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MARCH 13, 2019 - MARCH 19, 2019
| VOLUME 4, ISSUE 24
Photo | Shane Rice ASHLEY TRICE Co-publisher/Editor atrice@lagniappemobile.com
KEVIN LEE Associate Editor/Arts Editor klee@lagniappemobile.com
LAURA MATTEI Art Director www.laurarasmussen.com
SHELLEY PIAZZA Advertising Sales Executive shelley@lagniappemobile.com
ROB HOLBERT Co-publisher/Managing Editor rholbert@lagniappemobile.com
ANDY MACDONALD Cuisine Editor fatmansqueeze@comcast.net
BROOKE O’DONNELL Advertising Sales Executive brooke@lagniappemobile.com
STAN ANDERSON Distribution Manager delivery@lagniappemobile.com
GABRIEL TYNES Assistant Managing Editor gabe@lagniappemobile.com
STEPHEN CENTANNI Music Editor scentanni@lagniappemobile.com
BETH WOOLSEY Advertising Sales Executive bwilliams@lagniappemobile.com
JACKIE CRUTHIRDS Office Manager legals@lagniappemobile.com
DALE LIESCH Reporter dale@lagniappemobile.com
STEPHANIE POE Copy Editor copy@lagniappemobile.com
DAVID GRAYSON Advertising Sales Executive david@lagniappemobile.com
JASON JOHNSON Reporter jason@lagniappemobile.com
DANIEL ANDERSON Chief Photographer dan@danandersonphoto.com
SUZANNE SAWYER Advertising Sales Executive suzanne@lagniappemobile.com
CONTRIBUTORS: J. Mark Bryant, Asia Frey, Amanda Gibson, Brian Holbert, Randy Kennedy, John Mullen, Jordan Parker, Jeff Poor, Ron Sivak, Tom Ward, Evan Ware, Ginger Harrell
LAGNIAPPE HD Periodicals Permit #17660 (Volume 4, Issue 24) Copyright 2015 is published weekly, 52 issues a year, by Something Extra Publishing, Inc., 704 Government St., Mobile, AL 36604 (P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652). Business and Editorial Offices: 704 Government St., Mobile, AL 36604 Accounting and Circulation Offices: 704 Government St., Mobile, AL 36602. Call 251-450-4466 to subscribe. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652 Editorial, advertising and production offices are located at 704 Government St., Mobile, AL 36602. Mailing address is P.O. Box 3003 Mobile, AL 36652. Phone: 251-450-4466 Email: atrice@lagniappemobile.com LAGNIAPPE HD is printed at Walton Press. All rights reserved. Something Extra Publishing, Inc. Nothing may be reprinted. photocopied or in any way reproduced without the expressed permission of the publishers.
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BALDWIN BAY BRIEF
Up in the air
Fairhope Airport Authority seeks applicants for hangar leases BY GABRIEL TYNES
H
ow does the Fairhope Airport Authority’s latest notice of availability for airport hangar leases differ from its last? To begin with, it was publicly advertised. For the past two weeks, the Authority published a notice in the Mobile Press-Register soliciting applications from private developers to build hangars on one of five available hangar pads at the H.L. Sonny Callahan Airport, south of town off Highway 32. The Authority is seeking tenants to lease the pads for at least 30 years, construct a minimum 6,000-square-foot, $500,000 hangar that will eventually become the property of the Authority, and agree to a ground lease rate of 27 cents per square foot per year, plus the Authority’s 7-centper-gallon fee added to all fuel purchased on site. In late 2014, the last time two hangar pads were available at the airport, the Authority
tion (FAA), he has sent 20 to 30 letters to people who have expressed interest in leasing hangar space. Still, “I’d be surprised if we get five qualified folks,” he said. Meanwhile, Authority member Jack Burrell, City Council liaison on the board, insinuated at a special-called meeting in January that these new efforts could still lead to problems of their own. Only two of the five pads have paved access, and the Authority disclosed in its notice that paved access to the other three “is dependent largely upon future funding from the [FAA].” According to the notice, the application “must identify which of the five” pads is requested by the applicant. So, all bids being equal, if two applicants are interested in the same pad, how will the Authority determine who is awarded the lease? Without providing details, McEnerney said the Authority will simply weigh who is making the greatest investment. The notice asks applicants “I haven’t promised anybody anything to “provide a fixed baseline for annual fuel usage,” but about the availability of hangars. … This does not mention total inprocess has been transparent, and ultimate- vestment costs. A request to review the application itself ly the board will make the decision.” was not acknowledged by press time, but last week - Joe McEnerney McEnerney suggested whoever “will have the claimed it simply “sent out” a RFP and “was apmost employees” and “best hangars” will be part proached by two competing groups” as a result. of the Authority’s consideration. Noting airport authorities are generally exempt At the same meeting in January, Burrell from Alabama bid laws, the Authority began accused McEnerney of guaranteeing certain negotiations with both. applicants hangars before the notice had even One, Cedar Creek, LLC, owned by Alan been published. Boan, entered into a lease within a few months. “I’ve had people at the airport telling me, The other, Executive Aviation Group owned by ‘you’ve told them they’re going to get a spot Kel Jones, allegedly engaged in negotiations, but …,’” Burrell said. “How are you doing that? never submitted the required financial documenHow do you know that? You can’t make a promtation by the Authority’s August 2015 deadline. ise you can’t keep.” Then, after several members of the AuthorMcEnerney denied it, while Burrell said other ity board resigned along with its attorney, a new Authority members had heard the same thing. If request for proposals on the remaining hangar true, “it destroys the competitive nature” of the pad was publicly advertised, eventually receivprocess, Burrell warned. ing three letters of interest: one from Jones, one But at the meeting and again last week, from an individual named Terry Chapman and a McEnerney said he had made no such guarthird from Ray Hix, an Authority board member. antees, but had simply suggested there would Hix, a commercial real estate developer, had probably be fewer applicants than there are incorporated Mid-Bay Air, LLC, in 2011 and was available leases. appointed to the Fairhope Airport Authority in “That was just not true … it was an off2015, after the other members had resigned but the-cuff remark,” he said last week. “I’ve been during the first round of negotiations with Jones. out there trying to tell people the best I can in All three submitted bids and by November, the aviation community about what we have. I Hix and Mid-Bay Air were awarded the lease. haven’t promised anybody anything about the The Authority determined Hix’s bid, with a more expensive hangar and higher anticipated fuel use, availability of hangars. … This process has been transparent, and ultimately the board will make “would result in 21 percent more annualized income to the Authority than the next highest bid.” the decision.” Authority attorney Josh Myrick acknowlDefending what was a controversial decision edged last week legislation exempts airport to some, the Authority claimed Hix recused authorities from bid laws and notification himself from board discussions about the bid requirements, adding the notice of availability and, further, was precleared to submit his bid was published to “generate interest” and “get by an informal opinion of the Alabama Ethics the best possible tenants.” Commission. “But this is probably going to be an ongoing Since then, both Hix and Boan have comprocess until all of those pads are under leases,” pleted their hangars at the airport. he said. “Just because somebody expresses interFast forward to last week, and Authority est does not mean we’ll be able to agree on terms Board President Joe McEnerney said this time, “Anybody who is interested will have a chance to of ground lease.” The Authority will receive sealed applications submit a proposal.” McEnerney said as the airport has since devel- between March 22 and April 5, and “tentative” oped a master plan and received nearly $9 million selections of prospective tenants will be made at in funding from the Federal Aviation Administra- the Authority’s regular board meeting April 16.
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MOBILE
BAY BRIEF
Downtown Precinct
MPD wants visible police presence in entertainment district BY JASON JOHNSON
O
favorable for downtown. n bicycles, horseback, Segways and A sexual assault in broad daylight and an on foot, police officers will soon be a more common sight downtown, as the attack at the main branch of the Mobile Public Library were in the local news for weeks in 2018. Mobile Police Department increases its presence in an area that’s continued to grow as Then this year, two shootings — one that injured uninvolved bystanders — occurred during the a commercial and residential hub. height of Mardi Gras festivities downtown. In late February, city officials announced Two victims, one of them only 7 years old, MPD would be expanding its downtown central were injured during a shooting near Government events precinct on Dauphin Street into a full and Dearborn streets following a parade on the police precinct. For the most part, it will be similar to MPD’s four existing precincts, but with evening of Feb. 23. Two teenage suspects, Tykendrick Barnett and Matthew Isaiah Carl, were a greater focus on non-vehicular patrols. arrested the same night and remain in jail. The enforcement shift follows a string of Days later, two men were shot near the high-profile crimes in the downtown area, but while Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson says public Saenger Theatre after an unknown male opened fire during a fight in the early hours of March 5. safety is a priority, he’s also maintained the need No arrests have been made in that case yet. for a stand-alone police precinct in the area is a While Cunningham said Mardi Gras isn’t response to progress, not a reaction to problems. an ordinary situation downtown, he believes an “Two decades ago, after 5 o’clock in the afternoon, downtown Mobile was a ghost town. increased police presence could help prevent similar incidents in the future. With more officers Fast-forward to the last two years, and we have close by, he said it will be easier to address situacontinued to see renovated apartments, shops tions before they escalate and become violent. and restaurants popping up in what were aban“Small things can turn into large things doned buildings,” Stimpson said. “There’s not quickly — a fight breaks out in a club, then the a great city without a great downtown, and we people leave there and want to make sure that somewhere else to everybody who comes “The goal is being effective so go continue that fight,” here feels absolutely safe about the experithat when you do come down Cunningham said. “If you’re involved in that ence they’re going to have in downtown here and have a drink or go type of altercation, you should be going to jail Mobile.” to dinner with your fambefore it ever spills out Capt. James Cunthe streets.” ningham, who was ily, you don’t have to worry. intoAnother issue previously the supervisor of central events, asThere’s a difference between that’s come up over the past year has been sumed the role of commander when the new having a good time and not the prevalence of homelessness and panprecinct opened March being able to stand up or be- handling downtown. 2. He said he’s currently a challenge for working with MPD to ing out in the street fighting It’s most cities. Cunningbuild up the staff, but ham said MPD has no says the number of or harassing someone.” interest in criminalofficers downtown has izing homelessness, already increased. - Capt. James Cunningham but added that officers While staffing levels will enforce city laws aren’t concrete yet, baring panhandling. Cunningham said there will likely be up to 20 “We will be targeting the individuals comadditional uniformed officers dedicated to the downtown area. That does not include the officers mitting crimes, and that does include panhandling,” he said. “There are organizations down with MPD’s Mounted Unit that have patrolled here like the Salvation Army that are willing to downtown on horseback for a number of years. help. There’s not a need for these individuals to Speaking to Lagniappe, Cunningham said having increased patrols would allow the depart- panhandle downtown. We’re not going to target homeless individuals, but we will target crimes ment to better respond as the volume of service that they or anybody else may be committing.” calls grows with the population. He said that will also give MPD a more visible To that end, Cunningham said downtown papresence in the entertainment district and other trons shouldn’t be concerned an increased police areas. More than being seen, though, Cunningpresence will be intrusive to the law-abiding citiham said he wants officers working downtown zens enjoying restaurants, bars and shops in the to be a part of the community and to know the entertainment district. While MPD will always residents, the business owners and the patrons. enforce the law, Cunningham said his units will “We have different assets at our disposal be primarily focused on those who are dangerous — bikes, Segways, portable cameras, mounted or causing problems for others. patrols and foot patrols — that allow our focus “When you talk about increasing police to be on being highly visible,” Cunningham said. presence in an entertainment district, one of the “That can be a deterrent, but it also gives citizens, first things that comes to some people’s mind is: patrons and business owners the ability to talk ‘Well, I can’t go down there and have a drink and interact with officers in a way they might not now,’ but that’s not the goal,” Cunningham said. with an officer in a patrol car.” “The goal is being effective so that when you Speaking on the impact crime has on the do come down here and have a drink or go to perception of downtown, Cunningham said dinner with your family, you don’t have to worry. “there are very few random acts of violence There’s a difference between having a good time downtown,” but those that do occur tend to and not being able to stand up or being out in the draw a lot of media attention. It’s true that street fighting or harassing someone.” headlines in the past year haven’t always been
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MOBILE
BAY BRIEF
New money
Gas tax brings channel expansion into focus BY JASON JOHNSON
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he Alabama Legislature passed a quickly debated gas tax increase this week and the funding it is projected to generate will have a significant impact on the Mobile Shipping Channel. Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Rebuild Alabama” plan is actually a suite of three bills, all of which sailed through the House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate during a special session called by the governor last week. In all, Ivey’s plan will raise the state’s 18cent fuel tax to 28 cents by 2021 and provide additional accountability over how the Alabama Department of Transportation allocates those dollars. Another provision sets the gas tax up to be automatically adjusted every two years based upon the National Highway Construction Cost Index beginning in 2023. In addition to funding for state infrastructure projects, the increase is expected to generate $11.7 million to fund bond payments for an expansion at the Port of Mobile. A separate bill also authorizes the state to borrow up to $150 million to match the anticipated federal funds for the same project. For the last four years, the Army Corps of Engineers has been evaluating a proposal to widen and deepen the 36-mile Mobile Shipping Channel to an overall depth of 50 feet. Once its study is complete, the Corps will submit a proposal for Congress to consider. According to Jimmy Lyons, president of the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA), the project is necessary to accommodate larger ships and to allow the current ships calling on Mobile to be safely filled to capacity in order to take advantage of economies of scale. While routine dredging is funded entirely by the federal government, Alabama would share 25 percent of the cost of any deepening and widening project or risk losing tens of millions of dollars from Washington, D.C. According to Lyons, the funding the gas tax is expected to generate is likely the only way Alabama could find the funds to cover its share. “It’s our only way to get the channel done, and that’s the only thing this money would be going toward,” Lyons said. “The Alabama Highway Finance Corp. will issue the bonds that would pay for the state’s share of roughly $150 million, and then the feds would be paying $250 million of the total $400 million estimated cost of the project.” U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby was previously able to secure a legislative change that reduced Alabama’s share of the project from 50 percent to 25 percent. While he has not commented on the 10-cent gas tax increase directly, Shelby has expressed strong support for expanding the shipping channel and improving Alabama’s infrastructure. “The deepening and widening of the Port of Mobile is a once-in-a-lifetime economic development opportunity and would be a game-changer for Alabama,” Shelby said in a statement to Lagniappe. “This undertaking has the ability to transform Mobile and our state’s economy for the next 100 years. I am glad to see this important project being highlighted.” While the port obviously has a major impact on Mobile, Lyons said it also serves industries throughout Alabama. Based on a 2017 ASPA study, Lyons said the port generates about
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150,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the state and has an estimated economic value of $25 billion. Support for expanding the shipping channel has been fairly uniform in Montgomery as well. While there was some debate about the details of the gas tax increase, the bill authorizing the state to obtain bonds for its share of the channel expansion saw broad support in both houses. Locally, though, dredging of the shipping channel and the possibility of expanding those activities has been a source of controversy for some time because of the impact some say it has on the Mobile Bay estuary and erosion on Dauphin Island. For years, property owners and activists have maintained that dredging the shipping channel has significantly contributed to erosion on Dauphin Island by disrupting the natural western flow of sand in the littoral drift system and preventing it from reaching the shore. It’s a charge the Corps has denied on several occasions. Since 1999, the Corps has deposited “beach quality” dredge material in the Sand Island Beneficial Use Area (SIBUA), which is located several miles southeast of Dauphin Island in approximately 30 feet of water. Property owners have long advocated for a disposal site in shallower waters closer to the shoreline, especially if dredge activities were to expand. The federal government already spends roughly $25 million annually dredging the channel, and the local engineers with the Corps have said disposing of dredge material in shallower water would increase costs because it would require specialized equipment. At a March 7 meeting of the Sierra Club, Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said he supports the expansion of the shipping channel because of its economic benefit to the state. However, he also said it presents a great opportunity to establish a “more responsible disposal process.” “We have a ship channel that fills it up with sand over time — sand that Dauphin Island desperately needs. We ought to be able to connect those dots,” Collier said. “The expansion is going to happen, and it’s going to bring a lot of good things, but it shouldn’t be one or the other. We should be able to have the economic benefits without devastating the down drift areas.” The Corps announced it will use an additional $4 million in the upcoming dredging season to expand the SIBUA approximately 3,305 acres to the northwest. That will put dredge material closer to Dauphin Island while also increasing the disposal capacity for the Corps. The extra capacity is needed because the original parameter of the SIBUA is filling up. The Corps has acknowledged sand is moving out of the area at half the rate it’s being placed there, which opponents often cite as proof dredge material isn’t reaching Dauphin Island. Glen Coffee, a former Corps biologist, has pushed for the Corps to change its dredge disposal practices for a number of years. While he’s happy to see the disposal area moved farther west this year, Coffee said there’s been no indication of long-term shift. “That’s like treating an infection and you only take one dose of medicine,” Coffee said. “You’re not going to get well.”
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MOBILE
BAY BRIEF
County approves $4 million for first phase of soccer complex
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BY JASON JOHNSON
obile County Commissioners have agreed to put more than $4 million into the construction of a multi-field soccer complex in what is expected to be the first phase of a long-term project. The Mobile County Soccer Complex is slated to sit on roughly 60 acres of land near the intersection of Interstates 65 and 10. The Commission agreed to purchase the $1.3 million property in 2018 and still maintains an option to buy an additional 30 acres adjacent to it. Mobile-based John G. Walton Construction Co. was awarded a $4,087,335 contract on March 11 to build out the first phase of the project. That cost will cover the construction of four lighted fields, two of which will have seating, as well as irrigation, sewer and landscaping. Construction of the first phase is expected to be completed by January 2020. Commission President Connie Hudson has championed a county soccer complex for years, but a more costly proposal that would have required a $20 million bond was voted down in 2016. The county spent close to $500,000 evaluating the original project, though some permitting and planning efforts carried over to the scaled-down version that will soon be under construction. With support from Commissioners Jerry Carl and Merceria Ludgood, the $4 million endeavor
“This is just the beginning. So much more is needed,” Hudson told reporters this week. “Now that we’re actually breaking ground, I think people will see this is actually happening, and hopefully that can be a catalyst for more interest in helping us get this project completed.” At full completion, the Mobile County Soccer Complex would have 10 fields including a championship field with bleachers for spectators as well as concession stands and restroom facilities. Hudson said the county was open to any resource to help fund the later phases. What the total cost of all three phases will be is still unclear, though the county has given an estimate as part of a submission for possible RESTORE Act funding. According to that proposal, the second and third phases of the project are estimated to cost a combined $17.8 million. If that wound up being the case, the entire project could cost more than $23 million. However, Mobile County Director of Public Affairs Katherine Eddy said those proposals are based on a plan that considers the RESTORE Act as the primary funding source. If the project isn’t approved for grant funding, Eddy said the later phases could be scaled down as needed. The county plans to partner with Mobile United Futbol Club to manage and maintain the facility, but while its initial use will be focused on serving local youth soccer teams, the ulti-
“Mobile County Commissioners have agreed to put more than $4 million into the construction of a multi-field soccer complex in what is expected to be the first phase of a long-term project.” is now moving forward with unanimous approval. After seven years of delays and setbacks, Hudson said she’s “very happy” the county has taken the first step toward bringing a tournament-quality soccer facility to Mobile. “This amenity is needed in our community. It has been for a long time, and it’s exciting to see it finally taking shape,” she said. “It’ll be awhile before we can complete the whole project as it’s envisioned with 10 fields, but I’m hopeful we can get it done in a reasonable amount of time.” Hudson is using funding for capital improvement projects in her district to pay for the bulk of Phase I, though the county also plans to resurface two roads adjacent t0 the complex and create a turning lane at its entrance. The expected cost of those road improvements aren’t yet known. The county also plans to use $1.2 million of Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) funding to build a “permeable pavement parking lot.” Some have criticized spending funds intended to mitigate the impact of offshore drilling on a parking lot, but the county maintains that a permeable pavement at the complex will help prevent excessive stormwater runoff. Hudson recently called the addition of a permeable parking lot a “conservation project.” While Phase I of the project will only include four fields, Hudson has made it clear she wants to see the other phases come to fruition when the county can find the necessary funding. She also noted the remaining phases can be broken out into smaller projects if they need to be. 10 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
mate goal is to eventually attract regional and possibly even national youth tournaments. Multi-field complexes in Foley, Orange Beach and Perdido Key, Florida, are already attracting major youth and collegiate tournaments annually, which is why some of the local soccer complex detractors have argued Mobile County will be late to the party by the time it’s completed. As the executive director of the Mobile Sports Authority, part of Danny Corte’s job will be bringing those types of tournaments to the Port City. Despite the seven-year delay, he still thinks the sports tourism market is ripe enough for a new facility in Mobile to be competitive. “It’s not too late,” Corte told Lagniappe. “We already have the infrastructure in place. We have the hotels, we have the restaurants, we have the interstate system, we have the airports. For years, the one thing that we’ve been missing has been the facilities themselves.” Even starting with four fields, Corte said a soccer tournament set in Mobile would likely have seven pitches at its disposal counting the three fields the city owns at Sage Park. He also noted the fields could be used to host tournaments for youth sports like lacrosse and rugby. “Some of these other places don’t have the supporting infrastructure that Mobile and Mobile County do, and with 13 fields you’re getting into some numbers where we could compete with just about anybody,” Corte said. “We will be poised to go and get some of these bigger regional and statewide tournaments, and working with Mobile United, I think the sky’s the limit.”
BAY BRIEF MOBILE
Religious or not? Trial between meditation center, city begins
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BY DALE LIESCH
he question of whether a local meditation center can be legally considered a religious facility dominated the opening hours of a trial to determine whether the city of Mobile discriminated against the center and its owners because of an affiliation with a branch of Buddhism. The lawsuit, brought by attorneys for the Meditation Association of Alabama in 2016, argued the city and the Planning Commission violated the constitutionally protected right to religious freedom when they denied the center’s planning application to relocate the center from a busy commercial strip center to a more secluded property in the middle of a residential neighborhood on Eloong Drive. In a pretrial brief filed March 6, attorneys for center owner Lar Nimityongskul and her family argued that other churches and religious facilities have received planning approval in residential areas and the commission’s failure to do so in this case demonstrates religious discrimination. In the brief, the plaintiffs’ attorneys stated that the application process started smoothly, but was quickly “derailed.” “A group of vocal opponents, led by a nextdoor neighbor to the Property, began a campaign to stop the application process dead in its tracks by getting the City to agree that a Buddhist meditation center was not a ‘religious facility,’” the brief stated. In his opening statement in U.S. District Court in Mobile on Tuesday morning, Mike Strasavich, an attorney for the city, said questions about the center’s religious background began to arise when neighbors near the property on Dog River began researching it on social media.
Specifically, Strasovich used a newspaper article, Facebook posts and several brochures put out by the center to illustrate that the religious affiliation was, at least, confusing. For instance, Strasavich said, the center promoted itself on Facebook as a “non-profit, non-religious” organization. He said brochures for the center indicated that “anyone could benefit” from the teachings of meditation, regardless of race or religion. The attorney pointed to a $30 monthly donation listed in a brochure, calling it a “membership fee” to further cloud the question of whether the center has a religious affiliation. “For most of the population in this area and for neighbors of the proposed center who had never been to a meditation session … at least a question would have been raised to whether this center was religious at all,” Strasavich said. Plaintiffs’ attorneys, including John Stepanovich, Roman Strozer and Blair Strozer, argued in the brief that the center had to pass a “religious test” when Planning Commission attorney Doug Anderson asked its owners to submit paperwork related to its nonprofit status. The plaintiffs argued the city had never requested that before. Strasavich agreed the city had never asked for that before, but said the case was unique because there has never been an applicant for consideration as a church or religious facility that “has held themselves out in public as non-religious.” The first witness called by Blair Strozer was a Buddhist monk named Nicholas Thanissaro, who occasionally teaches at the center. His testimony and cross-examination were mainly related to the religious practice of meditation. The bench trial before Judge Terry F. Moorer is expected to last a total of eight trial days.
Exploreum’s dome theater to go digital, show Hollywood films BY DALE LIESCH sound speaker array delivering 25,000 watts of hrough a partnership with the Poarch power capable of reproducing the clap of a sonic Band of Creek Indians (PCI), the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center has an- boom or the whisper of an evening breeze with equal fidelity, according to a statement released nounced a major renovation of its dome Friday by the Exploreum and PCI. theater, including a transition to an all-digital In addition to a drastically upgraded visual format and eventual move to large-format comexperience, the theater will be getting a near mercial films. top-to-bottom overhaul in other areas as well. While several details remain unclear, includUpgraded seating and new flooring will be ing a timeline for the changes and anticipated installed, as well as an all-new lighting system, costs, Exploreum Executive Director Don Coresulting in a nearly brand-new theater, according meaux confirmed PCI, which has been involved to the statement. with some of the educational aspects at the “The Exploreum Science Center has always center, would be footing the bill. enjoyed such great success with their Giant “We’ve always had a close relationship with Dome Theater, and we’re honored to have been the tribe,” Comeaux said today. “They sponselected to help them usher in the exciting new sor our films quite often. We have a very good digital era in Mobile,” Don Kempf, president of relationship.” D3D Cinema, said in a statement. “The product Working with D3D, a nationally recognized that Christie Dome solution and our team will company based in Evanston, Illinois, the Exploreum will make a huge leap from its current state be deploying there is undoubtedly the highestquality solution on the market.” as a film-based theater into a digital, laser-based This cutting-edge technology will enable the Giant Screen Dome theater. Exploreum to greatly expand its various educaComeaux said the visual upgrades include tional and professional programs. Comeaux said three digital, laser projectors for viewing films the new system will allow live video conferencon the dome, as well as a fourth insert digital projector for smaller large-format films shown on ing through a two-way, live-streaming setup. For instance, not only will theatergoers be able a 40-foot-by-22-foot section of screen. The fourth to watch one of the center’s educational videos, projector would be used to show commercial Hollywood films weeks after their initial release, but in some cases they will be able to interact live with on-screen presenters, Comeaux said. he said. “The Tribe is deeply committed to further“They won’t be first-run,” Comeaux said. ing innovative educational opportunities for the “But to see it as big as we can show it, with the entire community, and we are proud to be part of sound, will still be an experience.” this noble endeavor that helps make the wonders The state-of-the-art laser system is capable of of science accessible to everyone,” PCI Chief delivering up to 150,000 lumens on the dome, Government Relations Officer Robbie McGhee producing vivid images with an expanded said in a statement. dynamic range and color gamut far beyond the The theater will be renamed, with PCI receivcapabilities of film-based and xenon-illuminated ing the naming rights, Comeaux said. The IMAX projection systems. D3D will also upgrade the branding will also be removed. audio system with a dome-optimized surround-
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BALDWIN BAY BRIEF no sense.” Treasury Department guidelines establish provisions for determining the fair market value of conservation easements. Among those are determining the “highest and best use” of the property within reason, considering whether its potential use is Federal lawsuit claims Baldwin appraiser gave ‘sham’ valuations physically possible, legally permissible and financially feasible. The appraisal must also consider comparable market sales and if BY GABRIEL TYNES none are available, the fair market value is “equal to the difference between the fair market value of the property it encumbers a hypothetical subdivision with 370 lots. Because many of the n established Baldwin County property appraiser is a before the granting of the restriction and the fair market value of hypothetical lots were on existing lakes and water hazards on the defendant in an 80-page civil complaint filed by the the encumbered property after the granting of the restriction.” golf course they were appraised as “waterfront,” while lots with Department of Justice in Georgia late last year, one of Noting he allegedly earned “substantial fees” for his services, six targeted for alleged involvement in an “abusive” tax the highest elevations received added value “for their views of the the complaint states Clark “continually and repeatedly … relied Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay.” scheme involving conservation easement syndicates. upon appropriate assumptions, utilized inappropriate methodolClark’s office referred Lagniappe to his attorney for comment The complaint claims Magnolia Springs-based appraiser Claud ogy and used various techniques to improperly inflate the value” on this story and the attorney declined. Clark III appraised at least 187 conservation easements between But appraiser Philip Paulk, whose $10 million appraisal on the of the easements in some cases by “hundreds of thousands, if not 2009 and 2016, including at least 58 for syndicates. It further alleges the partners in those 58 syndicates reported more than $1.85 Kiva Dunes property was cited by the IRS in the tax court case in millions, of dollars.” The complaint is the result of “considerable time and resourcbillion in “grossly overstated” federal tax deductions, leading the 2009, said this complaint has likely been years in the making. “At the time the IRS would bring these cases, but they didn’t es” expended by IRS employees including revenue agents, engiTreasury Department to suffer “losses through tax refunds wrongknow how to settle them,” Paulk said. “I was on the stand for fully issued and taxes uncollected” in an amount “yet to be fully neers and appraisers who spent a “substantial number of hours four or five hours, but the [IRS] attorney never redirected. Their determined.” examining the conservation easement syndicates and appraisals.” methodology … what it boils down to is they didn’t know how to Conservation easement syndicates generally, as described in Claiming the defendants’ clients remain liable for any unpaid attack it.” the complaint, are “state law entities … taxed as a partnership, federal tax owed for participating in the scheme, the government Paulk explained that appraising the value of a conservation a pass-through entity, for federal tax purposes.” The complaint also complains the scheme “undermines public confidence in explains how the syndicates are generally formed as LLCs, “taxed easement is “not that much different than any other appraisal … the fair administration of the federal tax system, and encourages you evaluate the highest and best use and market data … anyone as partnerships in which customers ‘invest.’” noncompliance with the internal revenue laws.” reading that report should come to same conclusion you did.” The LLCs then act with a manager, appraiser and law firm to In a press release calling the syndicates “shams,” IRS ComBut since the Kiva Dunes case, Paulk has seen appraisals acquire property that can be deeded as a conservation easement, missioner Charles P. Rettig said “we will take every enforcement skyrocket. which “permanently restricts the development and/or use of land option available, including civil and criminal penalties … Cheat“I’ve since seen worse than that,” he said, noting how more with the purpose of achieving certain conservation or preservation ing on your taxes will not be tolerated.” recently, appraisers are using the potential mineral values of goals.” Lindstrom was even more blunt: unimproved land to appraise “200 acres or less for $45 million or Once the easement is secured, a tax preparer prepares the “My role so far has been telling clients not to get involved … LLC’s tax return, including a form in which each investor’s share more.” as a tax lawyer, I can’t practice law on the basis of probability,” In 2017, roughly a year before the complaint was filed, the IRS of the conservation easement deduction is reported, “ultimately he said. “I have to assume these deals will be audited and if it’s issued a notice warning anyone involved in conservation easereducing the customers’ reported tax liabilities” using what is audited, [clients] will lose any deductions, pay back what they ments may face “certain responsibilities” as a result. known as a “qualified conversation deduction” in IRS code. owe and pay very significant penalties, 40 percent or more plus “The IRS has gotten more sophisticated and better organized Along with Clark, the complaint names as defendants conserinterest. It will be a disaster for them.” after they lost some cases they should have never lost, so now vation easement consultant Nancy Zak, Atlanta-based real estate Lindstrom said although it may not be a matter of public people are taking note,” Paulk said. investment firm EcoVest and three of its principals. record, the IRS knows who the investors are. Still, he admits the Virginia attorney Timothy Lindstrom agrees. He wrote the According to his website, after starting his appraisal career in case is likely an uphill battle and the complaint could ultimately book “A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements” and travels the Mobile, Clark opened Claud Clark, III, P.C. in Magnolia Springs country to counsel groups about the legal parameters of investing, serve as simply a tool to discourage further investment in conserin 1991. The website touts Clark’s experience completing “more vation easement syndicates. all the while warning against inflated appraisals. than 200 conservation/historic easement appraisals.” “The IRS is understaffed, it’s a huge bureaucracy and getting “The heart and soul of a conservation easement syndicate is Perhaps the most well publicized of those appraisals was Kiva everybody to focus on this will take a while,” he said. “[The coming up with a value for the conservation easement donation Dunes, a resort community and golf course on the Fort Morgan investors] have an awful lot of money to defend themselves with … that would allow investors to make money from tax deduction peninsula that was granted a conservation easement in 2002. and [the defendants] have one of the best law firms in the U.S. … When Clark’s appraisal of Kiva Dunes was challenged and upheld alone,” he explained. “The syndication structure, there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but the way many of them work depends it’s far from being a slam dunk.” in U.S. Tax Court in 2009, it awarded a $31 million tax break to Clark and Zak have yet to respond to the complaint, but in late on getting land the [syndicate] acquires for very little and getting grantor D&E Investments, an LLC incorporated by husband and February, EcoVest denied the claims. an appraisal that says it’s worth a whole lot ... 300 to 400 percent wife Elbert Allen (“Larry”) and Abbie Drummond, heirs to the “The EcoVest Parties emphatically deny the government’s more in a very short time. coal mining Drummond Company. allegations of fraud and other misconduct, and look forward to “But you don’t find that land over and over and over again — In tax court, the IRS argued the property was only worth clearing their good name at trial at the earliest available date for we’re talking about hundreds of deals — there are just not that $10 million. the court,” the defendants said in a filing first reported by the many great deals,” he continued. A 2009 story in the Press-Register about the court’s decision Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Federal law has long sought to “What you ultimately have to ask, the people who invest in in the case began, “Appraiser Claud Clark doesn’t often invent a encourage the preservation of natural resources and undeveloped these are not investing because the are concerned about conserfake subdivision just to establish land values, but that’s what he land by providing tax deductions for conservation easements. Far vation — they know nothing about the land. They’ve been sold did to the Kiva Dunes Golf Course on Fort Morgan.” from seeking to subvert the law, the evidence will show that the this investment by a broker, so if they are investing to make a In the article, mentioning the golf course had been losing profit … and they have the land they have, why would they give EcoVest parties went to great lengths to ensure that all of their money and the existing lots were almost sold out, Clark exprojects fully complied with the law.” that land away when they can sell it for $36 million? It makes plained how he inflated the value of the property by drawing up
Conservation litigation
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MOBILE BAY BRIEF
Refunds on the way
Court: 2016 PEEHIP increase illegal, teachers will receive refunds BY JASON JOHNSON
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he state’s highest court ruled in favor of the Alabama Education Association (AEA) last week in a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of insurance premium increases approved by the board of the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) in 2016. As Lagniappe reported in 2017, a Montgomery County Circuit Court previously held that the PEEHIP board violated the Alabama Open Meetings Act when it deliberated a proposed premium increase for its individual and family plans on April 27, 2016. While the increase was approved during a regular advertised meeting, the board discussed — and, according to the court, deliberated — the issue during an “educational” meeting held earlier that same day. That first meeting was not advertised and wasn’t open to the public. On March 9, the Alabama Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s ruling, finding the board had violated the Open Meetings Act by conducting the morning session in private. The decision effectively invalidated the 2016 increases for individual and family PEEHIP plans. In the ruling, the court said it didn’t agree with PEEHIP’s argument that the private meeting was merely a “training session,” which would exempt it from provisions of the Open Meetings Act requiring public entities to publish a prior notice of their meetings and conduct them publicly. The board has maintained the private meeting held April 27, 2016, only consisted of informational presentations from its staff to inform the board about matters it would be voting on during the public meeting, including premium increases for certain PEEHIP plans. The court said the record proves otherwise. “It is clear that the staff presentation regarding the same matters that would be considered for a vote later in the day and that included proposals to increase insurance premiums does not fall within the ‘training-program’ exception,” the court’s 7-0 ruling concluded. “Under the circumstances of this case, it is clear that there was only one ‘meeting,’ which began during a closed
morning session and continued during the open afternoon session.” Felicia Mason, executive director of the Alabama Press Association, told Lagniappe the ruling could help strengthen the Open Meetings Act going forward because it firmly identifies what constitutes a “training meeting” for the first time since the law passed in 2005. “Any time you have a comprehensive piece of legislation like the Open Meetings Act, it’s impossible to define everything when it’s written. Definitions come along over time when issues are litigated,” Mason said. “This is a case that, in our opinion, has actually helped put more teeth in the law because it defines something that had not been fully interpreted until this point.” As for teachers in Alabama’s public schools, the ruling means they’ll actually be receiving refunds for the higher premiums they paid between 2016 and 2018. Since the lawsuit was filed, the PEEHIP board has approved a new insurance premium structure that took effect last May. Those funds will be coming from an account set up to hold money generated by the 2016 premium increase while the matter was in litigation. After a year in circuit court and nearly two waiting for the supreme court, it’s estimated more than $130 million is currently held in escrow. “Tens of thousands of Alabama’s educators will finally see some of the long-overdue 2016 pay raise, plus a refund of illegal health insurance premiums,” the AEA wrote in a post following the March 9 court decision. “At this time, we do not have any information about how or when refunds will be issued. Over the coming weeks, we will offer our assistance to determine the most efficient and effective means of refund distribution for members.” So far, the PEEHIP board’s only public response has been to say it is still reviewing the supreme court’s decision. It’s unclear how the redistribution of revenues from those 2016 premium increases might affect the program’s overall finances. The increases were originally pitched as a way to avoid expected shortfalls in 2017 and 2018.
New VA clinic to host ribbon-cutting March 18
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BY DALE LIESCH
fter about a year and a half of construction, the new veterans clinic on Demetropolis Road in Mobile is about to open. The Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System will hold a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. Monday, March 18, for the new, 65,000-square-foot facility, Public Information Officer Mary Kay Gominger confirmed. Following the ribbon-cutting, staff will begin moving into the facility, and a week later, on March 25, the clinic will host its first patients, Gominger said. Patients will continue to visit the Springhill Avenue location until Friday, March 22. The new facility is 20,000 square feet larger than the space it has been leasing from the University of South Alabama (USA), Gominger said. The larger space will result in an expansion of service.
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“We will be able to expand women’s health, with its own allocated space,” Gominger said “It was so tight in the other facility.” While additional space means there will be more exam rooms, staffing levels will remain the same, Gominger said. “The format hasn’t changed,” she said. Since the Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, owns this facility, Gominger said, the clinic will be able to provide shuttles to and from parking as well as other common services. “We’ll be able to run it like we do our other clinics,” she said. Officials celebrated a groundbreaking for the facility in August 2017. The groundbreaking came less than two years after fears the VA’s rent at the USA-owned facility on Springhill Avenue could quadruple. While USA and the VA ultimately reached a new lease agreement, the VA announced plans for the new clinic a short time later.
BAY BRIEF BALDWIN
Arts & crafts Area’s largest outdoor art market and juried arts show returns March 15-17 BY GABRIEL TYNES
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he 67th annual Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival returns March 15-17, showcasing more than 200 artists in one of the Southeast’s largest juried art shows. “On Thursday the police department will shut down the streets downtown at 5 p.m. and the artists will start moving in,” said Laura English, one of the many volunteers who organize the show for the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival Foundation. “It’s a great thing to see; the streets will turn into a whole village throughout the whole downtown. This year we have over 200 artists that will be coming from 24 different states. Exhibitors were chosen blindly by a group of organizers from a pool of more than 600 applications. Now in its 67th year, those who are accepted into the festival are also eligible for more than $20,000 in cash prizes. In addition to the coveted “Best of Show,” there are 11 other individual awards and one “award of distinction” for each of the 11 categories on display. Those include fibers, functional crafts, graphics, drawing and watercolors, jewelry, mixed media, painting,
Those recipients have included the Baldwin Pops, Eastern Shore Art Center, Eastern Shore Choral Society and Exceptional Foundation, among others. “The other thing we do is a featured artist each year. We look for a local artist to create something unique each year and that’s the artwork we use on the front of our marketing and T-shirts and posters.” This year the featured artist is Gigi Hackford, “a Fairhope fixture for 20 years” whose seascapes, landscapes, still life, abstract and angel acrylic paintings are often featured at the Fairhope Artist Gallery on Section Street. For the official festival art, she painted a wooden sailboat called “Homeward Bound.” It will be available for purchase at the festival merchandise booth. In addition to the art available for sale, there will be more than 18 food vendors throughout the site, along with a main food court by the Festival Stage on Magnolia Avenue between Section and Bancroft streets. The Festival Stage next to Regions Bank is the place to find musical entertainment, with 18
“Our mission is to promote the arts in the community, and we have awarded more than $42,000 so far, including three $1,500 scholarships to seniors enrolled in the art departments of local high schools. And we also consider other nonprofits that need a donation.” - Laura English, volunteer organizer. photography, pottery and ceramics, sculpture, wood and fine crafts. Judges this year are Donna Cunningham Hawes, Erin McIntosh and Heather Ashworth. “They start applying in July, there is a jury of applications in October and we begin to notify the accepted artists each November, so by the end of the year we have the show put together,” she said. “We try to keep the numbers relative to the categories based on where the applications are coming from, so we have a well-rounded show and everything is represented.” The foundation sponsors the show with the assistance of the city of Fairhope, the Downtown Merchants Association and the Eastern Shore Art Center, which is simultaneously and seamlessly hosting its 47th annual Outdoor Art Show on the festival’s northern borders. There, nearly 125 additional artists will be featured on the grounds of the art center and surrounding Oak, Equality and Section streets. It’s the third year the nonprofit foundation has been the primary sponsor of the Arts & Crafts Festival, and all proceeds are used to fund scholarships and various art programs in and around the city of Fairhope. “Our mission is to promote the arts in the community, and we have awarded more than $42,000 so far, including three $1,500 scholarships to seniors enrolled in the art departments of local high schools. And we also consider other nonprofits that need a donation,” English said.
acts scheduled to perform, ranging from school bands and choruses to the Zuraka Belly Dancers of Mobile and the Gypsy Pearl Band. Entrance to all events onsite are free, but parking is limited. Festival organizers recommend using the $5 shuttle service provided by the Baldwin Regional Transit System (BRATS), which will pick up passengers from the Plantation Pointe Shopping Center (Piggly Wiggly), Eastern Shore Village (Big Lots) and Volanta Park. Shuttle riders will disembark at Johnson Avenue and Bancroft Street, a five-minute walk from the festival. Ancillary events (which may include admission costs) include the Spring Fever Chase 5K on Saturday, the Twilight Music Festival hosted by the Rileigh and Raylee Angel Ride Foundation and pet adoptions by the Baldwin Humane Society and The Haven. Held on Saturday from 4:30-8 p.m., the Twilight Music Festival costs $30 and features performances from Ross Newell, of the Mulligan Brothers, and the Red Clay Strays at the Halstead Amphitheater on the campus of Coastal Alabama Community College. At 200 S. Section St., Redeemer Lutheran Church is hosting its annual German Sausage Dinner March 15-17, 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Diners may eat in or take out. For more information call 251-928-8397. Younger visitors may enjoy the children’s area near the K-1 Center and Fairhopers Community Park.
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COMMENTARY
DAMN THE TORPEDOES BY ROB HOLBERT
Gas tax offers new roads and a little revenge
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ven as I write this, the Bizarro World event of Alabama Republicans leading a charge to raise taxes is well underway. Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Rebuild Alabama Infrastructure Plan” is breezing through Goat Hill as if it were a bill to build a 30-foot wall along all our state borders and have Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi pay for it. Who foresaw the day when state GOP leaders would get so forcefully behind a gas tax increase? There’s not even really much rending of sackcloth and beating of breasts, or whatever it is the Bible says you should do when you’re really sorry. Nope, there might be a silk suit or two unbuttoned, but make no mistake, this baby is going to be delivered soon. Maybe even before this fishwrapper hits the streets. The gas tax bill has already cleared the House and a Senate committee without much trouble. The full Senate vote should be simply a formality. And truly, it’s been rather amazing to watch our Montgomery leaders get behind something that really needs to be done. Yes, I know our knee-jerk reaction in Alabama is to go load Papaw’s sawed-off shotgun with rock salt and rusty nails anytime someone mentions raising taxes for silly things like education or improved infrastructure, but Gov. Ivey seems to have hit this thing at the right moment. And I have little doubt some of the sharper minds on her staff drove it home. The average Alabamian seems to begrudgingly have accepted that after 27 years of paying the same 18 cents per gallon at the pump to fund state infrastructure, an additional 10 cents isn’t going to kill anyone. Or at least there’s a recognition that failing roads and bridges actually will kill someone. Maybe the snappy slogans that accompanied this plan actually did penetrate the tax-hating brain stem of Alabama voters. “Roads and Bridges Won’t Fix Themselves” is as unassailable a piece of logic as has been uttered since Mr. Spock funneled a dilithium crystal’s worth of radiation in “The Wrath of Khan.” (Spoiler alert: He comes back, but seems kind of ditsy.) Indeed, roads and bridges won’t fix themselves. Who can argue that point? I guess you could point out they still won’t fix themselves even if you pour money on top of them, but perhaps I’m being too literal. The other slogan, “Roads Make Jobs,” sounds a little like something Frankenstein might say if he ran a paving company, but we get the gist. You need good roads to get to work, or to the beach. There’s also a sly wink to the guys revving up the asphalt pavers that are about to be busier than they have in a long while. But whatever works, right? There’s no doubt this state needs to put money into infrastructure, among other things. Perhaps this is a
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strong first step. I’m no more a fan of paying higher taxes than anyone else, but we’re waaay down at the bottom of most lists you could assemble concerning state taxation. We’re also waaay down at the bottom of the list on a lot of the things most other states pay for with that tax money. Even with this 10-cent increase, Alabama will still be below average when it comes to the gas excise tax. So it’s not like we’ll suddenly be paying 52 cents per gallon in state gas taxes, which is the national average. Hopefully what we’ll get out of this is some tangible improvement in our roadways. State highways across this state are in sad shape. Fifty-year-old bridges crisscross our counties, and road conditions are said to play a role in up to a third of our roadway fatalities. The other reality is that the 18 cents per gallon we’ve been paying has far less buying power than it did 27 years ago. So, as we’ve kept our excise tax at the same level, the amount of actual asphalt that can be purchased with that money has decreased. Inflation is a harsh mistress — just ask the pay phone. The increase will supposedly raise about $320 million a year, and no, that can’t be thrown into the dreaded General Fund to pay for Kay Ivey to helicopter her pocketbook to the beach, should the need ever arise. ALDOT will get 67 percent of the new money, counties would get 25 percent and municipalities 8 percent. Who knows, that might even be enough for Mobile to tear out all those horrible old traffic circles in midtown that are too tight to even get a motorcycle around. Regardless, it’ll mean
more local infrastructure repair. Here in southwest Alabama, we also have a little extra incentive for supporting the gas tax — revenge. Well, actually that revenge comes in the form of being able to use about $11 million a year for the next 20 years to pay off a bond to improve the Port of Mobile. So there’s up to a $150 million bond that could be spent improving the port, including widening and deepening the channel to allow for larger vessels. And while that might not seem like something directly affecting the everyday lives of people in our area, it is some small bit of payback for the legislators in the northern parts of our state voting in 2016 to rip off about $520 million of the $640 million in BP settlement money. Because they had the political clout, those politicians pushed the vast majority of the Deepwater Horizon settlement into the state trust fund and also to plug holes in Medicaid, leaving the part of the state actually affected by the oil spill with a pittance. So it’s nice to see our end of the state get a little something extra out of this. That some of the shyster politicians in other parts of the state are whining about it is only icing on the cake. It still doesn’t make up for the hundreds of millions that should have been spent here, but it’s something. I don’t know if I can ever really bring myself to feel “happy” about a new tax, but this one should do good things for our chronically poor state. I’d like to think maybe it’s even a sign our regressive tax structure could be next up, but I don’t want to be accused of huffing gas fumes.
THE GADFLY
HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT SOME NORTH ALABAMA POLITICIANS ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE STATE PORT GETTING MONEY, EVEN AFTER THEY VOTED TO STEAL MOST OF SOUTH ALABAMA’S BP MONEY.
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COMMENTARY
THE HIDDEN AGENDA BY ASHLEY TRICE
Meet me in the middle, the middle
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aby, why don’t you just meet me in the middle, baby? I’m losing my mind just a little So why don’t you just meet me in the middle, middle? In the middle, middle. Every time this song comes up on my 7-yearold daughter’s playlist, I want to stick an ice pick down my ear canal to kill the worm I know will now be squiggling around in my brain all day, forcing me to mumble-sing “in the middle, in the middle.” And I am not even sure an ice pick would be effective in the killing of said worm, as it is a powerful and relentless force, unwilling to release you from its message of meeting … in the middle … baby. In the middle… in the middle. I am quite certain the CIA has added this tune to its torture playlist, along with “Enter Sandman” and the “Barney” theme song, which, according to my top-secret sources inside the agency, are also on this list. I get “Barney,” but I’m not really sure why “Enter Sandman” is. It still rocks! Anyway, ear worminess aside, I have been thinking perhaps this song should actually serve as a new national anthem of sorts.
other side and spend our time watching our cable news networks of choice so we can hate on whoever the other side’s villain du jour is, whether it’s AOC or DJT. And when you get lost in this 24-hour news cycle, it is even easier to forget that, really, no matter our party or address, we all ultimately want the same things. We all want good jobs so we can take care of our families. We all want our children to get good educations and go to college or learn a trade or become a rock star or whatever they want, and be able to live better lives than we have lived ourselves. We all want to be able to have access to quality health care and afford the medicine we need. None of us wants to see another life lost to this opioid crisis. We all just want to be … safe. We all just want to be … happy. We just have different ideas on how to get there. And if we could stop screaming at each other for just a minute and meet each other in the middle, the middle, we could work together to figure out these very complicated, no-one-rightanswer problems, baby. But we won’t meet each other in the middle, in the middle, because neither party really wants moderates anymore. They are too busy performing purity tests on their own candidates. If you aren’t right enough or left enough, you just aren’t enough for your base. We will see this in the presidential race and right here in Alabama, as the 2020 GOP primary race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Doug Jones heats up. In fact, we are already seeing it. Rep. Bradley
“And fringe just ain’t cute on anything, not curtains, not lamps, not even on country western shirts with mother-of-pearl buttons. And it certainly isn’t desirable in political parties. But fringe, as hideous as it is, is now running the show.” With our country as polarized as it has ever been with lines drawn seemingly everywhere between red/blue, Republican/Democrat, left/ right, liberal/conservative, rich/poor, old/ young, urban/suburban (and there are even subsets within each of these sides creating even more boundaries between us), maybe it finally it is time for us all to meet each other in the middle … baby. In the middle. It is time, indeed, but I am not naïve enough to believe it will actually happen. Though I believe “the middle” is where an overwhelming silent majority falls in this country, we don’t speak up, and we have given our country over to the fringe. And fringe just ain’t cute on anything, not curtains, not lamps, not even on country western shirts with mother-of-pearl buttons. And it certainly isn’t desirable in political parties. But fringe, as hideous as it is, is now running the show. And the hysteria and insanity exhibited by the extremes on both sides is largely responsible for the schisms in this country now. It is has just become too easy to vilify the 18 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
Byrne is the only candidate to have officially announced so far, and he is running further to the right than I have ever seen him run in any of his previous races. He has clearly learned that being a reasonable human being and moderate voice doesn’t win you elections in ‘Bama and has made the calculation to get out there early and play the Trump-et as loudly as he can. When another serious Republican candidate gets in the race, like, say, a Del Marsh, they will have to see who can out-Trump each other and be the Trumpiest. Such is life in a red state, but it happens the same way on the flip side, too. In blue states, they will battle it out to see who is the Green New Dealiest. Sadly, it’s just the way it works now. And I hate we are losing moderate voices left and right, both on the left and right. Because this country really would be a much better, happier place if we could meet each other in the middle, in the middle. But, sadly, we’ve all lost our minds (more than) just a little.
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COMMENTARY
T H E B E LT WAY B E AT BY JEFF POOR session has ended. Ivey’s decision to hold the special session — thereby delaying her budget proposal deadline — eliminated one of the bargaining chips legislators might have tried to leverage in exchange for their favorable Rebuild Alabama Act votes. Worth noting as well is that any bill passed in regular session prior to budget passage requires a three-fifths majority. Calling a special session MONTGOMERY — It wasn’t even close. also negated that concern. The most hyped political battle of this year’s Beyond the legislative tactics, behind the legislative session sailed through the Alabama scenes, Ivey has been twisting arms and doling House of Representatives by an 83-20 margin. out warnings that there could be consequences As of press time, the so-called Rebuild Alafor legislators who oppose the infrastructure bill. bama Act, which will increase what Alabamians Several sources say the governor has a pay at the pump by 10 cents by October 2021 and whiteboard posted in her office with legislators’ likely increase fuel taxes another penny every two names, accompanied by different color markyears in perpetuity, awaits consideration by the ings — green for those pledging or voting “yes” GOP-controlled Alabama Senate, where it is likely on the bill; black for unknown, undecided or not to pass with another supermajority. The bill also voting; and red for those pledging to vote against includes fees for electric and hybrid vehicles. or voting “no” on the bill. The legislation is a curious one, as it does The whiteboard will remain in the governor’s more than just give money to the Alabama Deoffice beyond this gas tax fight. When a member partment of Transportation (ALDOT) for roads of the Legislature comes to Ivey with a request and bridges. Up to $10.2 million will be used to for funding in the future, Ivey will be able to finance the expansion of the Port of Mobile, and refer to the board as a reminder of how that legischarging stations will be furnished by the state lator voted on the Rebuild Alabama Act. for electric and hybrid vehicles. Politics is no doubt a rough-and-tumble Beyond those details, two-thirds of the revracket. But here’s a question: Was all of this enue goes to ALDOT, with the remainder divided necessary? between counties and municipalities, 25 percent During the 2018 election cycle, it seemed and 8.33 percent, respectively. as if an increase in Alabama’s fuel tax was a Earlier in the foregone conclusion. debate, we thought the There were a few political fight would be races around the state between the counties where a potential vote and the municipalities. to increase taxes at “The devil is in the the gas pump figured details,” lawmakers prominently. would say when asked However, it didn’t about support for the come up a lot in the legislation before its 2018 gubernatorial release earlier this general or Republican month. primary. While Ivey The city/county was attending ribbonbattle turned out not cutting ceremonies and to be true, as State local events like Opp’s Rep. Bill Poole, RRattlesnake Rodeo Tuscaloosa, negotiand Winfield’s Mule ated an agreement to Day, her gubernatorial satisfy the Association opponents were strugof County Commisgling for the electorate sions of Alabama and the Alabama League of to even notice them. Municipalities (which represent the cities and The election outcome spoke for itself, and counties) long before the legislation was released Ivey continued her reign as one of the most to the public. popular governors in America. Whether or not you agree with the merits of What was the point of calling a special sesthe Rebuild Alabama Act, you must marvel at sion, the strong-arm tactics in dealing with memhow Gov. Kay Ivey, the legislation’s chief cham- bers of the Alabama Legislature and a barrage of pion, executed a game plan for the bill’s passage. propaganda by the Business Council of Alabama If University of Alabama football head coach and other pro-gas-tax groups when passage Nick Saban owns the “Joyless MurderBall” seemed to be a given all along? brand (the Crimson Tide’s style of play during We’re only in the very early going of Ivey’s their 2018 regular season), Ivey is the proprietor new term and the new quadrennium, but there of “Joyless Murder Politics.” is something very circa 2018 Nick Sabanesque It was a stroke of genius, if not borderline about the beginning of this session. It is reminisdeviousness, for Ivey to call for a special sescent of an Alabama halftime, with the Tide boastsion for infrastructure on the first day of the ing a 41-14 lead over a team like the Arkansas 2019 session. Razorbacks. By doing so, Ivey does not have to offer her One thing to remember: As impressive a run as budget proposal until after the special session. the Alabama Crimson Tide had in 2018, they did By statute, the governor has until the second come up short by a 44-16 score back on Jan. 7. legislative day of a regular session to submit her Whether or not a similar outcome is in store budget to the Legislature. Since the special sesfor Ivey, it will still be a more impressive showsion delayed the regular session by two weeks, ing than most of her predecessors of the last the second day will not come until the special few decades.
Kay Ellen ‘Saban’ and the gas tax
“We’re only in the very early going of Ivey’s new term and the new quadrennium, but there is something very circa 2018 Nick Sabanesque about the beginning of this session.”
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BUSINESS THE REAL DEAL
Judges Square announces opening BY R O N S I VA K
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udges Square was recently announced as the new development that will occupy much of the site that was the former home of a popular bar, nightclub and eatery, known — to local baby boomers and the Generation X crowd, at least — as Judge Roy Bean’s. The eclectic watering hole, popular for its oversized outdoor chess board with giant play set, an extroverted pet goat named Billy and impromptu appearances by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, provided entertainment that, some 14 years later, has become a local urban legend. Judge’s was situated near the nexus of Scenic Highway 98 and Holy Cross Drive in the old section of Daphne, prior to burning down in 2005. According to the husband and wife team of Jason and Ameri’ca Tickle, co-owners of Tickle Creative, the new mixed-use site will offer shops, restaurants and village green outdoor spaces, as well as residential space labeled The Flats of Judges Square. Retail space will be set aside and identified as The Shops at Judges Square. Jeremy Milling with Milling Commercial Realty will handle commercial lease and/or purchase inquiries. Located at 508 Main St. in Daphne, the site will encompass some three linear city blocks of space and sit on roughly 1.7 acres. According to site plans, three 4-story buildings will sit on the site. The bottom floor of each space will be dedicated for retail use, encompassing a total collective footprint of 9,000 square feet, subdivided into sections as small as 750 square feet, except for space set aside for a new restaurant already committed to move into the development. The second, third and fourth floors of each building will offer dedicated living space. Each building will offer two 2-bedroom, 2-bath 1,500-square-foot flats on the second floor; two
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3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,750-square-foot flats on the third floor and one 2,250-square-foot penthouse on the fourth floor, with 1,000-square-foot outdoor terrace spaces attached. The lower-level flats will also provide east- and west-facing outside balconies. Two-car dedicated covered parking for each tenant will also be part of the condominium offering. According to Ameri’ca Tinkle, cost of the residences will be in line, on a per-square-foot basis, with the going market rate for comparable condominiums in the area, starting at $365,000. Estimated completion timelines on the development, per Jason Tinkle, is expected in the summer of 2020. More information, renderings and purchase information can be found at judgessquare.com
BUSINESS MOVES, TRANSACTIONS
• According to Courtney Rouse-Heinz, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Alabama, over the past decade the local nonprofit has contributed significantly to the redevelopment of residential properties in the Hillsdale subdivision for approximately 200 qualifying families. Forty-five properties were built over the last 10 years with a total capital investment of $3.6 million: $1.1 million was paid to local subcontractors for renovation work; $2 million was paid to vendors for materials and soft costs; and roughly $27,000 in city tax revenue has been generated annually from property taxes. More information about the nonprofit can be found on its website. • Cannabama, located at 558 St. Francis St., and claiming to be the area’s first cannabidiol (CBD) store, has opened inside the Temple Lodge property in downtown Mobile’s Central Business District. The retailer offers a variety of hemp-based products, from CBD-infused coffee and tea to CBD oils and creams. Hours of operation will be Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Educational classes will be offered for patrons to become more informed about the product offerings, according to a news release. • See-Wee-Roll, a high-end Japanese restaurant specializing in sushi, is leasing the 4,847-square-foot former Applebee’s location at 4721 Airport Blvd. in Mobile, with plans to open in late summer. Angie McArthur, broker associate with Stirling
Properties, handled the transaction. • In an update, Lafayette Land Co. was approved by the Mobile City Council last week to purchase the historic 1930sera Ashland Fire Station No. 12 for $368,850. It was the highest bidder on an RFP issued by the city of Mobile. “We are seeking a user that will be compatible with the neighborhood atmosphere, cater to the neighbors and residents of midtown and in keeping with the property’s architectural design,” Lafayette Land CEO Bob Isakson Sr., said.
USA HEALTH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MOVES UP IN QUALITY REPORT
USA Health University Hospital, formerly USA Medical Center, recently moved up from two to three stars in an overall quality report issued by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The overall hospital rating ranges from one to five stars. The more stars, the better a hospital performed on a set of quality measures. The most common overall hospital rating is three stars, according to Hospital Compare. The ratings measured more than 50 categories across seven aspects in quality of care, including safety of care, readmission, patient experience, mortality, timeliness of care and efficient use of medical imaging. The overall hospital rating shows how well each performed, on average, compared to other hospitals in the U.S., according to Medicare.gov, the program’s official website. Hospital Compare displays an overall hospital rating for about 80 percent of hospitals on its website. In order for Hospital Compare to display a hospital’s overall rating, it must have enough data on individual quality measures. USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital did not receive a star rating because it is categorized as a specialty hospital. USA Health University Hospital, USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital — one of only five freestanding hospitals in the country focused on children and women’s health care — and USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute are part of the upper Gulf Coast health system, which employs 3,900 people locally.
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CUISINE
THE DISH BY ANDY MACDONALD
depositphotos.com
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Affordable wines with impressive profiles DOMAINE FRANCK MILLET SANCERRE, VIGNERON À BUÉ with lighter fish or salads, but is best enjoyed on a front porch
ou’re in the early stages of Lent. The glue isn’t even dry on the seal that binds us to our commitments of what we’re giving up this year. Some of us are smartly laying off the booze after a long, wet Mardi Gras put us in the bed for a few days. Some of us are reigniting the fire under our failed New Year’s resolution. We have meatless Fridays to deal with. It’s a time to behave, or at the very least give it a shot. For those of us who aren’t laying off the sauce, an occasional good glass of wine or two shouldn’t set us on the fiery path to the underworld. We may have given our livers a run for their money over the past couple of weeks, but now is a chance after a week of relaxing to ease back into the game with something a little better than the regular swill you’re used to. I’ve selected a few wines you will savor rather than guzzle. And while you don’t find these in the $10 section, they still won’t break the bank.
This French wine comes from third-generation winemaking husband and wife team Franck and Betty Millet in Bué. I was steered to this particular Sancerre at Red Or White by our favorite trustee (thanks, Mary!). Its color is a very pale gold, and you’re eased into citrus that matches its hue such as lemon, grapefruit, perhaps a little pineapple. This bottle had a very strong finish. I loved it. Salmon was the smarter pairing, but the real star of the show was goat cheese. I’d recommend sticking to fish and cheese or possibly a salad. I wouldn’t take it to the crawfish boil, but shrimp dishes may be another story. Search enough and you’ll find this one under $20, maybe $17 if you’re shopping online. It’s an excellent buy, either way.
DIOR LA PETITE GRACE PINOT NOIR, MONTEREY
VRAC ROSÉ, VIN DE PAYS MEDITERRANEE, PROVENCE, FRANCE
I’ve been a big fan of this for the past four or five years. The 2017 sitting before me is a blend from six different vineyard blocks from San Bernabe Vineyard and the Santa Lucia Highlands. Aged in predominantly French oak, this wine is a mouthful of velvet. With notes of cherry and darker fruits, you may get a slightly nutty and smoky sweet punch (in a good way) that makes this bottle a great choice with duck breast. I’ll gladly drink this with a rack of lamb if it’s left alone and not overly sauced. Forgo the Bearnaise sauce and let your red meat work with this wine. This isn’t the dirtier pinot noir like the ones we enjoy from Willamette. If that’s what you are used to, you may find this a refreshing substitute. It’s common to locate this excellent choice for under $25 at wine retailers. Anything under $45 in a restaurant and you’re doing good.
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I have an extremely soft spot for rosé. That fondness is even greater when it comes at a price point below $12. I remember a time when I didn’t particularly care for rosé. Actually, I remember a time when America didn’t particularly care for it. After watching too many college girls get smashed on “white zin,” there was no way I’d be caught drinking anything pink. Finding that rosé isn’t exactly the same thing helped me open my mouth to a world with which I was unfamiliar. Turns out I am totally man enough to drink rosé. We saw a huge campaign by Charles & Charles promoting a more masculine side to the now popular wine, and it’s been going ever since. Vrac is one I happened upon that suits me fine. It’s a French blend that isn’t pretentious, with a medium body. It’s great
swing in the morning at the first sign of spring. It’s one where the more chilled the bottle, the better. Try to find the strawberry or peach in this sweet-on-the-nose, dry-finish beauty found for about $10 anywhere.
JOSH CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CALIFORNIA I couldn’t make a list without a readily available Californiagrown cabernet sauvignon. Josh Cellars is one I turn to when on a budget. Another dark wine, a little spicy with cinnamon and cloves as well as blackberry and almonds, a hint of vanilla and a powerful finish, you probably want a marbled ribeye with this. Have another glass with a dark chocolate dessert. It would be fine with pork dishes, too. Grapes harvested from different regions of California make this a good cross-section wine that hasn’t let me down, especially for being in a $15 price range. You can find it in most grocery stores that have a decent wine selection. Wine is a spirit still going strong among millennial crowds and those in the game who’ve always carried the torch. A surge that happened a few years ago changed the way wine was being made, just from the sheer popularity of it. It can be a little intimidating if you don’t know what you’re doing, and you may drink a lot of bad wine to find the ones you like, but it’s worth it. Maybe this short list can ease some of that research and help a newcomer find a decent bottle without going broke on the hunt. There are so many great wines under $30 that can help you to at least look like you know what you’re talking about. Get to searching.
CUISINE THE BEER PROFESSOR
Get on the Ghost Train BY TOM WARD
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irmingham has become a great destination for craft beer lovers. Now there’s even a Birmingham beer trail to follow (as long as you can stay upright) if you’re in the Magic City. In fact, a “Tour de Brewers” is being held this Saturday, March 16, where for $40 you can participate in an 11K bike/run/crawl that includes seven of the city’s breweries. The running/cycling event begins at 11 a.m. at Tin Roof on 7th Avenue S. Participants get a race bib with five tickets, each good for a craft beer at any of the stops. The casual event allows runners/bikers to pick their own route and hit favorite taprooms before returning to Tin Roof for an after-party at 3 p.m. Information can be found at the “Tour de Brewers” Facebook page. One stop on the tour is Ghost Train Brewing Co., located in an industrial area on 3rd Avenue, almost directly under the U.S. Route 280 overpass. The brewery opened in late 2016 in the space previously occupied by Cahaba Brewing, which relocated to a much larger facility a couple of miles away in the Avondale District. Ghost Train’s taproom is directly integrated with the brewery itself, as the canning machine snakes right though the seating area. Patrons make their way around kegs, boxes and cans to a backroom with a pingpong table and some couches, reminiscent of a fraternity house basement. The main area has a small bar along with a number of tables and chairs scattered throughout. There is also a stage for live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Outside there is another seating area in what is effectively part of the parking lot, and a place for a food truck. There isn’t much of a view, as it’s in the old warehouse district of Birmingham, but you come for the beer, not for al fresco dining — and the beer is excellent. Brewmaster and co-owner Taylor DeBoar, who previously was a brewer with Cahaba, offers a wide variety of styles in the taproom. The night I was there, 14 beers were available — lagers,
GHOST TRAIN BREWING CO. Photo | Tom Ward
goses, porters, IPAs, sours, you name it — so Ghost Train probably has beer that will fit your taste. I tried the Dry Hopped Gose, which was light and flavorful with the right amount of a sour finish. My wife had the Boysenberry Smoothie Sour, a strong, colorful, tart and sweet offering. Luckily for us, you don’t have to make the trek up Interstate 65 to enjoy Ghost Train, as its five core styles — Ghost Train Light Lager, Ghost Train Craft Lager, Switchman’s Stash IPL, Gulf Coast IPA and Kaleidoscope Kettle Sour — are available throughout Lower Alabama in grocery stores such as Publix and Piggly Wiggly, as well as on tap at a number of watering holes in
Mobile and Baldwin counties. I’ve tried a number of the Ghost Train offerings, both on tap and in cans, and have not found one that I dislike yet — which is saying something, as even the best craft breweries turn out some stinkers at times. They really produce top-notch brews. While Ghost Train celebrates its lagers — which not all craft brewers even attempt — my favorites are the Gulf Coast IPA, a hazy IPA with good hop flavors and citrus notes, and the Kaleidoscope Kettle Sour, a very tart sour with berry flavors — one of the better sours you will find in our area. So get on the train!
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CUISINE
Healthy doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste at Wonderfully Made BY AMANDA GIBSON
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little over two years ago, former elementary school teacher Vivienne Bassa encountered a project while homeschooling her four children. This particular endeavor involved creating a viable business plan for a small-scale baking venture. The result was Chewy Gooey Chocolate Chip cookies, and thus Wonderfully Made was born. Wonderfully Made Organic Gourmet Treats are Bassa’s successful attempt at creating something delicious and healthy she can feel good about her children (and others) eating. On a family outing at the fair, she surveyed the various deep-fried and unhealthy options, and lamented the fact they didn’t have something organic and non-GMO that tastes as good as the treats Grandma used to make. The classics are her specialty. Those Chewy Gooey Chocolate Chip cookies are a top seller, as are her German chocolate cupcakes. She also has a few vegan standouts. According to Bassa, “The vegan market is growing; they’re the ones reaching out to say, ‘can you do a vegan version?’ So I’ll experiment, and before you know it, I’ve got a vegan King Cake.” Dense and rich and filled with nuts and cinnamon, you’d never know it omits butter, eggs and milk. “Mission accomplished,” Bassa says, with a laugh. What replaces those traditional ingredients is cashew butter, which Bassa says is, “so rich and good, almost like cream cheese, but lighter.”
Husband Reginald and children Jordan, Gabby, Joshua and Bella are her taste-testers. “They’re honest, and I love it,” Vivienne says. Her family favors Wonderfully Made’s matcha (green tea) white chocolate and the original chocolate chip cookies, and cookies and cream and German chocolate cupcakes. Vivienne uses her storefront in Mobile at 600 Bel Air Blvd., Suite 137, as a pickup location for custom orders, but she also sells her sweets at various area markets, including Market in the Park in Cathedral Square, Market at the Pillars and others. One of her best sellers, her organic and vegan peanut butter protein balls (recipe below), was invented after a personal trainer reached out to Vivienne with a request for a healthy treat for clients. Bassa is planning a Wonderfully Made relaunch for April. “I want to be more intentional about the business,” she says. She intends to expand her offerings to small, 7-inch “drip” cakes and other goodies she hasn’t tackled yet. Expansion or not, Vivienne has no intention of sacrificing any of her treats’ healthfulness. For Wonderfully Made, the future looks mighty sweet.
VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BALLS 1 cup organic old-fashioned oatmeal 1/2 cup ground organic flaxseed 3/4 cup organic unsweetened coconut flakes 1/2 cup organic peanut butter 1/3 cup organic agave syrup 1/2 cup vegan, organic mini chocolate chips 1/2 cup dried organic cranberries Mix oats, flaxseed and coconut flakes. Add peanut butter and agave syrup. After above ingredients are combined, add chips and cranberries. Chill in refrigerator about 30 minutes. Form into balls with a medium cookie scoop. Protein balls remain fresh in the fridge for up to a week.
VIVIENNE BASSA OF WONDERFULLY MADE
WONDERFULLY MADE ORGANIC GOURMET TREATS | 600 BEL AIR BLVD., SUITE 137 MOBILE, AL 36606 | 251-623-5843
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Photo | Amanda Gibson
CUSINE WORD OF MOUTH
Corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day BY ANDY MACDONALD
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t’s been a long time since I cooked a corned beef brisket, but this year is definitely a go. Being of Scottish descent, I feel my old MacDonalds are close enough to the island that I’m bound to have some Irish kissing cousins. Corned beef is an oft-forgotten dish in my household. No one has ever asked me to cook it, but I’m crazy about it, especially from a leftovers standpoint. My favorite leftover thing to do is corned beef hash. The potatoes, onions and sweet, salty meat with two runny eggs make up my second-favorite breakfast next to grits. It’s OK to serve both at the same time. I also love a Reuben sandwich. I never eat rye unless it’s with corned beef. Straight corned beef and sauerkraut is a great low-carb dinner if you keep some really good mustard handy. Of course, all these come to fruition only if I happen to have any leftovers from the night’s corned beef and cabbage dinner. I usually cook cabbage on its own with some pork fat, but that’s the New Year’s Day method. For the corned beef version, you really need to cook them together. Those flavors love each other, and I don’t get beef and cabbage often enough. Remember, mustard is a friend of corned beef, and almost anything you do with it, from sandwiches to soups, could benefit from a nice jar or even a cheap squeeze bottle in a pinch.
INGREDIENTS • 1 corned beef brisket with spice packet • 1 pound new potatoes, halved • 2 large onions, sliced thin • 1 head of cabbage, green removed, cored and sliced thin
Photo | Depositphotos.com • 2 tablespoon mustard • Salt and pepper to taste In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, cover the brisket and contents of seasoning packet with water. Bring to a boil, then continue to simmer — a good rule is almost an hour per pound. It should fall apart easily. Add the potatoes and onions and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are fork tender. Add the white part of the cabbage and two tablespoons of mustard and cook until done. Kill the heat and let it all rest to marry the flavors. You will have a few hours
invested in this. If you don’t have the time to devote hands-on attention, then go for a slow-cooker version and start your day early enough to set it and forget it. As usual, slice the meat across the grain and don’t forget the juice from the pot. I like mine with traditional Irish hot sauce, a pint of Guinness and a redhead by my side. I’ve seen corned beef in potato soup, in Tater Tot casseroles, in egg rolls at Lucky’s Irish Pub, even in tacos. It’s around more than I think, it just isn’t on my mind until this time of year. I’m definitely making more than we can handle. Have a safe St. Patrick’s day. Drink and eat yourself silly. Recycle!
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COVER STORY
Eyesores Areas of city still dealing with blight problem, urban decay BY DALE LIESCH
Photo | Shane Rice
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n a gloomy morning, Larry Thomas sat on the front porch of a house his daughter owns near the intersection of North Ann and Congress streets. Just a block away, vehicles hummed down a busy thoroughfare. While he was there to do work on the home himself, Thomas lamented the fact the city hasn’t done more to help fight the blight surrounding him in the Campground area. Three homes at the intersection have boarded-up windows and doors, with collapsing porches. Homeless people use them as temporary living quarters, Thomas said. “It makes it unsafe,” he said. Thomas’ main concern is a scenario where people staying inside the houses were to light candles due to a lack of electricity and inadvertently start a fire. He said he wants the city to be more proactive in tearing down structures that remain open to the public. “If a fire gets started, all of this is at risk,” he said. Kitty corner to where Thomas was sitting on N. Ann Street sat a vacant house with all the windows and doors boarded up, except in back where a doorway was open to the elements. Behind the structure, grass and weeds had grown up and trash had collected nearby. Next door to Thomas were two boarded-up houses, highlighting many of his concerns.
EFFORTS ON BLIGHT
Mayor Sandy Stimpson has made blight eradication a priority of his administration. In 2015, the city was awarded a $1.6 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to look into the issue throughout the city. First using Instagram and later GIS technology, the Innovation Team documented all of the blight in the city, using a scoring system based on several factors, including: whether or not a property was abandoned or had certain structural deficiencies. With help from the I-team, the city has worked to declare more properties public nuisances, which forces owners to pay 28 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
to have the them secured or demolished, helping to rid neighborhoods of blight. Despite this work, many areas like Campground, the Bottom, Dauphin Island Parkway and others remain riddled with properties like the one Thomas described, which can have a negative impact on property values and make crime harder to stop. In a previous Lagniappe story, Joan Dunlap, the I-Team’s original executive director, said a severely blighted structure can cause the value of a property within 150 feet of it to decline, on average, by $6,000 to $7,000. That means throughout Mobile, blight results in about $83 million in lost value. The Bottom is also in what the I-team has designated a “blight zone.” Since its initial push to locate blighted properties and its work to loosen state law restrictions to make declaring a public nuisance a bit easier, not much has been publicized about the I-team. In addition, the team’s grant funding was set to expire during the current municipal budget cycle. Because of this, members of the Mobile City Council voted last year to cut the I-team’s funding. The issue became one in a series of disagreements in a power struggle between Stimpson and the council. While a dedicated line item for the I-team no longer exists, Stimpson has moved each of its members under different departments within the city’s structure, and has therefore been able to continue to pay for its services. In a phone interview, Stimpson said the administration was still in the process of transitioning the I-team personnel and its ideas into other city departments. With other departments, focused on the blight issue at large, Stimpson said the I-team has been working to simplify the permitting process through the Build Mobile department. Using the I-team scoring system, the city has conducted annual blight surveys to keep an accurate count of the properties that fall under that description. The numbers of blighted properties have declined, according to Stimpson’s office. The 2017 survey found 1,474 properties in the city were blighted by definition. In 2018,
the number dropped to 1,188, city spokesman George Talbot said. “People get discouraged and we understand that, but you can see progress,” he said. The I-team’s work to cut through legal red tape has made the process of fixing, or demolishing blighted structures easier, Stimpson said. While previously, legal issues would’ve made the process take eight or nine years, the process can now take eight or nine months, he said. Although the city is dealing with blighted property more quickly, there are properties still falling into disrepair, Stimpson said. “There are houses that were not identified as blight … two years ago, that are blighted today,” he said. “Even as we eradicate more … we still have some coming into the pipeline.” Council Vice President Levon Manzie, who represents the Bottom and Campground areas, said he has been working with Jamie Roberts and the city’s Community Development group on initiatives to improve the quality of life for residents there. One of those initiatives involves painting the exterior of homes to help neighborhoods look nicer. Manzie said the city has already conducted two iterations of the program and a third is on the way for those neighborhoods. In all, he said, the city has painted 14 or 15 homes to date. A common complaint among entities dealing with blight eradication is the issue of wills. Without a will, the property of a deceased individual could be left, legally, to a number of heirs. The properties fall into disrepair and anyone interested in helping the property could be taking on a legal headache. Manzie said the city has worked with Legal Aid of Alabama on an initiative to help property owners write wills to prevent the backlog of so-called “heir properties” from happening. “This helps to make sure owners have clear titles to a property,” he said. “Without this, there is no expedient way to sell property to an investor or owner.” It’s also incumbent upon owners to keep properties up, Manzie said. Continued on page 30
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COVER STORY “We need those who own property to maintain the property,” he said. “We need them to make sure the yards are mowed and make sure the property doesn’t fall into disrepair.” Jaquitta Green, owner of Northside Check Exchange on St. Stephens Road and board member of Commonwealth National Bank, agreed with Manzie, but said outreach about taking pride in the neighborhoods needed to start in area middle schools. “We need to help teach pride in our communities, whether it’s a place where you live, work or play,” she said. “Government can’t do everything.” However, Green does believe the city could do more to combat blight, vacant buildings and litter in Toulminville and other areas, especially along St. Stephens Road. Green said the appearance of a neighborhood due to blight or other factors, can have an impact on business there. She said the look and reputation of areas along St. Stephens Road negatively impacts her business. “A lot of times we’re the last choice,” Green said. “Everyone wants to be around things that are clean and neat.”
CRIME
While the city’s response to blight and urban decay may still be a concern for some, addressing crime in some of the underserved parts of the community has been a focus of the Mobile Police Department for some time. That is especially true in the Campground and the Bottom. Since 2014, MPD has conduct-
place to live. The city similarly took control of a former “skin house” — named for a type of card gambling — located at 1303 Juniper Street following a 2014 operation the police dubbed “Bottoms Up.” In all, 24 arrests were made at the house, and police seized dozens of bottles of liquor, drug paraphernalia and illegal gambling equipment. Like many homes seized through civil action, both of those properties were in disrepair while they were being used for criminal activity. Battiste said crime and blight often overlap, and that’s why the city works with MPD to address both issues simultaneously whenever possible. The Campground is also where MPD first unveiled “Second Chance Or Else” (SCORE) — a unique program that offered a handful of nonviolent drug offenders a chance to avoid criminal charges if they agreed to participate in fatherhood courses, drug counseling and job training. After four years, Battiste believes MPD’s approach to addressing crime in these communities is having an impact. However, he said more still needs to be done to revitalize them economically. “The crime rates in those areas over the last four years have gone down,” Battiste said. “But now what we’re trying to promote is more economic growth to get people moving into the area and populating it with homeowners and individuals that can help the community revitalize.” As Battiste mentioned, there does appear to have been decreases in crime in the Campground and Bottom areas since MPD began aggressively targeting those areas in 2014. How-
“We need to help teach pride in our communities, whether it’s a place where you live, work or play. Government can’t do everything.” - Jaquitta Green ed several lengthy investigations in those areas targeting drug activity, gambling or prostitution. In that time, MPD has also begun partnering with city attorneys to seize and demolish “nuisance properties” know for criminal activity. Working with outside organizations like Housing First and the MLK Avenue Redevelopment Corporation, the city has also been able to replace homes that were a recurring problem for law enforcement officers with affordable housing options to bring in new residents. “Using temporary restraining orders has allowed us to take possession of these properties, many of which were eyesores or were known for criminal activity,” Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said. “Then working with these partners has allowed new people to move in, which has helped us keep down some of the criminal element and revitalize the community. These are people who are actively engaged not just in the neighborhood, but also in the school system.” That was the approach used to address a notorious drug house police say operated at 1076 State St. in the Campground area for decades. Describing it as an “open air drug market,” police documented 650 drug transactions at the property during a five-month investigation in 2015. After civil process, the house on the property was eventually demolished. Today, the property is owned by Family Promise of Coastal Alabama, and it houses a new, single-family residence used as transitional housing for homeless families as they work to find a permanent 30 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
ever, both neighborhoods are located in MPD’s third precinct, which still tends to be one of its most active. According to the most recent data released by MPD, the number of reported homicides, rapes, assaults, larceny and vehicle thefts in the third precinct all increased in 2017. Of the 50 murders MPD investigated in Mobile that same year, 19 occurred within the third precinct. Crime statistics for 2018 are expected to be released this month. Lagniappe also requested data specific to the Campground and Bottom areas, but did not receive any prior to publication. In the past, MPD has faced some criticism for its “hot spot” policing efforts, especially when they’ve focused on areas that — like the Campground and the Bottom — are predominantly African-American. However, Battiste said most residents in those areas have welcomed MPD’s efforts to address crimes in their community because they’re the ones most affected by it. Speaking to Lagniappe, Battiste said MPD has made conscious efforts to make officers patrolling those areas feel more like a part of those community and less like an outside force. He added that it’s become increasingly important for officers to be approachable. “What we try to do is make sure officers patrolling those areas are engaging with the people -- people who see things we may not see, that gives them a platform to share that with law enforcement in a discrete manner,” he said. “There’s still some with criminal behavior, and
COVER STORY Photo | Shane Rice
they don’t welcome us as much, but the law abiding appreciate that. There is a sense of value in being able to sit out on your porch and feel comfortable and safe at home.”
DAUPHIN ISLAND PARKWAY
The city could and should do more to help improve the lives of those living along one of Mobile’s busiest corridors, Riverside Drive resident William Tippins said. He’s even written a manifesto, of sorts, on the issues plaguing his neighborhood and others in the area. Tippins complained the city has not used enough resources to fight crime or blight in the neighborhoods along DIP and has left residents there to fend for themselves in many cases. During a windshield tour of the area, Tippins pointed out trash that hadn’t been picked up and burned-out buildings secured with plywood and blue tarps. Debi Foster, executive director of the Peninsula of Mobile group, said blight is one of the area’s biggest problems. However, while Tippins said the issues have only gotten worse, Foster believes there has been some positive movement since Stimpson became mayor. “The minute you came off the interstate onto DIP, the first thing you saw were abandoned buildings,” Foster said. “There were four of them. Last year, three were torn down, thanks to the city.” In terms of abandoned buildings, one area of concern for Foster is a gas station on the corner of Old Military Road. The lengthy legal process involved in ridding the area of that particular gas station, highlights some of the challenges faced by groups taking on the blight fight. “I know the process is long and arduous, but we all live in America for a reason,” she said. “I wouldn’t want the city trampling on my property and telling me what I’ve got to do. Do I think the laws are swayed toward the property owner? Yes, but we’re in Alabama, which is a property rights state.” The issue of blight in the area, or even the issue of run-down homes makes reinvestment tough, Foster said, but groups like Peninsula of Mobile and others are trying to spur reinvestment by changing the perception. An aging population, living in older houses in the area is also a problem, Foster said. Like in other areas of the city, the existence of heir properties makes it tough to invest in new homes.
While many of the issues facing the parkway are similar to those facing some of the other, older Mobile neighborhoods, like heir properties, Foster said the area’s relatively late annexation into the city also created its own problems. Things not allowed by city ordinance were grandfathered in when the area became part of the city in the 1940s, Foster said. “There is a bunch of stuff down here that we should’ve never had,” she said. “We have gas stations next to houses because the uses were established long, long ago.” Like Tippins, Former FBI agent and Mobile native Yvette Young sprung to action after a shooting that took place outside her grandmother’s former house along the DIP corridor. Young said her 84-year-old mother called her in Birmingham when she heard the shots about a block away. Young, who had moved away from Mobile in 1984, was compelled to do something about the issues facing the parkway. “When your 80-something-year-old mother calls you because of something like that, it’s very disturbing,” Young said. “I started with texts to friends I had in the area and that turned into an email chain and then a Facebook group.” Young started the #RevitalizeDIP group to deal not only with the issue of crime, but to look at a number of factors, including blight. “We took interest in the number of abandoned homes left to heirs, or because of foreclosures, or storm damage where the homeowners were either underinsured, or had no insurance,” she said. “My concern is the blight.” Like Foster, Young acknowledged the aging population and is working on what she calls an “activism piece” aimed at getting those residents and others more involved in reporting issues within the neighborhood. She is pressing those residents to call, or email their councilman and Stimpson, as well as to continue to call the city’s 3-1-1 service to complain about issues. In addition to working to combat blight, Young wants to work with other neighborhood advocacy groups, as well as with the Mobile Urban Growers to help bring a community garden to the area. The garden and other initiatives will take some buy in from the community, Young said. “The volunteer aspect is the hardest part of getting something done,” she said. “If everyone donated one day … we could accomplish so much.” Jason Johnson contributed to this report
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ART ARTIFICE
ART GALLERY KEY ARTS PLAYER HEALTH UPDATE
FRED ROGERS IN THE DOC “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?” Photo Courtesy of Focus Features
Art attack for the body and soul BY KEVIN LEE
A
rt is more than mere distraction or frivolity. It should be a force in our lives, maybe even a force on our bodies. Ever hear of Stendhal syndrome? It’s listed in a 2009 BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal) study as hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome, and its symptoms include rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion, even hallucinations. Its cause is great art in overwhelming abundance. The disorder is named after 19th century French writer MarieHenri Beyle, pen name Stendhal. He took ill after an 1817 tour of Florence, Italy, and a surfeit of artwork was blamed. The BMJ study noted 106 incidents of hospitalizations from 1977 to 1986, all cited by a Florentine psychiatrist. In 2016, a tourist suffered an epileptic fit in front of Botticelli’s masterpiece of Venus rising from the ocean. Another recently fainted in front of Caravaggio’s Medusa. Film director Dario Argento claimed to have fallen victim to it as a child. It inspired one of his later cinematic works. The latest case listed happened in December 2018 when a tourist suffered a heart attack in front of the aforementioned Botticelli painting. Four visiting doctors treated him, including a turn with a defibrillator, before he was taken to the hospital. An art critic for The Guardian, Jonathan Jones speculated the disorder is caused by the sheer concentration of art in the Tuscan city, a hub of the Renaissance. I guess lack of malady doesn’t say much for Paris’ Louvre or any of America’s more noted museums and galleries. Then again, it’s hard to build a tourism campaign around the promise of affliction. “Visit Florence; you’ll love our hospitals!” Some readers are undoubtedly rolling their eyes about now and ready to turn the page. I understand, but differ. I’m envious. I want that feeling, to be amazed at the world. At age 55, I have more days behind me than in front of me. I need to open myself to marvelous wonder and if art is a path to that, then I’ll take as much as you can deliver.
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I still believe in a quote I typed into this space 13 years ago. “Art should make you think and feel; it doesn’t have to match your couch,” artist Damali Ayo coined. Sometimes we don’t have to go “full Stendhal” to be affected. Hospitalization isn’t necessary. When I recently watched Morgan Neville’s documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” on the life and legacy of children’s TV show host Fred Rogers, I wanted to see if its lofty praise was worthwhile. I was unprepared. I can be jaded and cynical about, well, too much. That film, however, was a piece of art that easily spread my ribs and exposed my heart for those few hours. While my wife and I didn’t sob — OK, so we used a couple of Kleenex, but it was mainly her, I swear — reports of tear-filled theaters made sense. In world where too many pride themselves on their worse natures, it’s too uncommon to witness genuine kindness like that, so absent of pretense that it cuts to the core of our youngest, most innocent selves. Rogers reminds us of how we were initially taught the world could be. It’s also curried in the earnest faces of the children he encounters. We see life at its freshest. Witnessing Rogers’ deliberate and focused attention given to everyone he spoke with, his determination to live in the second, immediately brought to mind artist John Cage’s emphasis on going beyond just “hearing.” “Love is listening,” he said. “Love is at the root of everything … love or the lack of it,” Rogers said. Generations of Americans were deeply influenced just by someone operating on their best nature. That resonated in me. Rogers didn’t have technical flair, business acumen or money. He merely sought common humanity and positively affected millions. So simple. So integral. So overlooked. The documentary’s lack of presence in the recent Academy Awards was puzzling. What I saw in Rogers wouldn’t leave my head. In the lonesome contemplation awaiting sleep, I wondered: Could I say the same? Have I aided the human condition? Have I made a positive difference? Have my actions basically serviced ego or enabled selfishness, either in others or me? Have I “comforted the afflicted while afflicting the comfortable?” The cascade of questions started before the current 40 days of decreed reflection and still hasn’t abated. Seems to me that meets the criteria of art that “makes you think and feel.”
For most of his life, Philip Tapia has been a core component of Mobile arts endeavors from outside the spotlight. In addition to working on road crews for national touring acts such as Pure Prairie League, Tapia has been a technical director, an award-winning lighting director and served in every way possible for community theater, concerts and television productions. He served as Mobile Theatre Guild (MTG) Board President during 2017-18. According to current MTG President Sherrick Sandy, Tapia suffered a stroke on Feb. 26. As of March 6, he was still at University of South Alabama Medical Center but is “improving” and expected to start rehabilitation in a week’s time.
LIT FEST IN MID-MARCH
The latest incarnation of the Mobile Literary Festival takes place March 16, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Ben May Main Branch of the Mobile Public Library (701 Government St.). The free festival features creative writing workshops, panel discussions, local author book sales and performance by teen authors. The free festival is sponsored by the Mobile Public Library, Friends of the Mobile Public Library, Mobile Writers’ Guild, the Haunted Book Shop and the Metro Mobile Literacy Council.
COMPANY 11 HOSTS ONE-WOMAN SHOW
Comedian Megan Gogerty was told she couldn’t play Lady Macbeth since the character was powerfully malevolent and Gogerty was “the human equivalent of a golden retriever.” Through her determination to do so anyway, she discovered deeper things about herself, comedy, drama and social expectations in female roles. The resulting irreverent one-woman show — “Lady Macbeth and Her Pal, Megan” — was voted Audience Pick of the Fringe at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. “Whatever ride you thought you were going to go on in this play, this is not that,” director Saffron Henke said. Company 11 is bringing Gogerty to Mobile for three performances, March 21-23, 8 p.m. at Bellingrath Hall of Central Presbyterian (1260 Dauphin St.). Tickets cost $15, $12 for seniors/students. For more information, call 251-333-0559 or visit company11.org.
MOBILE OPERA STAGES TRAGIC BETRAYAL
An older man catches hints of his younger wife’s illicit affections for a young stevedore. The wistfulness of marital love lost gives way to jealousy, then to a crescendo of bloody conflict. Giacomo Puccini’s “Il Tabarro (The Cloak)” is the first in a famed triptych of one-act operas and the last of the trio performed in succession by Mobile Opera. Its sonorous tone balances the comic and reverent tones of the other two. Performances are March 22 at 8 p.m. and March 24 at 2:30 p.m. at The Temple Downtown (351 St. Francis St.). Single tickets cost $45 and $30, and $10 for students. For more information, call 251-432-6772 or visit mobileopera.org.
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MUSIC
FEATURE
Where to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, with music BY S T E P H E N C E N TA N N I
RED CLAY STRAYS
YEAH, PROBABLY
Photo | Provided by Red Clay Strays
J
Photo | Provided by Yeah, Probably
THE RED CLAY STRAYS PLAY CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB MARCH 16. YEAH, PROBABLY WILL PLAY O’DALY’S IRISH PUB MARCH 16 AND MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB MARCH 17.
ust as the somber air of the Lenten season arrives, St. Patrick’s Day barrels into the area for a couple more days of festivities. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations around Mobile Bay seem to get bigger with each passing year. When it comes to making a decision on where to spend it, some seek out the best Irish food. Others prefer to visit an establishment serving green beer. Knowing the overabundance of music lovers in Mobile, many will be looking for a St. Patrick’s Day with a great soundtrack. Each year, many look to Lagniappe Weekly to help them set up a game plan for maximum musical enjoyment on St. Patrick’s Day, and we have got all of the information you need.
CALLAGHAN’S IRISH SOCIAL CLUB
For 73 years, Callaghan’s Irish Social Club has remained the centerpiece of local St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. This OGD pub’s St. Paddy’s celebration is so big that owners John Thompson and Richie Sherer have expanded it to a two-day street party that will begin early on March 16. Callaghan’s will begin each day with a set of live traditional Irish music. On Saturday, the Red Clay Strays will energize the crowd with their edgy brand of Southern rock and country. The Strays will give the crowd a preview of their upcoming set at Hangout Fest. The Vegabonds will keep the Southern fried vibe going with their St. Paddy’s performance. These Southern rockers will be entertaining the crowd with tracks from their latest album, “V.” Mississippi’s Blackwater Brass will conclude the first day. This group of new school brass enthusiasts should be still riding high after several electrifying regional performances over Mardi Gras. Johnny Hayes will introduce the crowd to day two of Callaghan’s St. Patrick’s Day Street Party. This veteran of the NBC vocal talent competition “The Voice” will give the crowd a healthy dose of rock ‘n’ soul. The Modern Eldorados will close the second day. This group specializes in classic rock and country accented by an energetic live show.
O’DALY’S IRISH PUB
O’Daly’s Irish Pub will be downtown Mobile’s source for all things St. Paddy’s. This establishment’s two-day celebration begins Saturday, March 16, with “Green Kegs & Eggs” at 6 a.m. Phil & Foster will kick off this celebration’s music lineup. The popular duo will provide a set of originals that should provide a smooth foundation for the madness to follow. Johnny Hayes will be stopping by to perform a set. Fly-By Radio will also be making an appearance. Featuring Dale Drinkard and Tim Stanton, longtime fixtures in the local scene, Fly-By Radio’s set list of party favorites should keep spirits high. Yeah, Probably will headline the evening. This band’s
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new-school soul and R&B should be a great conclusion to the day’s events. O’Daly’s will open at noon on St. Patrick’s Day with Symone French Band performing at 3 p.m. This Azalea City diva could be considered one of the city’s best voices. Bag of Donuts will conclude St. Patrick’s Day weekend at O’Daly’s. This costumed “New Orleans Party Band” will use a seemingly endless set of crowd favorites to become a personified jukebox.
LUCKY IRISH PUB & GRILL
When Mobile’s beloved Irish pub Paddy O’Toole’s closed, Lucky Irish Pub & Grill took its place and continued the St. Patrick’s Day tradition of holding a party so big that it pours out into the parking lot. This Irish pub’s success led to the opening of a Lucky Irish Pub & Grill in Saraland. Now, what is now known as Lucky Fest expands across the county. On March 17, Delta Smoke will start the party at noon at Lucky’s Mobile location. This country duo’s big sound should get things rowdy from the beginning. The Sideliners will follow with a set of blues-based originals and crowd-pleasers. This will be the perfect time to sample the band’s original songs, such as the single “Move On.” Disciples of the Crow will gather to set the evening’s tone. The crowd can expect no mercy with this band’s catalog of fiery rock anthems. Scene veteran Brett LaGrave will bring his Midnight Transaction project to Lucky Fest in Mobile. From Phish to the Allman Brothers Band, LaGrave is guaranteed to dish out tasty jams for the Lucky Fest crowd. Meanwhile in Saraland, Lucky Fest will begin with a set from guitarist/singer-songwriter Tim Kinsey. Kinsey’s honest, lighthearted country will be the perfect way to ease into Lucky Fest in Saraland. Afterward, bassist Quintin Berry will get the funk out for the Lucky Fest crowd. Whether solo or with a backing band, Berry’s live shows are always memorable. Fat Lip will then take the stage for a set of party hits. The crowd can expect a versatile set of hits from artists ranging from Green Day to Black Crowes. Finally, blues rockers Johnny No will headline Lucky Fest in Saraland. This roughneck band will perform its take on blues, soul and Southern rock classics as well as original cuts from its three-album catalog.
O’SULLIVAN’S IRISH PUB
In West Mobile, Tim O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub will be holding its first St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This “day full of music, tasty drinks and dancing” will begin at 11 a.m. Texas Truck will be pulling in at 3 p.m. to entertain the crowd. Featuring Bryant Gilley (guitar/vocals), Cliff McClure (bass) and Jimbo Bearden
(drums), Texas Truck promises to deliver a “soulful and contemporary spin on everybody’s favorite classics.” DJ Tev will mix and mash a cornucopia of sounds for the beat-hungry crowd.
MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB
Manci’s Antique Club will be establishing itself as the Eastern Shore’s source for St. Patrick’s Day revelry. The Olde Towne Daphne institution hold a two-day street party in honor of St. Patrick. On March 16, Delta Smoke will bring its country sounds to Manci’s. Afterward, The Tip-Tops will carry the audience into the evening. This group’s mix of soul, funk and R&B from across the decades has made them one of the region’s most sought-after bands. On St. Patrick’s Day, Manci’s will start the day at 11 a.m. with Karl & Brandon. This acoustic duo’s organic set of mellow grooves and jams should be a hit with the brunch crowd. Magnolia Bayou will also be making an appearance. This group thrilled local Mardi Gras revelers with a Black Sabbath tribute show mixed with new-school blues rock originals. The soul/R&B sounds of Yeah, Probably will conclude Manci’s first St. Patrick’s Day excursion.
MCSHARRY’S IRISH PUB
Those looking for an authentic St. Patrick’s Day celebration should look no further than McSharry’s Irish Pub in Fairhope. At 11 a.m., McSharry’s will be serving patrons green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and plenty of shenanigans. The musical entertainment will consist of a live session of traditional Irish music.
THE HANGOUT
For those wanting to get their “green on” beachside, The Hangout’s St. Paddy’s Day celebration will begin at 10 a.m. with live music throughout the day. The Kilted Kings will keeps things traditional, as they fuel the celebration with Celtic music. The party will continue with sets from the Magic Johnsons and Pop Fiction. The late night party will feature a live DJ keeping things fresh with a batch of club anthems.
BIG BEACH BREWING
Big Beach Brewing Co. is the last stop for beachside St. Paddy’s festivities. This craft brewery will have its unique lineup of beers for the crowd’s enjoyment. This establishment will also feature the Alabama supergroup The Selma Boys. This band features Rick Carter (Telluride, Rollin’ in the Hay), Mike Estep (Rock Bottom), Stan Robertson (Cowboy, Scott Boyer, Full Tilt Boogie) and Richard Tabor (AC Apple, The Symbols).
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MUSIC
MUSIC BRIEFS
Zach Deputy will have folks at The Club at Live Bait feeling a little loopy on Friday, March 15. Photo | zachdeputy.com
DEPUTY ‘WASHES IT’ Band: Zach Deputy Date: Friday, March 15, 9 p.m. Venue: The Club at Live Bait, 24281 Perdido Beach Blvd. (Orange Beach), atthebait.com Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 day of show; available through Eventbrite For the next two months, spring breakers from across the nation will be filling beaches along the Alabama Gulf Coast, and The Club at Live Bait will serve as one of many nightlife destinations for visiting college students. The Club at Live Bait will be celebrating the beginning of this year’s spring break with a performance by a pioneer in the live looping jam scene. In addition to being an avid disc golfer, multi-instrumentalist Zach Deputy has used live looping to take the one-man band concept into new dimensions. When he takes the stage, Deputy begins recording, layering and looping a variety of instrumental tracks. He ultimately uses these live samples as a veritable backing band to support any additional vocals and instruments that might be introduced. Tracks from Deputy’s latest album should be the perfect accent to The Club at Live Bait’s spring break vibe. “Wash It in the Water” is built on a warm, sunny reggae foundation. Deputy adds his own magic to this tropical album with funky grooves and EDM overtones. Considering Deputy’s ever-changing looping technique, these choice jams have the potential to evolve into new sonic beasts that might only be witnessed at this particular performance.
THE BAND PERRY RETURNS Band: The Band Perry Date: Saturday, March 16, with doors at 7 p.m. Venue: Soul Kitchen, 219 Dauphin St. (Mobile), soulkitchenmobile.com Tickets: $24.50 in advance, $30 day of show; available through venue’s website, Mellow Mushroom (Mobile locations) or by calling 1-866-777-8932 When performing in Mobile, they were known as the Mobile Music Machines. Now, this collection of musical siblings is known as The Band Perry. Since its 2010 self-titled debut, this award-winning trio has become one 36 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
of pop country’s most popular bands. Over a two-year period, The Band Perry released a number of hits including “If I Die Young,” “All Your Life” and “Better Dig Two.” This group has also not hesitated to entertain their hometown crowd with memorable shows, including a surprise show at The Steeple on St. Francis. The Band Perry will be returning to give its local fans a live taste of longtime favorites as well as cuts from its new EP “Coordinates.” Released independently with Rick Rubin as executive producer, The Band Perry has departed from the world of pop country for the lands of electropop in the style of Halsey or Tove Lo. The band’s return to the Azalea City will be a new experience for longtime fans and their evolving sound is sure to attract new listeners.
AMERICANA SWEETHEARTS AT FAIRHOPE BREWING Band: Sugarcane Jane Date: Saturday, March 16, with doors at 6 p.m. Venue: Fairhope Brewing Co., 914 Nichols Ave. (Fairhope), fairhopebrewing.com Tickets: Free “Alabama’s Americana sweethearts” will be spending a Saturday evening at Fairhope Brewing Co. Sugarcane Jane’s traditional Americana style and down-home harmonies should be a great complement to Fairhope Brewing’s lineup of craft beers. This husbandand-wife duo combines the talents of multiinstrumental couple Anthony and Savana Crawford. Together, they have crafted a pure, acoustic-based Americana sound that is a sonic reflection of Lower Alabama culture. Sugarcane Jane’s musical translation of local color serves as the focus of the duo’s latest album, “Southern State of Mind,” recorded in Anthony’s Admiral Bean Studio with production support from Nashville veteran songwriter/session artist Buzz Cason (Martina McBride, The Oak Ridge Boys). From heartfelt country ballads to brash honky-tonk stomps, this full-band album expands Sugarcane Jane’s Americana sound with results that should please longtime fans and new ones alike. The duo’s acoustic live show will showcase these new tracks in a more stripped-down fashion.
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THE REEL WORLD FILM
NEW THIS WEEK
‘A Simple Favor’ a zippy, stylish black comedy BY ASIA FREY
Courtesy of Focus Features CAPTIVE STATE Set in a Chicago neighborhood — and starring John Goodman — nearly a decade after occupation by an extraterrestrial force, “Captive State” explores lives on both sides of the conflict — the collaborators and the dissidents. All theaters.
BLAKE LIVELY AND ANNA KENDRICK SHINE IN THE DARK COMEDY, “A SIMPLE FAVOR.” Photo | Courtesy of Lionsgate
G “
Courtesy of Lionsgate FIVE FEET APART Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is every bit a 17-year-old, but unlike most teenagers she spends much of her time living in a hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines and boundaries — until she meets a fellow CF patient named Will (Cole Sprouse). All theaters.
Courtesy of Paramount WONDER PARK An animated story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive. All theaters.
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one Girl” meets “Clueless” in “A terious glamazon. An ostensibly selfless Emily Simple Favor,” a zippy, stylish black is rewarded with attention from the concerned comedy that pits glamorous Blake husband, an increasing number of viewers for Lively against perky Anna Kendrick her vlog and a general designation as a saint. in a truly inspired comedic pairing. It’s fun to watch manipulative skills improve Paul Feig, director of “Bridesmaids,” and wonder if maybe they were there all along. “Ghostbusters” and “Freaks and Geeks,” Rest assured, the plot of this flick is preposstrikes a dark but daffy tone that carries the terous, and boasts something like a sextuple film through its more obvious plot twists. The cross before all is said and done. I lost count pleasure of this experience is not in figuring of the lies and reversals in the film’s final 20 out who done it, but in enjoying the characters minutes. It is, essentially, a spoof of the genre, these two rather extraordibut a sophisticated one, nary leading ladies throw and the costumes in “Gone Girl” meets at the viewers. particular exceed the Anna Kendrick plays “Clueless” in “A Sim- expectations from a Stephanie, a seemingly dandy like director Paul ple Favor,” a zippy, perfect mom whose devoFeig, famous for weartion to her son masks the a suit at all times. stylish black comedy ing pain of being a widow. I thought “Gone Girl” Her enthusiasm for parthat pits glamorous was trying so hard to be enting and her earnest sexy and shocking that mommy vlog make her the Blake Lively against it was unintentionally target of the other parents’ hilarious. “A Simple perky Anna Kendrick Favor” is intentionally derision. Emily (Blake Lively), on the other hand, hilarious and slyly sexy in a truly inspired is a standout mom from and shocking. the opposite end of the Watching Blake comedic pairing. spectrum; impossibly gorLively and Anna Kendgeous and far too glamorous to volunteer at a rick together is what makes “A Simple Favor” bake sale, she reluctantly invites Stephanie and deliriously fun, a pitch-black yet candy-colher son over for a play date one afternoon. ored comedy. Some of the logic fails to hold Dazzled by Emily’s house, Emily’s husband up under careful, or even casual, scrutiny, but and especially Emily herself, Stephanie slurps the chemistry does. Playing moms and women up martinis and gossip, willing to do anything that are two kinds of female stereotypes pitted to keep the approval she cannot believe she has against each other, they dig into so much more won from her new, impeccably tailored friend. that they turns those stereotypes inside out. This reminds me of another film that dealt These actresses come across so much with a quintessentially female, highly lopsided smarter and better than a blonde versus brufriendship, “Ingrid Goes West.” When Emily nette joke, and as they throw everything they asks for the “simple favor” of the title, of course have against each other, the audience witnessStephanie obliges and picks up her son. es a soap opera world gone wonderfully meta, When an afternoon turns into two days, where we are lucky these two intentionally Stephanie finds herself doing more favors on unhinged broads let us in on their joke. behalf of the missing Emily, overstepping “A Simple Favor” is currently available many boundaries in her quest to find the mysto rent.
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SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Spartan obstacle course race returns with bigger format B Y J . M A R K B R YA N T
SPARTAN OBSTACLE COURSE RACE IN SARALAND Photo | Mobile Sports Authority
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he internationally recognized Spartan obstacle course race returns to Saraland this weekend following an absence of several years. To celebrate its revival, organizers have expanded the opportunities for participants to test their mettle. The Alabama Spartan will feature two events over two days instead of the previous one-day event. Officials will be running a Super Spartan on Saturday and a Sprint Spartan on Sunday. The “Alabama Super” will have a 10-plus mile course with more than 24 natural and manmade obstacles. Competitors can then celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the “Alabama Sprint,” a three-plus mile course with as many as 20 obstacles to navigate. Danny Corte, executive director of the Mobile Sports Authority (MSA), expects upward of 5,000 competitors over the two days. Spartan races offer three primary formats. Previous races in Saraland were in the Super class. In addition to the sprint there is also the “Beast Race” (13-plus miles with 30-plus obstacles). Competitors are encouraged to complete each of the primary race distances to achieve “trifecta” status, earning pieces of a medallion for each finish. The three sections interlock to form the medal. When the Spartan race first came to Saraland, it was an immediate success. According to MSA, the event had an economic impact of more than $2 million in 2015 and another $1.8 million
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in 2016. With more than 4,100 competitors the first time and close to 5,000 the second year, it was the largest race MSA had ever sponsored. The party abruptly ended when the races’ location became unavailable. But once they secured an area large enough to handle the obstacle course, MSA and Saraland city officials got Alabama back on the national schedule. “Actually, it was a combination of reasons why they didn’t return in 2017, but yes, it sure was a disappointment when Spartan decided not to come back,” Corte told Lagniappe. “But since then, we’ve been staying in front of them as much as possible, and our perseverance paid off when they informed us last year they were coming back in 2019. So we’re very grateful to Spartan for showing the confidence in us to return to our area and we’re excited to have them back.” Spartan’s mission is to motivate people to get out of their comfort zone and test their physical limits. Race officials promise it will be fun, muddy and challenging. Previous competitors will find all-new terrain, as the venue has moved to 1199 Radcliff Road in Saraland. “Quite frankly, I wasn’t initially sure where we were going to hold the 2019 event,” Corte said. “But through a series of contacts over the last year or so, we were able to get in touch with the
Hatters Pond, LLC, group who owned a large parcel on Radcliff Road in Saraland. Fortunately, they immediately took an interest in what we were doing and eventually agreed to let us host the event on their property. The 2019 Alabama Spartan would not be happening without their approval, and I want to thank the Hatters Pond, LLC, owners for working with us to make this happen.” The previous Saraland events were one of the first Spartan race locations to offer a Friday night pre-race party. Hosted by the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce, the “Taste of Saraland” gives participants and visitors a chance to try local food while enjoying live entertainment and a little Southern hospitality. This year’s party will take place Friday beginning at 5 p.m. in front of the chamber offices at 939 Saraland Blvd. Admission to the prerace party will be free to those involved. “I believe much of the reason Spartan decided to come back to Mobile County is the incredible local support which they received for both the 2015 and 2016 races held here,” Corte said. “I’ve been told on numerous occasions by Spartan officials how impressed they were with the local support they received through our local Spartan committee. “In fact, I’m also told we’re the only Spartan destination which holds a Friday evening welcome party to all involved with the event. We did that in both 2015 and 2016, and we plan to host another Friday evening welcome party with the Saraland Chamber of Commerce. So we’re excited about that, too.” Also on Saturday and Sunday, children aged 4-13 are encouraged to participate in the Spartan Kids races. Spartan officials recognize the benefits of physical activity and are dedicated to encouraging this for the next generation through their children’s obstacle course races. There are opportunities for people to volunteer and/or participate in the Alabama Spartan Race. Those interested in volunteering or assisting with site buildup and/or race day activities may contact Rita-Nicole Wright of the North Mobile YMCA by email at rwright@ysal.org. Visit spartan.com for more information, race registration and volunteer opportunities.
CHARITY TRACK MEET RETURNS
As many as 92 public and private high schools from Alabama, Florida and Mississippi have been invited to participate in UMSWright Preparatory School’s 17th annual Lyon Newell Charity Throws Meet. Proceeds from the event will go to the Child Advocacy Center and the Lyon Newell Scholarship. Since it began, this event has raised more than $150,000 in Newell’s name, who excelled in both football and track while at UMS-Wright. The boys and girls competition in the shot put, discus and javelin will take place Wednesday, March 20, at 3:30 p.m., preceding the “Fast Times at UMS-Wright” track meet.
RAMS WIN GOLF EVENT
The men’s golf team from the University of Mobile took top honors at the Badger Invitational hosted by Spring Hill College at the Robert Trent Jones Magnolia Grove course. Senior Wade Duke of Creola won the individual title, shooting 11-under par. Noah Martino and Noah Whittington also finished among the top 10. The Rams won the team championship thanks to a 3-under par score of 285. They won by three shots over Trevecca Nazarene University from Nashville.
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FROM BEHIND THE MIC SPORTS
LSU not only team cheating, but others have been better at it BY RANDY KENNEDY
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he LSU Tigers are the champions of SEC basketball for 2018-19. For their accomplishments, they’re the No. 1 seed in this week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament and one of the top 16 overall seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Then they will go to NCAA jail. Figuratively, at least. You see, 36-year-old Will Wade knows how to coach championship basketball, but he hasn’t exactly mastered the art of cheating. So, last week, on the eve of the Tigers claiming their first conference title in a decade, LSU Athletics Director Joe Alleva decided to suspend Wade indefinitely. It would seem it’s only a matter of time before the suspension turns into a full-fledged firing. It’s hard to argue with that eventual outcome when the evidence seems so plain. Wade’s voice was captured on a federal
and the subsequent mishandling of the hiring process that led to Ed Orgeron signing a massive contract as his replacement, or James Carville, LSU’s political pundit turned crazy uncle you hoped was lost in the bayou, leading a ridiculous crusade against the Alabamacontrolled SEC and NCAA for suspending star linebacker Devin White for an illegal hit last season. In this latest case, LSU fans decided to go all-out in support of Wade despite the plain evidence against him. Numerous signs were displayed at Saturday’s game to show disgust at Alleva’s handling of the situation. There was “Joe Must Go,” “Spineless Coward Weak Alleva” and the straight-to-the-point “Fire Joe Alleva.” Clear support for Wade also was displayed, including my favorite: “I Will Wade For You.” I’m not sure if the signmakers were referencing the Mumford and Sons song or trying for a more old-school Frank Sinatra vibe. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have the 59th Psalm in mind. Regardless of their motivation, the wordplay was clever. The best defense LSU fans have for Wade — and, apparently, the best defense Wade will be able to muster for himself — is that he was simply doing what all the big-time college basketball coaches are doing. There may be some truth in that, but it doesn’t matter. Just because everyone else is speeding, that’s not a defense when you get a ticket for driving too fast. And to take the
“It would seem it’s only a matter of time before the suspension turns into a full-fledged firing. It’s hard to argue with that eventual outcome when the evidence seems so plain.” wiretap talking about paying a player to sign with the Tigers. The player, freshman and Baton Rouge native Javonte Smart, was also held out of Saturday night’s 80-59 win over Vanderbilt that clinched the regular-season championship. LSU officials made it clear that he was not suspended, but simply being withheld from playing because of “an abundance of caution.” It also didn’t hurt that the Tigers knew they didn’t need Smart to beat Vanderbilt, which just became the first team in 65 years to go winless in SEC play. While Smart’s guilt or innocence is unclear, Wade could hardly be facing more damning evidence. On the wiretap, he’s not simply listening to someone else quote him the price it will take to sign this blue-chip prospect — he’s the one driving the conversation by complaining that the middleman involved is not carrying out the transaction with Smart and his family because the middleman wants a bigger piece of the pie for himself. You would think LSU fans might be outraged at Wade for jeopardizing what has been a magical season for the Tigers. But you would be wrong. Nobody plays the aggrieved victim better than LSU fans, whether they’re hating on their own athletics director for the midseason firing of national champion football coach Les Miles 42 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
analogy a step further, do you really think Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kentucky’s John Calipari and Kansas’ Bill Self don’t have “chauffeurs” for situations just like this? I’m not saying any of those coaches are cheating, but I am saying there’s no danger of them ever actually receiving the citation from the police officer if someone in their program was going over the speed limit. Wade, apparently, hasn’t quite figured that out yet. It’s almost certainly going to cost him his job and a future in college basketball. As for LSU, the postseason prospects are still bright. Unless there are new revelations of cheating in the next three weeks, the Tigers are going to make a legitimate run at the Final Four. On the court, they are fun to watch and epitomize great team play. Wade should be proud of how his team has matured on the court. But he’ll just have to be proud while watching on TV like the rest of us and coming to grips with going from being a budding star coach to the latest LSU sports martyr. Randy Kennedy writes a weekly column for Lagniappe and is co-host of “Sports Drive” every weekday from 3-6 p.m. on WNSP 105.5 FM, the country’s first all-sports FM station.
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EVENTS
AROUND TOWN
FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS
FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS
March 21 - 24 at Providence Hospital Campus. “Dutch Gardens” is this year’s theme with family fun and garden inspiration and free garden and home seminars. For details Visit FestivalofFlowers.com.
FAIRHOPE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL
March 15, 16 and 17 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. More than 230 exhibitors from all over the country. Live entertainment and food court. Admission is free. For more information visit fairhopeartsandcraftsfestival.com.
PLANTASIA AT MBG
SEMMES AZALEA JUBILEE
The City of Semmes will host and sponsor the Semmes Azalea Jubilee Saturday, March 16, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Semmes Municipal Park, 8108 Morris Hill Road. The free event promises to be a day filled with fun and information for everyone — a children’s area, arts and crafts booths, food and other vendors, a plant sale sponsored by Mary G. Montgomery High School’s horticulture class and more.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Saturday, March 23 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24, 2:30 p.m. at the Mobile Civic Center Theater. Mobile Ballet will share this production journeying from the human realm to a mystical underwater world. Tickets $20-60. For tickets and more information visit www.mobileballet.org or call (251) 342-2241.
Mobile Botanical Gardens plant sale Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17. Friday/ Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Ticketed preview party Thursday, March 14, 4 -7 FOR A p.m. $25 MBG Member/$30 COMPLETE LIST Nonmembers and day of. Visit mobilebotanicalgardens. OF EVENTS VISIT org for details.
AZALEA BLOOM OUT
During the month of March, enjoy the blooms of LAGNIAPPE 250,000 azaleas throughout the 65-acre estate at BellinMOBILE.COM grath Gardens. Check the “Azalea Watch” page on bellingrath. Thursday, March 14, 11 a.m. at org for regular updates. Daily, 8 a.m. Mobile Convention Center. Junior League to 5 p.m. of Mobile will host Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States (2001-2009). For more information visit juniorleaguemobile.org. Saturday, March 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Hank Aaron Stadium. Family-friendly event offering children a hands-on opportunity to explore a variety of trucks and meet the people who build, protect and serve our community. $20 Saturday, March 16, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Ben per car admission. Presented by Caribe Resort May Main Library. Celebrate Mobile’s literary community with Carolyn Haines, Rob Holbert, and FOX10. Benefits pediatric cancer research at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute and Linda Busby Parker, Adam Prince, Bill Riales, Adoption Rocks. Visit usahealthsystem.com/ Sue Brannan Walker, and many more Gulf events/touch-a-truck. Coast authors and literary talent. Free creative
JLM HOSTS LAURA BUSH
TOUCH A TRUCK
2019 MOBILE LITERARY FESTIVAL
writing workshops and panel discussions.
DAPHNE SUNSET CONCERT
Sunday, March 17, 5:30 p.m. at Bayfront Park with “City Rhythm Big Band.” The first of three Spring band concerts. 44 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
LEPRECHAUN RIDE
Thursday, March 14, 6 p.m. Old Town Daphne. Join us for the first Leprechaun Ride benefitting Camp Rap-A-Hope. To register go to raceroster.com/events/2019/21917/ leprechaun-ride
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D.J.’S SPINNIN’ Tony Orbach is a construction manager and musician in Upper Montclair, N.J. Andrea Carla Michaels is a professional namer (of companies and products) in San Francisco. They worked together on this puzzle by email — bouncing theme ideas, crossword fill and clues back and forth. Tony sneaked in Andrea’s favorite word at 75-Down. (Note her initials.) This is their second collaboration for The Times. — W.S. ACROSS 1 Praline ingredients 7 Error at a bridge table 14 Graduated 20 Sci-fi classic made
70 Iranian money 72 Overly serious Irish
dancers? 75 Tons 78 Name on a green toy into a 2004 film starring Will truck Smith 80 Stag 21 “Your money’s no 81 Individual’s segment good here” of a 4 x 400 relay 22 Trig function 82 Fur 23 Strauss opera with the 83 Sicken with sweetness “Dance of the Seven Veils” 85 Uncle Jorge, e.g. 24 Strains to hear, perhaps 86 Bergman or Borg 25 Being affected by yeast 88 Write an order 26 Vacuum-cleaner blockto replenish inventory age? of Levi’s? 28 Sign at a restricted area 94 Alpine climber of the Playboy Mansion? 95 Chummy pair? 30 San Joaquin Valley city 96 Sitarist Shankar 31 All-Star pitcher Severino 97 Smackers 32 Some, in Sevilla 98 D.C. bigwigs 33 Not shipwrecked, say 100 Suffix with billion 34 Actor James 101 Memory problems 35 S .O. S. first responders 102 Garfield’s girlfriend 36 Where G.I.s shop in the comics 39 End of some lists 105 Throwaway vault 42 Driving through some at a gymnastics meet? off-road terrain, say? 109 Shower gift for a 46 Moves around aimlessly Gemini baby? 48 Ages and ages 112 Glaciologist’s concern 49 Fix 113 Native New Yorkers 50 Artist Joseph Wright’s “A 115 Beep again View of Catania With Mount 116 Back-and-forth ____ in the Distance” 117 What a record 51 “Who ____ kidding?” collector might flip over 52 Cheerios 118 Like Cheerios 55 This, e.g. vis-à-vis Corn Flakes 57 Letter opener? 119 Divisions of the West58 San Francisco Giant, minster Dog Show for example? 120 Launched 61 Yahoo alternative 121 Hairnets 64 Land and such DOWN 65 Land, to Livy 1 “Hogwash!” 67 Like Samuel 2 ____ Good Feelings Beckett’s “Endgame”
3 Lemon or lime 4 Chiefly 5 “Easy to clean,” in adspeak 6 Not so lenient 7 Kunis of “Bad Moms” 8 Brangelina, at one time 9 Org. of concern to
the AARP 10 Lothario 11 Subsequent 12 Out of whack 13 Advanced 14 Ponytail holder 15 Neologism 16 Orgs. 17 Super Bowl ____ (game played February 3, 2019) 18 Last of the Stuarts 19 Rules, briefly 27 Ian : Scottish :: ____ : Portuguese 29 Rapper Rhymes 31 Reclined 34 Walk-in, for one 35 Let off the hook 36 Red Rose 37 TV princess 38 Cyberjunk 39 Key with four sharps: Abbr. 40 Island in the East Indies 41 Chef Waters who wrote “The Art of Simple Food” 43 Jacob’s first wife 44 Pocatello sch. 45 Travel bummer 47 Unemotional 53 Shaving-aisle brand 54 Texter’s bye-bye 55 Cracker brand since 1831 56 Harp-shaped constellation 57 Extended attacks 59 Something to do in a dojo
60 Sits up for food, say 62 Self-confidence,
informally 63 Have ____ with 66 Takes advantage (of) 68 People person? 69 Masonry, e.g. 71 Japanese room divider 73 Morlock victims, in sci-fi 74 X-ray ____ 75 Top 76 Fertile dirt 77 Twelvesome in “Gone With the Wind” 79 Spot 83 Tesla needs 84 Protective bank 85 48 in a cup: Abbr. 87 Figure out, informally 89 Prioritized in a hospital 90 Tree-lined walk 91 More chilly 92 About 4,200 feet, for the Golden Gate Bridge 93 Caped fighters 99 Eddie Bauer rival 100 Subside 101 Put the pedal to the metal 103 Mystery writer Marsh 104 Did a “rotten” Halloween trick on 105 Barry, Robin or Maurice of the Bee Gees 106 Rent-____ 107 French director Clair 108 Kind of stick for incense 109 Plain ____ 110 Imposed upon 111 Gen ____ (millennials) 114 Indicator of staccato, in music notation ANSWERS ON PAGE 49
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STYLE
HOROSCOPES LUCK OF THE IRISH Pisces (2/19-3/20) — To avoid prosecution in the city’s environmental court, you’ll argue the spare tires around your house are part of your religious beliefs. You’ll act out a ritual prayer to the God PSI in front of inspectors. It won’t work. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day drink is a pint of black and tan. Aries (3/21-4/19) — You’ll convince The Cheese Cottage to start throwing slices of American cheese at unaware patrons as a way to capitalize on a current viral video craze. Upset, some customers will threaten to sue you over the practice. Don’t throw cheese at people. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day activity is a pickup match of hurling. Taurus (4/20-5/20) — Forgetting you’re Tweeting from a work account, you’ll threaten a man in a heated argument about whether Crocs are sexy. You’ll be promptly fired but will still have the best-looking foam shoes in the business. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day literature is the poetry of W.B. Yeats. Gemini (5/21-6/21) — Gov. Kay Ivey will accost you on your way home from work next week. Before you can stop her, she’ll snatch your billfold and symbolically throw it into a poorly maintained street while never breaking eye contact. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day dish is corned beef hash. Cancer (6/22-7/22) — After failing to get all the bridesmaids on board in time for the ceremony, you’ll be cast in the most comfortable wedding party attire of all time: pajamas. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day choreography is Riverdance. Leo (7/23-8/22) — In the midst of yelling at a friend during a board game, you’ll take
stock of your life and decide to join the clergy. You’ll never pass go or receive $200 again. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day movie is “Angela’s Ashes.” Virgo (8/23-9/22) — Reading how you can write off all your tax debt and cheat the IRS by investing in a conservation easement syndicate, you begin to find partners for your new business venture, My Backyard, LLC. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day soundtrack is Thin Lizzie. Libra (9/23-10/22) — Gearing up for spring break in alcohol-free Orange Beach, you empty Listerine bottles to replace the mouthwash with green-tinted vodka. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day word to use in a phrase is “arseways.” Scorpio (10/23-11/21) — Eager to debut your magnum opus at the Mobile Literary Festival, you identify the most impactful excerpts to recite from “Tumble Weave: A Mobile Memoir.” Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day shade of green is chartreuse. Sagittarius (11/22-12/21) — You’ll be arrested when you crash the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival with your edgy Banksy-inspired street art of city employees applying lethal gas to wayward geese. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day artist is Francis Bacon. Capricorn (12/22-1/19) — After heavy rains ruin a planned outing to the Mobile Delta, you’ll relocate a kayak tour to a flooded midtown Mobile. The group will spot a wild Fred Richardson swimming near Publix. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day American meme is the Crichton Leprechaun. Aquarius (1/20-2/18) — After getting injured during a home improvement project, you file a lawsuit against yourself for attempting to climb a ladder in flip flops. You settle out of court. Your lucky St. Paddy’s Day firstborn son’s name is Seamus.
FUTURE SHOCK BY BRIAN HOLBERT
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STYLE BOOZIE
Throw me some pork, mister! BY BOOZIE BEER NUES
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oly azaleas, Batman! They are exploding all over the city! Someone call the Commissioner! And they are gorgeous but they also come with pollen. Lots and lots of pollen. I am not sure if the azaleas are to blame for said yellow devil dust, but since they showed up at the same time as it, I am blaming them. I mean, I still love them, but I think I’m going to have to start snorting Zyrtec if this powder coating doesn’t end soon. Who knows — maybe being all hopped up on allergy meds will help me gather the scoop for all you crazy, gossip-loving fiends. It certainly couldn’t hurt, right? But before I start my new drug habit, I need to dish out all of last week’s gossip for you. So let’s get to it before I sneeze all over the page.
MARDI GRAS LEFTOVERS
We went to press on Lundi Gras morning, so I have one more dispatch from Mardi Gras 2019. The weather was pretty terrible for the Infant Mystics and Order of Doves on Monday night and the crowd attendance was low as they rolled through the streets of downtown Mobile. But those brave souls who did brave the cold were richly rewarded. One spy said a person
as he threw out packages of Conecuh sausage. This has become such an annual thing that one woman on Royal Street came with a sign begging for the tasty pork throw. And our spies said she was successful. I never thought I would say “pork throw.” I also hear rotisserie chickens and chicken legs were thrown this year. I am advocating for filet mignon next year. Perfect size for throwing! The city was a wreck (not to mention its citizens) by the time the Order of Myths rolled to close out Mardi Gras 2019. But the Public Works department and Downtown Mobile Alliance workers did an excellent job, as always, getting things whipped back into shape in short order. Until next year, y’all! Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 25! The countdown is on.
DAKOTA SIGHTING
As we have been reporting, Casey Affleck, Jason Segel and Dakota Johnson have been in Fairhope filming the movie “The Friend.” The actors have been spotted in several eateries and art galleries from Mobile to Fairhope. The latest sighting was of Miss Johnson at Sunset Pointe at Fly Creek Marina in Fairhope. Johnson took photos with the staff and even signed their wall of fame, writing, “I love it here so much! Thank you!” She even added two hearts. That’s true love, y’all! We love having all of you guys here too!
FILTERS GONE WILD
One of our all-time favorite local TV newsmen, Steve Alexander, a beloved fixture on the local scene who worked at WKRG for years and now works at FOX 10, accidentally provided some pretty fun footage on Facebook Live last week.
“Holy azaleas, Batman! They are exploding all over the city! Someone call the Commissioner! And they are gorgeous but they also come with pollen. Lots and lots of pollen. I am not sure if the azaleas are to blame for said yellow devil dust, but since they showed up at the same time as it, I am blaming them.” who was standing near Moe’s Bar B Que had a large cardboard box full of some sort of throws hurled at them by one of the mysterious Mystics. Can you say jackpot? And ouch? At the IM ball at the Civic Center, my spies said the decor was spectacular. Their theme this year was “Turn the Page,” highlighting classic works of literature. The stage set was Gatsbyinspired and featured live models, including one “princess” sitting on a moon and another soaking in a gin bathtub that actually had running water! My spies said a knight and his lady were even spotted in the tub together with the model. Rub-a-dub-dub indeed! On Fat Tuesday, Mother Nature finally cooperated and brought us one of the most beautiful days of the Carnival season. The Knights of Revelry parade was a hit as they presented “oxymorons,” a really cool theme featuring things that are contradictory or opposite, like “Jumbo Shrimp” and “Living Dead.” One KOR member really pleased the crowd
He was out covering a news story and he had a little trouble with the Facebook Live filters popping up on his face (which I totally understand because that has happened to me unintentionally, too). But it generated some pretty amazing shots of him as he was reporting. He immediately realized what was going on but as he struggled to try and turn them off, the filters kept changing from things like a top hat and sunglasses to a gold workout headband to googly eyes. He got the video down very quickly, but not before some folks captured screen shots of it. Because that is the world we live in. But I, for one, vote we do all of these videos with filters on INTENTIONALLY from here on out! It makes otherwise depressing news more fun! We love you, Steve! Well kids, that’s all I got! Just remember, whether rain or shine dramatic or scandalous, or just some plain ol’ Conecuh sausage lovin’, I will be there. Ciao!
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Best All Around Bar – Mobile Best Bartender - Mobile Best All Around Bar – Baldwin – NEW CATEGORY Best Bartender – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best New Bar (Mobile or Baldwin) Best E-Sho Bar Best WeMo Bar Best MiMo Bar Best LoDa Bar Best SoMo Bar Best South Baldwin Bar - – NEW CATEGORY Best Beach Bar Best Wine Bar Best Fancy Drink Bar Best Happy Hour Bar Best E-Sho Happy Hour Best Sports Bar Best Place to Shake Your Booty Best Gay Bar Favorite Craft Beer Favorite Import Beer Favorite Domestic Beer Best Locally Brewed Beer Bar with Best Tap Beer Selection Favorite Casino Best Margarita Best Bloody Mary Best Bar Trivia Best Gentleman’s Club
SHOPPING/SERVICES
Best Salon - Mobile Best Salon- Baldwin Best Overall Stylist - Mobile Best Overall Stylist - Baldwin Best Colorist - Mobile Best Colorist – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Scissor Wizard (Best Haircut-ter) - Mobile Scissor Wizard (Best Haircut-ter) – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Barber - Mobile Best Barber – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Makeup Artist - Mobile or Baldwin Eyebrow Wizard - NEW CATEGORY Best Hooha Waxer - Mobile or Baldwin Best Place to get Mani/Pedi - Mobile Best Place to get Mani/Pedi – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Esthetician- Mobile or Baldwin Best Day Spa - Mobile Best Day Spa – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Massage Therapist - Mobile Best Massage Therapist – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Mobile Bay’s Best Doctor Mobile Bay’s Best Specialist (MD) Best OB/GYN (aka Best Hooha Doc) Best Plastic Surgeon- Breast (aka Best Boob Doc) Best Facelift Doc Best Dermatologist Best Weight Loss Doc Best “Doc in the Box” Clinic Best Back Cracker (Chiropractor) Best Dentist - Mobile Best Dentist - Baldwin - NEW CATEGORY 52 | L AG N I A P P E | M a r c h 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 - M a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 9
SAMPLE BALLOT ONLY. NO PAPER BALLOTS ACCEPTED.
Best Fitness Facility Best Personal Trainer Best Veterinarian Best Pet Groomer Best Florist Best Photography Studio Best Yoga Studio Best Carwash/Detail Best Divorce Attorney Best Criminal Attorney Best Personal Injury/Trial Attorney Best Real Estate Firm Best Realtor Best Insurance Agent or Agency Best Mortgage Broker/Firm Best Bank or Credit Union Best Investment Banker/Financial Planner Best Car Dealership Best CPA Best Landscaper Best Contractor/Homebuilder Best Interior Designer Best Hardware Store Best Pest Control Best Pet Store Best Antique Store Best Men’s Clothing Store Best Lingerie/Naughty Shop Best Women’s Boutique - Mobile Best Women’s Boutique – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Clothing Consignment Store Best Place to get Mardi Gras Attire Best Fine Jewelry Best Dry Cleaners Best Home Cleaning Service Best Local Pharmacy Best Shoe Store Best Gift Shop Best Home Furnishings Store BEST CBD Oil Shop/Carrier – NEW CATEGORY Best Vape Shop Best Tattoo Shop/ Artist
KIDS
Best Kids’ Clothing Store (New or Consignment) Best Summer Camp Best Daycare/Mother’s Day Out Best Preschool Best Birthday Party Place Most Kid Friendly Neighborhood Best Kid-Friendly Local Attraction Best Dance Studio Best Pediatric Dentist Best Orthodontist Best Pediatrician Best Kid Photographer Best Public School Best Private School Best Preschool Teacher – NEW CATEGORY Coolest Elementary School Teacher - Mobile Coolest Elementary School Teacher – Baldwin – NEW CATEGORY Coolest Middle School Teacher- Mobile Coolest Middle School Teacher- Baldwin – NEW CATEGORY
Coolest High School Teacher - Mobile Coolest High School Teacher – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY
CITY LIFE
Best Mobilian Right Now Best Baldwinian Right Now - – NEW CATEGORY Quintessential Mobilian Quintessentially Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Best Police Officer Best Firefighter Best Annual Fundraising Event Best Hotel Best High School Marching Band Best Mardi Gras Parading Society Best Mardi Gras Marching Society Best Mardi Gras Ball Best Mardi Gras Organization – Baldwin - – NEW CATEGORY Coolest Church or House of Worship Best Clergyman/Pastor/Spiritual Leader Best Place to take out-of-towners (Attraction) Best Place to take out-of-towners (Restaurant) Coolest Apartment Community Best Retirement Community - NEW CATEGORY Best Local Company to Work For Best Local College Best Local College Professor - – NEW CATEGORY Nappie Category for 2020
MUSIC
Best Local Band Best Country Band/Performer Best Metal/Underground Band Best Blues Band/Artist Best Club to See Live Music Best Outdoor Bar to See Live Music Best Venue to See Live Music (Non-bar) Best Solo Musician Best Jazz Musician Best Hip Hop Artist Best Music/Record Store Best Local Recording Studio Best Guitar Player Best Area Singer/Voice Best Area Drummer Best Area Bassist Best Piano Player/Keyboardist Best Drag Queen Performer Best DJ (Mixin’, mashin’up kind) Best Area Music Festival
ARTS
Best Local Painter Best Local Sculptor Best Local Graphic Design Artist Best Mixed Media Artist Best Art Gallery Best Museum Best Theatre Group Best Play or Performance of the Year Best Local Comedian - – NEW CATEGORY Best Local Actor
VOTE ONCE PER DAY PER CATEGORY AT VOTENAPPIES.COM | Best Dancer Best Theatrical Singer Best Arts Event
EATS AND DRINKS
Best Overall Restaurant - Mobile Best Overall Restaurant - Baldwin Best New Restaurant Best Eastern Shore Restaurant Best Beach Restaurant Best Chef Best Atmosphere Most Innovative Menu Best Outdoor Dining Best Home Cookin’/Soul Food Best Server (Server Name and Restaurant) Best Service Overall (Restauarant) Best Dessert Best Restaurant Wine List Best Wings Best Chicken Fingers Best Ice Cream/Yogurt/Gelato Best Lunch Spot Best Eastern Shore Lunch Spot Best Wine/Gourmet Shop or Grocery Best Wine Selection - Retail Best Beer Selection - Retail Best Annual Food Event or Cook-off Best Food Truck Best Gumbo Best Sushi
SAMPLE BALLOT ONLY. NO PAPER BALLOTS ACCEPTED.
Best Bakery Best Wedding Cake Best Caterer Best Burger Best Steak Best Seafood Best Brunch Best Ethnic Restaurant Best Mexican Restaurant Best Pizza Best Coffeehouse Best Eastern Shore Coffeehouse Best Local Grocery Store Best Grocery Store/Chain Best Grocery Delivery Service - NEW CATEGORY Best Place to get Local Produce/Foods- Mobile Best Place to get Local Produce/Foods - Baldwin Best Barbecue Restaurant Best Barbecue Sauce Best Ribs Best Raw Oysters Best Seafood Market Best Hangover Food Best Food Delivery Service- NEW CATEGORY
MEDIA
Favorite Radio Station FM Favorite Radio Station AM Best Local DJ Best DJ Team Best Morning Show/DJ
Best Talk Radio Host/Show Best DJ Voice Best Sports Radio Host/Show Best Local Evening TV Newscast Best Local Morning TV Newscast Best Anchor Best Meteorologist Best TV Investigative Reporter Best Sports Coverage Best Weekend TV News Team Favorite Lagniappe Writer Favorite Lagniappe Cover Story Favorite Lagniappe Cover Image Favorite Local Content Creator (Writer/Artist) - – NEW CATEGORY Favorite Glossy Magazine Favorite Local Website/ Blog/Social Media Influencer Best Local TV ad Best Website Developer Best Marketing/Events Company
POLITICOS
Hardest Working Official City Of Mobile (Elected or Appointed) Hardest Working Elected Official - Mobile County Hardest Working Elected City Official- Eastern Shore Hardest Working Elected City Official- South Baldwin Hardest Working Elected CityOfficial - Baldwin County Hardest Working Local State Legislator Who will be the next senator from Alabama? - – NEW CATEGORY
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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 Marie Antionette Warmack, an unmarried woman, to Whitney National Bank, n/k/a Hancock Whitney Bank, dated December 12, 2000, and Recorded in Book 4911, Page 226 of the records in the Office of the Judge of Probate, Mobile County, Alabama, which said mortgage was modified by loan modification agreement dated December 30, 2014 and recorded in BK: LR7243, Page 1490 in said Probate Court records; notice is hereby given that the undersigned as mortgagee will under power of sale contained in said mortgage, sell at public outcry for cash to the highest bidder, during legal hours of sale on the March 19, 2019, at the front door entrance of the Courthouse of Mobile County, Alabama, 205 Government St., Mobile, AL 36602, the following described real property in the County of Mobile, State of Alabama, being the same property described in the above referred to mortgage: LOT 14, FIGURES WAY, AS RECORDED IN MAP BOOK 85, PAGE 116 OF THE RECORDS IN THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE OF PROBATE, MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA ALABAMA LAW GIVES SOME PERSONS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN PROPERTY THE RIGHT TO REDEEM THE PROPERTY UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. PROGRAMS MAY ALSO EXIST THAT HELP PERSONS AVOID OR DELAY THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. AN ATTORNEY SHOULD BE CONSULTED TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THESE RIGHTS AND PROGRAMS AS A PART OF THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. This property will be sold on an “as is, where is” basis, subject to any easements, encumbrances and exceptions reflected in the mortgage and those contained in the records of the office of the judge of the probate where the above-described property is situated. This property will be sold without warranty or recourse, expressed or implied as to title, use and/or enjoyment and will be sold subject to the right of redemption of all parties entitled thereto. Said sale is made for the purpose of paying the said indebtedness and the expenses incident to this sale, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. The sale will be conducted subject (1) to confirmation that the sale is not prohibited under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and (2) to final confirmation and audit of the status of the loan with the mortgagee. Hancock Whitney Bank Mortgagee William McFadden McFadden, Rouse & Bender, LLC 718 Downtowner Blvd. Mobile, AL 36609 Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
FORECLOSURE NOTICE Default having been made in the payment of the indebtedness described in and secured by that certain vendor’s lien contained in Vendor’s Lien Deed executed by Tyson Johnson and Annie Johnson, husband and wife, in favor of Gigi Winborn on the 19th day of September 2003, said deed recorded in Real Property Book 5464, Page 0888 and that certain Corrective Vendor’s Lien Deed to Gigi Winborn dated September 19, 2004. Said lien was transferred to Sixty St. Francis Street, Inc. dated September 23, 2004 recorded in Real Property Book 5664, page 1247. Said lien was transferred to James L. Perrien, M.D., P.C. Profit Sharing Plan, FBO James L. Perrien by various conveyances. Said lien was thereafter transferred to Citizens National Bank of Albion, Custodian for James L. Perrien, MD IRA, in that certain transfer recorded in Real Property Book 6972, page 1394. The undersigned under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in said deed, will sell at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash, in front of the main entrance of the Courthouse at Mobile, 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602, on March 29, 2019 during the legal hours of sale, all of its right, title, and interest in and to the following described real estate, situated in Mobile County, Alabama, to wit: That certain lot of land described as bounded by a line beginning at the point on the West side of Davis Avenue sometimes called Stone Street 445 feet 6 inches Northwardly along the Avenue from St. Charles Street; thence running Southwardly along a line parallel with the distance about 110 feet 6 inches from the North side of the house said Sartori, 121 feet to the property of Dan Laws; thence Northwardly along the line between Satori and Laws, 57 feet 6 inches to a point; thence Northeastwardly, parallel with said North Line of said house 121 feet to a point on Davis Avenue and thence Southwardly along the West line of Davis Avenue 57 feet 6 inches to the place of beginning. Said property being bounded on the East by Davis Avenue, on the South by property now or formerly of McCormick, on the West by an alley and on the North by property now or formerly of Daniel E. Gaus. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD ON AN “AS IS, WHERE IS” BASIS, SUBJECT TO ANY EASEMENTS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND EXCEPTIONS REFLECTED IN THE VENDOR’S LIEN AND THOSE CONTAINED IN THE RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE OF PROBATE OF THE COUNTY WHERE THE ABOVE-DESCRIBED PROPERTY IS SITUATED. THIS PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD WITHOUT WARRANTY OR RECOURSE, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO TITLE, USE AND/OR ENJOYMENT AND WILL BE SOLD SUBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION OF ALL PARTIES ENTITLED THERETO. Alabama law gives some persons who have an interest in property the right to redeem the property under certain circumstances. Programs may also exist that help persons avoid or delay the foreclosure process. An attorney should be consulted to help you understand these rights and programs as a part of the foreclosure process. This sale is made for the purpose of paying the indebtedness secured by said Vendor’s Lien as the expense of foreclosure. The Vendor reserves the right to bid for a purchase the real estate and to credit its purchase price against the expenses of sale and the indebtedness secured by the real estate. This sale is subject postponement or cancellation. CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK OF ALBION, CUSTODIAN FOR JAMES L. PERRIEN, M.D., IRA VENDOR J. MICHAEL DRUHAN, ESQUIRE Druhan Tyler, LLC 1751 Old Shell Road, Suite B Mobile, Alabama 36604 Telephone: (251) 202-5529 Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
CIRCUIT COURT IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA CASE NO: CV-2019-900373.00 TIMOTHY RITZ, a/k/a TIM RITZ, Plaintiff Vs: LANDS DESCRIBED IN THIS COMPLAINT; ELIZABETH M. SHEPPARD and if Deceased, Her Heirs and Devisees, Defendants. LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE to Defendants of a Complaint issued out of the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama. Timothy Ritz, a/k/a Tim Ritz, by and through his Attorney John T. Bender, Civil Case Number: CV-2019900373.00. NOTICE is given that on February 07, 2019, the above-named Plaintiff, filed this cause of action against said Defendants, the lands described in the Complaint; Elizabeth M. Sheppard., and her heirs, or devisees, if deceased; A, B, and C, being all other persons claiming any present, future, contingent, remainder, reversion, or other interests in said lands to obtain an Order Granting the Plaintiffs quiet title in and to the following described real property: Parcel #: 023708270000005009. Legal Description: COMG AT SE COR OF NE 1/4 OF SEC 27 T6S R3W RUN W 1044.37 FT TO PT TH RUN N 00 DEG 01 MIN E 15 FT TO PT TH W 568.97 FT TO POB TH CON W 95FT TO PT TH N 00 DEG 01 MIN E 480 FT TO PT TH E 95 FT TO PT TH S 00 DEG 01 MIN W 480 FT TO POB CONTG 1.047 ACRES M/L #SEC 27 T6S R3W #MP37 08 27 0 000. This notice is published pursuant to Section 6-6-564 et seq., Code of Alabama, 1975. Any persons claiming any future, contingent, reversionary, remainder or other interest therein must respond to the Complaint within 30 days after the date of the last publication of this notice, by serving a copy of your answer, either admitting or denying the allegations in said Complaint; to John T. Bender, Attorney for Plaintiff, whose address is 718 Downtowner Blvd., Mobile, Alabama 36609, and failing to answer within said time, a default may be entered against you as determined by the court for the relief demanded by the Plaintiff. You must also file your Answer with the Clerk of the Court by such date. This publication shall be made in the Lagniappe Newspaper, published in Mobile County, Alabama, for four (4) consecutive weeks. WITNESS my hand this the 15th day of February, 2019. /s/ JoJo Schwarzauer Attest: JoJoSchwarzauer Clerk of Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama John T. Bender, Attorney for Plaintiff McFadden, Rouse & Bender, LLC 718 Downtowner Boulevard Mobile, AL 36609 (251) 342-9172 johnt@mrbattorneys.com Lagniappe HD Feb. 20, 27, March 6, 13, 2019
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA CIVIL ACTION NO. CV-2018-901276 CITY OF MOBILE, a Municipal Corporation, Petitioner, v. WANDA LEE SANDERS; CLARA L. MCMILLAN; MINNIE DIXON; DEBORAH PURNELL; CHRISTOPHER CLEVELAND LEE; ET AL.; that parcel of real property located at 316 Calhoun Street, and described as that certain lot or parcel of land at the Southeast corner of Basil and Calhoun Street, having a front on Calhoun Street of 31 feet, more or less, by a depth on Basil Street of 81 feet, more or less, with the same width in rear as in front. Being the same property conveyed to Marcus Kurtz by Bridgett E. Lenser by deed dated October 13, 1926 and recorded in Deed Book 211, N.A., page 341, of the records in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama; and also all other persons or parties unknown claiming any right, title, estate, lien, or interest in the real estate described in the petition herein, Respondents. NOTICE OF HEARING Notice is hereby given that a Hearing on the above-styled Petition will take place on May 3, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 8100 of the Mobile County Circuit Court. The City of Mobile filed an Amended Lis Pendens on April 17, 2018, with the Probate Court of Mobile County. The Amended Lis Pendens stated that the City of Mobile intended to proceed with an Expedited Quiet Title and Foreclosure Action involving that certain real property located at and commonly known 316 Calhoun Street (hereinafter, “Property”) within the municipal limits of the City of Mobile. More particularly, said real property is described as: That certain lot or parcel of land at the Southeast corner of Basil and Calhoun Street, having a front on Calhoun Street of 31 feet, more or less, by a depth on Basil Street of 81 feet, more or less, with the same width in rear as in front. Being the same property conveyed to Marcus Kurtz by Bridgett E. Lenser by deed dated October 13, 1926 and recorded in Deed Book 211, N.A., page 341, of the records in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Mobile County, Alabama. The tax parcel number for the Property is: R022906400004401. The Petition to expeditiously quiet title and foreclose on the right to redeem the Property was filed on May 17, 2018, and an Amended Petition was filed on September 12, 2018 in the Mobile County Circuit Court. Pursuant to § 11-70-4, the Court has set a date, time and place for a hearing on the petition. Notice of the Hearing is hereby given to the following interested party: Christopher Cleveland Lee, who may appear to either contest the proceedings or to exercise his respective rights to redeem the Property. The judgment of the Court may extinguish any and all ownership interest in, liens against, right to redeem, or any claim whatsoever that the interested parties may have in the Property. The judgment of the Court may result in all title, right, and interest to said Property vesting in the City of Mobile. Any interested party wishing to redeem said Property will be required to pay all taxes, interest, penalties and fees and any other charges assessed due and owing under Chapter 10 of Title 40, Code of Alabama, 1975. Any persons with information regarding the owner or prior owner of the Property are requested to contact Baxter Bishop, Attorney in the City of Mobile Legal Department at 251-208-7416 or, in person,
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at 205 Government Street, 9th Floor, Mobile, AL 36602. /s/ Baxter Alexander Bishop Baxter Alexander Bishop (BIS020) Attorney for the Petitioner CITY OF MOBILE P.O. Box 1827 Mobile, AL 36633 Phone: (251) 208-7416 baxter.bishop@cityofmobile.org Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 27, 2019
PROBATE NOTICE OF ADOPTION HEARING PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY CASE NO. 2018-2212 To: Douglas Chaffee father of AWC, a minor. Please take note that a petition for the adoption of the above named minor child who was born to Douglas Chaffee on or about the 2nd day of February, 2015, has been filed in said Court. Please be advised that if you intend to contest this adoption you must file a written response with the attorney for the petitioner(s) named below and with the Clerk of the Probate Court, P. O. Box 7, Mobile, AL 36601 as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days from the last day this notice is published. Attorney for Petitioner(s): Ronald W. McBay 50 St. Emanuel St. Mobile, AL 36602 Lagniappe HD Feb. 20, 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ADOPTION HEARING PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY CASE NO. 2018 - 2213 To: Douglas Chaffee father of EGC, a minor. Please take note that a petition for the adoption of the above named minor child who was born to Douglas Chaffee on or about the 16th day of January 2017, has been filed in said Court. Please be advised that if you intend to contest this adoption you must file a written response with the attorney for the petitioner(s) named below and with the Clerk of the Probate Court, P. O. Box 7, Mobile, AL 36601 as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days from the last day this notice is published. Attorney for Petitioner(s): Ronald W. McBay 50 St. Emanuel St. Mobile, AL 36602 Lagniappe HD Feb. 20, 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ADOPTION HEARING PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY CASE NO. 2018-2201 To: Phelix Alexander Ellsworth father of CCP, a minor. Please take note that a petition for the adoption of the above named minor child who was born to A.L.L. on or about the 2nd day of July, 2010, has been filed in said Court. Please be advised that if you intend to contest this adoption you must file a written response with the attorney for the petitioner(s) named below and with the Clerk of the Probate Court, P. O. Box 7, Mobile, AL 36601 as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days from the last day this notice is published. Attorney for Petitioner(s): Ronald W. McBay 50 St. Emanuel St. Mobile, AL 36602 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 27 April 3 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: JUANITA R. WATSON NETTLES Case No. 2018-2043 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 7TH day of January, 2019 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. DAPHNE NERISSI WATSON HAYWOOD as Administratrix of the estate of JUANITA R. WATSON NETTLES, deceased. Attorney of Record: VANESSA ARNOLD SHOOTS, Esq. Lagniappe HD February 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: MARY L. THOMPSON Case No. 2016-1032 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 14th day of February, 2019 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. JOHN D. RESTER as Administrator of the estate of MARY L. THOMPSON, deceased. Attorney of Record: L.D. HOLT, ESQ. Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: AUGUSTA D. BRADLEY, Deceased Case No. 2019-0320 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 21st day of February, 2019 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. EVIE B. TAYLOR as Executrix under the last will and testament of AUGUSTA D.
BRADLEY, Deceased. Attorney of Record: PRO SE
Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: ANNIE S. ROGERS, Deceased Case No. 2019-0328 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 21st day of February, 2019 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. FLOYD B. ROGERS JR. as Executor under the last will and testament of ANNIE S. ROGERS, Deceased. Attorney of Record: PRO SE Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: GERTRUDE HARRIS STANLEY, Deceased Case No. 2018-2413 Take notice that Letters Testamentary have been granted to the below named party on the 17th day of December, 2018 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. WILLIE J. SCOTT as Executor under the last will and testament of GERTRUDE HARRIS STANLEY, Deceased. Attorney of Record: VANESSA ARNOLD SHOOTS, Esq. Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: SAMUEL PATRICK DRINKARD Case No. 2019-0176 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 26th day of February, 2019 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. JANA V. HOGGLE as Administratrix of the estate of SAMUEL PATRICK DRINKARD, deceased. Attorney of Record: JOHN M. O’DOWD, Esq. Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: ROY COPPAGE Case No. 2018-1824 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 19th day of February, 2019 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. JULIE JOHNSON as Administrator of the estate of ROY COPPAGE, deceased. Attorney of Record: MATTHEW B. HALL, Esq. Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF ESTATE ADMINISTRATION PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of: NELL REE LANGLEY Case No. 2016-1962 Take notice that Letters of Administration have been granted to the below named party on the 26th day of February, 2019 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. JERRY FOWLER as Administrator of the estate of NELL REE LANGLEY, deceased. Attorney of Record: JOHN R. PARKER, Esq. Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING February 20, 2019 Case No. 2017-0081-3 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA Estate of THOMAS NELSON BARNES JR, Deceased On to-wit the 8th day of April, 2019 at 2:00 PM in COURTROOM 1, THIRD FLOOR, Mobile County Government Center Annex, 151 Government Street the court will proceed to consider the FINAL SETTLEMENT as filed by GARY A GRIMES. NOTICE is hereby given to all parties in interest who may appear and contest same or file a proper responsive pleading thereto if they then think proper. DON DAVIS, Judge of Probate. Attorney Name and Address: HENDRIK S. SNOW 50 ST EMANUEL ST. MOBILE, ALABAMA 36602 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 27, 2019
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following work:
PREFAB ALUMINUM TRELLIS FOR NEW ALUMNI BUILIDNG University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama USA JOB NO. 14-50A USA BID NO. 9021801 Bids will be received and clocked in at 3:00 p.m. local time on March 19, 2019, in Procurement Services on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the amount of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000 must accompany the bidder’s proposal. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Procurement Services Technology & Research Park Bldg. III 650 Clinic Drive, Suite 1400 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held at 9:00AM local time on March 7, 2019, in Room AD23 of the Administration Building. Those in attendance will include the Owner, Engineer, and Consultants. Contract bidders, subcontractors and suppliers are encouraged to attend. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the following:dstrain@southalabama. edu, 307 University Blvd., N., AD001, Mobile 36688 Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Notice is hereby given that the University of South Alabama (Owner) will accept sealed Bids for the following Work: FOOTBALL STADIUM OVERHEAD ROLL-UP AND COUNTER SHUTTERS University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama USA JOB NO. 17-66 USA BID NO. 9021802 Bids will be received and clocked in 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Procurement Services on the Main Campus of the University of South Alabama. Bids will not be accepted after the time indicated herein and will be returned unopened. A cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the University of South Alabama in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the amount of the bid, but in no event more than $10,000 must accompany the bidder’s proposal. Bid Documents shall be available only through the USA Purchasing Office. Contact as follows: University of South Alabama Procurement Services Technology & Research Park Bldg. III 650 Clinic Drive, Suite 1400 Mobile, AL 36688 PH# (251) 460-6151 FX# (251) 414-8291 (rbrown@southalabama.edu) Bids must be submitted on Proposal Forms furnished in the Bid Documents or copies thereof. The preceding is an abbreviated advertisement. The complete advertisement may be obtained from the location listed above. All questions concerning the Project should be submitted in writing to the Project Manager at the following address: dgreer@southalabama.edu 307 University Blvd. N., AD001 Mobile, AL 36688 Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF COMPLETION STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE In accordance with Chapter I, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, NOTICE IS HEREBY given that T. Batchelor & Son, Inc. has completed the contract for Western Administrative Complex – S.W.A.T. – HVAC Replacement (MX-278-17), 4851 Museum Drive, Mobile, Alabama 36608. All persons having any claims for labor, material or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify the Architectural Engineering Department, City of Mobile, P. O. Box 1827, Mobile, AL 36633-1827. T. Batchelor & Son, Inc. 7570 Zeigler Blvd. Mobile, AL 36608 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019
NOTICE OF COMPLETION STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE In accordance with Chapter 1, Title 39, Code of Alabama, 1975, notice is hereby given that James B. Donaghey, Inc., contractor, has completed the contract for: MOORER BRANCH LIBRARY – HVAC REPLACEMENT, MP-127-18, in Mobile, Alabama. All persons having any claims for labor, materials or otherwise in connection with this project should immediately notify the Facility Maintenance Department, City of Mobile, 850 Owens Street, Mobile, Alabama 36604. James B. Donaghey, Inc. 1770 Old Shell Rd. Mobile AL 36604 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 27, April 3, 2019
PUBLIC SURPLUS PROPERTY AUCTION Surplus Property of Mobile County Health Department will be offered for auction on the website www.GovDeals.com beginning March 4th starting at 6:00AM until Monday March 18th at 4:00PM. This is a government auction website and you MUST be registered on the website in order to make a bid on any items, however you
LAGNIAPPE LEGALS | 251.450-4466 | legals@lagniappemobile.com may view items up for auction without registering. The GovDeals. com website will contain detailed information including description and photos. There will be 4 vehicles up for auction. Vehicles may be inspected by APPOINTMENT ONLY: Wednesday, March 6th through Monday, March 18th from 8:00AM to 2:00PM. Contact the individual listed as the Asset Contact to schedule an appointment for inspection. All items up for auction by Mobile County Health Department are sold “AS IS, WHERE IS”. No refunds or exchanges. Mobile County Health Department reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Mobile County Health Department is currently selling surplus vehicles by online auction. For a list of the current items being sold, please visit our legal notices and bids section on Mobile County Health Department’s website at www.mchd.org Legal Notices & Bids. The items will be listed for bid on www.govdeals.com and search Mobile County Health Department. Lagniappe HD Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 2019
STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF MOBILE Notice is hereby given that a bill as described in the synopsis below will be introduced in the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for its passage and enactment will be made: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT SYNOPSIS: Relating to Mobile County; to amend Act No. 80-621, H. 992 of the 1980 Regular Session (Acts 1980, p. 1062), as amended by Act No. 90-613, H. 86 of the 1990 Regular Session (Acts 1990, p. 1126), relating to authorizing, providing and regulating the office space and assistants to the legislative delegation in Mobile County, so as to provide further for the employees and operations of the Mobile County Legislative Delegation Office. Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT MOBILE, ALABAMA PURSUANT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOBILE, adopted the 16th day of May 1967, as amended, the City of Mobile’s Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a Public Hearing on April 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to consider a request at 113-A Monroe Street (Southeast corner of Monroe Street and St. Emanuel Street) for Frontage and Floor Height Variances to allow a porch frontage at the front property line and allow a ground floor height of 10’4” in a T-5.1 Sub-District of the Downtown Development District; the Zoning Ordinance does not have a porch frontage type and requires a minimum ground floor height of 14 feet in a T-5.1 Sub-District of the Downtown Development District. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. This notice is to advise you of the public hearing so that you may attend the meeting and present your views to the Board concerning this request. Dated this 11th day of March, 2019. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT MOBILE, ALABAMA PURSUANT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOBILE, adopted the 16th day of May 1967, as amended, the City of Mobile’s Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a Public Hearing on April 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to consider a request at 3700 Dauphin Street (Northwest corner of Dauphin Street and Du Rhu Drive) for an Off-Premise Sign Variance to allow an off-premise pylon tenant panel for various retail tenants in a B-2, Neighborhood Business District; the Zoning Ordinance requires all signage to be on-premise for all retail establishments in a B-2, Neighborhood Business District. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. This notice is to advise you of the public hearing so that you may attend the meeting and present your views to the Board concerning this request. Dated this 11th day of March, 2019. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT MOBILE, ALABAMA PURSUANT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOBILE, adopted the 16th day of May 1967, as amended, the City of Mobile’s Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a Public Hearing on April 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to consider a request at 6500 Zeigler Boulevard (North side of Zeigler Boulvard, 185’± East of Athey Road extending to the East side of Athey Road, 225’± North of Zeigler Boulevard) for a Parking Surface Variance to allow an aggregate parking surface in a B-2, Neighborhood Business District; the Zoning Ordinance requires parking surfaces to be paved with concrete, asphalt, asphaltic concrete, or an approved alternative paving surface in a B-2, Neighborhood Business District. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. This notice is to advise you of the public hearing so that you may attend the meeting and present your views to the Board concerning this request. Dated this 11th day of March, 2019. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT MOBILE, ALABAMA PURSUANT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOBILE, adopted the 16th day of May 1967, as amended, the City of Mobile’s Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a Public Hearing on April 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to consider a request at 5500 Linwood Steiner Road (Northeast corner of Linwood Steiner Road and Barry Drive) for a Sign Variance to allow a second freestanding sign for a single tenant site in a B-3, Community Business District; the Zoning Ordinance allows one freestanding sign on a single tenant site in a B-3, Community Business District. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. This notice is to advise you of the public hearing so that you may attend the meeting and present your views to the Board concerning this
request. Dated this 11th day of March, 2019. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT
Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT MOBILE, ALABAMA PURSUANT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOBILE, adopted the 16th day of May 1967, as amended, the City of Mobile’s Board of Zoning Adjustment will hold a Public Hearing on April 1, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to consider a request at 111 West I-65 Service Road North (West side of West I-65 Service Road North, 210’± North of College Lane) for a Sign Variance to allow a total of three (3) wall signs and a single freestanding sign on a single tenant site in a B-3, Community Business District; the Zoning Ordinance allows a total of three signs for a single business site in a B-3, Community Business District. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama. This notice is to advise you of the public hearing so that you may attend the meeting and present your views to the Board concerning this request. Dated this 11th day of March, 2019. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
STORAGE AUCTIONS NOTICE OF SALE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Alabama Statutes, that the goods stored in units rented by occupants listed below will be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction online at www.storageauctions.com on March 28, 2019 at 10:00 am to satisfy liens claimed by STORAGEMAX MIDTOWN, together with all costs of sale. Sheldon Inge Micheal Mitchell Marcelene Lewis & Rebecca Allen. Any of the above goods may be withdrawn from sale by STORAGEMAX MIDTOWN at any time without prior notice. Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
NOTICE OF SALE In accordance with Alabama Law, notice is hereby given that Magnolia Self Storage, 5010 Moffett Road Mobile, AL 36618 will conduct a public lien sale or dispose of the contents of the following units to pay rent and other charges due. Call 251-343-7867 with questions. Please call the facility the day before sale to verify which units remain on this list. The sale will be held on Friday March 22, 2019 at 11:00 am. C-137 Jackie Gibbs 907 Murphy Avenue Prichard, AL 36610 Furniture, Boxes, Misc. D-015 Pamela Leggett 3717 Dial Street Whistler, AL 36612 Misc. Items, Boxes D-016 Pamela Leggett 3717 Dial Street Whistler, AL 36612 Misc. Items, Boxes J-024 Frances Wilkes Smith 2514 Herman B Towner Street Eight Mile, AL 36618 Furniture, TV, Boxes Lagniappe HD March 13, 2019
NOTICE OF SALE Notice is hereby given pursuant to Alabama statue that the following contents of Unit(s) listed below will be sold at a Public Lien Sale to satisfy lien claims by Grand Slam Storage LLC, located at 6420 Grelot Road, Mobile, AL 36695 on April 9th , 2019 @ 1:00 p.m. Tandekila Wilkerson Unit # 471 5X10 4015 SeabreezeRd N Apt # B Mobile, AL 36609 Household Goods Furniture Totes Boxes Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF SALE The following units will be sold or otherwise disposed of to pay rent and other charges per the Alabama Self Storage Lien Law at Rangeline Storage, 5821 Rangeline Road, Building 108, Theodore, AL, 36582, 251-443-8995, on or after March 20, 2019 at 10:00 AM. Travis Gooden 803 Wilkinson St Mobile, AL 36603 UNIT 0331 Mattress, Chair, Totes Marla Billante 5070 Freeway Dr Mobile, AL 36619 UNIT 0195 Furniture, Totes, Chairs Serena Cawthon 8215 Kings Ridge Theodore, AL 36582 UNIT 0425 Dryer, Boxes, Cooler, Household Goods, Totes Brandy Wouters 162 Dunn Ave
Mobile, AL 36606 UNIT 0345 Bed Frame, Mattress Chad Hearndon 10740 Gregg Rd Semmes, AL 36575 UNIT 0602 Toys, Ladder, Tools William Bodan & Chris Bodan 1404 Terrell Rd Mobile, AL 36605 UNIT 0154 Washer, Dryer, Furniture, Totes, Boxes, Power Washer Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF SALE In accordance with Alabama Law, notice is hereby given that Dawes Stor-All Self Storage, located at 8601 Jeff Hamilton Rd Ext. Mobile, AL 36695 will conduct a public lien sale or dispose of the contents of the following units to pay rent and or other charges due. The sale will be held on April 9th @ 9:30am. Avamae Jackson #602 Flat screen TV’s Marcus Tyler #560 Bikes, tables, chairs, fog machines Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
NOTICE OF SALE In accordance with Alabama Law, notice is hereby given that A-Cool Self Storage located at 3310 Demetropolis Rd. Mobile, AL 36693 will conduct a public lien sale or dispose of the contents of the following units to pay rent and or other charges due. The sale will be held on April 9th @ 2:00pm. #01019 Lewis Meyer 1160Newbury Lane E Mobile, AL 36693 Washer, Furniture ,Mounted animals #01073 Victor Phiri 5558 Woodside Dr N Mobile, AL 36608 Household goods, Luggage, Totes #01340 Candace Roy 1516 Sandpiper Lane Gulf Shores, AL 36542 Household Goods, Boxes/ Totes, Furniture #02051 Kemarcus Dixon 613 Chin St Mobile, AL 36610 Furniture #2057 Aaron Cale 5799 Southland Dr Apt#4306 Mobile, AL 36693 Furniture, Rims for car #03546 Mylan White 3993 Cottage Hill Rd Apt I85 Mobile, AL 36693 Household goods, boxes/Totes
WDBUF56X37B121720
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3271 Snow Rd., Semmes, AL 36575. 2006 Toyota Highlander JTEGD21A960150201 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 608 Azalea Rd Apt P-1607, Mobile, AL 36609. 2008 Toyota Camry 4T1BE46K88U766942
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1408 Montlimar Dr., Mobile, AL 36609. 2014 Toyota Corolla 2T1BURHE6EC192104
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1467 Goldfinch Dr., Mobile, AL 36605 1996 Chevrolet Caprice 1G1BL52P6TR191567 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5110 Roswell Rd S., Mobile, AL 36619. 2012 Dodge Charger 2C3CDXBG5CH159430
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 113 Peterson Rd., Prichard, AL 36610. 2014 Chrysler 200 1C3CCBBG2EN105874 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 3GCEK23MX9G158560 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2665 Government Blvd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2010 Volkswagen CC WVWMN7AN0AE563303 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 7440 Old Military Rd., Theodore, AL 36582. 2011 Hyundai Sonata 5NPEB4AC6BH285065 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3757 Autumndale Dr., Mobile, AL 36618. 2007 Mercedes E350
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These abandoned vehicles will be sold on 04/18/2019 at 5781 Three Notch Road Mobile, AL 36619 at 9 am if not redeemed before then. CHEV 1GCREA0DZ189142 TOYT 4T1BE46K29U352668 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1213 Dauphin Island Parkway, Mobile, AL 36605. 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix 2G2WP552661283518 The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2821 Government Blvd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1GCRKPE75CZ181502
The following The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 350 Latimer Lane, Mobile, AL 36609. 2004 Ford Expedition 1FMFU18L04LB74492
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3917 Creekway Dr E., Mobile, AL 36605. 1996 Chevrolet Caprice/Impala 1G1BL52P1TR165040 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2007 W Mott Dr., Mobile, AL 36617. 1996 Chevrolet Caprice 1G1BL52P5TR121350 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1050 N Hickory St., Loxley, AL 36551. 1996 Ford Explorer 1FMDU32P9TZA36864 2001 Ford Mustang 1FAFP404X1F116973 2002 Lincoln Navigator 5LMEU27R12LJ04047 1995 Chevrolet K1500 1GNFK16K4SJ305038 1998 Ford Explorer 1FMZU32X6WZC28432
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5703 Hwy 43, Satsuma, AL 36572. 2002 Ford Explorer 1FMYU60E62UC60304
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 6425 Spanish Fort Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL 36577. 1999 Dodge Dakota 1B7GL2AX6YS734221 1999 Ford Expedition 1FMRU1861XLC51379 2003 Lincoln Aviator 5LMEU68H73ZJ41132 2015 Mini Cooper WMWXU3C54FT892446 2003 Ford Taurus 1FAFP55S23A262054 2009 Toyota Camry 4T1BE46KX9U306084 2002 Nissan Altima 1N4AL11D02C252793 2008 Chevrolet Malibu 1G1ZK57708F206809 1997 Honda Accord 1HGCE6676VA008158 2005 Kia Sedona KNDUP132256727709
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NOTICE OF SALE
ABANDONED VEHICLES NOTICE OF SALE
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3626 St Stephens Rd., Mobile, AL 36612. 1985 Chevrolet C10 1GCDC14N0FF362226
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 7365 Old Gulfcrest Rd., Citronelle, AL 36522. 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1G1PE5SB4D7136259 2003 Lincoln LS 1LNHM87A43Y662220
Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 5697 Pinewood Dr., Bon Secour, AL 36511. 2001 Dodge Dakota 1B7GL2AN91S214311
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Moffett Road Storage, Inc. located at 3765 Moffett Rd., Mobile Al, 36618 will conduct a sale to satisfy lien charges. Auction will be held on Tuesday April 2nd, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. To be sold: household items etc. The following unit contents will be sold: Unit: #F219 Lamonica Williams 74 N. Sage Ave. Mobile AL 36607
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 30864-A Bryars Lane, Spanish Fort, AL 36527. 2010 Ford F250 1FTSW2BY7AEA41106
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 740 Lakeside Dr., Mobile, AL 36693. 2003 Infiniti FX35 JNRAS08U63X101741 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 109 Delisa Dr., Saraland, AL 36571. 2000 Chevrolet S10 1GCCS19W9Y8196909 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 751 Schillinger Rd N., Mobile, AL 36608. 2000 Cadillac Deville 1G6KD54Y4YU276960 2006 Dodge Dakota 1D7HE42K66S667815 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 6530 Powder Horn Ct., Eight Mile, AL 36613. 2009 Freightliner Cascadia 125 1FUJGLDR79LAH4769 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 8510 Brown Dr., Irvington, AL 36544. 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1GCEC19X15Z170437
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 1408 Montlimar Dr., Mobile, AL 36609. 2017 Toyota Camry 4T1BF1FK4HU803044
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2307C South US Hwy 31, Bay Minette, AL 36507. 1997 Chevrolet Blazer 1GNDT13W3V2251001
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 4275 Private Rd 315, Mobile, AL 36695. 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood 1G6DW52PXRR706881
Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 12, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 3351 Dauphin Island Parkway, Mobile, AL 36605. 2009 Nissan Murano JN8AZ18U89W013200 2006 Toyota Highlander JTEGD21A360148749 2002 Ford Crown Vic 2FAFP73W221X121833 2008 Infiniti QX56 5N3AA08D48N913810 2009 Honda Accord 1HGCP26429A144656 Lagniappe HD March 6, 13, 2019
Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
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The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 208 Saraland Blvd. E-1, Saraland, AL 36571. 1999 Ford F150 1FTRF17W7XNB95338 1995 Chevrolet Blazer 1GNCS13W4S2229440 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
The following unclaimed vehicle(s) will be sold on April 19, 2019 - Time - 12pm, if not claimed - at 2024 Halls Mill Rd., Mobile, AL 36606. 2015 Chrysler 200 1C3CCCAB3FN621030 Lagniappe HD March 13, 20, 2019
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