts then this was not the party for you. They had peanut butter cookies with Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter and chocolate cake, brownies with peanuts,
Photo/Boozie Spy
The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 3351 Dauphin Island Prkwy., Mobile, AL 36605. 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe C15 1GNEC13T61J122535 2009 Dodge Journey 3D4GG57V09T541738 2006 Ford Taurus 1FAFP53U56A242213 2000 BMW 740I WBAGH8346YDP10218 2006 Ford LGT Convt 1FTPX12566NA01092 2007 Hyundai Sonata 5NPET46C67H178403 2002 Honda Accord 1HGCG56412A096316 2010 Dodge Charger 2B3CA3CV0AH222636 1997 Honda Accord 1HGCD7233VA031635 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2G1WW15E819176202
STYLE BOOZIE
Alabama’s O.J. Howard gave out autographs nonstop at a Senior Bowl event. these little cookies-type things with a miniature Reese’s on top, Reese’s snack mix and then the chicken even had a peanut glaze on it. Well, unfortunately my sidekick said it was not acceptable to shove as many Reese’s in my purse as I could, so I figured it was time be there for the same reason everyone else was there, the players. Like always, the Southern schools’ players drew the most attention. I’m sure if the Senior Bowl was held up North, everyone would flock to the Northern players. But it is in the South, so the players grabbing the most attention were Alabama and Auburn players, and even a few LSU guys. Once the players paraded through the room, a few cut loose and started dancing. One guy jumped up on the stage and started dancing with the band, and playing the bongos with orange pom poms. Others danced with the Reese’s mascot and new friends. I swear they were doing the electric slide at one point! I don’t know if that was brought back as “new” type of dance or what. Boozie also spotted some famous (and one infamous) locals — Bob Grip, Sheriff Sam Cochran, Steve Nodine and, of course, Mayor Sandy Stimpson. Not a bad Monday — bring on the rest of the Senior Bowl events! Well, kids, that’s all I’ve got this week. Just remember, whether rain or shine, dramatic or scandalous or just some plain ol’ Reese’s lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!
Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following vehicle will be sold on March 3, 2017 - Time - 12pm - at 5971 Hwy.90, Theodore, AL 36582. 1994 Lincoln Town Car 1LNLM82W8RY782401 Lagniappe HD Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 2017
Deadline for legal advertising in Lagniappe HD is every Monday at 3 p.m. Lagniappe HD is distributed each Thursday. Lagniappe HD offices are located at 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. For more information or to place your ad call Jackie at 251-450-4466. Or email at legals@lagniappemobile.com
F U T U R E S H O C K J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 - Fe b r u a r y 1 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 51