And you thought the Montgomery Mall had trouble?

     Sure, the Montgomery (Alabama) Mall is empty (photo below) and it would be a good thing if something were to happen to the buildings and land, but there's a mall in China---The South China Mall-- (left) that is twice the size of The Mall of America in Minnesota---the largest mall in the U.S.---and the Chinese Mall is virtually empty.

POV aired a documentary about it that you can watch here.

     That may make Mayor Todd Strange feel a little less stressed over the Montgomery Mall situation, which he's spent a lot of time trying to solve, to no avail.

     I once asked the late Jim Wilson, developer of that Mall and The Galleria in Birmingham, and many others, what he would do if someone handed him ownership of the mall again...and he said "I guess tear it down..what else can you do?"

     The Chinese Mall situation may also make Americans feel a bit less stressed. China may own much of our debt (via bonds), but they are no immune to the Great Recession.

A Strange OTR this afternoon...

     ...strange as in Todd Strange, Montgomery's Mayor, that is. We discuss a variety of subjects of interest to Montgomery residents....economic development... like trying to do something with the vacant Montgomery Mall, the Federal stimulus money that's saved many a city and state, even though Alabama's entire Congressional Delegation has voted against spending the money, and the Mayor's plan to build combined police and fire stations.



     Watch On The Record this afternoon at 5:30, just before 60-Minutes, on CBS-8 in Montgomery.