Lott’s Seat Not Secure

Gov. Barbour had appointed one of his lackeys to finish out Sen. Lott’s term. But it does not look too promising for Wicker to retain the gig.

Two nonpartisan national political observers with solid track records as students of Mississippi politics say that the Mississippi special election to choose a permanent successor to former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott is now a legitimate horse race.

Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report and longtime columnist for Roll Call magazine, said on May 20 that the race could no longer be considered “safe for Republicans.”

Rothenberg’s call came after the release of a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee poll showed former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove with a 48 percent to 40 percent lead over Republican interim U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in the race.

“Musgrove benefits from higher name identification, and the race will be close, but the initial numbers are good for the Democrat,” Rothenberg said. The DSCC poll showed Musgrove with significantly higher name recognition than Wicker, but that Musgrove had over twice the “unfavorable” rating than did Wicker.

But the same poll showed that in the 1st Congressional District, which Wicker represented before taking the Senate appointment, Wicker leads Musgrove 48 percent to 43 percent. Democrat Travis Childers just defeated Republican Greg Davis in a special election to fill Wicker’s seat

“Like the 1st District race, party labels will not appear on the ballot beside Wicker and Musgrove’s name, because the November race is technically a special election to fill Republican Trent Lott’s seat,” Rothenberg wrote. “Even though he (Musgrove) has the lead today, the race is still a difficult one for Musgrove, since the state leans Republican in federal races. But it can no longer be considered safe for the Republicans.”

Mississippi Democrats still basking in the glow of Childers’ win over Davis believe Musgrove can continue the party’s reversal of fortunes in congressional politics. Many Democrats also believe that if Sen. Barack Obama is indeed the Democratic presidential nominee, Musgrove’s chances to defeat Wicker are greatly enhanced.

Republicans point to Obama’s recent blowout losses in Kentucky and West Virginia as evidence that Wicker can and will hold the seat.

FL: Beach Blanket Boozing

Some people just wanna suck all the air out of some fun in the fun.

May A. Nunmaker says her last three visits to Pensacola Beach have been “ruined by drunken young people.”

“I just wanted to sit on the beach and enjoy the waves and the birds, but they won’t let you enjoy it, especially this time of year,” said Nunmaker, 60. “And it’s really all because drinking is allowed on this beach.”

Comments like Nunmaker’s have at least one county commissioner talking about banning alcohol on the beach.

Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson IV said he has received a flood of complaints from constituents about how drinking-related behavior is discouraging beach visits for some.

Thinking…..is that not what you pay a beach patrol to do…stop obnoxious people from disturbing clean cut tight asses?   Just a thought.

MS: Beauvoir To Reopen

That shining beacon of the Confederacy, Beauvoir, last home of Pres, Jefferson Davis, will reopen soon.

In the history of Hurricane Katrina recovery, Beauvoir is a Humpty Dumpty “back together again” story getting national attention.

The restored 1852 National Historic Landmark reopens Tuesday with a public celebration and tours for the first time since the 2005 storm destroyed all but the house on the beachfront estate where Jefferson Davis spent his retirement.

Lovers of architecture and history, Mississippi Coast residents appreciating a positive sign of storm recovery, tourists, Davis family members and Coast and state VIPs will attend the morning celebration, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Davis’ birth.

How Will Mississippians Vote?

This is a finding that should not surprise any Mississippian.

• Fifty percent of Mississippians favor McCain to 44 percent for Obama.

• Fifty percent of Mississippians said it’s more important to get troops home from Iraq than to win; 45 percent say it is more important to win.

• If McCain wins, 53 percent said they believe it is somewhat likely the U.S. will win the war, to 26 percent who believe the same would be true with Obama.

• Ten percent more voters believe Obama is more likely to bring the troops home within a year, the poll found.

• President Bush took 59 percent of the Mississippi vote in 2004, the report said, but today only 42 percent of Mississippians believe he is doing a good or excellent job; 41 percent think he is performing poorly.

Democrats believe they will ride a wave of discontent over the war, the economy and President Bush’s job performance into the White House this fall, and that Obama could create record turnout among black voters here.

Members of the state GOP believe no matter whom Democrats nominate, they’ll be far to the left of mainstream Mississippi values. In 1976, Jimmy Carter became the last Democrat to carry Mississippi.

• Republican Sen. Thad Cochran is expected to roll to an easy victory over Democrat Erik Fleming, as he leads in the Rasmussen poll 58 to 35 percent.

• Mississippi is still “safely Republican,” according to Rasmussen’s balance-of-power calculator.

LA: A New Storm Plan

Witht he next hurricane season beginning in just a couple of days…all Coast areas are planning and planning trying to stop a Katrina-style diaster.

St. Tammany Parish is ready for hurricane season, with a little help from the private sector.

With an active storm season expected, officials used a Tuesday news conference to confirm that parish departments are ready for an emergency, briskly outlining mitigation and recovery plans that include significant involvement by private contractors, nonprofits and faith-based organizations, and partnerships with retailers in the parish.

This will play a key role in an emergency plan that emphasizes cooperation, officials said.

“It takes a lot of talent to put this together,” St. Tammany Parish Homeland Security Director Dexter Accardo said. “Everybody has a significant role.”

In addition to plans that include a full response by all parish employees, nonprofits will help with evacuations and private companies will help clear roads, restore utilities and ensure that food and fuel is available for residents in the immediate aftermath of a storm, Parish President Kevin Davis said.

AL: A Gloomy Economy

For people in Alabama, gas prices have gone from pinching to headlocking them, the national economy looks pretty sour, and a majority say their own finances are only fair or worse, the results of a Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll indicate.

The findings show that everyday people see little but gathering gloom in the economic picture, even though some experts say Alabama’s underlying economy is positioned to ride out a national storm. And it’s not clear that the federal economic stimulus checks, hitting bank accounts now, will do much to ease worries.

“As healthy as the Alabama economy has been and still is, this virus is beginning to show up,” said Keivan Deravi, an economist at Auburn University Montgomery, “This recession fear and negativity is beginning to show up in Alabama at a pretty rapid rate.”

The telephone survey of 402 adult residents of Alabama was taken last Monday through Wednesday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, and a 95 percent confidence level.

Of respondents, 38 percent rated the national economy as poor, and another 19 percent said it was very poor. That was the dimmest assessment of American economic health by Alabamians in the eight times since 2000 that the Press-Register/USA poll has asked for their assessment.

State residents don’t see the fever breaking soon, with 39 percent saying things will worsen in the next year.

Gasoline prices are clearly a big weight on consumers. Of those surveyed, 66 percent said that prices — averaging $3.84 statewide for a gallon of regular gas on Monday according to AAA — were affecting them “a lot.” The poll has asked about gas prices four other times since 2001, and never had more than 33 percent of Alabamians said prices stung so much.

There was one hint of good news. Fewer than 20 percent of respondents say that they’re having trouble with bad housing loans or declining home values. That lines up with figures showing Alabama’s foreclosure rate is among the lowest in the nation, and that home values have held up better, despite slow sales and a glut of homes in some areas.

AL: More Shelters For Mobile

Officials are prepared to open more hurricane shelters in Mobile County this year because of concerns that high gas prices could keep people from evacuating further inland.

Mobile County Emergency Management Agency Director Walt Dickerson said the county’s shelter plan will allow for opening as many as 26 shelters if needed, seven more than last year.

Baldwin County will also increase its shelter capacity, adding the Baldwin County Cattle and Fair Association’s new Robertsdale coliseum just east of the city’s high school.

The coliseum is built to withstand 200 mph winds and can hold about 2,000 people in a hurricane, said Baldwin emergency director Leigh Anne Ryals.

Having the coliseum is like having two or three normal shelters, she said, and that may bring peace of mind to people concerned that they can’t afford to drive far.

This is something all hurricane prone areas need to consider….high gas prices will make fewer people evacuate.  Good plan.

MS: FEMA Continues To Screw Coast

According to the letter from FEMA, Gulfport should be dropped from an 8 to a 10 “at the next possible opportunity.” Such a drop would mean at least a 10 percent increase in flood insurance costs for all Gulfport homeowners, not just the noncompliant properties.

“We cannot continue to provide your community with reductions in flood insurance premiums now that we have determined that your community is no longer fully compliant with the minimum requirements,” the letter said.

State and federal flood specialists in February told the city it must remedy 165 noncompliant properties. The number of problem properties since has jumped to 225, but Warr said the city reduced the number to fewer than 30 and that that information was hand-delivered to FEMA in March.

Energy Research Leader

I have been thinking a lot about the energy problems we are having and will have in the future and I do not understand why Mississippi has not become a research center. we have Coast winds, tidal action and lots of damn sunshine, so why is Mississippi not doing more in research and production?

Jobs would be created, good jobs. The state has numerous universities and colleges and they should be in the forefront of the research and production.

Of course to be a leader in this field would take the cooperation of the Legislature and anyone that lives in Mississippi knows what a screaming bunch of do-nothings they are.

We Mississippians should be demanding that more be done, but we seem to worry about the next casino and not the problems that await just over the horizon

AL: City Smoking Ban

The city of Daphne’s smoking ban will go into effect Thursday and at least one local restaurant is already recognizing its loss of regular customers.

At Baumhower’s Wings restaurant, bartender Sheila Bolton told her smoking customers a week in advance that starting Thursday smoking would be banned at all restaurants in Daphne, while it will be allowed at bars that primarily make money from alcohol sales.

“That’s probably where a lot of them are tonight, at a bar, and we might have lost those people for good,” Bolton said on a recent night.

The ordinance prohibits smoking in all Daphne restaurants. It allows smoking in bars, private clubs, tobacco shops and in designated smoking rooms in hotels.

This has been in effect in MS for nearly a month and so far one business has closed and another is getting rid to food so that their regulars will return.  I am not a fan of this type of intrusion ontpo people’s lives but it is a wave and it will pass.