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WEEKLY
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LAGNIAPPE
N O V E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N O V E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 7 | w w w. l a g n i a p p e m o b i l e . c o m ASHLEY TRICE Co-publisher/Editor atrice@lagniappemobile.com
ROB HOLBERT Co-publisher/Managing Editor rholbert@lagniappemobile.com GABRIEL TYNES Assistant Managing Editor gabe@lagniappemobile.com DALE LIESCH Reporter dale@lagniappemobile.com JASON JOHNSON Reporter jason@lagniappemobile.com KEVIN LEE Associate Editor/Arts Editor klee@lagniappemobile.com
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BAY BRIEFS
After a bystander fired shots at a fleeing robbery suspect, he was charged with a violent crime despite claiming self defense.
COMMENTARY
Rob ponders whether Alabama needs to apologize to itself.
BUSINESS
The University of South Alabama Medical Center’s Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center received national recognition.
CUISINE
ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com
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J. MARK BRYANT Sports Writer sports@lagniappemobile.com STEPHANIE POE Copy Editor copy@lagniappemobile.com DANIEL ANDERSON Chief Photographer dan@danandersonphoto.com LAURA RASMUSSEN Art Director www.laurarasmussen.com BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com
COVER
Mobile’s first craft breweries, including Serda’s, Iron Hand and Haint Blue, are preparing to open after clearing legal hurdles and red tape.
BETH WILLIAMS Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com ALEEN MOMBERGER Advertising Sales Executive aleen@lagniappemobile.com RACHEL THOMAS Advertising Sales Executive rachel@lagniappemobile.com MELISSA EDGE Editorial Assistant events@lagniappemobile.com
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CONTRIBUTORS: Ron Sivak, Jeff Poor, Asia Frey, Brian Holbert, John Mullen, Ken Robinson, Mike Thomason ON THE COVER: HAINT BLUE BY DANIEL ANDERSON 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: ashleytoland@lagniappemobile.com or rholbert@lagniappemobile.com LAGNIAPPE is printed at Walton Press. All letters sent to Lagniappe are considered to be intended for publication. Member: Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and Alternative Weeklies Network All rights reserved. Something Extra Publishing, Inc. Nothing may be reprinted, photocopied or in any way reproduced without the expressed permission of the publishers. Individuals may take one copy of the paper free of charge from area businesses, racks or boxes. After that, papers are $3 per issue. Removal of more than one copy from these points constitutes theft. Violators are subject to prosecution.
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ARTS
Mobile native Blaine Hoven, a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre, will take the stage for Mobile Ballet’s “Blaine Hoven — Full Circle” performance Nov. 2.
MUSIC
Breakout country music artist Cam will perform at The Hangout Oyster Cook-Off and Craft Beer Weekend.
ROSS PRITCHARD Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager jackie@lagniappemobile.com
Celebrity chefs, small-batch brewers and live music highlight The Hangout Oyster Cook-Off and Craft Beer Weekend, returning to Gulf Shores Nov. 3-4.
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Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” falls flat in spite of an all-star cast led by Nicole Kidman.
MEDIA
Local pundit Quin Hillyer discusses his new book “Mad Jones, Heretic.”
SPORTS
The Gears and Beers ride Nov. 11 raises money for bicycle-friendly infrastructure in and around Mobile.
STYLE
Boozie’s Halloween observations and a ridealong with witches.
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BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Pay to spray
Walker out early
FIRE DISTRICT VOTES AHEAD FOR SOUTH MOBILE COUNTY
Serial burglar Matthew Boykin Walker was released from federal prison Sept. 8, roughly 48 months into a 63-month conviction for being a felon in possession of stolen firearms. He was arrested while on probation in 2013 for breaking into a Washington County hunting camp owned by his elderly uncle and stealing $30,000 in gold and silver coins, $40,000 in cash and numerous weapons from a safe. At the time of his arrest, Walker was on probation for stealing a half-million dollars’ worth of antiques in crimes that were both lavish and bold. In those cases, Walker was accused of having crews come into people’s homes and essentially strip them of almost everything of value, including mantles, molding and appliances. He served no jail time in that case. One of the more unusual stories surrounding Walker includes efforts to have stolen silver serving pieces engraved to reflect a connection with President John F. Kennedy and his wife. One bowl in particular was engraved to appear as if it were a gift from President Dwight Eisenhower to the Kennedys. Walker apparently intended to sell the items as presidential heirlooms. He was sentenced to three years’ probation in 2011 for those crimes and given a 10-year suspended sentence in Mobile County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to four counts of receiving stolen property in cases that stretched back three years. Neither the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Mobile nor the U.S. Probation Office would comment on Walker’s early release or the status of his probation. Walker’s attorney in the case, John White, did not return repeated calls requesting comment. According to sentencing, Walker should have served prison time through December 2018. He was also ordered to pay $42,000 in restitution to his uncle, Bob Boykin.
By Gabriel Tynes
BY JASON JOHNSON
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esidents in two small areas of southern Mobile County will go to polls Nov. 7 to vote in two separate referendums related to local fire districts — one aiming to establish a new district outside of Bayou La Batre and another that could double the rates of fire service in Grand Bay. In Grand Bay, the premise of the referendum is fairly simple: People within the existing fire district there will vote for or against a proposed increase in the service they’re assessed by the Mobile County Revenue Commission to fund the district. Volunteer fire districts in the state of Alabama are permitted to levy a voluntary fee on property taxes collected within their districts. The Grand Bay Volunteer Fire Department is governed by two independent boards, the district board and a fire department board. Currently, the fire service fee in Grand Bay is $35 per year, which generates around $130,000 annually for the fire district. The proposed increase would take the yearly service rate up from $35 to $70 per year — doubling the money available to the Grand Bay VFD and marking the first increase in fire service fees in more than 25 years. Last week, Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl, whose district includes Grand Bay, said he supported the increase and thinks “they’re doing a good job.” He also noted that if the service rate were to increase to $70, it would be in line with other volunteer fire districts in Mobile County. For those in the Semmes Fire District, the current rate is $75, which is still lower than the $105 yearly fee assessed in the Seven Hills Fire District. Lagniappe reached out to District President Tony Baggett seeking comment on the petition to increase the service and how any new revenue would be used, but did not receive a response by press deadline. However, board members have said they intend to answer any questions at the last meeting before the vote is held, which will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the North Fire Station. The referendum itself will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7, at Friendship Baptist Church in Grand Bay.
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While the vote in Bayou La Batre will also be held on Nov. 7, the issue is slightly different, as a majority “yes” vote would formally establish a new fire district just outside of the city limits. It’s something city officials have been working on for some time because it could allow fees for fire service to be collected from residents in the district, which could potentially include as many as 2,000 residences and businesses in Irvington, Dixon Corner and portions of Coden. While the Bayou La Batre Fire Department continues to respond to fires and emergencies from those areas, the city receives no funding to do so. Commissioner Carl said the referendum vote set for next month is the last phase of a plan the city’s legal team has worked to put together to address the issue. Unlike other districts, which collect fees to fund operations for all volunteer departments, anything the new district generates would go specifically toward enhancing the BLBFD, which employs certified firefighters and EMS workers as paid city employees. However, the funding generated would still be overseen and distributed by the district, and no fees would be assessed until 2018 at the earliest. If approved, the district would collect a yearly service fee of $75 for each business or residence in the district. The City Council has already seated the board that will oversee the district, and President Emma Lou Edwards said it’s projected to generate roughly $150,000 for BLBFD. Edwards said BLBFD has already set up a substation closer to the area the fire district would encompass, but the additional revenue would make it possible to keep another fire engineer and trained personnel there 24 hours a day. That would mean putting everyone within the district in a five-mile radius of fire service, which Edwards said was “a big plus.” The election is open only to registered voters living within the boundaries of the proposed BLBFD outside the city limits and will be held Nov. 7 at the Coastal Response Center in Coden. For more information, contact City Hall at 251-824-2171.
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BAYBRIEF | CRIME
A tale of two gunshots BYSTANDER CHARGED AFTER BULLET MEANT FOR ROBBERY SUSPECT HITS NEARBY HOME BY JASON JOHNSON
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ess than 60 seconds after it began, the Oct. 18 robbery of a Citgo gas station on Riverside Drive ended with a 15-year-old bystander shot in the abdomen and an errant bullet penetrating the front door of a nearby home before striking a TV set in an unoccupied living room. One of the individuals who fired those bullets is being charged with a crime, while the other is not, though neither shot was fired by the actual robbery suspect, 26-year-old Joseph Soutullo. It was a chain of events that local prosecutors have called “convoluted,” but the aftermath has Mobile police concerned about citizens who might take the law into their own hands as some residents seem confused about when it’s OK to defend themselves from a criminal with a gun. In security footage from the Oct. 18 incident, the suspect is seen entering the Citgo store in a gray hooded sweatshirt that partially covers his face. He’s holding what appears to be a handgun. The Mobile Police Department says it was Soutullo, who has some 18 prior arrests in Mobile for offenses that include domestic violence and harassment. District Attorney Ashley Rich told Lagniappe this week the gun Soutullo is seen brandishing was later determined to be a BB gun. However, the gun a second clerk at the store pulled from under the counter was a higher caliber, though the round fired from it missed Soutullo and struck a 15-yearold girl standing just outside the door. As Soutullo fled, another bystander, 23-year-old Tyrone Taylor, opened fire after hearing a gunshot from inside the store and seeing a man running with a handgun. Like the
first, that bullet also missed its target, sailing past Soutullo and into the adjacent home. While Soutullo was able to briefly escape on foot with approximately $300 in cash, it wasn’t long before he was apprehended by MPD canine units canvassing the surrounding area. Charged with first-degree robbery, Soutullo has been in custody at the Mobile County Metro Jail since. At the time, MPD Chief Lawrence Battiste warned other gas station owners and the general public that, even when acting in self-defense, those using firearms can open themselves up to potential criminal and civil charges and penalties. “Lately we’ve had a number of robberies that have occurred and in the process of the robberies occurring, some clerks have fired shots,” he said. “I would encourage them to allow us to do our job as law enforcement officers and be mindful that, when you fire a weapon — even sometimes in defense of your property — if someone is an innocent bystander, you could possibly be charged for your reckless behavior in a situation like that.” Battiste said it’s not an issue of “whether clerks have a right” to defend themselves. Instead, he said, like police officers, citizens are accountable for every round that comes out of their weapon. “I’m not advocating for the clerk or admonishing the clerk for their actions,” he added. “I want to make sure that those individuals, who are victims of crime, realize their actions could have criminal implications, particularly if the person they take action against is not directly involved with the criminal act being committed.” Though facts were still being uncovered, Battiste’s
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comments gave the impression that someone other than Soutullo could be facing charges stemming from the incident. More than six days later, police arrested Taylor, charging him with discharging a gun into an occupied building for firing at Soutullo that night. After the initial incident, police said Taylor saw the robbery in progress but the suspect was already running away on foot when Taylor fired at him. According to court records, Taylor was also charged with two traffic violations and didn’t possess a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He posted bond and was released Oct. 24. In his only public interview since, Taylor told WPMI that Soutullo had “come running up with the gun and ran around my car.” While he said he felt bad the bullet missed and ended up going into a neighbor’s house, Taylor has maintained he did nothing wrong. However, the clerk who who accidentally shot the 15-year-old girl outside the store has yet to be charged with a crime, as Rich has opted not to file charges immediately and instead put the facts of the case before a Mobile County grand jury. While the girl who was hit by the stray bullet was treated and released from a hospital, several people sharing stories on social media about the incident have wondered why only Taylor was arrested. Asked about the department’s role in Taylor’s arrest, MPD spokesperson Charlette Solis deferred questions to the Mobile County District Attorney’s office. However, Rich didn’t offer much insight either, as both cases are still pending. However, she did take the opportunity to note that Taylor has a criminal record locally. “He admitted that he did shoot at the robber because he thought it was the robber who was shooting at the clerk, not the clerk shooting at the robber,” Rich said. “He has prior arrests for drug and property crime offenses. This is first for what is considered a violent crime.” A Lagniappe review did confirm that Taylor has previously been arrested a number of times locally throughout the past 10 years, including a pair of theft charges, possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. However, it’s unclear if those prior arrests played a role in the decision to charge Taylor immediately instead of presenting the case to grand jury, as was the case with the store clerk, has not yet been identified by police or local prosecutors. Asked about any charges the store clerk might face, Rich only said “the other case will be presented to the grand jury … because it will be presented to the grand jury.”
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
Blame game
RICHARDSON FINGERS NEWSPAPER FOR LEADERSHIP SPECULATION
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BY DALE LIESCH
he drama surrounding the upcoming Mobile City Council leadership vote was ratcheted up Tuesday when a number of residents spoke in favor of selecting current council Vice President Fred Richardson as president of the council. Four speakers weighed in on the Monday, Nov. 6, vote and asked councilors to consider Richardson for the presidency, replacing current President Gina Gregory. Gregory told the speakers she felt it was “inappropriate” for them to campaign for Richardson at the council meeting. She said discussions have begun on the council leadership vote and they have remained cordial. Gregory said she hoped that would continue. Gregory added that each councilor could have residents speak in favor of each and every one of them for the presidency, given the council’s popularity as a whole. The Rev. Cleveland McFarland Jr. said he supports Richardson for the leadership post because he’s a progressive and productive member of the council. “Mr. Richardson loves this city and the council,” McFarland said. “He speaks very passionately about it.” After the speakers were finished, Richardson assured those in attendance that he was not “the source of divisive.” Instead, he blamed Lagniappe for first publishing the story about a possible leadership change. “A local newspaper put it all out there,” he said. “They got the community all stirred up.” Richardson elaborated on his point by comparing himself to a red flag being waved in front of a bull. Also in that initial story referenced by Richardson, Lagniappe reported of a communication issue between councilors and Mayor Sandy
Stimpson’s office. During a pre-conference meeting, Gregory referenced the communication issue. Stimpson’s administrative assistant was also present and taking notes for the mayor, who was on a trip to Phoenix. Gregory asked the councilors if any of them needed information from the mayor’s office. Richardson asked Finance Director Paul Wesch a question, before asking the administration to simply answer the questions the council asks going forward. Gregory cautioned her colleagues to get their questions answered at the meetings, “instead of going to the media.” Between meetings, Executive Director of Public Safety James Barber responded to concerns from downtown residents over the noise from loud bass coming from car stereos. Jerri Keith, who has lived downtown for two and a half years, said she’s used to loud noise downtown, but she gets awakened often by loud bass coming from car stereos on Dauphin Street early on weekend mornings. A neighbor of Keith’s also complained about the noise. He said he doesn’t believe the shortlived cruising ordinance was a good idea because it can lead to issues for people trying to park downtown, but he wants the city to do more to enforce the noise ordinance already on the books. In the case of loud bass, Barber said officers are instructed that if they can hear it from 50 feet outside of a vehicle it’s too loud. The problem, Barber said, is many times violators will see police coming and turn down the stereos until they are out of sight. Barber added that a recent focus on enforcement of the noise ordinance by placing officers in some unexpected places has netted 21 tickets in two weeks.
A place to call home HOMELESS SITUATION DOWNTOWN IMPROVING, BUT ISSUE REMAINS
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BY DALE LIESCH
ince the Government Street Presbyterian Church stopped serving breakfast to the homeless as part of its Coffee Club ministry, complaints about vagrants and homeless people downtown have decreased, but the need has only shifted to other areas and not gone away. In a letter to congregants, the Government Street Presbyterian Church said the ministry was still being researched, and it is unclear whether it will be restarted at this time. In the letter, members of the “Coffee Club task force” said they researched the history of the ministry, solicited input from members, met with nonprofits and studied nationwide faithbased programs. The letter also said the group kept in mind the safety of volunteers working with the ministry, as well as the church’s assets, resources and the desire to be a good community partner. Meanwhile the homeless have not disappeared, but have merely shifted to other areas of the city, Waterfront Mission spokeswoman Angie Ishee said. In addition to the church ending its breakfast ministry, the mission doesn’t have a walk-up lunch downtown anymore. Funds from 15 Place provided money for the walk-up lunch at the mission, Ishee said, but since 15 Place ended its ancillary services the funding was pulled. Waterfront Mission only provides meals to
guests in its overnight shelter, or to men in one of two programs dealing with addiction and workforce training, Ishee said. The overnight shelter is available for $10 per night to individuals who can afford it, Ishee said. There is no limit to the number of stays for someone who pays for the overnight shelter. The mission also has a respite dorm for those who are injured, she said. Homeless individuals who do not have an income of any kind, Ishee said, are referred to Housing First. Ishee said there aren’t as many walk-ups downtown as there used to be, but the burden has shifted to other parts of the city. The mission has seven thrift stores that help fund the charity, Ishee said. Only one of those — at 2365 N. McKenzie St. in Foley — is in Alabama. Even with the thrift stores and private donations, Alabama proceeds result in an approximate $300,000 loss each year for the Mobile shelter, Ishee said. The city, Ishee said, has helped secure grant funding for the mission. Councilman Levon Manzie said the issue will continue as the downtown area continues to be redeveloped, noting money is not always the answer to the problem. Last year, Manzie requested the city give Housing First $100,000 to help it continue the ancillary services at 15 Place, but his proposal was not seconded for a vote. N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N o v e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 7
BAYBRIEF | BALDWIN COUNTY
Looking for options ORANGE BEACH TOWN HALL WILL ADDRESS ROAD, EDUCATION ISSUES BY JOHN MULLEN
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he fix isn’t in. In fact, the fix may be out for at least 20 years. “We all know that is the 20-year cure for traffic problems at the beach,” Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said. “All I know is we need a road through the state park.” An alternative north-south road on the island, another bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway and putting a fifth lane on Canal Road will be topics for discussion Tuesday at the Orange Beach Events Center in a town hall forum. Education will be on the agenda as well as questions abound about the planned new Orange Beach grades 7-12 high school and the Gulf Shores split with the county system. A new road through the state park will be a topic, but it’s probably not a feasible option. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ settlement of a lawsuit with the Gulf Restoration Network over the state’s use of $58 million of BP money for the Gulf State Park Project prevents a new road from being built in the park for 20 years. “That was part of the settlement that was able to get the lawsuit settled and us moving forward with the project,” DCNR Director Chris Blankenship said.
Kennon said officials from Orange Beach or Gulf Shores weren’t consulted before that settlement was reached. He believes island officials should have been made aware. “For that deal to be made without any real consultation with the folks who understand and know the traffic at the beach, I don’t think was a wise one,” Kennon said. “I think we are going to evaluate our options.” A traffic fixe for the busy season, Kennon says, is not a local issue, but one for the entire state, which receives healthy revenue from sales and lodging taxes from the Baldwin County tourist economy. “This is never about Orange Beach,” Kennon said. “This is about the beaches of Alabama. The fix for the tourist traffic and the growing pains that we have is that road through the state park. It’s just that simple.” Blankenship said because the settlement rules out a “new” road being built doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. “There is specific language in the settlement that says there is the ability to expand any existing roads through the park,” Blankenship said. “Nothing in the settlement would preclude any expansion or roadwork on roads or areas that border the park. So, there are some opportunities to do
some work down there over the next several years, depending on funding or whatever the other options would be.” Another possibility is reopening the part of State Park Road 2 that was closed and made part of the trail system during the Gulf State Park Project, Blankenship said. “There’s nothing in the settlement that would preclude us from being able to do that,” he said. “That is an option for the future.” What’s not an option, but a sure thing, Kennon said, is the fifth lane coming to Canal Road. “We’re going to have two lanes heading south that will go through the 161/ Canal Road intersection at Tom Thumb,” Kennon said. Also part of that project is a bypass that would leave Canal Road at Pep Boys and go to Alabama 161 south of McDonald’s. That project will take longer than Canal Road’s fifth lane, Kennon said. “It is wetland and has some other issues so it’s going to take longer to get that done,” Kennon said. “We’re hoping we have the fifth lane in two years. Through that two-year period, we are going to work on getting the permits and getting done what we need to do. We essentially want to divert all traffic — north and south — down that bypass. There are a lot of other options and variables and moving parts there, but that is ALDOT’S and our goal.” A new bridge is far from a certainty, but Kennon said work continues to make it a reality. But it won’t be accomplished through any deals with American Roads, owner of the Foley Beach Express toll bridge. “The bridge company will not build it and we can’t bring ourselves to spend money to build a bridge for the bridge company,” Kennon said. “We’ve negotiated with them in good faith every way we could possibly negotiate. I’m not saying they’re the bad guys. I’m saying we couldn’t make it work. We’re going to talk about potential bridges both east and west of the current bridge.” State officials planning to attend include ALDOT Director John Cooper and Southwest Engineer Vince Calametti. Baldwin County School Superintendent Eddie Tyler will also be on hand with members of his staff to answer residents’ school questions.
Debt, shortfalls and taxes
Willing to serve
DAPHNE SCHOOL STUDY REVEALS COSTLY CHOICES FOR CITY
32 APPLY FOR FIVE SPOTS ON GULF SHORES EDUCATION BOARD
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BY JOHN MULLEN
s talk of assuming debt, budget shortfalls and added taxes needed to fund a Daphne school system neared two hours, a $43 million debt seemed to be a sticking point for Councilman Joe Davis. “I wasn’t put on the City Council to raise taxes or create a separate school system,” Davis said. “I was put here to try to manage our money, to try to grow and prosper and provide opportunities. There are other ways we can make our schools better without going to this sort of expense.” Those expenses include $5.3 million to start the system to pay for basics such as teacher salaries before state funding would kick in. And in the first year alone the city would have to additionally pay the equivalent of 9.1 mills, or about $3.6 million, for operational needs and having enough in reserve to cover one month’s operating costs as required by state law. Davis’ comment drew a smattering of applause from the sparse crowd, the size of which was not lost on Mayor Dane Haygood. “We have a full room, it seems like, but I counted and there’s probably only about 30 citizens here that are maybe not city staff or not media related,” Haygood said. “It’s amazing to me that we’ve got a town of 25,000-plus, a polarizing issue for a lot that the media’s very interested in, and yet we can’t even fill the room. I’m not sure what that means, but we all need to look in the mirror and see what that means as best we can.” Council President Ron Scott said the lack of a crowd may indicate a lack of interest in splitting from Baldwin County and forming a municipal system in Daphne. “The Gulf Shores situation, to a great de-
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BY JOHN MULLEN
gree, was citizen-funded,” Scott said. “There was an awful lot of citizen involvement. They had full rooms and they cheered when they decided to go with the system. The input I’m getting from the people I’ve talked to is we don’t have a broken system. They are happy with the Baldwin County system.” Besides assuming the debt on current school buildings, consultants from the Criterion K-12 group said, Daphne would need the equivalent of 2 mills more in taxes to balance a school budget. And just to bring the funding up to the level currently provided in Baldwin County schools would require 6 additional mills. “In order to maintain the level of service currently being provided by Baldwin County, the city must be willing to provide significant funds toward the startup of operations,” the Criterion study said. “In addition, the new school board must be willing to make personnel cuts of almost 10 percent of its certified staff and either additional revenues must be provided or expenses reduced to make up the recurring budget deficit projected each year. To achieve a ‘top 10’ school system, even more will be required.” In July, Daphne OK’d spending $38,500 for Phase I of the Criterion study in a 5-2 vote and will vote on Monday whether to pay another $30,000 for an even more detailed Phase II. “I don’t know where that vote will go,” Scott said. “But you also need to realize you’re going to have to raise taxes if we go forward with this. Either a sales tax — and we’re already one of the highest sales taxes in the country. If you do ad valorem tax, they have voted down ad valorem tax increases in this county and in this city time after time.”
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he city of Gulf Shores received paperwork from 32 people wanting to serve on the newly formed school system’s board of education. At least one of those, Angie Swiger, has previous experience. Swiger is the current representative for south Baldwin County’s District 5, which mainly encompasses Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan, Ono Island and Elberta. Swiger said if she is chosen, she will step down from that post to serve on the city’s panel. Meanwhile, the Baldwin County Board of Education has asked the Alabama Attorney General’s office if Swiger can continue on the county board at all. She is a longtime resident of Gulf Shores and would be living in the new system’s district. The resolution asks, “Does a member of the county board of education residing within the municipal limits of the newly established city school system remain eligible to serve on the county board of education?” Swiger believes she can legally finish out her term through 2020 if she’s not named to the Gulf Shores board. “I owe it to the citizens of my district who have elected me twice and who have entrusted me to make certain that the children and parents of Gulf Shores, as well as the children and parents of the rest of my district, have my unwavering representation,” she said. “I want to be certain that all of the children in my district have proper representation at all times.” With Swiger on the board, she would play an integral role in negotiating the split terms with her former colleagues at Baldwin County Schools. Gulf Shores hopes to open its schools starting in 2018, a timeline Superintendent Eddie Tyler has questioned. “There is an aggressive timeline the city has,” Tyler said. “I don’t know how realistic that is.”
Swiger says while there is a lot of work to be done dividing assets and determining if out-ofdistrict students can finish in Gulf Shores, she thinks it’s doable. “The timetable is ambitious, but not impossible,” she said. Mayor Robert Craft says the city has made all the right moves and done all the preliminary work to ensure financing the system will go smoothly. “There’s been a lot of noise being made about how can the city do this, how can they afford to do this,” Craft said at a recent meeting. “We’ve got that figured out. Jason [Dyken], our Finance Committee chairman, went into great detail about how we’re not taking money out of the reserves, we’re not putting more money in the reserves. We’ve got the ability to cover that $2.1 million deficit between having a top-performing school and we’ve already committed to doing that.” According to Economic Development Coordinator Blake Phelps, with the revenues currently predicted, Gulf Shores can fund about $8,600 per student. Baldwin County currently spends about $8,900. By using some of the $2.1 million formerly going into reserves, Phelps said, the city can match what top-performing schools in Alabama spend at $9,500 per student. Or, to reach highest-performing status, the city would spend all of the $2.1 million to fund just over $10,000 per student. Craft said many of those decisions will be made by the incoming board of education. “The board of education and the superintendent will decide what needs to happen here to run the school,” he said. “We’ve got to give them enough money to manage the education outcome we’re looking for and add some component to allow them to build the necessary facilities where we’re not overcrowded and we’ve got a great place for our kids to go to school.”
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BAYBRIEF | COURTS
Life or death MOBILE COUNTY CAPITAL MURDER SUSPECT BECOMES LATEST TO RETRY CASE BY JASON JOHNSON
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t was the first capital trial since her election in 2011, the death penalty was on the table for a heinous double murder and Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich prosecuted and secured the a conviction herself a month after taking office. The jury found Derrick Penn, 44 at the time, guilty on four counts of capital murder. The prosecution proved that Penn broke into the apartment of his estranged wife, Janet Penn, where he fatally shot her before beating her boyfriend to death with the same gun. It was a strong win for a newly elected district attorney. It’s also one of a handful of capital murder convictions that have been overturned on appeal during Rich’s tenure. In 2014, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Penn’s conviction and death sentence after it found “plain error” in how the jury was instructed to consider a single piece of evidence: a restraining order Janet Penn had sought for protection from her estranged husband. The appeal was brought by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that has challenged and overturned multiple capital convictions in Mobile County alone. EJI claimed the protective order was used in the original trial to imply Penn was guilty of burglary and murder because it showed his estranged wife wouldn’t have let him into her apartment willingly. Capital murder is defined in Alabama as murder occurring during the commission of another crime. It automatically comes with potential sentences of life in prison or the death penalty. Because of that, the burglary charge was crucial to Penn’s conviction and death sentence.
However, Alabama law also prohibits using “collateral bad acts” as evidence in criminal trials because, according to EJI, “jurors tend to believe the defendant is guilty of the charged crime if he has committed previous crimes.” The higher court agreed with EJI. While prosecutors said they intended to use the protective order to prove “motive, plan, design, scheme, [or] intent,” the appellate court found Judge Charles Graddick failed to properly limit the jury’s consideration of that evidence when he charged them. The court also found that Rich, in her closing arguments, used the protective order to “establish what Janet [Penn] had been thinking” in the days leading up her death. “Specifically, the prosecutor argued that the exhibit supported the State’s position that Penn had entered or remained unlawfully in Janet’s apartment, telling the jury: ‘She had filed a protection from abuse order, weeks before, because she didn’t want [Penn] around her, in her apartment, anywhere near her,” the 2014 opinion read. For the appellate court, that was enough to call into question the validity of Penn’s convictions — the same court that overturned the 2013 capital murder conviction and death sentence of Derek Tyler Horton on similar grounds late last year. Like Penn’s conviction, Horton’s was overturned because “collateral bad acts” were introduced to the jury including evidence that Horton has been previously investigated for an alleged domestic assault and testimony about his prior history with illegal drugs. As has been the case with other local convictions overturned on appeal, the fly in the ointment was a
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procedural issue, as in the case against Carlos Kennedy, whose 2013 conviction and death sentence for sexually assaulting a 69-year-old Mobile woman before beating her to death with a clawhammer was overturned because he wasn’t allowed to act his own attorney at trial. Last year, Kennedy was given that chance during a lengthy retrial. However, Kennedy called no witnesses and presented no evidence and, for the second time, was found guilty of capital murder, though he dodged a death sentence after the jury instead recommended life without parole. Penn’s retrial last week also ended with a second unanimous guilty verdict following a brief day of deliberation. On Tuesday morning, the jury returned an 11-1 recommendation in favor of the death penalty to Judge Rick Stout. As in the first trial, Penn never denied killing his wife and her new boyfriend. Instead, seeking a lesser charge, the defense argued that Penn hadn’t broken into his wife’s apartment that night in 2009, and that the killings were not premeditated but done in the “heat of passion.” His second prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Wright, argued Penn betrayed that defense with his own words in statements captured on a series of voicemail messages left for Janet Penn in the weeks leading up to her murder. “They want you to believe that it was all in the sudden heat of passion but his own words tell you what he was going to do,” Wright said during closing arguments. “This isn’t something he just said one time. There were threats and multiple statements that he was going to kill them.” Specifically, those messages recorded Penn saying things like “You’re going to make me kill y’all” and that if “he couldn’t have [Janet], no one could.” However, the petition for protection from abuse that Janet Penn filed a few weeks prior to her death was referenced again during the retrial. During her closing arguments, Wright referenced it to show that Janet had made attempts “to keep him away from her” and “wasn’t trying to get back together with him,” as the defense had alluded. While it’s unclear how that reference to the document might be viewed during an appellate review, any decision as to its appropriateness would be based on how Judge Stout instructed the jury to consider that evidence before they were sent into deliberations. If for any reason Penn appeals his new conviction and sentence, it will require the court of criminal appeals to check for any “plain error or defect in the proceedings,” which is required in all cases where the death penalty is imposed regardless of the reasons for the appeal.
BAYBRIEF | COURTS
Lonely at the top BILLIONAIRE PHARMA EXEC TIED TO LOCAL ‘PILL MILL’ INDICTED BY JASON JOHNSON
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he founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc. was arrested last week and charged with allegedly bribing doctors to improperly prescribe Insys drugs containing the powerful opiate fentanyl — the biggest arrest in a nationwide crackdown that’s already netted two convictions in Mobile. John N. Kapoor, 74, was arrested in his home state of Arizona Thursday and charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) as well as other felonies, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law. To date, Kapoor is the most prominent pharmaceutical executive to be charged in any drug conspiracy. Kapoor, the former executive chairman of the board and CEO of Insys, founded the company in the late 1990s. He resigned after six former Insys executives were indicted in December 2016, but has remained an active board member and majority owner of the company. The month after those indictments, the United States Department of Justice turned its attention to Mobile, where Dr. John Patrick Couch and Dr. Xiulu Ruan — owners and operators of Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama (PPSA) — were being tried on many of the same charges Kapoor now faces. After a seven-week trial, Ruan and Couch became the first medical professionals in U.S. history to be convicted on federal RICO charges that were originally intended to combat organized crime. They were each sentenced to at least 20 years in federal prison, and the federal government has since seized millions of dollars in cash, cars and
property from both. What ties the two local pain docs to Kapoor are the drugs that his company produced and marketed, most notably the fentanyl-based product Subsys. Intended and FDAapproved to treat “breakthrough pain in cancer patients,” Ruan and Couch were accused of prescribing the drug to noncancer patients without a legitimate medical purpose. While it’s not illegal to write off-label prescriptions — prescriptions issued to patients outside of their FDAapproved use — a former Insys sales rep who worked exclusively with PPSA in Mobile testified that Ruan and Couch directed patients to fill off-label prescriptions at C&R Pharmacy, which they co-owned in Mobile. In turn, the pair billed federally funded and private health insurance providers to the tune of $572,000 for those expensive, unnecessary and dangerously addictive drugs — all while collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in “speaking fees” from Insys to encourage other doctors to write off-label prescriptions for Subsys as well. During the local trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bodnar said Ruan and Couch were “very important” to Insys — claiming that top executives from the company had traveled from Arizona to meet the doctors in Mobile on more than one occasion. The trial in Mobile relied heavily on testimony from former PPSA employees and associates who accepted plea agreements in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors. Ruan and Couch were denied that offer after pushing their case to trial. When asked whether the doctors might assist the government in their ongoing cases involving Insys and its
former employees, Defense Attorney Dennis Knizley seemed to suggest that ship might have sailed during the pretrial phase of the case. As for the man at the top of the alleged nationwide conspiracy, Kapoor appeared in federal court in Phoenix for the first time on Thursday but will face his charges in Boston, where the previous six Insys executives were indicted in late 2016. The former Insys executives currently charged in the scheme include Kapoor; Michael L. Babich, 40, of Scottsdale, Arizona, former CEO and president of the company; Alec Burlakoff, 42, of Charlotte, North Carolina, former vice president of sales; Richard M. Simon, 46, of Seal Beach, California, former national director of sales; former regional sales directors Sunrise Lee, 36, of Bryant City, Michigan, and Joseph A. Rowan, 43, of Panama City, Florida; and former Vice President of Managed Markets Michael J. Gurry, 53, of Scottsdale. All are facing various charges that allege a nationwide conspiracy to bribe practitioners in multiple states — many of whom, like Ruan and Couch, operated pain clinics — in order to get them to prescribe Subsys and other fentanylbased pain medications. In exchange for bribes, kickbacks and “speaking fees,” the practitioners allegedly wrote large numbers of prescriptions for patients, most of whom were not diagnosed with cancer. The indictment also alleges Kapoor and the six former executives conspired to mislead and defraud health insurance providers who were reluctant to approve payment for the drug when it was prescribed for noncancer patients. They achieved this goal by setting up a dedicated “reimbursement unit” within Insys for obtaining prior authorization directly from insurers. “In the midst of a nationwide opioid epidemic that has reached crisis proportions, Mr. Kapoor and his company stand accused of bribing doctors to overprescribe a potent opioid and committing fraud on insurance companies solely for profit,” said William D. Weinreb, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “Today’s arrest and charges reflect our ongoing efforts to attack the opioid crisis from all angles. We must hold the industry and its leadership accountable — just as we would the cartels or a street-level drug dealer.” If convicted, Kapoor faces at least 20 years for the RICO charge, which does not include the potential sentences associated with his charges for fraud and the conspiracy to violate anti-kickback statutes. If the government treats his case like Ruan and Couch’s, Kapoor — a billionaire — could see any asset gained as a result of the alleged conspiracy seized by the federal government. However, it doesn’t appear Kapoor is entertaining the idea of a guilty plea just yet. On Thursday, his defense attorney, Brian T. Kelly, told national news outlets that Kapoor was “not guilty of these charges” and “intends to fight [them] vigorously.”
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COMMENTARY | DAMN THE TORPEDOES
No need for apologies here ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
who had syphilis untreated for decades just to see what would happen. That definitely counts as an embarrassment for the state, but the feds get some of the blame too. Speaking of STDs, even as I wrote this another point of Alabama pride came to my attention. The Centers for Disease Control just listed the top 10 and bottom 10 states when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases and guess what? We weren’t in either list! Alaska clocked in at number one in the STD category, followed by our neighbor to the west — and my home state — Mississippi. (I haven’t lived there for a while, so no need for alarm.) Actually, Alabama finished at number 11 on the list, but we know for sure that people from Alabama aren’t spreading STDs anywhere near as often as people from Alaska! Of course the prudes from Vermont had the least amount of social diseases, but that’s probably just because they’re too worked up about maple syrup. We can count the birth of Mardi Gras, our sugar-white beaches and the biggest traffic snarl on I-10 from coast to coast among some of our great achievements. Jimmy Buffett, the guy who runs Apple and George “Goober” Lindsey are all Alabamians. So Doug Jones, it looks like Roy Moore may be right. There’s no need to be embarrassed about Alabama. You can probably rest assured that if Roy wins the election he’s going to give Alabama a whole lot of other things not to be embarrassed about.
THEGADFLY
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kicks butt week in and week out, and Nick Saban could be the smartest person who ever lived. Maybe Rhode Island should apologize for whatever passes for football in that state. They’re the ones who should be embarrassed. Really, there are a lot more things to be proud of as an Alabamian than there are to be embarrassed about. I mentioned football already, didn’t I? We have lots of humidity and that’s supposed to be good for wrinkles, so we probably have really nice skin as a state. Alabama has contributed mightily to the country’s music and literature and also provided the internet with the YouTube sensation, “The Crichton Leprechaun.” That piece of pop culture is known worldwide. Talk about no apologies necessary! We know where da gold at! Huntsville was home to much of the technological development of the rockets that helped us land on the moon in 1969. True, we did enlist the help of some former Nazi scientists from Germany, which may look bad when viewed through today’s hypersensitive lens. Maybe we offer a “mini apology” on that one. I also like to think about the proud Tuskegee Airmen — the first black fighter squadron in World War II — as a moment of Alabama pride. The Commodores came from Tuskegee too, so that’s another winner. Of course there was also the Tuskegee Experiment, in which the U.S. Public Health Service left hundreds of black men
Cartoon/Laura Rasmussen
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ell, Doug Jones has stepped in it now. The Democratic nominee for United States Senate went and called the state he hopes to represent an “embarrassment,” and now he’s catching hell for it from the Republican nominee, occasional Judge Roy Moore. “We are at a point in this state that we can either go forward or backward,” Jones told reporters from a statewide website. “I’m not a perfect candidate or a perfect person, but I will tell you, what we represent is going forward in this state. Roy Moore represents a backward look. I’m tired of Alabama being an embarrassment around the country.” Moore fired back in a statement, saying, “Alabama needs a senator in Washington who is proud of this state, someone who will be a strong ambassador for Alabama. We don’t need an Obama-like senator who goes on an apology tour for Alabama like President Obama did for America.” It started me thinking, ARE we an embarrassment to the rest of the country? Is Alabama the family member nobody wants to talk about? I know we all love to think that’s Mississippi, but what if it’s us? And if so, should we start the dreaded “apology tour”? I tried to think about things we’ve done that might embarrass the U.S. in front of other countries. Certainly we’ve had our share of embarrassing political moments over the years, from George Wallace trying to block African-American students from entering the University of Alabama, Fob James pretending to be a monkey while discussing whether evolution should be taught and Robert Bentley. I mean, just Robert Bentley as a whole — all of it. The Luv Guv was a total embarrassment. But do we need to apologize for these guys? Wallace actually apologized for himself, even though you’d never know it from the way he’s remembered. Fob certainly isn’t much worse than some of the other goofy governors other states have elected — looking right at you, Illinois and Rod Blagojevich. And we’ll apologize for Bentley when New York apologizes for Anthony Weiner, OK? Maybe we should be embarrassed about the sorry state of our educational system, but really, unless your state is in the top 15 or so states education-wise, shouldn’t everyone be embarrassed? Nobody’s putting up signs at the state line announcing that you’re entering the state with the 30th best education in the country. Finishing in the bottom three is particularly awful, but the last list I saw had the entire U.S. ranked in the middle of the pack worldwide, so we all kind of suck. Roy’s right about that one, there’s no need to apologize for being uneducated. Should Alabama be embarrassed about being poor? We are one of the poorest states, but if you flip that around, it probably means we have fewer of the richyrich 1-percenters who aren’t paying their share of taxes while they reap untold wealth off the backs of the less fortunate. Maybe that makes us a nicer place, and there’s no reason to apologize for being nice, right? While it’s true that many people, especially East and West Coast elites, immediately think of Alabama when it comes to racial strife and inequality, we’re not alone in that category either. All the rioting and public demonstrations appear to be happening in other states, not Alabama. Can we surmise, then, that there is no longer a problem here and no need for apologies? I’ll let Roy field that one, but I have a good idea what he’ll say. Certainly we have no reason to be embarrassed about our football teams. The University of Alabama
A WILD POLICE CHASE IN FAIRHOPE LAST WEEK ENDED WITH ONE SUSPECT DEAD AND ANOTHER IN CUSTODY.
COMMENTARY | THE HIDDEN AGENDA
Always wear the good pair ASHLEY TRICE/EDITOR/ASHLEYTOLAND@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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y grandmother had a strange obsession with car wrecks. It wasn’t that she worried so much about dying in them or totaling her precious Buick. Nope, she was more concerned with what the paramedics and/or ER personnel would think of your undergarments should you be so severely wounded you would need transport and disrobing for treatment purposes. She not only worried about her own undies in this highly unlikely scenario, but also the underwear of her entire family. “Ashley, go change those panties right now. They have holes in them,” she would tell my 7-year-old self as we were getting dressed to go somewhere. And not to anywhere fancy, mind you, probably just to school, the Piggly Wiggly or the TG&Y. “What if we had a car wreck? Would you want the people in the ambulance to see those things? You just never know what’s going to happen when you walk out that door.” Being a young child, I just accepted this as fact. If we were to somehow wrap her LeSabre around a tree or accidentally run it into the Tombigbee River, the first thing on the minds of the paramedics would, of course, be the tattered condition of my Strawberry Shortcake panties. “I think we are going to lose her. Give me the paddles. But good God, have you seen her underwear? Who leaves the house like that? Clear!” Tragically, it may not stop with the ambulance workers and ER docs. Could you imagine the horror if you showed up to the pearly gates in your skankiest skivvies? What would St. Peter think? “Um yeah. Are you really planning on wearing those for eternity? Ohhhh-kay. Whatevs. Luckily the big guy doesn’t judge.” I would love to say my grandmother’s unusual desire to make sure we are all wore fancy “drawers” at all times in case of vehicular tragedy gave me some complex as an adult to always be prepared for such. But let’s just say there are a few pair in the rotation that would cause harsh judgment from any medical personnel and/or higher beings that got a look at them as I lay dying. But when those do come up in the rotation (usually when I haven’t had time to do much laundry), I always hear her disappointed voice in the back of my mind. “Oh, Ashley!” Sorry, Grams. In this same vein, a lifetime of watching “Dateline,” “48 Hours,” “Forensic Files” and “Law and Order” always has me thinking what the detectives and crime scene investigators would think if they found my dead body in a gutter and I didn’t have any identification on me. It seems, at least in “Law and Order,” the medical examiner makes a lot of judgments about John and Jane Does based on whether or not their fingernails are manicured. If they are, they start questioning tennis pros at area country clubs. If not, they start showing your picture to all the local pimps. Unfortunately, my cold dead hands would fall into the hooker category most of the time.
They also judge you on your stomach contents. What can I say? One day they may find Ruth’s Chris, the next they may find Krystal. Maybe both. This is really going to throw Detectives Briscoe and Curtis for a loop! “It appears Ruth’s Chris was her last meal, as her stomach is full of butter, steak, ice cream and Frangelico, but that just doesn’t make sense, considering the condition of her fingernails, not to mention her underwear.” If they find you dead at your home, they will not only judge your body but your house. This is the one I worry about the most. Because with two kids, my house often looks like a crime scene and there have been no crimes committed in my home (to my knowledge). They’ll look around first and see drawers pulled out in all of the bedrooms with clothes falling out of them. There will be soccer balls and ballet shoes in strange places like the dining room table or on the back of the toilet. Toys will be scattered from one end of the house to the other. Detective Briscoe will say to Curtis as he arrives on the scene, “I just got here but it clearly looks like a robbery.“ I will overhear this as I lay there dead. My ghost will leave my body and try to say as I hover over the scene, “Hey guys, I know it looks like someone just robbed this place or perhaps they were looking for secret files, but that’s not the case. We were just in a big hurry this morning. I swear I was going to straighten it all back up tonight! Please don’t think we live like this all the time!” But they can’t hear me. CSI will scrape a hardened red substance off of the kitchen counter and say, “Detectives, looks like we may have some blood over here.” Don’t waste your time, CSI. It’s just dried ketchup from chicken fingers the other night. “Detectives, there is an unidentified white substance on the couch. We’re sending it to the lab, but you know what that could indicate.” No, no, no, CSI. The only thing that indicates is that my stupid kids rubbed the frosting from their cinnamon rolls on my couch … again. I swear I have asked them not to a million times. I was going to get this all cleaned up tonight! You have to believe me. My ghost will float around miserably, embarrassed that the detectives and forensics team had to see my house in this condition. I’ll try to pick up a few things but my ghost hands won’t let me. Distraught, I will hear the M.E., who had been giving my dead body a preliminary assessment, call the detectives over. “I’m not sure burglary is your motive,” she says. “The victim’s underwear is practically torn to shreds.” No, no, no, no, no, no. They are just the old ones. I was going to do laundry tomorrow! Why did I have to be murdered today of all days? I had good ones on yesterday, damn it! Just then, Grams floats up right up beside me and looks down at my lifeless body and tattered underwear. “See, I told you.”
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COMMENTARY | THE GRIOT’S CORNER
Keeping dreams alive BY KEN ROBINSON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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hose who come hither are generally of the most ignorant stupid sort of their own nation. … Not being used to Liberty, they know not how to make a modest use of it … that they are not esteemed men till they have shewn their manhood by beating their mothers, so these seem to think themselves not free, till they can feel their liberty in abusing and insulting their teachers. … Few of their children in the country learn English … The signs in our streets [now] have inscriptions in both languages … they will soon so outnumber us, that all the advantages we have will not in my opinion be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious.” If not for the use of the old English form of certain words one would think this quote was from someone living in our day. Who spoke these words and of whom did they speak? The author of the quote is one of our venerable and beloved founding fathers — Benjamin Franklin. The group of people he critiqued and criticized in such a sharp and harsh way — German immigrants to America. Nativism, favoring the interests of established inhabitants over those of immigrants, and xenophobia, intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries, is nothing new. Just like it exists now, it’s also permeated our past. When Franklin spoke the above words in 1753, he was expressing a deep frustration with the numbers of Germans pouring into the colony of Pennsylvania. For a country that lauds itself as a melting pot, we’ve unfortunately always shown particular reluctance to add new groups to our societal stew.
During the 1800s it became the Irish who were rebuffed and unwelcome on these shores. In fact, there was a time when it was common to pick up a newspaper and see in the want ads: “No Irish need apply.” After the Irish it was the Asians, and the latter’s growing presence led to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. After them it was the Italians and other Southern Europeans. Sounding disturbingly similar to what you might hear today, Southern Italians were seen as “rapists and savages.” Indeed, the 1911 Dillingham Report, compiled by the United States Immigration Commission, observed: “Certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race. In the popular mind, crimes of personal violence, robbery, blackmail and extortion are peculiar to the people of Italy.” The result of this kind of thinking? The Immigration Act of 1924, which became law and threw up an effective barrier to the majority of Italians, Southern Europeans and others who wanted to immigrate to this country. Indeed, when we survey U.S. history it seems the “others” among us have always had a difficult time being accepted. The American Dream often came with ethnic limitations. This history came to mind as I was sitting and listening to the fears and anxieties of two local young people who are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. Since 2001, the bipartisan Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act — crafted to give those who came to the U.S. illegally as children per-
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manent legal resident status — was introduced and has failed to make its way through Congress. In light of this repeated failure, in 2012 President Obama created the DACA program, allowing children brought to the U.S. illegally to temporarily live, study and work in America. DACA applicants are vetted criminally and for any national security risks. If they pass and are accepted, they become protected from deportation and are eligible for privileges such as a work permit, college enrollment and obtaining a driver’s license. There are almost 800,000 individuals in the DACA program. Beneficiaries are also referred to as “Dreamers” (after the neverpassed DREAM Act). Around 4,800 Dreamers reside in Alabama — not nearly as many as in states such as Florida and Texas, but the smaller numbers don’t make it less of a problem for those in our community who are affected. The two young people I referred to above were among the top graduates in their local high schools, and as a result of the DACA program were able to enroll in and currently attend college. Now much of that, along with their future in this country, is in doubt. President Trump has decided to rescind the DACA program, but has allowed for a six-month delay, giving Congress time to put together comprehensive legislation to address and remedy the issue. However, with basically no serious legislative action or accomplishment so far this year, it’s doubtful immigration will become one of them. As DACA students, these two local young people are not able to receive federal financial aid assistance, but they say that’s totally OK — they are more than happy to work and pay their way through school to try and obtain that dream, which has drawn so many from the world over to this nation’s shores. It’s young people such as these that led a consortium of evangelical groups and leaders to issue a letter to President Trump, stating: “While working with leadership on Capitol Hill on a permanent legislative solution, we also ask that you ensure that these young immigrants are protected. We have seen immigrants strengthen our great nation throughout its history. … One group of immigrants who exemplify these benefits are young people brought to our country by their parents as children. We carry particular concern for the future of these Dreamers because they have so much to offer America. … As a country, we need to focus on real solutions for our broken immigration system … Deporting these young people runs counter to these priorities.” Let’s allow these young immigrant dreams to be kept alive. It goes to the core of who we are, or at least who we proclaim to be.
COMMENTARY | THE BELTWAY BEAT
Dems need to think beyond Mueller’s Russia probe BY JEFF POOR/COLUMNIST/JEFFREYPOOR@GMAIL.COM
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ormer Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was indicted on Monday as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Predictably, Washington, D.C., and the media that tracks it reacted enthusiastically to the announcement, looking at all the angles to see what this might mean for Donald Trump and his presidency. Democrats, and some Republicans, reacted with a giddiness, as if this were the appetizer at their favorite restaurant with a main course and dessert yet to come. Other Republicans that weren’t as thrilled about the news seemed to dismiss it as Officer Barbrady would on “South Park” by proclaiming, “Move along people, there’s nothing to see here.” What’s likely going on with these indictments is a Mueller effort to put the squeeze on Manafort and his associate, Rick Gates. The end goal: to get them to give something up on Trump. Recall that back in June, Mueller announced the addition of Andrew Weissmann — the former head of the United States Justice Department’s criminal fraud section — to his investigation team. Before joining Mueller’s probe, Weissmann’s claim to fame was the role he played in prosecuting New York City organized crime in the 1990s and the Enron scandal in the 2000s. Both of those prosecutions relied on flipping witnesses. What is happening in this Russia probe is likely similar to those investigations. Meanwhile, we should expect this to captivate the news cycle for the time being. The airwaves will be filled with breathless anticipation of the next shoe to drop and dimestore opinions from anyone willing to go on television and declare the pending disastrous end of the Trump presidency. In the meantime, as we await the apparently expected fall of Trump, does any of this matter politically? Imagine how a conversation might go if someone was trying to sway a 2016 Trump voter who isn’t quite as locked in to the blow-by-blow of the news. “First indictments brought down in the Trump-Russia probe. You best rethink your support!” “Why? What was Trump indicted for?” “Well, Trump wasn’t indicted. But an associate of his was — his former campaign manager!” “Oh, so his former campaign manager was colluding with the Russians.” “Well, no. He allegedly committed tax fraud a decade ago and failed to register as an agent of a foreign government.” “What does this have to do with Trump?” “It doesn’t matter! Trump bad!” Once you get to steps four and five of that conversation, you are already losing the interest of our short attention-span electorate.
And chances are, if it is one of the diehard variety of Trump supporters, you could have had “Trump was found guilty” and that person would have already dismissed it as some left-wing conspiracy wasting the precious time needed to get America back on the right track. Essentially the vast majority of people who vote have already made up their minds, and all of this is just background noise. The Mueller soap opera is just the complicated Washington political game being played. Most of the public just blows it off as uninteresting. Polling shows only 37 percent of Americans can name their congressman and just 43 percent can name a Supreme Court Justice. Likely, an even smaller fraction of people could tell you who Robert Mueller or Paul Manafort are. The hope for some Democrats is that this plays out like Watergate. It won’t be the crime of collusion (for which there is still no publicly available evidence), but the cover-up of the alleged crime. Create enough smoke and uncertainty about the bet voters made on Trump in 2016 and perhaps they will reverse course at the ballot box next time. The country is still a year away from the first meaningful national election since Trump’s inauguration. It would not be unprecedented for the opposition party to retake Congress in the midterm election following a presidential election. However, Democrats have not pulled off retaking Congress after a Republican election since Dwight Eisenhower’s first term in 1954. The reason for that is the Democrats had already controlled Congress after a Republican-winning presidential election. The exception came in 2002 with President George W. Bush, whose party managed to retain control of Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Regaining control of Congress after losing a presidential election two years prior is a scenario for which the Democratic Party does not have a winning playbook. The other problem the Democratic Party faces is that while the demographics seem to be moving in its favor, Democrats do not turn out for midterm elections like Republicans do. The obvious question is, what do you do to get Democrats to come out and vote in a midterm election? Or how about, how do you get to make a Trump voter a Democratic Party convert in 2018? It’s not going to be by harping on an indictment of Paul Manafort with complicated circumstances. While this is a good weapon for Democrats to have in their arsenal, it’s not a silver bullet. There is still a lot of work to be done for Democrats to regain a foothold in Washington, D.C.
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BUSINESS | THE REAL DEAL
USA Medical burn center ranked first in nation BY RON SIVAK/COLUMNIST/BUSINESS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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he University of South Alabama Medical Center’s Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center was recently ranked first in the nation for patient outcomes during the second quarter of 2017 among academic medical centers with burn centers, according to a news release from Vizient, formerly the University HealthSystem Consortium. “Some of the best care in the nation is performed at USA Medical Center every day,” Sam Dean, administrator of USA Medical Center, said. “It is exciting to have our burn team recognized nationally for the highest quality of care they provide patients in the region.” The Mobile-based burn center provides minimally invasive care and enhanced recovery approaches for patients from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. One of the busiest burn units in the country, the Arnold Luterman Regional Burn Center consistently ranked in the top five for patient outcomes in 2016, earning Vizient’s second-highest spot nationally for patient outcomes during the first quarter of 2016. “This new No. 1 ranking speaks to the strength of our entire staff,” said Dr. Steven Kahn, director of the Luterman center and the Burn Intensive Care Unit at USA Medical Center. “We consider it a privilege to provide a public health service to the Gulf Coast. With the consistency that we have seen in outstanding outcomes, it is clear that there is no reason to travel outside of Mobile for quality burn care. Staying close to home and having the added element of family support tends to speed recovery.” The USA burn team includes physicians specializing in burn surgery, critical care, infectious disease, plastic surgery, trauma surgery, orthopedic surgery, psychiatry and
anesthesiology. Support staff includes specially trained burn nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, dietitians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists and a chaplain. Internationally recognized for research, the USA Burn Team has contributed to hundreds of medical publications and made significant contributions in burn care, including new technologies, firefighter safety, nutrition, infection control, immunology, scarring, pain management and wound healing. A state-certified Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center, USA Medical Center serves as the major referral center for South Alabama, southeast Mississippi and portions of northwest Florida. In 2016, USA Medical Center served patients in 53 counties. The medical center’s designated trauma team treats an average of five critically injured patients per day, or more than 1,700 people yearly. USA Medical Center is part of USA Health, a 3,800-employee health system.
the Mobile metropolitan area for The First when the merger is finalized next year. The combined company will have approximately $2.2 billion in total assets, $1.9 billion in total deposits and $1.5 billion in total loans. • Sway Downtown, a new 1,400-square-foot yoga studio at 10 S. Conception St. between Conti and Dauphin streets in downtown Mobile, recently opened for business, according to owner Noel Hanley. Hanley has completed a 200-hour teacher training with Kindness Yoga in Denver and is also certified in progressing ballet technique. Classes to be offered by Sway include vinyasa yoga, gentle yoga, family yoga, creative movement, sway barre, sway abs, creative movement and adult ballet • The 14,000-square-foot former Sawyer’s Furniture property — built in 1970 at 2855 Springhill Ave. in Crichton — was recently purchased for $245,000 by a private investor. Amber Dedeaux with Vallas Realty worked for the seller. The buyer was represented by Christmas Properties. • According to Chris Harl with White-Spunner Realty, ice cream eatery SnoDash recently leased some 1,610 square feet of space at the Jubilee Point Shopping Center in Daphne. • According to Pratt Thomas with the Merrill P. Thomas Co. Inc., an institutional investor recently acquired several foreclosures through their acquisition of writeoffs from several local area banks. Examples of properties up for auction include some 9,500 square feet of office space sitting on .85 acres at 601 W. Railroad St. in Bay Minette and 17 acres of undeveloped land located at 41655 State Highway 59 in Loxley. More information about the auction can be found by contacting Pratt Thomas or Daryl Cleworth at Merrill P. Thomas Co. and John Vallas at Vallas Realty. Full listings of real estate inventory up for auction can be found on www.hudsonmarshall. com.
Broadus joins NAI Mobile
NAI Mobile recently announced the addition of Brandon S. Broadus as a commercial sales and leasing consultant for the commercial real estate firm. A military veteran prior to joining NAI Mobile, Broadus served as career officer • Planet Fitness is leasing some 18,200 square feet of in The U.S. Army and holds a horticulture degree from Mississippi State Univerretail space in The Outdoor Center, 1705 State Highway sity. Most recently he was the commander of a financial management detachment at 59 in Foley. The fitness center is slated to open early next Fort Drum in New York. spring. Amanda Goldman with Stirling Properties repre“Brandon completed his first transaction within one week of joining the NAI sented the landlord. STIX Commercial Group worked for Mobile team,” Pete Riehm, industrial and office specialist at NAI Mobile, said. the tenant. “We are very impressed with his background and thrilled with his extremely dy• The First Bancshares (NASDAQ: FBMS) announced namic start in the industry as a new agent.” in a news release it has signed an agreement to merge with “NAI Mobile is comprised of dedicated and experienced professionals who are Southwest Bancshares Inc., the parent company for First committed to ensuring its services,” Broadus said. “It is certainly an honor and Community Bank, headquartered in Chatom. The transaction will add 10 new banking locations within privilege to work with an industry leader in Southwest Alabama.”
Commercial real estate moves
16 | L AG N I A P P E | N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N o v e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 7
CUISINE THE REVIEW
Hangout Oyster Cook-Off in its 10th year
2017 HANGOUT OYSTER COOK-OFF NOVEMBER 3-4 GULF SHORES, AL
BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR | FATMANSQUEEZE@COMCAST.NET
The kickoff: Friday, Nov. 3
Save yourself from jumping the starting gun. We lay off the oysters on this evening so we’ll be ravenous for them the next day. This night before the cook-off is focused on suds as The Hangout, 92ZEW and This Is Alabama present the Craft Beer Festival. Over 30 different breweries will be slinging more than 70 craft beers for sampling in your souvenir cup from 6-11 p.m. Live music by Anderson East will get the party cranked. Don’t miss the new feature called Brew B Que. It’s a pitmaster lineup combining the forces of Wesley True, Derek Emerson, David Crews, Ty Thames, Jeremy Downey, James Canter and more serving up pulled pork, seven sauces and seven classic barbecue sides to go with your brews. “Almost Baked Beans,” Potato Wedges, Angie’s Braised Greens, Fermented Coleslaw, “After Church Mac and Cheese,” Chipotle Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro and South Texas Coastal Cactus and Shrimp Slaw will surely liven up the pork party with the many colorful sauce options. Tickets are $40 for this boozy soiree, and you must be at least 21 to enter this area. Designated drivers will not be allowed alcohol of any kind.
The cook-off: Saturday Nov. 4
The cook-off is where they ramp up the fun. It’s a Saturday full of excess as the hottest chefs in the Southeast compete in three categories for the best oyster. Beginning at 11 a.m. your $10 ticket gets you in. You then can purchase tasting tickets to exchange for oysters. By oysters I mean more than 35 restaurants will be serving upwards of 100 different oyster recipes. These are by some of the finest chefs in our area and surrounding markets. Some are James Beard finalists and semifinalists looking to claim the top prize. Take advantage of being able to sample this much talent in
Photos |Courtesy of The Hangout
H
ard to believe it has been a decade since the Hangout Oyster Cook-Off cracked open its first shell, but the festival will be at it again Nov. 3-4 on Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores. This event has become nationally recognized as the premier celebration of the pearl producer, with chefs of great merit coming from all over to assist as we honor the bivalve. We’ve come to know this as a place to sample oyster dishes, rub elbows with Food Network celebs and take in as much craft beer as we do live music. You don’t mess with that formula, so this year will be pretty much more of the same, but with some new faces.
The North American Oyster Showcase is the raw bar of your dreams, with oysters from all over the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. one space, but keep an open mind. Sometimes the guys you’ve and admission to the “Chefs Only” private party Saturday never heard of can make something that melts in your mouth. night. The VIP package includes two tasting ticket booklets Use every tasting ticket you can get your hands on. They have (totaling 30 tickets). no cash value after the festival ends at 6 p.m. You will also find relaxed seating and a private bar in the Not only will you be sampling some amazing creations, VIP area presented by Hancock and Whitney Banks. These the contest will be flanked by other events. This year eight tickets are limited, of course. If everyone was a VIP, there celebrity chefs will be hosting cooking demonstrations on the would be no VIP. Sapporo Cooking Stage hosted by Martie Duncan of “Food Network Star.” The lineup includes award-winning Cory Bahr, The Music “Food Network Star’s” Rusty Hamlin and Wesley True from Anderson East is making a big splash with his soulful voice Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Five-time James Beard Award semifinalist on the Elektra/Low Country Sound label. Chef Rob McDaniel, Adam Evans, Chris With a new album, “Encore,” coming out Lilly and Irv Miller will be joining Martie Jan. 12, he will take the stage Friday night and the gang as well. It’s a great way to during the Craft Beer Festival. Catch this sharpen your culinary skills and see some Athens, Alabama, boy now before he begins of your favorites at the same time. a grueling tour the first of the year. My favorite part of the Saturday festiviEast Tennessee native Rodney Atkins THE 10TH ANNUAL ties is the North American Oyster Showhas been churning out the hits on Curb Recase. This is the raw bar of your dreams cords long before this festival began. “Take HANGOUT OYSTER with oysters from all over the United States a Back Road” and “It’s America” are just as well as Canada and Mexico. There will a couple of tunes that have done him well. COOK-OFF SHOULD BE be oyster farmers on hand to discuss and Catch him Saturday. educate attendees about the different traits A BIG ONE. IF YOU’VE Country singer/songwriter Cam (Caof oysters. Try an oyster from Washington maron Ochs) will deliver her pop-infused next to a Murder Point or an East Coast NEVER BEEN, MY ADVICE Northern California country style Saturday variety. The difference is stunning. as well. Her debut EP, “Welcome to Cam IS TO TAKE IT EASY. You don’t have to stick to beer while Country,” brought her widespread acclaim you’re here. This year’s selection of craft and a Grammy nomination for the track cocktails has expanded. Expect a mixology “Burning House.” bar from High West Whiskey, bloody mary See this week’s music feature for an interbars from Tito’s,and an abundance of wine in the Champagne view with Cam by Lagniappe music editor Stephen Centanni. Lounge. Our favorite country station, 95KSJ, presents the live music The skinny for Saturday with Rodney Atkins and Cam. The 10th annual Hangout Oyster Cook-Off should be a big
The VIP
Perhaps you prefer to roll a little higher than the average bear this weekend. If so, VIP tickets are available for $150. This price lets you enjoy the cook-off in style. The perks are exclusive chef tastings, meet-and-greets with some of the chefs
one. If you’ve never been, my advice is to take it easy. There are so many beers Friday and you can get swept up in the music. Keep a little in the tank to enjoy five or six hours of eating oysters on Saturday. Don’t neglect the North American Oyster Showcase. Stay hydrated. Most importantly, come back next year!
N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N o v e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 17
1808 Old Shell Rd. • 473-7872
DUNKIN DONUTS ($)
DONUTS, COFFEE & SANDWICHES 1976 Michigan Ave. • 442-4846 3876 Airport Blvd. • 219-7369 505 Schillinger Rd. S. • 442-4845 29160 US Hwy 98 • 621-2228 $10/PERSON • $$ 10-25/PERSON • $$$ OVER 25/PERSON
E WING HOUSE ($)
COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE
EUGENE’S MONKEY BAR ($)
ALL SPORTS BAR & GRILL ($) 3408 Pleasant Valley Rd. • 345-9338
AL’S HOTDOGS ($)
CLASSIC HOTDOGS, GYROS & MILKSHAKES 4701 Airport Blvd. • 342-3243
ATLANTA BREAD COMPANY ($-$$) SANDWICHES, SALADS & MORE. 3680 Dauphin St. • 380-0444
BAKE MY DAY ($)
OLD-FASHIONED SOUTHERN BAKE SHOP 156 N. McGregor Ave. • 219-7261
BOB’S DINER ($)
GOOD OLD AMERICAN COOKING 263 St. Francis St. • 405-1497
BRICK & SPOON ($)
3662 Airport Blvd. Suite A • 525-9177
BUCK’S DINER ($)
CLASSIC AMERICAN DINER 58 N. Secion St. Fairhope • 928-8521
CAFE 219 ($)
SALADS, SANDWICHES & POTATO SALAD 219 Conti St. • 438-5234
CAMELLIA CAFÉ ($-$$$)
CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN FARE 61 Section St. • Fairhope • 928-4321
CAMMIE’S OLD DUTCH ($) MOBILE’S CLASSIC ICE CREAM SPOT 2511 Old Shell Rd. • 471-1710
CARPE DIEM ($)
DELI FOODS, PASTRIES & SPECIALTY DRINKS 4072 Old Shell Rd. • 304-0448
CLARK’S KITCHEN ($-$$) CATERING 5817 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0200
CHAT-A-WAY CAFE ($)
QUICHES & SANDWICHES 4366 Old Shell Rd. • 343-9889
CHICK-FIL-A ($)
107 St. Francis St. • 415-1700 3244 Dauphin St. • 476-0320 3215 Bel Air Mall • 476-8361 4707 Airport Blvd. • 461-9933 435 Schillinger Rd. • 639-1163 1682 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 621-3215 30500 AL 181 • Spanish Fort • 621-3020
CHICKEN SALAD CHICK ($)
CHICKEN SALAD, SALAD & SOUP 2370 S. Hillcrest Rd. Unit R • 660-0501 5753 Old Shell Rd. • 408-3236 1802 US Hwy 98 Suite F• 625-1092
CHI-TOWN DAWGZ ($)
195 S University Blvd. Suite H • 662-1829 15 N Conception St. • 433-2299
FATHOMS LOUNGE
SMALL PLATES AND CREATIVE COCKTAILS 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
FLOUR GIRLS BAKERY ($) 809 Hillcrest Rd. • 634-2285
FIREHOUSE SUBS ($)
HOT SUBS, COLD SALADS & CATERING 6300 Grelot Rd. • 631-3730
FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES ($) BURGERS, MILKSHAKES & FRIES 4401 Old Shell Rd. • 447-2394 4663 Airport Blvd. • 300-8425 5319 Hwy 90 • 661-0071 1225 Satchel Page Dr.• 378-8768
FOOSACKLY’S ($)
FAMOUS CHICKEN FINGERS 29181 US Hwy 98 • Daphne • 375-1104 7843 Moffett Rd. • 607-6196 1109 Shelton Beach Rd. • 287-1423 310 S. University Blvd. • 343-0047 2250 Airport Blvd. • 479-2922 7641 Airport Blvd. • 607-7667 2558 Schillinger Rd. • 219-7761 3249 Dauphin St. • 479-2000
FOY SUPERFOODS ($) 119 Dauphin St.• 307-8997
GULF COAST EXPLOREUM CAFE ($) HOMEMADE SOUPS & SANDWICHES 65 Government St. • 208-6815
GUMBO SHACK ($-$$)
SEAFOOD & SANDWICHES 212 ½ Fairhope Ave •Fairhope • 928-4100
HOOTERS ($)
3869 Airport Blvd. • 345-9544 5470 Inn Rd. • 661-9117 28975 US 98 • Daphne • 625-3910
JAMAICAN VIBE ($)
MIND-BLOWING ISLAND FOOD 3700 Gov’t Blvd. Ste A • 602-1973
JERSEY MIKE’S ($)
AUTHENTIC SUB SANDWICHES 7449 Airport Blvd. • 375-1820
JIMMY JOHN’S ($)
SANDWICHES, CATERING & DELIVERY TOO 6920 Airport Blvd. • 414-5444 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-8694 62 B Royal St. • 432-0360
JOE CAIN CAFÉ ($)
PIZZAS, SANDWICHES, COCKTAILS 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
JONELLI’S ($)
CHICAGO STYLE EATERY 1222 Hillcrest Rd. • 461-6599
1252 Govenment St.• 301-7556
CONNECTION FROZEN YOGURT ($)
HOME COOKING 4054 Government St. • 665-4557
1880 Industrial Pkwy. • 675-2999
CREAM AND SUGAR ($)
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
D NU SPOT ($)
HOTDOGS SANDWICHES & COOL TREATS 3371 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 300–4015
MOMMA GOLDBERG’S DELI ($) SANDWICHES & MOMMA’S LOVE 3696 Airport Blvd. • 344-9500 5602 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6556
MONTEGO’S ($-$$)
FRESH CARIBBEAN-STYLE FOOD & CRAFT BEER 6601 Airport Blvd. • 634-3445 225 Dauphin St. • 375-1576
MOON PIE GENERAL STORE ($)
107 St Francis St #115 • RSA Bank Trust Building
MOSTLY MUFFINS ($)
LODA BIER GARTEN ($) PUB FOOD AND DRAFT BEERS 251 Dauphin St. • 287-6871
MAMA’S ($)
SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD HOME COOKING 220 Dauphin St. • 432-6262
MARS HILL CAFE ($)
MARY’S SOUTHERN COOKING ($) 3011 Springhill Ave. • 476-2232
MICHELI’S CAFE ($)
6358 Cottage Hill Rd. • 725-6917
STEVIE’S KITCHEN ($)
SANDWICHES, SOUPS, SALADS & MORE 41 West I-65 Service Rd. N Suite 150. • 287-2793
SUGAR RUSH DONUT CO. ($) 4701 Airport Blvd. • 408-3379
SUNSET POINTE ($-$$)
AT FLU CREEK 831 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-7766
THE BLIND MULE ($)
DAILY SPECIALS MADE FROM SCRATCH 57 N. Claiborne St. • 694-6853
THE GALLEY ($)
OPEN FOR LUNCH, INSIDE GULFQUEST 155 S. Water St • 436-8901
THE HARBERDASHER ($)
NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE ($)
THE PIGEON HOLE ($)
OVEN-BAKED SANDWICHES & MORE 1335 Satchel Page Dr. Suite C. • 287-7356 7440 Airport Blvd. • 633-0096 30500 State Hwy 181 #132 • 625-6544
NOURISH CAFE ($)
HEALTHY WHOLE FOODS & MORE 101 N Water St. (Moorer YMCA)• 458-8572
O’DALYS HOLE IN THE WALL ($) 562 Dauphin St.• 725-6429
OLD SHELL GROWLERS ($) GROWLER STATION AND BITES 1801 Old Shell Rd. • 345-4767
PANINI PETE’S ($)
ORIGINAL SANDWICH AND BAKE SHOP 42 ½ Section St. • Fairhope • 929-0122 102 Dauphin St. • 405-0031
113 Dauphin St.• 436-0989
SOUTHERN COOKING & THEN SOME 1716 Main St. Daphne • 222-4120
THE SUNFLOWER CAFE ($) INSIDE VIRGINIA’S HEALTH FOOD 3055 A Dauphin St • 479-3200
THYME BY THE BAY ($-$$)
33 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-5635
TIME TO EAT CAFE ($)
DOWN-HOME COUNTRY COOKIN 7351 Theodore Dawes Rd. • 654-0228 13665 N. Wintzell Ave. • 824-1119
TIN ROOF ($-$$)
SOUTHERN CASUAL FAMILY DINING 10800 US HWY 31 • Spanish Fort• 621-4995
PAT’S DOWNTOWN GRILL ($)
TP CROCKMIERS ($)
PDQ ($)
THREE GEORGES CANDY SHOP ($)
POLLMAN’S BAKERY ($)
TROPICAL SMOOTHIE ($)
PUNTA CLARA KITCHEN ($)
UNCLE JIMMY’S DELICIOUS HOTDOGS ($)
BAR FOOD 271 Dauphin St • 438-9585
CHICKEN FINGERS, SALAD & SANDWICHES. 1165 University Blvd. • 202-0959 BAKERY, SANDWICHES & MORE 750 S. Broad St. • 438-1511 4464 Old Shell Rd. • 342-8546 107 St. Francis St. Suite 102 • 438-2261 FUDGE, PRALINES & MORE 17111 Scenic Hwy 98 • Fairhope • 928-8477
R BISTRO ($-$$)
334 Fairhope Ave • Fairhope • 928-2399
REGINA’S KITCHEN ($-$$) SANDWICHES, SUBS & SOUPS 2056 Gov’t St. • 476-2777
ROLY POLY ($)
WRAPS & SALADS 3220 Dauphin St. • 479-2480
ROSHELL’S CAFE ($)
2906 Springhill Ave. • 479-4614
ROYAL KNIGHT ($)
3915 Gov’t Blvd. • 219-7922
CUPCAKE BOUTIQUE 6207 Cottage Hill Rd. Suite B • 665-3003
MUFFINS, COFFEE & WRAPS 105 Dauphin St. • 433-9855
LICKIN’ GOOD DONUTS ($)
DELISH BAKERY AND EATERY ($)
CLASSIC BURGERS, HOTDOGS & SETTING
MIKO’S ITALIAN ICE ($)
ROSIE’S GRILL ($-$$)
GREAT SANDWICHES, COFFEE & MORE 1087 Downtowner Blvd. • 643-1611
DEW DROP INN ($)
AUTHENTIC IRISH PUB 101 N. Bancroft St.• 990-5100
JUDY’S PLACE ($-$$)
22159 Halls Mill Rd. . • 648-6522 GREAT DESSERTS & HOT LUNCH 23 Upham St. • 473-6115
MCSHARRY’S ($-$$)
SANDWICHES, SOUTHWEST FARE, 7 DAYS 1203 Hwy 98 Ste. 3D • Daphne • 626-2440 LUNCH & DINNER 3004 Gov’t Blvd. • 287-1220
AMERICAN RESTAURANT & BAR 250 Dauphin St. • 476-1890 LIGHT LUNCH WITH SOUTHERN FLAIR. 226 Dauphin St. • 433-6725
GREAT SMOOTHIES, WRAPS & SANDWICHES. Du Rhu Dr. • 378-5648 570 Schillinger Road • 634-3454
2550 Dauphin Island Pkwy S. • 307-5328
WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS ($) COFFEE AND DONUTS 759 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope • 928-7223
WEDGIE’S ($)
GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE 5955 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6134
WILD WING STATION ($)
5401 Cottage Hill Rd. • 591-4842
MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE ($) BARBEQUE & MUSIC Bayfront Park Dr. • Daphne • 625-RIBS 701 Springhill Ave. • 410-7427 4672 Airport Blvd. • 300-8516
SAUCY Q BARBQUE ($) AWARD-WINNING BARBQUE 1111 Gov’t Blvd. • 433-7427
SMOKEY DEMBO SMOKE HOUSE ($) 3758 Dauphin Island Pkwy. • 473-1401
DROP DEAD GOURMET BAY GOURMET ($$)
A PREMIER CATERER & COOKING CLASSES 1880-A Airport Blvd. • 450-9051
BRIQUETTES STEAKHOUSE ($-$$) GRILLED STEAKS, CHICKEN & SEAFOOD 720A Schillinger Rd. S. S2. • 607-7200 901 Montlimar Dr • 408-3133
CHUCK’S FISH ($$)
SEAFOOD AND SUSHI 551 Dauphin St.• 219-7051
SATORI COFFEEHOUSE ($)
BRICK PIT ($)
SERDA’S COFFEEHOUSE ($)
COTTON STATE BBQ ($)
COFFEE, LUNCHES, LIVE MUSIC & GELATO 3 Royal St. S. • 415-3000
DOWNTOWN LUNCH 101 N. Conception St. • 545-4682
SIMPLY SWEET ($)
DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT ($-$$)
HOME COOKIN’ LIKE MOMMA MADE. 2804 Springhill Ave. • 473-4739
BBQ, BURGERS, WINGS & SEAFOOD 19170 Hwy 43 Mt. Vernon. • 829-9227 A FAVORITE BARBECUE SPOT 5456 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0001
17111 Scenic HWY 98 • Point Clear • 928-4838
A LITTLE VINO DOMKE MARKET
WINE, BEER, GOURMET FOODS, & MORE. 720 Schillinger Rd. S. Unit 8 • 287-1851
FOOD PAK
FOOD, WINE & MORE 5150 Old Shell Rd. • 341-1497
POUR BABY
WINE BAR, CRAFT BEERS & BISTRO 6808 Airport Blvd. • 343-3555
FIREHOUSE WINE BAR & SHOP 216 St Francis St. • 421-2022
RED OR WHITE
323A De La Mare Ave, Fairhope • 990-0003 1104 Dauphin St.. • 478-9494
ROYAL STREET TAVERN
LIVE MUSIC, MARTINIS & DINNER MENU. 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
SOUTHERN NAPA
BISTRO PLATES, CRAFT BEERS & PANTRY 2304 Main St. • 375-2800
FALAFEL? TRY SOME HUMMUS 7 SPICE ($-$$)
HEALTHY, DELICIOUS MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 3762 Airport Blvd. • 725-1177
ABBA’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE ($-$$) 4861 Bit & Spur Rd. • 340-6464
DAUPHIN’S ($$-$$$)
JERUSALEM CAFE ($-$$)
DUMBWAITER ($$-$$$)
MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH COMPANY ($)
HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH A VIEW 107 St. Francis St • 444-0200 9 Du Rhu Dr. Suite 201 167 Dauphin St. • 445-3802
AUTHENTIC TURKISH & MEDITERRANEAN 3702 Airport Blvd. • 461-6901 MOBILE’S OLDEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE 5773 Airport Blvd. • 304-1155
FIVE ($$)
GREAT & QUICK. 3702 Airport Blvd. • 308-2131 274 Dauphin St. • 545-3161 2502 Schillinger Rd. Ste. 2 • 725-0126 6890 US-90 • DAPHNE • 621-2271
KITCHEN ON GEORGE ($-$$)
MINT HOOKAH BISTRO ($)
LAUNCH ($-$$)
OLLIE’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL ($-$$)
GREAT FOOD AND COCKTAILS 609 Dauphin St. • 308-3105 CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FOOD 351A George & Savannah St. • 436-8890 HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St. • 432-8000
MAGHEE’S GRILL ON THE HILL ($-$$) GREAT LUNCH & DINNER 3607 Old Shell Rd. • 445-8700
NOBLE SOUTH ($$)
OSMAN’S RESTAURANT ($$)
‘CUE
THE WASH HOUSE ($$)
ISTANBUL GRILL ($)
HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St • 460-3157
YAK THE KATHMANDU KITCHEN ($-$$)
AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM HIMALAYAN REGION 3210 Dauphin St. • 287-0115 400 Eastern Shore Center • 459-2862
Battle House Hotel, Royal St. • 338-5493
CORNER 251 ($-$$)
NOJA ($$-$$$)
85 N. Bancroft St. Fairhope • 990.8883
BAR-B-QUING WITH MY HONEY ($$)
18 | L AG N I A P P E | N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N o v e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 7
MEAT BOSS ($)
THE WINDMILL MARKET ($)
SALLY’S PIECE-A-CAKE ($)
COFFEE, SMOOTHIES, LUNCH & BEERS. 5460 Old Shell Rd. • 344-4575
RIBS, SANDWICHES & GREAT SIDES 3314 Old Shell Rd. • 479-9898
LOCAL INGREDIENTS 203 Dauphin St. • 690-6824
BACKYARD CAFE & BBQ ($)
BAKERY 5638 Three Notch Rd.• 219-6379
DREAMLAND BBQ ($)
1500 Gov’t St. • 287-1526
ROYAL STREET CAFE ($) HOMEMADE LUNCH & BREAKFAST 104 N. Royal St. • 434-0011
BBQ AND MORE Jubilee Sq.Ctr. Hwy 90, Daphne • 210-2151 McGowin Park Ctr. Satchel Paige Dr. • 471-1050 7721 Airport Blvd. • 380-8957
INVENTIVE & VERY FRESH CUISINE 6 N. Jackson St. • 433-0377 SUPREME EUROPEAN CUISINE 2579 Halls Mill Rd. • 479-0006
ROYAL SCAM ($$)
GUMBO, ANGUS BEEF & BAR 72. S. Royal St. • 432-SCAM (7226)
GREAT MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 5951 Old Shell Rd. • 450-9191
MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT & HOOKAH 1248 Hillcrest St • 634-9820
TAZIKI’S ($-$$)
MEDITERRANEAN CAFE 1539 US HWY 98• 273-3337
FAR EASTERN FARE ANG BAHAY KUBO ($$) 4513 Old Shell Rd.• 473-0007
BAMBOO STEAKHOUSE ($$) SUSHI BAR 650 Cody Rd. S • 300-8383
BANGKOK THAI ($-$$)
DELICIOUS, TRADITIONAL THAI CUISINE 28600 US 98 • Daphne • 626-5286 3821 Airport Blvd. • 344-9995
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)
BANZAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($$)
SAGE RESTAURANT ($$)
BENJAS ($)
VON’S BISTRO ($-$$)
CHARM ($-$$)
SEAFOOD, ASIAN & AMERICAN CUISINE 69 St. Michael St • 375-1113
THAI KITCHEN & SUSHI BAR 960 Schillinger Rd. S • 660-4470
TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN ($$)
CHINA DOLL ($)
3966 Airport Blvd.• 343-5530
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE 271 Glenwood St. • 476-0516
INSIDE THE MOBILE MARRIOTT 3101 Airport Blvd. • 476-6400
CASUAL FINE DINING 104 N. Section St. • Fairhope • 929-2219
THE TRELLIS ROOM ($$$) CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE
TRADITIONAL SUSHI & LUNCH. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-9077 THAI & SUSHI 5369 D Hwy 90 W • 661-5100
CUISINE OF INDIA ($$) LUNCH BUFFET 3674 Airport Blvd. • 341-6171
FUJI SAN ($)
3382 Hwy. 98 • 625-1947
GOLDEN BOWL ($)
UPSCALE DINING WITH A VIEW 1420 Hwy. 98 • 626-6710
HIBACHI 1 ($-$$)
DELI, MARKET AND CATERING. 4380 Halls Mill Rd. • 665-2266
THAI FARE AND SUSHI 2000 Airport Blvd. • 478-9888 HIBACHI GRILL & ASIAN CUISINE 309 Bel Air Blvd • 470-8033 2370 Hillcrest Rd. Unit B • 380-6062
ICHIBAN SUSHI ($)
JAPANESE & CHINESE CUISINE 3959 Cottage Hill Rd • 666-6266
KAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($-$$) QUALITY FOOD, EXCELLENT SERVICE 5045 Cottage Hill Rd. • 607-6454
LIQUID ($$)
AMAZING SUSHI & ASSORTMENT OF ROLLS. 661 Dauphin St. • 432-0109
RICE ASIAN GRILL & SUSHI BAR ($) 3964 Gov’t Blvd. • 378-8083
ROCK N ROLL SUSHI ($$)
273 S. McGregor Ave • 287-0445 6345 Airport Blvd. • 287-0555 940 Industrial Pkwy • 308-2158 6850 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 753-4367
STIX ($$)
610240 Eastern Shore Blvd. • 621-9088
TASTE OF THAI ($$)
9091 US-90 Irvington • 957-1414
TOKYO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE ($$) UPSCALE SUSHI & HIBACHI 364 Azalea Rd. • 343-6622
WASABI SUSHI ($$)
JAPANESE CUISINE 3654 Airport Blvd. S. C • 725-6078
FROM THE DEPTHS BAUDEAN’S ($$)
FRIED, GRILLED, STEAMED & ALWAYS FRESH 3300 River Rd. • 973-9070
THE BLUEGILL ($-$$)
A HISTORIC SEAFOOD DIVE W/ LIVE MUSIC 3775 Hwy. 98 • 625-1998
BONEFISH GRILL ($$)
ECLECTIC DINING & SPACE 6955 Airport Blvd. • 633-7196
BOUDREAUX’S CAJUN GRILL ($-$$) QUALITY CAJUN & NEW ORLEANS CUISINE 29249 US Highway 98 Daphne. • 621-1991
FELIX’S FISH CAMP ($$) FISHERMAN’S LEGACY ($) HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($)
30500 AL-181 • Spanish Fort • 206-8768 3654 Airport Blvd. • 338-9350
LUCY B. GOODE ($$)
GULF COAST CUISINE, REINVENTED 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
BUTCH CASSIDY’S ($)
FAMOUS BURGERS, SANDWICHES & WINGS 60 N. Florida St. • 450-0690
HOUSE OF PIZZA ($)
DAUPHIN ST. TAQUERIA ($)
1252 Gov’t St. • 301-7556
LA ROSSO ($$)
COMFORT FOOD 1716 Main St. Ste. C • Daphne • 281-2982
HEROES SPORTS BAR & GRILLE ($)
5055 Cottage Hill Rd. • 308-4888 2394 Dawes Rr. • 639-3535 2004 US 98 • Daphne • 265-6550
SANDWICHES & COLD BEER 273 Dauphin St. • 433-4376 Hillcrest & Old Shell Rd. • 341-9464
MEXICAN CUISINE 260 Azalea Rd. • 375-1095
JONELLI’S ($)
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB ($) BURGERS & BEER 916 Charleston St. • 433-9374
CINCO DE MAYO ($)
3958 Snow Rd C. • Semmes • 645-3400
MARCOS ($)
FUEGO ($-$$)
SATISFACTION ($-$$)
OUTSTANDING MEXICAN CUISINE 2066 Old Shell Rd. • 378-8621
HACIENDA SAN MIGUEL ($-$$)
MUDBUGS AT THE LOOP ($)
MIRKO ($$)
MANCIS ($)
NAVCO PIZZA ($$)
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE 800 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-0783 830 W I65 Service Rd. S • 378-5837 4663 Airport Blvd. • 342-5553
PAPA’S PLACE ($$)
QUAINT MEXICAN RESTAURANT 5556 Old Shell Rd. • 345-7484
CAJUN KITCHEN & SEAFOOD MARKET 2005 Government St. • 478-9897
RALPH & KACOO’S ($-$$) THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 1595 Battleship Pkwy. • 626-0045
EVERYTHING BAKED OR GRILLED 2617 Dauphin St. • 476-9464 1715 Main St. • 375-0543
MCSHARRY’S IRISH PUB ($)
R&R SEAFOOD ($-$$)
BRILLIANT REUBENS & FISH-N-CHIPS. 101 N. Brancroft St. Fairhope • 990-5100
RIVER SHACK ($-$$)
BAR & GRILL 29740 Urgent Care Dr. • Daphne • 662-9639 6255 Airport Blvd. • 447-2514
LAID-BACK EATERY & FISH MARKET 1477 Battleship Pkwy. • 621-8366 SEAFOOD, BURGERS & STEAKS 6120 Marina Dr. • Dog River • 443-7318.
THE GRAND MARINER ($-$$) LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 6036 Rock Point Rd. • 443-7540
THE HARBOR ROOM ($-$$) UNIQUE SEAFOOD 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
THE SEAFOOD HOUSE ($-$$) 751 Azalea Rd. • 301-7964
MUG SHOTS ($$)
PINZONE’S ITALIAN VILLAGE ($$) AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DISHES 312 Fairhope Ave. • Fairhope • 990-5535
MARIA BONITA AGAVE BAR & GRILL ($-$$)
WEMOS ($)
WINGS, TENDERS, HOTDOGS & SANDWICHES 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-5877
BUCK’S PIZZA ($$)
CORTLANDT’S PIZZA PUB ($-$$)
IS THE GAME ON?
ITALIAN, STEAKS & SEAFOOD 18 Laurel Ave. • Fairhope • 990-0995
GREAT PIZZA. LUNCH & DINNER 4356 Old Shell Rd. • 342-0024
GAMBINO’S ITALIAN GRILL ($) GRIMALDI’S ($)
Bel Air Mall • 476-2063
GUIDO’S ($$)
FRESH CUISINE NIGHTLY ON MENU 1709 Main St. • Daphne • 626-6082
ROMA CAFE ($-$$)
PASTA, SALAD AND SANDWICHES 7143 Airport Blvd. • 341-7217
TAMARA’S BAR & GRILL ($)
WINGS, PO-BOYS, BURGERS 210 Eastern Shore Center, Hwy. 98 • 929-0002
TRATTORIA PIZZA & ITALIAN ($$) ITALIAN FOOD & PIZZAS 11311 US HIghway 31 Spanish Fort• 375-0076
VIA EMILIA ($$)
HOMEMADE PASTAS & PIZZAS MADE DAILY 5901 Old Shell Rd. • 342-3677
OLÉ MI AMIGO! AZTECAS ($-$$)
TASTE OF MEXICO 5452 Hwy 90 W • 661-5509
CAFÉ DEL RIO ($-$$)
MOUTH WATERING MEXICAN FOOD 1175 Battleship Pkwy • 625-2722
SOUTHERN FAVORITES BUFFET
HARRAH’S GULF COAST:
280 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 288-436-2946
MAGNOLIA HOUSE ($$-$$$) FINE DINING, SEAFOOD AND STEAKS
FLAVORS BUFFET ($-$$) ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET
IP CASINO:
850 Bayview Ave. Bilox • 888-946-2847
THIRTY-TWO ($$$) SEAFOOD, STEAKS, WINE
TIEN ($-$$)
INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
HIGH TIDE CAFÉ ($)
CASUAL & RELAXING, EXTENSIVE MENU
OLÉ MI AMIGO ($-$$)
BEACH BLVD STEAMER ($)
3050 AL 181 • Spanish Fort • 621-7433
PIZZA & PASTA 107 Dauphin St. • 375-1644
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE
ISLAND VIEW:
PIZZERIA DELFINA ($)
IRISH PUB FARE & MORE 1108 Shelton Beach Rd •Saraland • 473-0757 3692 Airport Blvd • 414-3000
AMERICAN FARE & ROCKIN’ MEMORABILIA
MEXICAN CUISINE 3977 Gov’t Blvd. • 660-4970
LUCKY’S IRISH PUB ($)
FRESH SEAFOOD FOR OVER 75 YEARS 605 Dauphin St. • 432-4605 6700 Airport Blvd. • 341-1111 1208 Shelton Beach Rd. • Saraland • 442-3335 805 S. Mobile St. • 929-2322
WINGS, BURGERS & PUB GRUB 6880 US-90 #14 • Daphne • 625-4695
A TASTE OF ITALY. BYOB. 28691 U.S. Highway 98 • 626-1999
HEARTY MEXICAN FARE 736 holcombe Ave.• 473-0413
WINTZELL’S OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$)
BAUMHOWER’S ($)
LOS ARCOS ($)
PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD & MORE 102 N. Section St. •Fairhope• 929-2525
DELIVERY 350 Dauphin St. • 431-9444
ED’S SEAFOOD SHED ($$)
PIZZA, SUBS & PASTA 1368 ½ Navco Rd.• 479-0066
RAVENITE ($)
BURGERS, DOGS & 27 BEERS & WINES. 19992 Hwy.181 Old County Rd. Fairhope • 281-2663
MAMA MIA!
PIZZAS, PASTAS, & CALZONES 245-A Old Shell Rd. • 479-3278
LA COCINA ($)
OLD 27 GRILL ($)
TIN TOP RESTAURANT & OYSTER BAR ($$) SEAFOOD, STEAKS, & EXTENSIVE WINE LIST 6232 Bon Secour Hwy County Rd. 10. • 949-5086
TASTE OF MEXICO 880 Schillinger Rd. S. • 633-6122 5805 US 90 • 653-9163
PASTA & MORE 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-6611
SEAFOOD
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)
ISLAND WING CO ($)
WINGS, SEAFOOD, BURGERS & BEER 7721 Airport Blvd. Suite E-180 • 639-6832
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$)
EL MARIACHI ($)
PIES & AWESOME BEER SELECTION 2032 Airport Blvd. • 471-4700 5660 Old Shell Rd. • 380-1500 29698 Frederick Blvd.• Daphne • 621-3911
LIVE MUSIC & GREAT SEAFOOD 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
777 Beach Blvd.Biloxi • 877-877-6256
HARD ROCK CAFÉ ($)
763 Holcombe Ave • 473-0413
MELLOW MUSHROOM ($)
HARD ROCK CASINO:
ENCHILADAS, TACOS, & AUTHENTIC FARE Ok Bicycle Shop • 661 Dauphin St. • 432-2453
HURRICANE GRILL & WINGS ($-$$)
ASHLAND MIDTOWN PUB ($-$$)
FRIED SEAFOOD SERVED IN HEFTY PORTIONS
BEST WINGS & SPORTING EVENTS 6341 Airport Blvd. • 378-5955
LULU’S ($$)
CRAVIN CAJUN/DIP SEAFOOD ($) PO-BOYS, SALADS & SEAFOOD 1870 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 287-1168
BUFFALO WILD WINGS ($)
POOR MEXICAN ($) ROOSTER’S ($)
LATIN AMERICAN FOOD 211 Dauphin St. • 375-1076
TAQUERIA MEXICO ($-$$) AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FLAVOR 3733 Airport Blvd. • 414-4496
NO GAMBLING CASINO FARE
3300 W. Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 877-774-8439 SEAFOOD
CARTER GREEN STEAKHOUSE ($$-$$$) RICH TRADITIONS, STEAK, SEAFOOD
C&G GRILLE ($)
LARGE BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER MENU
PALACE CASINO:
158 Howard Ave. Biloxi • 800-725-2239
MIGNON’S ($$$)
STEAKS, SEAFOOD, FINE WINE
PLACE BUFFET ($-$$) INTERACTIVE ASIAN DINING
STACKED GRILL ($-$$)
BURGERS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
BEAU RIVAGE:
TREASURE BAY:
BR PRIME ($$-$$$)
THE DEN ($-$$)
COAST RESTAURANT ($-$$)
CQ ($$-$$$)
875 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 888-952-2582 FINE DINING ESTABLISHMENT. BURGER, WINGS, PIZZA
JIA ($-$$)
EXOTIC CUISINE AND SUSHI
STALLA ($$)
ITALIAN COOKING
TERRACE CAFE ($)
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER, LATE NIGHT
1980 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 800-747-2839 INTIMATE & CASUAL WITH DAILY SPECIALS ELEGANT ATMOSPHERE & TANTALIZING ENTREES
BLU ($)
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
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CUISINE | WORD OF MOUTH
Wahlburgers hits OWA
ment director. “Our research shows that dining is just as important to our guests as a day in our theme park. Wahlburgers brings the value, quality and brand recognition to really spark excitement.” Speaking of sparking excitement, a menu of sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato tots and hearty burgers should get you fired up. My advice would be to dine after you hit all the roller coasters, not before. Ice cream for the kids and a full bar for mom and dad make this a fun time for children of all ages. Eat responsibly.
BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR | FATMANSQUEEZE@COMCAST.NET
Female pitmasters prepare for battle
Every time we turn around, there’s more going on with the World Food Championships coming to The Wharf in Orange Beach Nov. 8-12. This is the second year of Cowboy Charcoal’s Fire and Ice Women’s Competitive BBQ series, where women’s teams from the Kansas City Barbecue Society fight it out through all sanctioned events from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31. Qualifications through points earned afford the teams the chance to compete in Orange Beach. On the line is $25,000 in cash and prize packages as well as diamond jewelry. It’s just another reason for you to visit the World Food Championships. Imagine a champion in each of these categories: barbecue, chili, burger, dessert, sandwich, bacon, recipe, invitational steak, seafood and chef challenge. Check out www.worldfoodchampionships.com for all the details.
Bayou Bash at All Saints Episcopal Church
Y
ou may not be familiar with Executive Chef Paul Wahlberg, but I am willing to bet a triple-decker hamburger you know his brothers Mark and Donnie. The Brothers Wahlberg just opened the newest branch of Wahlburgers in OWA, Foley’s 14-acre amusement
Photo/Facebook | Wahlburgers
park, shopping and dining destination. “At OWA we are always seeking new ways to bring a complete experience to our guests, whether it’s the largest theme park on the Gulf Coast or now the largest Wahlburgers in the U.S.,” said Greg Rawls, OWA’s business develop-
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It’s a chance to eat and cut loose at the corner of Ann and Government streets when All Saints Episcopal Church hosts its annual Bayou Bash fundraiser Friday, Nov. 3. Music, food and fun are on the agenda (that’s an understatement!). This year’s musical act is the jazzy Sean Dietrich Quartet. Creative Catering by Sean from the local TV show “The Creative Cooks” is in charge of the menu. Cajun pork loin, shrimp and grits, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans are some of the items served. Vegetarian Alfredo will be available for the non-carnivorous. Save room for desserts. A full bar is there to wash it all down. Silent and live auctions make this a competitive event as well. There will be plenty to bid on, so bring your checkbook. All net proceeds go to community outreach programs, so give as much as you can. Tickets to this event cost $35. It runs from 6-10 p.m. For more information call 251-438-2492. All Saints is located at 151 S. Ann St. Recycle!
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COVER STORY
City’s burgeoning beer scene stymied by legal issues
F
BY DALE LIESCH AND JASON JOHNSON or Mobile residents eager to raise a pint of locally made brew, the wait is almost over. Through a long legal battle based on zoning issues to roadblocks with the Alabama Beverage Control Board, the Port City’s craft beer connoisseurs have had to wait on its burgeoning microbrew industry. With three local breweries closer than ever to opening their doors, Mobile is primed to take advantage of a market that’s seen substantial statewide growth in recent years as the craft beer craze has made its way southward, closely followed by a culture of beer lovers.
trash cans. There is no current city zoning for a microbrewery, which is why a variance would be needed. Sherrill’s attorney, John Bender, said he believes Sherrill prevailed because there are other possible uses for the former ice house, such as a café or funeral home, that could prove even more burdensome to residents than a microbrewery. Without a variance, food and beverage processing, which is how the brewery was categorized by the city, is only allowed along St. Louis Street and in areas near Brookley Field, Bender said. Sherrill owns the former ice house property and doesn’t know what the future holds for it. He also IT WAS SLOW TO CATCH doesn’t have a timeline for when Haint Blue’s microbrewery and Haint Blue taproom will be open for business. It appears Haint Blue Brewing ON … CULTURAL BUT Sherrill is currently brewing and owner Keith Sherrill will likely bottling his beer at Lazy Magnolia’s surrender on a nine-month legal ALSO LEGAL CHANGES brewery in Kiln, Mississippi, which battle to place his brewery in the helped Haint Blue have its product former Crystal Ice House facility at MADE THE BUSINESS on the market before last year’s 806 Monroe St. Despite a favorMardi Gras. MODEL MORE VIABLE. able ruling in September by Mobile “It was not part of the plan,” he County Circuit Court Judge Ben said of the partnership. “It’s part of Brooks for a zoning variance, Sherthe narrative of never giving up.” rill recently signed a letter of intent Haint Blue is currently available on another property. at 130 locations, including several local bars, restaurants “It doesn’t feel good,” he said in a phone interview. and grocery stores. “In one regard, I’ve been ready to wash my hand of the legal battle … I wanted to open a beer company and make Serda’s everyone happy.” The brewery founded by local coffee baron John Serda He did not specify where the new location was, but faced its own set of challenges prior to opening next confirmed it was not in Baldwin County, although he had month, but nonetheless the Serda Brewing Co. began looked for locations there. “I looked at other options all over town,” Sherrill said. brewing beer last week. State law allowed Serda to open a microbrewery and “Downtown, Midtown, I looked across the bay.” taproom on Government Street downtown, but because Brooks’ ruling came with a number of conditions, of Alabama’s three-tiered liquor license system, he was which might have played a role in Sherrill’s decision. required to surrender his license to serve alcohol at his For one, Sherrill would have to insulate an interior wall popular coffee shops on Royal Street and in Daphne. of the building to “reasonably minimize the impact” of Surrendering his alcohol license there will cut into live music on nearby residents. The order also limited about 6 percent of his sales, he said. live music at the brewery to only two nights per week. State law prohibits a beer manufacturer from also holdBrooks also capped the building’s occupancy at 100, ing a retail license, Serda said. The move would have an including any outdoor seating. impact on the coffee shop’s evening sales and could result In order to construct the brewery at the site, Brooks orin a change of operating hours. Yet Serda said he’s still trydered Sherrill to build an 8-foot privacy fence on the westing to find a way to keep both licenses. ern property line, as well as plant four to six buffer trees. Even without the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s Closing time for the facility was to be set at 9 p.m. Sunday red tape, Serda’s has had delays opening to the public. For through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. example, Serda said the building had to possess a certifiThe order also set forth restrictions on parking and cate of occupancy before the brewing process could begin.
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“One of the biggest setbacks is we had to finish everything before brewing,” he said. “Everything had to be done. That was kind of a huge process.” Because Serda’s, like Haint Blue, will sell beer off-site, the microbrewery cannot serve food. Instead, the taproom will have a food truck court to cater to patrons, Serda said. Serda’s will begin by producing four beers: a pilsner named Hook, Line and Lager; an IPA called Mobile Bay IPA; a porter called Clear Prop and a Vienna amber called Tidewater Amber. While the brewery will mass produce only a small handful of beers, Serda’s will be able to produce small batches of other beer to be sampled at the taproom. Popular brews, Serda said, could then be produced on a larger scale.
Brewpubs
Meanwhile, Iron Hand is set to open as a brewpub in the DeTonti Square area of downtown. Bob Isakson, who owns the building Iron Hand will be leasing, said they converted a 1927 church building into the brewpub space. “We’re putting everything back the way it was,” he said. “It’s going to be beautiful, just beautiful.” Isakson said another brewpub, The Old Majestic, is set to open on St. Louis Street, in an old warehouse that will be moved from Greenville, Mississippi. “The warehouse is being dismantled, restored and historically reassembled in the St. Louis Street Automobile Alley Historic District,” Isakson wrote in an email. “The Old Majestic Brewpub will have a large beer garden in front with an outside activity area including such planned events as human-sized chess and bocce ball courts.” By law, something categorized as a brewpub can serve food, but can only make beer to serve for on-premise consumption. Mobile was previously home to Hurricane Brewing, a brewpub that operated on Dauphin Street for a short time.
Drinking locally
Developing a craft beer culture locally requires one thing above all else: a lot of people who like to drink beer, try new flavors and discover new brands. Fortunately for those wading into brewing for the first time, retailers think Mobile’s already got one thanks, in part, to the restaurants and watering holes that have prioritized having a healthy selection and a changing rotation of beers. When it comes to selection and rotation, the most notable spot for the past few years has arguably been LoDa Bier Garten. Positioned at the corner of Dauphin and Joachim streets, the downtown eatery boasts more than 100 beers on tap on any given day. Since then, owner Matt Golden opened Old Shell Growlers for the midtown beer connoisseur and recently revealed plans to launch a second Bier Garten location in West Mobile. When all three are up and running, Golden said, his businesses alone would be managing and rotating more than 250 taps — something hard to imagine less than 10 years ago, when state law prohibited beers containing higher than 6 percent alcohol by volume. After the laws were relaxed, as a wave of new craft breweries were established throughout the Southeast, that beer culture followed, and Golden said Bier Garten opened up in a “sweet spot” just as the interest was taking hold in the Port City. “The craft craze hit the West Coast two decades ago, but just like everything else, it takes time to make it all the way down here to the South. Now, the demand is totally here,” Golden said. “Mobile is a big IPA town, but it’s also been fun seeing the different trends over the past few years and watching meads and sours come into play. Now everyone is going crazy about sours. Three years ago pumpkin beers were the thing; now everybody’s got one.” While a healthy variety of craft beers is obviously good for consumers, it could also be good for the breweries launching in Mobile. In general, craft beer drinkers — those who reach for more than the marquee, domestic pilsner — like new things and, in general, like to support local breweries, which is something retailers focus on regularly when marketing craft beer.
COVER STORY ried? They’re opening up a brewery right down the street,’ or say ‘the boys from Haint Blue are doing this?’ The answer is absolutely not, we’re nothing but excited,” Golden said. “All that does is get people excited about craft beer, and I’m where you get it.” “Haint Blue, Fairhope — they’ve always have coverage on our tap walls, and John Serda’s beer, when it finally gets out of that building, it will be front and center on our taps and it always will always be at our locations.” Photo |Daniel Anderson
It’s no coincidence that some of the most readily available beers made at true microbreweries are produced elsewhere in Alabama (Good People) or in neighboring states such as Florida (Grayton Beer Co.) and Mississippi (Southern Prohibition Brewing). However, Golden said the same drive some craft beer drinkers have to try something new can be a bit tricky for breweries just getting their brands out there. “Craft beer connoisseurs are incredible people. I kind of compare them to artists, in that they never quit evolving … but that also makes them one of the most unloyal demographics in that they have no loyalty to a particular brand,” Golden said. “Variety is great for the consumer, but not so much for the breweries when they’re trying to establish a flagship beer. Those are the ones you see sold in grocery stories and places like that, but inside the bars, or at a place like Mellow Mushroom or Bier Garten, people are really coming for something different, something they haven’t tried before,” Golden added. One thing Golden has also focused on recently, specifically at Old Shell Growlers, is featuring newer, younger breweries. Last week, Crazy Mountain Brewing Co., of Colorado, had representatives there passing out samples and talking up their products. While the new breweries might technically be competition for someone who owns three places to sit and drink beer, Golden said he doesn’t view it that way. On the contrary, he told Lagniappe he can’t wait for the local guys to get up and brewing so he can feature their products as well. He said that’s partly about supporting local efforts, but also good business. With three restaurants that focus on having a variety of craft beers, Golden said his endgame is to get every single person in Mobile to try at least one. An influx of local craft breweries doesn’t seem like it could hinder that too much. “I’ve had people ask me, ‘Aren’t you wor-
Better late than never
After fairly recent changes to state law made microbreweries more viable in the state, a number of the facilities have opened statewide. Mobile might be a little late to the game, but Alabama is still seeing a growth in the microbrewing industry that is outpacing the national average, meaning it’s as good a time as any to get started. Dan Roberts, executive director of the Alabama Brewers Guild, said the state saw a 34 percent growth in the industry from 2015 to 2016. The national average is just 6 percent, he said. “It was slow to catch on,” Roberts said of the microbrew industry. “Cultural but also legal changes made the business model more viable.” The biggest change came when the state allowed breweries to include taprooms, Roberts said. Taprooms allow a smaller producer to make a name for itself by letting customers sample the various beers. A taproom can help a brewer go from producing zero to producing 500 barrels, which is the hardest jump to make. Five hundred barrel production means 1,000 kegs a year. “It means you’re not big, but someone’s heard of you,” Roberts said. “A taproom helps grow the market.” There is room for growth in the state and in Mobile, Roberts said, as microbrews only make up about 1.5 percent of the total market. Local brewers, such as Serda and Sherrill, understand there’s currently room for competition and both are embracing it. Sherrill said each of the three facilities will serve their own purposes, as Serda’s is a larger brewery, Haint Blue is sort of medium-sized and Iron Hand is a smaller brewpub operation. “We’re all lucky because we’re all very different,” Sherrill said. “We each have our own vibe.” Serda said he empathizes with the legal battle Sherrill has had, but is excited to see all three breweries open and operating before too long. Serda says he’d like to see Mobile benefit from brewing the way Asheville, North Carolina, has. With dozens of breweries, Asheville is known by tourists as a first-class beer city, Serda said.
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ART ARTIFICE
Ballet star returns to his Mobile roots BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR/KLEE@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
H
ESAC breaks ground on improvements
walk everywhere and the faster pace and there’s just a buzz about it. It wakes you up every day. The energy is so great here,” Hoven said. Meteorological energy is another story. Thanks to his Gulf Coast background, the dancer chuckles at New Yorkers’ complaints about summer heat. “The humidity in New York is probably about half of what we have in Alabama. You can sweat here right when you walk out of the house but definitely not as much as Alabama,” Hoven said. In NYC since 2003, he’s not ready to call it quits. Homesickness isn’t an issue since he makes it back to the Azalea City “in summer for a while and all the major holidays.” “My mother is deceased but my father and the rest of my family still lives in Mobile,” Hoven added. The biggest question would be age. A highly athletic art form, ballet is noted for its physical toll. Martha Graham noted, “A dancer’s body cannot lie,” something to which Mikhail Baryshnikov can attest after a lifetime of surgeries, particularly on his right knee. “I’m hoping I make it until I’m, like, 40, that’s my goal. Used to be the average age was, like, 35 when people retire, but now people take better care of their bodies and people are lasting a lot longer,” Hoven said. Nearing his noted gateway to middle age, Hoven said he had one surgery five years ago, repairs to an ankle that became a problem with repeated sprains. He seems satisfied with the results. Hoven’s daily routine orbits the gym and studio. He’s eased back on resistance training for now — “maybe some bands” — yet photos show a decidedly fit physique the average 27-year-old would kill to possess. Modern fitness medicine also extends to his diet. Hoven employs a nutritionist. He’s also carried another part of his roots to Manhattan: a
Chamber Music hosts string quartet
Mobile native Blaine Hoven (standing in window) will take the stage for Mobile Ballet’s “Blaine Hoven — Full Circle” performance Nov. 2. passion for Alabama football. It’s not as out of place as one might assume. “There’s a lot of [Alabama fans] up here. It’s crazy. They even have their own bar where they go to watch games,” Hoven laughed. It’s not just sense of place but family tradition as well. He said his father was so attuned to the Tide he kept an on-campus condo across from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Asked about his plans for immediately following the Mobile performance, there was no surprise. It involves a long ride through the country with family. “I’m driving with my father up to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-LSU game,” Hoven chuckled.
At first glance, the Attacca String Quartet looks like they’re barely out of the academy. However the fresh-faced foursome certainly has accolades that reveal a worldly talent level. Since forming at Juilliard in 2003, they have served as the 2011-13 Juilliard Graduate Resident Quartet and the 2014-15 Quartet in Residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. They have played Wolf Trap, Carolina Performing Arts, Converse College, Bologna Performing Arts, Florida Keys Concert Association, Garmany Chamber Music Series, Lyrica Chamber Music and Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts in New York. Their most recent album was hailed by The New York Times and The Boston Globe and pulled in the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association and the Lotos Prize in the Arts from the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. Mobile Chamber Music brings them to Mobile for a concert Sunday, Nov. 12, 3 p.m. at the Laidlaw Performing
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Arts Center on the University of South Alabama campus. The program includes Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 2 in A minor and Beethoven’s Quartet No. 15 in A minor. Tickets cost $20 and are available at Satori Coffee House (4072 Old Shell Road) or at the door. For more information, call 251-476-8794 or visit mobilechambermusic.org.
Christmas Spectacular tix on sale
The University of Mobile’s 15th annual Christmas Spectacular is set for Nov. 16-19 at Cottage Hill Baptist Church (4255 Cottage Hill Road). The holiday season tradition features an orchestra of more than 50 student and professional musicians who accompany approximately 200 UM singers with selections ranging from classical sacred to contemporary Christmas music. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 6:45 p.m. Sunday matinee is at 4 p.m. Tickets sell briskly and range from $5 to $45, with discounts for groups of 20 or more. For more information, call 251-442-2383 or go to umobile.edu.
ARTSGALLERY
Fairhope is steadily growing and the Eastern Shore Art Center (401 Oak St.) is growing right along with it. ESAC’s exterior “capital campaign” renovations are set to begin, starting with a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 9 a.m. According to ESAC’s website, the campaign is aimed at bringing mechanical and electrical systems into greater efficiency, renovating the façade and entrance, improving handicapped access and other matters. A general plan can be glimpsed on its web page. Members and representatives of donor organizations will be at the event, including the Fairhope Single Tax Corp., the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the A.S. Mitchell Foundation. According to the fundraising totals on the ESAC site, $254,919 has been donated and matched by a $200,000 grant. That leaves the center just $45,091 short of its $500,000 goal.
Photo | Courtesy Mobile Ballet
ow do you keep one foot in Mobile and the other in New York City when those feet are typically sailing across the Big Apple’s most celebrated stages? Blaine Hoven has a method. “I usually see it as my time away from being fast-paced. I use the flight down to readjust. Flying through the Atlanta airport, people are already slower-paced there, so it helps,” Hoven said. A soloist with the American Ballet Theatre, Hoven will lead colleagues through the same adjustment before taking the Mobile Civic Center Theater stage for Mobile Ballet’s “Blaine Hoven — Full Circle.” Hoven served as artistic director for the Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. performance, gathering players and organizing pieces for the hometown review featuring internationally lauded dancers. “I wanted people from every rank in the company instead of just stars, because we have very talented people in each rank. Also, I wanted the group as a whole to mesh so I kind of picked people who get along together and would have a good time as a group doing this,” Hoven said. The bill includes portions from “Toccare,” “Don Quixote,” “Swan Lake” and Balanchine’s “Rubies” along with contemporary works. Hoven’s six ABT comrades include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Jose Sebastian, Christine Shevchenko, Cassandra Trenary and James Whiteside. The process was egalitarian. The dancers called the shots. “I asked them what some of their favorite things to do were. If they hadn’t done something before, what they would want to do. So it was kind of like a decision between all of us,” Hoven said. The Mobile native first encountered the Manhattan bustle when he spent five summer stints with ABT after growing up in Mobile Ballet. That was back in the late 1990s. “I got a taste of it back then for six weeks of those summers. It’s really nice not having to drive a car, being able to
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MUSIC
FEATURE
CAM AT HANGOUT OYSTER COOK-OFF & CRAFT BEER WEEKEND NOV. 3-4 Photo | Sony Music Entertainment
THE HANGOUT, 101 E. BEACH BLVD. (GULF SHORES), WWW.HANGOUTCOOKOFF.COM TICKETS: $10-$150, AVAILABLE THROUGH EVENTBRITE
‘Untamed’ Cam visits Hangout ahead of new album
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BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
ach year, The Hangout in Gulf Shores dedicates a weekend to two of the Gulf Coast’s favorite things: oysters and beer. This beachside restaurant/music venue accents this culinary event with a great lineup of musical entertainment, and this year’s Oyster Cook-Off & Craft Beer Weekend is no different. Anderson East, Rodney Atkins and other artists will entertain the feasting masses, including pop country singer-songwriter Cam. Before she was known as simply “Cam,” California native Camaron Ochs was a college student trying her hand at music on the West Coast. After dedicating herself to country music, she made the obligatory move to Nashville, where she met producer Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran).
After writing songs for Miley Cyrus and Maggie Rose, Cam and Johnson entered the studio to create her major-label debut, “Untamed,” which includes the hit “Burning House.” The album shot up the charts and earned Cam a Grammy nomination for “Best Country Solo Performance.” With the release of her new single, “Diane,” Cam is preparing for the release of a follow-up album. Lagniappe caught up with Cam to discuss the new single and how a psych major from California became a pop country superstar. Stephen Centanni: For a lot of aspiring country artists, the first thing on their to-do list is to move to Nashville. You were already established in the music scene on the West Coast before you even thought of moving to Nashville. Why did you make the move? Cam: What happened was that I went to school for psychology research in California. So, I was actually doing research in labs at Berkeley, Davis and Stanford. I hit my limit around 24. I said, “OK, if I’m gonna do music, then I better give it a go right now.” My professor said, “Picture yourself 80. What would you regret: missing out on music or psychology research?” It was obviously music. I went into writing mode and was writing and working. I wouldn’t really say that I was established. I would say that I had started doing music. I had an independent gal cut one of my songs on her record. I was like, “This is it! I’ve made it.” The song sold zero copies, but that was my point of, “You know what? This is all the affirmation that I need. I’m doing country music and moving to Nashville.” That’s how you made it happen. I made my parents drive me and my air mattress over to Nashville from California when I really didn’t have that much going on. They were good parents to do that. Centanni: All eyes are on Nashville right now, now more than ever. How would you compare the West Coast to Nashville as far as the music scenes? Cam: Well, I got to work with some people, like my executive producer [Tyler Johnson]. He does things in hip-hop, pop and country. Through him, I got to do a song on the Miley Cyrus album
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After writing songs for Miley Cyrus and Maggie Rose, Cam (pictured) and producer Tyler Johnson entered the studio to create her major-label debut, “Untamed,” which includes the hit “Burning House.”
“Bangerz” [“Maybe You’re Right”]. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I have sort of witnessed the vibe in L.A. To me, the main difference is that Nashville is much more community oriented. Country musicians — in general, not all the time — really encourage people to be humbled and encourage you to talk to people and be approachable. In pop, they want people to be mysterious and unreachable. In L.A., you would work in one room and bring in one musician at a time. In country music, the tradition is more to have four or five players in the room playing with each other as you’re recording. It’s a very different kind of industry as well. There’s a different culture. When I moved, I had to relearn what the rules are in Nashville. When you’re an outsider, you get the gift of seeing things as they are, because you’re outside of it. I think I did a good job of waiting to make a first impression until I had all my stuff together. They’re definitely different worlds. Centanni: One thing I’ve been noticing in modern country music is that the people who are popping are the ones like yourself who are writing their own songs. What kind of benefits have you seen from working on both sides of the industry? Cam: You know what, I think that is a more recent phenomenon. There was a time when being an entertainer was a big deal, and it didn’t matter who wrote the songs, because people came to see you to perform them. Now, I think it’s a little more about the song and whether it is a great song. Yes, it’s great if you’re seeing a superstar. If not, then we just want to hear great music. Turnovers are getting a little bit faster. It’s pretty tiring being away from home and running around and being on a bus or a plane most days of the week. If I didn’t write these songs and love them, then I wouldn’t be convincing enough to sell them. I’m not that good of an entertainer. It has to be genuine for me to pass it off as genuine, because I only know that one mode of honesty. Some people can pull it off and connect when it’s not them. For me, that’s the only way to do it. Centanni: With that said, how did it feel to see
your first release on a major label shoot to the top? Cam: It was cool! Oh, my gosh! It was shocking. That’s what you hope for, but it feels unreal to have it connect so well and watch it shoot up the iTunes charts and radio charts. It’s really rewarding. I know it’s not the number one thing, but you should be happy within yourself. You should be writing it because you’re writing it for yourself. The secondary thing is that it makes sense to people, especially with “Burning House.” I got to hug so many people and talk about what that song meant and connect with people about it. That’s probably one of the main reasons that I enjoy doing music is those hugs. Centanni: Let’s talk about the single that just dropped last week. Cam: I have the first single off of the new album. The song is called “Diane.” Basically, it’s the reverse of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” This is the mistress singing to the wife and saying that she didn’t know that he was married. She’s coming clean and apologizing and being honest and giving the apology that most wives and husbands don’t get. Centanni: So, you do have a new album coming? Cam: Yeah, I do! Country music would like to let these singles breathe for a second. So, it probably won’t come till next year, but I’m excited. I’m excited to kinda digest it. It’s like an ABBAmeets-Fleetwood-Mac, up-tempo vibe. It’ll be fun to watch “Diane” have its moment, then have the album come in after that. Centanni: Are you working with Tyler Johnson again on this one? Cam: Yes, he did it and so did Jeff Bhasker. It’s the same team. Once you have a hit, people who are really good will return your calls. So, we wrote with some really amazing people for this album. The first album was crowdfunded through Kickstarter. For this album, we had the label behind us. So, we got to record strings at the Capitol Building in L.A., where they did all the Frank Sinatra stuff. It afforded a few more opportunities to make this album sound really amazing.
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MUSIC BRIEFS
Into the spotlight
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
Band: American Songwriter Magazine Presents Joshua Hedley, Early James Date: Sunday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. Venue: Callaghan’s Irish Social Club, 916 Charleston St., www.callaghansirishsocialclub.com Tickets: $15 at the door
Photo | joshuahedley.com | Joshua Hedley
T
he collaborations between Callaghan’s and American Songwriter Magazine have resulted in unforgettable performances. This time, “The Mayor of Lower Broadway” will take over the Oakleigh Garden District for a special performance. Joshua Hedley has established a reputation for being one of Music City’s hottest up-and-coming hired guns. Over the years, he has lent his prowess on the fiddle to notables such as Justin Townes Earle, Robert Ellis and Jonny Fritz. Now Hedley is stepping to the front of the stage for his first personal endeavor with help from Jack White’s Third Man Records. Although his solo debut has yet to be released, Hedley’s joint performance with Erin Rae will provide a sneak peak at what he’s created. Hedley is a country artist steeped in the classic sounds of the early 20th century. The hypnotic twang of his fiddle is joined by round after round of deep, warm vocals. Early James will set the tone as the opener. James is one of those wonderful artists who’ll come armed with his faithful acoustic, siphoning the marrow of Americana and blending it into a beautiful beast. This singer-songwriter should be a hit with the Azalea City crowd.
Born to be down
Band: Local H, Glass War Date: Thursday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m. Venue: Alchemy Tavern, 7 S. Joachim St., 251-441-7741 Tickets: $10, available at venue and through TicketBiscuit
The ‘90s alt. rock movement gave birth to a number of iconic bands. As the underground infiltrated the mainstream, a plethora of era-defining bands and songs dominated the radio waves. Local H used its sophomore effort “As Good As Dead” — with its hit single “Bound to the Floor” — to establish its place in the ‘90s alt. rock craze. This two-man musical powerhouse kindled its popularity with an adrenalized live delivery that couldn’t help but win fans. Local H’s Alchemy show should prove time hasn’t tarnished this band’s rock ‘n’ roll. Opening the show will be Glass War, a two-member rock outfit from the Azalea City. Glass War takes traditional rock ‘n’ roll and sharpens its edge with a subtle punk infusion. The duo uses a relentless guitar and deep beats to evoke raw, emotional energy in its homegrown rock. Hopefully locals can expect a release of studio material in the near future.
California beat harvest
Band: California Harvest Tour Date: Friday, Nov. 3, with doors at 9:30 p.m. Venue: Soul Kitchen, 219 Dauphin St., www.soulkitchenmobile.com Tickets: $13 advance/$15 day of show, available at Soul Kitchen, its website and by calling 1-866-777-8932
Cooler temperatures have made it feel more like harvest season here on the Gulf Coast, but the California Harvest Tour is about to give Mobile a taste of harvest season in the Golden State. This collective of California beatmasters and verbal assassins will be bringing Mobile a crop of fresh underground rhythms and rhymes. Oakland’s A-Plus will lead this troupe of beat farmers. As a founding member of the Souls of Mischief, this innovative sonic linguist can slip his smooth, rhythmic rap into a variety of musical styles. His skill can best be experienced through the “Pepper Spray” EP, which uses cuts from the Red Hot Chili Peppers as foundation and inspiration. L.A.’s Aceyalone will be on hand to deliver an eclectic, thought-provoking rap style forged during a time when hip-hop was dominated by gangsta styles. San Francisco is sending a trio of representatives — Equipto and Z-Man will showcase their respective verbal flows, and DJ True Justice will provide his mix of beats.
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AREAMUSIC LISTINGS | November 2 - November 8
THUR. NOV 2 Alchemy— Local H with Glass War, 9p Bluegill— Dale Drinkard Blues Tavern— McNab Duo Callaghan’s— The War & Treaty, 7:30p Felix’s— Grits N Pieces Flora Bama—Sugarcane Jane, 2p// Dueling Pianos, 4:30p/// Mark Sherrill, Chris Newbury, James Daniel, 6p//// Mel Knapp, 8p//// Bruce Smelley Duo, 10:15p Lulu’s— Melissa Joiner, 5p Manci’s— Ross Newell
FRI. NOV 3 All Sports Bar & Billiards— DJ Markie Mark, 10p Beau Rivage— Cheech & Chong, 8p Big Beach Brewing— Johnny No, 6:30p Bluegill— Lee Yankie, 12p// Jeri, 6p Blues Tavern— Pearls of Trinity, 9p El Chamino— Rock Bottowm Felix’s— Blind Dog Mike Flora Bama— Lea Anne Creswell Trio, 2p// The Big Earl Show, 5:30p/// Alabama Lightning, 6p//// Foxy Iguanas, 10p//// Mario Mena Duo, 10:15p Hangout— Oyster Cook-off Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Supercharger, 9:30p IP Casino— Josh Turner, 8p Le Bouchon— Emily Stucky, 6:30p Listening Room— Gal Holiday and The Honky Tonk Revue Lulu’s— Grits-N-Pieces, 5p Manci’s— The Modern Eldorados The Merry Widow— Pretty Ravens, 9p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — A Mac and the Heights, 8p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Doubleshot, 6:30p Old 27 Grill— Jim St. James, 6:30p Ox Kitchen— Adam Holt Soul Kitchen— Aplue, Aceyalone, Equipto, Z-Man, True Justice, 9p
SAT. NOV 4 Bluegill— Dale Drinkard, 12p Blues Tavern— John Hall Trio, 9p Felix’s— Soulshine Duo Flora Bama— Jo Jo Pres, 1p// Jay Hawkins Duo, 2p/// Lucky Doggs, 5:30p//// Al and Cathy, 6p/// Mississippi Moonlight, 10p//// Brian Hill Duo, 10:15p Hangout— Oyster Cook-off Hard Rock (Center Bar) — 30 | L AG N I A P P E | N o v e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 7 - N o v e m b e r 8 , 2 0 1 7
Supercharger, 9:30p Le Bouchon— Jeri, 7p Listening Room— Abe Partridge, Laurie Anne Armour and Melissa Summersell Lulu’s— Lefty Collins, 1p
SUN. NOV 5 Big Beach Brewing— Rock Bottom w/ Roger Bailey, 3p Bluegill— Quintin Berry, 12p// Ben Leininger & Friends, 6p Blues Tavern— John Hall Jam Callaghan’s— Josh Hedley, 7p Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— Jason Justice, 1:30p// Perdido Brothers, 6p/// Dave McCormick, 8p//// Smoky Otis Duo, 10:15p Frog Pond— Jimmy Lumpkin, Ruby and the Rogues, Oh Jeremiah, 2p Joe Cain Cafe— Jimmy Lee Hannaford Listening Room— Turner Mike Powell and Jonathan Puzan Lulu’s— Webb Dalton, 1p// Broken Down Car, 5p Manci’s— Andrew Duhon Old 27 Grill— Barry Gibson, 11:30a
MON. NOV 6 Felix’s— Bryant Gilley Flora Bama— Gove Scrivenor, 2p// Cathy Pace, 6p/// Kevin Sawnosn, 8p//// Petty and Pace, 10:15p Lulu’s— Brent Burns, 5p
TUE. NOV 7 Bluegill— Jamie Adamson Felix’s— Lee Yankee Flora Bama— Ricky Whaley Duo, 6p// Mel Knapp, 8p//// Davis Nix, 10:15p Listening Room— Loosen the Bible Belt Live Bait— Brandon Styles, 7p Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 5p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Quintin Berry, 6p Old 27 Grill— Elise Taylor, 6:30p
WED. NOV 8 Bluegill— Matt Neese Felix’s— Jimmy Lumpkin Duo Flora Bama— Neil Dover, 2p// Rhonda Hart and Brian Hill, 6p/// Johnny B, 8p//// Dallas Moore, 10:15p Lulu’s— Albert Simpson, 5p Saenger— Ray Lamontage
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Puzzling remake of ‘The Beguiled’ falls flat despite cast
FILMTHE REEL WORLD
S
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 RAVE MOTION PICTURE JUBILEE SQUARE 12 6898 U.S. 90 Daphne, (251) 626- 6266
ofia Coppola has run out of ideas. Whatever passion for the material that led her to decide to remake “The Beguiled,” which was first a book, then a Clint Eastwood film, is not evident in the finished product. The story of a wounded Union deserter secretly convalescing in a mansion full of women of assorted ages and proclivities would seem potentially interesting to the woman who directed “The Virgin Suicides.” But the potential falls really short in this inexplicably inert bit of period nonsense. Filmed in Louisiana, the setting is sun-dappled and misty, ripe for burying secrets and hidden passions. Deep into the Civil War, six girls and women live tremulously in a white mansion, which was their school before the war broke out. Now almost everyone is gone, but the steely headmistress (Nicole Kidman) kept the school open for the students, who were safer left there. The school functions as a sanctuary for these young girls and a teacher (Kirsten Dunst). They persist in their lessons, determined to survive with a cow for food and a revolver for protection. There are references to all sorts of lost and dead men, and the women seem
resigned, performing endless chores and mustering on, like Scarlett O’Hara, minus the, well, pretty much everything that makes Scarlett O’Hara so much fun. Like the sisters in “The Virgin Suicides,” these cloistered females form a de facto matriarchal society, but while the former inspired Coppola to create a visual world of teenage girlhood that was unforgettably claustrophobic and weirdly beautiful, all the satin ribbons, crinoline and candle smoke come to nothing in “The Beguiled.” It feels entirely lacking in a point of view. Into the girls’ grim lives tumbles wounded hunk Colin Farrell, begging for aid in his Irish brogue and rocking enviable bedhead. While the women could turn him in immediately to the nearby Southern forces, they quickly justify keeping him in the music room until he is healed. Miss Martha (Kidman) keeps a close eye on him, bathing him and cleaning his wound, but mostly bathing him. The girls, some innocent and daughterly, others — namely the lusty teen portrayed by Elle Fanning — with more defined goals, skitter in the hallway. Farrell perfectly calibrates his character to manipulate each female. He offers platitudes about battle to the prim Miss Martha, and gently declares his love to
the miserably downtrodden Miss Edwina (Dunst). The charming Farrell is quite convincing. No wonder the girls all pray aloud for him every night. Kidman makes the most of her part, and sometimes her motives seem as unknowable as those of the soldier, but every time things seem to be ramping up to a good story, the film remains flat. For all its beautiful detail and titillating plot, it is less than the sum of its parts. There is so much potential, but neither the narrative nor even the look of the film ever pays off. It is not “languid,” it is “boring”; it is not “mysterious,” it is “pointless.” These Southern belles might seem steamed up, but “The Beguiled” is underbaked. Perhaps Coppola is hopelessly contemporary and needs to leave the past, like her disastrous “Marie Antoinette,” in the past. Her successes, such as “Lost in Translation” and “The Virgin Suicides,” are significant, and it’s hard to say whether the good films or the bad films are the anomaly. “The Beguiled” is a mark in the latter column, and there’s no telling what kind of film she will saunter out and make next time. “The Beguiled” is currently available to rent.
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 | Ben Rothstein/Focus Features / Marvel Entertainment
FROM LEFT: In Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” the unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal. Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against his former ally, the Hulk, in “Thor: Ragnarok.” NEW IN THEATERS THOR: RAGNAROK
Thor debuts a new haircut in an irreverent superhero epic directed by Taika Waititi and co-starring Cate Blanchett. All listed multiplex theaters.
A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS
This comedy follows three underappreciated and overburdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. All listed multiplex theaters.
SUBURBICON
George Clooney directs a great cast in this Coen-esque caper, with Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac. All listed multiplex theaters.
NOW PLAYING
VICTORIA AND ABDUL Crescent Theater, Cobb Pinnacle 14 LET THERE BE LIGHT AMC Mobile 16 JIGSAW All listed multiplex theaters. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE All listed multiplex theaters. GEOSTORM Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema BOO 2: A MEDEA HALLOWEEN All listed multiplex theaters. ONLY THE BRAVE
All listed multiplex theaters. HAPPY DEATH DAY All listed multiplex theaters. THE FOREIGNER All listed multiplex theaters. THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US All listed multiplex theaters. THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema AMERICAN MADE Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE Regal Mobile Stadium 18 IT All listed multiplex theaters.
BOOK REVIEW
Book sheds light on state’s history of juvenile delinquency BY MIKE THOMASON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T
he debate about juvenile delinquency is constant, but most of us really know very little about the history of the subject, especially in Alabama. “A Home for Wayward Boys” is an excellent opportunity to change that. This is a very readable book that tells the story of the state’s oldest school for what we now call juvenile delinquents In 1900 a group of progressive women led by Elizabeth Evans Johnston, known by her friends as “Johnsie,” founded the school, which was named The Alabama Boys’ Industrial School. She was a native of North Carolina who moved to Birmingham with her husband in the late 19th century and discovered that young “wayward boys” were sentenced to the convict gangs of adult males the state leased to mines, mills and timber interests. It was a horrible system, especially for young boys. Johnsie was a deeply religious Presbyterian who believed God demanded that she end this treatment of boys. She studied institutions in the North and drew up a charter for a state school for boys. It was to be run by a board of seven women (this was two decades before women could even vote) and got it through the Alabama Legislature without amendment. God indeed was on her side! The Legislature even appropriated a small amount of money, but for many years Mrs. Johnston and her friends kept the school going by soliciting donations. She found and purchased land east of Birmingham and, with donated building materials, the first buildings erected. There were always more boys than spaces and only the generosity of well-connected men and woman kept the school in business. Added to that were the devoted teachers who often spent their entire adult lives working there, usually for a pittance. In 1905 David and Katherine Weakley came to work, he as superintendent, she as a teacher. She had a degree in education from Peabody and he was trained in industrial education. Like Johnsie, neither was from Alabama; they were Tennesseans. But like her, they gave their lives to the struggling new school, working there for the next 43 years. The Weakleys would create a school which at its peak during the Great Depression had more than 450 students living in buildings they had helped build,
paint and furnish. The students learned trades such as farming, blacksmithing and, later, auto mechanics, printing and carpentry while taking academic courses in the liberal arts, sciences and languages. Although the boys were sent to the school by judges across Alabama, there were no bars or fences to keep them in. The loving environment kept them from running away. Eventually they had a band, which John Philip Sousa praised and occasionally conducted, and an ROTC-like military unit. Many of the boys later served in both world wars It is hardly surprising that the school was chronically underfunded but it managed somehow. Given the laws of segregation it was for whites only, but its example led to the founding of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children in Mt. Meigs in 1911. Both schools were supported by the state’s club women, who were also segregated by law. After three quarters of a century, changing times caught up with both schools. In 1970 the Alabama Boys Industrial School was integrated and soon a series of major changes came from Washington and Montgomery. Also, the challenges facing young people became steadily more complex and difficult. The old system of long-term custodial care was scrapped; the children were institutionalized at a younger age and for shorter periods. Instead of years they spent months in such schools. All the vocational programs at Alabama Boys’ Industrial School were scrapped and their education was little different from that of the public schools, to which they would return. The student population of the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School was much smaller, down to less than 100 at any given time by the end of the century. The campus became more prison-like, with cells replacing dorm rooms and fencing surrounding the campus. In the 21st century, little remains of the once-progressive school. It was not a happy ending, yet perhaps not an ending at all. Since 1981 the school has been known as Alabama Youth Services — Vacca Campus. Senator Pat Vacca was a longtime advocate of the progressive treatment of youthful offenders. There are some new buildings and a staff of trained professionals working to deal with issues unknown to Mrs. Johnson or the Weakleys. The principal chal-
“A Home for Wayward Boys” by Jerry Armor NewSouth Books: Montgomery, Alabama $24.95 (also available as an e-book) lenges to today’s youth are the drug culture and the collapse of the nuclear family. These problems are a nationwide challenge with little current evidence of a solution. The book’s last chapter is an excellent overview of historic efforts to deal with juvenile delinquency in the U.S. It is a sobering story, but one we all must learn if progress is to be made. However, there is clearly no alternative to the loving professional care the founders of the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School gave so generously in their day. Today people such as the author of this excellent book or Mobile’s own Judge Edmond Naman of the Strickland Youth Center are showing us the way we must go. This readable and well-illustrated book is certainly the place to start.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS NOVEMBER 2, 2017 - NOVEMBER 8, 2017
OYSTER COOK-OFF AND CRAFT BEER WEEKEND JOIN THE HANGOUT IN GULF SHORES FOR A WEEKEND FULL OF OYSTERS, MUSIC AND BEER NOV. 3-4. VISIT THE THEHANGOUTCOOKOFF.COM FOR A FULL SCHEDULE AND TO PURCHASE TICKETS. Photo | thehangoutcookoff.com
GENERAL INTEREST Cascading Chrysanthemums at Bellingrath
Veterans Day parade The city of Fairhope will honor its military veterans with a Veterans Day parade on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m., beginning and ending at the Fairhope Civic Center. Market in the Park Come shop at the second Market in the Park of the fall season. Find original art, fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, decor and more in Mobile’s Cathedral Square every Saturday through Nov. 18, 7:30 a.m. to noon. “Weddings to Brag About” Sunday, Nov. 5, at noon join Azalea Manor in LoDa for “Weddings to Brag About.” One lucky couple will win a free wedding reception and honeymoon. Visit weddingstobragabout.com.
Photo | bellingrath.org
The 54th annual Fall Outdoor Cascading Chrysanthemums, the nation’s largest outdoor display of the signature blooms of the season, is set throughout Bellingrath Gardens’ 65 acres, Nov. 4-20, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For details, visit bellingrath.org or call 251-459-8864. Greater Gulf State Fair The Grounds hosts the 63rd annual Greater Gulf State Fair now through Nov. 5, featuring 30 adult rides, 30 kids’ rides and more than 40 food and beverage vendors. Call 251-344-4573 or visit thegroundsmobile.com. Oyster Cook-Off and Craft Beer Weekend Join The Hangout in Gulf Shores for a weekend full of oysters, music and beer Nov. 3-4. Visit the thehangoutcookoff.com for a full schedule and to purchase tickets. Alabama Pecan Festival Nov. 3-5 is the Alabama Pecan Festival at 5055 Carol Plantation Road in Theodore. Admission is free and there will be plenty of fun for the whole family. Visit alabamapecanfestival.com. Fairhope farmer’s market The city of Fairhope’s final outdoor farmer’s market of the season will be held Thursday, Nov. 2, 3-6 p.m. behind the Fairhope Public Library downtown on Bancroft Street. Call 251-929-1466.
third Wednesday of each month at 11:15 a.m. at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd. Call 251-861-2141.
Suggested $10 donation per class, or $35 for unlimited classes. Visit arcforallbeings. org.
Midtown Optimist Club Join Midtown Optimist Club every Wednesday at noon for lunch at Azalea City Golf Course. Call 251-348-3542.
“Purse with Purpose” Join Our Sister’s Closet’s “Purse with Purpose” event Tuesday, Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m. at Heron Lakes Country Club, 3851 Government Blvd. Tickets start at $30. For more information and tickets, visit oursisterscloset.org.
Toastmasters Toastmasters International meets regularly at six locations in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Visit www.toastmasters. org for more information.
FUNDRAISERS “Boots & BBQ”
Mental Wellness Conference Starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, there will be a discussion about crisis issues in mental health care services for families in South Alabama. Goodwill Easter Seals Center, 2440 Gordon Smith Drive, Mobile. Call 251-404-3924. Farmers Market Farmers Market sponsored by Christ United Methodist Church is held Tuesdays, 2:30-5 p.m., at the Hillcrest Road entrance of church property, 6101 Grelot Road, Mobile. Call 251-342-0462 or 251-7677526. “Loosen the Bible Belt” What happens when you put an evangelical minister and a lesbian comedian together in a van? An event for anyone who believes love and laughter can change the world. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. at The Listening Room of Mobile. Visit loosenthebiblebelt.com. TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church. Call 251-625-6888. Farmers Market Shop the Farmers Market at Providence Hospital every Wednesday through Dec. 6, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Providence Hospital, Parking Lot F. Call 251-266-3501. Dauphin Island Boardwalk Talks Boardwalk Talks are held the first and
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ARTS “Blaine Hoven — Full Circle” Mobile Ballet welcomes home Mobile native and Mobile Ballet alumnus Blaine Hoven, American Ballet Theatre soloist, for its 2017-18 season opener for one night only. “Blaine Hoven — Full Circle” will be Thursday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Mobile Civic Center Theater. Call 251-342-2241. MMoA Night Market Mobile Museum of Art hosts its Night Market on Thursday, Nov. 2, 5-8:30 p.m. featuring wares by artists and artisans. Support your local artists and join the party and shopping fun with great food, drink and live music. MMoA is at 4850 Museum Drive.
Photo | Facebook
The fourth annual “Boots & BBQ Barn Bash” is Thursday, Nov. 9, benefiting the Children’s of Alabama Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic in Mobile. Live music and barbecue at Moe’s Original Bar B Que, 701 Springhill Ave. Festivities start at 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, call 251-610-4969. “Light the Night” A walk on Thursday, Nov. 2, commemorates lives touched by blood cancers in the Mobile area. There will be food, entertainment, rock painting, a kids’ zone, music and much more at Hank Aaron Stadium, 5-8 p.m. Register at registration.lightthenight.org. Yogathon Join ARC for seven back-to-back yoga classes Sunday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Mobile’s Cathedral Square. All donations go to supporting ARC’s mission. All ages and all levels. Please bring your own mat.
First Friday Art Walk The Eastern Shore Art Center features new art and music the first Friday of every month. Friday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m., Eastern Shore Art Center, 401 Oak St., Fairhope. Contact Adrienne at 251-928-2228, ext. 103. Concert honoring Sr. Hanna University of South Alabama presents Roman Street in concert as a benefit celebration honoring Sr. Michael Hanna on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. at USA Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. Visit HannaScholarships.EventBrite.com. “Just Passing Through” Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne returns to the stage on his “Just Passing Through” acoustic tour Wednesday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m. at the Saenger Theatre.
MUSEUMS Learning Lunch The History Museum of Mobile’s November Learning Lunch will feature
local Jerry Armor, author of “A Home for Wayward Boys: The Early History of the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School” on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at noon in the museum auditorium. Call 251-208-7569. “Posing Beauty in African-American Culture” An exhibition at Mobile Museum of Art exploring the understanding of how African and African-American beauty has been represented through a diverse range of media. Through Jan. 21. Visit mobilemuseumofart.com. “Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!” The insatiable curiosity of Curious George — the little monkey who has captured the imagination and hearts of millions of children and adults for 65 years — comes to life at Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center through Jan. 7. Visit exploreum. com. “Dream Big: Engineering Our World” Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges, “Dream Big: Engineering Our World” is a first-of-its-kind film for IMAX and giant-screen theaters that will transform how we think about engineering. Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center through Jan. 7. Visit exploreum.com. “Right on Course” The United States Sports Academy’s American Sport Art Museum & Archives is open free to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. One of the newest exhibits is “Right on Course.” Visit www.asama.org.
possibilities, starting with a simple cardboard box. Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Call 251-208-6893 or email jholland@ exploreum.com. Thursdays at MMoA Every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Mobile Museum of Art offers free admission to all visitors. No reservations are necessary. MMoA is at 4850 Museum Drive. Call 251-208-5200.
SPORTING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Senior Bowl Charity Run The Senior Bowl will host a 10K, 5K and 1-mile fun run through downtown Mobile ending with a family fun festival in Bienville Square. The event is 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 4. Visit seniorbowl.com for more information. South Alabama football The University of South Alabama Jaguars welcome the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Saturday, Nov. 4, 3 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Note: USA has implemented a policy allowing only clear, see-through bags at games. Visit usajaguars.com. Group rides South Alabama and Mississippi Mountain Bike Association invites all levels of cyclists to join them every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. at USA Bike Trails and Sunday at 9 a.m. at Chickasabogue Park. Email carrie@ rideSAMBA.com.
“Windows to the Sea” “Windows to the Sea” is the latest permanent exhibit at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium. Visit disl.org.
Weekly 1K/5K Every Thursday evening at 6 p.m., join Red Beard’s Outfitter and Cortlandt’s Pub in the Spring Hill Village Shopping Center for a 1K or 5K run and walk. No cost to participate.
“Savage Ancient Seas” “Savage Ancient Seas” will transport GulfQuest guests to a time when the last of the great dinosaurs roamed Earth and swam the seas. Visit www.gulfquest.org.
Bingo Join Via! Health, Fitness, Enrichment Center (1717 Dauphin St.) for bingo every Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Call 251-478-3311.
Fairhope’s founding Learn more about the 1894 founding of Fairhope at the Fairhope Museum of History, 24 N. Section St. The museum is open daily (except Sunday and Monday) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 251-929-1471.
Bridge lessons The Mobile Bridge Center offers free bridge lessons each Tuesday at 6 p.m. at 1510 University Blvd. Arrive a few minutes early to register. Call the Bridge Center at 251-666-2147, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Little Discoveries “Outside the Box,” aimed at children age 6 and under, explores how innovation and creativity can lead to a world of
Fitness and athletics classes New fitness classes offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Tai Chi, Candle Lit Yoga, Core Fusion, Small Group Personal
Fitness Training, Basketball for ages 15 & Up, Basketball for ages 8-14 and sports conditioning for ages 8-17. Call 251-4637980 or go to communityactivitiesprogram. com. Dance and art classes New dance classes offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Belly Dance, Preballet & tumbling for ages 6-12, Beginner Piano for ages 8 and up. Call 251-463-7980 or go to communityactivitiesprogram.com. Pickleball for adults (indoors) Offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School, Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. Great sport for all ages combines tennis, pingpong and badminton on a court one-fourth the size of a tennis court. Call 251-463-7980 or go to communityactivitiesprogram.com. Ballroom dance Azalea Ballroom Dance Club hosts dances the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, 7-9:30 p.m. at Via Health, Fitness & Enrichment Center, 1717 Dauphin St. Call 251-623-9183 or visit azaleaballroomdanceclub.com. Ballroom dance The Moonlight Chassé Ballroom Dance Society hosts dances the first and third Monday of every month, 7-9:30 p.m. at Hot Wheels Skating Rink in Daphne. Email cassief13@aol.com.
WORKSHOPS
Bayou La Batre City Council: Second and fourth Thursday at 5:30 p.m., 13785 S. Wintzell Ave., www.cityofbayoulabatre.com. Chickasaw City Council: Second and fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m., 224 N. Craft Highway, 251-452-6450. Citronelle City Council: Second and fourth Thursday at 6:30 p.m., 19135 Main St., 251-866-7973. Creola City Council: Second and fourth Thursday at 6 p.m., 190 Dead Lake Road, #A, 251-675-8142. Daphne City Council: First and third Monday at 6:30 p.m., 1705 Main St. Work sessions are the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m., www.daphneal.com. Dauphin Island Town Council: First and third Tuesdays at 7 p.m., 1011 Bienville Blvd., www.townofdauphinisland.org. Elberta Town Council: Third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the town hall. Workshop meeting on the second Tuesday. townofelberta.com. Fairhope City Council: Second and fourth Monday at 6 p.m., 161 N. Section St. Work sessions are held before each council meeting at 4:30 p.m., www.cofairhope.com. Fairhope Planning Commission: First Monday at 5 p.m., 161 N. Section St. For more information visit www.cofairhope. com.
Predatory lending and high-cost loans Learn some of the more common practices and how much high-fee loans are costing you and how to avoid them. Monday, Nov. 6, 6-7 p.m. at Lifelines/ Consumer Credit Counseling, 705 Oak Circle Drive E., Mobile. Call 251-602-0011 to register in advance.
Foley City Council: First and third Monday at 5:30 p.m., 407 E. Laurel Ave. Work sessions begin at 4 p.m., www. cityoffoley.org.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Mobile City Council: Tuesdays at Government Plaza, 205 Government St. Pre-council meeting begins at 9 a.m.; council meeting begins at 10:30 a.m., www. cityofmobile.org.
Baldwin County Commission: First and third Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., 322 Courthouse Square, Bay Minette. Work sessions are the second and fourth Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. rotating between Bay Minette, the Foley Satellite Courthouse, the Fairhope Satellite Courthouse and the Baldwin County Central Annex Building in Robertsdale. www.baldwincountyal.gov Baldwin County Planning Commission: First Thursday at 6 p.m., 22251 Palmer St., Robertsdale, www.baldwincountyal.gov.
Gulf Shores City Council: Second and fourth Mondays at 4 p.m., 1905 W. First St., www.gulfshoresal.gov.
Mobile Planning Commission: First and third Thursdays at 2 p.m., 205 Government St., www.urban.cityofmobile.org. Orange Beach City Council: First and third Tuesdays at 5 p.m., 4099 Orange Beach Blvd., www.cityoforangebeach.com. Prichard City Council: Every Thursday at 5:30 p.m., 216 E. Prichard Ave., www. thecityofprichard.org.
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MEDIA MEDIA FRENZY
Hillyer on ‘Mad Jones’
BY ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
I
f you read the words “Quin Hillyer” and “Jones” together in a sentence right now, you’d probably assume the well-known political pundit and essayist was pontificating on the upcoming senatorial clash between Roy Moore and Doug Jones. But these days, Hillyer is concentrating a bit more on a Jones of his own creation — “Mad Jones, Heretic.” “Mad Jones” is Hillyer’s first work of fiction, and it has been recently published and is now available to the public. In the satirical novel, Hillyer invents a modern-day Martin Luther who posts a set of religious theses on Mobile church doors and quickly develops a national following. The novel hit the streets just a week before the 500th anniversary on Oct. 31 of Luther nailing his famed 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and giving birth to the Protestant Reformation. Hillyer fell back upon his educational background and personal interests in Luther and religion in general. “As a theology major in college, I wondered two things: What would happen if somebody nailed new religious theses to church doors today? And, how can people overcome anger at God when struck by tragedy?” he said. Hillyer earned a degree in theology from Georgetown University, and his concentration within the major course of study was the series of Reformation-era debates between Luther and Erasmus and other Catholic Church leaders and academics on one side and Luther and
even more radical reformer Protestants on the other. So far “Mad Jones” is Hillyer’s only foray into the world of fiction. He said the whole process of writing and getting the book published took more than a decade and he was delighted to have it published with Liberty Island Media, the imprint of longtime publisher Adam Bellow. Bellow is the son of Saul Bellow, the only American ever to win both the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes for literature. One of the things tackled in the story is the rapid nature of fame in the modern world, driven by technology and social media. As someone whose career has included writing opinion and editorials for the Press-Register, working as an editor for the National Review and American Spectator, as well as writing for more than 50 other publications, Hillyer is in tune with the major changes taking place in media today. “I set up a scenario, so common today, of instant fame driven by modern mass communications, and of politicians and media all jumping into the fray without really knowing what they are talking about,” Hillyer said. “It lets me do satire on modern media, politics and religion, all at the same time — with some subplots involving, separately, race and sexual morality, too.” Hillyer will be having a reading/book signing at Page & Palette book store in Fairhope Thursday, Nov. 9, 6-7 p.m.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE SELFIES BY TRACY GRAY / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ ACROSS 1 Signs off on 4 Bei Bei and Bao Bao 10 Mike’s place 16 Barnyard bleat 19 Remained unused 20 Morphine, for one 21 Still 22 Pitches 23 Facebook Status: “2016 Summer Olympics and a day trip to one of the new Seven Wonders of the World!” 26 Bobs and buns 27 Tea-party girl 28 “Repeat …” 29 Valuable china, e.g. 31 Facebook Status: “Across the pond! And front-row seats to the Henley Royal Regatta!” 35 “King ____” (1978 hit) 37 “Above” and “beyond,” e.g. 38 Island ring 39 Chill out 40 Okapi feature 42 Salad green 43 Lily who played Ernestine 46 An arm or a leg 47 “____ it the truth!” 48 Dough dispenser 51 Facebook Status: “Yes! Retail therapy at the largest shopping spot in the U.S.!” 54 Cyberaddress 57 Van Susteren of cable news 59 Campbell of “Scream” 60 Second-____ 61 ____ Miguel (largest island in the Azores) 62 Use part of 64 Sicilian erupter 67 “Am ____ believe …?” 68 Analogy connector 69 TV host Geist 70 Facebook Status: “Ahhhh. … Sun and surf in Cancún, Mexico! Bring on the unlimited piña coladas!” 72 Battle of the Atlantic craft 74 “Sleep ____” 75 Old United rival 77 One crossing the line? 78 Eminence 79 Call, as a game 80 “Live With Kelly and Ryan” co-host 82 Gusto 84 10-time French Open champ 85 Born 86 Facebook Status: “Hej from København! This statue turned 100 years old in 2013 but is still a beauty!” 90 Double-O sort 91 Cows and sows 93 Top that may have a built-in bra 94 Exam administered on the forearm 96 Fleur-de-lis, e.g.
98 Bad place for a frog 100 Captained 101 ____ room 104 Praying figure in Christian art 105 It can be smoked 106 Facebook Status: “10-98-7. … Ringing in the New Year with 1,000,000 of my newest, closest friends!” 110 Excessive regulation 112 Swahili “sir” 114 Neuter 115 QB Manning 116 Facebook Status: “History abounds! Neo-Classical architecture surrounded by gorgeous cherry- blossom trees. Next stop … the White House!” 121 Sch. with the mascot Mike the Tiger 122 Anatomical ring 123 Recording- studio effect 124 J.F.K. posting 125 Place of Bible study:abbr. 126 In an uncivil way 127 Wife, to Juan 128 Oedipus, for one DOWN 1 Its official name is Academy Award of Merit 2 “The Prophet” author Gibran 3 Shoot (for) 4 Brainteaser 5 Well put 6 Niggling detail 7 Morse word 8 Elite group 9 Classic blazer fabrics
10 Mani-____ 11 Dingy part of a kitchen? 12 Just-passing mark 13 Con 14 ____-friendly 15 Wife on “The Addams Family” 16 Facebook Status: “Vegas, baby! And who would believe I’m standing next to Beyoncé and Katy Perry!” 17 Very cute, in slang 18 Judge 24 Seal the deal 25 Where the Santa Ana and Long Beach Fwys. meet 30 Tip off 32 For 17+ viewers 33 “When pigs fly!” 34 Lightsome 36 Tongue-lash 41 Crater’s edge 44 Muscat resident 45 Unheard-of 47 Get the better of 48 Damaged over time 49 Workplace newbie 50 Facebook Status: “Nosebleed seats — but home-field advantage! GO GIANTS!!!” 52 Ultrasound target 53 Cousin of 15-Down 55 Bad joint 56 How Mark Twain is often quoted 58 Bias 63 Russian “invader” of the 1980s 65 Olympics airer since 1988
66 Bowl over 68 Speck 70 Challenge to prove you’re human 71 Critic Roger 73 Alabama and Kansas, for two 76 Quick thinking 78 Schedules 81 Start of a drill, maybe 83 Saunter 86 Still partly open, as a door 87 Punk offshoot 88 Mazda two-seaters 89 Roadside bombs, for short 92 This answer ends in “T,” e.g. 95 More on the mark 96 Some edible fungi 97 “Otherwise …!” 98 Prime setter, informally 99 Cassiterite, e.g. 102 Less strict 103 Spawn 107 Flowing locks 108 Chipotle rival 109 You might take it to go 111 Arequipa is its secondlargest city 113 Fay of “King Kong” 117 Rival 118 Series honor, for short 119 Workplace inits. 120 Half a couple
ANSWERS ON PAGE 40
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SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Gears and Beers fundraiser adds 100-mile ride
BY J. MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY
of this administration since taking office and was identified as a priority by our citizens during the Map for Mobile long-range planning process,” Stimpson said at the time. “It is important that we provide the citizens of Mobile with the necessary infrastructure to feel comfortable biking across the city of Mobile. Whether it is creating a safer, more bikeable Water Street or connecting downtown Mobile with the Three Mile Creek trail, making Mobile pedestrian- and bike-friendly will connect our neighborhoods and businesses and move us forward on the path to becoming One Mobile.” Last year’s Gears and Beers had 306 participants. For a complete schedule of events and information on signing up for any of this year’s races, visit www. gearsandbeersridemobile.com.
Bishop State basketball
• The men’s basketball team at Bishop State Community College had a very successful run last season. The Wildcats went 18-8 and finished second in the Alabama Community College Conference Southern Division. Head coach J.D. Shelwood has returning starters in forward Terrence Cunningham (5.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and guard Jemiar Jonasian (4.0 ppg). Other returning veterans are forwards Adnan Antonio (6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Byron Knight and Jordin Whitty. Newcomers expected to see playing time are point guard Lester O’Cain, forward Sammie Sanders and forward Richard Lockett. • The women’s basketball team is looking to turn things around. After a winless campaign in 2015-16, last year’s club went 3-19 overall and 1-22 in league play. Head coach Trent Eager expects his young team to be very competitive by January. Returning starters include forward Courtney Jordan and guard Anslea Twymon. Among the 12 new additions are forward Lexius Houzer, guard/forward Jada Pickett, guard Timmia Sanders and guard Etellone Polk-Smith. The first home action for both squads will be Nov. 9 against Meridian.
College briefs
Photo/ Courtesy Delta Bike Project
The Gears and Beers ride Nov. 11 raises money for bicycle-friendly infrastructure in and around Mobile.
M
obile may not have been considered a bicyclefriendly city at any time in the past, but that view has certainly changed in recent years. The nonprofit Delta Bike Project (DBP) and Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office are continuing to work on making the cycling experience even more attractive. Along with a variety of group rides, there are plans to make major roadways more accessible for bicycles. The DBP depends on grants and special events to raise funding for many of these projects. The largest such gathering is the Gears are Beers ride, which returns Nov. 11. According to DBP Executive Director Jeff DeQuattro, the 2016 event provided funds for several more bike racks and five additional Dero Fixit Stations and air pumps. The group also worked on adding bicycle parking spaces downtown and in midtown. Gears and Beers is a collection of four bicycle rides — covering 8.2 miles, 30 miles, 63 miles and 100 miles — and a street party. The “Bayou 100” is the newest addition to the Alabama Backroads Century Series, and will travel from downtown Mobile to Bayou La Batre and Coden. “With our participation in the Alabama Backroads Cen-
tury Series this year, Gears and Beers is attracting hundreds of riders that are driving for more than a couple hours to Mobile to ride their bikes,” DeQuattro said. “We’re very proud to show off Mobile and share the things that make us the Gulf Coast.” Since the first Gears and Beers in 2015, the DBP has purchased and installed 15 bicycle repair stations and pumps, and enough bike parking to accommodate 56 bicycles. Fundraisers such as Gears and Beers are needed to cover the expense, as the air pumps and fixit stations cost $1,600 to $1,700. According to the DBP website, the group believes cycling and its benefits should be made equally accessible to people from all walks of life. They seek to minimize economic and educational barriers by providing the tools and knowledge for do-it-yourself bicycle repair and low-cost access to, or the ability to earn, donated and recycled bicycles through sweat equity. The street party following the race will be at the LoDa Bier Garten, which in June had an official dedication of an 18-bike parking station placed on Dauphin Street. “Creating a bikeable community has been a priority
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• Spring Hill College (SHC) volleyball coach Peggy Martin recently recorded her 1,300th career victory. The milestone took place as the Badgers swept five wins at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference West Division Cluster event. Martin is only the second collegiate volleyball coach at any level to pass this plateau. • For the third time this year, University of Mobile goalkeeper Guilherme Altoe is the Southern States Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The junior from Brazil had back-to-back shutouts for the nationally ranked Rams. • Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at SHC qualified as 2016-17 Team Academic Award winners, according to United Soccer Coaches. A team GPA of 3.0 or higher was required. Only 195 schools had both their men and women qualify. • This week the Orange Beach Sportsplex is hosting the Southeastern Conference Women’s Soccer Championships for the 11th time. The title match is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. The facility is also hosting the Alabama Soccer Festival and the Target United Cup this weekend. • University of South Alabama (USA) safety Jeremy Reaves was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Week after the Jaguars’ 33-23 win over Louisiana-Monroe. The senior shared team honors with eight total stops and contributed an interception and 92-yard fumble recovery. • USA volleyball’s Meaghan Jones was named the SBC’s Freshman of the Week. She averaged 2.17 kills per set, and posted a .480 hitting percentage in wins over Georgia Southern and Georgia State. • The SIAC has honored two SHC athletes. Emmarose Neibert was the Setter of the Week while Abigail Cain was the Cross Country Runner of the Week. Neibert handed out 105 assists over six games, while Cain helped SHC to a sixth-place finish at the Mississippi College Invitational by finishing 17th out of 119 competitors.
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STYLE HOROSCOPES AQUARIUS EARNS HIGH PRAISE
F U T U R E
ANSWERS FROM PAGE 36
S H O C K
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SCORPIO (10/23-11/21) — A mediocre CrossFitter at best, you’ll finally be recognized for your strength when you beat the field of 9-year-olds in the Greater Gulf State Fair tractor pull. Your lucky fair food is corn dogs. SAGITTARIUS (11/22-12/21) — Giving in to an unrelenting child’s request, you’ll adopt a member of the Paw Patrol. Once he gets back to the house and removes his Marshall costume, you’ll find out he’s an illegal alien. Your lucky fair food is smoked turkey legs. CAPRICORN (12/22-1/19) — You’ll get disoriented on the Tilt-A-Whirl and forget where you parked. Three days later, parched and nearly starving, you’ll be rescued by an elderly volunteer patrolling in a golf cart. Your lucky fair food is coconut shrimp. AQUARIUS (1/20-2/18) — You’ll realize you’re no LeBron James when you can only sink two free throws in 60 seconds. You won’t win a prize, but the carny collecting your money offers an “attaboy.” Your lucky fair food is chocolate-covered fried strawberries. PISCES (2/19-3/20) — You’ll test your marksmanship at the miniature rifle range. While slow breathing and steady hands will get you close to the bullseye, the real key is pretending you’re assassinating an American oligarch. Your lucky fair food is hot tamales. ARIES (3/21-4/19) — You’ll realize things have been kind of stagnant in the bedroom after a ride on the carousel leaves you slightly aroused. To reverse the sensation, try riding it backwards. Your lucky fair food is roasted ears of corn. TAURUS (4/20-5/20) — You’ll become oddly competitive on the Euroslide, adopting a German accent and deploying obstacles for your challengers like a game of Mario Kart. Your lucky fair food is an Oreo sundae on a stick. GEMINI (5/21-6/21) — Not one to lose touch with the fair’s traditional roots, you’ll spend an almost unhealthy amount of time in the barn gazing upon the prize cattle, hogs and chicken. Your lucky fair food is Polish sausage. CANCER (6/22-7/22) — Your favorite fair attraction is the Hall of Mirrors, where, were it not for your concerned and loving significant other, you’d gaze at your own reflection until you waste away like Narcissus. Your lucky fair food is candy apples. LEO (7/23-8/22) — Always a risk taker, you’ll break your collarbone when you attempt to recreate the stunts performed by The Extreme Motorcycle Thrill Show. You’ll be reminded to revisit your life insurance policy. Your lucky fair food is pizza by the slice. VIRGO (8/23-9/22) — You’ll nearly be included in some unsanctioned Alabama history textbook for refusing to give up your seat on the ferris wheel to anyone, regardless of race, sex or religion. Your lucky fair food is chicken and waffles. LIBRA (9/23-10/22) — Your plan to wear your Halloween clown costume to the fair backfires after you’re mistaken for an employee and forced to clean an unexpected regurgitation from the roller coaster. Your lucky fair food is funnel cakes.
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LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com FORECLOSURES MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness secured by that certain mortgage executed by Elizabeth M. Phillips and Wayne A. Phillips, wife and husband, originally in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for R.H. Lending, Inc., on the 5th day of January, 2012, said mortgage recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama, in Book 6851, Page 1009; the undersigned First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, as Mortgagee/Transferee, under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said mortgage, will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash, in front of the main entrance of the Courthouse at Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, on December 28, 2017, during the legal hours of sale, all of its right, title, and interest in and to the following described real estate, situated in Mobile County, Alabama, to-wit: Lot 98, as per plat of Ramsey Estates, Unit VI, as recorded in Map Book 78, Page 19, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Property street address for informational purposes: 8564 Mac Ct , Grand Bay, AL 36541 THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS, SUBJECT TO ANY EASEMENTS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND EXCEPTIONS REFLECTED IN THE MORTGAGE AND THOSE CONTAINED IN THE RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE OF PROBATE OF THE COUNTY WHERE THE ABOVE-DESCRIBED PROPERTY IS SITUATED. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD WITHOUT WARRANTY OR RECOURSE, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO TITLE, USE AND/OR ENJOYMENT AND WILL BE SOLD SUBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION OF ALL PARTIES ENTITLED THERETO. Alabama law gives some persons who have an interest in property the right to redeem the property under certain circumstances. Programs may also exist that help persons avoid or delay the foreclosure process. An attorney should be consulted to help you understand these rights and programs as a part of the foreclosure process. This sale is made for the purpose of paying the indebtedness secured by said mortgage, as well as the expenses of foreclosure. The successful bidder must tender a non-refundable deposit of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) in certified funds made payable to Sirote & Permutt, P.C. at the time and place of the sale. The balance of the purchase price must be paid in certified funds by noon the next business day at the Law Office of Sirote & Permutt, P.C. at the address indicated below. Sirote & Permutt, P.C. reserves the right to award the bid to the next highest bidder should the highest bidder fail to timely tender the total amount due. The Mortgagee/Transferee reserves the right to bid for and purchase the real estate and to credit its purchase price against the expenses of sale and the indebtedness secured by the real estate. This sale is subject to postponement or cancellation. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, Mortgagee/Transferee. Rebecca Redmond SIROTE & PERMUTT, P.C. P. O. Box 55727 Birmingham, AL 35255-5727 Attorney for Mortgagee/Transferee www.sirote.com/foreclosures 422540 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on September 8, 2014 by Roy A. Weaver as Grantee to Roberts Road Estates. Inc., as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7186, Page 1651; and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to Chunchula Sixty, LLC, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7195, Page 521; and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on December 7, 2017. Lots 15 & 16, as per plat of ROBERTS ROAD ESTATES, UNIT I, as recorded in Map Book 123, Page 39, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; Lot 17, as per plat of ROBERTS ROAD ESTATES, UNIT II as recorded in Map Book 130, Page 49, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Chunchula Sixty, LLC Holder of said Vendor’s Lien. WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400/17-75921 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on October 28, 2016 by Pamela G. Barber as Grantee to Iras Development Company. Inc., as Grantor which said
Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7443, Page 19644; and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to W. Austin Mulherin, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7451, Page 1625; and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on December 7, 2017. Lot 231, as per plat of RAMSEYESTATES, UNIT XI, as recorded in Map Book 118, Page 52, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; including a 2005 River Bunch Mobile Home VIN: RV05AL8916. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. W. Austin Mulherin Holder of said Vendor’s Lien. WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400/17-75921 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 2017
NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness described in and secured by that certain Real Estate Mortgage dated June 24, 2016, executed by MANDY BRADY, in favor of MOORE PROPERTIES LLC, which is recorded in Book: LR7428, Page 97, in the records of the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama; the undersigned MOORE PROPERTIES LLC is Grantor under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in the Real Estate Mortgage will sell at public outcry, to the highest bidder for cash, in front of the Main Entrance to the Mobile County Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama, during the legal hours of sale on the 16th day of November, 2017, all of its right, title and interest in and to the following described real property, situated in Mobile County, Alabama: PARCEL NUMBER: 19 08 33 0 007 020.XXX KEY NUMBER: 00146880 LOCATION: 121 LAFAYETTE DR, SARALAND ALABAMA 36571 Lot 7 BLK B FAYETTE PLACE S UB, MBK #13 P #99, SEC 33 T2S R1W, #MP19 08 33 0 007 in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS, SUBJECT TO ANY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, VIOLATIONS THEREOF), EASEMENTS, RESERVATIONS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND EXCEPTIONS REFLECTED IN THE REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE AND THOSE CONTAINED IN THE RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE OF PROBATE OF MOBILE COUNTY AND ANY TAXES AND ASSESSMENTS. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD WITHOUT WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO TITLE, USE AND/OR ENJOYMENT AND WILL BE SOLD SUBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION OF ALL PARTIES ENTITLED THERETO. This sale is made for the paying of the indebtedness secured by the Real Estate Mortgage as well as expenses of foreclosure, including the cost of publication, appraisal, title report and reasonable attorneys’ fees, as provided under the terms of the Real Estate Mortgage. The Grantor reserves the right to bid for and purchase the real estate and to credit its purchase price against the expenses of sale and the indebtedness secured by the real estate. This sale is subject to postponement or cancellation; contact the phone number below prior to sale. BRADY RADCLIFF & BROWN LLP Clifford C. Brady Attorney for Moore Properties LLC PO Box 1668 Mobile, AL 36633 (251) 405-0077 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 9, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on September 17, 2012, by Cindi K. Lynn, as Grantee to Iras Development Company, Inc., a Alabama corporation, as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book 6942, Page 1069, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to The Avila Group, LLP, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book 6956, Page 1087, and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on November 30, 2017. Lot 38, as per plat of TIMBERLAND, UNIT II as recorded in Map Book 89, Page 60, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. The Avilia Group, LLP Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 9, 2017
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FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantees in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on May 19, 2017, by Leander J. Coleman and Michelle A. Abston, as Grantees to Iras Development Company, Inc., a Alabama corporation, as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7513, Page 32, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to W. Austin Mulherin, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7518, Page 1127, default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on November 30, 2017. Lot 21, as per plat of Burlington, Unit II as recorded in Map Book 87, Page 51, Probate Court of Mobile County Alabama, including a (16 x 80) 1989 Mobile Home (3 x 2). Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. W. Austin Mulherin Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, November 2, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on November 11, 2013, by Jason L. Holliday, as Grantee to Iras Development Company, Inc., an Alabama corporation, as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7097, Page 166, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to Mulherin Realty, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7109, Page 1739 and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on November 30, 2017. Lot 29, as per plat of RAMSEY ESTATES, Unit I as recorded in Map Book 72, Page 99, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; including a 1998 (4x2) Southern Mobile Home VIN # 55DAL217344 Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Mulherin Realty Inc. Profit Sharing PlanP Holder of said Vendor’s Lien WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, November 2, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on January 19, 2017, by Brent T. Cartwright, II, as Grantee to Iras Development Company, Inc., a Alabama corporation, as Grantor which said Vendor’s Lien Deed was recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, in Real Property Book LR7472, Page 788, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to Mulherin Realty, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan, which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7476, Page 985, and default continuing under said Vendor’s Lien Deed, by virtue of and pursuant to the power of sale contained in said Vendor’s Lien, the following described real property will be sold at public outcry, for cash, to the highest bidder, in front of the North entrance of the Courthouse of said County, located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644, during the legal hours of sale, on November 30, 2017. Lot 194, as per plat of RAMSEY ESTATES, UNIT X as recorded in Map Book 87, Page 83, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; including a 1989 Clat (16 x 80) Mobile Home Serial # WBC0B4672BA. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Mulherin Realty Inc. Profit Sharing Plan Holder of said Vendor’s Lien. WILLIAM B. JACKSON, II STOKES & CLINTON, P.C. Attorneys for Lienholder Post Office Box 991801 Mobile, Alabama 36691 (251) 460-2400 Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, November 2, 2017
NOTICE OF COMPLETION In accordance with Chapter 1, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, notice is hereby given that James B. Donaghey, Inc., Contractor, has completed the Contract for Construction of Saenger Theatre Cooling Tower Replacement at 6 S.
Joachim St. Mobile, AL 36602 for the State of Alabama and the County of Mobile, Owner(s), and have made request for final settlement of said Contract. All persons having any claim for labor, materials, or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify Architectural Engineering Dept. 205 Government St. Mobile, AL 36602. James B. Donaghey, Inc. 1770 Old Shell Rd. Mobile, AL 36604. Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 23, 2017
PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2018 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 authorize the municipalities to provide for the abatement and removal of inoperable motor vehicles as public nuisances from private property. Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 23, 2017
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2018 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 October 26, November 2, 9, 16, 2017
PUBLIC NOTICE OF ELECTION PETITION TO ESTABLISH BAYOU LA BATRE FIRE DISTRICT CASE NO: 2017-1931 In accordance with a petition heretofore filed with the Probate Court, an election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 to determine whether a fire district should be established in the Bayou La Batre area of Mobile County, Alabama. A copy of said petition, map and a legal description of the proposed fire district area are available for public inspection during regular business hours at the Probate Court’s Election Center, 151 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. The election will be held between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Coastal Response Center, 7385 Alabama Hwy. 188, Coden, Alabama 36523 on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Qualified electors residing within the boundaries of the proposed fire district will be allowed to cast their vote for rejection or approval of the establishment of said area as a fire district and the implementation of a service charge in the amount of $75.00 per residence and/or business, including mobile homes, less and except those residences exempt from property tax. This notice is given pursuant to Act No. 90-697 and Act No. 2009-358. DON DAVIS, Judge of Probate Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, November 2, 2017
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice to Agent is Notice to Principal I, Kevin M. Wattier, over the age of 21 years, competent, with firsthand knowledge, do state that I have never been, nor am I now, nor will I ever in the future be liable for any debts incurred by KEVIN M. WATTIER (or any derivative thereof). I am not now, nor have I ever been the surety for KEVIN M. WATTIER. Kevin M. Wattier, AR Lagniappe HD October 26, Nov. 2, 9, 2017
PROBATE NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING CASE NO. 2017-1993 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of petition for Summary Distribution in the estate of Dorothy Williams, Deceased. Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed by Natasha Williams Stamps on October 5, 2017, and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an order directing summary distribution of the estate of said decedent. Don Davis, Judge of Probate. Attorney: James H. McDonald, Jr., Esq. 50 Saint Emanuel St. Mobile, AL 36602. Lagniappe HD November 2, 2017
NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING September 25, 2017
Case No. 2015-1165-1 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of DAVID SULLIVAN, Deceased On to-wit the 11th day of December, 2017 at 2:00 PM in COURTROOM 1, THIRD FLOOR, Mobile County Government Center Annex, 151 Government Street the court will proceed to consider the FINAL SETTLEMENT AND REPORT OF INSOLVENCY as filed by LARRY SULLIVAN. NOTICE is hereby given to all parties in interest who may appear and contest same or file a proper responsive pleading thereto if they then think proper. DON DAVIS, Judge of Probate. Attorney Name and Address: VANESSA ARNOLD SHOOTS, 56 ST. JOSEPH STREET, STE. 1311, Mobile, AL 36602 Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, Nov. 2, 9, 2017
ADOPTION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION PETITIONS OF: M.M. (A.R.E., a minor) CASE NO.: 2017-0741 (B.G.E., a minor) CASE NO.: 2017-0742 (A.D.E., a minor) CASE NO.: 2017-0743 (D.R.E., a minor) CASE NO.: 2017-0744 IN RE: AMENDED AFFIDAVITS FOR PUBLICATION ORDER These matters are now properly before the Court pursuant to its jurisdiction and authority as conferred by statute and Constitutional provisions on the above-mentioned Affidavit for Service by Publication. On due consideration thereof, the Court FINDS, CONCLUDES and ORDERS as follows: 1. That the above-mentioned Amended Affidavits for Service by Publication contain the facts necessary to allow for a finding by this Court that service may be made by publication to Roselyn Agee Edwards, mother. 2. Petitioner is ORDERED to publish the attached notice in a newspaper of general circulation in Mobile County. 3. The Clerk of the Court shall forward a copy of this Order to Counsel for Petitioner by United States First-Class Mail. Dated this 4th day of October, 2017. Don Davis, Judge of Probate. Lagniappe HD October 19, 26, November 2, 9, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: WILLIAM GAMBLE Case No. 2017-1408 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 23rd day of October, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. DENIESE G. GREEN as Executrix of the estate of WILLIAM GAMBLE, deceased. Attorney of Record: JOHN R. PARKER Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: REBECCA KNICK HASTY Case No. 2014-1778 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 24th day of October, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. GABRIELLE KATHLEEN HASTY HODGE, as Administratrix CTA under the last will and testament of REBECCA KNICK HASTY, Deceased. Attorney of Record: MICHAEL S. MCNAIR Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 16, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: CLEOPHUS HILLARD Case No. 2016-1050 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 23rd day of October, 2017 by the Honorable Don Davis, Judge of Probate of Mobile County Probate Court, Alabama and that all parties having claims against said estate should file the same with the Probate Court of said county within the time allowed by law, or they will be barred. BETTIE LACEY as Executrix of the estate of CLEOPHUS HILLARD, deceased. Attorney of Record: Hendrik S. Snow, ESQ. 50 Saint Emanuel Street Mobile, AL 36602 Lagniappe HD Nov. 2, 9, 16, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5713 Three Notch Road, Mobile, AL 36619. 2004 Ford Taurus 1FAFP55U84G114443 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
STYLE BOOZIE
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1015 E I-65 Service Rd. S., Mobile, AL 36606. 2011 Nissan Maxima 1N4AA5AP0BC861566 2010 Nissan Cube JN8AZ2KR6AT150927
2001 Honda Accord 1HGCG668X1A068280
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2358 North Rd., Mobile, AL 36605. 2005 Mercury Marquis 2MEFM75W75X638029
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544. 2000 Lincoln Town Car 1LNHM81W2YY836670 2002 Mercury Marquis 2MEFM75W22X614197 2011 Chevrolet Impala 2G1WF5EKXB1162847
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1257 Dabney Dr., Mobile, AL 36605. 2004 Chevrolet Malibu 1G1ND52F14M609923
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 13485 N Wintzell Ave., Bayou La Batre, AL 36509. 2010 GMC Sierra 3GTRCWE03AG131124
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Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 900 B Wienaker Ave., Mobile, AL 36605. 2011 Porsche Panamera WP0AA2A75BL011697 1994 Chevrolet GMT-400 1GCDC14KXRZ152645 2006 Dodge Magnum 2D4FV47T86H315476 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 1252 Barker Dr. W., Mobile, AL 36608. 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 1G3AY69Y3EM785266 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3124 Government Blvd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2005 Cadillac STS 1G6DC67A250195345 2007 Pontiac G5 1G2AL15F177164250 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 31 Timothy Ave., Prichard, AL 36610. 2002 BMW 530I WBADT63462CH87743 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 121 Schillinger Rd. N., Mobile, AL 36608. 2004 Ford LGT Convt. 1FTRW12W74KB58908 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 19275 Baughn Rd., Seminole, AL 36574. 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2GCEK13T241385602 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1015 N Craft Hwy., Prichard, AL 36610. 2006 Dodge Charger 2B3KA53H76H210279 2006 Dodge Charger 2B3KA53H36H173537 Lagniappe HD October 26, November 2, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 01, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544. 2002 Honda Accord 1HGCG16512A061888 1996 Honda Accord 1HGCD5653TA099706 2005 Chevrolet Venture 1GNDV33E35D132723 2000 Ford Crown Vic 2FAFP73W1YX158459 2004 Mercury Mountaineer 4M2ZU86K84UJ11343
A witch, a pirate and a pope walk into a bar … BY BOOZIE BEER NUES/SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 7237 Muscadine Ave., Mobile, AL 36618. 2001 Honda Accord 1HGCF86691A094804 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 747 St Stephens Rd., Prichard, AL 36610. 2002 Cadillac Deville 1G6KD54Y82U259540 2006 Yamaha XV1700A JYAVP17E66A021605 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1106 US Hwy. 98, Daphne, AL 36526. 2010 Buick Enclave 5GALRBED9AJ106454 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 731 Lemoyne Circle, Axis, AL 36505. 1990 Nissan 240SX JN1HS36P8LW149215 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 700 Hardy Ave. Lot D, Bay Minette, AL 36507. 1990 Chevrolet G20 Sportvan 2GBEG25K8L4120907 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 42 Hildreth Dr., Satsuma, AL 36572. 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche 3GNEC12T54G200360 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1725 Winston Lane, Mobile, AL 36605. 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1GNEC16Z02J135217 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on December 08, 2017 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1812 Vetter St., Mobile, AL 36617. 2002 Yamaha YZFR1 JYARN10E32A000027 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
These abandon vehicles will be sold on 12/07/2017 at 5781 Three Notch Rd Mobile Al. 36619 at 9am HOND 1HGCS12818A010642 HOND 1HGCM56465A012813 CHEV 1GNEC13Z23R208000 GMC 1GKDM19W2XB523008 TOYO 4T1BG22K0VU783606 HOND 1HGCD568XTA127317 MERC 2MEFM74W91X646791 HYUN 5NPDH4AE9DH397695 Lagniappe HD November 2, 9, 2017
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Photo/ Michael Dumas Image Arts
’all, let’s talk for a minute about this weather. Is Mobile really having a fall? I mean, it drops below 70 and we pull out jackets, but this is probably the longest it has been consecutively cold. What are we at, like two and half weeks? I had to get out the winter clothes and skip over the transition pieces, going straight to the sweaters, but I am not complaining. This cooler weather has me wanting to wake up early and exercise. I plan it every morning but have yet to make it happen. Maybe for the next cold snap? While we are on the topic of crazy things, there were about 500 weddings this past weekend. Obviously I am exaggerating but still, almost every known wedding venue and then some hosted receptions. Bragg-Mitchell, Azalea Manor, Mardi Gras Museum, Athelstan Club, you name it, it was probably booked! Even a street in Ashland Place was transformed into a reception venue. I mean, people act like just because Alabama, Auburn and LSU all had an off weekend, they had to have their weddings that weekend. Y’all, there are football games you can miss to get married! Luckily while they were all saying “I do” there were still plenty saying “Boo!”
A skeleton and a cat walk into a bar …
Boozie had to submit this column before Halloween proper, but since Halloween is now celebrated about three days, which I feel is a new thing, I still have costume spottings! Costumes are one of those things where you either go all-in or half-a** it and end up explaining yourself all night. Alright, so of course there were the basics — cats, witches, dogs, skeletons, etc. Then there is the next level of basic but not bad, and that’s what a lot of those food costumes fall into. You know, the ones where you just wear clothes underneath and call it a day. So think pizza, taco, dinosaur onesie, unicorn onesie and so on. Those are def better than just wearing all black with some cat ears and saying you’re a cat, but they could also step up their game. Just saying. I mean, I fall into one of these first two categories so don’t feel bad if your costume needs improvement by next year too! Now, moving on to those that put a little more thought into their costumes. I’m talking about the pope at O’Daly’s! I know Catholics love to drink so I wouldn’t expect him to be anywhere else. But I can’t forget about Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, Disney princesses and grandmas. I’m not done, there is still another level of Halloween costumes, and this is for those folks who put their heart and soul into it. Pirates from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Edward Scissorhands — I wish y’all could have seen how good his costume was. Daenerys Targaryen from “Game of Thrones” — Boozie doesn’t watch the show but still knew who she was because her costume was so on point! The group that did “Guardians of the Galaxy”
— Groot, Peter and Gamora! The girl dressed as Gamora even painted herself green, face, chest and hands! There is no telling how long that took to get off. But some of Boozie’s other favorites were Lilo and Stitch (pretty basic but still good, especially Stitch). Jasmine and her magic carpet were another — the magic carpet was the better of the two, only because the guy took what looked like an old couch cushion, cut some arm holes and added tassels. I’m sure that’s not what he did but it gave me a good laugh! OK, so the moment you have all been waiting for, the winner of Boozie’s costume contest (which you didn’t even know you entered): Bob Ross and his fall foliage! And the runner-up: Atlas, a puppy pirate! Arr, I mean aww!
Witch please
The Halloween festivities continued into Sunday with Mobile’s Witches Ride! Witches (girls) and warlocks (guys) gathered at The Blind Mule ready to ride off on their brooms (bikes)! This year there were nearly 500 witches and warlocks gathered to raise money for Delta Dogs, and if Boozie had to guess, I’d say next year will be even bigger! But first, this year. My spy said she and some girlfriends decided to get together and do the ride since they heard such good things from last year! She said it was so much fun getting together and riding around, it reminded her of back when she was a kid! Though it was fun, she admitted it was pretty hard to ride a bike and drink. She didn’t understand how some witches could ride, drink and pass out candy. Boozie isn’t sure how that is possible either, but I am guessing they cast a spell! I did hear that the candy passer-outers caused a little problem. Kids and adults were so excited to get candy that they would run out in front of bikers, causing them to swerve into other bikers. Yikes! Didn’t their mamas teach them to look both ways before stepping into the street? Boozie’s spy reported there were people on Segways, tandem bikes and in pedicabs. But what caught her attention more was the bikes that were carrying ice chests! A tricycle is the perfect bike to stash an ice chest on, but there were also mini ice chests attached to bikes. That’s my kind of ride! But ice chests weren’t the only thing in tow — one lady had a wagon with her pup in it! Add an ice chest in the wagon and I can’t think of a better way to ride! Overall, it was a great second year for Delta Dogs. My spy only spotted one wipeout but it was at the end and the lady had two guys help her pretty quickly before anyone else saw. If you hate that you missed the ride this year, go ahead and mark your calendar for Sunday, Oct. 28, for the 2018 Witches Ride! Well, kids, that’s all I’ve got this week. Just remember, whether rain or shine, dramatic or scandalous, or just some plain ol’ witch lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!
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