County View
I decided to take time out of chasing the county news of the day to fulfill my morbid curiosity about this MySpace.com thing and start my own page, especially after there was a Lagniappe cover story about it. (It’s http://www.myspace.com/jeffpoor if you’re bored).
It’s amazing what people put on their MySpace profile. But, that gave me an idea – what if we could use this MySpace phenomenon, that has now pulled out ahead of Google and Yahoo in the hit category, to promote some aspect of local public policy – like a MySpace page for creating a frenzy in our community to recruit another project to locate out at Brookley Field. We might even be able to add a few provocative photos of government officials to spice things up.
Six Flags Over Mobile
Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean told the Press-Register he wanted to explore the possibility of bringing the hurricane-ravaged Six Flags New Orleans theme park to Mobile, even though he admitted it had very little chance of coming to fruition. (I just want to point out, you heard this idea here first last month.)
One would have to assume Mobile was really a tourist destination, which hardly seems comprehensible to Mobilians, but it could be a stop on the way to the beach or something.
The Mardi Gras motif would have also been plausible if Mardi Gras wasn’t in February. Amusement parks don’t generally operate in the brisk cold of mid-February. Riding a Mardi Gras-themed ride in August just wouldn’t be right.
The whole tourist-based economy isn’t the answer to Mobile’s economic ailments. It would be refreshing to see our civic leaders stop trying to implement these gimmicky public projects and look at the problems of the basic underpinnings of Mobile. Fixing the insanely high sales tax and the controversy-plagued school system would be a good place to start.
Off to Spain and praise for Mayor Sam Jones
Speaking of our insanely high sales tax, Mayor Sam Jones received praise from Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine working to recruit new industry to Mobile. Nodine and Jones, who one would assume aren’t exactly fishing buddies, are set to make a trip to Spain along with Governor Bob Riley.
“We’re going to be meeting with vendors and suppliers and to establish ties with the French and Spanish governments,” said Nodine. “It’s going to be a grueling and intensive travel. All parties will be there to negotiate incentive packages.”
Nodine credits Jones for being instrumental behind the scenes with the Airbus A380 project. Granted, he hasn’t made a lot of eye-popping headlines other than awarding the key to the city to Al Sharpton and saving Spencer the Pit Bull, but apparently it isn’t his style.
It really creates a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart to see city, county and state officials working together in harmony to bring growth and stability to Mobile County. Honest.
Free David Thomas!
I had an awesome idea throughout the Thomas jail debacle. However, seven days in the Prichard jail and seven days in Metro Jail weren’t long enough for me to produce and market my “Free David Thomas!” T-shirts. That would have been a sure-fire moneymaker. Imagine going out to your favorite bar on Dauphin Street this weekend and grinding to the techno-remix of the new Paris Hilton single with a “Free David Thomas!” T-shirt on. Fashionably displaying your support for this Mobile icon would have been a sure bet to score points with the opposite sex.
Now that Thomas is barred from communicating with any school board members as part of his punishment, where is he going to seek spiritual advice now that Rev. Fleet Belle, his spiritual advisor throughout his legal woes, is on the school board?
The political loser this week is Judge Herman Thomas. With the local media fascination with David Thomas, because after all it is quite a compelling story, did Judge Thomas think this deed would go unnoticed? It was really a baffling situation, but if I were David Thomas, at this point I would have to figure, “What do I have to lose?”
Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.
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