County View

By Jeff Poor

This morning as I was putting the finishing touches on my column, I got a chuckle at the notion that the gang down 401 Water St., otherwise known as the Press-Register, was being protested for their so-called “racist” coverage of Yvonne Kennedy and the Bishop State debacle, as the Press-Register article put it.

How could this newspaper be dubbed as racist, especially when the Press-Register played such an integral role in getting then-Mobile County Commissioner Sam Jones elected as mayor of Mobile?

It’s a very bizarre perspective of our local paper. Seems like you can’t make everyone happy these days. I wonder if there are any concerns that would lure a similar protest down at Lagniappe’s office on Government Street. That’s when you know you’ve hit the big time I suppose.

Condominiums or Mardi Gras Park?

The debate about what to do with the site of the old Mobile County Courthouse on Government at Royal has found its way back to the forefront of conversation. Mobile Mayor Sam Jones and Mobile County District 3 Commissioner Mike Dean seem to favor some sort of Mardi Gras themed park. Apparently, there’s this obsession with green space in downtown Mobile.

District 1 Commissioner Juan Chastang and District 2 Commissioner Stephen Nodine seem to favor doing something different with the property instead of a park. Back in the summer, Nodine mentioned the possibility of high-end retail on the bottom floor of the condominium.

I just don’t get this obsession with “green space.” There are plenty of parks in downtown Mobile. With also this hoopla over the revitalization of downtown – with the RSA Tower, pedestrian bridges, increased police protection, etc. – the one thing downtown Mobile sorely lacks is decent shopping. This side of Mobile Bay in general is deficient in high-end retail. Bel Air Mall just doesn’t give Mobile any sort of credibility if Mobile wants to frame itself as a “big-time player” on the Gulf Coast. The city needs to do something about its absence of quality shopping, but apparently some in power really are sold on this ridiculous idea of a Mardi Gras park.

McCain stumps for EADS

Sen. John McCain was in town last week voicing his support for EADS having the chance of landing the KC-30 Advance Tanker contract from the Department of Defense. The Arizona senator was flanked on each side by Rep. Jo Bonner and Gov. Bob Riley at a press conference last week, asserting that WTO issues should not be taken into consideration in the awarding of this contract. These WTO issues involve whether or not EADS in partnership with Northrup-Grumman can successfully bid on the refueling contract since EADS receives subsidies from European governments.

“The debate today would be the first time any WTO costs had ever been originated in an RFP by the defense department,” said Riley. “If that is the case, I have a problem with it. The thing we want to do is have a fair shot.”

McCain, who spoke earlier at the Mobile County School Board’s Partners in Education breakfast, was closely shadowed by Commissioner Nodine before and after the actual press conference, almost like he wanted to carry his briefcase for him. To Nodine’s credit however, no one locally, including Mayor Sam Jones, has been as outspoken about the potential of refueling tankers being built at Mobile’s Brookley Field as he has been the past few months.

This is McCain’s second trip to Mobile in the last year. Late last year, McCain was in Mobile fundraising for then-Lt. Governor candidate George Wallace, Jr., who lost to Luther Strange in the Republican primary in June. Some insiders are suggesting the Arizona senator’s appearances in Alabama could be part of his bid for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008, especially since Alabama will now have an earlier primary figuring to be a player in the presidential race.

There has even been the suggestion Riley could be a potential running mate should McCain win the nomination, making the whole EADS teamwork effort more intriguing.

“Governor Riley and I assure you that what we want is the best possible product at the least price so the men and women can have equipment, in this case the replacement of the refueling fleet which is a very large procurement,” said McCain. “There is some urgency because these tankers are getting very, very old. They’re older than I am and that’s pretty old.”

The Great Race Track Tease

Last week, Gulf Coast Entertainment, LLC, lead by former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow, put off the decision on where the $600-million motorsports complex would be built. It has once again come down between two sites in Baldwin County and the one site in North Mobile County adjacent to Prichard and Saraland.

I’m personally not buying this notion that whatever site is chosen will be a benefit to the region as a whole. Baldwin County and Mobile County function as two separate entities and it is difficult for me to comprehend how a motorsports park built closer to Pensacola than Mobile is going to improve my quality of life.

It appears that with the buzz surrounding the KC-30 project in Mobile, the limelight has been shifted away from this motorsports park. Dow and company are seeking some type of economic incentive from a government body on either side of the bay, but the delay and indecision makes it appear they aren’t getting as far as they thought they would have.

As the post-midterm election buzz dies down and the KC-30 project hopefully comes to some resolution, look for the racetrack news to make more of a splash. That’s just my prediction.

Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.

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