After Hollywood stint, local man returns to work with dad

Monday, December 31, 2007

By LEIGH T. MOORE

Correspondent

The son of a real-estate developer, Maury Cobb was born in Mobile, but when he was 5 years old, his family moved to Birmingham.

"I grew up there and graduated from Mountain Brook High School," he said. "I was in high school when my dad moved back to Orange Beach to start Fish Camp."

Rather than follow his dad, however, Cobb decided to go to the University of Georgia and pursue a business degree, and after graduating in 2005, he went with his brother, Jan, to Los Angeles.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

The good, bad and ugly outdoors stories of 2007

Sunday, December 30, 2007

by Jeff Dute, Outdoors Editor

I told myself I wasn't going to fall into the trap of feeling compelled to write a "Top 10" list of outdoors stories of the year, being that this will be my first New Year's spent at the Press-Register. I really wanted to do something original and maybe even a little thought-provoking.

I started thinking about just what did happen this year in the outdoors in southwest Alabama and across the state and realized it was a pretty original and thought-provoking year.

THE BAD -- I think the Conservation Department blew a great chance to give the people of Alabama a first-class boat ramp on the coast when it passed the buck to the Baldwin County Commission to decide whether the City of Orange Beach could build a three-ramp facility on about five acres of state-owned land on Perdido Key.

Politics got in the way of what should have been a no-brainer call on the state and local levels.

The Baldwin commission's 2-2 vote on asking the state for permission to begin the permitting process shut down Orange Beach's efforts for now, but I am encouraged by that city's commitment to providing much-needed launch facilities on the Alabama coast.

Despite opponents' disingenuous environmental arguments against the ramp's proposed location, I still believe it is without a doubt the best place to build a new launch facility.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Mobile Civil War Trail Lecture with Colette Boehm

December 28, 2007- Submitted by the Orange Beach Library

Forget the textbooks and the classroom chalkboards, experience history first-hand. From the early Native American settlements and the legacy of Spanish explorers, to the Civil War battle where Admiral David Farragut issued the infamous command "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" history buffs will find fascinating stories.

The Battle of Mobile Bay Civil War Trail stretches from the Gulf of Mexico over 90 miles to north Mobile County, and documents the military movements and way of life on and around Mobile Bay during the Battle of the Bay (August 1864) and the Overland Campaign (March - May, 1865). A series of interpretive signs at more than a dozen sites tell the stories of the ship captains, fort commanders and fighting men who lived these historic events.

The Orange Beach Public Library will host a lecture by Colette Boehm of the Alabama Gulf Coast Visitors Bureau on the Mobile Civil War Trail on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. This lecture will be held at the Orange Beach Senior Activity Center at 6:00 p.m. Registration is suggested.

Registration is available online at the Orange Beach Public Library website. The library’s website address is www.orangebeachlibrary.org. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit the library website or call 981-2923. Alisa McLeod 251-981-2923.

Cuts in spending planned

With real estate bubble burst, city tightens belt in'08 budget

Friday, December 28, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Anticipating a drop in development-related revenue, the City Council has passed a 2008 budget that cuts municipal spending from last year by nearly $9 million.

The drop from about $50.9 million that Orange Beach planned to spend in 2007 to the $42 million slated for 2008 reflects changes in income from state and federal grants, transfers between funds, proceeds from bond issues and other factors. But what City Hall expects to spend on day-to-day operations next year is nearly $1.7 million less than this year.

"We're kind of a mirror of the national economy because building has slowed down and that's what we've tried to take into account for our budget this year," City Administrator Jeff Moon said. "We've tried to, across the board, be proactive in addressing it and account for it on the front end and not the back end."

Click here to view the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

“Curses, Conjure and John the Conqueror: Folk Magic in Alabama”

December 26, 2007
Submitted by The Orange Beach Library

Have you ever wondered where the expression “I’ve got my mojo workin’” comes from? For years, the terminology of hoodoo, a distinctly Southern form of folk magic that has its origins in West Africa heavily influenced blues singers. On January 10, 2008, the Orange Beach Public Library will welcome Alabama Humanities Foundation Road Scholar Alan Brown who will present “Curses, Conjure and John the Conqueror: Folk Magic in Alabama”.

In his presentation, Dr. Alan Brown will examine the impact that hoodoo has had on the folkways and oral literature of Alabama. By the end of the lecture, audiences will have become familiar with folk remedies and hoodoo doctors who are still practicing in Alabama. Dr. Brown will bring along samples of herbal remedies used by “root doctors” in Alabama for generations, such as John the Conqueror root. He will also share real life accounts of people in Alabama who claim to have been “cunjered” by their enemies.

The AHF creates and fosters opportunities to explore human values and meaning through the humanities. From literacy programs to grants to our Road Scholars, we offer the humanities to Alabamians to enhance their minds and enrich their lives.
As the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, AHF strives to create and foster opportunities, through grants and AHF-conducted programs, for scholars and the public to interact and explore human values and meanings through the humanities.

This event is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Orange Beach Senior Activity Center on Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.

For more information on this program or the library, please visit the library website at www.OrangeBeachLibrary.org or call 251-981-2923. Program Contact: Angela Rand 981-8179.

Click here to see a birds-eye-view of the Library and Senior Activity Center.

Perdido Pass plan calls for new east jetty

Monday, December 24, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Federal officials are hoping that by rebuilding the eastern jetties and weir that help Perdido Pass hold its shape, it will mean fewer trips to scoop sand out of the recreational ship channel.

To that end, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has embarked on a $3.5 million project it hopes to have finished within 90 days of the New Year, said project engineer Mike Cumberland.

Until then, the state beach at Florida Point will remain closed, said Orange Beach Coastal Resources Manager Phillip West.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Click here to view photos of Perdido Pass.

Deal to sell Perdido Pass lots renewed

City Council votes unanimously to give developer Rick Phillips 60 days to buy three lots for $3.5 million

Sunday, December 23, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Extending a deal that has been on the table since May 2005, the City Council voted unanimously Friday to give developer Rick Phillips 60 days to buy three lots on Perdido Pass from the city for $3.5 million.

Sandwiched between the sea wall on the western edge of the pass and private property to the north, the lots -- which add up to less than an acre -- are, for the most part, inaccessible. They were given to Orange Beach in the late 1990s by the Alabama Department of Transportation, which gave the city permission to sell the land to Phillips and his investors in 2005 provided the proceeds were used to buy Robinson Island.

Because the sale of the lots never closed, the city financed its Robinson Island purchase as part of a bond issue. Though Orange Beach could still use the $3.5 million to pay off the Robinson Island debt, it will have to wait about nine years to do so to avoid prepayment penalties, City Administrator Jeff Moon said.

Click here to read the complete article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Baldwin officials considering appeal in hospital lawsuit

Sunday, December 23, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

Orange Beach and Gulf Shores officials have until the middle of next month to decide if they'll try to help revive a lawsuit that they hoped would force public review of a Daphne surgery center's planned move to the beach.

Earlier this month, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Charles Price dismissed the case, repeating an opinion he issued in April in which he found that the State Health Planning and Development Agency acted appropriately when it told Infirmary Health Systems it could move one of its Daphne surgery centers to the beach without going through the state's certificate of need review process.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

FSN to broadcast Redfish Series Championship

MINNEAPOLIS — Tune in Sunday, Dec. 23 to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship held in Orange Beach, Ala.

The final Redfish Series event of the $1.9 million season will highlight the best anglers in the world as they compete for a cash prize of $100,000.

The “FLW Outdoors” saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers’ perspective. Each week the top-five finalists are followed from takeoff to weigh-in, allowing the audience to feel the anglers’ nerves, listen to their strategy and learn from their mistakes. The stories evolve and the suspense grows throughout the one-hour show until the final weigh-in results are announced.

Click here to read the complete article from the FLW Outdoors website.

Red Tide Current Status Report

December 21, 2007- Water samples were collected this week in northwest Florida alongshore between Escambia and Okaloosa counties. Very low concentrations of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, were detected near the Florida/Alabama border in Escambia County. In Okaloosa County low to medium concentrations of K. brevis were detected in western portions of Choctawhatchee Bay. Additional samples, collected late last week offshore of Hernando County, contained no K. brevis.

Click here to visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat"

December 17, 2007- www.OrangeBeach.ws

Captains Wade Weidenbach and Scotty Bowman, John Cook and photographer Nikki Paschenand hooked a 609 pound Mako Shark at about 3:00 this afternoon near the Perdido Pass. They were fishing from a 17' Cape Horn. The shark was caught on an open-face spinning reel spooled with 40 lb. test line.


Click here to read the complete article and view photos.

Off-season Fishing in Orange Beach.

Fest, shrimpers remain at odds

Monday, December 17, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

GULF SHORES -- Every October, more than a quarter million people descend upon this city's main public beach for the National Shrimp Festival in a four-day rite of fall nearly 40 years running.

Across Mobile Bay, in Bayou La Batre, the hard-luck headquarters of Alabama's seafood industry, a $1.2 million effort to promote locally caught shrimp has been under way since late 2003.

A sensible pairing perhaps. But while the two have flirted, attempts by some parties to marry the "Eat Alabama Wild Shrimp" campaign and the nationally renowned festival have failed.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Perdido Key building cap lifted

Residents planning lawsuit to challenge county's decision
December 14, 2007
Michael Stewart

Escambia County commissioners on Thursday voted unanimously to lift the building cap on Perdido Key.

Residents have vowed to appeal that decision to the state Department of Administrative Hearings.

Several Perdido Key residents contend lifting the cap will lead to uncontrolled development.

"What lifting the building cap will do is put millions of dollars in the pockets of developers," Perdido Key Association Vice President Kelly Robertson said.

However, Larry Newsom, manager of traffic, engineering and operations for Escambia County, said 70 percent of the island is comprised of park lands.

"You're not going to have an Orange Beach (Ala.) out there," he said.

Click here to read the full article from the Pensacola News Journal.

Red tide organism detected along beaches

Health officials warn those with respiratory problems to avoid the surf

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Staff Report

Elevated levels of the microscopic organism that causes red tides was detected in samples taken along Baldwin County's beaches Thursday, according the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Each of the samples taken at a variety of places between Fort Morgan and Alabama Point in Orange Beach showed elevated levels of the dinoflaggelate Karenia brevis, health officials said. In some cases concentrations of the tiny toxin-producing organisms were high enough to kill fish and stain the water.

Bill Smith, a Health Department lab manager, said the lowest concentrations showed 19,000 cells per liter of water and the highest was 170,000 cells per liter.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

County lands in debate on boat launch

Orange Beach officials request opportunity to move forward; opponents want to stop process

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

By VIRGINIA BRIDGES

Staff Reporter

BAY MINETTE -- A request from a state official has put the Baldwin County Commission in the middle of a debate over the city of Orange Beach's proposal to build a boat launch on Perdido Key.

Orange Beach officials have requested permission from the state's commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources to submit a permit application to build a five-ramp boat launch on state park property on the north side of Perdido Key, about a half-mile from Perdido Pass. The plan includes landscaping, rest rooms, an office and a 112-space parking area covered with a permeable surface intended to allow the natural drainage and migration of water into the ground.

Commissioners said they planned to vote at their formal meeting next week on whether and what request they support. The 8:30 a.m. Tuesday meeting will be held in Bay Minette in County Commission's chambers off Courthouse Square.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Click here to see an aerial view of the proposed boat launch.

Beach Boars Thriving

Monday, December 10, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Motion-sensing trail cameras have snapped mugshots of a wide variety of fauna along the city's 10-mile Backcountry Trail, from bobcats to deer, coyotes and even curious hikers.

But lately another species has made the shutters click with increasing frequency: feral swine.

"Anywhere you go in Baldwin County you're within a few miles of a population of wild hogs," said Kenneth Blalock with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries division.

Click here to read the complete article from the Mobile Press-Register.

ACT-II seeks insurance horror stories

Faith-based group wants to tackle rising insurance costs and hear from homeowners

Thursday, December 06, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER, Staff Reporter

Got a beef with your insurance company? Sticker shock from your latest homeowners premium bill? Perhaps a sob story about having lost hurricane coverage?

If so, the faith-based group ACT-II wants to hear from you.

ACT-II, which stands for All Churches Together, has scheduled a public forum tonight at Grace Lutheran Church in Gulf Shores as part of its research into the escalating cost and diminishing availability of homeowners insurance in Baldwin County.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

Click here for local Orange Beach Insurance Agents.

Ice Skating at The Wharf for the Holidays

December 2, 2007

The ice rink at The Wharf in Orange Beach, AL will be open until January 2, 2008. While doing your Christmas shopping at The Wharf you can take a break and glide around the rink.

For great Christmas gift ideas for Chef in your family, be sure to visit: Distinctive Kitchens, for gifts of beauty visit: Merle Norman, and don't forget that gift certificates from Rafters Sports Bar & Restaurant, and The Big Easy Daiquiri Bar make great gift ideas.

Launch proposal opposed

Sunday, December 02, 2007

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Plans by the city to build a $2 million public boat launch on Perdido Key have met formidable opposition from an unlikely tandem: the moneyed residents of Ono Island and the endangered Perdido Key beach mouse.

To be sure, city officials knew from the start that the 5 state-owned acres upon which they propose building a boat launch and parking lot are within the 1,300 acres of habitat that federal scientists have deemed crucial to the mouse's survival.

Like anyone wanting to build a house or condo tower in the habitat, the city must seek the blessing of federal regulators, said Orange Beach Coastal Resources Manager Phillip West.

Click here to read the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.