County View

Jul 15 2008 – The county as viewed from the back of a bike In the line of business, when government laws and rules do not yield the desired result, simply change the rules, shift the balance of power and like Copperfield wiggling out of chains, your result will miraculously appear.

Jul 01 2008 – If we could package the decorum displayed at most public meetings such as the biweekly Mobile County Commission soiree and sell it to the streets, we might instill a civility not seen since every American household was "Leave it to Beaver" and drug wars were a little old lady disputing the price of her gastritis pills with the local pharmacist, who is also making her a root beer float probably inflaming the gastritis.

Jun 17 2008 – On Mondays, crouching tigers rise from woods and, poised for attack, attack.

Jun 03 2008 – It had all the makings of a yawning Bradypodidae sloth.

May 19 2008 – One major factor separating world-class cities from want-to-bes, is public transportation.

May 06 2008 – Awaiting the April 29, 2008 County Commission meeting to commence with prayer and allegiance to the flag, it occurred to me I was perhaps sitting in the very spot I had as a teenager about to embark on a five-day journey to San Francisco.

Apr 22 2008 – 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.

Apr 08 2008 – The last two days of March sadly included three fatal motorcycle accidents in Mobile County, making front page news and leaving many wondering what’s up with traffic.

Mar 25 2008 – At the March 10, 2008 County Commission meeting Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc.

Mar 12 2008 – A retirement ceremony for Ronnie Poiroux, head of Mobile ALDOT opened the Feb.

Feb 25 2008 – As I was patted down and made worthy of initial passage through the regal doors of the Mobile County Commission auditorium, I thought I heard the guard ask me, "Are you now or have you in the past been associated with Jeffrey Poor, one of your Lagniappe predecessors and now an alleged correspondent based in Washington D.C.?

Feb 12 2008 – New columnist Preston Brady sat down with County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood to talk with her about her past, present and future.

Dec 18 2007 – There’s a lot of money being distributed around the county in these final days of 2007.

Dec 04 2007 – It seems the big news the past couple of weeks has been this whole Mobile Area Water and Sewer System versus the Alabama Department of Transportation fiasco.

Nov 20 2007 – This week I’d like to begin by extending congratulations to the three finalists for an open judgeship in Mobile County.

Nov 06 2007 – There have been some strange happenings around this Northrop/Boeing bidding war, and the weirdness just hit a new high.

Oct 23 2007 – Mobile County had an eventful couple of weeks. There’s a new commissioner in town, and voters approved a way to pay for steel mill incentives that makes a whole lot of sense.

Oct 09 2007 – By the time you read this the District 1 elections will be two days old, and the Mobile County Commission will be getting set to welcome a new face into the fold.

Sep 25 2007 – I guess I sort of have to eat my words now. But only sort of.

Sep 11 2007 – Expect to see changes soon in Mobile County politics.

Aug 28 2007 – It’s always funny listening to politicians on the campaign trail.

Aug 14 2007 – Could you imagine Uncle Henry as the next Mobile County schools superintendent?

Jul 31 2007 – A couple of weeks ago people waited in line for hours and even days to get their hands on the high-tech revolution that is Apple’s iPhone.

Jul 17 2007 – The fireworks continued even after July 4, at least politically in Mobile County.

Jul 03 2007 – To start things off this week, I want to make a correction to a column I wrote a couple of issues ago.

Jun 19 2007 – Those of you who were holding your breath for a Stephen Nodine mayoral run can exhale now.

Jun 05 2007 – The Mobile County Commission had a busy week. One story certainly piqued my interest as it deals with a strip club in Wilmer.

May 22 2007 – Since you’re probably staring at the page wondering who the hell I am, I feel an introduction may be necessary.

May 08 2007 – Am I the only one who remembers back in late 2005 how the appointment of Juan Chastang to the Mobile County Commission was supposed to usher in a new era for conservative activism in the northern part of Mobile County?

Apr 25 2007 – It’s been nearly a year of covering county politics for me and it took from early June until this month for me to see the smoldering cauldron finally boil over before the public’s eyes.

Apr 10 2007 – I don’t know your name, but if I did, I certainly would use it in this spot.

Mar 28 2007 – I have an idea for Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine.

Mar 13 2007 – This time a year from now, we’ll not only likely know who the Democratic and Republican candidates are for the presidency, we’ll will know who the two party nominees are for the local offices.

Feb 27 2007 – Other than the few stale Moon Pies lying around my apartment, only the memory of the latest round of Mardi Gras revelry exists at the Poor household.

Feb 13 2007 – Imagine if there were five county commissioners in Mobile County.

Jan 30 2007 – It’s not that security is totally askew at Government Plaza.

Jan 16 2007 – Here we go again. The 2008 election cycle is already heating up and we are barely two months out of the 2006 midterm cycle.

Jan 02 2007 – It’s good to see our county commission has pushed itself back to the forefront in local government.

Dec 19 2006 – It’s been an interesting year, to say the least, for the Mobile County Commission.

Dec 05 2006 – Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I realized I had a lot to be thankful for – family, friends, good health, a column in Lagniappe, the Auburn University football team having five straight wins over the University of Alabama, etc.

Nov 21 2006 – America took a giant step to the left earlier this month in the midterm elections.

Nov 08 2006 – 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.

Oct 25 2006 – Pretty soon, the election signage throughout Mobile and Baldwin County will disappear and the landscape will be altered from expectation.

Oct 10 2006 – Here we are 28 days from the election and although most of the local races are pretty cut-and-dried, there’s still hope in a post-BayFest Mobile we’ll have a little fervor leading up to Nov.

Sep 27 2006 – Trying to make it through the Wallace Tunnel from Baldwin County has become increasingly difficult (not that it wasn’t difficult before) now that everyone wants to gaze at the newly added spire.

Sep 13 2006 – After some criticisms, I have decided to give up attempting to revamp my writing style to adhere to the laws of argumentation and rhetoric just to please a few so I may now focus my efforts toward Pay-As-You-Go programs that will lure top-notch businesses to Mobile County.

Aug 29 2006 – CHICAGO – After taking a chance and using the mildly overpriced Mobile Regional Airport to come up to Chicago for the annual Society of Professional Journalists convention, I have learned why going to Pensacola or New Orleans, where direct flights are available, may not always necessarily be the cheapest thing, but the least time consuming.

Aug 16 2006 – I know we’re living in a time when we are supposed to at a heightened sense of awareness, but why is it that every time – without failure – that when I go down to Government Plaza to attended the biweekly Mobile County Commission Meeting, I am treated as some sort of security risk or looked at like I am lost and looking for a place to pay a traffic ticket?

Aug 01 2006 – With all this love circulating around Mobile for European investment into our local economy, I have committed myself to a diet of French pastries, Serrano ham and two or three Red Bull Energy Drinks to wash it all down.

Jul 19 2006 – 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.

Jul 05 2006 – It seems at least one of Mobile County School Board member couldn’t care less if more communties take Saraland’s lead and bail out of the state’s biggest school district.

Jun 21 2006 – Just as the dust has begun to clear from last week’s primaries, several new controversies have blown into the forefront ensuring that Lagniappe readers will not be lulled into the doldrums of a deep summer slumber.

Jun 06 2006 – What’s the best use for the space cleared by the demolition of the old courthouse? Condos or Mardi Gras Park? The new kid on the block has some thoughts in County View.