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WEEKLY
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LAGNIAPPE
N O V E M B E R 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D E C E M B E R 5 , 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 ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net
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BAY BRIEFS
After years of scandal and contract re-negotiations, the Mobile County Communications District’s $36M radio system is receiving favorable reviews.
COMMENTARY
With sexual assault allegations being made almost daily, hear us roar, but let’s be reasonable about it.
BUSINESS
The midtown Publix development, scheduled to open in early 2018, has signed a sushi restaurant, a taco restaurant and a nail salon as tenants.
CUISINE
Turning turkey leftovers into turkey pot pie, turkey tetrazzini, gumbo or turkey and mushroom soup.
STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com J. MARK BRYANT Sports Writer sports@lagniappemobile.com
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STEPHANIE POE Copy Editor copy@lagniappemobile.com DANIEL ANDERSON Chief Photographer dan@danandersonphoto.com LAURA RASMUSSEN Art Director www.laurarasmussen.com BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com BETH WILLIAMS Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com
COVER
Former Gov. Don Siegelman, released from prison in February, discusses his prosecution, conviction and 78-month sentence.
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ALEEN MOMBERGER Advertising Sales Executive aleen@lagniappemobile.com RACHEL THOMAS Advertising Sales Executive rachel@lagniappemobile.com MELISSA EDGE Editorial Assistant events@lagniappemobile.com ROSS PRITCHARD Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com
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ARTS
Guest conductor Theresa Cheung will lead the Mobile Symphony Orchestra’s “Mobile’s Magical Christmas” Dec. 9-10 at the Saenger Theatre.
MUSIC
JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager jackie@lagniappemobile.com CONTRIBUTORS: Ron Sivak, Jeff Poor, Asia Frey, Brian Holbert, John Mullen, Ken Robinson ON THE COVER: DON SIEGELMAN 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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Sergio & the Satin Dogs use acoustic guitar as a platform for their soul and brass ensemble. Their four-song debut EP is available now.
FILM
Taylor Sheridan’s “Wind River” doesn’t live up to “Hell or High Water,” but is receiving Oscar consideration nonetheless.
SPORTS
University of South Alabama | USA head football coach Joey Jones tendered his resignation after nearly 10 years at the helm of the school’s emerging program.
STYLE
Boozie’s news from a week of highs and lows in college football, plus the soft opening of Serda Brewing Co.!
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Salvation Army helps displaced family find solid footing BY DALE LIESCH
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month. “It just wasn’t right. I hate even reliving it.” The nights were a lot tougher than the days for Armstead, who mainly watched over her children as they slept. “A lot of times I didn’t sleep because I worried more about my kids,” she said. “You know, just making sure they were all right.” Armstead’s luck would change when she was told the Salvation Army’s Family Haven had room available for the three of them. After nearly three months at the facility and a new job at the Malaga Inn, Armstead said she feels ready to take on the challenges of life again. “Since I’ve been here I got the material, the tools,” she said. “I feel once I walk out that door I’m going to be ready for whatever life throws at me.” Recently. the family found a new apartment and Nakeria said she’s already picked out a room. Neither she nor Javon’tae lost faith in their mother through all of the issues. “She needed help with stuff and I was kind of sad because I wish I could help her,” Javon’tae said. “I wish I were grown and had a job.” Javon’tae, who is a two-way player for the Prichard Cowboys, said when he grows up he would like to play for the Dallas Cowboys, or become an artist. Nakeria said she
Photo | Lagniappe
t her lowest point, Sonya Armstead didn’t want to go on. She had contemplated giving her children up for adoption and running away from her responsibilities. “I was at the point that I didn’t want to live any more,” Armstead said. “I wanted to give my children to somebody I thought was capable of taking care of them because I thought I was better off … they were better off without me.” Armstead separated from her husband and moved back home to Mobile in January. She found a part-time job while living with her sister. With the job and her social security disability payments, Armstead was able to afford an apartment. However, she lost the part-time job after her employer cut her hours back. She could no longer pay her bills. “I couldn’t, you know, afford to keep the utilities on,” she said. “I was asked to leave by the rent man. To keep from getting evicted and having that on my record, I left.” Armstead and her children, 12-year-old Jovan’tae Grover and 10-year-old Nakeria Grover, were forced to live together in a Dodge Avenger she parked overnight at a local truck stop. “Living out of a trunk was hard,” she recalled last
Sonya Armstead with her children Nakeria and Javon’tae wants to be a doctor. The Armstead family are one of many families who will be helped by donations to The Salvation Army of Coastal Alabama’s “Our Family” campaign, a fundraising partnership between Lagniappe and The Salvation Army of Coastal Alabama. Please send donations to The Salvation Army – Our Families, 1009 Dauphin St., Mobile, Alabama 36604.
GOING POSTAL
Evidence versus allegations Dear Mr. Holbert, In your Nov. 15 column, “Herman and Roy — peas in a pod,” you did a good job of detailing the path former circuit court judge Herman Thomas took to dodging the prosecutions against him on the way to the loss of his law license. Beyond that you may err in supposing Roy Moore has anything in common with Thomas other than that they were both once judges. Inherent in the assessment of any sexual assault allegation is the requirement to look at the possibility of bias or secondary motives. You may have failed to take into account the New York Times reporters going house to house knocking on doors in Etowah County asking if anyone wants to tell them anything about Roy Moore (as reported on “Capitol Journal” Nov. 17). You may have failed to take into account the fact that powerful forces in the Democratic Party would like to change the balance of power in the U.S. Senate by seizing one of Alabama’s senate seats. You may have failed to consider how the Republican Party establishment spent millions of
dollars to defeat Roy Moore in the Republican Primary and failed and is desperate to defeat him still. All of these factors greatly raise the possibility of secondary motives which must be considered to be fair to Moore. The yearbook mentioned in your article was not submitted for authentication by Gloria Allred as requested, so that piece of alleged “evidence” is invalidated. The rumor that Roy Moore was once banned from the local mall has been determined untrue through interviews with the mall management. There is really no evidence to support the allegations against Roy Moore as there was against Thomas, and the timing of the surfacing of the allegations under the above-mentioned circumstances should make any objective, fair-minded person take a second, more thoughtful look. Sincerely, G. Smith Davis, Mobile
CORRECTION: In the Nov. 22 issue of Lagniappe, in an update on the proposed I-10 Mobile River Bridge, we reported the Alabama Department of Transportation was considering leaving the existing tunnels toll-free. In fact, the most recent proposal is to add a toll to the Wallace Tunnel, while leaving the Bankhead Tunnel toll-free.
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BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Hear me now EARLY TESTS OF COUNTY’S $36 MILLION RADIO SYSTEM SUCCESSFUL BY JASON JOHNSON
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fter four years of turmoil and occasional delays, the Mobile County Communication District’s first emergency radio network is currently supporting nearly a dozen public safety agencies, and so far, the early reviews of the $36 million system have been kind. Upon completion in early 2018, that P25 Phase II radio system will carry radio communications between first responders and dispatchers from 43 agencies in the county, but MCCD Director Charlie McNichol recently told Lagniappe several early tests have already proven successful. “Overall the system is performing very well, and we anticipate we’ll continue to get good results as we move through this rolling cut-over,” McNichol said. “Our first responders throughout the county are going to realize much better coverage, clarity and reliability with this new system.” That “rolling cut-over” is the actual transition of radios from the existing radio system — a 1980s Enhanced Digital Access Communications System [EDACS] owned by Mobile County — to the new system MCCD has been paying Harris Corporation to build out since 2013. While MCCD board members are appointed by the Mobile County Commission, it is a completely separate entity that gets its funding through monthly fees collected by landline and cellular phone service providers. The P25 is the first radio system MCCD has owned outright. Instead of switching all at once, though, police departments in Chickasaw, Bayou La Batre and Mobile have been gradually making the transition as portable and mobile radios used in those agencies have been reprogrammed for compatibility with the new system. Those agencies and others have since reported clearer communications and improved coverage throughout their respective jurisdictions including in rural areas and inside large buildings that frequently produced “dead zones” or signal disruption on the old network. Capt. Roy Hodge, communications section commander for the Mobile Police Department, said the department’s first precinct has been been on the P25 system since early October. Since then, most of MPD’s 1,176 mobile and portable radios have been made the jump to the new network, where, according to Hodge, they’ve been operating without issue. As one of the last agencies to migrate to the county’s old EDACS system, MPD had “significant coverage issues” when it joined the network in 2013. Though some adjustments have been made in the interim, Hodge said EDACS has still “left a lot to be desired” for police in Mobile. “In-building penetration was terrible and we’re talking about inside the mall or a Wal-Mart — places we respond to every day,” Hodge said. “Somewhere else no one thinks about are the Wallace and Bankhead tunnels. What happens when you drive through the tunnel? Well, the same thing happened to us. Think about the amount of calls we have inside those tunnels.” Since the transition, though, Hodge says the difference is incredible. Officers can now communicate with the system at the deepest points of those tunnels, and while testing the limits of the system, Hodge said radios even worked through the steel walls of the U.S.S. Alabama. Hodge’s praise is not an anomaly, though.
Mobile’s Public Safety Director Jim Barber, Chickasaw Police Chief Chris McLean and Bayou La Batre top cop Cliff Adams all echoed comments about the P25 system’s reliability, improved coverage and clear reception. While original price of the P25 system exceeded $39.4 million, that figure was reduced after criticism of MCCD’s initial agreement with Harris sparked an internal investigation of the project that led to lengthy delays and an eventual contract renegotiation. To date, Harris Corporation has been paid more than $34.7 million, and a final payment of $841,750 is due upon MCCD’s acceptance of the new system. MCCD has also paid more than $684,000 to TUSA Consulting for its role managing the project since 2014. Those prices might seem steep, but standing in one of the 11 radio tower sites that power the P25 system, it’s easy to see what some of those dollars went into. Each site is incredibly complex, with multiple layers of redundancy built into nearly every component. Built-in diesel generators can power those sites for days, but all 11 also come equipped separate battery systems that can detect and mitigate any loss of power within milliseconds to give those generators time to come online during an outage. Every component of the system is also designed to withstand physical and digital threats. The towers can withstand hurricane force winds, and every one of the thousands of radios and computers connected to the system is protected with military grade encryption. The P25 system also has some additional features that weren’t available on EDACS like the ability to reprogram radios remotely and a companion app developed by Harris that allows administrators to send and receive communications on the radio system using a smartphone. There’s also a “stealth” option that can kill the lights and sounds of any portable radio instantly. “Put yourself in the shoes of a police officer that’s in a dark warehouse searching for a burglar,” Hodge said. “Every time somebody keys up their radio, it’s lighting up like a little beacon letting the bad guy know where you’re at. That’s why we programmed in a stealth mode.” The new system could potentially save money down the road, too, because — unlike EDACS — true P25 Phase II networks can support radios made by any manufacturer. That means Harris and it’s local dealer will no longer be the only place local agencies can turn to when they need to buy radios or have them programmed. Foster told Lagniappe that interoperability in the P25 system could “foster an incredible amount of competition” that could drive the price of those services down in the future. According to McNichol, the new system is currently on schedule to be fully operational around February, and despite the tumultuous path the project has taken, Tusa Consulting, Harris and MCCD’s staff and board members appear to be on the same page moving forward. “We can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel now,” McNichol said. “Maybe it’s because we’ve gone through so much to get here, but it feels like we’re on a better track now than we have been at anytime in my involvement with this project.”
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BAYBRIEF | GULF SHORES
On the fast track GULF SHORES APPOINTS FIVE TO FLEDGLING CITY SCHOOL BOARD BY JOHN MULLEN
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Swiger’s application. The five chosen, each greeted with hearty applause, are Realtor Kevin Corcoran, retired educator Dr. Ralph Gold, Jr., career educator Dr. Nichole Gotschall, educator and R.N. with specialties in human resources Dale Jernigan and educator Kelly Walker. Each board member will serve staggered initial terms from one to five years beginning Dec. 4. Corcoran served as the chairman of a countywide task force to study ways to help the Baldwin County Board of Education make improvements in the wake of several failed tax referendums the board felt it needed to fund new facilities. He later led the Island Education Task Force study on Gulf Shores for two years culminating with the group’s recommendation to form a city system. His term will be five years. Gold has 39 years of experience in education on the elementary, middle, high school and college levels. His term will be two years. Gotschall currently is an administrator at Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach and has served in a variety of roles during a 20-plus year career in education. Her term will be four years. Jernigan was previously the director of education and director of nursing administration at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center. In 2012 she founded and has since been running the Health Sciences Academy at Gulf Shores High School. She has also written textbooks on Standards of Practice and Human Resource Management. Her term will be one year. And, finally, Walker is Special Needs Specialist for the Georgia Department of Education online school, Georgia Virtual Learning. She has been an educator for more than 15 years and holds a masters degree in Special Education. Her term will be three years.
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Photo | City of Gulf Shores
he city continued on its fast track to getting a school system up and running by next year by naming the five citizens who’ll serve on the Gulf Shores school board at Monday’s council meeting. “We are ecstatic to have this group of extremely qualified residents who will now be empowered to make local education decisions based on the needs and desires of our community,” Mayor Robert Craft said. “It was a difficult process, but we have wonderful people signed up for it.” But one name was notably missing from the list: current Baldwin County Board member for the southern part of the county, Angie Swiger. Swiger has been called on to resign since Gulf Shores voted to break away from the county system on Oct. 9 because she is a city resident. She has said she will not give up her post. The county board asked the Alabama Attorney General’s office to issue an opinion on whether she can reside in a city district and still serve a county district at the same time. Swiger said she would resign the county position if appointed by the Gulf Shores council, but hers was not one of the five names called during the meeting. “First of all, I’d like to congratulate the newly appointed Gulf Shores City School Board,” Swiger said. “I love my community and felt that applying for the Gulf Shores Board was the right thing to do for the families and citizens of Gulf Shores who voted for me to serve as their rep.” Swiger said she would continue to work hard during her term on the county board. “My dedication, passion, and commitment to this community, all of District 5, and all of Baldwin County is unwavering and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and work to make this transition as smooth as possible for all involved, in particular the children,” she said. Officials from the city declined to comment on
Gulf Shores School Board members, from left, are Kevin Corcoran, Kelly Walker, Nichole Gotschall, Dale Jernigan and Ralph Gold Jr. Craft said all the future decisions on Gulf Shores City Schools will be made by these five people. “They’ve got to handle this from here going forward,” Craft said. “This is the last thing the city will do. Our responsibility here was to arrange funding, which we did, and appoint a school board. What the school board does is manages the separation agreement with the county, they hire the superintendent and the chief financial officer for the school board.” Baldwin County is already taking steps in putting its separation team together, according to spokesman Terry Wilhite. “The Board agreed at its last meeting that it should appoint an ad hoc committee of board members to assist with the negotiations,” he said. “Shannon Cauley, board Vice President, will head it and two other board members will be appointed later. “The separation negotiation and details will be handled by the superintendent, staff and legal counsel, consulting with the ad hoc committee and eventually the superintendent making a recommendation to the board.”
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE
Hard feelings MOBILE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES NEW ATTORNEY CONTRACT
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BY DALE LIESCH
y a 5-2 Tuesday morning, the Mobile City Council voted to approve the contract of new council attorney Wanda Cochran. Cochran will be paid $150 per hour, the same rate as former council attorney Jim Rossler. Councilman Joel Daves and Councilwoman Gina Gregory dissented. Councilman John Williams, who was chairman of an ad-hoc committee tasked with discussing the contract Monday, voted in favor of it, but shared his concerns with colleagues. All three had concerns over how Cochran’s initial hiring was handled. Rossler was initially let go at an organizational meeting earlier this month. At the time, Daves and Gregory had concerns he was fired after giving an unpopular opinion on how many votes it would take to approve a new president of the council. Monday, Daves and Gregory said they had concerns over the way Rossler’s firing was handled. “First of all, my opposition has nothing to do with Mrs. Cochran’s qualifications … ” Daves said. “Mr. Rossler has done an excellent job for us over the last 17 years … There was no reason to have replaced him.” Gregory’s criticism was a bit stronger. She said Rossler was blindsided by the firing and should’ve at least been made aware of the situation. “He was a friend and supporter to us all,” she said of Rossler. “He deserved better than what he got.” Williams said he was “appalled” by how Rossler was treated by a majority of his colleagues and the “public embarrassment” it caused for him. Williams added the issue of hiring Cochran has already been decided and the contract only puts in place guidelines for her work. “That’s behind us,” he said. “It’s time to move forward in a way we should have from the beginning.”
Councilman C.J. Small defended the treatment of Rossler by arguing that councilors could’ve met “behind closed doors” to discuss not only the officer vote, but the decision regarding Rossler. However, this traditional closed door meeting would’ve been illegal if held without prior notice, according to the Alabama Open Meetings Act. “Under the OMA, newly elected or appointed voting members do count toward the majority number required to constitute a ‘meeting,’” the 2005 law states. The only exceptions to this rule are for prearranged meetings required by law and prearranged meetings to discuss spending money. Alabama Press Association Executive Director Felicia Mason said she doesn’t believe either of those scenarios apply to a council’s organizational meeting. If all seven members met behind closed doors, like councilors have said happened four years ago, and the public wasn’t given notice, the meeting would be illegal, Mason said. The law does allow for executive sessions to be held in similar situations, but an executive session must be noticed and publically convened first, Mason said. Four years ago, the council held a closed meeting to discuss voting for officers and hiring an attorney. In that meeting, Gregory was chosen as president in a 4-3 vote. The official vote at the public organizational meeting in 2013 was unanimously in favor of Gregory. This year’s vote for council president was held in public and resulted in a 4-3 vote in favor of Councilman Fred Richardson over Gregory. Rossler and some councilors said the official vote for president requires five votes, or a supermajority. Mary Zoghby, a co-author of the law establishing Mobile’s mayor-council form of government agrees that the vote should take a supermajority.
Opening up HERON LAKES COUNTRY CLUB MOVES TO SEMI-PRIVATE STATUS
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BY DALE LIESCH
eron Lakes Country Club will become semi-private in early 2018, according to its new management, Bloom Golf Management of Pass Christian, Mississippi. The change was recently announced along with a plan to renovate the golf course and clubhouse. The renovations began Monday, Nov. 20, company spokesman David Spence said. It will be the third renovation in course history, according to a statement from Bloom. “Earlier this fall, Bloom Golf Management entered into an agreement to bolster the 18-hole course designed by Harold Stallings in 1954,” a statement reads. “The Heron Lakes subdivision, started in 2000, allowed course designer Earl Stone to create four new challenging holes surrounded by six lakes. Heron Lakes then renovated all 18 greens in 2004, converting to Champion Bermudagrass.” Semi-private means the club’s golf course and event space would open to the public, while there would still be a private side to the clubhouse, Spence said. Like many other public links, the golf course will charge greens fees, although Spence didn’t elaborate on costs. “We’re fine-tuning all of that,” he said. “We want to get the word out that we’re under new management.” Heron Lakes features a 46,000 square-foot clubhouse, 5,000 square feet of banquet space, several
dining options, an Olympic-size pool, nine tennis courts and a fitness center. Already known as one of Mobile’s premier special event venues, there will be more opportunities in 2018 to host weddings, meetings, office parties and the like. The newly renovated facilities can accommodate from 20 to 400 guests, according to the statement. “We are excited for the opportunity to restore Heron Lakes to prominence in the Metro Mobile area and the renovations should go a long way in doing that,” Russ Bloom, president of Bloom Golf Management, said in the statement. “A renewed commitment to service and to the golf experience are our top priorities.” The change is occurring after a vote of the club’s top-level membership. Councilman John Williams, a Heron Lakes member who also represents the area on the City Council, said the affirmative vote happened about three weeks ago. Williams said with membership levels where they were, it was time for the change to semi-private. “It’s hard to make it as a club,” he said. “It was a bunch of guys trying really hard to run a business. The club has been losing members and losing money for years.” As for the residents of the nearby neighborhoods, including Heron Lakes, Williams said many wanted the club to open up to the public. N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 7
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Capital improvements $15 MILLION MOBILE METRO JAIL UPGRADE MAY RESOLVE DOJ CONCERNS BY JASON JOHNSON
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he Mobile County Commission is considering whether to borrow $24.5 million for capital projects, but the vast majority of it is already earmarked for improvements in Mobile Metro Jail to help resolve a 14-year-old Department of Justice investigation into the facility. According to Mobile County Commission President Merceria Ludgood, the county plans to put $15 million up to address “deficiencies” outlined in a National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO) audit conducted in 2015. In a statement to Lagniappe in July, commissioners said they were working with Sheriff Sam Cochran to implement the recommended physical improvements — including upgrades to areas that service the mental health and medical needs of local inmates. “Our priorities are to expand our existing medical wing to include a designated mental health wing and to add more cells for inmates with mental health issues,” Cochran said. “We also want to expand the docket room and our intake area. We think those can be done at the same time.” With statewide reductions in mental health services, Metro has had to adapt over the years to serve mentally ill inmates. According to Cochran, corrections officers are sometimes forced to isolate those inmates in cells initially designed for multiple people. Cochran says those could be freed up with the addition of a dedicated mental health wing. The county has already put $1.7 million into the jail this year to improve an outdated security camera system that hadn’t been updated since the 1980s and was missing cameras in key areas like those housing inmates on suicide watch. As mentioned above, many of the same issues addressed in these capital expenditures have been highlighted by the DOJ in an ongoing inquiry into the jail that began in 2003. As recently as 2009, the DOJ described the mental and
physical health services at Metro as “grossly” and sometimes “constitutionally” inadequate, though Cochran — who took office after the investigation was launched — told Lagniappe many of those issues have been addressed. Yet, after 14 years, the DOJ investigation remains unresolved. “They have attempted to get us to accept some type of consent decree, which I have opposed each and every time based on the advice of our attorneys,” Cochran said. “We’ve taken the stance that we’re not in violation of any constitutional standards. They’ve not brought any kind of lawsuit against us, but we have agreed to work with them, and they’ve since taken many of their concerns off the table.” For instance, Cochran said one of the DOJ’s concerns early on was the level of overcrowding at Metro and the average population has dropped significantly in recent years. He also claimed the concerns with inmate health care were addressed when MCSO brought in a contractor, NaphCare, to manage those services. While Cochran said the DOJ investigation wasn’t the primary reason for moving forward with the planned jail renovations, he said he’d like to resolve its remaining issues, even if the required improvements have to be done in stages. “What the county is doing is a big help, but at the end of the day, they only have so much money,” Cochran said. “We’re doing the best we can with the money that’s available to us.”
911 Board shakeup
Commissioners recently strayed from an unwritten practice of reappointing board members to the Mobile County Communications District who wish to continue their service. While there have been many changes to the board’s makeup in recent years, most occurred after a resignation or when a member whose term was expiring asked to not be reappointed.
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However, Commissioners recently booted Metro Jail Warden Trey Oliver after serving on the board for more than a decade and despite his requests to continue serving. In October, Oliver was replaced on the board by Assistant County Administrator Glenn Hodge by a unanimous vote of the commission. Yet, the reasons for the the change remain unclear. Only one commissioner responded to a Lagniappe inquiry about why Oliver wasn’t reappointed, but still deflected the question. “I have the utmost confidence in Glenn,” Commissioner Connie Hudson wrote via email. “He’ll be a great addition to the board and will keep the County Commissioners well informed.” While replacing Oliver might be unusual, it was not unexpected. It has long been rumored Oliver would not remain on the board due to his very public criticisms of a $39 million contract MCCD awarded to Harris Corporation in 2013 for the construction of its new radio system. One of the first to openly criticize the deal, Oliver was instrumental in launching the internal investigation of the project that led to renegotiations with Harris and a $5 million price reduction. Oliver had also written the Commission directly with complaints about a “lack of financial accountability” on the MCCD board — specifically citing a $22,000per month maintenance contract with Hurricane Electronics the company subsequently cut in half. Hurricane also quietly maintained a private antenna on an MCCD radio tower for years at no cost, but after Oliver continued to bring the issue up at public board meetings, the company had it removed and retroactively paid MCCD $32,625 for the use of its tower. When asked about not being reappointed, though, Oliver didn’t suggest those incidents motivated the decision. However, comments Oliver made in August suggest he was already concerned about the end of his most recent term, which expired in October. At the time, Oliver interjected at the end of meeting to ask MCCD Director Charlie McNichol what the “historic tradition” was when a board member’s term is set to expire. McNichol said, “In most cases, if they’re willing to continue serving, [the commissioners] reappoint them.” “You know mine is coming up in October,” Oliver replied. “I intend to continue serving.” Despite not being given the opportunity, Oliver praised Hodge as “a good appointment” who would give the Commission “one of their own” on the board. He also said he’s fine with the way things worked out and pleased with the direction MCCD is heading. “The truth of the matter is, the mismanagement going on with this large project — all those matters have been addressed. The monies not being used wisely have been recovered or some service or product was retrieved for them,” he added. “The past is dead: Let’s bury the dead and move on.”
BAYBRIEF | MOBILE COUNTY
Restricted access WORK RESTARTS ON CAUSEWAY PIPE AS MAWSS CONSIDERS RATE INCREASE BY DALE LIESCH
Photo | Submitted
MAWSS intends to resume work on a pipeline replacement Dec. 18. The project has restricted access to boat launches along the causeway.
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fter months of delays, work to replace a water supply pipe along the Causeway will continue on the week of Monday Dec. 18, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System announced in a statement. Work to repair the pipe that failed near a boat launch at Ralph and Kacoo’s restaurant will begin again, just as complaints started pouring in from recreational anglers in the area. “A segment of the HDPE plastic water line serving Spanish Fort broke on New Year’s Day near the Chocolatta Bay boat ramps at the east end of the parking lot serving Ralph and Kacoos Restaurant,” according to a statement
from MAWSS spokeswoman Barbara Shaw. “A temporary above ground pipe was set up and has been serving Spanish Fort customers since the break. The permanent repair will replace the plastic pipe with 18-inch ductile iron pipe.” Gregg Mudge complained that each time he tries to set up a duck blind near the location, he’s having “to fight for trailer space to park.” It’s especially bad on weekends and holidays. “The ramps at Choctaw launch by Ralph and Kacoo’s (are) the main launch for duck hunters, sport fisherman and tournament fisherman on the Causeway,” he wrote in an
email. “MAWSS and Baldwin County have not made any attempt to partially open the launches and the only other launch close by is closed by hurricane damage. The free launch across from Ed’s Shed has a huge amount of pipes covering it .” Shirley Smith, owner of Shirley’s Bait and Tackle across from Battleship Park, said the issue has caused a substantial dip in her business because the lack of open launches forces hunters and anglers to avoid the Causeway altogether. It’s also a financial burden to anglers and hunters looking for a nearby launch, Mudge wrote. “All the hunters and fisherman in Baldwin and Mobile counties that fish or hunt around the delta are having to put in at Scott’s in Spanish Fort, Meaher Park or at a public launch [with one ramp] by Shirley’s and ride the extra distance to fishing and hunting spots and park a lot further away from ramps and walk the distance,” he wrote. “All of them are using extra gas and extra time and waiting at dark to get a free ramp to load up and go home.” This is the second time the directional drilling will be attempted. The first time, the casing pipe collapsed when it was pulled through the hole, according to the statement. That stopped the project until it could be determined why the collapse occurred and how it could be corrected. This time, they will be using a different subcontractor, new casing pipe and drilling 10 feet deeper than the first attempt. “We appreciate the public’s patience as we move forward with this difficult repair,” MAWSS Director Charles Hyland said in the statement. “Everyone involved in this project wants to see it completed as quickly as possible.” Seperately, MAWSS held a public hearing on its annual budget Tuesday evening. The $62.2 million proposed budget includes a 5 percent rate increase from a slightly higher administrative fee. MAWSS will also be considering a 5 percent rate increase for 2019 as well. The MAWSS Board of Commissioners will consider the budget and both rate increases at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 4. For months, MAWSS has argued some future rate increases are needed to repair aging sewer infrastructure and protect its customers and the environment. “The poor conditions of the pipes, combined with locally heavy rains, have resulted in overflows,” Shaw wrote in a statement. “Several capital projects, funded with low interest State Revolving Fund loans, are planned to reduce the overflows. The budget increases provide funds for repayment of the loans.” Water and sewer customers using an average of 5,000 gallons of water per month would see their monthly bill increase about $2.25 a month from $55.80 to $58.05. Minimum bills, using 2,500 gallons or less, would increase $1.43 a month, from $29.90 to $31.33. If approved, the new rates and fees would take effect Jan. 1.
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COMMENTARY | DAMN THE TORPEDOES
Counting down to the end of this race… ROB HOLBERT/MANAGING EDITOR/RHOLBERT@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
IT’S SAFE TO SAY YOU PROBABLY GET THE IDEA BY NOW. ROY MOORE IS A TOUCHY SUBJECT FOR PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE. ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WAAAAAAAY OUT ON THE EDGE OF EITHER SIDE.”
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trying to date high school girls when he was in his early 30s, I believe there’s too much smoke for there not to be some fire. And Moore provided a lot of that smoke himself by telling conservative radio host Sean Hannity that he asked the permission of mothers before trying to date their daughters. I know he likes to act like he’s from the Old West, but this was the late 1970s. Grown women don’t need their mothers’ permission to date. That’s poor judgment. No one will likely ever know if he sexually assaulted a 14- and 15-year-old, or if he was banned from the mall for “trolling,” and I agree the timing of all this should at least give us pause. But Roy’s made it pretty clear he at least was interested in dating high school girls when he was an assistant district attorney. It just seems like time and again he’s made poor choices and excessively inflammatory statements. The Republican Party rammed this whole mess down our throats by allowing Robert Bentley and Luther Strange to highjack the U.S. Senate seat. Then Mitch McConnell slammed reasonable candidates in order to try to get Luther in, leaving a path for Moore. Alabama Republicans would be far better off letting Doug Jones have the seat and regrouping with a reasonable candidate in two years than they would having their party be the party of Roy Moore and being tied to his inevitable poor decisions. Jones seems to be a reasonable and respectable man who probably understands that voting lockstep with the senate’s Democratic leadership will likely earn him one of the shortest terms in senate history. So that’s the Luciferian, super-lib, ultraconservative take on things from my perch.
THEGADFLY
few hard-core anti-Moore people have complained about some of my past columns because they weren’t written in blood and denouncing him clearly enough. I’m sure we’ll get a complaint the next time we run a recipe that it didn’t call for enough minced Roy Moore heart. But no sooner had I finished listening to the angry Satsumian, than an email popped up with the subject line saying “I did not pick up your paper this week.” This writer was upset because he thinks we’ve been wildly anti-Moore and he, “sure cannot figure our why a marketing plan would be based on bias left reporting to ultra Red Baldwin County or the folks with the purchasing power in Mobile county.” I will say his letter was certainly more lucid than the guy yelling on the phone, but the message was more or less the same — you’re going to suffer economically because of the way you’re covering Roy Moore. At least in his case I could write back and explain that our “marketing plan” is to be a good newspaper and provide news delivered as evenhandedly as possible, even when that sometimes doesn’t make everyone happy. In fact, I learned a long time ago that in the newspaper business there will always be complaints and these days people seldom can just express unhappiness with a particular column or article without condemning the entire newspaper and everyone who works here, our children, pets and grandparents. The next thing I received was a proposed letter to the editor in which the writer called the members of the media and others who opposed Moore “Luciferians.” I’ll admit Googling the term just to be sure it means what I think it means. Yeah, basically he was saying those people opposing Roy Moore or publicizing his recent
alleged “issues” with young ladies are in league with the Devil, El Diablo, Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer … whatever you want to call him. Since there was a reasonable chance the writer would be run over in the street by an angry chef if he signed his name to something like that, I figured it was better to just hit delete. (I know … that’s exactly what a Luciferian working in the media would do! Muaahahahaha!!!) It’s safe to say you probably get the idea by now. Roy Moore is a touchy subject for people on both sides of the aisle. Especially for those waaaaaaay out on the edge of either side. Civility is pretty much lost on extremists, but I’ll give it a shot here and try to explain clearly why I’m not voting for Roy Moore and why I think Alabama Republicans should deal with the fact that they have a really poor candidate who would do nothing but hurt the “brand” if elected. To me Moore has repeatedly shown poor judgment. You can say he stood up for Christianity when he was in the Alabama Supreme Court, but as a judge he has to uphold the law. When he was told to remove the Ten Commandments sculpture and to stop trying to ban same-sex marriages, he put his personal beliefs above the law. Maybe that’s fine if your personal beliefs match his, but what happens when they don’t? How many people would like to have judges simply interpret the law based upon their own personal beliefs, and then refuse to follow the law even when higher courts reject that logic? Like it or not, we’re a nation of laws. As far as his possible involvement in
Cartoon/Laura Rasmussen
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eturning to work Monday after a much-needed Turkey Day jaunt to visit Hernando, Mississippi, tour Ole Miss and act like a tourist in Memphis eating ribs and watching ducks ride elevators, I re-entered the Roy Moore-centric world in which we all must now live. The red message light on my desk phone was glowing when I walked in, so I hit “messages.” What followed was a semi-howl of a rant from someone claiming to be a restaurateur in Satsuma who vowed to throw a stack of last week’s issue of everyone’s favorite newspaper in the trash, ban it from being delivered to his business ever again and to call every other restaurant in town to encourage them not to advertise with us. At first I thought maybe the guy got a bad review, but then he got to the point. We haven’t been hard enough on Roy Moore, he said. Our last cover featuring the occasional jurist and U.S. Senate wannabe was somehow in this man’s mind an endorsement of Moore. Apparently he’d also called most everyone else in our office last week and ranted, claiming no one would actually read the cover story and would just assume Lagniappe supports Roy Moore. Perhaps he’s right and we should just go out of business. That seems like a rational solution. Frankly I’ve gotten used to it over the past month. A
THE MOBILE CITY COUNCIL MIGHT HAVE AVOIDED A CONFRONTATION WITH “THE ALABAMA HAMMER.”
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COMMENTARY | THE HIDDEN AGENDA
Hear us roar, but let’s be reasonable about it ASHLEY TRICE/EDITOR/ASHLEYTOLAND@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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nother day, another sexual assault allegation. It seems we can’t go a single day without heaåring another account of some man in a position of power doing something ranging from crude or creepy to downright criminal. The dam broke with Harvey Weinstein and there has been a steady flow of names ever since. This is not surprising as there is no expiration date on these allegations, with many of them going back decades. And no industry seems to be immune from this behavior. From restaurants to entertainment to media to politics, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street and Washington, the allegations have piled up so high, it’s hard to even sift through them all at this point. Fatigue is starting to set in. Obviously, this has been a watershed moment for women. No woman should ever be harassed and certainly not assaulted in the workplace or anywhere for that matter. Period. And if that message hasn’t gotten through loud and clear to every man in America by now, then we have a problem. But while this moment has brought about great clarity, it has also unfortunately left some areas a bit murky. All men are not horrible. And women aren’t perfect either.
pats you a little too low on the back one time or calls you “honey” and your boss who disrobes or does something else more disgusting in front of you (Looking at you, Louis C.K.) or implicitly or explicitly threatens your job or to ruin your career if you don’t kiss him or sleep with him. It just seems like many rather minor incidents have been lumped together with the inexcusable ones as part of this #MeToo movement. I’ve had my butt patted before, I would rather it never happen again, but it has not required years of therapy for me to get over it. So let’s not overdramatize every little thing that has ever happened to us. I am certainly not trying to tell any woman what she should or should not feel comfortable with, but if it gets to the point where people start rolling their eyes at some of these seemingly minor infractions, the really egregious ones are going to get lost in the mix. And that’s not fair to those women. And this movement will ultimately lose its gravity and the opportunity for change will be lost. Do all “crimes” deserve the same “punishment?” I think when a moment like this occurs, there is a danger of overcorrection. The word “zero tolerance” has been used a lot in the past month as these stories have unfolded. Again, these truly ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SEXUAL predatory actions should have never been tolerated in ASSAULT ALLEGATION. IT SEEMS WE the first place and certainly not going forward. But how CAN’T GO A SINGLE DAY WITHOUT HEAÅRING far are we going to go to ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF SOME MAN IN A POSITION right these wrongs? Yes, the Harvey WeinOF POWER DOING SOMETHING RANGING FROM steins and Charlie Roses and CRUDE OR CREEPY TO DOWNRIGHT CRIMINAL. Louis C.K.’s deserved to lose their jobs and book deals and I feel like with this avalanche of allegations, televisions shows, basically everything. Voters men in general feel pretty beat up on these days. in this state will get to act as judge and jury for Sure, I have had to deal with my own share of Roy Moore in two weeks and it remains to be creepy dudes and their comments over the years, seen if he will be “punished” at the ballot box but 99 percent of the men I have encountered for his alleged “crimes.” I certainly think he either as co-workers or in other professional set- should be. tings have been honorable, respectful, wonderBut does the New York Times reporter who ful human beings who would never in a million acted inappropriately, but certainly not up to years engage in this type of behavior. Thankthe level of the alleged actions of Roy Moore fully, the good guys far outnumber the bad ones. and Harvey Weinstein, deserve the same fate? Let’s not lose sight of that! Maybe I should lose my girl card here, but I just And ladies, we aren’t perfect either. In fact, don’t think so. There has to be some balance. there is probably just as much — if not more — We can’t cut off the head of every guy who has psychological abuse heaped on women in the looked at a girl the wrong way or perhaps misworkplace by other women than there is sexual read cues from a co-worker he’s interested in. harassment towards them by men. I am certainly We all know the difference between habitual, not saying one bad behavior excuses another, aggressive predators and otherwise decent guys but while we are all self-reflecting, we need to who might have made a mistake. But in this take a good look at ourselves in the mirror too, highly charged atmosphere, I feel like we’re my fellow women-folk. I know we could do a going to go after the latter as hard as the former better job of being supportive of one another. and that’s just not right. In fact, in some of these high-profile sexual Again, I am happy these stories have shed harassment cases, we learned other women were light on a problem that has plagued women enabling the men to do horrendous things — to from Wall Street to Main Street for decades. It is women they should have been looking out for. long overdue. But at the same time, we can’t go “Oh, that’s just Charlie being Charlie.” overboard on this. Overreaction and overcorrecThere are different types of bad behavior. tion will only serve to extinguish all the positive There is a huge difference between a guy actions that have come out of this movement. who is your equal at work who asks you out or And put us right back where we started.
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COMMENTARY | THE BELTWAY BEAT
Why Alabama’s ‘major’ newspapers don’t speak for Alabama BY JEFF POOR/COLUMNIST/JEFFREYPOOR@GMAIL.COM
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ast week, the national news media granted Alabama’s self-proclaimed “major” newspapers — the Press-Register, The Birmingham News and The Huntsville Times — some much-sought attention for their front-page special election endorsement. Unsurprisingly, all three papers gave a full-throated condemnation of Roy Moore and endorsed his opponent, Doug Jones. The reaction from the national media was as if Jeff Sessions, George Wallace, Bear Bryant, Bo Jackson, Hank Williams, Sr., and Harper Lee endorsed Jones, which was hardly the case. Even if you accept that the polling that favors Jones, Alabama is pretty evenly divided on the question of Roy Moore’s virtue and adequacy as a U.S. Senator. The fact that the Alabama is split, however, was not the tone of the headlinegrabbing endorsement editorial. If you take a step back from the Moore-Jones
group of newspapers under the umbrella of Alabama Media Group’s AL.com. It’s a newspaper that wants to be in the NPR “All Things Considered” genre when most people in the state want family-fun slapstick “Rick & Bubba.” While the editorial direction of the paper tries to find a down-home angle for the latest art gallery, it ignores entire swaths of audiences. For example, a lot of Alabamians are outdoorsmen. There was once a time when the papers had reporters solely dedicated to hunting and fishing beats. Now, unless there is some tree-hugger angle, rarely, if ever, do you see that coverage. There are also people in Alabama who like motorsports. All over the state, there are local asphalt and short tracks — in Mobile, Opp, Birmingham, Loxley, Phenix City — that host races. You would not know it by reading the selfproclaimed “major” newspapers. The modern incarnation of these newspapers and its website AL.com is not Alabama. If HERE IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE people are supposed to accept a front-page RUNNING THE ALABAMA MEDIA GROUP editorial slamming Moore as reflecting the NEED TO FIGURE OUT: YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE sentiment of the state, THE LOCAL PAPER OF RECORD. YOU ARE NOT THE how about starting with some other things HUFFINGTON POST. YOU ARE NOT SALON. YOU ARE beyond politics. NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE NICHE NPR/SLATELast year in the throes of the presidential STYLE LABORATORY THAT STEERS ALABAMA TO election, the Alabama Media Group newspaBEING A BASTION OF PROGRESSIVE IDEALISM. pers endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald circus, you’ll find this is just symptomatic of Trump. In an Oct. 9, 2016 editorial headlined Alabama’s newspapers of record. They simply “We’re with Hillary Clinton. Frankly, Donald do not offer accurate or even adequate readings Trump’s dangerous,” that same editorial board of the state’s local metaphorical temperature, i.e., called Trump “dangerous” and said he was “a they are out of touch. narcissistic, childish bully.” The local media’s inability to connect with Alabama voters went nearly 2-to-1 for Trump. the average Alabamian is not just the usual Days after their editorial, the media group’s run-of-the-mill liberal bias you find at most Vice President of Content Michelle Holmes media outlets — where the reporters see jourdismissed concerns about the papers’ disconnect nalism as social work. The problems impactwith Alabama voters. ing Alabama news media is a more significant “We’re not out of step with the multitudes of institutional problem. Alabamians who stand for decency, who stand for The late Andrew Breitbart coined the phrase loving their neighbors,” she said in an interview “politics is downstream from culture,” and it with NPR. “One out of three people here voted applies here. Upstream from J.D. Crowe’s politi- for Hillary Clinton. That’s certainly not going cal cartoons, John Archibald’s blog posts and to win any election. But in terms of the fabric preachy AL.com editorials is the embrace of a of society, we are not the monolithic right-wing culture that is foreign to most people inside the state that many outside of Alabama see.” state’s borders. The reporters and editors who Here is what the people who are running the work for Alabama’s local papers embrace a view Alabama Media Group need to figure out: You of the world that strives for the cosmopolitan and are supposed to be the local paper of record. You cultured. are not the Huffington Post. You are not Salon. Once you get past the high school football You are not supposed to be the niche NPR/Slatescores and police blotter coverage, the editorial style laboratory that steers Alabama to being a direction takes a left-of-center tack but disguised bastion of progressive idealism. by a folksy, down-home façade. Think of it like No, Alabamians are not “hungry for smart, this: When you go to one of those restaurants that inspiring stories,” (as Holmes said in a tweet advertise southern-style cuisine in a trendy part of touting her outlet’s coverage of the U.S. Senate Manhattan. The collard greens are organic. The special election) if “smart” and “inspiring” is coffee is fair trade. The “fork-and-knife” fried defined by your narrow, allegedly cultured, and chicken is free-range hens. surely leftwing perspective. Sure, it’s got all the stuff on the menu that A lot of Alabamians just want the news. They checks the boxes of “Southern Cuisine.” But want to know what kind of shady behavior their it is obviously catering to an entirely different local politicians up to or why traffic on Airport customer than the blue-collar worker on a lunch Boulevard has been horrendous for the last 40 break getting his meat and three at the greasy years. If they wanted to know why Donald Trump spoon diner off Moffett Road in Semmes. is a nincompoop, they would just turn on CNN That is in the realm of where we are with the for an hour. N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 13
COMMENTARY | THE GRIOT’S CORNER
Alabamians are forgotten by proposed tax overhaul BY KEN ROBINSON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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he week before Thanksgiving, Nov. 13 and 14 to be exact, a meeting of “the world’s most ambitious and influential businesses leaders … that employ more than 8 million people, generate $2.6 trillion plus in annual revenue and represent 21 countries in a wide cross-section of industries” were gathered in Washington, D.C. The occasion? The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council meeting. This 10th annual assemblage of the world’s top chief executives was held at the very luxurious Four Seasons Hotel, and one of the speakers for the event was Gary Cohn, assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council. Tax policy came up as Cohn was on stage and one of the Wall Street Journal’s editors posed a question to the CEOs gathered in the room. He asked them to raise their hands if their company is planning to put more money into purchasing additional equipment, building new factories and expanding job opportunities if the tax reform plan being crafted in Congress passes. Not many hands went up. According to the popular narrative, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election was all about the forgotten Americans. The economically marginalized who have come out on the losing side of the paradigm shift that has taken place in the American economy over the past several decades. We’ve been told that to a great extent, the election of Donald Trump was an expression of the collective voice of these forgotten Americans desiring to have the ship of
economic opportunity righted in their favor. Donald Trump was seen as the person who could take on the business and political elite, forcing them to acquiesce to policies that would better the interests of average Americans. The privileged class would have their privileges curtailed. The forgotten would be forgotten no longer. But, using Congressional tax reform efforts as an indicator, it seems like the ship of opportunity is destined to keep on sailing by many Americans in favor of those who have for some time prospered handsomely in this new economy. The privileged keep on getting their privileges. Without a doubt average Americans are being told that at its core, this tax reform is about tax relief for the common folk. House Speaker Paul Ryan stated, “the focus is on middle class tax relief. The focus is on directing that tax relief to the people in the middle and the people who are trying to get there. And that is why we put our emphasis on that tax relief for those people who are in the middle.” Likewise, President Trump declared, “it’s a tax bill for the middle class; it’s a tax bill for jobs … ” Yet for all this talk of middle class tax relief and the chorus of voices in the administration and Congress reassuring the American people that this reform is all about helping them, the majority of Americans don’t seem to be buying it. As poll after poll shows, skepticism is high. It seems Americans have good reason to be skeptical. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently released its analysis of the Senate’s tax bill. Which groups
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would be hit the hardest? The middle class and the poor. Although the Senate bill would make permanent cuts to the corporate tax rate, it only temporarily reduces individual rates. According to the CBO, by 2019, those income groups making under $30,000 would be hit with a bigger tax burden. By 2027, as individual tax reductions expire, that will be the case for all income groups under $75,000. With the median household income being around $45,000 in the state of Alabama, that’s troubling news. Congress’ official estimator of tax legislation, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has come to similar conclusions noting that by 2025 high income households would see the largest tax cuts as a share of after-tax income. The JCT also adds that due to its large tax cuts for high income households and corporations, the Senate’s tax bill will add a whopping $1.5 trillion to the deficit. Much lip service has been paid to the forgotten Americans. Much rhetoric has been spouted about how middle class and lower class Americans will finally see policies that prioritize their interests — not the interests of the moneyed and political class.
USING CONGRESSIONAL TAX REFORM EFFORTS AS AN INDICATOR, IT SEEMS LIKE THE SHIP OF OPPORTUNITY IS DESTINED TO KEEP ON SAILING BY MANY AMERICANS IN FAVOR OF THOSE WHO HAVE FOR SOME TIME PROSPERED HANDSOMELY IN THIS NEW ECONOMY. THE PRIVILEGED KEEP ON GETTING THEIR PRIVILEGES.” Alabamians have even been told by President Trump and his surrogates that one reason they should vote for Roy Moore is so he can ensure the passage of tax reform and other such measures destined to make their financial futures and life overall better. Yet, a federal tax reform plan that by 2027 will cut taxes by $103 million for the richest 1 percent in Alabama, while increasing taxes that same year for Alabamians making less than $80,000 each year is not an effort prioritizing the poor and middle class in this state. Whether in Alabama or some other state, it only reaffirms that they are still forgotten.
BUSINESS | THE REAL DEAL
Midtown Publix site approaching full occupancy BY RON SIVAK/COLUMNIST/BUSINESS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
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ccording to Amber Hightower Dedeaux of Vallas Realty, the Midtown Publix Shopping Center site currently under construction near the corner of Old Shell Road and North Florida Street has morphed into a bustling new business cynosure rapidly approaching full occupancy prior to its projected first quarter 2018 debut. New tenants include: Rock N Roll Sushi, which has leased 2,250 square feet of eatery space in the B building fronting Old Shell Road. Local franchise owner Chip Burr has four other locations in Baton Rouge, Pensacola and Foley but this will be his inaugural site in Mobile. It will be the brand’s first and only eatery east of I-65 in Mobile. The sushi restaurant usually employs 10 to 15 workers per new locale. Birmingham-based Taco Mama has leased 2,250 square feet of space that includes a revised service area converted into patio space. Hunter and Bob Omainsky also are owners of the Mobile-based Wintzell’s Oyster House. This will be the first Taco Mama in lower Alabama. Other locations are in Huntsville, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Auburn. Taco Mama typically employs around 20 workers when opening a new location. Lee Nails Salon, a franchised nail salon with over 75 locations in the Southeast, has signed a 10-year lease for 2,100 square feet of space in the A building within the Publix Shopping Center site and about 15 to 20 new hires will work in the space. Tommy Pham is the local owner. Greg Harvell owner of local clothier G Harvell’s has signed a new lease for a larger space within the Publix center. Some 2,353 square feet of floor space will be occupied in the C building facing Florida Street. The lease agreement will extend into 2023. Vallas Realty is currently in talks with two ladies’ clothing boutiques to fill the 2,100 square feet of space in the
current Harvell property that will be vacated. “We are also working with a national hair franchise to lease approximately 1,400 square feet in the A1 building and two large regional restaurant chains are considering leasing the A3 building on site. A cellular tenant has also expressed interest in the development,” Dedeaux said. To date, the project is 77 percent leased with construction work buzzing around the development. Planners expect to have the C building complete this month, the A buildings finished next month and the parking lot sealed and striped by Dec. 31. “We still have a few spaces remaining. The rents will be between $25 and $30 per square foot. The Midtown area is historically known for its eclectic dining scene and the tenants who locate in this area consistently win Lagniappe’s Nappie award for best in their respective categories,” Dedeaux noted. “Publix won Best Grocery Chain for 2016 and 2017; Ashland Midtown Pub won for Best Bloody Mary and Best Po Boy in 2016 and 2017; Butch Cassidy’s won in 2016 and 2017 for Best Locally Owned Restaurant; Sterling Hot Yoga won in 2016 and 2017 for Best Yoga Instructor; Waite’s won in 2016 and 2017 for Best Dry Cleaners; Cammie’s Old Dutch — which is the oldest ice cream shop in Alabama — wins consistently in the Best Ice Cream/Yogurt/Gelato category,” she said.
More commercial real estate moves
Lickin’ Good Donuts has leased some 1,300 square feet of restaurant space located at Uptown Plaza, situated at East 20th Avenue in Gulf Shores. according to Stacey Ryals of Hosteeva Realty and David Milstead of Bellator Real Estate and Development who managed the transaction for the landlord.
Some three acres of property was recently acquired for $300,000 by Eddie Spence and David Cahoon, co-owners of the Gulf Shores-based Shrimp Basket seafood restaurant chain. Stacey Ryals with Hosteeva Realty handled the transaction. The site is located directly west of OWA located at 10113 Foley Beach Express. A Gulf Shores property, the former NFL Building and Garden Center located at 3705 Gulf Shores Parkway — which includes a 30,000 square foot warehouse property as well as a 17,000 square foot main building — was recently picked up by Mobile based Mobile Lumber for $3.5 million. David and Angie Swiger of Swiger & Company Realtors managed the transaction.
New COO for Providence and Sacred Heart
Susan Cornejo has been selected as the new chief operating officer for Providence Hospital in Mobile and Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola. Both health systems are part of Ascension, the nation’s largest nonprofit health system. Cornejo has served as the chief financial officer for both Sacred Heart and Providence for the past four years. Before that, she served as chief financial officer for Providence Hospital for three years and has broad experience in health care administration. Prior to joining Ascension, Cornejo was vice president and corporate controller at St. Vincent’s Health System in Birmingham. She also previously served for eight years with HealthSouth in South Carolina. She also worked in a variety of roles for Parkview Health System in Fort Wayne, Indiana for 14 years. Cornejo is a certified public accountant who earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University-Purdue University and a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Per a news release, Ascension health care facilities have operated along the central Gulf Coast for more than 160 years and employ over 6,600.
Ozanam Pharmacy welcomes new board member
Sherry Coker, a private banker with ServisFirst Bank, has joined the Board of Directors of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy in Mobile. Coker has been with ServisFirst since April of 2013 and previously served as a manager with Banktrust. She is a director of the Alabama Banking School and a corporate volunteer for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. She will serve as Treasurer of Ozanam’s Board of Directors. Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a fully licensed pharmacy providing prescription medications to uninsured and underinsured individuals. Prescriptions are filled at no charge for individuals who qualify based on household income. For their fiscal 2016-2017 year, Ozanam dispensed over 28,000 prescriptions with an estimated retail value of over $2 million, distributed among 1,671 patients in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties.
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AL’S HOTDOGS ($)
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 ($-$$) CATERING 5817 Old Shell Rd. • 622-0869
CHAT-A-WAY CAFE ($)
QUICHES & SANDWICHES 4366 Old Shell Rd. • 343-9889
CHICK-FIL-A ($)
107 St. Francis St. • 415-1700 3244 Dauphin St. • 476-0320 3215 Bel Air Mall • 476-8361 4707 Airport Blvd. • 461-9933 435 Schillinger Rd. • 639-1163 1682 US HWY 98 • Daphne • 621-3215 30500 AL 181 • Spanish Fort • 621-3020
CHICKEN SALAD CHICK ($)
CHICKEN SALAD, SALAD & SOUP 2370 S. Hillcrest Rd. Unit R • 660-0501 5753 Old Shell Rd. • 408-3236 1802 US Hwy 98 Suite F• 625-1092
CHI-TOWN DAWGZ ($) CHICAGO STYLE EATERY 1222 Hillcrest Rd. • 461-6599
195 S University Blvd. Suite H • 662-1829 15 N Conception St. • 433-2299
FATHOMS LOUNGE
SMALL PLATES AND CREATIVE COCKTAILS 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
FLOUR GIRLS BAKERY ($) 809 Hillcrest Rd. • 634-2285
FIREHOUSE SUBS ($)
HOT SUBS, COLD SALADS & CATERING 6300 Grelot Rd. • 631-3730
FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES ($) BURGERS, MILKSHAKES & FRIES 4401 Old Shell Rd. • 447-2394 4663 Airport Blvd. • 300-8425 5319 Hwy 90 • 661-0071 1225 Satchel Page Dr.• 378-8768
FOOSACKLY’S ($)
FAMOUS CHICKEN FINGERS 29181 US Hwy 98 • Daphne • 375-1104 7843 Moffett Rd. • 607-6196 1109 Shelton Beach Rd. • 287-1423 310 S. University Blvd. • 343-0047 2250 Airport Blvd. • 479-2922 7641 Airport Blvd. • 607-7667 2558 Schillinger Rd. • 219-7761 3249 Dauphin St. • 479-2000
FOY SUPERFOODS ($) 119 Dauphin St.• 307-8997
GULF COAST EXPLOREUM CAFE ($) HOMEMADE SOUPS & SANDWICHES 65 Government St. • 208-6815
GUMBO SHACK ($-$$)
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 ($)
PIZZAS, SANDWICHES, COCKTAILS 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
JONELLI’S ($)
1252 Govenment St.• 301-7556
MCSHARRY’S ($-$$)
AUTHENTIC IRISH PUB 101 N. Bancroft St.• 990-5100
MIKO’S ITALIAN ICE ($)
HOTDOGS SANDWICHES & COOL TREATS 3371 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 300–4015
MOMMA GOLDBERG’S DELI ($) SANDWICHES & MOMMA’S LOVE 3696 Airport Blvd. • 344-9500 5602 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6556
MONTEGO’S ($-$$)
FRESH CARIBBEAN-STYLE FOOD & CRAFT BEER 6601 Airport Blvd. • 634-3445 225 Dauphin St. • 375-1576
MOON PIE GENERAL STORE ($)
107 St Francis St #115 • RSA Bank Trust Building
MOSTLY MUFFINS ($)
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
D’ MICHAEL’S ($)
PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS, GYROS & MORE 7101-A Theodore Dawes Rd. • 653-2979
D NU SPOT ($)
22159 Halls Mill Rd. . • 648-6522
DELISH BAKERY AND EATERY ($) GREAT DESSERTS & HOT LUNCH 23 Upham St. • 473-6115
DEW DROP INN ($)
CLASSIC BURGERS, HOTDOGS & SETTING
MAMA’S ($)
SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD HOME COOKING 220 Dauphin St. • 432-6262
MARS HILL CAFE ($)
GREAT SANDWICHES, COFFEE & MORE 1087 Downtowner Blvd. • 643-1611
MARY’S SOUTHERN COOKING ($) 3011 Springhill Ave. • 476-2232
MICHELI’S CAFE ($)
6358 Cottage Hill Rd. • 725-6917
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 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
PDQ ($)
THREE GEORGES CANDY SHOP ($)
POLLMAN’S BAKERY ($)
TROPICAL SMOOTHIE ($)
PUNTA CLARA KITCHEN ($)
UNCLE JIMMY’S DELICIOUS HOTDOGS ($)
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 ($)
PUB FOOD AND DRAFT BEERS 251 Dauphin St. • 287-6871
AT FLU CREEK 831 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-7766
TP CROCKMIERS ($)
BAR FOOD 271 Dauphin St • 438-9585
LICKIN’ GOOD DONUTS ($) LODA BIER GARTEN ($)
SUNSET POINTE ($-$$)
PAT’S DOWNTOWN GRILL ($)
CREAM AND SUGAR ($)
HOT LUNCH, DAILY MENU (INSIDE VIA) 1717 Dauphin St. • 470-5231
4701 Airport Blvd. • 408-3379
THE PIGEON HOLE ($)
OVEN-BAKED SANDWICHES & MORE 1335 Satchel Page Dr. Suite C. • 287-7356 7440 Airport Blvd. • 633-0096 30500 State Hwy 181 #132 • 625-6544
1880 Industrial Pkwy. • 675-2999
DAUPHIN ST. CAFE ($)
SUGAR RUSH DONUT CO. ($)
NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE ($)
HOME COOKING 4054 Government St. • 665-4557 3915 Gov’t Blvd. • 219-7922
SANDWICHES, SOUPS, SALADS & MORE 41 West I-65 Service Rd. N Suite 150. • 287-2793
THE HARBERDASHER ($)
ROSIE’S GRILL ($-$$)
COFFEE, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DESSERT 351 George St #B • 405-0003
STEVIE’S KITCHEN ($)
MUFFINS, COFFEE & WRAPS 105 Dauphin St. • 433-9855
JUDY’S PLACE ($-$$)
CONNECTION FROZEN YOGURT ($)
CUPCAKE BOUTIQUE 6207 Cottage Hill Rd. Suite B • 665-3003
AMERICAN RESTAURANT & BAR 250 Dauphin St. • 476-1890 LIGHT LUNCH WITH SOUTHERN FLAIR. 226 Dauphin St. • 433-6725
GREAT SMOOTHIES, WRAPS & SANDWICHES. Du Rhu Dr. • 378-5648 570 Schillinger Road • 634-3454
2550 Dauphin Island Pkwy S. • 307-5328
WAREHOUSE BAKERY & DONUTS ($) COFFEE AND DONUTS 759 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope • 928-7223
WEDGIE’S ($)
GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE 5955 Old Shell Rd. • 287-6134
WILD WING STATION ($) 1500 Gov’t St. • 287-1526
SATORI COFFEEHOUSE ($)
COFFEE, SMOOTHIES, LUNCH & BEERS. 5460 Old Shell Rd. • 344-4575
SERDA’S COFFEEHOUSE ($)
MOE’S ORIGINAL BAR B QUE ($) BARBEQUE & MUSIC Bayfront Park Dr. • Daphne • 625-RIBS 701 Springhill Ave. • 410-7427 4672 Airport Blvd. • 300-8516
SAUCY Q BARBQUE ($) AWARD-WINNING BARBQUE 1111 Gov’t Blvd. • 433-7427
SMOKEY DEMBO SMOKE HOUSE ($) 3758 Dauphin Island Pkwy. • 473-1401
DROP DEAD GOURMET BAY GOURMET ($$)
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
Battle House Hotel, Royal St. • 338-5493
THE WASH HOUSE ($$)
17111 Scenic HWY 98 • Point Clear • 928-4838
A LITTLE VINO DOMKE MARKET
WINE, BEER, GOURMET FOODS, & MORE. 720 Schillinger Rd. S. Unit 8 • 287-1851
FOOD PAK
FOOD, WINE & MORE 5150 Old Shell Rd. • 341-1497
POUR BABY
WINE BAR, CRAFT BEERS & BISTRO 6808 Airport Blvd. • 343-3555
FIREHOUSE WINE BAR & SHOP 216 St Francis St. • 421-2022
RED OR WHITE
323A De La Mare Ave, Fairhope • 990-0003 1104 Dauphin St.. • 478-9494
ROYAL STREET TAVERN
LIVE MUSIC, MARTINIS & DINNER MENU. 26 N. Royal St. • 338-2000
SOUTHERN NAPA
BISTRO PLATES, CRAFT BEERS & PANTRY 2304 Main St. • 375-2800
FALAFEL? TRY SOME HUMMUS 7 SPICE ($-$$)
HEALTHY, DELICIOUS MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 3762 Airport Blvd. • 725-1177
ABBA’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE ($-$$) 4861 Bit & Spur Rd. • 340-6464
CORNER 251 ($-$$)
ISTANBUL GRILL ($)
DAUPHIN’S ($$-$$$)
JERUSALEM CAFE ($-$$)
DUMBWAITER ($$-$$$)
MEDITERRANEAN SANDWICH COMPANY ($)
HIGH QUALITY FOOD & DRINKS 251 Government St • 460-3157 HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH A VIEW 107 St. Francis St • 444-0200 9 Du Rhu Dr. Suite 201 167 Dauphin St. • 445-3802
AUTHENTIC TURKISH & MEDITERRANEAN 3702 Airport Blvd. • 461-6901 MOBILE’S OLDEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE 5773 Airport Blvd. • 304-1155
FIVE ($$)
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 MEDITERRANEAN FOOD. 5951 Old Shell Rd. • 450-9191
MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT & HOOKAH 1248 Hillcrest St • 634-9820
GREAT LUNCH & DINNER 3607 Old Shell Rd. • 445-8700
TAZIKI’S ($-$$)
LOCAL INGREDIENTS 203 Dauphin St. • 690-6824
FAR EASTERN FARE
NOBLE SOUTH ($$)
INVENTIVE & VERY FRESH CUISINE 6 N. Jackson St. • 433-0377 SUPREME EUROPEAN CUISINE 2579 Halls Mill Rd. • 479-0006
ROYAL SCAM ($$)
MEDITERRANEAN CAFE 1539 US HWY 98• 273-3337
ANG BAHAY KUBO ($$) 4513 Old Shell Rd.• 473-0007
BAMBOO STEAKHOUSE ($$) SUSHI BAR 650 Cody Rd. S • 300-8383
BANGKOK THAI ($-$$)
GUMBO, ANGUS BEEF & BAR 72. S. Royal St. • 432-SCAM (7226)
DELICIOUS, TRADITIONAL THAI CUISINE 28600 US 98 • Daphne • 626-5286 3821 Airport Blvd. • 344-9995
BACKYARD CAFE & BBQ ($)
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE ($$$)
BANZAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($$)
BAR-B-QUING WITH MY HONEY ($$)
SAGE RESTAURANT ($$)
BENJAS ($)
BRICK PIT ($)
VON’S BISTRO ($-$$)
CHARM ($-$$)
COTTON STATE BBQ ($)
TAMARA’S DOWNTOWN ($$)
CHINA DOLL ($)
HOME COOKIN’ LIKE MOMMA MADE. 2804 Springhill Ave. • 473-4739
BBQ, BURGERS, WINGS & SEAFOOD 19170 Hwy 43 Mt. Vernon. • 829-9227 A FAVORITE BARBECUE SPOT 5456 Old Shell Rd. • 343-0001
COFFEE, LUNCHES, LIVE MUSIC & GELATO 3 Royal St. S. • 415-3000
DOWNTOWN LUNCH 101 N. Conception St. • 545-4682
SIMPLY SWEET ($)
DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT ($-$$)
16 | L AG N I A P P E | N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7
5401 Cottage Hill Rd. • 591-4842
OSMAN’S RESTAURANT ($$)
‘CUE
BAKERY 5638 Three Notch Rd.• 219-6379
MEAT BOSS ($)
YAK THE KATHMANDU KITCHEN ($-$$)
85 N. Bancroft St. Fairhope • 990.8883
LUNCH & DINNER 3004 Gov’t Blvd. • 287-1220
SALLY’S PIECE-A-CAKE ($)
RIBS, SANDWICHES & GREAT SIDES 3314 Old Shell Rd. • 479-9898
NOJA ($$-$$$)
AUTHENTIC FOODS FROM HIMALAYAN REGION 3210 Dauphin St. • 287-0115 400 Eastern Shore Center • 459-2862
HOMEMADE LUNCH & BREAKFAST 104 N. Royal St. • 434-0011
DREAMLAND BBQ ($)
THE WINDMILL MARKET ($)
SANDWICHES, SOUTHWEST FARE, 7 DAYS 1203 Hwy 98 Ste. 3D • Daphne • 626-2440
ROYAL STREET CAFE ($)
BBQ AND MORE Jubilee Sq.Ctr. Hwy 90, Daphne • 210-2151 McGowin Park Ctr. Satchel Paige Dr. • 471-1050 7721 Airport Blvd. • 380-8957
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE & TASTE 271 Glenwood St. • 476-0516
INSIDE THE MOBILE MARRIOTT 3101 Airport Blvd. • 476-6400
SEAFOOD, ASIAN & AMERICAN CUISINE 69 St. Michael St • 375-1113 CASUAL FINE DINING 104 N. Section St. • Fairhope • 929-2219
THE TRELLIS ROOM ($$$) CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE
TRADITIONAL SUSHI & LUNCH. 312 Schillinger Rd. • 633-9077 THAI & SUSHI 5369 D Hwy 90 W • 661-5100
THAI KITCHEN & SUSHI BAR 960 Schillinger Rd. S • 660-4470 3966 Airport Blvd.• 343-5530
CUISINE OF INDIA ($$) LUNCH BUFFET 3674 Airport Blvd. • 341-6171
FUJI SAN ($)
3382 Hwy. 98 • 625-1947
GOLDEN BOWL ($)
UPSCALE DINING WITH A VIEW 1420 Hwy. 98 • 626-6710
THAI FARE AND SUSHI 2000 Airport Blvd. • 478-9888 HIBACHI GRILL & ASIAN CUISINE 309 Bel Air Blvd • 470-8033
HIBACHI 1 ($-$$)
2370 Hillcrest Rd. Unit B • 380-6062
ICHIBAN SUSHI ($)
JAPANESE & CHINESE CUISINE 3959 Cottage Hill Rd • 666-6266
KAI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ($-$$) 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
FELIX’S FISH CAMP ($$) FISHERMAN’S LEGACY ($) DELI, MARKET AND CATERING. 4380 Halls Mill Rd. • 665-2266
HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE ($)
30500 AL-181 • Spanish Fort • 206-8768 3654 Airport Blvd. • 338-9350
LUCY B. GOODE ($$)
GULF COAST CUISINE, REINVENTED 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
LULU’S ($$)
LIVE MUSIC & GREAT SEAFOOD 200 E. 25th Ave. • Gulf Shores • 967-5858
MUDBUGS AT THE LOOP ($) CAJUN KITCHEN & SEAFOOD MARKET 2005 Government St. • 478-9897
RALPH & KACOO’S ($-$$) THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 1595 Battleship Pkwy. • 626-0045
BUFFALO WILD WINGS ($) BEST WINGS & SPORTING EVENTS 6341 Airport Blvd. • 378-5955
BUTCH CASSIDY’S ($)
FAMOUS BURGERS, SANDWICHES & WINGS 60 N. Florida St. • 450-0690
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB ($) BURGERS & BEER 916 Charleston St. • 433-9374
HEROES SPORTS BAR & GRILLE ($) SANDWICHES & COLD BEER 273 Dauphin St. • 433-4376 Hillcrest & Old Shell Rd. • 341-9464
HURRICANE GRILL & WINGS ($-$$) WINGS, SEAFOOD, BURGERS & BEER 7721 Airport Blvd. Suite E-180 • 639-6832
ISLAND WING CO ($)
EVERYTHING BAKED OR GRILLED 2617 Dauphin St. • 476-9464
MANCIS ($)
1715 Main St. • 375-0543
RIVER SHACK ($-$$)
TOKYO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE ($$)
THE GRAND MARINER ($-$$)
9091 US-90 Irvington • 957-1414 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 ($-$$)
SEAFOOD, BURGERS & STEAKS 6120 Marina Dr. • Dog River • 443-7318. LOCAL SEAFOOD & PRODUCE 6036 Rock Point Rd. • 443-7540
THE HARBOR ROOM ($-$$) UNIQUE SEAFOOD 64 S. Water St. • 438-4000
THE SEAFOOD HOUSE ($-$$) 751 Azalea Rd. • 301-7964
TIN TOP RESTAURANT & OYSTER BAR ($$) SEAFOOD, STEAKS, & EXTENSIVE WINE LIST 6232 Bon Secour Hwy County Rd. 10. • 949-5086
WINTZELL’S OYSTER HOUSE ($-$$) FRESH SEAFOOD FOR OVER 75 YEARS 605 Dauphin St. • 432-4605 6700 Airport Blvd. • 341-1111 1208 Shelton Beach Rd. • Saraland • 442-3335 805 S. Mobile St. • 929-2322
QUALITY CAJUN & NEW ORLEANS CUISINE 29249 US Highway 98 Daphne. • 621-1991
IS THE GAME ON?
CRAVIN CAJUN/DIP SEAFOOD ($)
PIZZAS, PASTAS, & CALZONES 245-A Old Shell Rd. • 479-3278
PO-BOYS, SALADS & SEAFOOD 1870 Dauphin Island Pkwy • 287-1168
ED’S SEAFOOD SHED ($$)
FRIED SEAFOOD SERVED IN HEFTY PORTIONS
ASHLAND MIDTOWN PUB ($-$$) BAUMHOWER’S ($)
WINGS, BURGERS & PUB GRUB 6880 US-90 #14 • Daphne • 625-4695
OLD 27 GRILL ($)
BURGERS, DOGS & 27 BEERS & WINES. 19992 Hwy.181 Old County Rd. Fairhope • 281-2663
LUCKY’S IRISH PUB ($)
IRISH PUB FARE & MORE 1108 Shelton Beach Rd •Saraland • 473-0757 3692 Airport Blvd • 414-3000
ENCHILADAS, TACOS, & AUTHENTIC FARE Ok Bicycle Shop • 661 Dauphin St. • 432-2453
LA ROSSO ($$)
COMFORT FOOD 1716 Main St. Ste. C • Daphne • 281-2982
EL MARIACHI ($)
763 Holcombe Ave • 473-0413
MARCOS ($)
FUEGO ($-$$)
5055 Cottage Hill Rd. • 308-4888 2394 Dawes Rr. • 639-3535 2004 US 98 • Daphne • 265-6550
OUTSTANDING MEXICAN CUISINE 2066 Old Shell Rd. • 378-8621
MELLOW MUSHROOM ($)
PIES & AWESOME BEER SELECTION 2032 Airport Blvd. • 471-4700 5660 Old Shell Rd. • 380-1500 29698 Frederick Blvd.• Daphne • 621-3911
MIRKO ($$)
HACIENDA SAN MIGUEL ($-$$) TASTE OF MEXICO 880 Schillinger Rd. S. • 633-6122 5805 US 90 • 653-9163
LA COCINA ($)
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE 800 N Section St. • Fairhope • 990-0783 830 W I65 Service Rd. S • 378-5837 4663 Airport Blvd. • 342-5553
PASTA & MORE 9 Du Rhu Dr. • 340-6611
NAVCO PIZZA ($$)
MUG SHOTS ($$)
TASTE OF THAI ($$)
LAID-BACK EATERY & FISH MARKET 1477 Battleship Pkwy. • 621-8366
DAUPHIN ST. TAQUERIA ($)
1252 Gov’t St. • 301-7556
A TASTE OF ITALY. BYOB. 28691 U.S. Highway 98 • 626-1999
BAR & GRILL 29740 Urgent Care Dr. • Daphne • 662-9639 6255 Airport Blvd. • 447-2514
610240 Eastern Shore Blvd. • 621-9088
MEXICAN CUISINE 260 Azalea Rd. • 375-1095
JONELLI’S ($)
MCSHARRY’S IRISH PUB ($)
BRILLIANT REUBENS & FISH-N-CHIPS. 101 N. Brancroft St. Fairhope • 990-5100
CINCO DE MAYO ($)
3958 Snow Rd C. • Semmes • 645-3400
PIZZA, SUBS & PASTA 1368 ½ Navco Rd.• 479-0066
R&R SEAFOOD ($-$$)
STIX ($$)
HOUSE OF PIZZA ($)
LOS ARCOS ($)
QUAINT MEXICAN RESTAURANT 5556 Old Shell Rd. • 345-7484
PAPA’S PLACE ($$)
MARIA BONITA AGAVE BAR & GRILL ($-$$)
PINZONE’S ITALIAN VILLAGE ($$) AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DISHES 312 Fairhope Ave. • Fairhope • 990-5535
MEXICAN CUISINE 3977 Gov’t Blvd. • 660-4970
OLÉ MI AMIGO ($-$$)
HEARTY MEXICAN FARE 736 holcombe Ave.• 473-0413
RAVENITE ($)
PIZZA, PASTA, SALAD & MORE 102 N. Section St. •Fairhope• 929-2525 PIZZA & PASTA 107 Dauphin St. • 375-1644
MAMA MIA!
TAMARA’S BAR & GRILL ($)
DELIVERY 350 Dauphin St. • 431-9444
TRATTORIA PIZZA & ITALIAN ($$)
BUCK’S PIZZA ($$)
CORTLANDT’S PIZZA PUB ($-$$) GREAT PIZZA. LUNCH & DINNER 4356 Old Shell Rd. • 342-0024
GAMBINO’S ITALIAN GRILL ($) ITALIAN, STEAKS & SEAFOOD 18 Laurel Ave. • Fairhope • 990-0995
GRIMALDI’S ($)
TAQUERIA MEXICO ($-$$)
WINGS, PO-BOYS, BURGERS 210 Eastern Shore Center, Hwy. 98 • 929-0002 ITALIAN FOOD & PIZZAS 11311 US HIghway 31 Spanish Fort• 375-0076
VIA EMILIA ($$)
HOMEMADE PASTAS & PIZZAS MADE DAILY 5901 Old Shell Rd. • 342-3677
OLÉ MI AMIGO! AZTECAS ($-$$)
NO GAMBLING CASINO FARE BEAU RIVAGE:
875 Beach Blvd. Biloxi • 888-952-2582
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CUISINE | THE DISH
Leftover leftovers, what is a bird to do? BY ANDY MACDONALD/CUISINE EDITOR | FATMANSQUEEZE@COMCAST.NET
garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Sprinkle in the flour a little at a time and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook until a golden roux is formed, seasoning generously with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Once the roux is done gradually incorporate the chicken broth. Eyeball the amount constantly stirring until you reach the desired thickness for the filling. Add the turkey and the mushrooms. Gently stir in the potatoes and carrots careful not to break them, and ease in the green peas. At this point you need to assess the situation and decide if you need to add a little more chicken broth. It’s likely, but not mandatory. Keep it thick and gooey.
The Pie 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups shortening 5 Tbsps ice water 1 egg whisked with a splash of water 1 pinch of sugar 1 pinch of Maldon salt
Photo | Depositphotos.com
Too much turkey? Turn leftovers into turkey pot pie, turkey tetrazzini, gumbo or turkey and mushroom soup.
I
t’s gone. It disappeared right before my eyes. All this The Pot buildup and Thanksgiving flew right past us at the speed of light. You’re probably thinking, “Why then, a week later, 1 carrot, peeled and medium chopped is he talking about leftovers? Those vanish in a couple of 1 baking potato, peeled and medium chopped days.” 1 stick butter If you have already run out of turkey then my heart goes 1 large onion, chopped out to you. We had five adults and four kids at our turkey 2 stalks of celery, chopped party, and this holiday season we fried three birds and 1/2 jalapeno seeded finely diced smoked one. With a little more effort we could have had one 3 cloves garlic diced turkey per grownup. ½ cup all-purpose flour Maybe by next week I will be sick and tired of turkey but Salt, pepper and Creole seasoning to taste today I am still going strong. So far I have made two separate ¾ cups of sliced mushrooms 2 ½-3 cups of chicken broth turkey gumbos, the little sandwiches with the apricot preserves 3 cups shredded leftover turkey Khaki showed me, and a cream of turkey soup that was pleasing. ½ cup fresh, frozen or canned green peas But easily the favorite leftover creation was turkey pot pie. 2 sprigs thyme I’ve made plenty of pot pies but this one turned out to be 1 tablespoon chopped sage my best effort. Call it dumb luck or give me all the credit but if 1 teaspoon of tarragon you have leftover turkey it’d be in your best interest to follow this recipe to the letter. If you’ve already run out of the big bird Start by boiling potatoes and carrots in a pot of boiling salted or if you are simply burned out on Tom Turkey, it’s OK to go water until tender but firm. In a large skillet over medium heat with chicken or beef. Pork could also work well. The crust is really important, but I am not snobbish about it. You could buy a melt the butter and sauté onions for about 3 minutes. Add celery and jalapeño, cooking until all the veggies are soft. Toss in the couple frozen crusts and make out fine.
WORD OF MOUTH
Serda Brewing opens just in time for the holiday season
Mobile has been waiting for a brewery and taproom, and we finally have it. Serda Brewing opened its doors for a soft opening this past Saturday with plenty in attendance. The new brewery and sister-business to Serda’s Coffee features a brewery taproom, a beer garden and a food truck alley. The taproom has a private events space perfect for fantasy drafts, Christmas parties, birthdays or whatever it is you’d want to celebrate in this city that was born to do so. High speed internet and a growler station for refills — so you may take the magic home with you — only add to the charm. The Beer Garden is an outdoor seating area shaded by large sail cloths allowing you
to slurp the suds in fresh air under the oaks. Next to that is Food Truck Alley, accessible from the Beer Garden. Capable of holding as many as three food trucks at a time, this space is here to satisfy your hunger. Enough with the amenities, what about the beer? Hook Line and Lager is their Pilsner (thank you!). Tidewater Vienna is a malty amber. Mobile Bay IPA is brewed with two German hop varietals and Clear Prop Porter is their flagship dark beer. The official Grand Opening is Friday, Dec. 1. Normal hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 4-10 p.m., Fridays from 4-11 p.m., Saturdays from noon until 11 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 10 p.m. Visit their website www.serdabrewing. com for a list of events and more information.
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For the crust we need to combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and work the shortening in with our hands. It will start to look like large crumbs. Add the water one tablespoon at a time, still working the mixture with your hands and using just enough until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cover and refrigerate for a half hour. Cut the ball of dough in half and roll out each on a floured surface. The two crusts should be about 14 inches in diameter to fit a greased, 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Be careful putting that bottom one on. It can be tricky. Fill the pie shell three-quarters full with the pot filling and cover with the other shell crimping the edge. Using a pastry brush coat the top crust lightly with the egg/water mixture. Sprinkle on the sugar and salt. Vent the crust with a sharp knife in about five places. Bake the pie in a preheated 375 F-degree oven for at least 30 minutes, or until the crust is done. Allow it to cool five to 10 minutes before serving. Don’t tell too many people you’ve done this.
The leftover leftovers
If my calculations are correct you now have leftover filling. This is grand. We have recipes for the leftover leftovers. Here are a few ideas. Boil up some spaghetti. Thin the leftover filling with a little heavy cream and a little bit of grated nutmeg. Pour this over the spaghetti and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F and you’ve got yourself a nice pan of Turkey tettrazzini! For a wonderful leftover soup you need to go no further than a cup of heavy cream, a few more mushrooms, a little extra turkey and thin it out with chicken broth until you find the perfect thickness. Pour the filling over cooked phyllo dough for some Turkey a la King. Let’s say you just leave the extra filling in the pan and you and your bestie or significant other step away from the stove for a bottle of wine each. You might just want to revisit that pan with a bag of tortilla chips and a bottle of hot sauce. I think that’s a plausible scenario. I’ve had so much fun the past couple weeks cooking everyday and facing the leftover challenge. I’m exhausted, but have loved every minute of it, and I’m sad it’s over. But with so many great opportunities with leftovers, why do we only cook turkey once a year?
Picker’s Paradise food drive benefits Prodisee Pantry
I’ve wanted to do something like this ever since I took over the duties as Cuisine Editor here at Lagniappe. In the past I have been indirectly involved with raising funds and food goods for wonderful charities such as the Salvation Army, Family Promise and Feeding the Gulf Coast. This holiday season we at Picker’s Paradise are hosting a food drive for Baldwin County’s Prodisee Pantry. Prodisee Pantry has helped so many in need who are part of our musical family across the bay. With all the other worthy causes in our area we decided our focus would be best suited for the one that helps so close to home. Many of you have been generous with
your offerings already, but we’d like to add a little incentive for donations. Any five or more canned goods donated will get you $10 off of any restring or setup. You can’t lose. Visit our Facebook page to learn more or drop off your donations at the shop located at 35056 U.S. Highway 59, in Stapleton. It’s a less than 20 minute drive from the tunnel.
Tis the season to party
It’s time to book events and plan soirees before everyone is slammed for Christmas. We are also compiling a list of restaurants that will be serving Christmas Eve and Christmas day for those who don’t want to do spend their family time in the kitchen. Stay tuned! Recycle!
COVER STORY
Siegelman after prison out seeking his truth
D
BY ROB HOLBERT/ MANAGING EDITOR
Photo/Daniel Anderson
on Siegelman sits at the big wooden conference table, hand in the air, voice rising as he recalls a moment that would ultimately change the course of his life forever. “Hand on the Bible, hand raised, God strike me dead in this room at this time if I’m not telling the truth, when I called [Richard] Scrushy and said ‘Mr. Scrushy, you’ve served on this board through three previous governors, I want you to serve in my administration.’ He said, ‘Oh governor, do I have to? It takes up too much time. I can’t. I just don’t want to do this,’” Siegelman says. But the former governor did what good politicians do and used his powers of persuasion to get what he wanted, and the HealthSouth CEO agreed to continue on the Certificate of Need Board. The decision would ultimately earn both men criminal convictions in federal court and land them in federal prison for years. Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman visited Lagniappe’s offices two weeks ago as part of his effort to build interest in the showing of “Atticus v. The Architect” at the Mobile Public Library’s Bernheim Hall Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. This documentary outlining the alleged Republican conspiracy to have Siegelman indicted and jailed has roiled the state’s political waters already at its first few screenings. Siegelman is using it as one tine of a threepronged approach to getting what he views as the truth about his conviction to “bubble up” in the public consciousness. Altogether Siegelman did nearly six years behind bars for his 2006 conviction for taking a bribe from Scrushy. Released from the federal penitentiary in Oakdale, Louisiana in February of this year, he also was restricted to home detention for a final six months and remains on probation. As he walked into Lagniappe’s office, he did so alone, unaccompanied by any of the trappings and handlers that had been with him since he first won statewide office in 1978. He also walked in without the guards who have controlled his movements since he went to prison in September 2012 as inmate #24775-001. He now travels alone, telling his story and hoping what he believes happened to him will one day be laid bare to the public, restoring at least his reputation and possibly punishing those he says worked to ruin him. The documentary lays out the conspiracy plainly enough, starting with his election and claims that thenAttorney General Bill Pryor began investigating his administration just weeks after he took office. It walks the audience through a dizzying array of conspiracies and bad actors along the way, including the possibly criminal involvement of two U.S. Attorneys, $20 million in cash funneled in from Indian gambling interests in Mississippi, convicted ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a corrupt federal judge, three retired FBI agents, then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, Karl Rove, Bob Riley and his son, presidential politics, coerced testimony and a stolen election, just to name a few. It would all probably be too much to swallow had documentarian Steve Wimberly not broken down each allegation cleanly, providing documentation and some rather shocking interviews that might give even the most
cynical viewer pause. The harshness of Siegelman’s punishment for a bribe that to many looks like little more than standard political business, serves to at least raise the question of why his case was handled the way it was.
A book deal and lawsuit
While “Atticus v. The Architect” is making its way across the state, Siegelman has two other fronts upon which he is working to make sure his theories are heard by a mainstream audience. One of those is a book he wrote while in prison, and the other is a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Northern Alabama aimed at forcing the Department of Justice to open up the records in his case. Siegelman hopes this will help prove some of the collusion he alleges took place between investigators and Riley’s campaign and that he was selectively prosecuted for political reasons. That lawsuit has already made some headway, Siegelman says. “The judge in the Northern District has ordered the government to turn over their file of misconduct. We are not so naïve to believe that they have not already purged the file of most things, but we know they left in at least one email from the lead prosecutor to Rob Riley, my opponent’s son, giving him an update on the investigation and expressing his frustration because at that point it wasn’t moving fast enough for him,” Siegelman said. “We have proof that there was a political connection to the investigation and prosecution, but we hope the judge will order the release of any and all documents she sees that may further prove the political motivation or selective prosecution, which are the two things Congress was looking at and the New York Times has editorialized about it 17 different times.” As for his book, “The Assassination of Justice,” Siegelman says it is complete and he currently has three agents interested in helping steer it towards publication. “I have shipped it off and am in communication with them. I would be truly happy with any of the three. It’s encouraging,” he said. Siegelman’s fall from grace might be simply lumped in with the ever-growing list of governors nationwide who have been investigated, indicted or convicted of various misdeeds except for the belief held by many on both sides of the political aisle that his punishment far outstripped the crime — if what happened could be considered a crime at all. In July 2007, for instance, 44 former state attorneys general, both Democrats and Republicans, filed a petition to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees requesting further investigation of the Siegelman prosecution. By comparison, former Gov. Guy Hunt, convicted of pocketing $200,000 from an inaugural account and using it to buy personal items, received only five years of probation. Earlier this year, Gov. Robert Bentley was allowed to resign and plead guilty to two misdemeanor campaign violations in the wake of a scandal that threatened to see him jailed over alleged felony misuse of government resources to conceal an affair with a top aide. Siegelman remains incredulous that he was convicted and given such a long prison sentence when other convicted politicians have been handled with relative
kid gloves and those he blames for upending his life have done so with no repercussions. “The people who were spending up to $20 million and more to defeat me and to defeat the lottery were never even investigated, much less charged, yet Richard Scrushy and I go to prison for seven years over a campaign contribution to the lottery foundation and I was not charged with benefiting by a single penny!” Siegelman said. Government prosecutors used Scrushy’s appointment to a board he’d already been on for 12 years and been appointed to by three previous governors as the focus of a bribery charge. That bribery, they said, had come in the form of a $500,000 donation to the campaign fund pushing the lottery Siegelman hoped would be the signature achievement of his first term in office. By the time Siegelman and Scrushy were indicted together in 2006, Scrushy had already beaten federal charges pertaining to the financial meltdown at HealthSouth, and Siegelman believes prosecutors wanted to link the two men in order to capitalize on Scrushy’s tarnished reputation and low public approval coming out of the HealthSouth scandal that cost investors billions. “They knew he was so toxic from this case in Birmingham that they’d just lost that if they could connect the two of us that they might kill two birds with one stone, which is what they did. We tried to get the judge to separate the trials but he refused,” Siegelman said.
Who’s to blame
Siegelman doesn’t mince words when it comes to casting blame for his downfall. Sure, he saves some for himself, allowing that he should have been smarter and more aware of Nick Bailey and Lanny Young, former associates who ultimately rolled on him for the feds. According to Siegelman, the men were coerced to lie by federal prosecutors. “You want to take care of people that helped you, but I should have been more vigilant. My antenna should have gone up,” he admits. But the vast majority of Siegelman’s downfall he pins on a laundry list of Republican operatives he says were out to “stop him” for various reasons. For instance, he says former Attorney General and current U.S. Judge Bill Pryor was at the center of the ballot manipulation in Baldwin County that gave Riley a skin-of-the-teeth victory in 2002. “The primary person who I hold responsible for stealing the 2002 election is Bill Pryor,” Siegelman said. “Pryor gathered the ballots before we could have a hand recount of just one precinct and took the ballots and the tabulations to Montgomery where he and Jim Bennett certified the bogus results of the election. And he threatened to put anyone in jail who so much as touched any of the ballots.” Siegelman explains his harsh sentencing as simply a personal vendetta from Judge Mark Fuller. Fuller, he says, was angry that after he became a federal judge, Siegelman appointed his replacement as 12th Circuit District Attorney and an investigation into Fuller’s financial handling of the office quickly ensued. “We had reason to believe beforehand that he had spiked the salary of his investigator by some $300,000, so David Bronner joined with us in this lawsuit that followed. Fuller gave testimony and they lost the case and he was embarrassed and the Montgomery Advertiser basically said he was trying to steal money from the state retirement system,” Siegelman said. “He should have recused (from my case). There’s no question that he should have disqualified himself, but this is not what he had in mind. This was a time for payback, as the documentary says.” Fuller did increase the sentencing guidelines for Siegelman and had both he and Scrushy shackled and taken from the courtroom immediately after sentencing, actions the former governor says demonstrated personal animosity. “First of all, it’s sort of common practice to give anybody who’s convicted 30 days to get their financial act together before they are taken,” Siegelman said. “But in this case, Judge Fuller, to accent the political vindictiveness, had us whisked from the table, through the door, handcuffed, shackled, chained, taken to the basement and then taken to a maximum security prison in Atlanta where we were put in solitary confinement for about three weeks.” Siegelman says his presidential aspirations are what ultimately brought him into the sights of federal prosecutors he believes were under the influence of former Bush Deputy Chief of Staff and senior adviser Karl Rove. The Rove connection — “The Architect” in the documentary title — remains a significant part of the Siegelman tale that stands more than a degree or two from verifiable fact. It relies on an affidavit by “Republican operative” Jill Simpson, who claims to have been privy to conversations where people talked about Rove’s involvement in directing an investigation. Rove has categorically denied the accusations and even declared Simpson “crazy.” Other accusations of Rove’s involvement also were from second- or thirdhand sources. But the involvement of former U.S. Attorney for Alabama’s Middle District Leura Canary, and the fact that her husband is deeply involved in Republican politics, is something Siegelman says draws a direct line to N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 19
COVER STORY Rove’s involvement. “Karl Rove would have done whatever he had to do to take me out because his job was to politically protect the president. We have sworn testimony that he directed the Department of Justice to pursue me,” Siegelman said. “His fingerprints are all over the scene of the crime, from his client Bill Pryor who started the investigation, his best friend’s wife the Bush appointee as U.S. Attorney who kicked the federal investigation into high gear, Jack Abramoff, his college bagman who brings in the money. They would have come after me anyway, but it was a confluence of interests certainly that gave them the big bucks to spend. Millions of dollars went into Bob Riley’s campaigns from the casinos.” Canary did ultimately recuse herself in 2002 from the Siegelman investigation over complaints about her husband’s ties to Riley and other Republicans. But in 2008, Department of Justice employee Tamarah Grimes filed a complaint to the DOJ outlining several instances in which Canary had continued involvement in the case, including an email directing a courtroom strategy to keep Siegelman from discussing his case in the media. “I hesitate to use the word ‘forgive,’ but I could forgive the people who were responsible — Karl Rove, Judge Fuller, Billy Canary, Leura Canary, the lying prosecutors that pressured and cajoled Nick Bailey to lie … The thing that really bothers me is that there was a confluence of interests,” Siegelman said. “Karl Rove didn’t want me around because I was about to put my foot into the 2004 presidential race for the Democratic nomination. Jack Abramoff didn’t want me around because he was being paid millions and millions by the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi and as he admitted in his book, and in the documentary, I had to be stopped.” The documentary seeks to provide backup and proof of these claims, and the interviews lend support to Siegelman’s claims that he was selectively prosecuted. Surprisingly, Abramoff even appears in the movie discussing the strategies devised to keep the lottery and gambling expansion from happening in Alabama. “It happened to be Alabama had kind of unfortunate circumstances of a very Republican state having lost the governorship to a Democrat, and being proximate to the state that contained our large client, the Choctaws,” Abramoff explains in the film. “And eventually we made the decision that we had to do what we could to make sure he wasn’t re-elected because he was a continuing and ongoing threat to our client in Mississippi.” Thomas Gallion III, former Alabama Counsel for the National Republican Committee, was also interviewed and told a story of being called by one of the state’s leading Republicans and asked to attend a meeting in which a plan to have Canary appointed U.S. Attorney and to indict Siegelman so Riley could win the governor’s office would be discussed. Gallion also said the caller told him Rove would be at the meeting. “I said, ‘Look, I don’t want to be a part of something like this. Count me out.’ I said, ‘Political prosecution is not the way to go.’ And so that’s the last I heard of it until the middle of the campaign between Bob Riley and Don Siegelman. I pick up the paper, Don Siegelman’s been indicted. And I thought, ‘Holy Moses are these people for real?’” Gallion says in the documentary. And Scrushy also relates a story about being offered an opportunity to have the charges against him dropped if he would
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testify against Siegelman. Scrushy says in the film that he and his wife discussed it and decided there was no way he would cave in to prosecutorial pressure and lie. “And a decision was made between she and I that I’m not going at all to go out and lie against this man and have him go to prison for something that I said that was not true, and have to live with that the rest of my life,” Richard Scrushy says in the documentary.
Hard time
These days Siegelman still looks the part — tall, thin, handsome and outgoing — of a man some considered Alabama’s answer to Bill Clinton. But most of a decade has passed him while he sat in prison, and it’s clear his former life is long gone. He spoke about how being incarcerated affected him and his family as well. “That’s one thing about prison. Prison is something that when you’re there that hopefully you adjust and you live with it. It’s day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, year-by-year. You occupy your time — at least I did — where you feel you’re doing something productive. I was making an effort to try to get the truth to bubble up. But the people who are severely punished are the children and spouses and relatives,” he said. “It was the stress and anxiety of not knowing how I was dealing with prison. At times I was in solitary confinement, nobody knew where I was or even what state I was in. The whole thing is far more stressful on family members than it is on the inmate.” That Siegelman spent so much time in solitary confinement is one of the more oftenmentioned points by those arguing that he was railroaded in a political prosecution. The ex-governor says he was sent to solitary confinement three times — once for nearly eight weeks. Two of those times, he said, it was for talking to media outlets. “I was treated like any other prisoner. Maybe a little special in the sense that I was sent to solitary confinement several different times,” he joked. “It’s pretty miserable. A little bit of time you can read sometimes. Depends on whether you get a book. If somebody comes by and gives you a book you can read and kill some time. You can do pushups and sit-ups. You can’t really write because they give you a little golf pencil and a piece of paper. And you can buy a deck of cards and play cards, but after a while that gets old. I think the longest stretch I was there was 54 days, so that was a long time.” As he pushes to get his story out, Siegelman says he’s taking things “one step at a time.” “Life is not something one can jump back into after having been locked up for several years. Nothing is the same. Relationships change. I’m trying to get a feel for things,” he said. He’ll be present at the showing of “Atticus v. The Architect” Sunday at 2 p.m. and says he hopes to give a short talk before or after the movie and perhaps even sign some of the political memorabilia that fills up the trunk of his car. He also says the movie, while about him, was not something he had a hand in producing. “When you see the documentary keep in mind this is an independent film. There are things in it I would not have put in. There are things that aren’t in it that I would have put in that are in my book,” Siegelman said. “It has gotten very strong reviews. People after watching this documentary are upset.”
ART ARTIFICE
MSO teams with designer for holiday showpiece BY KEVIN LEE/ARTS EDITOR/KLEE@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
T
he Mobile Symphony Orchestra isn’t known for wizardry but their upcoming Christmas spectacular might earn that reputation. The complete experience is intended for children, inner and actual. “What’s different this year about the program is everything is staged and coordinated with lights, scenery and action. Because it’s not only a musical experience, it’s a visual experience that’s going to hit all the senses,” General Manager and Director of Artistic Administration J.C. Barker said. Barker drew inspiration from his own youth, when his parents journeyed from their Mississippi home to New Orleans on holiday excursions. They inevitably visited the Maison Blanche department store. “It was decorated to the hilt a lot like the Roosevelt is now over there. I associated that with Christmas, that overwhelming visual sensation of absolute magic,” Barker said. Planning started about “seven to eight months ago.” To find their own magician, MSO looked to a local associated with another holiday. “Ron Barrett was the only person considered for this. He is capable, has the expertise and the talent to decorate and create large spaces because of his Mardi Gras history
If you want to give out holiday cards that give in various ways at once, the Regional School for the Deaf and Blind (3980 Burma Road) has an answer. Cards created by their students under the direction of educators Amy Hess and Nancy Raia help fund the school’s art programming. A pack of five cards is $5. They are available at the school or at Eastern Shore Art Center (401 Oak St., Fairhope).
Arty nominations announced
The Mobile Arts Council released the nominees list for the 2018 Arty Awards. For over a dozen years, the awards have honored those whose cultural contributions raise the standard of living in the Mobile Bay area.
Art Soldier: Jason McKenzie, Joe Jefferson Playhouse Donna and Joe Camp Kalenski Adams, Alabama Hip Hop Week, 93 BLX Arts Educator: Chris Paragone, Sunnyside Theater and Azalea City Center for the Arts Lydia Host, Bishop State Community College Stephen French, Davidson High School
The Frog Pond at Blue Moon Farm, Cathe Steele
Lynn Mackie, International Opera Soprano
Design: Stephen McNair, McNair Historic Preservation Julia Greer Fobes, Julia Greer Fobes: Fashion, Art and Flowers Patricia Richardson, Patricia Ann’s
Visual Artist: Vincent Lawson, Vincent’s Photographs Labarron Lewis, painter Sean Herman, The Bell Rose Tattoo
Business: Callaghan’s, John Thompson The Steeple, Jenna Inge Kazoola, Marc Jackson
Literary Artist: Chris “Champ” Napier Emily Blejwas Frye Gaillard Organization: Crescent Theater Comedy Whatever Alabama Contemporary Art Center
Cultural Innovation: Backflash Antiques, Charlana Quivers Southern Rambler and Our Southern Souls, Lynn Henderson Oldshue
Performing Artist: Robert Holm, University of South Alabama Alvin King, trumpeter
Typically comprised of 11 categories, the recipients of the Patron and Lifetime Achievement Award were unannounced at this time. The ceremony will be Jan. 18, 2018, 6 p.m. at The Steeple (251 St. Francis St.). Advance tickets are available for $35 until Jan. 12 and will be $45 after that date. The event includes live music, food and drink. Sponsors include the Jake Peavy Foundation and Bienville Books. For more information on sponsorship or the event, contact Angela Montgomery at 251-432-9796 or email amontgomery@mobilearts.org.
ARTSGALLERY
Holiday cards fund school
and does huge stage work,” Barker said. It’s the first time MSO has employed the decorator’s renowned skills. Barker was specific — with directions that made an impact. He described washes of hue with specific musical numbers, with snow, with Santa Claus. Barrett got an idea of the scale required. “He said there’s going to be literally millions of lights,” Barker chuckled. So extensive are the plans, Barrett will have to tackle it in phases. A crew that normally sees their workload increase in the fall until reaching a zenith at Mardi Gras will become a busy bunch of elves at the historic theater on South Joachim Street. “Some of the lobby and arcade will be up for an extended period but the stage itself will only be in place for the symphony concerts. We’re going to do two days of load in, that’s how much time it takes,” Barker said. The shows are Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. “They’re doing some of the installations on Dec. 2 and they’re doing the stage installation on Dec. 7 so he’s got to split it up because in the midst of it he has other projects,” Barker explained.
As to the music itself, they have taken another cue from the past. It starts with a tire manufacturer. “Firestone tire company made these albums and if you went into the Firestone store you got a Christmas album and on there would be all these big Hollywood Bowl numbers. The arranger who did them all was Carmen Dragon,” Barker said. More than just the father of Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tennille fame, Dragon undergirded the holidays for generations. The role Nelson Riddle played as the favored arranger for mid-20th century crooners, Dragon filled with Christmas music. “This show is chock full of his arrangements — ‘Deck the Halls,’ ‘Hark the Herald,’ ‘Away in a Manger,’ ‘First Noel,’ ‘Adeste Fidelis,’ they’re just lush,” Barker said. The symphony will share the stage with a choir courtesy of Mobile’s Singing Children. Soprano Diane Penning will be on hand, too. True to Barker’s department store inspiration, the show opens with work from “Miracle on 34th Street.” Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” features the choir and harpist Katie Ott. The remainder of the first half is filled with work by Vince Guaraldi, Irving Berlin and traditional holiday fare. Penning is featured on the last of those. The strains of John Williams follow the intermission and then it’s back to the traditional work and 20th century fare. Penning returns for an acoustic “Ave Maria.” Barker even promised a “jolly old elf” will be on hand. Guest conductor Theresa Cheung will be at the podium in place of MSO’s Scott Speck. “We love her. She’s amazing. This kind of a program is right up her alley,” Barker said. Tickets run $15–$75 and are available at mobilesymphony.org. You can also phone 251-432-2010. If Barker and Barrett are successful, this will be more than a couple of good shows. It will build something to carry on for generations. “I want every child of every age to associate going to the Saenger and going to the symphony with Christmas,” Barker said.
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FEATURE
MUSIC
Part one of many
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
BAND: SERGIO & THE SATIN DOGS DATE: SUNDAY, DEC. 10, 6 P.M. VENUE: BLUEGILL RESTAURANT, 3775 BATTLESHIP PARKWAY, SPANISH FORT
Photo | Submitted
Sergio & the Satin Dogs’ four-track EP, “Under a Crowded Sign: Part One” is available on www.satindogs.com.
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hree years after they first played together, Sergio & the Satin Dogs represents vocalist/guitarist Sergio Rangel’s acoustic/soul vision, paying homage to David Bowie (“Diamond Dogs”) and Duke Ellington (“Satin Doll”). While Rangel, Juan Montgomery (drums), Ross Graham (bass), Chad Davidson (trumpet) and Frankie Crawford (electric guitar) comprise the core of this group, the eclectic nature of this band could bring a plethora of instruments and musicians to their live setting. Conceptually, Rangel wanted to mix Ellington’s and Bowie’s attitude towards their art, searching for a sound reflecting Ellington’s passionate approach while focusing on Bowie’s knack for innovation. “I like to think the music spans genres,” Rangel explained. “It’s not really one, and it’s not really the other. If you think of it like that, you’ve got the inspiration of Duke Ellington in the soulful feelings and a really groovy vibe. Then, you’ve got David Bowie on the other spectrum, which is more experimental and really rocking but never really placed in a certain category of music.” Rangel’s music meets his goals on several levels.
First, Sergio & the Satin Dogs employ a variety of instrumentation on the stage and in the studio. Second, Rangel succeeds in tripping across a variety of musical styles from measure to measure. Some songs might mingle lighthearted trips across the fretboard with sudden jazz breakdowns. Other tracks mix blaring horns into a bright rock anthem. All the while, the Satin Dogs’ play over a solid foundation of acoustic guitar, adding an organic edge to each track. “I just love the business that an acoustic guitar can do,” Rangel said. “There’s not a lot of people who can utilize the acoustic guitar as more than just a rhythm instrument. I want to separate myself from that. It’s not just a rhythm acoustic guitar. It’s my instrument. I use it like an electric, but I’m on acoustic.” Sergio & the Satin Dogs is celebrating the release of their first effort, “Under the Crowded Sign, Part 1.” Tracked by Cliff McClure (Plannet Productions, LLC), Rangel says the creation of this four-song debut EP was a collaborative effort between various local musicians, especially those who contributed horns. Of all the instrumentation featured on the album, Rangel wanted bright horn arrangements peppered throughout.
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“I’ve always been a fan of horns,” he said. “I love Stevie Wonder, just like his ‘As’ song and ‘Having Done Nothing.’ In a sense, people started saying that we sounded like Dave Matthews. I love a good horn sound. I love a good sax and a good trumpet driving those little nuances where certain things like an electric guitar solo would’ve been otherwise. They fill so much empty space.” With little technical experience with horn arrangements, Rangel recruited Hippo Meat Productions’ Rogest Castarphen (aka Rosco) and local horn player Carlos Vizoso to assist with the album’s brass. As the duo would listen to tracks, Rangel and Castarphen would compile a list of sounds and locations for horn arrangements. Afterwards, Vizoso made his contribution to the arrangements. Rangel admits that Vizoso’s guidance in the studio was very valuable. “Carlos was very much a band leader as far as horns,” he said. “He told the horns exactly where they needed to be and what they should be doing. I’m learning, but I don’t know the terminologies with tunings. He was very smart and very much a leader in the studio. It made it run smoother.” “Under A Crowded Sign, Part 1” is a cross-section of the Satin Dogs’ influences beginning with the bouncing, jazz-laden acoustic pop of “Love Loss,” followed by the heartfelt ballad “Roses.” Rangel said this song’s chorus of “I haven’t smelled the roses that life’s been composing because I’ve been tangled up with you” speaks to his youth. “Candy Coated Lies” is a high-energy pop anthem filled with explosive, spontaneous jazz breakdowns. “Mercy” provides a conclusion that is both bright and exotic. This release contains just a taste of the Satin Dogs’ repertoire. Rangel says the small
I love a good horn sound. I love a good sax and a good trumpet driving those little nuances where certain things like an electric guitar solo would’ve been otherwise. They fill so much empty space. sample was intentional, noting the single-driven nature of the modern music industry as one of the biggest reasons for their four-track EP. For him, small releases prevent any chance of oversaturation and create anticipation for future releases. Currently, Rangel is planning to combine the next two parts of “Under a Crowded Sign” as a full album. However, he admits the endeavor might take more time to record than the band’s debut. His vision is to gather all the contributors to the Satin Dogs’ sound in the studio for a live recording session. “We get all nine band members into the studio and record everything in a two-day period and go from there,” he said. “I love bands that record live in the studio. You can feel the changes and hear the tonal subtleties that you wouldn’t be able to hear in a track-bytrack recording.” Until then, Sergio & the Satin Dogs will continue to perform along the Gulf Coast and beyond. The group has already made stops in Texas and along the West Coast. Along the way, Rangel said the road brought inspiration, experience and new listeners. In the end, he said the live feedback he receives is the most rewarding aspect of continuing the artistic journey. “It feels good when somebody comes up to you and says, ‘Hey, man, you’re doing the right thing. You’re doing good. Keep it up,’” he said. “You could’ve had the crappiest show, and all it takes is one person in the audience recognizing something different. They’re just encouraging, and it’s amazing.”
MUSIC BRIEFS
Easy to love
BY STEPHEN CENTANNI/MUSIC EDITOR/SCENTANNI@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
Band: Marc Broussard, Pet Fangs Date: Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. Venue: The Steeple on St. Francis, 251 St. Francis St., www.thesteeplemobile.com Tickets: $20-$32.50 available through Ticketfly
Photo | Facebook | Marc Broussard
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he Steeple at St. Francis has impressed locals with its versatility. Not only is The Steeple a premiere event space, but the former church is also a destination for live music. The Steeple’s stage has placed host to J.J. Grey, Travis Tritt, Paul Thorn and Blues Traveler. Now, the unique venue will be filled with the sounds of Marc Broussard. Since his breakout album “Carencro,” Broussard has maintained a loyal audience in the Azalea City. His local fans have watched as this artist has evolved. However, his trademark mix of blues, soul and R&B has never wavered. Broussard will fill his setlist with fan favorites and cuts from his new release “Easy to Love,” an album that shakes things up a bit with several tracks taking on slight tinge of Americana. Even so, Broussard uses his soulful vocals to connect these tracks to the rest of the album. Pet Fangs will be warming up the crowd. Hailing from the Big Easy, this quartet showcases a sound they call “garage pop.” Some may find this style to be a new school dose of electro soul. Pet Fangs’ music demonstrates a cool edginess that borderlines musical seduction.
Emerging artists Band: Red Clay Strays Date: Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. Venue: Callaghan’s Irish Social Club, 916 Charleston St., www.callaghansirishsocialclub.com Tickets: $7 at the door From Jimmy Lumpkin & the Revival to Abe Partridge, Mobile-area label Skate Mountain Records continues to add impressive local talent to their roster. Red Clay Strays is yet another Skate Mountain band that has been pulling crowds in the Azalea City and beyond. This five piece delivers a melting pot of influences from the past, present and future of country and Southern rock. Their trademark sound is complemented by a charismatic live delivery, a musical cocktail that has earned them fans from Mobile to Nashville. While a full-length debut is forthcoming, Red Clay Strays’ official website features five tracks from their work at Anthony Crawford’s Admiral Bean Studio. From heartfelt love ballads to rocking honky-tonk anthems, Red Clay Strays laces these songs with a constant feed of Southern rock overtones.
These go to 11
Band: Love the Hate, Venom Date: Saturday, Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. Venue: Alabama’s Bar & Lounge, 10071 Airport Blvd., 251-802-4368 Tickets: $10 at the door
Since opening, Alabama’s Bar & Lounge has been entertaining its clientele with performances from local bands ranging from John Hall Trio to Zachary Thomas Diedrich. On Dec. 2, the dive will be invaded by metal sounds from the past and present. Mobile-based hair metal enthusiasts Venom will be the first to take the stage. Venom specializes in the catalog of the ‘80s glam metal group Poison. Their live show is a nostalgic blast filled with Aqua Net, mascara and rock ‘n’ roll. For several years, Mobile’s Love the Hate has zealously worked the regional rock scene on several levels. Taking inspiration from bands such as Chevelle and Deftones, this quartet has continued to both perform and record throughout their history. Love the Hate showcases an attractive mix of driving guitars, intricate rhythms and sweeping vocals throughout their original material. Throughout their self-titled EP, Love the Hate portrays itself as a band that gives equal attention to its powerful sound and edgy arrangements. N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 23
AREAMUSIC LISTINGS NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 5
WED. NOV 29
Bluegill— Matt Neese Callaghan’s— Phil and Foster Cockeyed Charlie’s— JJ, 9p Felix’s— Bobby and Jana Flora Bama— Neil Dover, 2p// Hartbreak Hill w/Rhonda Hart, 6p/// Lee Yankie, 8p//// Johnny B Duo, 10:15p Le Bouchon— Chad Parker, 6:30p Lulu’s— Adam Holt, 5p Mellow Mushroom— Ian Dooley, 6p Soul Kitchen— Chevelle, 10 Years, Aeges, 7:30p THUR. NOV 30 Alchemy— Mose Wilson and the Delta Twang, 10p Bluegill— Bruce Smelley Callaghan’s— The Bodhi Trio Felix’s— Grits N Pieces Flora Bama— Zach Diedrich, 2p// Dueling Pianos, 4:30p/// Mark Sherrill, Chris Newbury, James Daniel and Mel Knapp, 6p//// Mason Henderson, 8p//// Mario Mena Duo, 10:15p Lulu’s— Derrick Dorsey, 5p Manci’s— Ross Newell Saenger— The Avett Brothers The Steeple— Mark Broussard, 7p
FRI. DEC 1
All Sports Bar & Billiards— DJ Markie Mark, 10p Big Beach Brewing— Frankie G and Steve Wilkerson, 6:30p Bluegill— Lee Yankie, 12// Jeri, 6p Callaghan’s— The Red Clay Strays, 7:30p
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El Camino— Robert Sully Felix’s— Blind Dog Mike Flora Bama— Jay Williams Band, 10p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Three 37 Band, 9:30p Hard Rock (Live) — Alter Bridge, 8p IP Casino— 98 Degrees, 8p Le Bouchon— Lisa Mills Listening Room— Mean Mary Live Bait— Winter Wubz, 8p Lulu’s— CoConut Radio, 5p Manci’s— Eric Erdman, 7p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — The Stereo Dogs, 8p Moe’s BBQ (Foley) — Christina Christian, 6p Moe’s BBQ (Mobile) — Chad Parker Duo, 6:30p Moe’s BBQ (Semmes) — The Dunaway Brothers Off the Hook— Keith Mailman Burns, 6p Ox Kitchen— Adam Holt, 5p Saenger— Michael Carbonaro Soul Kitchen— The Shannon Pierce Band, Nanafalia, 8p
SAT. DEC 2
Beau Rivage— The Nutcracker, 7p Bluegill— Jamie Anderson, 12p// Matt Neese Trio, 6p Cockeyed Charlie’s— Jordan, 10p Felix’s— Fat Lincoln Trio Flora Bama— Jo Jo Pres, 10:15p Hard Rock (Center Bar) — Three 37 Band, 9:30p Listening Room— Sugarcane Jane Lulu’s— Michael McCall, 5p
SUN. DEC 3
Beau Rivage— The Nutcracker, 3p Big Beach Brewing— Strictly Isbell, 3p Bluegill— Shea White, 12p// Red Clay Strays, 6p Callaghan’s— Whistle Stop Revue Felix’s— Jimmy Lumpkin Frog Pond— Grayson Capps, Johnny Sansone, John Fohl, Susan Cowsill, Brain Stoltz, Russ Broussard, Corky Hughes, 2p Joe Cain Café— John Keuler Listening Room— Ferrill Gibbs with All the Kimonos Lulu’s— Scott Morlock, 1p// Cadillac Attack, 5p Manci’s— Edward David Anderson, 7p The Merry Widow— Comedy Open Mic Old 27 Grill— Barry Gibson, 11:30a Tacky Jacks (Gulf Shores)— Lisa Christian, 2p
MON. DEC 4
Felix’s— Bobby Butchka Flora Bama— Cathy Pace, 4p// Petty and Pace, 8p Lulu’s— Brent Burns, 5p
TUE. DEC 5
Bluegill— Shea White Callaghan’s— Sarah Potenza Cockeyed Charlie’s— Jordan, 10p Felix’s— Bryant Gilley Flora Bama— Rick Whaley Duo, 4p// Oliver’s Twist, 6p/// Alabama Lightning, 8p Lulu’s— Steve Wilkerson, 5p Moe’s BBQ (Daphne) — Jimmy Lee Hannaford, 8p
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Beautiful crime drama honors the story’s dead
W
FILMTHE REEL WORLD
BY ASIA FREY/FILM CRITIC/AFREY@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM
“
AREA THEATERS AMC MOBILE 16 785 Schillinger Road South Mobile, AL (251)639-1748 CRESCENT THEATER 208 Dauphin St Mobile, AL (251) 438-2005 REGAL MOBILE STADIUM 18 1250 Satchel Paige Drive Mobile, AL (844) 462-7342 AMC JUBILEE Square 12 6898 Highway 90 Daphne, AL (251) 626-5766 NEXUS CINEMA DINING 7070 Bruns Dr. Mobile, AL (251) 555-5555
ind River” is an unusually emotional thriller, setting a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olson) up with a seasoned partner (Jeremy Renner) to solve the murder of a young woman on a bleak Native American reservation in Wyoming. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, it does not live up to his Oscar nominated “Hell or High Water,” for which he was the screenwriter, but it certainly stands out as a beautiful, sensitive crime drama. Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a seasoned wildlife officer tasked with hunting predators on a massive Wyoming reservation, is searching for a lion when he finds the dead body of a young woman. She is a close family friend, and the horror of her death connects Cory to his own personal tragedy. The woman, Natalie, was the best friend of Cory’s own daughter, who died in the snow three years earlier. A scene of grieving between him and Natalie’s father is one of the film’s most powerful. Cory was married to a Native American woman, and remains very involved with their son and her family. He is a trusted ally of the Native community, unlike Jane Banner (Olsen), the FBI agent sent to work the case. Jane displays full knowledge of the FBI rules and regulations, but is literally ill-equipped for the brutal conditions, and must borrow a
snow suit from Cory’s late daughter’s closet. Nevertheless, she reminded me of another deeply committed young FBI agent, Clarice Starling, a woman using her many talents to help other women. The setting of the reservation gives many layers of meaning to the proceedings, and questions of jurisdiction between FBI and tribal police underscore the larger themes of injustice against Native Americans. Canadian First Nations actor, Graham Greene, brings a much appreciated level of dry humor as the seasoned chief of the tribal police, a world weary gentleman all too aware of the terrible problems plaguing the people under his care. Jane is the typical fish out of water at first, bringing textbook knowledge to fight a problem in the complex real world, while the men she meets are the opposite; their strength is their hard won experience. Fortunately, the script gives these characters a chance to work together, and some of Jane’s best character development shows when she uses her procedural knowledge to make the system work better to solve the crime. When well-intentioned characters bond, it gives us a break from the bleak violence they are investigating. “Hell or High Water,” which also had a social consciousness driving a crime story, was a more complex and better film. For one thing, Jeff Bridges was in it, but overall it just had more
going on. It was funnier, more exciting, and more suspenseful. “Wind River” pursues one story, to solve the death of one person, and while the socioeconomic factors surrounding the crime are explored, the theme does not meld as beautifully with the plot as it did in Sheridan’s earlier film. What makes “Wind River” unusually effective, however, is how it makes room for grief. It honors the story’s dead. The heroes, in the film’s denouement, focus on what has been lost, and the story spends as much time memorializing the victims as it does tracking the villains. It is a thoughtful and tragic film. The stated purposed of “Wind River” film is to expose the exploitation of Native American women; ironically, this film was distributed by Harvey Weinstein. When the scandal broke, the filmmaker and his stars made the decision to take back control of their film, and refuse to do any further publicity for it, even as Oscar momentum and prestigious awards have already begun to pile up for “Wind River,” until certain demands were met. Weinstein and the Weinstein Company have been scrubbed from future releases of the film, and all future profits will be donated to the Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and perhaps this outcome will strengthen the film’s story even further. “Wind River” is currently available to rent.
AMC CLASSIC WHARF 23151 Wharf Lane Orange Beach, AL (251) 981-4444 COBB PINNACLE 14 3780 Gulf Shores Pkwy Gulf Shores (251) 923-0785 EASTERN SHORE PREMIERE CINEMA 14 30500 State Hwy 181 Spanish Fort, AL (251) 626-0352 Information accurate at press time; please call theaters for showtimes.
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Photos | CBS Films / Dreamworks SKG
FROM LEFT: Elizabeth Olsen is an FBI agent and Jeremy Renner is a veteran game tracker investigating the murder of a young Native American woman in “Wind River,” using the case as a means of seeking redemption for an earlier act of irresponsibility which ended in tragedy. Denzel Washington is “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” NEW IN THEATERS
“Roman J. Israel, Esq.” Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. All listed multiplex theaters.
NOW PLAYING
“Coco” All listed multiplex theaters. “The Florida Project” The Crescent Theater. “Justice League” All listed multiplex theaters. “Murder on the Orient Express.” All listed multiplex theaters “LBJ” AMC Wharf, Cobb Pinnacle 14 “Daddy’s Home 2” All listed multiplex theaters “Thor: Ragnorok” All listed multiplex theaters
“A Bad Mom’s Christmas” All listed multiplex theaters “Victoria and Abdul” 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 Premier Cinema “Happy Death Day” All listed multiplex theaters. “The Foreigner” All listed multiplex theaters. “The Lego Ninjago Movie” Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema “Same Kind of Different as Me” Regal Mobile Stadium 18 “American Made” Eastern Shore Premiere Cinema, AMC Classic Wharf 15. “It” All listed multiplex theaters. “Marshall” AMC Mobile 16, AMC Jubilee Square 12
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS NOVEMBER 29, 2017 - DECEMBER 5, 2017
GENERAL INTEREST
Free senior lunches The last Thursday of every month, End Time Harvest Ministry provides seniors with a free lunch at 1701 Donham Drive in Mobile. Call 251-604-2710.
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. CHESS Community Forum A newly formed Africatown nonprofit organization; Clean, Health, Educated, Safe Dauphin Island Boardwalk Talks Boardwalk Talks are held the first and third & Sustainable Community, Inc. (CHESS) will conduct an Environmental Justice Wednesday of each month at 11:15 a.m. at Community Forum at The Hope Community the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Center on Thursday, Nov. 30 from 5-8 p.m. Blvd. Call 251-861-2141. A free dinner will be served and door prizes will be given away. Call 251-404-9558. Midtown Optimist Club Join Midtown Optimist Club every Wednesday at noon for lunch at Azalea City Movie in the Square Bundle up, bring a blanket and enjoy the Golf Course. Call 251-348-3542. timeless “A Christmas Carol” interpreted by the Muppets! The holiday craft activity will Connect to your Coast begin at 5:30 p.m. and the movie will begin The Alabama Coastal Foundation’s free at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1 in Cathedral Connect to your Coast events are designed Square. to help individuals learn how they can help protect our precious coastal environment. Join us at Serda Brewing on Thursday, Nov. Fairhope Christmas Parade Fairhope’s Christmas Parade will be 30, 4-8 p.m. Email info@joinACF.org. Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Morphy and Section streets, continuing NRDA Meeting down Section to Oak street. Call 251-929The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource 1466 or visit www.cofairhope.com. Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees will hold a public meeting Thursday, Nov. Holiday market 30, at Renaissance Riverview, 64 Water Join Wilmer United Methodist Church for a St. with an open house at 5:30 p.m. holiday market Saturday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m. to and the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Visit www. 4 p.m. Call 251-649-1800. alabamacoastalrestoration.org/NRDA. Daphne Tree Lighting Thursday, Nov. 30 join Daphne City Hall for train rides, caroling, crafts in Santa’s Workshop, write and mail your letters to Santa, and the forecast calls for a few snow flurries as we light up Daphne City Hall and Olde Town Daphne! Starts at 6 p.m.
ASMS Recruiting The Alabama School of Math and Science will host ASMS Day on the school’s campus Saturday, Dec. 2. The event provides an opportunity for prospective students and parents to learn about ASMS. To register, visit asms.net.
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First Aid Class The Daphne Public Library will provide a first aid class on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 8:30 till noon. Instructions for administering first aid for a variety of emergency situations will be presented. Call 251-621-2818 ext. 211 or email lyoungblood@daphneal.com. Bottle Creek Mounds excursion Blakeley State Park will conduct two guided tours of the Bottle Creek Indian Mound Complex on two Saturdays, Dec. 2 and 16. Both tours depart at 9:30 a.m. from Lower Bryant Landing and return about 12:30 p.m. Call 251-626-0798. River Boat Parade Don’t miss out on Mobile’s oldest and largest boat parade, the 42nd annual Dog River Christmas Boat Parade on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. The parade of boats cruise from the Alba Fishing & Hunting Club to the Grand Mariner Restaurant on Dog River.
by Dylan Tucker. Sunday, Dec. 3 1:30-4 p.m. at the Fort Morgan State Historic Site, Gulf Shores. Call 251-540-7127 or email DylanTucker@fort-morgan.org. Holiday Market Join OK Bicycle Shop on Sunday, Dec. 3 1-4 p.m. Local vendors will be selling their unique items from clothes, jewelry, specialty made food items, art, furniture, home decor, handbags, candles, beauty products and the list goes on! “Magic Christmas in Lights” Bellingrath Gardens and Home’s 21st season of “Magic Christmas in Lights” will run 5-9 p.m. nightly Nov. 24 through Dec. 31. For details or to order tickets, visit www. bellingrath.org. “Christmas Nights of Lights” Through Jan. 1, “Christmas Nights of Lights” is at Hank Aaron Stadium, 755 Bolling Brothers Blvd. The show is nightly at dusk until 10 p.m. Admission is $6 per person.
SWMC Christmas Parade The SouthWest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual 2017 Socks for seniors Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 3. The Connie Hudson Senior Center is accepting parade will begin at 10 a.m. at 5055 Carol donations of socks for senior citizens. All Plantation Road in Mobile. Call 251-666-2488. donations — new and packaged — must be dropped off by Monday, Dec. 11, at 3201 Hillcrest Road. Call 251-602-4963. Christmas on the Hill Christmas on the Hill in the Village of Spring Hill is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. TOPS 3, 1-5 p.m. Boutiques will be open with Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets every holiday refreshments, sleigh rides, photos Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Spanish Fort with Santa, music and children’s activities Presbyterian Church. Call 251-625-6888. as well as sales and special merchandise promotions. Toastmasters Toastmasters International meets regularly Holidays at the Fort at six locations in Mobile and Baldwin Featuring holiday lights, decorations, the counties. Visit www.toastmasters.org for gift shop open house, and walking tour led more information.
FUNDRAISERS Mistletoe Mingle The Women’s Business Alliance holiday celebration and silent auction is Thursday, Nov. 30 at Mobile Arts Council, 318 Dauphin St. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door, and available online, www. womensbusinessalliance.org. Hargrove Gala The Hargrove Foundation will host its third annual gala “The Sky is Not the Limit” on Thursday, Nov. 30, at The Battle House Hotel. Astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly will be the keynote speaker. Cocktail festivities begin at 6 p.m. with a seated dinner to follow. Visit hargrovefoundation.org. Nutcracker Tea Join the Bragg Mitchell Mansion on Saturday, Dec. 2 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. for a fun filled afternoon of tea, treats and an appearance by the Nutcrackers dancers. Visit braggmitchellmansion.com. “The Pier of Honor” campaign On Dec. 2, American Legion Eastern Shore Post 199 is launching a community fundraising campaign to rebuild their historic pier and beach area, damaged by Hurricane Nate. Tickets are $20. 700 S. Mobile St. Fairhope. Call 251-928-9132 or email AmLegionPost0199@gmail.com. Holiday Cheer at FIVE Benefitting the Child Advocacy Center on Monday, Dec. 4, 5-8:30 p.m. FIVE will host the event at 609 Dauphin St. in downtown Mobile. Tickets are available at FIVE and the CAC for $35 each. Call 251-432-1101 for details.
ARTS Van Cliburn’s Piano Steinway Piano Gallery Spanish Fort will offer a glimpse into the life of piano virtuoso Van Cliburn, and display his personal piano, through Feb. 3. For information on related events or to schedule a personal playing session, call 251-930-1082. Baldwin Pops Concert Join the Baldwin Pops on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. for a night of holiday music as part of their Gulf Coast Christmas at the Daphne Civic Center. This concert is a collection site for the Marine Reserves Toys for Tots program, so please consider bringing a new, unwrapped toy for children in our area. Holiday Art Sale The University of South Alabama’s Visual Arts Department presents the annual Holiday Art Sale on Friday, Dec. 1, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Visual Arts Complex on campus. Call 251- 461-1438.
Mobile Mystery Dinners A performance of “Twas the Murder before Christmas” will take place Sunday, Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m. at Azalea Manor in downtown Mobile. Tickets include dinner and unlimited wine. Advance reservations are required; call 251-865-7398. Varekai Cirque du Soleil presents Varekai November 29 through December 2 at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum. Visit www. cirquedusoleil.com/varekai.
MUSEUMS Free Weekend at MMoA Mobile Museum of Art is celebrating the opening of new art exhibitions with a free weekend of art and music Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3. Visit mobilemuseumofart.com. “Posing Beauty in African-American Culture” An exhibition at Mobile Museum of Art explores 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. “Windows to the Sea” “Windows to the Sea” is the latest permanent exhibit at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium. Visit disl.org. “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.
“The Cotton Blossom Singers” Join Ben May Main Library in welcoming The Cotton Blossom Singers for a concert on Saturday, Dec 2 at 3 p.m. The choir will present a variety musical with some Christmas favorites for the holiday season. Admission is free. Call 251-208-7097.
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.
Artist Meet and Greet Come meet and mingle with the local, talented artists and authors from the Semmes Community on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2-4 p.m. Enjoy light refreshments, and perhaps pick up something special for that certain person on your gift list. Call 251645-6840.
Little Discoveries “Outside the Box,” aimed at children age 6 and under, explores how innovation and creativity can lead to a world of possibilities, starting with a simple cardboard box. Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Call 251-208-6893 or email jholland@exploreum.com.
Thursdays at MMoA Every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Mobile Museum of Art offers free admission to all visitors. No reservations are necessary. MMoA is at 4850 Museum Drive. Call 251-208-5200.
SPORTING EVENTS/ACTIVITIES Group rides South Alabama and Mississippi Mountain Bike Association invites all levels of cyclists to join them every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. at USA Bike Trails and Sunday at 9 a.m. at Chickasabogue Park. Email carrie@ rideSAMBA.com. Weekly 1K/5K Every Thursday evening at 6 p.m., join Red Beard’s Outfitter and Cortlandt’s Pub in the Spring Hill Village Shopping Center for a 1K or 5K run and walk. No cost to participate. 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. Bridge lessons The Mobile Bridge Center offers free bridge lessons each Tuesday at 6 p.m. at 1510 University Blvd. Arrive a few minutes early to register. Call the Bridge Center at 251-666-2147, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fitness and athletics classes New fitness classes are offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Tai Chi, Candle Lit Yoga, Core Fusion, Small Group Personal Fitness Training, basketball for ages 15 and 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 are offered at Palmer Pillans Middle School. Belly dance, preballet and 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 on 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 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, Dec. 4, 6-7 p.m. at Lifelines/Consumer Credit Counseling, 705 Oak Circle Drive E., Mobile. Call 251-602-0011 to register in advance. N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 29
THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BY TOM MCCOY / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ
Note: The circled letters spell a bonus answer related to the puzzle’s theme. ACROSS 90 Quash “Jackass” 1 Sports figures 92 State sch. on the Pacific 12 Old-fashioned “That’s 6 Words said through a car Coast absolutely the last time” window 93 Co. leader 13 The Lonely Mountain, 11 The Land Shark’s show, 94 Beethoven dedicatee for Smaug for short 97 Pat of “The Karate Kid” 14 Play place 14 Throw (together) 99 Thanksgiving role 15 Worker 18 Fervor 102 This clue’s 110-Across, in 16 Place holders? 19 Reno’s county terms of attractiveness 17 Kitchen tool 20 It may come hot or iced 104 2017 U.S. Open winner 19 “____ have thought …” 21 ____ Modern 107 13th or 15th 23 Giddy happiness 22 This clue’s 110-Across, 109 “My word!” 25 Recipe amt. timewise 110 Something to 29 As far as one can recall 24 Not definitely going to count to understand 22-, 28-, 31 Hero role in “The Force happen 49-, 64-, 81- and 102-Across Awakens” 26 Furry, red TV character 113 “____ It Romantic?” 33 Country whose name is 27 Young actress who played 114 Designer Maya also a two-word sentence two main characters in “The 115 Dramatic battle cry 36 Badgers Parent Trap” 116 Ornamental crown 37 Crumbled 28 This clue’s 110-Across, 117 Rising concerns froyo topping at the Olympics in modern times? 39 Nickname for a young 30 Flipped (through) 118 “You rang?” Darth Vader 32 Former executive with the 119 Primetime ____ 41 Be really generous to a same interior letters as his 120 Sen. Thurmond waiter company 42 Words before “I’m going in” 34 As such DOWN 43 List-ending phrase 35 Compete (for) 1 “Me too!!!” 44 Weighed, in a way, as a 36 Opposite of blanc 2 Warble container 38 N.Y.C. attraction 3 Snapchat request 45 Orders 40 “I love her ten times more 4 Uselessly 47 University in Montreal than ____ I did”: Shak. 5 ____ Lanka 48 Seniors’ org. 41 Large amount 6 Has in an old form? 50 ____ Heights 44 Steak ____ 7 Labor agcy. 51 Mild cheese 46 End of the sci-fi film titles 8 Perform perfunctorily 56 Famous password stealer “First Man …” and “Last Days …” 9 Debt note 57 Inundated 49 This clue’s 110-Across, as 10 Certain high school clique 58 Trash-filled lot, e.g. is relevant each November 11 One of the stuntmen on 60 Shooting stars? 52 Assessment: Abbr. 53 Mork’s boss on “Mork & Mindy” 54 Branching point 55 Leave one’s mark? 59 Bro or sis: Abbr. 60 Phillies’ div. 61 Staple of Southern cuisine 62 One after whom a Times Square museum is named 63 Prefix with -mester 64 This clue’s 110-Across, to the superstitious 69 Martinique, par exemple 70 Words of adulation 72 Mimics 73 Temple athlete 74 Clear, as a table 75 Jordan who directed “Get Out” 76 Feline’s warning 77 Home of Oral Roberts University 80 Shakespearean plotter 81 This clue’s 110-Across, in chemistry 85 Return fee? 87 Moving companies? 88 Unit of grass 89 Article in a German paper
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61 Green lights 62 Mountain ash 65 Been in bed 66 Shipping center 67 French film award 68 Some pears 71 Custardy dessert 76 Family Night entertainment 77 One with a large bill at breakfast? 78 Ones stationed at home 79 Told stories 80 McDonald’s slogan introduced in 2003 82 URL ending 83 Push 84 Ride option 85 Hollywood news 86 Businesswoman Huffington 89 Layer of skin 91 Wooden nickels, e.g. 93 Give a ring 95 Blind parts 96 Right-angle shape 98 Fit to be tied 99 2006 film with massive profits in related toy sales 100 One of Mr. Poe’s children in a Lemony Snicket book 101 Back in 103 Oleaginous 105 Wrong 106 Blue side, for short 108 Fraud 111 ____ de guerre 112 French connections
ANSWERS ON PAGE 33
STYLE HOROSCOPES DECK THE HALLS SAGITTARIUS (11/22-12/21) — Having not yet deflated after another indulgent Thanksgiving week, you attempt to overdose on Amazon’s lowest-rated colon cleanse. Your quirky holiday decoration is eight tiny “reinbeers.” CAPRICORN (12/22-1/19) — Growing increasingly anxious about the upcoming Senate election, you’ll begin each day with a silent, comforting prayer to Morgan Freeman. Your quirky holiday decoration is a twerking Santa. AQUARIUS (1/20-2/18) — Taking note of the high price of pecans this year, you opt to purchase an acorn sampler for that person you don’t really care too much about anyway. Your quirky holiday decoration is the Dr. Dreidel. PISCES (2/19-3/20) — Recently suffering from a moderate case of dyschronometria, you suddenly snap back to reality when you hear the annual “Toyotathon” jingle. Your quirky holiday decoration is a Festivus pole. ARIES (3/21-4/19) — Still groggyheaded from imbibing during the Iron Bowl, you’ll rejuvenate by looking fondly at photos of yourself from “the good ol’ days.” Your quirky holiday decoration is a fishnet leg lamp. TAURUS (4/20-5/20) — You’ll be forcibly removed from the Mobile Symphony’s holiday concert for repeatedly requesting they play “The Christmas Shoes.” Your quirky holiday decoration is a Human Santapede. GEMINI (5/21-6/21) — As part of a project to design your own locallysourced fur coat, you use the last of your leftover turkey to set nutria traps in the delta. Your quirky holiday decoration is a Kardashian Kristmas Nativity scene. CANCER (6/22-7/22) — Scrambling to buy the last 80 gifts for the final six people on your Christmas list, you’ll forgo thoughtfulness for desperation. Your quirky holiday decoration is Caillou in the bayou. LEO (7/23-8/22) — Being reminded that the University of South Alabama’s former football coach was paid a half million dollars per year, you voluntarily renounce your master’s degree and return to work at McDonalds. Your quirky holiday decoration is a keg of eggnog. VIRGO (8/23-9/22) — Feeling slightly sorry for former Gov. Don Siegelman for the first time in your life, you’ll send him a Christmas card and something you couldn’t give away at a yard sale. Your quirky holiday decoration is David Cassidy in a pear tree. LIBRA (9/23-10/22) — Attempting an ambitious recipe in a recently acquired cookbook, the results leave something to be desired but your Snapchat followers will never know the difference. Your quirky holiday decoration is a basket of “Deez chestnuts.” SCORPIO (10/23-11/21) — Observing how the Mobile City Council cannot come to a consensus on even the simplest of decisions, you invite them for a team building exercise up Shitz Creek. Your quirky holiday decoration is Bayer’s original cocaine candy canes. N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 31
SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Jones resigns as only football coach USA has ever known BY J. MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY
W
hen I got the alert on my phone that Joey Jones was stepping down as head coach of the University of South Alabama football team, I was saddened by the news — but not shocked. After seeing the embarrassing 52-0 shutout to previously winless Georgia Southern, I felt his days were numbered. Just a few weeks ago, the future looked much different. The Jaguars had beaten two teams battling for the Sun Belt Conference title (Troy and Arkansas State) and a possible bowl bid was in reach. But an overtime loss to Idaho and two narrow defeats to Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette were too much to overcome. Even if the Jaguars manage to defeat New Mexico State this Saturday on the road, they have already secured a losing record. It will mark the last time Jones steps out with the football program that he started from scratch. “There comes a time in every program where there is a need for change. For this program that I love so much, that time is now,” Jones said in a news release. “One of the proudest days of my professional life was being the named the first head coach at South Alabama. Today is difficult, but it is the right step for me, my family and for this football program.” I first met Coach Jones and his wife Elise many years ago while I was working for the Birmingham News. At that time, Jones was the coach at Mountain Brook High School. The couple was at a sporting goods store during a promotional event for the Spartans. We talked about his team and our connections to Mobile.
Crimson Tide romance
Many years later, I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Jones for a series of articles I was doing on the wives
of college football coaches. She had arrived in Tuscaloosa to play volleyball for the Crimson Tide. Her roommate, Nancy Woolsey, introduced the two after having known Jones when he had starred at Murphy High. “My first reaction was ‘cute guy,’” Mrs. Jones said. However, she had trouble believing he actually played for legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. “He told me he was on the football team, and every football player I had met until that point for 6-foot-5 and 300-plus pounds,” she said of her future husband. “He was normal size, about 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds. Then I thought he was kidding.” His secret weapon was his speed, having been clocked at an amazing 4.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash. “That’s world class timing, and THE fastest on the team!” said Mrs. Jones, an award-winning graphic designer. Jones went on to become one of the Crimson Tide’s all-time favorite players. He finished his career with 71 receptions for 1,386 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jones earned all-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior, than went on to play professionally for the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He is a member of the Crimson Tide’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s. After having the opportunity to coach his sons at Mountain Brook High, Jones accepted the challenge of fielding the first football team at Birmingham-Southern College since the Panthers had dropped the sport in 1939. His efforts caught the eye of USA administrators, who brought him home to Mobile to start their school’s football program. He was named head coach on Feb. 15, 2008.
Exploding out of the gate
The squad was an instant success, winning its first 19
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games as a college independent. He guided the Jags through the transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and competition in the SBC. After being picked to finish seventh prior to the start of the 2013 campaign, he was chosen the league’s Coach of the Year for directing the Jaguars to a tie for third in the final standings (one game behind that year’s co-champions). In addition to helping USA to a winning conference record the following season, Jones was responsible for guiding the program to its first two postseason bowl appearances — the Camellia Bowl in 2014 and Arizona Bowl a year ago — as well as the Jaguars’ first-ever victories over a Southeastern Conference school and nationally-ranked opponent. In fact, USA became the fastest NCAA program to ever participate in a bowl game. Jones, who is 55 years old, has a record of 52-49 going into this weekend. “Joey Jones is the father of our football program. He, his wife Elise and his entire family put their arms around the program and committed to its establishment and growth,” said Dr. Joel Erdmann, USA’s director of athletics. “He has placed South Alabama Football on strong footing, which is something he and his family can be very proud of and we sincerely appreciate. His good, hard work and commitment will forever be recognized.”
Preparing for the future
Now the question is who will take over the reins? Rumors have already begun on who will replace Jones, who made roughly $560,000 a year. The possibility that is most intriguing has Tee Martin returning to his hometown. Currently the offensive coordinator at the University of Southern California, Martin graduated from Williamson High School. He quarterbacked the University of Tennessee Volunteers to a national title and played professionally in the NFL, Canadian Football League and NFL Europe. Prior to arriving in Los Angeles, he was an assistant coach at New Mexico and Kentucky. A factor in this coaching decision is the introduction of the new early signing period for college football. Starting on Dec. 20, prospective student-athletes can sign National Letters of Intent. The 72-hour window ends on Dec. 22. The normal recruiting period reopens on the first Wednesday of February. Even though he will not be coaching these future players, Jones plans to help in any way he can. “I have met with my team and my coaches to announce my decision,” he said. “I will assist the university in every way possible as they look for the next head coach. I made my decision now to ensure that Joel and his team would have time to conduct their search prior to the new early signing date. “It has been an honor and a privilege to start and lead this program. I will always hold a special place in my heart for the University of South Alabama, the incredible coaches, administrators and fans who have supported us along the way, and — most importantly — each and every player who has put on the Jaguar uniform.”
ANSWERS FROM PAGE 30 N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 33
LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com FORECLOSURES FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness described in and secured by that certain Mortgage executed by Calvin Gill Construction Services, LLC to SW Partners, LLC, dated September 29, 2016 and recorded in Land Record 7435, Page 1092, and further modified by Mortgage Modification Agreement dated January 11, 2017 and recorded in Land Record 7468, Page 1811, and assigned to Precious Estates, LLC by assignment dated September 6, 2017 and recorded September 8, 2017 in Land Record 7552, Page 1836, of the records in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama; and notice is hereby given that the undersigned, as holder of said Mortgage, will under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said Mortgage, sell at public outcry for cash to the highest bidder during the legal hours of sale on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, at the Government Street entrance of Government Plaza located at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama, the following described real property situated in the County of Mobile, State of Alabama, described in said Mortgage hereinabove referred to, viz: Parcel A: Lots 110 thru 120 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-055, 623 Maudine Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel B: Lots 7 thru 7 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-026, 506 Neese Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel C: Lots 8 thru 11 (inclusive) and that part of Lots 12 and 13 lying North of Carpenter Street in Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0015-016; 604 Vernon Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel D: Lots 100 thru 105 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-054; 620 Maudine Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel E: Lots 15 thru 32 (inclusive) and that part of Lots 13-14 lying South of Carpenter Street in Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 228 Velma Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel F: Lots 99, 108 and 109 of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-015-240; 621 Vernon Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel G: Lot 80 and Lot 82 thru 90 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-440-015-241, 730 Maudine Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel H: Lots 39 thru 47(inclusive); Lots 55 thru 61 (inclusive) the West 110 feet of Lots 53; and the West 40 feet of Lot 51, all of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-0244-0-016-160.022; 705 Neese Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel I: Lots 35 thru 38 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-162; 312 Velma Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel J: Lots 91 thru 98 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-015-239; 718 Vernon Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel K: Lots 62 thru 65 (inclusive) and Lots 67 thru 78 (inclusive) of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-161; 311 Velma Street, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel L: Lot 52 of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-02-44-0-016-160.002, Neeses Avenue, Prichard, Alabama. Parcel M: Lot 106 of Neese Subdivision of Old Cotton Mill Village, per Map Book 4, Page 166, as recorded in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama. Parcel No: 02-29-0244-0-015-240.002. Vernon Street, Prichard, Alabama. Said sale will be made for the purpose of paying said indebtedness and the expenses incident to this sale, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. Precious Estates, LLC Holder of Said Mortgage ATTORNEYS FOR MORTGAGEE: Ferrell S. Anders ANDERS, BOYETT & BRADY, P.C. One Maison, Suite 203 3800 Airport Boulevard Mobile, Alabama 36608 (251)344-0880 82363 Lagniappe HD November 15, 22, 29, 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 10, 2014, by Melissa Johnson, as Grantee to 524 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 LR7207, Page 688, 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 LR7322, Page 1523,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 21, 2017. Lot 43, as per plat of RIDGE CREST, Unit IV as recorded in Map Book 72, Page 33, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama; together with a 1984, 14 x 64 Champion Mobile Home: Model #882. 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 November 15, 22, 29, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantees in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on April 25, 2017, by Henry J. Skotzky and Alita R. Skotzky, as Grantees 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 LR7509, Page 1596, and said vendor’s lien having been last assigned to Mulherin Realty, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan Inc., which assignment was recorded in the office of the Judge of Probate Mobile County Alabama in Real Property Book LR7513, Page 1038, 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 January 3, 2018. Lot 130, as per plat of RAMSEY ESTATES, UNIT VII, as recorded in Map Book 80, Page 09, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama together with a 1999 Redmon Mobile Home (28 x 76) VIN: 14720729A [and] 14720729B. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Mulherin Realty Inc. Profit Sharing Plan, Inc. 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 Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantee in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on March 31, 2017, by Johnnie D. Weaver, 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 LR7498, Page 1448, 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 LR7502, Page 1638, 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 January 3, 2018. Lot 30, as per plat of BURLINGTON, UNIT II, as recorded in Map Book 87, Page 51, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama, including a 12 x 60 (3) Bedroom (1) Bathroom, [Mobile} Home. 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 Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantees in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on April 5, 2016, by Philip C. Paulk and Briana M. Finney, as Grantees to Michael O’C Jackson, 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 LR7369, Page 988, 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 January 3, 2018. LOT A, RESUBDIVISION of LOT 35, BLOCK L, as per plat of GLEN ACRES SUBDIVISION, as recorded in Map Book 132, Page 22, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying said Vendor’s Lien debt and costs of foreclosure. Michael O’C. Jackson Holder of said Ven-
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dor’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 Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantees in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on May 12, 2017, by Jeannie L. Evans, as Grantee to g.l.s., 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 LR7515, Page 1733, 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 LR7563, Page 580, 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 January 3, 2018. Lots 21 & 22, s per plat of GLENWOOD ESTATES, as recorded in Map Book 46, Page 117, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. 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 Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made by the herein referenced Grantees in the terms of that certain Vendor’s Lien Deed executed on February 5, 2016, by Joshua F. Chaudron, 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 LR7348, Page 1304, 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 LR7355, Page 1611, 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 January 3, 2018. Lot 77, s per plat of TIMBERLAND, UNIT IV, as recorded in Map Book 98, Page 41, Probate Court of Mobile County, Alabama. 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 Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
NOTICE OF COMPLETION In accordance with Chapter 1, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, NOTICE IS HEREBY given that M. Gay Constructors, Inc., Contractor, has completed the Contract for Harmon Park – Ball Field Lighting Improvements, 1611 Bellfast Street, Mobile, AL 36605, PR-102-17. All persons having any claim for labor, materials, or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify the Architectural Engineering, City of Mobile, P.O. Box 1827, Mobile, Alabama 36633-1827. Lagniappe HD November 22, 29, December 6, 13, 2017
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals will be received by Bishop State Community College, at the Council Trenholm Administration Building on the Main Campus of BSCC, in Room 116, on the Main Campus at 351 North Broad Street, Mobile AL, 36603; 2:00pm TUESDAY, DECEMEBER 12TH , 2017, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read for: BUILDING 700 DRAFTING AND DESIGN RENOVATIONS For Bishop State Community College Mobile, Alabama. The Work of the project includes, but is not limited to, selective demolition, new construction, coordination and supervision of the entire project, and all related work, as indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the amount of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000, must accompany the bidder’s proposal. Performance and statutory Labor and material Payment Bonds, insurance in compliance with requirements, and verification of E-Verify enrollment will be required at the signing of the Contract. The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc., 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250, Mobile, AL 36602, Attn: Ashley Morris (251) 460-4006. Ashley. Morris@gmcnetwork.com Prospective Bidders may examine the Bidding Documents
at the Issuing Office on Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and may obtain copies of the Bidding Documents from the Issuing Office as described below. General Contractors may procure plans and specifications from the Architect upon payment of a deposit of Twenty dollars ($20.00) for a one time administrative fee for digital/file sharing access or Seventy Five dollars ($75.00) (printed) per set. Contractors are encouraged to use the digital plans. Refunds will be issued for printed sets only issued by the Architect to each general contract bidder on the first two (2) sets issued submitting a bonafide bid, upon return of documents in good and reusable condition within ten (10) days of bid date. Additional sets for General Contractors, and sets for subs and vendors, may be obtained with the same deposit, which will be refunded as above, less cost of printing, reproduction, handling and distribution, which is estimated to be the same as the deposit amount. Checks shall be made payable to “Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc.” Bid documents will be mailed only upon receipt of deposit. No bid documents will distributed later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled opening of bids. Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Architect will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including Addenda if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office. For the list of plan holders on this project visit http://www. gmcnetwork.com/bids/ . All bidders bidding in amounts exceeding that established by the State Licensing Board for General Contractors must be licensed under the Provision of Title 34, Chapter 8, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended, and must show such evidence of license before bidding or bid will not be received or considered by Architect or Owner. The bidder shall show such evidence by clearly displaying his or her current license number on the outside of the sealed envelope in which the proposal is delivered; Bidder must also include his or her current license number on the Proposal Form. No bid may be withdrawn after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids for a period of sixty (60) days. A PRE-BID CONFERENCE will be held at the same location where bids will be received, at 2:00 PM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH, 2017 for the purpose of reviewing the project and answering Bidder’s questions. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is strongly recommended for all General Contractor Bidders and Subcontractors intending to submit a Proposal. This project is being bid, under the provisions of Alabama Act 2000-684, which require the General Contractor, in part, to take advantage of the Owner’s tax exempt status, obtain necessary certificates and other documentation required from the Alabama Department of Revenue, make payment for all materials, and to administer the sales and use tax savings portion of the project, as a part of their Bid. Additional qualifications and requirements for General Contractor Bidders and separate Subcontractors are indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technical errors if, in their judgment, the best interests of the Owner will thereby be promoted. BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Mobile, Alabama Dr. Reginald Sykes, President GOODWYN, MILLS & CAWOOD, INC. MEMBERS, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250 Mobile, AL 36602 Phone: 251) 460-4006 Fax:(251) 460-4423 Lagniappe HD November 15, 22, 29, 2017
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals will be received by Bishop State Community College, at the Council Trenholm Administration Building, Room 116 on the Main Campus of Bishop State Community College at 351 North Broad Street, Mobile AL, 36603; 2:00pm THURSDAY, JANUARY 4th, 2018, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read for: PARKING GARAGE REPAIRS For Bishop State Community College Mobile, Alabama. The Work of the project includes, but is not limited to, selective demolition, new construction, coordination and supervision of the entire project, and all related work, as indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the amount of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000, must accompany the bidder’s proposal. Performance and statutory Labor and material Payment Bonds, insurance in compliance with requirements, and verification of E-Verify enrollment will be required at the signing of the Contract. The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc., 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250, Mobile, AL 36602, Attn: Ashley Morris (251) 460-4006 Ashley.Morris@gmcnetwork.com. Prospective Bidders may examine the Bidding Documents at the Issuing Office on Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and may obtain copies of the Bidding Documents from the Issuing Office as described below. General Contractors may procure plans and specifications from the Architect upon payment of a deposit of Twenty dollars ($20.00) for a one time administrative fee for digital/file sharing access or One hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) (printed) per set. Contractors are encouraged to use the digital plans. Refunds will be issued for printed sets only issued by the Architect to each general contract bidder on the first two
(2) sets issued submitting a bonafide bid, upon return of documents in good and reusable condition within ten (10) days of bid date. Additional sets for General Contractors, and sets for subs and vendors, may be obtained with the same deposit, which will be refunded as above, less cost of printing, reproduction, handling and distribution, which is estimated to be the same as the deposit amount. Checks shall be made payable to “Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc.” Bid documents will be mailed only upon receipt of deposit. No bid documents will distributed later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled opening of bids. Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Architect will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including Addenda if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office. For the list of plan holders on this project visit http://www.gmcnetwork.com/bids/. All bidders bidding in amounts exceeding that established by the State Licensing Board for General Contractors must be licensed under the Provision of Title 34, Chapter 8, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended, and must show such evidence of license before bidding or bid will not be received or considered by Architect or Owner. The bidder shall show such evidence by clearly displaying his or her current license number on the outside of the sealed envelope in which the proposal is delivered; Bidder must also include his or her current license number on the Proposal Form. No bid may be withdrawn after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids for a period of sixty (60) days. A PRE-BID CONFERENCE will be held at the same location where bids will be received, at 10:00AM TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH, 2017 for the purpose of reviewing the project and answering Bidder’s questions. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is strongly recommended for all General Contractor Bidders and Subcontractors intending to submit a Proposal. This project is being bid, under the provisions of Alabama Act 2000-684, which require the General Contractor, in part, to take advantage of the Owner’s tax exempt status, obtain necessary certificates and other documentation required from the Alabama Department of Revenue, make payment for all materials, and to administer the sales and use tax savings portion of the project, as a part of their Bid. Additional qualifications and requirements for General Contractor Bidders and separate Subcontractors are indicated in the Bid and Contract Documents. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technical errors if, in their judgment, the best interests of the Owner will thereby be promoted. BISHOP STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Mobile, Alabama Dr. Reginald Sykes, President GOODWYN, MILLS & CAWOOD, INC. MEMBERS, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS 11 North Water Street, Suite 15250 Mobile, AL 36602 Phone:(251) 460-4006 Fax: (251) 460-4423 Lagniappe HD November 29, Dec. 6, 13, 2017
PROBATE NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING CASE NO. 2017-2207 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of petition for Summary Distribution in the estate of Rhonda Jean Daniel, Deceased. Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed by John Hurdis Daniel on November 14, 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. Petitioner: John Hurdis Daniel 1819 Ridgeline Ct. N. Mobile, AL 36695 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: TRAVIS E. LOWE, Deceased Case No. 2017-2112 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 13th day of November, 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. TRAVIS DEWAYNE LOWE as Executor under the last will and testament of TRAVIS E. LOWE, Deceased. Attorney of Record: PRO SE Lagniappe HD November 22, 29, December 6, 2017
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: LUCILLE W. HOUSTON, Deceased Case No. 2017-0839 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 13th day of November, 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. KENISHA C. HOUSTON as Executrix under the last will and testament of LUCILLE W. HOUSTON, Deceased. Attorney of Record: DARLETT LUCYGULLEY Lagniappe HD November 22, 29, December 6, 2017
NOTICE OF SALE The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2757 Magnolia Rd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2008 Lexus ES350 JTHBJ46G582271426 2014 Nissan Sentra 1N4AB7AP7EN851828 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5316 Jarrett Rd., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette 1GHDX13E83D292983 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3151 Moffett Rd., Mobile, AL 36607. 1995 Chevrolet Camaro 2G1FP32P7S2227326 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1015 N Craft Hwy., Prichard, AL 36610. 1996 Chevrolet Impala 1G1BL52PXTR142128 2006 Ford Mustang 1ZVHT80N265241149 2005 Dodge Magnum 2D4FV48T25H567768 2002 BMW 525I WBADT43482GY95419 2007 Ford Mustang 1ZVFT82H375234842 2008 Cadillac CTS 1G6DF577380209957 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3351 Dauphin Island Parkway, Mobile, AL 36605. 2006 Mercedes S430 WDBNG83J26A468091 2003 Honda Accord 1HGCM726X3A004097 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5681 Hwy 90., Theodore, AL 36582. 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1GCEC14V93Z31505 1999 GMC Suburban 3GKEC16R2XG519571 2009 GMC Sierra 3GTEC13C19G225044 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2GCEC19X331183762 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2024 Halls Mill Rd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2006 Ford Fusion 3FAFP07146R248920 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2911 Mill St., Mobile, AL 36607. 2013 Chevrolet Sonic 1G1JC6SBXD4155997 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 02, 2018 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5713 Three Notch Rd., Mobile, AL 36619. 2003 Ford Focus 1FAFP34P63W329243 2004 VW New Beetle 3VWCD31Y84M353108 Lagniappe HD Nov. 22, 29, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 2024 Halls Mill Rd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2006 Hyundai Tiburon KMHHM65D36U192517 2009 Nissan Altima 1N4AL21E99N508068 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 210 5th St., Chickasaw, AL 36611. 1998 Dodge Ram 1B7HC16XXWS580889
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time – 12pm, if not claimed – at 1408 Montlimar Dr., Mobile, AL 36609. 2015 Toyota Corolla 2T1BURHE4FC241771 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time – 12pm, if not claimed - at 6874 Dauphin Island Parkway, Mobile, AL 36605. 2015 Toyota Tacoma 5TFUU4EN3FX112437 1996 Ford Ranger 1FTCR14U6TTA20598 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 7960 Two Mile Rd., Irvington, AL 36544. 2007 Mitsubishi Raider 1Z7HC22K67S233890 1999 Honda Accord 1HGCG5651XA161648 2004 Ford Escape 1FMYU02114KB38410 2005 Mercury Montego 1MEHM42145G625681 2006 VW Jetta 3VWSF71K96M622129 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on January 05, 2018 - Time -12pm, if not claimed - at 6425 Spanish Fort Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL 36527. 2005 Mitsubishi Outlander JA4LX31F95UO23879 2004 Toyota Corolla 2T1KR32E34C256797 2007 Pontiac G6 1G2ZH36N574136457 1999 Subaru Legacy 4S3BG6857X7602421 2006 Mercury Mariner 4M2CU561X6KJ18921 2000 Honda Civic JHMEJ6672YS005015 2006 Honda Civic 2HGFG11806H556766 1994 Infiniti J30 JNKAY21D9RM111032 2007 Lexus ES350 JTHBJ46G272034164 1998 Ford Explorer 1FMZU34E1WZB18593 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
These abandon vehicles will be sold at 5781 Three Notch Rd on 01/04/2018 at 9am if not claimed FORD 1FMPU18L3WLA53110 CHEV 1GCDS136548153076 TOYO 4TASM92N7XZ550534 BUIC 1G4HR52KXXH449892 CHEV 2G1WL52J2Y1169479 FORD 1FTFW1CT1CFB71667 Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
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STYLE BOOZIE
War Eagle and rollin’ Tidewater BY BOOZIE BEER NUES/SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
A
nother Thanksgiving has come and gone and “lose five pounds by Christmas” has been added to my growing to do list. Oh the holidays! I am however, happy to report that Thanksgiving went smoothly this year, no drama at all, which is a first! The only thing brought to question was what kind of congealed salad did Aunt L bring that no one ate and she claims should be topped with mayo … Umm gross. If only the weekend ended as smoothly as it started. Football fever Well, I can’t say I saw that one coming. I mean how could we? I guess Vandy finally showed Tennessee “how to play SEC ball” with their first SEC win for the season … Talk about Tennessee’s fall from grace. While the battle for the bottom went on, there was also a battle for the top but you already knew that, Alabama fans everywhere are still hoping it was a bad dream, crossing their fingers and pulling out some new lucky game day gear all while hoping that Oklahoma and Wisconsin lose this weekend. Roll Frogs Roll? Meanwhile, Auburn fans are refusing to wash their outfits from the weekend and are keeping those patches of grass from Jordan-Hare in their pockets all week long. I will say I did really enjoy watching Auburn fans batSo more about Friday night, there were plenty of tling with those pesky hedges as they stormed the field. folks there for the soft opening. Since the owners are all That was almost as exciting as the game. McGill-Toolen grads and Catholic, they had Fr. Wall and Fr. Neske there to bless everything and I mean everyBrew on thing, the beer, the taps, the tanks, etc. The long awaited opening of Serda Brewing hapWhen Fr. Wall was blessing the tanks he made a pened this past weekend! After you stuffed yourself full comment that he felt like he was on a spaceship ready of all things Thanksgiving and then leftovers the next for take off. Boozie can’t help but chuckle at the fact day it was time to wash it down with beer! Friday night Catholics love to bless everything including beer. Does was their invite-only soft opening. Not to worry, I got that make the beer hangover free? I think so! (At the the invite but I can’t say it came because of my Boozie very least, it can’t hurt, right?) status but more like because of my boozing status. Come Saturday for the first day of business, Serda’s had Walking into the brewery you first see the brew a good crowd and by game time the place was hopping. house, if arriving from the back, from the Government Now to fill you in on the beers. To be honest, I am Street side, you see the patio and awesome landscapnot a beer snob by any stretch, but there wasn’t a beer I ing job and then the brew house. For those not so well didn’t like. Friday night they ran out of the Clear-Prop versed on all things brewery *cough, not me, cough* the Porter, it wasn’t my fave but still tasty. The Mobile Bay brew house is the room with the big silver things where IPA isn’t as hoppy as some IPAs but brewmaster Todd the magic happens. said by this week it would be strong for those IPA folks. Next stop is the taproom and this is the beer drinking Boozie’s favorites were Hook Line and Lager Pilsner room (obviously my favorite place)! They have a bar and Tidewater Vienna. But what do I know? Y’all go that spans the length of the wall and lots of tables. There decide for yourselves and support our new local brewery! isn’t much to see besides the two TVs but Boozie knows Speaking of beer, or “bier”” LoDa Bier Garten is many blurred memories and stories will come from this opening a second location in WeMo on Cottage Hill magical area. Road (formerly the Hungry Owl) and Boozie couldn’t be Off the taproom and brewhouse is the patio, which more excited for them! Bring on the beer! has heaters for cooler nights as well as shaded areas for Well, kids, that’s all I’ve got this week. Just rememwarmer days, not to mention comfy couches. This is ber, whether rain or shine, dramatic or scandalous, or just probably going to be my new Mardi Gras spot! some plain ol’ brewskie lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!
Photo | Boozie Spy
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Lagniappe HD offices are located at 1100B Dauphin St. Mobile, AL 36604. For more information or to place your ad call Jackie at 251-450-4466. Or email at legals@lagniappemobile.com
Lagniappe HD Nov. 29, Dec. 6, 2017
N o v e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 7 - D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 7 | L AG N I A P P E | 35