Baseball Update, What A Mess!

In the coming days there are several bits of information that are likely to come to light.

1) The city will likely try to throw out the petition process put forth by Ben McCoy and Josh Fulton saying there needed to be additional affidavits attached to the signatures.  This would be a terrible move by the city, but the legal staff has shown nothing but disdain for citizen efforts for some time.

2) The city may well have reached a financial impasse with Mandalay/Braves over funding as the city is NOT prepared to shoulder the vast bulk of the $42m price tag for a taxpayer funded stadium.  Many sources are saying the M/B folks would have to come up with taxes to the tune of $400k/yr plus at least $800k in payments to the city.  The current offer of $400k just ain’t enough in their eyes.  ALSO, the city would like to see a $32m stadium with fewer seats.  M/B is steaming over this.

3) More information is likely to come forward that the Oriole’s/Ripken were also courting the city back in the fall of last year and that the M/B folks leaned a lot more heavily wining and dining the mayor.  We’ll see, but this is a detail that might have all sorts of implications.  It would explain the rapid repudiation of Ripken as a consultant prior to NSS being selected.

4) More information may well come forward that the private sector WAS going to build a stadium, but that numerous folks within the city and some of the old guard prevented it from coming to fruition for fear they wouldn’t get their piece of it.  Hmm. . . . .

If it were one voice chattering, none of this would be worth writing, but numerous folks are scurrying about saying the same things and that’s usually indicative of things falling apart inside.

County Hires Third, Yes THIRD, Public Info Officer

New Hanover County, not wanting to be outdone by the city’s proclivity for wasting money, has decided it needs another public information officer, so much so that they created a brand new position.

(StarNews) – New Hanover County has hired Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s spokeswoman, Carey Ricks, as the county’s first public affairs manager. She will earn a salary of $98,500, an increase from her $88,500 salary with the utility authority. Her position with the county is a newly created role.

The county already had Charles Smith, formerly of the Sheriff’s dept after he was caught illegally using law enforcement computers and they also have Mark Boyer, who’s been there for 14 years.  What a waste!  OH, the employee comes from the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority where it paid in the mid-$80k range.  Sadly, moving away from the public/private sector to pure public sector pays MORE.  It’s nice to have an inside track!

How much of a PR department does the county really need?  I spoke with Chairman Ted Davis about the move, he was somewhat surprised as well.