Tag: Government Handouts

And they “sniffed the reeking buns of Angel acted like it was cocaine”……

Stealing a post title from 2011, Slabbed is going to tell you the story you won’t hear in the local media about the new Opportunity Zones, which made the news this past week locally. For those so interested in catching up, the Sea Coast Echo ran this press release based account of the Hancock County designation along with a picture of the smiling Bill Cork of Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission. Likewise WLOX ran a similar story plus acted the part of cheerleader in an editorial which was completely devoid of substance. But first here is the reaction from our local politicos as recounted by those media outlets linked above:

Blaine LaFontaine, president of the Hancock County Board of Supervisors, said, “We are grateful not one, but two census tracts in Hancock County were selected for this opportunity. We hope that private investment and incentives will help provide long-term investments to decrease poverty and increase per capita incomes in our community.”

Here LaFontaine correctly repeats the theory behind the program as did Bill Cork in his remarks. Here is some more reaction:

Waveland Mayor Mike Smith said, “Waveland is very excited to be a part of the opportunity zone which offers tax relief to investors. It will be the shot in the arm that our community needs to spur development and create very needed jobs.”

Glenn McCullough Jr., executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, said global companies know the advantages of the state’s productive workforce coupled with our superior business climate. “By adding Qualified Opportunity Zones, investing in Mississippi becomes an even more logical business decision for companies looking to locate or expand in our state,” he said.

As we read those last two remarks everyone began to giggle behind the scenes here at Slabbed. Here in Mississippi the MDA is more well known for its multi-million dollar boondoggles and by linking the tax relief Opportunity Zones offers investors with job creation both Mayor Smith and McCullough stepped out in a big way because there is no such linkage between jobs and investment in the program. In fact one naturally wonders if Mayor Smith actually saw the map of the designated area because Waveland was largely EXCLUDED from it. Here is a screen capture of the map of the local Opportunity Zone area: Continue reading “And they “sniffed the reeking buns of Angel acted like it was cocaine”……”

How I became a made bananaman and discovered that Miss Chiquita was a government subsidy whore

As seemingly everyone in the two state area now knows, Chiquita is vacating the Port of Gulfport in favor of the Port of New Orleans and the Slabbed Nation is clamoring for some sage analysis.  As luck would have it, my becoming a bananaman derives from the same event from which the name of this website derives, Hurricane Katrina.  Everyone knows that Chiquita imports bananas into the US via Gulfport’s (soon to be New Orleans) Break Bulk cargo facility from Central America.  The company backhauls huge paper rolls to Central America that are used to make the banana boxes used for shipping.  Here is what my neighborhood looked like after the storm when the rocket scientists at the Port made the call to leave everything in place before the storm:

Intersection of US 90 and Broad Avenue after Hurricane Katrina / Slabbed New Media File Photo
Intersection of US 90 and Broad Avenue after Hurricane Katrina destroyed by Chiquita Paper Rolls stored at the Port  of Gulfport / Slabbed New Media File Photo

Most of the rolls clustered at Broad Street and Highway 90 but a few even made it to my neighborhood proper:

West Gulfport flattened by Port Debris and Hurricane Katrina / Slabbed New Media File Photo
West Gulfport flattened by Port Debris and Hurricane Katrina / Slabbed New Media File Photo

Naturally, having witnessed the destruction first hand coupled with nothing happening in the cleanup front I felt the need to agitate and since Chiquita was the only public company among the port tenants it was the CQB message board on Yahoo that I brought the full measure of five weeks of frustration.  Within a week or so of my arrival on the CQB cyber scene, I was met at my slab by a contractor on October 2, 2005 who was armed with an ROE and heavy equipment. Word got out among my old neighbors, additional ROEs were executed on the spot and we were fast tracked for cleanup.  This internet thing is like magic in skilled hands as the following video illustrates: Continue reading “How I became a made bananaman and discovered that Miss Chiquita was a government subsidy whore”