A retired executive told the Rotary Club of Mobile in June 2008 that Forward Mobile, an unpublicized circle of about 40 civic and business leaders, had quietly shaped decades of local decisions.
Tag: economic development
Coverage of economic development from South Alabama News, the local news source for Mobile, Baldwin and the surrounding counties of the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Banks, Condos and a Facelift on Bienville Square: Downtown Mobile’s Spring Ledger
A bank taking space in the Athelstan Club, condominiums nearing completion on Dauphin Street and two buildings being restored on Bienville Square marked downtown Mobile’s revival in spring 2008.
A $267 Million Federal Loan Promised Broadband to 29 Alabama Counties
Sen. Richard Shelby announced a $267 million USDA loan to Open Range Communications to bring broadband to 29 Alabama counties, including Mobile, Baldwin, Clarke, Escambia and Monroe.
Luther Strange Circulates a Poll, and Alabama Republicans Start Looking at 2010
Two years after losing the lieutenant governor’s race, attorney Luther Strange sent supporters a poll showing him tied with Congressman Artur Davis in a hypothetical 2010 matchup for governor.
One City Along I-65? North Mobile County Weighed a Merger It Knew Would Never Happen
With a steel plant rising at Calvert and a new school system drawing families to Saraland, developers and officials debated dissolving Chickasaw, Satsuma and Creola into a single north Mobile County city.
Boeing Praised the Tanker Competition as Fair — Right Up Until It Lost
As Boeing prepared to protest the Air Force tanker award that promised an assembly line for Mobile, its own executives’ and allies’ past statements praising the competition’s fairness came back into view.
A Falling Stock Price, a Phone Call to a Senator, and Champagne at Brookley
Mobile learned it had won the Air Force tanker contract in a scramble of stock tickers, cell phone calls and hastily bought sandwiches, and the political consequences began almost immediately.
Mobile’s Four-Term Mayor Ruled Out the School Board, and Left the Door Open on Governor
Former Mayor Mike Dow said his wife would tolerate only one more campaign, and it would not be for the school board. In a long reply, he laid out his views on candidate recruitment and Mobile’s ‘new politics.’
Before the Tanker Verdict, Mobile Chased Rumors Across the World
With a $40 billion Air Force tanker decision imminent and an assembly line at stake for Brookley Field, an unsourced report in a foreign wire service set Mobile talking — and talk of a split contract gained ground.
A Birmingham Congressman Kept Turning Up in Mobile, and Everyone Knew Why
U.S. Rep. Artur Davis delivered his ‘false choices’ speech to the Mobile Rotary Club, his second appearance in the city in about a month, as speculation grew about a 2010 run for governor.