Once upon a time in Bluff Park…

On November 21, 2006, the Hoover City Council conducted their second meeting of the month.  As with previous Council meetings, it opened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Following the Pledge, one of the first items on the agenda was the presentation of the book “Images of Modern America: Riverchase” by Heather Skaggs,…

A New Chapter Begins

Tonight we begin a new chapter in the City of Hoover.  A new mayor and council will be sworn in after a very active campaign and above average voter turnout.  This year’s election included one race that was decided by five votes, another that was decided by less than thirty, and a runoff.  The voters…

The Amendment Guide

On November 8 we (the voters of Alabama) get to vote on 14 Amendments to the  Constitution of Alabama of 1901 (the longest Constitution in the world!). Here’s the problem that many have voiced over the past month on various forums, Facebook pages, blogs, twitter, and at their respective water coolers:  Why are the Amendments so confusing?…

Fact-checking Dr. Lott’s “Experience Always Matters” Claim

After watching this year’s presidential race, the term “fact-checking” has become part of our vocabulary.   This is due to the candidates making so many claims that they represent as being the truth that we have to find resources to verify their validity. Recently, Dr. Trey Lott put out a flyer outlining his “experience” as…

Hoover Vote 2016: Part 1 – Wisdom and Discernment – Place 1 Runoff

Take a few minutes to watch the above video.  It was taken in 2009 at a Hoover Budget Hearing in the Council Chambers.  Present at this hearing were Mayor Tony Petelos, Council President Gary Ivey, Councilors Jack Wright, Brian Skelton, Mari Morrison, Trey Lott, and Gene Smith.  Not present was Councilor John Greene. I attended and…

Politicians will mislead…it’s in their nature to do so.

There’s an old fable about the scorpion and the frog.  The story goes like this:  A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both drown. Considering this, the frog agrees, but midway across the…