Mobile Development Thread

[OCA REP]

Noticed a link to this news article at a commercial aviation related website this morning:

http://www.al.com/business/press-register/index.ssf?/base/business/1226830613202950.xml&coll=3

Bodies for funerals no longer flown to Mobile

Sunday, November 16, 2008 By KAIJA WILKINSONBusiness Reporter

Bodies are no longer being ferried in and out of Mobile Regional Airport for funeral purposes because the commercial aircraft are too small. Delta Airlines, which flew the only local aircraft capable of carrying the shipping containers and caskets, switched to smaller planes Nov. 1.

As a result, the body of a man who died in Texas but wanted to be buried in his hometown of Mobile took several hours longer to reach its resting place this month. Bodies headed out of Mobile for burial elsewhere are also arriving later than before.

The situation is creating hassles for funeral homes in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as costs that in many cases are passed on to families. "It adds more expense to something that's already expensive," said Phil Gilmer, owner of Gilmer's Funeral Home, located less than five miles from Mobile Regional. Gilmer is having to drive a 140-mile round trip to the Pensacola airport to ship or pick up bodies.

In a gas-guzzling hearse, the extra distance means more than $150 in fuel costs, said Reggie Young, funeral director and embalmer at Ascension Funeral Home in west Mobile. It also means more work hours taken out of the day.
Such ferrying services — offered by a number of airlines — are also available out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

No Mobile-area funeral directors interviewed by the Press-Register said they were using that New Orleans airport, but some Jackson County, Miss., funeral directors were doing so.

Josh Guthans, funeral director at Holder-Wells Funeral Home in Moss Point, said that New Orleans International is more than 120 miles distant, while Mobile Regional lies just 30 miles away.

Holder-Wells employees have had to drive to New Orleans twice this month, he said. The gas and work hours added costs of about $200 for the families, he said.

In Mobile, Gilmer expressed puzzlement at the airport situation. "We're a metropolitan city; we have two airports and one of the longest runways at Brookley," said Gilmer, who vowed not to add to shipping costs for grieving families. "I don't know if the problem is with Delta or the (Mobile) Airport Authority."

According to Delta, slack demand for passenger tickets prompted it to pull its 142-seat MD-88 jets from Mobile. In its place, linking Mobile and Atlanta, are a pair of smaller planes, neither of which has a large enough cargo hold for boxes or caskets.

Authority spokeswoman Julie Bordes said that in years past, Delta has decreased the number of seats offered on mainline jets, such as by taking away one of two MD-88s during slow months. This is the first time in recent years, however, that the larger jets have been pulled entirely, she said.

Anthony Black, a spokesman at Delta headquarters in Atlanta, said the Mobile jet was not idled, but was shifted to another market that enjoys greater passenger demand. Delta has 117 of the planes in service now, the same number it had last year.

Any of Delta's larger aircraft that seat 130 to 280 people, such as the 737 and 777, can carry bodies for funeral purposes, he said.

"The No. 1, overwhelming driver for service in any market is going to be passenger demand, which will dictate what size aircraft you operate into a market," Black said.

In October 2008, Delta's MD-88 aircraft in Mobile was only 59 percent full, a decrease of 3 percent from 2007, according to the Airport Authority.

Delta is the leading carrier of bodies nationwide, he said, shipping several thousand each year, Black said.

Using Delta, shipping a body from Point A to Point B ranges in cost from about $275 to well over $1,000, according to Delta's funeral services division, Delta Cares. To ship a body from Mobile to Washington, D.C., for example, would cost about $305; from Mobile to Denver, about $775.

Black said he believes that most funeral homes who were regular customers were notified of the change, and will be notified if the service returns.

Some of the funeral home executives who spoke to the Press-Register said they heard nothing from Delta directly. David Jones, assistant manager of Pine Crest Funeral Home and Cemetery, said he found out about the change from a competitor Nov. 2. Jones said Pine Crest ships about 40 to 50 bodies each year. He said he hopes the service returns, and quickly. Those hurt most, he said, are the families.

Welcome to our world. Montgomery went through this a couple of years back when all commercial air traffic into MGM went to "connection" type carriers and non mainline aircraft. Maybe it will change in both cities eventually...

[10101000]

That is bad business!

[Port_of_Bama]

That is bad business !!



MOB forumers lets let the politics go Tim apologize and it takes a man to admit when he is wrong . I disagreed with him as well but the man apologized and those who were botherd by his comments can either accept his apology or not. It`s all good this is the Mobile development forum lets keep it that away.

[10101000]

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/12270033538260.xml&coll=3


Tuesday, November 18, 2008 By DAN MURTAUGHStaff Reporter
The future of downtown Mobile could include people sitting on benches in Bienville Square, in a bar on Dauphin Street or in a condominium on St. Louis Street, all opening their laptops to use free, wireless In ternet.

Part of a new plan for downtown Mobile is a proposal for the city to provide a seamless zone of free, broadband-speed wireless Internet access throughout downtown Mobile.

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said he's already directed the city's telecommunications and technology departments to explore the matter.

Advertisement


"That's something we consider a priority," Jones said. "A lot of people are interested in having broadband access. ... It would be a selling point for Mobile."

Officials have not decided whether the city would do it on its own or work with a private company, Jones said. The city's network doesn't currently have the capacity to simply offer access through it, he said.

That's how a free wireless service began in downtown Houston.

A few years ago, Houston built a wireless network to allow parking meters to accept credit card payments, said Janis Benton, the deputy director for the city's Information Technology Department.

Earlier this year, officials decided to secure the part of the network that dealt with the parking meters and open up the rest of the bandwidth to anyone who wanted to hook on, she said.

It cost the city about $25,000 to make the upgrades, she said, and there's no operating cost because the network needs to be maintained for the parking meters anyway.

The network covers about a 4-square-mile area, and about 200 unique users connect every day, Benton said.

People can buy a piece of equipment called an extender for less than $200 to get a stronger signal indoors, Benton said. That's less than it would cost for five months of high-speed Internet from Comcast in Mobile.

The program has also had the ancillary benefit of making Houston more "hip," Benton said.

"It's legitimized us with young people in a way that nothing else has," she said. "Of all the things we do in government services, this is the one thing they connect with."

Computer users can find free wireless hotspots in downtown Mobile now. Southern Light, a fiber-optic company headquartered on St. Anthony Street, started beaming a free wireless signal into Cathedral Square several years ago.

But company CEO Andy Newton said he has been disappointed with the use it gets — 20 people a month, he estimated.

He said he thought people would connect to it in order to send e-mails from the park or check fantasy football scores while watching games in Heroes, the nearby sports bar.

"We were hoping to get more use," Newton said. "Maybe if it were more ubiquitous across the downtown area it would be used more

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by (Tim)

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/12270033538260.xml&coll=3


Tuesday, November 18, 2008 By DAN MURTAUGHStaff Reporter
The future of downtown Mobile could include people sitting on benches in Bienville Square, in a bar on Dauphin Street or in a condominium on St. Louis Street, all opening their laptops to use free, wireless In ternet.

Part of a new plan for downtown Mobile is a proposal for the city to provide a seamless zone of free, broadband-speed wireless Internet access throughout downtown Mobile.

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said he's already directed the city's telecommunications and technology departments to explore the matter.

Advertisement


"That's something we consider a priority," Jones said. "A lot of people are interested in having broadband access. ... It would be a selling point for Mobile."

Officials have not decided whether the city would do it on its own or work with a private company, Jones said. The city's network doesn't currently have the capacity to simply offer access through it, he said.

That's how a free wireless service began in downtown Houston.

A few years ago, Houston built a wireless network to allow parking meters to accept credit card payments, said Janis Benton, the deputy director for the city's Information Technology Department.

Earlier this year, officials decided to secure the part of the network that dealt with the parking meters and open up the rest of the bandwidth to anyone who wanted to hook on, she said.

It cost the city about $25,000 to make the upgrades, she said, and there's no operating cost because the network needs to be maintained for the parking meters anyway.

The network covers about a 4-square-mile area, and about 200 unique users connect every day, Benton said.

People can buy a piece of equipment called an extender for less than $200 to get a stronger signal indoors, Benton said. That's less than it would cost for five months of high-speed Internet from Comcast in Mobile.

The program has also had the ancillary benefit of making Houston more "hip," Benton said.

"It's legitimized us with young people in a way that nothing else has," she said. "Of all the things we do in government services, this is the one thing they connect with."

Computer users can find free wireless hotspots in downtown Mobile now. Southern Light, a fiber-optic company headquartered on St. Anthony Street, started beaming a free wireless signal into Cathedral Square several years ago.

But company CEO Andy Newton said he has been disappointed with the use it gets — 20 people a month, he estimated.

He said he thought people would connect to it in order to send e-mails from the park or check fantasy football scores while watching games in Heroes, the nearby sports bar.

"We were hoping to get more use," Newton said. "Maybe if it were more ubiquitous across the downtown area it would be used more

Montgomery has been doing this around Court Square and along Commerce Street towards the river for some time now. I see people out occasionally on various benches with their laptops. I have never taken mine out to test signal strength, etc.

Here is a link to the city's website where this is discussed:

http://www.montgomeryal.gov/index.aspx?page=147

This is a good thing and I think it really does add to the "hip" factor for a city to be able to promote something of this nature!

[NitekKetin]

If there were wireless hotspots along the waterfront or in the Main Library, I wouldn't mind spending a day surfing at Cooper Riverside or in the Reading Room at Ben May.

On the other hand, between DSL at home and work, I spend too much time online anyway.

[nimsjus]

Originally Posted by NitekKetin

If there were wireless hotspots along the waterfront or in the Main Library, I wouldn't mind spending a day surfing at Cooper Riverside or in the Reading Room at Ben May.

On the other hand, between DSL at home and work, I spend too much time online anyway.

No hotspots necessary...This will be a free "cloud" over the Henry Aaron Loop. They never mentioned the stuff about the parking meters when discussing this. They made it sound like they were just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. I do like the idea of being able to use credit cards at a meter though. I think that would help downtown businesses. I know I have had to skip out on a stop downtown because I didnt have quarters. I have also gotten tickets at meters because the pennies I put in the meter bought me like 8 minutes and that wasnt enough time to handle my business. The businesses always complain that paid parking puts them at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of town that has free parking. I think the impact on potential consumers is that they have to find change not that they have to pay a quarter to park and eat and that just make their meals/purchases too expensive. If my thoughts are true, then credit cards on meters would eliminate that disadvantage.

[nimsjus]

City and county expected to sign lease for courthouse park deal....
http://blog.al.com/live/2008/11/23_orange_beach_city_workers_t_1.html

[nimsjus]

It is getting a little lonely in here guys...
The real estate section had a little downtown food news. Didnt Weichman have a place on one of the interstate service roads or somewhere else in town a while back. I feel like I had an aunt who had a rehearsal dinner at a place called Weichman's. I was too young to rememebr.
Weichman's After 5 will open for dinner on Nov. 26 in the Spot of Tea restaurant at 310 Dauphin St., downtown, according to John Weich man . He has partnered with Spot of Tea operator Tony Moore to use the restaurant after Moore's breakfast and lunch business. Weichman and his staff will start serving at 5 p.m., he said.
Zitsos Cafeteria will close its doors at the end of the month in the AmSouth Bank building on 107 St. Francis St., after 30 years in that location, according to Claire Zit sos . The owners decided not to look for another

[NitekKetin]

On a somewhat related note, I think the base of the AmSouth building is one cold, fugly structure. The modernist architecture completely overshadows what little warm coming from the tenant spaces. Ugh!

[BlessedMobile]

Originally Posted by nimsjus

It is getting a little lonely in here guys...
The real estate section had a little downtown food news. Didnt Weichman have a place on one of the interstate service roads or somewhere else in town a while back. I feel like I had an aunt who had a rehearsal dinner at a place called Weichman's. I was too young to rememebr.
Weichman's After 5 will open for dinner on Nov. 26 in the Spot of Tea restaurant at 310 Dauphin St., downtown, according to John Weich man . He has partnered with Spot of Tea operator Tony Moore to use the restaurant after Moore's breakfast and lunch business. Weichman and his staff will start serving at 5 p.m., he said.
Zitsos Cafeteria will close its doors at the end of the month in the AmSouth Bank building on 107 St. Francis St., after 30 years in that location, according to Claire Zit sos . The owners decided not to look for another

I remember Weichman's. The last one I remember was on the beltline near Airport Blvd. They served a nice meal with the white table cloth look. I imagine it most likely is being run by a family member who is capitalizing on the family name. Whatever works!

[BlessedMobile]

Originally Posted by nimsjus

No hotspots necessary...This will be a free "cloud" over the Henry Aaron Loop. They never mentioned the stuff about the parking meters when discussing this. They made it sound like they were just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. I do like the idea of being able to use credit cards at a meter though. I think that would help downtown businesses. I know I have had to skip out on a stop downtown because I didnt have quarters. I have also gotten tickets at meters because the pennies I put in the meter bought me like 8 minutes and that wasnt enough time to handle my business. The businesses always complain that paid parking puts them at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of town that has free parking. I think the impact on potential consumers is that they have to find change not that they have to pay a quarter to park and eat and that just make their meals/purchases too expensive. If my thoughts are true, then credit cards on meters would eliminate that disadvantage.

Well nims...I think you pegged the real motive behind the downtown hotspot. Pull out the old credit card and feed the meter. It does make sense as I have often not had enough change to feed the meter to a point where I know there won't be a ticket on my car when I return. I believe that downtown shopping will get a boost.

[nimsjus]

I think many of us assumed this would be the first and easiest project out of the new plan for Mobile, but Jones confirms the city is working to establish a partnership to build the boat slip on the land just north of the Convention Center. He also talks about long term trying to negotiate for the docks land just north of the Convention Center, which the docks are not currently willing to part with. In the article he also mentions hiring a construction firm for the Maritime Museum.

[nimsjus]

I think many of us assumed this would be the first and easiest project out of the new plan for Mobile, but Jones confirms the city is working to establish a partnership to build the boat slip on the land just north of the Convention Center. He also talks about long term trying to negotiate for the docks land just north of the Convention Center, which the docks are not currently willing to part with. In the article he also mentions hiring a construction firm for the Maritime Museum.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/122804011982700.xml&coll=3

[nimsjus]

Two more big ideas getting off the ground. The first article is about the restoration efforts for Barton Academy. The Mobile County BoE has selected a firm to do some preliminary architecture work. Nichols tosses out some figures for planning, drawings and construction. I can see some people getting pissed about the board spending money on Barton(which they don't use) meanwhile they are firing teachers. They do have some grant moeny lined up too.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/122812654123320.xml&coll=3
The second article is about a meeting at Bishop St about the proposed Mobile to Florence West Alabama Highway. DOT officials and memebres of the state legislature are in town to discuss. Not sure how much I would use such a road (I only go to west alabama forthe occasional Iron Bowl to root for AU), but it could only be good for Mobile to be more connected. I imagine this road would cross the proposed I-85 extension (Meridian to Montgomery across the black belt), and the new I-22 (Bham to Memphis). That would really make Mobile more easily accessible to West Alabama/East Mississippi as well as the Midwest (via Memphis). Not a real high priority to me for Mobile, but if someone wants to build this I wouldn't complain.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/122812654023320.xml&coll=3

[Port_of_Bama]

Glad to see things moving forward for downtown ,Royal street is very close to having a complete 360 degree make over. Royal street is realy looking nice with new renovations hotels and all. I hope they move some of that progress north of Royal street as well.

[nimsjus]

Anyone have any thoughts on how Gates being retained by President-elect Obama will affect the tanker decision? I was under the impression that he sided with EADS throughout much of the process. Is that correct? If so I assume that would mean I would think that would mean at least a split contract. Thoughts?

[SouthSky]

I think Gates is a small victory for EADS if he does stay, however Obama might lean on him to go with an "American" company. I believe he sided with the EADS proposal and he very well could suggest it again under an Obama administration.

[BlessedMobile]

As the man-in-charge of the Defense Department wouldn't it make sense that Gates was in agreement to choose EADS/NG to build the tanker? Gates spoke his blessing on the process and choice; I don't think he would have done so had he not agreed with the decision. I believe that Gates plus Obama spell a split tanker contract. A split contract means we WIN! Once Airbus has a foothold in the US you can believe they will move more work to Alabama and compete better for American military and general aviation work. It would be nice to have it all but ENOUGH to build and run the plant for 10 years is ENOUGH to keep it here and running much longer. Oh yea, and why would Obama not give all of the work to Boeing?...because he wants to please our allies in Europe, he wants to create 40,000 new jobs in an area which would build his political base, he wants the military to like him and the better planes they get from EADS/NG, he doesn't lose any votes NOT giving Boeing the whole pie and he really does want to get us out of this recession with job creation both at Boeing and EADS/NG. The Democrats will support whatever Obama wants in sufficient numbers to combine with the Republicans who will largely support the split contract for cost and quality reasons. Gates is good news for Mobile!

[Port_of_Bama]

Not development related but there was a reporter for the NewYork Times was visiting the Mobile and New Orleans area .It was a fun and interesting read he did a 15 page report with about 12 pictures I hate he didnt get more pics of downtown.http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/11/16/style/t/index.html#pagewanted=0&pageName=16mobilew&