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THE INSIDER Your Communities Your Voices
Greater Mobile Metropolitan Area
On Front Street As of Aug. 2, the showdown for Mobile’s mayoral seat was close … extremely close. Lagniappe and the USA Polling Group sponsored a poll, which was conducted by Dr. Thomas Shaw with the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice between July 22 and Aug. 4. The results, which in 95 of 100 cases will be accurate with a plus or minus 4.7 percent margin of error, show incumbent Sam Jones and challenger Sandy Stimpson are in a dead heat, each having 47 percent of the vote. There are still 6 percent of people who are undecided and Dr. Doris Brown has less than 1 percent of the likely votes. One of the other interesting results is that the poll results are primarily split by race. Jones is Likewise Stimpson has 82 percent of the likely white votes and Jones has 14 percent. Also, in seven key issues — Airbus, city’s crime rate, cruise ship, public openness, city’s finances, quality of life and stormwater runoff — the poll suggested Mobilians felt Jones would handle five of the seven issues better than the other candidates. The poll seemed to indicate
INSIDE... The Inside Story
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Mobile Area News Education pg 4 Healthcare pg 4 Economic Development pg 5 Workforce Development pg 5 News Briefs City of Mobile pg 6 City of Prichard pg 7 Mobile County pg 8 Eastern Shore pg 9 Spotlight On pg 10 Classifieds pg 11 The Backburner pg 12
Insider Rob Holbert: Copublisher/Managing Editor
About the Insider The Insider is Mobile, Alabama’s independent biweekly newspaper. We have a circulation of 5,000 and more than 12,000 readers every two weeks. We provide highly localized content for the citizens of Mobile and neighboring communities such as Fairhope, Daphne, Tillman's Corner, Theodore and Gulf Shores. The Insider is the newest locally owned publication in the Mobile area and has been serving the community since 2012.
Ashley TolandTrice: Copublisher/Editor Steve Hall: Marketing and Sales Director Kevin Lee: Associate Editor/Arts Editor Katie Nichols: News Editor Gabriel Tynes: Web Editor/Reporter
Reader's Opinion Page
The Inside Story Memo to Sandy: Mobile already is a safe city, stop trying to scare (white) people! Fear can be a powerful tool: our politicians warn us that drugs and violence are seeping into our safe communities, and that, if elected, they can help put a stop to it. Once elected, these mostly white men support Criminal Justice System policies that inhibit the personal liberties of our poor and our minorities. Certain policies, such as our “War on Drugs” and Sentencing Guidelines, have at least been acknowledged as racially biased. Others, such as Three Strikes Laws and Mandatory Minimums, are a bit more covert. Sadly, the policies used by our law enforcement and judicial system disproportionately target black and Latino males during every step of the criminal process. And both before and after these innercity minorities are put through the system, they are faced with struggles from every angle, including housing, education, and the economy. Their families are forced to struggle as they are filtered through our prisons and jails, and their situation does not improve upon their release. Society has decided that once you have been convicted of a crime, you are no longer entitled to those opportunities that might help you get back on your feet. Exoffenders are deprived of voting rights, financial aid, public housing, job opportunities, and any chance of being treated as a legitimate member of society. These mostly male blacks and Latinos from the innercity are given no help transitioning back into society, and then scolded when they fall back into crime. Their family, friends, and communities are treated as guilty by association, and left with little financial or political recourse to change the situation. There is a severe lack of honesty and transparency in our Criminal Justice System, and no opportunity for real public discourse. This article attempts to expose these truths, in the hope that a betterinformed polity can replace scared, white suburbanites in the polls, and we can start to see some real societal change.
The Inside Story (continued)
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THE BACKBURNER Two of the fiercest political disputes between Washington and the states could soon come together in legal fights that involve tying the new federal health care overhaul to voter registration. Every state is preparing to open a health insurance exchange by Oct. 1. Whether these new agencies will offer voter registration as well as health care information is emerging as a potential fault line that could further divide states from one another and from Washington. The Obama administration and voting rights advocates say there's no question the agencies must offer voter registration under federal law. But Republicans in Congress and in some states are pushing back, and even some election law experts aren't so sure the question has an easy answer. So far, just three states have officially said they'll link the exchanges and voter registration. But whether the rest will – or will be required to under federal law – is an open question that will likely lead to court battles and at least a temporary patchwork approach nationwide. The issue hinges on the interpretation of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the "Motor Voter Act," and whether it applies to the new exchanges. The measure requires states to offer voter registration at government offices, most commonly departments of motor vehicles. With the exchanges, which are in some ways a new kind of government office, some are questioning whether the law applies to them. At stake is a new opportunity for millions of Americans to register to vote. Just 65 percent of eligible Americans over 18 are registered to vote now. While most people have gone to a motor vehicle agency to get a driver's license, it is not required, and fewer young people
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