We'll continue to be prey to any hairbrained scheme that comes along the pike as long as the Supervisors have attitudes like David Yarborough's - "I'm going to back anything that comes into that area..."

Trouble is, people here don't want just "anything." We want development that works with our family oriented communities on the Coast, built by trustworthy businessmen with good track records - not Atlantic City type development that destroys everything we hold dear. I want my grandkids to still be able to bike down to the beach and go fishing!

What galls me is what insurance company would venture coverage on ANY developement, much less tall condos on this coastline. Did they see the Waveland total wipeout?

Looks like another scam artist. There are so many of them, that if we could use them for fuel, we would not be dependent on foreign oil supply.

The rampant, greed-driven development of half-vacant stripmalls, and over-developing every inch of land all over this country needs to be investigated...and we, as a nation, need to get involved and demand accountability in land use issues! We're all sleeping!

If people can't see he is a Scam/Con Artist then they may be in on the Scam.

Hellloooooo???

If the city and county officials cannot tell that this guy is blowing smoke out of his rear, then maybe they need to find different jobs.

Who in their right mind would want somebody who owes the SEC 9 million dollars doing any type of business around them??

GREEEEED........That's what this is all about??

Enough of my childhood memories have been destroyed by Katrina. The places I went with my Grandparents , I can never take my Grandchildren, A sand beach covers the spot we went crabbing and fishing. Wake up Tommy and Eddie stop this now!

I actaully tried to go their offices in Ft Lauderdale, FL and there was no business at the address as listed on their website. When I called them by phone for directions, they hung up on me. I would definitely be skeptical.

I actaully tried to go their offices in Ft Lauderdale, FL and there was no business at the address as listed on their website. When I called them by phone for directions, they hung up on me. I would definitely be skeptical.

So much truth in so many of the above postings. Time to register and vote OUT our present leaders! I know that the stress from Katrina has clouded our brains and therefore our decisions but this developement was in the works BEFORE Katrina. Mr. Cure may be an honorable man but that doesn't mean he cannot be fooled. Our leaders are either lazy (not researching the developer themselves) , greedy (we'll approve anything for a buck) or stupid. Regardless, we need GREAT leaders RIGHT NOW that care about the entire community's long term health. Not the same old "good ole boys network" that only cares about the "good ole boys".

it seems our county officals do not care about protecting our coast from tidal waves, or providing a quality place for us ecacuees to return. i love that area and lived there before katrina and loosing all and waiting to see about development. i don't want to live in a dayton or st. pete fla. or i would have moved there. also, wildlife needs a place to live and fishermen need a place to fish.

I have lived in Waveland for the past 15 years and have watched the politics of a small town and the good old boy network with much dismay. In the beginning "the good old boys" called us outsiders and said that we were not representive of our community. The organization that I belong to, Coastal Community Watch has fought to keep our community from becoming a Gulf Shores or Destin. It was one of our members that googled Richard Kern's name and discovered his past involvement in stock market scams and the $9 million he owes the SEC. Someone please tell me how our county officials and Mr. Cure could allow someone like Kern to participate in the rebuilding of our beloved community. Not only have these individuals invited Mr Kern into our community but now that his criminal past has been uncovered they continue to support and even defend his participation in our rebuilding. If we as a community continue to praise and then re-elect these same individuals we desreve what Mr. Kern's stock investors received "Paradise Lost".

The wetlands that help protect the coast line are filled in to develope these concrete and glass abominations. In the aftermath of Katrina, the entire country should be concerned about unlimited height and density development on any coast... WE all pay ( tax dollars) to rebuild them when disaster strikes.

These racketeers have offered our podunk politicians the moon(and they are barkin and bitin hard) and yet they have offered us "ignant" BEACHBILLIES Paradise,and we're just too stupid to understand and accept A Modest Proposal. Ann Dalton,Waveland MS

The residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast have suffered from an inferiority complex for too long. It is time to realize that we do not have to take everything that is thrown our way. Hancock County is now basically a clean slate. We can plan what we want our community to be and seek out developers and businesses who support our vision. This is a new way of thinking and requires true leadership and a lot of effort from the entire community. Those of us who are here have chosen to stay. We don’t have to take the easy way out. We are stronger than that.

Our communities CAN come back without these high dollar rollers(sic). Let's just remember our environment. It is disappearing at a most alarming rate, as we all know, especially since Katrina. We need green space, not casinos and condos, to repopulate the area in a way that we can be proud of. That, more than anything, will be what people want to see, once again. It is disappearing at an alarming rate everywhere.

Sadly, the only things that count to the supervisors of Hancock county are MONEY and votes. Supervisor Seymour is either dissembling, in the pocket of the developers, or just plain stupid to allow this company to proceed, regardless of his faith in his friend "Mike". The voters of Hancock county will decide whether their children's future is one of serving the out-of-state corporations with their sweetheart tax exemptions (the kids will need those jobs to provide a tax base to maintain the roads to these developments), or one more in tune with our hope for a future of good jobs AND preservation of our heritage of our love for nature.

Is it only the newer residents that see through the smoke and mirrors that Bay/Waveland call "city hall"? I agree that we now have a clean slate - so lets join the 21st century with our laws, ordinances and codes. And then enforce them.
1- Ticket no tag vehicles. Many of the drivers have other offences that they can be arrested for.
2- Eliminate loitering in residential and commercial areas. Those hooded guys talking on cells and walking in groups and circles in the same area for hours on end are up to no good.
3- Enact ordinances that make barking dogs, abandoned untagged vehicles, trash cans stored on the sidewalk, noise after 10 PM illegal. When you clear up the quality of life many other ills are cured as a by product.
4- Enforce the building codes that are currently on the books. The "I've lived here all my life and I'll do what I want" mentality has to come to an end. I do not care who they are related to - get my drift? Clean up the daily scamming by local scammers.
THEN AND ONLY THEN can we tell a developer how his community should look and function. Because, as I see it, if there were no Federal and State laws to enforce and new residents to envoke the enforcement we would not have a leg to stand on. THE LOCALS DO NOT POLICE THE LOCALS! Unless it's a new local....

Great article, MIKE! Keep up the good work.......These con artists have been operating nationwide........keep digging, there is more. Kern had partners in his FTC franchising scam. The Kern's are currently involved in another devlopment hoax on Long Island/Cay in the Bahamas....if the SEC is looking for assets, they are probably there!

With respect to "A Truly Disappointed BSLer", I agree that now is the time to clean-up the ordinances on the books and bring them current. What disturbs me about your post is the direction you seem to be taking with Item #3. I agree with the abandoned and/or untagged vehicles. But why should it be illegal for someone to have their trashcans at the sidewalk, or illegal for barking dogs, or for noise after 10? Maybe these items do not define quality of life for you, but for some, I am sure they are just fine with either of these.
During the summer, my kids are wide open till well after 10 PM. Playing chase, jumping on their trampolene, playing on their swing set and playing with their powerwheels electric toys. And trust me...they can be quite loud at times. It would be quite disturbing if I had to tell my kids, sorry you cant play, someone might find it to be disturbing and therefore illegal.
If I wanted an environment where my every move and action was governed by an ordinance, I would move to California. Heck California is even considering implementing legislation that would make it illegal to spank your kids....looks like they are beginning to legislate people's actions within their homes...!

"Carpet Baggers"is the correct termonology.

Letting your kids run the streets after 10PM does not seem very responsible on your part. And if you have to tell your kids to learn some respect for others maybe that is a good thing. I am 29 years old so I'm not just some old fart saying kids should be seen but not heard. i believe though that you should be a parent and stop trying to be a friend. Maybe if people learned to respect one another even when it is not convenient for them this world might be a little nicer...just a little.

D Edwards said: "I actaully tried to go their offices in Ft Lauderdale, FL and there was no business at the address as listed on their website. When I called them by phone for directions, they hung up on me. I would definitely be skeptical."

What is this guy hiding? And he can't identify projects he has done in the past? People in MS beware. This is a con artist.

I pay my taxes. So should he!

This is finally a dead thread.....that saddens me!.........Bless all!

To all of you people who would like to change the way we do things in the BSL/Waveland area, have you ever thought that we like the small town feeling of our towns. We, Mr. Cure and myself, are generational here in Hancock County. You act like we are the only city in America with the "Good Ole Boy" system. Get a life! If you want a more policed, stringent system, go and live somewhere else. We have earned the right to do things the way we think are best. Should some things change? Probably. Should we change our way of life because some people say we should. NOT A CHANCE!!

I was scammed by these guys in 1991 with a pizza chef franchise scam in St. Louis Mo.
I sued their paper compnaies and got a judgement. That and a lot of lawyer bills and nothing else but a bankrupt pizza scam restaurant.
Sorry if this is old news. I just googles Rich Kern evey few years to see if I could find them

Marybeth, a generational BSL'er writes:

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To all of you people who would like to change the way we do things in the BSL/Waveland area, have you ever thought that we like the small town feeling of our towns. We, Mr. Cure and myself, are generational here in Hancock County. You act like we are the only city in America with the "Good Ole Boy" system. Get a life! If you want a more policed, stringent system, go and live somewhere else. We have earned the right to do things the way we think are best. Should some things change? Probably. Should we change our way of life because some people say we should. NOT A CHANCE!!
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Does this way of life include Mr. Bill Carrigee as city building official? Fast Eddie Favre as mayor? We lived in BSL 10 years. We loved the old town feel, which was there _despite_ the way things work in City Hall. Now what I loved about the town is gone, and what I hated about it is still there, screwing things up. So I'm gone. The people of BSL, generational or recent, deserve better.

And the fact that Marybeth describes herself as "generational" goes some way toward explaining why recent arrivals to the town feel somewhat alienated, despite the fact that their money is as green as anyone else's.

Put it this way to make it simple. I worked for a several yearsin the construction business from Florida to Maryland and west to Utah. My highest position as an employee was site superintendant for town houses. In all that time I never met a single honest and ethical developer. They lied and connived on every issue from the development itself to the illegal labor hired. I have no expectation of this ever changing. It is just too big a business to seriously want to clean it up by any sector private or public. If there is moneuy to be scammed there will be many scammers pout to get it. dont mind being
blacklisted for what I say. I am in my seventies and a am not unethical enough to fit in anyway.

Richard Kern and his partner Rick Levinger started scamming people in Denver Colorado back in the late 80's. I know, because I was left holding the bag on one of their first scams. My husband and I financed and guaranteed the financing of some condos, they built them, collected rents and never paid a dime to anyone. They also bought one of our bars, ran it for a year and never paid a dime in taxes. They disappeared and left us with all the debt. Do not trust them!!! They are criminals.

You know, I believe I read this article before, last year. Now I read it again. Why would anyone repost an old story? Don't they have anything else to write about?