Fairhope is the core of corruption in Baldwin County and Mayor Kant is the spokesman. Mayor Kant has raised over 50,000 dollars for a mayor’s election in a community of 16,000 people. That’s the first red flag. Over 50% of the mayor’s donations come from donors living outside Fairhope and unidentified PACs. That should alarm every citizen in Fairhope. The mayor is suspected of rigging the last two elections and he has now put in motion his FIX for the upcoming election. First we will see puppet candidates solicited by the mayor to run for Council seats. Former Mayor Jim Nix's son is going to run for Councilmen Ford's position. This is one good ole boy for another and most people in Fairhope don’t know that Jim Nix is a major player in the good ole boy club and management of Kant. Fairhope is a hand-me-down government. Nix handed it to Kant and Kant will pick his successor, NOT the citizens of Fairhope. It is rumored that Sherry Sullivan, a companion on many of Kant’s out of town trips, and Lee Turner are two of Kant’s choices for his replacement. Mr. Kant says this is his last term. But remember, if his lips are moving, he is lying. Mr. Jay Robinson is running for Mr. Mueller's seat. I suspect Mueller will not run for re-election but will wait until the last minute to announce it. Mr. Robinson voted for the apartments at Fly Creek and against the wishes of the community, a sign that he too may be in Kant’s pocket.

Originally the Ripp Report was local information about Fairhope politics. The idea came about due to the lack of honest information coming from Fairhope city hall, the mayor in particular. That was over 10 years ago, nothing has changed. Facebook then became our social media site which spawned Baldwin County Legal Eagle. To expand our Gmail connection the blog site The Ripp Report will be available. All of these forums will work together to maximize exposure.

The Ripp Report/ Baldwin County Legal Eagle FAIRHOPE A CITY OWNED BY OUTSIDE INTERESTS & GOOD OLE BOYS A lot of people witnessed the corruption involved with the approval of the Fly Creek Apartments. This was a wakeup call for many citizens that had heard about the corrupt ways of the mayor. Mayor Kant and his sidekick Arthur Corte have cost Fairhope dearly, in money and quality of life. The decisions they are making exclude US and only benefit them. The apartments are only a part of a much more thought out plan between Kant, Corte and the good ole boys. The decisions they are making are not coming before the public, until the deal is done or close to done then the Mayor will elude that it was a city plan all along.

FREAKY FRIDAY IN A FREAKY COUNTY May 20 2016 The Ripp Report/Baldwin County Legal Eagle Driving Under the Influence - A SOURCE OF STEADY INCOME...for Whom? One thing you can count on in Baldwin County is someone getting busted for a DUI. Our county’s alcohol consumption is greater than any county in Alabama. We entertain tourists with a selection of bars restaurants, hotels, malls, clubs and events that serve alcohol. Municipalities commonly permit social events allowing the sale of alcohol. You can buy wine beer or the hard stuff anywhere in Baldwin County within a 10 minute drive. The amount of income from alcohol sales in Baldwin County and the number of people it employs is staggering. Alcohol is ACCEPTABLE; the negative aspects support yet another industry, the judiciary.

Baldwin County Legal Eagle Consumer Advocates exposing Political Corruption, affiliate of the Ripp Report, a non-profit Association March 30 2015 The lack of education funds is a state wide problem, not exclusive to Baldwin County. Solving the present day situation in Baldwin County by raising taxes goes against all the political pledges from recently elected officials. Our Governor promised no new taxes and in the same sentence said Alabama finances were in good shape and he has saved the state 1 billion dollars in cuts to a bloated system. It only took a few months, after being elected, before the Governor started screaming the sky is falling and that our state finances were 700 million short. Do you really think he did not know that before the election? This is a creditability problem, that the Governor ignores and now is using intimidation to force legislators to support tax increases.

The creek behind Publix has severe erosion problems, in some areas the banks have collapsed over 20 feet down into the creek, depositing tons of dirt and eroded clay. These failed banks have caused trees to collapse into the creek resulting in log jams that back up the flow of water. Until now no one has documented this; Kant and Arthur Corte are ignoring previous damage to Fly Creek from construction of the shopping center while proposing the addition of a project 5 times larger than the Publix shopping center. Let’s not forget about the fire station, now we know what the city has denied for years. This fire station is for the developer’s benefit, including the reduction of insurance rates, and our tax dollars will be paying for that. No Consideration appears to have been given to the danger of having Fire trucks and Emergency Vehicles pulling out on Parker road, where an already dangerous traffic flow has caused numerous accidents and deaths. The city has denied, for years any plan to connect Rock Creek to Parker Road, this project will guarantee that HUNDREDS of cars will short cut through rock Creek, just look at the plat proposal. For forty years the owners of the triangle property were denied every proposed project that they submitted to the city, including a Performing Arts Center. Out of disgust they finally settled with the city, resulting in the city having to purchase the property, as a condition of the suit. This settlement was done in secret, no public participation was involved, it cost us 12 million dollars. Now the city is willing to change zoning to accommodate Mayor Kant’s favorite developer, a complete reversal to a policy that existed for 40 years. Mr Corte the land owner of the proposed new PUD development, and who does not reside in Fairhope, was the root of the problem, swaying the Publix development from the triangle to his property. Our Mayor helped him with that dirty deal and now will help him with this dirty deal. In 2011 a complaint was filed against Mayor Kant and Senator Pittman for grant fraud related to BP funds. It is a fact that a grand jury convened and city employees had to testify. BP as well as the special prosecutor in the Alabama Attorney’s Generals office has these cases currently. Mayor Kant and the good Senator will tell you that the Alabama Ethics Commission exonerated them from any wrong doing, this is totally false. The Ethics Commission refused to look into it, however, the FBI and BP fraud division did. With any justice Mr. Kant and Mr. Pittman could be up for indictment in 2015. In March of 2013 the Mayor commissioned a 30 thousand dollar study by Thompson Engineering, for the Fly Creek Watershed Restoration Project. This cut and paste document could have been prepared by any high school student. The Study never identified the major problems with the watershed, such as the lower section of Fly Creek being full of red clay from the Publix project. The purpose of the study was to apply for upcoming BP grants, you know like the one they are being investigated for, for grant fraud. The city has now applied for Restore Act money under the alluring title: Mobile Bay Preservation and Restoration; Lower Fly Creek Reach (?) Project. This is to include sediment removal from fly creek, the same damn sediment deposited by a private developer, Regency Center/Mr. Corte. The grant also “proposes long term protection from development, adverse storm water impacts, turbidity and sedimentation”. This $14,700,000 project is to “protect from development”, hello out there, 275 apartments plus 15 townhomes, clubhouse, pool, and parking all located on 40 acres, within the fly creek watershed AND sharing the same detention pond as the shopping center. The development alone will probably disqualify the city from the grant, and trust me I will inform the US Treasury Dept of all the details.

NEW SWEEP The Ripp Report 2015 Feb. 8, 2015 The Ripp Report #30 LOCATION LOCATION TOTALLY LOCO LOCATIONS The city of Fairhope has ignored its Comprehensive Plan, Master Plan, violated its own ordinances, recorded wrong plat maps, omitted public participation and made horrible decisions on the location of major venues in Fairhope. Planning and zoning has been a black hole in our city finances, their decisions are made without any accountability, and they have no enforcement powers. This is the number one financial problem the city has faced for the last ten years.

I saw the Fox news team this morning at Parker Road and High ridge Road for what appeared to be a groundbreaking for the Fairhope Fire station. I know you are aware of the controversy surrounding the location. The location favors the land owner and not the city. I understand the pressure of developing stories for Fox News and if this story is a simple "kiss the baby" or filler news with no substance or investigative reporting, then the PUBLIC will see this in your reporting tonight.

I saw the Fox news team this morning at Parker Road and High ridge Road for what appeared to be a groundbreaking for the Fairhope Fire station. I know you are aware of the controversy surrounding the location. The location favors the land owner and developer, not the city. I understand the pressure of developing stories for Fox News and if this story is a simple "kiss the baby" or filler news with no substance or investigative reporting, then the PUBLIC will see this in your reporting tonight.