Mobile: Credit Rating Upgraded; Locals Honored

MOBILE, Ala. — S&P Global Ratings has upgraded the City of Mobile’s general obligation bond rating from “AA-” to an “AA” in response to its strong financial position and a growing local economy. Ratings from leading accrediting agencies like S&P can help assure investors that a corporation or government entity can meet its financial obligations, Mayor Sandy Stimpson explained. According to S&P’s recent report, Mobile and its surrounding areas have a “robust and growing economy with national importance due to the Port of Mobile.” It has aggressively paid down debt and built up a significant general fund surplus over the past eight years. S&P cited those and other strong financial management practices, as well as a growing tax base as justification for the increase. It also listed transformational and federally backed projects such as the deepening and widening of the Mobile Shipping Channel and the relocation of its passenger airport to the Brookley Aeroplex downtown.

The Chaplain Offices of the Mobile Police Department and Mobile County Sheriff’s Office recently hosted the 23rd Annual Law Enforcement Prayer Luncheon at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, FOX10 reported. During the event, Bryan Myers, who has 29 years of service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and serves as a supervisory administrative specialist, was honored as a hometown hero. Myers responded to the 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, working as an evidence technician. FOX10 also reported that Battleship Memorial Park Executive Director Maj. Gen. (ret.) Janet Cobb has been named “Tourism Executive of the Year for 2021.” Cobb has been running the park since late 2015.