A Message from Mayor Stimpson - November 19
Nov 19th, 2020
Good evening,
It is 8:30 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 19, and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile.
Today, the Mobile County Health Department reports 19,070 COVID-19 cases, which is an increase of 139 cases. To review the most recent detailed reports from MCHD, click here.
We're continuing to make progress collecting the remaining debris from hurricanes Sally and Zeta. Currently all City resources and a majority of our contractor's resources are focused on areas south of Airport Boulevard. Once their work is complete in the southern part of the City, normal trash pickup is expected to resume on Monday, November 23 as it is listed on the City's website.
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, our contractors will be focusing on the removal of the remaining storm damaged trees and stumps in public rights-of-way, which we expect to have completed in early December barring any unforeseen delays. Tree crews will also be continuing their work trimming low-hanging or damaged trees throughout the City.
Today I attended the unveiling of the "We Build it Better" program, which is an exciting and innovative new learning curriculum developed through a partnership between Flight Works Alabama, Airbus, the state of Alabama, the Alabama Power Foundation, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Snap-on Incorporated, Mott MacDonald, University of West Alabama, and the University of South Alabama.
Beginning next year, this program will provide middle school teachers in our area with classroom kits that will help their students develop 21st Century workforce skills. These kits will use hands-on training and interactive techniques that are designed to expand their creative capacity and encourage innovation. It seems fitting to me that an education center like Flight Works is leading this initiative that has the potential to provide our young people with invaluable experience they might not otherwise receive.
Earlier this week, I told you about Fire Service Captain Samuel L. Allen, so I thought it was only fair I also recognize Officer Joseph Raebel, who was named the Mobile Police Department's Officer of the Month for October 2020. Since completing the police academy in early 2019, Raebel has been assigned to Central Precinct, and his work in downtown Mobile has truly helped make our city safer.
Among his notable cases in October, Officer Raebel detained two suspects carrying a weapon and drugs while trespassing at a federal government building and safely apprehended another armed suspect without incident in the downtown area. He also chased down a man armed with a knife after witnessing a robbery at a local home improvement store while he was off duty.
I often talk about the good things we have going on at the City of Mobile, but the truth is none of those things would be possible without our excellent City employees. That's why I'm happy to share with you that a 2.5 percent pay raise for all of our employees will be taking effect this Saturday.
This is the fifth "cost of living" raise we've given to all employees since I became mayor, which does not include pay adjustments we have made specifically for our first responders. The City has been able to do these things because of strong financial stewardship, cooperation from the leaders in our various departments and support from the Mobile City Council. Like any organization, we are only as good as our people, and the City of Mobile is fortunate to have some very good people serving its citizens.
In closing, I wanted to speak briefly about judgement. Am I just imagining it, or does it seem like we've all become more critically judgmental of our fellow man? There are multiple verses in the Bible warning us about being judgmental, but I think all of us fail to heed that warning at times. Often our judgments are superficial or based on some ingrained bias. In most cases, the person being judged has positive character traits that just can't be discerned through casual observations.
If you find yourself judging others with a critical eye, remember you too are being judged. Those who are critically judging you, do they know your true character? Do they know your heart? Bottom line: Only God knows a person's true character. Don't cut yourself off from what could be a fruitful relationship because you too hastily or erroneously judged someone.
Sleep tight!