Month: September 2016

Other Voices | Wednesdays Wars: Hillary Feeling It

Published on Sep 28, 2016

I had a story title before the debate started … Mrs. Know It All Schooled By The Class Clown. That would have been a fun story to write. Especially for someone who has been amused by Trump and very reluctantly supportive of Clinton. Someone like me, for instance.

But then they actually had the debate. And that changed everything.

I made a note at 9:57pm, about fifty minutes into the debate. “Rooting for Trump to make it a good show, but Hillary is doing a much better job on the question of who will be the most competent custodian of the country’s affairs.” And, that pretty much says it all.

Going into the debate, the Clinton campaign was leaking oil big time. Hillary’s bout with pneumonia gave credence to lingering health stories. Her staff’s lack of candor on the subject exacerbated the situation. London betting shops had her down to a 63 percent chance to win the election. After the debate, they took her up to 71 percent. That’s a win. Continue Reading………

Scott Walker: No money to pay his court ordered fines for his felony conviction, has money for Range Rover

Worse is for the taxpayers the Walker family ripped off. Scott Walker still owes big money for restitution and fines claiming he has no coin for such things but then this hits my email inbox a while back:

Screen Capture Courtesy of a Reader
Screen Capture Courtesy of a Reader
IMG950071
Screen Capture Courtesy of a Reader

For those wondering about the Sun Herald-DMR Public Records case…

The Sun Herald found no joy at the Court of Appeals, which reversed Chancellor Schloegel. As of September 2, it was Writ time at the Mississippi Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled whether or not they will be taking the case. Click below to get the 13 page Writ filed earlier this month:

Auditor v Gulf Publishing Writ of Certiorari

Auditor v Gulf Publishing Writ of Certiorari

Microcosm of Dysfunction: Last night’s Bay City Council meeting had a little something for everyone….

First off I did not take a poll but WLOX (Hugh Keeton if I’m not mistaken), The Sun Herald and the Sea Coast Echo were all in attendance or watching one of the various the live streams. It was a marathon meeting and I’ll start with the later portion of the meeting before I left around 8pm, two and a half hours in and the August bill from the former City Attorney:

Bay council rejects $10,000 bill from ousted city attorney ~ Wes Muller

Anyone that has witnessed the early performances of the new City Attorney understands exactly why the City Council made the change. As an added bonus, the Citizens are finally getting value for their money in legal.

Next are the Third Street fence Nazis and that dysfunction in City government mentioned in the post title. First up we must backtrack to the September 6, 2016 Council meeting and I have this via Cassandra Favre at the Sea Coast Echo:

Several residents spoke out against Anita Warner’s application for a variance to the zoning ordinance in order to construct a six-foot aluminum fence on her front yard property line fronting on Third Street and Caron Lane and extend it to the side yards. The Planning and Zoning Commission denied the recommendation that the fence be aluminum and have a 10-foot set back. Many residents said they didn’t want the fence or greenery there because it would obstruct people’s vision. Warner attended the meeting and presented the city with photographs indicating similar fencing surrounding her residence. Ellis Anderson, a representative from the Historic Preservation Commission, told the board, after Warner and others had left the meeting. Two weeks ago, they voted down her request. Her choice was to appeal to the city, which Warner did, and the council sent her request to planning and zoning. The council granted the variance with the stipulation that the six-foot fence be constructed out of aluminum made to look like wrought iron, no obstructions in the right of way and a 20-foot set back on the corner and regular setbacks on the front and side, which is 20 feet.

Bay St Louis Historical Preservation Member Ellis Anderson addressing the City Council on September 6, 2016. Photo via the City of Bay St Louis Facebook page.
Bay St Louis Historical Preservation Member Ellis Anderson addressing the City Council on September 6, 2016. Photo via the City of Bay St Louis Facebook page.

The above is factually correct but it does not paint a very rich picture of the events. The meeting of September 6, 2016 was a marathon meeting, with the zoning variance being near the top of the meeting. Ellis Anderson made her entrance into the Council chambers and spoke to the council at 10:30 at the end of the meeting with the exchange between the Council and Anderson turning a bit testy. The City live stream of Anderson’s remarks is partially contained in the last three minutes of the meeting video but it cuts off right at the point when the exchange got a bit testy. Cassandra nailed the crux of the historical commission argument above and I’ll quote it again: Continue reading “Microcosm of Dysfunction: Last night’s Bay City Council meeting had a little something for everyone….”

Oppositional-defiant: This is what the Bay St Louis City Council deals with frequently

I’ve been to or saw the live stream of at least three Council meetings over the course of the summer where one or more City Councilmen explicitly warned the Mayor to not use the former City Attorney’s services after his contract expired on July 31, 2016 as the Council would not approve it for payment. And of course what does the Mayor do? If you guessed he uses the services of the former City Attorney you’d be a winner!

Courtesy of a person familiar with the operations of Bay St Louis Municipal Government Not Authorized to Speak with the Media
Courtesy of a person familiar with the operations of Bay St Louis Municipal Government not Authorized to Speak with the Media

Continue reading “Oppositional-defiant: This is what the Bay St Louis City Council deals with frequently”

A couple of nuggets from a very somber Bay St Louis Council meeting

Slabbed was there as was WLOX and the Seacoast Echo. The latest meme out of the Fillingame camp involves asking the rhetorical question Who is the Hancock County Alliance for Good Government? It is the exactly the meme the Library folks whipped out after Slabbed pointed out that the Library system and its supporting Foundation had spent $2,400 to Gold sponsor the annual Chamber of Commerce gala, a night of recognition, revelry complete with firewater less than a year after closing East Hancock County Library citing a lack of funds. Since the ideas can’t be refuted when all else fails attack the messenger. A clue for you Facebook Warrior hens, it is possible have an organization without a Facebook page. As an experienced webmaster I’d personally recommend organizations steer clear of Facebook because the company plays too many games with its news feed but that is another post.

Of course it is a very poorly kept secret that the easiest way to find a member of the Hancock County Alliance for Good Government is to attend a meeting of the Bay St Louis or Waveland City Councils, the County Board of Supervisors and the School Districts. Sadly you seldom see the Facebook warriors at any of these thus the need for news organizations like Slabbed, The Sea Coast Echo, WLOX, The Sun Herald, etc. Slabbed was at last night’s special meeting of the Bay St Louis City Council and sure enough I found three members of the Alliance, Co Chairmen Lana Noonan and Ron Thorpe along with Libby Garcia (Miss. Libby), who was giving an interview to Make Lacy of WLOX when I arrived to cover the meeting for Slabbed:

Here is a short version of yesterday’s story and WLOX interviews with Lana and Miss Libby: Continue reading “A couple of nuggets from a very somber Bay St Louis Council meeting”