Month: July 2017

Conservatives in Mobile and Baldwin counties should seriously consider voting for Mo Brooks in the upcoming Republican Senate primary because they have more in common with the Huntsville congressman than they might think. Sure, Brooks may represent a faraway district known more for moon landings than MoonPies, but when it comes to what Mobile needs most – jobs, jobs, and more jobs – he is the only candidate with a track record of success. Huntsville is bursting at the seams. Good companies offering great jobs have flocked to the area for years, and more seem to announce their plans to expand or move there every month. National magazines and websites often rank the city as a top location for everything from job growth to affordability. It’s a modern day boomtown. So what’s happening in H’ville? Nothing magical. It is, more or less, just like every other medium-sized city in the South … except for one important distinguishing factor that makes Huntsville attractive to companies. In a word, it’s leadership, and Brooks has been a leader here since the boom went bang. Hey folks, I’m from Mobile, too, and my roots run deep there. My family helped settled the area before statehood; I grew up in a middle class neighborhood and attended school, even college, all off Old Shell Road. I only left, somewhat reluctantly, in search of better opportunities, but when I die that’s where I’ll be buried. It’s not just my hometown; it’ll always be my home. Point is,…

Some say don't change horses in midstream. Others say if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.  One of those idioms will likely describe the conclusion reached by our state board of education during today's controversial meeting to evaluate superintendent Michael Sentance. The only question is, which will it be? Mere months after accepting his own form of mission impossible - trying to improve Alabama's government-run schools - our superintendent found himself on the hot seat. And it hasn't gotten any cooler. Sentance sat through a difficult board meeting last March and received a scolding from members for not keeping them informed about changes he was considering. He had created committees to consider restructuring math, science, and reading standards and instruction, taken over Montgomery's government-run schools, and proposed restructuring the state's reading, math, and science initiatives. Rumors of proposed changes began leaking from the education department and constituents began asking board members questions they couldn't answer. "You don't let your board members be blindsided," said board member Jeff Newman, R-Millport, and Stephanie Bell, R-Montgomery, agreed. "There is an extreme lack of communication," she said. And it went on and on. Sentance promised to do better and control the leaks. In fact, he's managed a few major victories. After the board unanimously voted to ditch the ACT Aspire test, it was Sentance who personally convinced bureaucrats at the U.S. Department of Education to grant a waiver for Alabama to use a temporary test while long-term solutions were sought. Without his…