County View

A tear, irrepressible, seared my cheek as I watch a wrecker’s ball have its way with the Cimarron Club on Old Shell Road, April 16, 2008, 12:07 p.m. Fond memories of afternoon aperitifs will be just that, and cherished: memory of my first visit and the friend who took me and asked, “Do you have a gun or knife? and I answered “No.” “Don’t worry, they’ll give you one at the door,” he replied.

Brain Drained of Kissing Cousins

The famous glint of fiscal determination returned to the eyes of Merceria Ludgood on April 14 in a stand-off with a city contractor who held her ground in a campaign to reverse Mobile’s eight year long technical brain drain. Bring the smarty boys back home to, as they pronounce it in Seattle, “Mo-bull.”

Engrained in our charming lexicon: TK, EADS,NG, Airbus. With tax-abated breath, with timid bank accounts we await our capitalist heroes. In anticipation, BPM’s “Come Back to Mobile” campaign has been soliciting resumes , but so has another group, Mobile Works, and Commissioner Ludgood squared off with Jane Birdwell of Birdwell Photography & Multimedia over proposed amendment to the BMP contract to add 200K.

During her presentation Ms. Birdwell made a case for attracting young talent back to Mobile, twice referring to the Commission’s efforts in keeping the Airbus contract as “unstoppable,” and Commissioners Dean and Nodine as “Two huge champions.” I looked around for District 3 candidate John Graham to chime,”Noel, Noel,” but he was in absentia this agenda-filled morning.

Ms. Ludgood wanted distinction between Mobile Works and Come Back to Mobile, and Ms. Birdwell cited media buying and rallies in support of the Airbus contract and recruitment by her company. But in truth it was Ms. Ludgood who was almost unstoppable, especially when in a pin drop moment she informed another commissioner, “I actually wasn’t finished.” In the end she was.

A vote of 2-1 approved the BMP contract amendment, and rumor has it we may even have to claw into the belly of Seattle for young aeronautical engineering talent, a thought that conjures images of Seattleites teaching us proper English and discouraging our kissing cousins from doting on one another. Over my dead body.

To Insure or Uninsure?

Senator Ben Brooks who sponsors Senate Bills 3 and 5 seeking affordable home insurance for Mobile County residents, presented at the meeting. Especially effected is south Mobile county where there has been a brain drain of insurance coverage and much higher rates since Katrina .We also heard from the local insurance industry, builder’s association and the head of building inspections in Mobile.

The commissioners are considering a proposal to require houses in unincorporated south Mobile County to withstand 150 mph winds. Builders point out this extra cost will be passed to the consumer. Three things became clear: our county is growing, people need affordable home insurance and we don’t want houses to blow away in a storm.

No Shangri-La

Developers of two new subdivisions in west Mobile (Fox Hunter Ridge and Magnolia Court) were the subject of several speakers from the public – home-owners who urged denial of county subdivision permits because of unresolved water run-off onto their nearby properties. Their lament fell on sympathetic-but-governmental ears since the neighborhoods are in unincorporated areas where zoning is not regulated.

The public speakers pleaded and told the commission, “We just want our land to stay our land,” “We want the government to protect our interest,” and “Do we have a voice?” Commissioner Nodine indicated it might be a civil not a county issue, prompting one gentleman to ask “If the subdivision is going to be approved then why notify residents by certified mail?” I heard another pin drop and imagined Mayor Sam Jones smiling at the thought of further growing our empire via annexation and something we now know he will use, eminent domain.

Recognized by The President of America

Congratulations to Murphy High School student Deidre Graham, 17, who won an all-expense trip to Washington, DC and $1K for being selected as Alabama’s Top Youth Volunteer for her dance project “Imagine Me: Image in Me.” She’s also in the national running and even W sent her a letter of commendation.

I’ve been circling my mailbox, anxiously awaiting any commendation from the president, but so far all I’ve got is an invitation to send the IRS 3,000 more dollars for something I “forgot” to claim last year. I don’t know how I can forget something so important to me, paying taxes.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

The $96K for the Sheriff’s mounted unit was almost tabled for two weeks on the question of who owns the horses, but that turned moot if not moody since the money requested is for equipment – saddles, helmets and bullet proof vests with tactical attachments ( do they know something we don’t?). At the finish line it was Nodine and Dean yea with Ludgood abstaining.

Maybe she’s starting to notice how frequent are the recommendations for Sheriff funding and that it might cut deeper into her goal of maintaining a healthy reserve in the county piggy bank.

Extra, Extra

Lamar Advertising and Clear Channel Radio executives were presented with tanker trophies for their campaigns letting the world know Mobile is super-serious about the Airbus contract. In a separate ceremony I was presented with a pen trophy for my exposés “Why the GAO is Taking So Long to Render a Decision,” and “How Mobile Stole the Title ‘America’s Rainiest City’ from Seattle and That’s Really Why They Hate Us.”

Someone from The Mobile Press Club winked at me and said this virtually assured me a nod from The Club when they pass out journalistic awards this summer. On a sour note he did say they might have to invent a new category, something to do with tomfoolery.

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Contact Preston Brady at preston@lagniappemobile.com.

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