TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ — The Yucatan Express cruise ferry announced its plans to provide a weekly ferry service between Tampa and Cuba. The proposal is offered as an alternative to air transportation for Cuban Americans visiting relatives in Cuba and would be operated in accordance with existing government programs. The service would begin February 25, 2003, pending government approval, and would continue for 10 rotations through April 2003.

“The Tampa-Cuba ferry service is a humanitarian program that would help Cuban Americans connect with their families in Cuba and allow them to provide much more of the humanitarian aid permitted under existing U.S. rules. It is not political, nor would it promote business and trade,” said Matthew Hudson, chairman of Yucatan Express.

At $499 per adult round trip including standard cabin, 4 meals/day, port charges, security charges, and U.S. taxes, the service would be very cost-effective, according to Hudson. Cabin upgrades are available at small additional costs and fees imposed by the Cuban government would also be additional.

The owners of the Yucatan Express have also agreed to palletize, shrink- wrap and carry up to 100 cubic feet of personal cargo per adult passenger at no charge, so long as the cargo meets the humanitarian aid laws of the U.S. government.

“We are offering to carry humanitarian goods, such as food, clothing and medicines free of charge to help families that have been separated,” said Professor Hudson.

The Tampa-Cuba initiative expands the company’s new service between Tampa and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, which has been operating weekly, Friday through Tuesday, since November 22, 2002.

Operated by Scotia Prince Cruises, a Bermuda company which has been operating USA-Canada cruise ferry services since 1970, the company has treated five million passengers to world-class customer service and has securely transported 600,000 vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The current ship, the M/S Scotia Prince, is 485 feet long, fully stabilized with global capability and can accommodate up to 1,000 passengers and 200 vehicles including motorcycles, boats, campers, trailers and RVs. The Cuba proposal would use the car deck for humanitarian aid and would return to Tampa empty.

.

CATV editor examines new cruise ship in port of Mobile that began a cruise industry race between Tampa and Mobile to gain routes and passengers after the New Orleans terminal was shut down after Katrina.

Mobile is focused on the Midwest I-65 corridor within an eight hour drive in market of 10 million. Tampa has had cruise ships for years while Mobile is a new comer.

One new target are high speed ferries that reach destinations without the luxury of on board accomodations.

AUSTAL in Mobile built one such ferry for Hawaii.

The mega cruise industry is also looking at smaller boutique ships like the one from Tampa to Cuba, similar in size to smaller European cruise ships like this one.

Mobile has increased the size of its single Carnival Cruise Line ships due to successful solid bookings according to terminal manager Al St. Clair.

This is the new ship moved from New Orleans to Mobile.

Did he do it? The verdict will never be in, so after being convicted 13 years to the day after being acquitted, OJ Simpson was placed in handcuffs for robbery and kidnapping or as the judge said, more like just being stupid. As Forrest Gump said, stupid is as stupid does, eventually it catches up even with fleet footed NFL star running backs.

WKRG reports federal agencies are trying to stop the open loop LNG from killing millions of fish.

CATV sources say the Governor of Alabama has already decided to let it proceed based on his own state science data.

     They both were Cat 3 direct hits, and neither disrupted world events. But for Gulf coast residents from Apalachicola to Pensacola Beach to Gulf Shores to Biloxi to Waveland to New Orleans, we know the hell you are in. Mobile remembers Frederic like Galveston is living through Ike. Two weeks with no electricity, no airconditioning, no cooking, no hot water, no bathing or laundry. Lines of cars for lines of ice, water, gas, supplies, food, survival. Two weeks turns into 2 months of chaos with repair, insurance, no school, some work, some rip offs, much anger and frustration. Hurricanes destroy communities, but most survive and return. Gulf Shores is a boom town, like Galveston was. They will come back, but the road to hell, through purgatory, tells the story of real life. Few things matter in life like health, hot showers, air conditioning and clean clothes, and oh yes, food. The Red Cross is there cooking meals, but still other sources of food borne illness have hit the rescuers and first responders and home owners and construction workers already. Sanitation is a problem. From the upper Gulf from coastal Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, we feel your pain. Hang in there coastal Texas, it will get worse, and then it will get better.

The Mobile Chamber developed Dauphin Island as a well planned community on par with the vision that built Fairhope. During the 1970’s the Isle Dauphine Club and Golf Course was an architectural beauty and economic success that was the focus of the island community. It inspired growth that made the island prosperous for everyone. When that generation of citizens passed away the next generation of leaders led to a strange group of infighters that set the town against the property owners against the park and beach board. Thier failure has left the club in disgrace, the community and economy in ruin, and the natural environment an embarrassment of failure. Few coastal communities look like Dauphin Island in disrepair. The club, on the list of historic places in America, is a leaking eyesore of failure. And with this disgrace has come the collapse of the entire community existence. This was not an easy task. The leaders have now for 30 years (since the new bridge in 1979) destroyed and kept in ruin the entire community. The pinnacle of stupidity was when the Dauphin Island Property Owners Association turned down David Bronner and the RSA investment fund, the same fund that built the RSA Tower, built Magnolia Grove and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the Alabama Cruise Terminal and the Carnival Cruise industry, protected the Grand Hotel and has invested in Mobile like no investor in the 300 year history of our county. It is a small story that Dauphin Island was ruined by a small handful of petty indecision makers. But it is a large story that such a crime began and continues for over 3 decades.

After 1,000 attended Dauphin Way United Methodist Church funeral service to hear the eloquent eulogy by Rev. Stephen Dill, judges and clerks to the late Judge Hand gathered in the back room at the Causeway Captain’s Table, where the Judge often dined. Hand attended Murphy High School and the University of Alabama where his law practice lead to Mobile’s largest firm, Hand Arendall.

Wilmington Delaware turned off analog tv forever yesterday as the FCC first test before the Feb 17 national plug pulling. The result was 10% or 100,000 antenna users went dark. If you have cable or dish no worry. But if you use an antenna your new digital tv may get the new signal (if you have a 10 year old to program the set) or your old tv will work (if you have the $40 coupon you ordered on line for a converter box). Now there is as much a shortage of converter boxes as there are 10 year olds and that is the FCC problem.

TV is like automobiles, it is a big deal, right next to drinking water and electricity as a basic life necessity. So when a billion dollar industry and the US Govt makes a change they need to take care of the common citizens. This is not happening. Publicizing the problem is not the problem. THE PROBLEM IS i have 6 old analog tvs at home and work. No average citizen can get 6 converter box coupons or afford 6 converter boxes much less 6 new digital tvs. For rural antenna only citizens across America (100 million) the solution the FCC offered is very poor care given to the public airwaves.

Killing alligators for sport, shoes, belts and because it tastes like chicken is great. But state officials say it is because they are a nuisance more and more. That sounds like the SOUNDOFF caller that said their friend was bit while swimming in the delta. Alligators are only a nuisance if you swim in tall grasses, step on them, kick them, feed them chicken every day or lure them with bait in your boat and then change your mind. Killing wild alligators for sport in no way kills nuisance alligators, hunters just kill the ones they can find, and the bigger breeding healthy stock are their goals. We have laws to kill nuisance gators if they are in the park, shopping center or back yard. The State is Bubba with their fake public relations science. We need to get rid of the black bear, all ugly snakes and other worthless reptiles like turtles and birds. Lets have a turtle hunt and blue jay and robin shoot. And get rid of marlin too.

The Press Register says officials are tracking down young women and mothers addicted to meth. If they follow their troubles back far enough they will find prostituion, including advertising in the newspaper’s now faltering classfieds section.

60 miles south of Dauphin Island is where snapper sea turtles blue marlin and tuna thrive and that is where the open loop system where hot waters are dumped that kill fish–mosy systems are closed loop but industry historically always comes to Alabama to find the cheaper more damaging alternatives… another important story by Ben Raines in today’s al.com and Press Register (photo)

Monday school starts and teenagers will dart in front of of trucks every morning and almost crash as they try to turn left. A year ago we asked SF Police to place a patrolman there. Instead they have two cars many days at the school. Now they propose a $100,000 light. Will it be too late to save a life? We pray not. Please place a police officer there at school rush (twenty minutes) until the light is there and save a life!http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2008/08/07/local_news/doc4899c2e311edb986211053.txt

For those familiar with coastal issues, from erosion to legal issues, Sunday’s newspaper uncovers another NO BRAINER issue. The Alabama state and federal Corp of Engineer rules allow bulkheads at property lines (mean high tide) but do not allow strategic placement of jetty bulkheads, or other options like approved building materials like rocks. Bulkheads parallel to the beach create what Raines (the son of former NY Times editor Howell Raines) sites as a bath tub or walled effect. A novice can compare a sloping beach shore line to a wall and see the environment, grasses and critters doesn’t like a wall— this article sites that 1/3 of Mobile Bay is bulkheaded. Great article!

 The department of conservation has waged war on the alligator because they bite children and there are too many. Neither is the truth. The problem is people feed alligators. There are alligators in the delta-keep out. Keep your children away from alligators and snakes and stray dogs. We remember the passenger pigeon and the buffallo, followed locally by the nutria. Then the Jaws FEAR FACTOR wiped out the shark. Then the marlin. Next is the alligator that we will say—remember when the skies were black with ducks, remember when the fishing was plentiful and we could kill marlin, remember when you could see alligators in the wild along the causeway.