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 Downtown Merchants Going To Jail For Good!
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| By : Roy_Pope on 07 Nov 2008 at 01:49:14 pm
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Merchants throughout Mobile will be rounded up and jailed on Thursday November 13, 2008. Friendly warrants have been sworn for the arrest of many pillars of the Mobile business community by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
During their incarceration in a holding cell at the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion on Spring Hill Avenue, the Mobile Jailbirds (as they are being called) will endeavor to raise "bail" for their release by telephoning family, friends and business associates. All bail proceeds will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to assist in financing medical research, providing support groups for families dealing with muscular dystrophy in their lives, and purchasing wheelchairs and leg braces for those afflicted.
If you receive a phone call or visit from one of Mobile's Jailbirds asking for your assistance, I encourage you to dig deep and give whatever your heart and your personal finances will allow. Donations made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association are tax deductible to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
After agreeing to participate in the East Mobile Executive Lock-Up, I reflected back upon a television show that my wife and I enjoyed so much when we were able to watch it - Donald Trump's 'The Apprentice'. Remembering the creativity that Mr. Trump's candidates for Apprentice used to raise money, I was inspired to get a little creative myself.
I created a flyer asking for the public's help, using a mafia-style theme, and was able to get 100 free color copies made from a new copy shop located downtown (they asked me not to mention them by name). Many merchants in Downtown Mobile have allowed me to post the flyers in their windows - just their little way of helping out in this ever-worsening economy.
I watched in amusement as many people read the flyers and chuckled at the way that I worded my plea for help. It made me realize the love that one can have for another when the very first dollar that I collected towards my goal of raising $2,600 came not from a businessman or a friend, but from an elderly, homeless woman that I have seen on the streets of Mobile for the past seven years that I've been in business here. She refused a receipt, saying "God knows, and that's all the receipt I need", then she gave me a hug and went her way back to the streets that she knows so well.
If you'd like to help raise money for Jerry's Kids, donations are being accepted Monday through Saturday at Busaba's Thai Cuisine located at 203 Dauphin Street in Downtown Mobile, Alabama. Donations can also be made online by visiting https://www.joinmda.org/eastmobile08/charity. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Food World Senior Bowl Trashes Downtown Mobile
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| By : Roy_Pope on 01 Nov 2008 at 06:49:45 pm
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I am certain that the Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run hosted in the streets of Downtown Mobile on Saturday generated plenty of money for the charity that they are funding. The race kicked off at around 8:00 am and ended some time around noon. It is nightfall as I write this and Bienville Square is still buried under mounds of trash that was left over from the run. There is one mound well over six feet high. Over fifty-percent of the park is covered in a blanket of paper, cups and plastic. I just watched as squirrels tore their way into plastic bags for food to eat - plastic bags that they can get trapped in, choke on or become suffocated by.
It only goes to reason that if a corporate giant such as Food World is going to host an event of any kind in our city, they would have the decency and courtesy to at least bring in a crew and clean up after themselves. They didn't. Instead, they have left our downtown in a littered shambles for tourists to gawk at in disbelief and for residents and business owners to shake our heads at in shame.
As a downtown landowner, I am forced to pay an annual assessment to the Downtown Mobile District Management Corporation. Part of that assessment is supposed to go towards the care and maintenance of our parks and the cleanup of trash after special events in the district. The cleanup crew from the DMDMC clocked out at 4:00 pm today, four hours after the Charity Run had ended. They did not bother cleaning up after the event, so the land owners have not received what we are forced by law to pay for.
Likewise, the City of Mobile Parks Department has failed us as well. As taxpayers, you'd think that our taxes would be used to maintain the parks and to keep them clean. Nobody from the Parks Department has been out today to clean up this mess.
I say that if Food World and other corporations ever applies for a permit to host another event in our city, they should be required to clean up after themselves or face steep fines by the city. What they have done to us today only brings disgrace upon us all and undermines our efforts to Keep Mobile Beautiful. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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DMDMC Talks Out Of Both Sides Of Their Mouth
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| By : Roy_Pope on 23 Oct 2008 at 11:40:42 am
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Talk about being hypocritical! The Downtown Mobile District Management Corporation, a business entity funded by assessments levied against owners of properties in the district where the properties are used for business other than businesses registered as 501(c) corporations, is actively promoting an arts auction that is geared towards promoting 15 Place downtown. What makes them so hypicritical in doing this is that the DMDMC has been supportive in the past of property owners in the area in our never-ending struggle to get rid of the 501(c) entity called 15 Place.
For those that do not know, 15 Place is an organization that attracts the homeless to the Historic Business and Entertainment District of Downtown Mobile. They give the homeless free food and services which in turn draws them to the area and encourages them to remain homeless and without jobs. Because of the location of 15 Place in our community, filthy homeless people are constantly congregating along our city's sidewalks and in our parks begging for the working man's change so that they can buy a pint of liquor and drink themselves further into destitution.
When approached about their support of 15 Place, the DMDMC President Elizabeth Sanders simply argued that the Methodist Church from whom the 15 Place leases its building is also a property owner. Well, I didn't ask anything about the Methodist Church of her - she just threw that bit of information into the argument. It does make one wonder, however, if the Methodist Church pays property assessments to the DMDMC on that property considering that it is used by a 501(c) entity.
It kind of makes one step back and wonder. Who does the DMDMC represent? Do they represent the property owners who pay the assessments to them every year? Or, do they represent those who do not pay assessments to the district while simultaneously creating a magnet within the community to draw in poverty, who cause hardships on businesses, and who devaluate the surrounding properties in the area? |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Mayor Sam Jones Brings Annexation Woes To Land Owners
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| By : Roy_Pope on 08 Oct 2008 at 01:53:46 pm
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Well, Mayor Sam Jones has rose to victory again in his dastardly plot to take over the county. He has successfully annexed two other sections of Mobile County into the city limits, even though many of us did not want to become a part of the city.
I recently purchased a 1.2 acre piece of land in the Theodore section that was annexed. I chose that area because I did not want to purchase inside the city limits. Unfortunately for me, I do not actually live on the land so I was not given a voice when it came to voting against the annexation.
That really gets under my skin!
There are hundreds, if not thousands of land owners who purchased land outside the city limits for the mere sake of not wanting to be a part of the City of Mobile. We own the land, but we are not given a voice when it comes to voting against annexations such as this. It seems to me that this is a perfect example of "taxation without representation" since the annexation will lead to increased taxes for land owners BUT we are not allowed to vote on the annexation.
Isn't this a violation of our Constitutional rights? Wasn't this country founded for the very purpose of defending the rights of taxpayers against tyrannical politicians who levied taxes against the people without them having a voice in the matter?
If you ask me, Sam Jones needs to be removed from office, the city lines that were altered by his unconstitutional voting rules need to be drawn back to where they were originally (before he came to office), and ALL landowners having land in those areas need to be allowed to vote on the annexation plans - not just those land owners that live in the areas being annexed. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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Chassity Ebbole causing trouble for downtown business owners
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| By : Roy_Pope on 30 Sep 2008 at 04:22:01 pm
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I've never been one to run from a fight. Over the years, I've learned quite a bit of restraint when it came to people making out-of-place comments about me, but I've never turned tail and ran away. Now it appears that Chassity Ebbole has chosen to attack me at the heart of my character in a libelous manner.
I've known of the attack for weeks now and have sat silently by in hopes that the attacker would do the proper thing and retract the libelous statements that she published on YouTube.com. That approach was futile, and so I am simply going to tell the world what has been going on.
For those of you who do not know who Chassity Ebbole is, she once owned L.A. Body Art on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile. After a decade in business downtown, Chassity thought that she was so important to the business district that no other tattoo studio should ever be allowed to open and operate in the city. Read on and you'll see what I mean.
In March of 2007, businessman Paul Averette was in the heated process of renovating the building at 205 Dauphin Street. He sank all that he had into that building as he pressed forward towards the eventual opening of Demented Needle - a tattoo parlor and body piercing studio which has since become a true asset to the downtown business community.
While Mr. Averette was working diligently towards making his American dream a reality the owner of L.A. Body Art was plotting against his dreams. Chassity Ebbole set out to calling business owners in the Historic Business and Entertainment District and insisting that we sign a petition that she had put together to block Mr. Averette's business from opening. I know that she called me at around 11:00 pm on a Saturday night about the matter and she became clearly upset when I told her that I would be her friend but that I would not be able to sign the petition on her behalf. She became so upset that she called me back later that same night to warn me that if I didn't work with her to block the new tattoo parlor from opening then I would wind up with a bunch of drug dealers and tattooed punks hanging outside my restaurant harassing my dining guests once the tattoo parlor now known as Demented Needle opened.
It was a week-or-two later when my restaurant received a visit from a code enforcement official with the City of Mobile Urban Development Department. That official wrote and handed a citation to my wife. The citation was for our supposed violation of code in the display of signs in our restaurant's window.
I went to the Urban Development Department and reviewed the codes with a lady there. Together, we discovered that my restaurant was not in violation of code after all. I still have that citation on file to this day.
Upon returning to Dauphin Street, I ran into Chassity on the sidewalk in front of her place of business. In talking, I told her what had happened. Immediately, Chassity told me that the code enforcement officer was supposed to be visiting the soon-to-open tattoo parlor next to me - that she had called them and that they must have gone to the wrong address. I asked her what address she gave them and she replied "203 Dauphin Street, why?" It was then that I told Chassity that she gave the officer my address, not Paul's. Embarrassed for her simple mistake, she apologized.
Some short time later, Chassity confided in me during general discussion that she had contacted the city building inspector in regards to 205 Dauphin Street and she gloated in the idea that the building inspector would be causing problems for Mr. Averette.
Well, I stepped out of the way of Chassity and Paul. I told each that I knew there was trouble brewing between the two, that I was both of their friend, and that I wanted nothing to do with the bickering that was going on between the two of them. Paul understood clearly and let me know in no uncertain terms that he didn't want to be fighting with Chassity, that he just wanted to run his shop and make a living for himself. Chassity, on the other hand, continued to insist that I had to side with her to get rid of the Demented Needle.
My memory is not clear as to the date, but at some time between May and June of this year Chassity and her boyfriend whom I knew only as "Tic" came into my restaurant. I watched them for a few seconds over the security camera and became concerned when Chassity sat at a table and began looking through the menu while Tic paced nervously back and forth from one side of my restaurant to the other. And so, I went to the restaurant to see if there was a problem.
"Just the person I'm looking for!" Chassity shouted as I walked through the door. I had other customers dining at the time so I approached her quickly and asked in a low tone if there was a problem. Chassity then began yelling at me that I needed to go next door (to the Demented Needle) and tell Paul to mind his own damned business. Chassity continued to yell at me about Paul and how he was supposedly causing problems for her when she parked her vehicle in front of his tattoo parlor.
I declined several times to get involved, but Chassity kept insisting very loudly that I was already involved. When I told her that the problems between her and Paul were none of my business, she insisted that the problems were my business because she's my customer. I then told her "Chassity, I'll tell you like I told Paul. You both need to stop your bickering, grow up and learn to coexist together downtown."
Big Mistake!
Chassity stormed out of my restaurant yelling, screaming and cursing me all the way to the sidewalk.
Fast forward...
I have tried to be Chassity's friend and a friend to Paul as well. Paul has demonstrated a high level of maturity and self control in this matter that has developed between him and Chassity. He has demonstrated himself time and time again to be a true friend. Chassity, on the other hand, still insists on getting me involved in her spiteful, never-ending harassment of Paul.
Only three weeks ago I discovered a video that Chassity Ebbole produced and published on YouTube.com. The comment next to the video reads (typographical errors are by Chassity) "PAUL AVERETTE SUPPORTERS INVADE SHOP, MR AVERETTES FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR,OWNER OF BUSABAS THIS CUSINE CONFIRM HIS JUVINILLE ARREST AND CONVICTON OF SACRIFICING A CAT". The reference to "OWNER OF BUSABAS THIS CUSINE" is a clear typographical error intended to be a reference to myself.
I watched with disgust the video that Chassity posted. In that video, Chassity makes several references to Satanism, Witchcraft and the occult. She describes me by the attire that I nearly always wear and by the fact that I am "Mr. Averette's neighbor and friend", and she makes false and libelous statements that I had been arrested and convicted of sacrificing a cat when I was seventeen years old. Of course, Chassity was careful throughout the entire video not to mention my name (I wonder why?) but any person with the sense God gave a grasshopper can clearly discern who it is that Chassity is referring to.
I take pause here, for a moment, to reply to Chassity Ebbole's accusations of me. As for my religion, it's really none of her business if I worship one way or the other, but to clarify things for her I am a Theravada Buddhist. As for the manner in which I dress, I am a businessman and find that I (being very slender in build) look best in dark suits. At least I dress for business and success instead of showing up for work in torn jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt like she does. The "top hat" that she says I wear - it's a fedora! I wear a fedora to commemorate my Italian birth heritage and also to shield my eyes from the damaging rays of the sun. My eyes became light-sensitive due to the medication I was taking, the chemotherapy and the radiation treatments I underwent fighting for my life against cancer. As for killing cats - I've never harmed a cat in my life. I prefer animals to humans any day of the week for the simple fact that animals are not evil in nature as Chassity has demonstrated that humans can be. She says that the records of my arrest were sealed because I was arrested when I was seventeen years old - if such records did exist (and they don't) then how did she discover them? I've never been arrested for a single thing in my life. I'll happily go before any court in this nation and demand that the judge sitting unseal any and all records on me if there are any. Of course, I'd probably be arrested for making demands on a sitting judge, but no sealed records would ever be found because they simply do not exist.
There are other videos posted on YouTube.com by Chassity Ebbole as well. I watched them, and it got me to thinking. If I were to file a slander per se lawsuit against Chassity, she would certainly use that lawsuit towards the promotion of her new business location. Therefore I have chosen not to sue her at this time (but that can always change if myself or my business begins to suffer as a result of Chassity's lies).
I also began thinking when I watched a video posted on YouTube.com by a user named duster134. It was the exact same video that Chassity posted with the lies about me, but it had been lengthened by the addition of content injected by duster134. Extremely humorous, duster134's version of the video was a real eye-opener. It caused me to do some serious looking around on the internet and to discover things that really made me laugh. Here's what I discovered -
In Chassity's YouTube.com video titled 'WITCH CRAFT CONFIRMED ,PAUL AVERETTE SUPPORTERS STORM THE N', Chassity claims "I'm a Christian". She demonstrates her Christianity on her many MySpace.com pages with lewd and sexually suggestive pictures of herself. I did an image search on Google.com for "Chassity Ebbole" and discovered full nudity pictures of Chassity posted on other sites. She also posted another video on YouTube.com titled 'THE SHIT YOU SHOULD NOT DO AT NIGHT' where she berates and curses an unknown woman over and over again. Yes, if Chassity Ebbole is a Christian, she's got to be the worst kind.
In another YouTube.com video posted by Chassity titled 'CHASSITY VS AVERETTE' Chassity makes mention that she is suing Paul Averette in part because she has been "slandered". That's quite amusing to myself that she would know the word "slander", what it means and what the consequences of slander are only to turn around and slander myself in the video she made accusing me of sacrificing a cat.
Well, now you readers know a bit more about what is going on in downtown Mobile. Chassity could not make it as a tattoo artist on Dauphin Street because she busied herself for the past year trying to tear down her competitor's name, reputation and dream for success instead of focusing on her own business and clientel. She relocated to Dauphin Island Parkway under a different name (I wonder why she changed her company's name?) claiming that she is getting a fresh start, but she continues to pick fights with people such as Paul Averette and myself when all we want is for her to leave us alone.
Personally, I'd be happy if I never saw her again or even heard her name muttered on the streets. Unfortunately for Chassity and myself, Chassity has forced me to become an unwilling participant in her sadistic game of self destruction. I insisted that she leave me out of it, but she had to twist my arm. Now, I am in the game - and I've been playing this game long before Chassity Ebbole was born.
Good luck, Chassity. You're really going to need it now.
A Special Message for Chassity:
Everything written above is true and you know it. You did your so-called eight month investigation to reveal the lies that you told about me. I did my own investigation and I know where all your assets are should I need to sue you. I know about your trust that you created to shield some of your assets and about the real estate that you own. I also know of your arrest in Florida on January 12 in 2001, but I'm not going to go into detail about that here unless you really insist that I do so.
You see, Chassity, I never wanted to play this game with you but you insisted. You attacked me online and so I counter online. Now, do a search on Google.com for your name and see if this story doesn't come up in the top twenty search results. |
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Category : News and Opinion
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