I’ll never be confused with our governor, Haley Barbour, but I am in agreement with him on one issue: Many of the Gulf Coast’s beaches are ready to receive you and seafood is as tasty as ever.

Yesterday, I had a mighty fine oyster po-boy at The Oar House on the water at Pensacola. It was hot as blazes, both the sandwich and the weather, but everything looked beautiful and people looked ready to break loose onto the water again.

Sadly, a real dirth of boats on the immediately viewed bay. But you gotta figure that’s about to change.

Nobody knows where these “underwater oil plumes” are, but folks around here seem cautiously optimistic that things are about to change for the better.

The difficulty comes from the businesses most directly affected by the oil in the water. They want a damages payoff from BP, but they don’t want to sound too upbeat for fear the payout impetus may slow. It’s conflicted, to say the least.

Regardless, if you have an interest in a summer road trip, things are looking pretty good at the beach – from Mississippi across Alabama and Florida.

There’s still plenty of summer left, and you might just find some deals, if you look.

I also can assure you that the folks who make their living on the tourist trade will be mighty happy to see you.

… patsy

I’m breaking ranks of my staycation to blog from the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday.

The schedule for political speaking looks pretty darn good, with most of the Big Whigs, so it will be great viewing by political junkies such as yours truly.

So, if you’d like to know if Delbert Hosemann announces he’ll run for governor or whatever else happens, watch From the Front Row.

I’ll also be Tweeting as RealNewsQueen, so catch it there too.

The only sure thing is that it’s going to be very hot. I’m looking for a second-floor porch with a breeze.

More Thursday…. patsy

News broke this morning – thanks to an informed Capital City contact – that former Itawamba AHS senior Constance McMillen and her attorneys agreed to settle their Second Amendment lawsuit against the Itawamba County School Board and other school officials.

As you may recall, McMillen wanted to attend her prom with her girlfriend and wear a tux. Then, she was faked out by a false prom, attended as she planned then learned the real prom was somewhere else. And, probably, that some of its attendees or their parents were smirking about the fast one they’d pulled.

I’d really like to know why McMillen settled so quickly, but I suspect that while she knew a jury could award her huge damages from a trial, the other side could hang the whole thing up in court for years.

So, perhaps taking the immediate money and the legal admission that somebody did something wrong was enough.

Itawamba School Board insists it did not deprive her of any constitutional rights. But Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson said otherwise months ago, which surely spooked ISB’s insurance carrier – which would have been on the hook for the potential millions.

And so, the carrier agreed to pay up. And the school district reaffirms its non-discrimination/anti-bullying policy, which apparently is a big deal.

It’s also more than fair warning to other school districts that may have discrimination issues a’brewing.

McMillen can get on with her life. She says she wants to be a psychologist and work with gay youths.

Good luck to her. And a strong reminder that the judiciary still believes in the U.S. Constitution.

Until next time … patsy

slideshow

Attached is the correspondence from Itawamba School District to Constance McMillen’s attorneys relating to their settlement officer.

Constance accepted.