Voices from the Gulf

Showing stories 141 through 150 of 818 total stories.

"Son, don't let nobody take your watermelon", was a phrase my  grandfather used often when I was a kid, referring to something you had of value that others wanted. Sometimes others will try to devalue what you have in an effort to make what they have seem better. Their efforts to make what you have meaningless could be a by-product of envy, greed, jealously or spite.

Industry along Mobile's riverfront.  Photo by Karen Savage, flight by Tom Hutchings

ashana bigardA parent advocate says run—don’t walk—from New Orleans-style school choice

By Ashana Bigard, originally posted on EduShyster.comWhen I talk about *choice* in New Orleans I use quotations with both fingers and I wink too. Supposedly we have what’s called a *choice model for excellent education* but the reality is that the overwhelming majority of schools in New Orleans now operate the exact same way. 

The bully on the block will take your lunch money each and every day until you make him stop. You will earn a lot by fighting and losing than by not fighting at all. You will earn respect, love and admiration, even from the person you are fighting, because you did not back down and stood up for yourself. One day that bully will leave you alone because you did not remain invisible and let him know you were there and was coming back the next day for more if necessary.

protect our water signFor months Mobile Area Water & Sewer System (MAWSS) and community groups have been resisting an attempt by Plains company to run a crude oil pipeline through the watershed of the reservoir supplying metro Mobile's water. A recent defeat in the county courthouse confronts MAWSS with a choice about continuing to resist or surrendering to Plains' demand for a pipeline right-of-way across land MAWSS owns in the watershed.

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