fbpx
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Legal Notices
Lagniappe Mobile
  • News
    • Cover Story
    • Latest
    • Serial Stories
    • Bay Briefs
    • Community News
    • Open Documents
    • e-Edition
  • Baldwin
  • Commentary
    • Damn the Torpedoes
    • Hidden Agenda
    • Beltway Beat
    • The Real Deal
    • Weather Things
    • The Gadfly
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Cuisine
    • The Dish
    • Word of Mouth
    • Beer and Loathing
    • Cuisine Directory
  • Arts
    • Artifice
    • Art Gallery
    • The Reel World
    • Calendar
  • Music
    • Music Feature
    • Music Briefs
    • Music Listings
    • Submissions
  • Sports
    • The Score
    • The Starting Line-Up
    • From Behind The Mic
    • Upon Further Review
  • Style
    • Media Frenzy
    • Mobile Magnified
    • Horoscopes
    • Master Gardeners
    • Style Feature
  • Lagnia-POD

Select Page

This was the year our pot finally boiled

Posted by Ashley Trice | Dec 25, 2013 | Hidden Agenda, by Ashley Trice | 0 |

They say a watched pot never boils, but I think 2013 proved otherwise for the city of Mobile.

As simple discontent with the status quo turned to outright anger, we watched the same ol’ pot of cold, stagnant water we had been staring at for the last 20 years begin to warm, getting hotter and hotter as it was fueled by the fire of the insatiable need for change. Thousands of tiny little bubbles dancing around under the surface, just waiting for one to break through to the other side.

And one did. And then another and another.

We witnessed one of the most transformative years our local government has ever seen. From the school board to the mayor and city council to the state legislature and most recently on the federal level with the election of our next congressman, we saw changes on every level.

Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble.

2013 was the year we achieved rapid boil in the city of Mobile, but 2014 is going to be the year we figure out what we really want and need to add to the pot.

The election of Sandy Stimpson as mayor in August certainly had and will have the most impact on our city. With a little under two months as the city’s mayor, Stimpson has spent his short time in office assembling a quality team, learning the ropes, tearing down doors (literally), sorting through what the previous administration left behind, and reaching out to industry far and wide, as well as to other area leaders.

Although I wish he could snap his fingers and make good on all of his campaign promises instantaneously, it will obviously take a little time and prioritizing.

But one promise he has made good on already is transparency, not only within his own administration, but also of at the police department under the new leadership of Chief James Barber.

With the previous administration and chief, getting information was like pulling teeth from a crocodile on crack. But so far, Stimpson and Barber have been an open book.

And really, once you have that, everything else will fall into place.

But what “else” do we want to fall in said place?

Sure, we’ll take a cruise ship, all of the Airbus suppliers, more Hollywood film productions, whatever you got.

But as cheesy and self-help bookish as it sounds, I think 2014 is the year we need to focus on becoming our best self.

We’ve spent a lot time courting outsiders, and it is finally paying off. But now we need to get all gussied up before they get here. It’s time to do something with our crumbling streets, neglected parks, littered water and roadways and start thinking about those bike paths we talked about ad nauseum during the campaign.

Basically, this is the year we need to become a hottie.

I don’t know how “achievable” this is, but I do feel confident our new mayor will be open with us about what can and can’t be done and the reasons why. And I am looking forward to the beginning of our makeover.

We are also sending a new congressman to Washington. After voting in what seemed like 36 special elections to replace Jo Bonner, who left office early to take a sweet gig at the University of Alabama, Bradley Byrne will head up to the Beltway to join the least productive Congress in history.

Though it almost seems like you could send that crackhead crocodile up there and achieve the same results, I am happy Byrne was our choice. I’m pretty sure that other guy would have grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons.

With record low approval ratings, the nation is getting restless, and just like our city, discontent is turning to anger. It seems like Congress may finally be getting the message.

Though no one from Mobile’s like that hideous Patty Murray (yes, the Democratic senator from Washington who said we were too dumb to build airplanes), at least she and Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, were able to sit down and craft a budget deal.

Hopefully, we will continue to see our leaders in Washington actually work together to get something done, and Byrne will contribute to that process.

If any pot of stagnant water needs to boil, it’s the one up there. Turn up the heat, Congressman Byrne.

Bubble. Bubble. Bubble.

This page is available to our subscribers. Join us right now to get the latest local news from local reporters for local readers.

The best deal is found by clicking here. Click here right now to find out more. Check it out.

Already a member of the Lagniappe family? Sign in by clicking here

Share:

Rate:

PreviousLagniappe Dec. 26, 2013 – Jan. 8, 2014
NextChristmas booze cruises and Chippendale fights

About The Author

Ashley Trice

Ashley Trice

Ashley Trice is the editor and publisher of Lagniappe Weekly, which she co-founded with fellow publisher Rob Holbert in July 2002. Lagniappe has steadily grown from a 5,000 circulation biweekly into the 30,000 weekly newspaper it is today. Originally from Jackson, Alabama, she graduated cum laude from the University of South Alabama in 2000 with a BA in communications and did some post graduate work at the University of Texas. She was in the 2011 class of Mobile Bay Monthly’s 40 Under 40. She is the recipient of the 2003 Award for Excellence in In-Depth Reporting by the Mobile Press Club and for Humorous Commentary by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2010 and 2018. In 2015, she won a national writing award presented by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for “Best Column.” She won the Alabama Press Association Award for Best Editorial Column in 2017, Best Humor Column in 2018 and Best Editorial Column in 2019. She is married to Frank Trice and they live in Midtown with their children Anders and Ellen, their dog Remy and a fish named Taylor Swift.

Related Posts

Time for a fresh start

Time for a fresh start

January 16, 2019

All I want for Christmas is…

All I want for Christmas is…

December 11, 2013

MOB or BFM? Mobile’s billion-dollar question

MOB or BFM? Mobile’s billion-dollar question

June 27, 2018

It is our problem

It is our problem

November 3, 2021

Recommended Stories

Hopelessly devoted to being disappointed

By Ashley Trice

Congress to enter NCAA ‘arms race’

By Rob Holbert

Glass outfit on road to area prominence

By Kevin Lee

Stuck inside of Mobile with the imMobile blues again

By Ashley Trice

Matrix suit getting nasty

By Rob Holbert


  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Jobs
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join the Sunday Brunch Newsletter

Search This Site

Browse the Archives

© Lagniappe Mobile 2022