FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
Midday Mobile - John Sharp with the latest on the I10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project - Oct 4, 2024
"There will be no personal nor direct attacks on anyone, and I would ask that you please try to keep down the loud cheering and the clapping, there will be no booing, and no unruly behavior. With that, this is painful, and it will be for a long time." "After all, these are a couple of high-stepping turkeys, and you know what to say about a high stepper. No step too high for a high stepper." "This is Midday Mobile with Sean Sullivan on FM Talk 1065." "Well, Sean's a tough guy. I mean, I think everybody knows that, you know Sean, he took some licks, he hangs in there." "Yeah, what's wrong with the deal we got? I mean, the deal we got is pretty good, don't it? Did you hear what I said?" "So this is a big council? I had no dollar bonds in." "That doesn't suck." "If you don't like it, you're bad." "Last question, were you high on drugs?" "Last question, kiss my ****." Alright, we made it. Friday edition of Midday Mobile, glad to have you all along. Next couple hours, you and I hanging out talking on the text line and the phone line at 34301063430106. Also, you got the FM Talk 1065 app. You can use that for one of those Talkback messages, so get ready for that. Seeing as Jeff and I shut it down with a little football talk there at the end of his show, this is people chime in on the text line on football reminder too. If you have not gotten your picks filled out for this week, it's the, we got till tomorrow morning, we get them done today. As for what is it, week six of the college football pickum right here on FM Talk 106500s and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of us in there in the mix. Make sure you make your picks. It gives you a chance to win those great prizes from Spring Hill Ace Hardware. Speaking of that, speaking of this guy, a participant in college pickum. Are you stood on the 300s with me? I think actually I came back. I think of like 170 or something now. Well, I had an eight and two week last weekend, so yeah, I bumped up a little bit. I was so far down the list, so I don't know where that put me, but yeah, I had a good week. I'll pick up eight and two. Man, that's getting stuff. Yeah, I feel important for a week. I've been averaging five and five weeks. I had one where I think I was like three or something. I was just awful. So it's been a slog, but yeah, eight and two last week. I feel good. Got my picks in for this week. OK, what is your pick? You know, what I was thinking about when I was making the picks for this week? If y'all don't know, John, big Iowa fan, you got that that Ohio State team versus what's so Iowa hasn't won at Ohio State since 1991. I don't think they win this weekend. They are 19 and a half point underdogs. I took Iowa simply because that point spreads large, but I will also have some vulnerabilities in the secondary. Ohio State has a dynamic wide receiver that can hold one hand, and so that could be a problem spot as well. I think 19 and a half points is a lot. Iowa looked really good in its last game. They got a finally got a running game going, so it should be a tight, I'm hoping, a tight first half and then we'll see Ohio State will pull away in the second half, but I don't know the 19 and a half points is a lot. Here's what you see. You just laid out the reasons for taking Ohio State to cover here. I did it because you're my buddy and I'm looking at and like, well, John likes Iowa. That's the logic of mine. Like John likes Iowa. I like John, so I took Iowa as well. So now we've given the video picks. Yeah, and I took Auburn as well too. That's 23 and a half point. Yes, they're on the road. Yes, Georgia's going to be Fumen and Georgia's a good football team. Auburn's down, but that's okay. A lot of points. We'll see. I don't know. Are we going to see a bunch of blowouts? I don't think so. That's a lot of points. Vanderbilt, this is a better Vanderbilt team than we've seen in the past. Are they 23 and a half point underdogs or does Alabama have a little bit of a calm down on the road, up in Nashville and that game. So yeah, it's just a lot of intriguing points spreads. I mean, you know, if you do head to head, of course, Georgia wins. Well, sure. We're talking. They went but the spread, yeah, it throws a curve on all this. I do like Texas A&M though to go over Missouri. So we'll see. That was like a two point game or so. Okay, well, we'll rally back up next week and see how you did if you had another eight and two and I had another back list. Yeah, maybe that's what I'm looking at for me. This story reading through and y'all can check. Of course, John's work over at AL.com and this is just there's some stories that you and I you've been writing about forever. I've been talking about seemingly forever and you and I've been together talking about for a long time. And that is the I 10 mobile river bridge project and you write in this first sentence is true. And to our bread this, I hadn't thought about it. You said it's nearly been three months since the largest federal grant ever was awarded for an Alabama infrastructure project. Yeah, there was a bunch of hubbub about it then. What's going on now? Are they they do anything with this now? Are we what's happening? Well, I mean, you know, we're just this is a slow, slow project is we're all aware of. Yes, a historic grant received in July, five hundred and fifty million dollars from from the US EOT. A lot of, you know, the hallelujah was the quote from Mayor Stimson and all that other stuff. But yeah, I mean, it's time for an update. So I'm glad Al got I sent some questions. Al got just to get an update where things were at. And that's what the story basically is about up on online at al.com. But yeah, the current statuses is they're still, you know, trying to get they haven't finalized the TIFIA loan process. That's that's a work in progress. That's a huge portion of this project, you know, to get the loan approved because we're looking at what 49% of this project would be based on low interest loans to through this TIFIA program that's offered by the federal government. And that's kind of where they're at right now on the financing side of things. I got to get this loan process finalized. And meantime, they're applying for grants. I think, you know, mega grants, another grant that's out there. But, you know, the focus is to get this loan approved and to move forward with the project's groundbreaking. They're hoping by next next fall to be moving forward with construction. Those are the updates. Yes, it did. It's something that's not going to be we're not going to say dirt turned until 2025. That's where we're at right now with it. No, and you asked great questions. You all can read through because John has these questions he put out and then gives the answer. This one here is something that comes up so many times. People say, well, why did we do it this way? Has there been any conversation about building the bridge first and then examining whether the rest of the project is needed? That people ask that question on this show to me a lot. What's the answer to this? Yeah, so Al Dot's responses, they're trying to stay and to their credit, I think, is something that sometimes gets overlooked. They're trying to stay within a framework that was established in 2021 by the two NPOs, the Mobile NPO in Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organizations. These are groups that are made up of our local elected officials. These two groups got together to come up with this framework for the project coming out of that whole 2019 death of the I-10 project, the previous public private partnership project, $6 polls. That one was killed. A lot of attention back then on it. So what came out of that was this framework and the framework says that we want this to be not a piecemeal project, but a comprehensive, all is one project that will include the bridge and the bayway at once. They don't want this to be something where they build the bridge now, come back and do the bayway. It's 25 years later before the I-10 project is completed. They want this done from what we understand and have been told would be about a five-year build. That's the reason why. That's the reason why they're wanting to do this all at once. Once this is moving like it is now, is there anything to the politics? Now, Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth gets elected to be who's been positive about this project and the 65 widening. If he is elected governor, would that change? Would Al Dot could give in the future? If something changes in Washington, does that mean more money or are we locked in now? Sure. Those are interesting questions. I'm not completely sure on the answer to them, but I do think that when you have a grant that's been awarded to rescind that grant would be a serious look, especially in this area. That's a historic grant that was received to the state of Alabama, it's large, whatever. Could they come back and hear some more? Yeah. Well, that was certainly Al Dot's applying for the mega grant. Who's to say there could be the extra mega grant that's created in the next administration? We don't know that yet. There's a lot unknowns, a lot of what could happen. Yes, Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth and he is one of the few names that we're hearing as a possibility for our next governor. He has touted this project as a priority project. One would not assume that he would come in here and want to start making cuts to the state's obligations for this project. Of course, you know, it would be interesting to see who the next Al Dot director might be at. That's kind of an outstanding name. Yeah, that's what I was going to think. It is a change at the executive branch and maybe a change at Al Dot. But you know, again, you mentioned politics at play. I mean, is it smart politics to come down and say, "Well, this project's too expensive. This is no longer a state priority when you've got some very influential groups, that massive schemes happen. You've got the chamber, you've got mayors, you've got city council members, and you don't want to make enemies out of all of them because that trickles down to their voting bases as well. So you don't want to -- I don't think they'd be able to vote in all the counties. Yeah, I don't think they'd be dare cut. I just wondered if there would be more added to it because it kind of secures its way getting around to the discussion of the toll, right? And comments from Senator Albright and others that -- because we were told it was capped. It wasn't going to go higher. But now it seems like at least there's discussion of maybe that's could change. That's what I'm wondering. They're going to say, "Listen, with the money that has been put out now, the money we talk about, that we know that you just laid out, that the toll is going to have to be higher unless we get more money." Well, I don't know exactly what that amount would be, but we do know what the framework is. That the local officials said that they want this to be a $2.50 toll. Now, where that's at right now is that that toll would be in place for frequent users, or the frequent user discount as well, to get an algal pass. We don't know what those algal passes will look like yet, but that's people that live in Baldwin and Mobile Counties will presumably want to purchase one of those passes if they want to use the I-10 bayway over and over again, or you take the free routes. Now, that was the big issue back in 2019, is that we would be tolling existing roadways or the Wallace tunnel, and that was a major concern at the time, because there was some discussions of whether or not, well, if you didn't toll on, that would lead to divergence. Divergence meaning cars and trucks. Taking a free route. Right, taking the free route instead of the, and right now, that's not under consideration, there are going to be free routes. So, what does toll divergence mean? And I did get in here a little bit that there's ongoing study going on of what traffic would look like in Spanish Ford. Now, if you talk to Mayor McMillan in Spanish Ford, he has had this persistent worry about divergence leading into his community. Yeah, it calls well to fit it. Yeah, how can the calls weigh handle it? Exactly, and how that might look for his city. So, you got these issues that are still out there as well. And, you know, they're looking at all dots, indicate they're looking at updated study on, and that works ongoing, exactly what that means for the city of Spanish Ford and the causeway as well, what they may do out there. John, yeah, well, we'll continue to talk to you about this story going forward, probably. Well, yeah, I mean, it's a big one. I mean, $3.5 billion. That's where we're at with this with this estimate right now. I've seen other estimates. I don't know where those numbers are from. 3.5 billion is what it could go up. Yes. And, yeah, I've been doing it long enough that it was an $800 million project when it was first or discussed. Yeah, so it's the biggest one in the state. And, you know, this is not something that's a simple highway resurfacing. Those aren't even simple anymore. So, this is a major, major project. And there's just a lot of dominoes to it. And, you know, we'll just keep reporting as information comes out on it. Well, the best update out there, y'all. Check it out. John's work over at AL.com. People want to get to you up, I guess, directly, whether they're talking about their pick for the Iowa Ohio State Game or the bridge. How do they find you online? Yeah, I'm on the exit, John Sharp, 99. All right. I hope your picks are right, because I just stole all of them. And we'll be maybe at eight, both of us, eight and two minutes. I mean, actually. That's what we'll do. All right. Thanks, John. All right, thank you, John. All right. There goes John Sharp. We're coming right back. More mid-day mobile. This is mid-day mobile with Sean Sullivan on FMTalk1065. Like 1224, FMTalk1065, mid-day mobile on this Friday. By the way, your chance coming up. Sometime during this very show, to win that $100 gift certificate from my man, Joey Mason at Mason Hills Farm, you can warm up your dialing fingers, right? Remember the phone number 3430106. Not yet. I mean, you might warm them up, but sometime before the end of the show, your chance to be colored number six. And when that Mason Hills gift certificate, 100 bucks to go check out what we've all been talking about with Mason Hills Farm plus smoke on the farm coming up. We'll discuss that as well. Get a couple of text here. So B.Dark says, "Do away with the bridge and help the storm victims." I mean, I get your heart in that B.Dark. It just doesn't work that way. Now, the money that has been spent on so many other things, and we don't have the money for storm victims, is something. Speaking of which, look at the numbers here, and just the same way that we want to make sure those people in Maui and the fires didn't get forgotten. Let's make sure we don't forget the... Now, 215 is the latest report, 215 dead in the path of Helene. And we're talking about the money-wise. So a story that guys had it on one of the three big things this morning on Mobile Morning's story from the New York Post says Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorka is set off outrage Wednesday. We told reporters that the federal emergency management agency does not have the funds to see Americans through the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season. Y'all had one job. Remember that thing? He had one job. Said after the agency has spent more than 1.4 billion since the fall of 2022 to address the migrant crisis. Mayorka is in that press conference says, "We're meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have." Y'all know the thing about the federal government? Y'all borrow and print money that we don't have. So don't tell me now you don't have it. This is the problem. We talk about what government should do, the definition of what should be the job of government. And they don't have the money to do that. Mayorka just went on to say, "We're expecting another hurricane hitting, and we do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season. And what is imminent?" And, quote, critics pointed out the Department of Homeland Security, the HS, allocated $640.9 million this year in FEMA-administered funds to aid state and local governments coping with the influx of asylum seekers. And now we don't have the money to deal with this. Speaking of that, too, it may address this when we get back from the break. That's a little more detail on this. I was reading a Reuters story about the deaths. And somebody had sent me a text about something from ex that said a FEMA director, that a FEMA director who was acting arrogant and denying aid to North Carolina flood victims was beaten by local residents. I have not that baby. That's something on ex. I have not seen that in the news. So I think that's sunny on the text line. If you can get any more clarification on that, I'd be interested. I did not see that. But in a Reuters story, I was reading, they have a breakdown here of the flood insurance, or better yet, let's say the lack of. Nash A have a pretty good graphic of the state of North Carolina. And on the coast, you see higher densities of flood insurance, right, where people would think storm surge and those kind of things. When you look to the rest of the state of North Carolina, it is very low. So as we talk about this recovery, these folks aren't going to have flood insurance to lean on it says counties in the western part of North Carolina hit hardest by Halloween had starkly lower rates of flood insurance in coastal counties. I think that makes sense because people didn't feel they were in a zone that they were going to deal with that, right? It says, here we go, federal flood coverage also varies widely by region. Why? Well, 43 percent of single family homes in North Carolina's coastal dare county had NFIP policies, just 0.5 percent of homes in the western counties hardest hit by Halloween, according to a Reuters analysis of federal flood insurance data and census data compiled by the University of Minnesota. So only 0.5 of the homes there that were affected, less than 1 percent had flood insurance. Said that reflects the fact that FEMA's maps do not account for rainfall, leaving residents in the mountainous areas unaware of their risk and says FEMA should update its maps to reflect that risk. How about that? That 0.5, less than 1 percent of those people even have the flood insurance to reach out to. It's stories coming out of the recovery there. It's like stories we've seen with been flooding in Louisiana, seen flooding in Arkansas, you've seen groups like KJ Navy come into effect. There's so many of those groups working now, seem to be butting heads with the feds on these things as well. We'll talk about that when we come back 343 0 1 0 6. This is Midday Mobile with Sean Sullivan on FM Talk 1065. By 1235 FM Talk 1065 Midday Mobile. Friday style, y'all say a little bit about buying primes. He's a Paris tractor in Robert Stale. Blaine, let's talk about this looking at the weekend here. People thinking about, I don't know who might not be, but some people are thinking about heading to the woods here over the next, I don't know, three or four months. So 0 percent financing. You told us yesterday it's still happening. It is still happening on all Cabotan Land Pride equipment that we have in stock. We've got a little bit of everything from zero turn lawnmowers, side by side. Any size tractor, we've got all of those in stock as well as the skis, steers and mini excavators all qualify for that zero interest financing right now. That means what you heard Blaine say yesterday and just now, the side by sides, those great Cabot RTVs. So this election is good and those do qualify for 0 percent financing. Absolutely. We've got all of the gas burners in stock as well as the diesel powered engines on the side by side in stock right now on the diesel. We've got the two cedars. We've got the double row seats, the four cedars. And we've also got the enclosed cab RTVs, side by sides as well. And yes, all of that will qualify for that zero interest financing through Cabotan right now. You also talked to me about this in the past. As you get people coming in and getting new equipment, they're trading in as well. So what's it look like in trade in? Yes. So right now we've got a we've been trading a lot. A little bit of everything. It's a wide variety of stuff from trackers. We've got a couple side by side as well. But we trade in just about anything. So we've got a wide selection of equipment that's pretty own that is available. And most of it, yes, can be financed as well. I like it. Tell folks how to find you. Well, right here in the middle of Robert Stone, Highway 59 at Paris Tracker, we're we're here Monday through Friday, eight to five, Saturday, eight till noon, or you can give us a call at two, five, one, nine, four, seven, four, one, seven, one. Hey, thank you, Blaine. Thank you, Sean. All right, there goes Blaine at Paris tractor in Robert's Dale. Grab a couple of text here as well. Let's go back to again. Let's see. All right. So this this texture said, will the tolls, this is from the conversation I had earlier with John Sharp, will the tolls be lifted once the project is paid for texture? That is what they have told us. That is what has been said. It's like, you know, it's so that's what they say. And yes, I do believe it. I think there's too many eyes on it. What over in Louisiana, big surprise, although I would argue that our state could rival Louisiana sometimes in corruption, but in Louisiana, they had where was it? It was like, was it that was at the bridge going? Going like if you're going down to Bell Chase, one of those toll bridges there in Louisiana, they did, I don't know if it was a TV station or print journalism. Somebody did the dig into it and they had been charged and they had paid it off. I think a couple of years beforehand, and we're still charging tolls. But here, yes, the tolls are supposed to be lifted once the project is paid for. Who knows if I will still be on planet Earth at that point? All right. Captain Doug says, Sean, here's a thought about the bridge and tolls. Leave the current bayway intact, toll it and make it reduce tolls for the other route. Leave the current bayway that see, they're not going to do that though. That's a thing. Doug, I mean, I hear you, but they're not. It says, leave the current bayway intact, toll it and make the reduced toll for either route, old bayway or new bayway at the same at something like $1.75, restrict all semi-truck traffic onto the new bayway to reduce vehicle flow onto the old bayway. 500-year floods be damned, the current bayway has yet to flood as I recall. Thoughts on that? Yeah. So those are my thoughts. I was one of the things I was at the other day, and I was up under, I guess it was last week, maybe a week ago, I ran out for a hit the delta and I was coming back under the bayway and it reminded me, and I need to look this up, but one of the arguments, arguments, one of the things that has been said is they are going to take down the bayway because it is approaching its lifespan. Now I was looking underneath and listen, it's not perfect looking underneath, it's not brand new. But there's been, we discussed this so many times, I need to go back, but I think that is one of the things they said is they have to take down the old bayway. In the argument being, we will have to have a new bayway one way or another because it's reaching its end of lifespan. It's what I would ever call there. That's, let's see, Keith in Agricola says FEMA spent all the money on illegal aliens and doesn't have enough for hurricane victims. You can't hate this administration enough. Navy Chief in Foley said it's a new fiscal year for the federal government. Every October 1st with a new budget money, how does FEMA not have the funds? Quit bringing logic into this Navy Chief. I actually had, because they're on the CR, I think they just passed what a couple of weeks ago is probably, you're correct. I mean, October 1st, new fiscal year for everybody, except probably in the federal government, says number two, this is a money grab for more, this is a money grab for more money. They're using FEMA funds for illegal migration. This is against the law. If I'm not mistaken, so how are they getting away with this? You know, when I look at it, Navy Chief is, you know, I say, I think I can say it's piss poor planning is what it is, right? Holding nothing in reserve. You even, even with my disagreement with what they spent the money on, which I think we probably agree on, if you're looking at the commitment of the federal emergency management agency, you don't spend it down and not have money in the kitty. I mean, it's just bad, it's just, it's just bad planning. Back to that story for a second though, but think about how this is going to be and what we're going to hear from insurance companies that have to pay some claims. So there are going to be claims in that area, Western North, Western North Carolina, in Tennessee, in Georgia, into Virginia, South Carolina, where they will have to pay tree through roof and those kind of things, even in places where they're not paying, paying flood insurance. Those are going to be drastic. But yeah, less than 1% of the folks in Western North Carolina, and they in this map, I'm looking at the shorter story, they basically draw a line from Charlotte and go North. And then everything to the West, they're going, that zone, the FEMA declared disaster zone, less than 1% have flood insurance there. And then you've got the claims, of course, from Florida, the whole way up. I was watching, you know, we had watching some of what went on in Tampa and St. Pete in those areas. My buddy, JB Bueno, who used to be here at WKRG is down there and watched a lot of his video. Also watched some, I say amateur, you know, I've got these folks that are like storm chasers on their own dime and places like Cedar Key and the damage there. So the damage is going to be, for gosh, South of Tampa, the whole way up through. And I've asked this before, when do you see, you know, after Katrina, we saw it, after I think it was Charlie in Florida, a couple worth the, where the insurance companies started going, well, you know, we may not be able to continue to do business here and be able to write these policies, that policy, this center, or the other. Right, let's go to get phones, line two. Okay, line two is Clint in Faroe. Hey, Clint. Hey, Sean, how are you? I'm good, Ben. It's, it's Friday. Yeah, we're good. Good deal. Hey, I get what you're saying about like the money's not there for the North Carolinians, because they spent a billion four on the asylum seekers. Yeah, that's what Mayork has said. Yeah, that's what Mayork has said in that presser. Yeah, yeah. All right. But when you're running a, you know, $1.7 trillion annual deficit, the month is not there for every program that came before that, you know, over the past $1.7 trillion, right? I mean, that's why, yeah, that said, you're, yeah, nothing is funded, but I mean, a lot of things are not funded and we don't have the money for it. Yeah. And we, as like, so in this case, why don't in this case, as much as I would wish for some fiscal responsibility there, in this case, if y'all are in the business of borrowing and printing up money, this might be a good time to do it. Well, I mean, they're going to do it, but, you know, even if they fund FEMA with another, just say, $10 billion to get ready for the next storm and the next crisis and the next, we don't have the money for that. Like, that's just going to be friend of money. Yep. So it's not just that they spent a billion on the asylum seekers, it's whatever they spent a trillion and a half dollars before that on, we didn't have the money for that either. So just wanted to make sure you understood that 100%. Yes, we have a great pattern of spending money that we don't have already in this country. And it's not a popular subject, you don't hear, you don't hear, I don't think you hear anybody campaigning, either party on, on, you know, tackling the debt in a serious way. And therefore, I guess, which is very sad when, when mathematically, there was maybe a chance that maybe we could tackle the problem and work on it and pay down the debt and all, but I think mathematically, they've just learned their hands up there and said, you know what, we're never, never going to be able to, you know, to pay this back. And so we're not going to talk about it. We're not going to campaign on it, which is very sad. I mean, I wish, I still feel like, and maybe I'm naive, but I still feel like there is time to do something about it and get people to care more about it. Maybe I'm, you know, I'm just hopeful, but I think, and I wonder if, you know, I mentioned this a lot, when I just focused, not just on the debt, but on the debt surface. And maybe I'm showing my, my personal, my private side, you know, what makes me nervous in life, projected onto the government, but just the debt, sort of what you're paying in interest. And I would make that argument. I think if I was in Washington, I think I could get bipartisan support because I would say, hey, right now, wherever side you are, we're spending this money for debt service. This is not going to help a single American. Can we tackle this? Yeah, just, you know, we're not getting anything for it. It's just debt service. Could we tackle some things, bipartisan way? And I'll tell you what, we'll make a deal. I would rather have some amount, you can carve out of that, be used for other programs. People want to grow programs in the United States. I'd rather that money go to an American citizen or a program than servicing debt. To me, I, in its naive, but I would think that maybe you can get some people to work across the aisle there on that one, say, listen, there would be money for other programs. We just have to not be servicing debt with it. OK, so I agree. Can I tell you a little story about the Simpson Bold Commission back in 2010? OK. Do you have time? We have two and a half minutes. I'll try to make it short. So let's say, I don't know what the debt service is now. I hadn't checked it in a while, but I think 700 billion a year, maybe something like that. I think it is. Yeah. Yeah. OK, so that's, that's annually. So back in 2010, Alan Simpson, the Senator from Wyoming, or Forest Center, and Erskine Bowles, ironically, a representative out of North Carolina, they commissioned the Simpson Bowles Commission to try to figure out a way to to tackle $400 billion in debt over the course of 10 years. OK. Right. That's when Obama was saying, like, we take 10%, what was it, like, a 10% or something production around this? Hey, let me make my, let me make my stupid point. So they said, hey, find a way to say $400 billion over the course of the next 10 years, which comes out to $40 billion a year. OK. Chomp change. Simpson Bowles did it. They brought it to Congress and they couldn't even agree on how to say $40 billion a year. So that's the state of sadness that we're in from a fiscal standpoint. So we're screwed. We're screwed. Yeah. Happy Friday. Happy Friday. Thank you, bud. Friday it'd be. All right, coming right back, more midday mobile 3, 4, 3, 0, 1, 0, 6. This is midday mobile with Sean Sullivan on FM Talk 1065. 1252, FM Talk 1065, midday mobile. And it's time to win. We'll clue there as people warm up their fingers. Color number six right now. We've got that $100 gift certificate to Mason Hills Farms from a man, Joy Mason. He's not smoking the farm coming up, but you have a chance to win that $100 gift certificate right now. And hopefully put it into good use, grilling for maybe a football game next weekend, or friends, meets fantastic. And there's so many, you can go, you know, you'd be like me, think steak, steak, steak. But that's just the tip of the cut with Mason Hills Farms, all kind of great meats to enjoy. And local company doing great things in the food world. Joey's good guy as well. So check it out. Looks like we got a gazillion people calling in. So good luck. And we'll announce the name here shortly for the winner of the $100 gift certificate. All right. To the, to the text line here, backstrap stacker says the money is, but the money is there for illegals and also for Ukraine. Yeah. Yep. The next sector said they need to quit sending our damn money to Ukraine. Chris and Orange Beach says, correct me, if I'm wrong, but doesn't concrete get stronger as each year goes by, how can the bayway be ending its lifespan? Chris, I'm not going to be able to tell you concrete engineering. I just know they had said it that it's just same way that bridges, you know, we had the, with the rebuild Alabama, they're working on the bridges too that, and the concrete or the rebar in them. I don't know, Chris, but there, there's something, there, there's a lifespan to the roadway. It's not just for the surfacing, but something, you know, something in the structure. Martin says, your last color's final words were screwed is right. The government should send us a large jar of, we'll just call it P Diddy. I've always just called that stuff P Diddy from now. Send us the P Diddy. All right. Yeah. The, the, the bayway story is just, I just wonder, there seems to be some, I mean, make sure I'm careful here. So I'm accurate. There mean, it seems to be some openness in discussion to changing them, saying that the toll would never go higher than X. Remember, it was last week of the week before too, I had Mark Colson on from the Alabama Truckers Association. Good guy. And I talked to him, I said, Hey, what are you all here? And on the truck inside for what your tolls will be, he said, it's not finalized yet. So it's, are we going to pretend that was, that's what derailed this whole thing in the first place. So people about the, oh, so I asked, but yeah, so it's not okay. We're talking about here with the ILA strike being off. The language is interesting to me in this, that it's not over, but it's suspended, I think, is the word, you know, like you'll hear, but then sometimes your politicians will say they're not ending their campaign, they're suspending their campaign. So this is, yes, no, this is from my NBC 15, this story. So the union representing the 45,000 striking US dock workers at the East and Gulf Coast ports has reached a deal to suspend their strike until January 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. I wonder if they didn't think that maybe the feds were going to bring in the, what is it, Taft Hawley or whatever, Hawley Taft or Holy cow, you know, you have, you have an emergency, the president can put them back to work. I wonder if they were up against that and realizing that they were going to be forced back in for 90 days anyway, which what 90 days from right now, October, November, November, December, December, January, yeah, I mean, they're, it basically the same. That's interesting. So you throw that into the mix. So the pause in the strike here is pretty much the time period that the federal government could move in and make them go back to work. It goes on to the story. He said the union, the International Longshoreman's Association is to pursue him working immediately. And at least until January, he said the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity, blah, blah, blah, blah. Always have that. The agreement will allow the union and US maritime alliance, which represents the shippers and the porch time to negotiate a new six year contract. The union of course went on strike earlier this week. So it's suspended. It's in the godfather. What is this suspended a sentence? It's suspended, but it's not, it doesn't seem finished. Also, I've got, you know, I've looked at my social media last night and had been looking at it, the, and following some of the people that are doing rescue efforts up in Western Carolina, East Tennessee, Georgia, the impacted area in the in the mountains and the Smokies. And you're seeing the same thing like Cajun Navy, kind of folks working together to get things done. I heard Dalton talk about he and I both follow Tim Kennedy and look at his efforts there. You had some, there's some things that have driven me crazy, some things I think may have a bigger explanation. The question early on about the people flying private helicopters in and out, when I first heard the story, I said, well, maybe they aren't, maybe they're worried about air traffic control. Well, now I've found out that they are, they are working with air traffic control. So if those helicopters are on the radar, right, of air traffic control, then why the heck stopped those people? They're doing, you know, they're, they're not going to be running into each other. The drone thing, stopping the drone flights. There are some rules, like I said, that nerdy me went through and I took the course to get FAA certified to be a commercial drone operator. So I could operate the drone and charge for it and also fly in certain air spaces. There are, I mean, you have to follow with drones, you have to, you have to follow the same, same rules here, like you're going to get your pilot's license. You learn a lot of the same things and where you can be flying and what, what, what decks, what ceiling and all that. Seems like you should be able to spend some of that for this relief effort up there. And then yes, I have seen the mules bringing supplies in and out. Those are really cool. And there's actually, if you ever go and smoke, he's in like Mount Lacan, you might see the llamas they use to bring supplies up. I hope they're using those as well. I'm talking about this more and also when we come back, talking about what this deal was struck between the EPA and Alabama power. We'll join, be joined by Baykeeper next.