Insurance bills in jeopardy

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By BRIAN LYMAN
Capital Bureau

MONTGOMERY Bills aimed at providing insurance relief for Mobile and Baldwin counties are near death after a clash Tuesday between state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile and Senate Rules Committee chairman Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe.

Barron submitted a list of "noncontroversial" legislation for the Senate to consider late Tuesday afternoon. The list did not include any of Brooks' insurance bills, and when Brooks began filibustering the bill in protest, Barron warned him he would not schedule his insurance bills for any vote.

"You're acting childish and it is wrong," Barron told Brooks in a heated speech from the floor. "As long as you keep acting this way, you can forget about me putting your bill up (for a vote)."

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

Sand Island Lighthouse Getting Help

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Disturbance on Pensacola Beach

Video taken by local resident of the situation this past weekend on Pensacola Beach near Fort Pickens...

















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

Shark Fishing Banned in Ornage Beach

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The Hangout harks back to pre-condo days at Gulf

By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

Developer Shaul Zislin wanted to bring back the beach the one before condominiums lined the Gulf, when one-piece swimsuits were sexy, the only beer served was root beer, burgers were 25 cents, the DJ was a jukebox and cars had muscles.

His latest venture, The Hangout on the beach at Alabama 59 and 182, pays tribute to the original, open air Hangout that graced the Gulf Shores beach scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

"You can't believe all the calls I've had from people who remember The Hangout," he said as he pointed to a worn, red buoy on the wall given to the restaurant by one of the original lifeguards. There's even a Hangout reunion scheduled there next weekend.

The 17,000-square-foot restaurant, which sits on 2.5 prime acres, opens Friday. The restaurant will employ 250 and features three outdoor bars, a 50-foot tower with a large movie screen for nostalgic beach movies and an outdoor stage for live entertainment.

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

Snapper issue full of snags

Looser rules aren't likely in next few years

By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Roy Crabtree pretty much cut to the heart of the situation facing red snapper, anglers who target that highly popular offshore fish, the businesses that depend on the snapper fishery, and the people charged with managing the marine resource.

"Nobody in the Gulf of Mexico is happy. I'm not happy. You're not happy," Crabtree, regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service's southeast region, said to a crowd of about 100 aggravated anglers during a meeting Friday evening at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

"I can understand your frustrations," he said to the group who had come, mostly, to voice their exasperation with increasingly tighter federal regulations on recreational red snapper harvest. "But I need real solutions that are consistent with the science and that will stand up in court."

Click here to read the full article from the Houston Chronicle.

Watch for The Orange Beach Community Website's article on this topic coming out this week.

Austal Unveils New Warship

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Airbus: Vision of glory for Mobile

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Barry Eccleston says Mobile is ready for takeoff.

Eccleston, chief executive officer of Airbus Americas, is eager to break ground on a project that will establish the city as a major new center of aircraft production.

Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., wants to build commercial air freighters in a new plant at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex. The project hasn't drawn the headlines that accompanied a related plan to build aerial refueling tankers at Brookley, but it's every bit as significant, according to Eccleston.

"This is going to truly transform Mobile," said Eccleston, who runs Airbus' North American subsidiary from its headquarters in Herndon, Va. "If you've seen Toulouse or Seattle, that's what you can envision. It will become a global aerospace center sophisticated, vibrant, high-tech and international. It will be one of the greatest centers of its kind anywhere in the world."

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

Baldwin County's credit rating improves

Top agencies reclassify Baldwin in time for $24.6 million bond issue
Sunday, April 27, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

Baldwin County's credit rating, which dictates how much taxpayers shell out to borrow money for large projects, was boosted this month by the nation's top two ratings firms.

Moody's and Standard & Poor's both announced that they had increased the county's creditworthiness to levels that few governments in Alabama can match.

On the Moody's system the county went from Aa3 to Aa2, while on the Standard & Poor's scale the county jumped from AA to AA+. Those ratings are just below the highest possible score on both scales.

Click here

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

Baldwin County Grasses In Classes

Baldwin County Grasses In Classes to plant native flora on Alabama State Capitol grounds.

In celebration of Earth Day, First Lady Riley has invited The Baldwin County Grasses In Classes students to join her at the capitol to plant Alabama Native Vegetation.

Margaret Sedlecky, Education Coordinator for the Weeks Bay NERR along with 30 students from Fairhope High School will proudly represent Baldwin County Grasses In Classes Program in this wonderful opportunity. Throughout the school year, all 7 Baldwin County High Schools plant and manage native grasses for use in restoration projects on the coast of Alabama.

With direction from teachers, Mrs. Sedlecky, and Education Specialist, Angela Underwood, these students transform balding areas and monitor each plantings' success to ensure a stabilized living shoreline.

Several species of Native Azalea, Oak Leaf Hydrangia, and Mountain Laurel will be among those planted. This Earth Day event is sponsored by Legacy, Partners in Environmental Education. Planting will begin at 10:30a.m.

Food Detective: Lulu's Signature L.A. Caviar Fits Her Restaurant To A Pea

Food Detective: Getting recipes from area restaurants for your favorite dishes

[Lulu's At Homeport Marina, 200 East 25th Ave., Gulf Shores, 251-967-5858.]

An e-mailed request turned the Food Detective's attention to south Alabama in search of a recipe for a black-eyed pea dip.

The quest was prompted by an unsigned note from a reader who told about his family's recent "wonderful weekend in Gulf Shores" when they had "a chance to go to the new Lulu's location along the intracoastal waterway."

"I know it's been there for a couple of years now, but this was the first time for us, and we couldn't have had a better time," he wrote. "I couldn't get enough of the L.A. caviar, so simple, but so delicious. "Do you happen to have the recipe for that? I would be most grateful."


As luck would have it, Lulu's owner, Lucy Buffett, was willing to share the recipe for one of her eatery's signature items that she often makes at home.

Click here to read the full article from the Birmingham News.

Spring Breakers in Gulf Shores

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Orange Beach Anglers in Pensacola Tournament

The Outcast Cobia Invitational wrapped up over the weekend and paid out more than $400,000.

As the first major tournament in Pensacola and one of the richest, the Invitational drew 46 boats from four states for the three-day competition.

Clearbrook took first place weighing in four fish for a total of 213.56 pounds. Commotion and Never Better took second and third place.

The Annie Girl out of Orange Beach, Ala., weighed in the largest fish of the tournament at 84.82 pounds. One Hung Low was the top small boat — 29 feet or less.

Sea Hunter, who claimed one of the daily prizes with the largest fish weighed on Day 1, took home the most money — $99,135. Pensacola Beach's Hog Wild was second in money with $66,960. Clearbrook was third at $60, 570 and a Rolex worth $5,500. The remaining money winners are as follows: Commotion $54,375, Annie Girl $47,310, Mollie $28,800, Never Better $18,540, Just $18,184, Game On $5,250 and One Hung Low $2,100.

Click here

to read the full article from the Pensacola News Journal.

Abuser given 50 years

Illegal immigrant Inigo Felix Vaigoes convicted of repeated sexual attacks on young boy
Thursday, April 24, 2008
By DAVID FERRARA
Staff Reporter

BAY MINETTE An illegal Mexican immigrant was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday for repeated sexual attacks on a 5-year-old boy in Orange Beach.

In handing down the sentence for Inigo Felix Vaigoes, Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge Charles C. Partin said, "It is the intention of the court that you be an old man when you are released from the penitentiary."

Vaigoes pleaded guilty in December to three counts of sodomy and two counts of sexual abuse. He will not be eligible for parole, according to Alabama law.

Prosecutors said Vaigoes had repeated sexual encounters with the boy from Janu ary 2006 until he was arrested in October of that year.

Vaigoes had been dating the boy's aunt, and the attacks occurred when he was watching the child, prosecutors said.

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

City wants annexation lawsuit dismissed

Lawyers want case dropped or November settlement enforced
Thursday, April 24, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

BAY MINETTE A lawyer for Gulf Shores has asked that the Fort Morgan Civic Association's suit against the city be dismissed after the group has twice sent representatives to court-ordered mediation sessions without giving them the authority to approve a settlement.

The city and Fort Morgan residents have been in court since 2003 when the Civic Association and three individuals sued to overturn the city's annexation of the 19.3-mile state-owned right of way that bisects the peninsula. The plaintiffs have argued that the move violated their right to have a say in the development of the property around their own, and that city zoning laws will allow for the overdevelopment of the slender spit of sand.

In December, the Gulf Shores City Council unanimously approved an agreement drawn up by three city officials and a trio of Fort Morgan residents during the last round of mediation talks that would have created a special zoning district for the ecologically fragile peninsula. But the 400-member Civic Association voted down the deal in March.

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

Officials confiscate four illegal gill nets

Thursday, April 24, 2008
By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

Three commercial gill nets being fished in Alabama waters by two Mississippi men were confiscated by the Alabama Marine Resources Division early Tuesday morning in Grand Bay after a stakeout operation.

The nets were confiscated the same day the Alabama House Agriculture committee approved a bill that seeks to ban commercial gill nets from state waters. That bill would allow recreational netters to continue using nets up to 300 feet long.

On Sunday morning, a 300-foot recreational net was confiscated on Dauphin Island after the man using it, Francis Crenshaw of Irvington, was caught cleaning 35 speckled trout on a west end beach, according to Marine Resources officials. Recreational gillnetters are not allowed to keep any speckled trout or redfish in Alabama.

The nets confiscated in Grand Bay were each 1,200 feet long, and worth more than $1,000 apiece. Both Mississippi men have commercial Alabama out-of-state gillnet licenses. One of the men fishing the nets, Billy Stork, has been caught violating gillnet laws several times before, according to Marine Resources officials, and now has six points against his license. Netters lose their license if they accumulate 10 points. The other fisherman, Larry Ryan Jr., had no prior points on his license.

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

A taste for stingray, or how to cook a cownose

By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

It was Nestor Trejo who planted the stingray seed. His brother, Jorge, caught one while we were fishing for speckled trout under the lights in the bay one night a couple of years back.

Holding the ray's treacherously barbed tail down with a paddle, Jorge unhooked it and tossed it in the ice box with the rest of our fish.

In my family we cursed rays, not ate them, a prejudice handed down for generations. In fact, I'd never heard of anyone eating one. I protested mildly that we should turn it loose as the ray flopped around in the cooler, but the boys wouldn't hear of it. In fact, they were excited.

"Oh no, stingray is good. Very good. Delicious," Nestor said, patting his belly. "You fry the wings."

Nestor was the head cook at the El Giro in Fairhope at the time and I have personally eaten trout, redfish, snapper, mackerel and flounder he stuffed, baked, broiled, fried or turned into ceviche. Everything he has ever fed me was exquisite.

I agreed to try the ray the next night but got hung up at work. It was all gone by the time I got to the restaurant.

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

Boating Safely Course Scheduled for Saturday May 10th

The Boating Safely Course is open to everyone over the age of 12, the U.S. Coast Guard Approved Boating Safely Course meets all qualifications for the Alabama Boat Operator’s License.

Qualified instructors from the USCG Flotilla 3-10 will be covering navigation, rules of the road (water), personal safety equipment, trailering boats, boating laws and boating for hunting, fishing and waterskiing. They will also provide hands on instruction on tying basic knots.

The course will be held at the Orange Beach Community Center on Saturday, May 10 from 7:45 am to 4:00 pm.. Cost of the course is $35.00 which includes lunch. Class size is limited to 25 so sign up early. Call John Griggs at 955-1443 to register.

Mobile County's Race Track to be much more than just a Race Track

Besides the ThyssenKrupp 3.7 billion dollar steel plant, Astral's expansion and Northrop Grumman's Tanker contract (if it wins final approval) Mobile County's Race Track should contribute to a strong area economy.

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Board rejects beach-community medical center

Pleasure Island Ambulatory Surgery Center plans to appeal ruling on certificate of need

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

The state Certificate of Need Review Board has rejected a bid by a group of Baldwin County doctors and a subsidiary of Pensacola's Sacred Heart Health System to build a $9.4 million outpatient surgery facility in northern Gulf Shores.

Supporters of the project, including the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, had figured the project would go forward after an administrative law judge last month issued a 120-page ruling in favor of Pleasure Island Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC's proposal.

Instead, the CON board sided with Mobile's Infirmary Health Systems and Foley's South Baldwin Regional Medical Center, which have fought to keep their Florida-based competitor out of the lucrative beach market.

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

Grand opening day approaches for The Hangout

Restaurant at public beach to open May 2

Monday, April 21, 2008

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

GULF SHORES -- A year ago the privately owned land at the city's public beach, called Gulf Place, was a vacant plot cordoned by a chain-link fence -- looking much as it had since the last wind-blown buildings, tattered by 2004's Hurricane Ivan, were demolished.

As recently as January, all that marked the property were a few frayed palms and dozens of round wooden pilings.

Now, however, there is a swarm of activity as workers put the finishing touches on a 17,833-square-foot restaurant in advance of its planned May 2 opening.

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

Miller Lite Mack Attack Fishing Tournament Announced

Friday May 23 & Saturday May 24 Captain’s Meeting at Hub Stacey’s at the Point Weigh-in at Lost Key Marina and Yacht Club

The first King Mackerel event of the season is just a few short weeks away and getting closer by the minute. The 2008 Miller Lite Mack Attack is set for May 23 and 24 in Perdido Key, Fl.

The mandatory Captain’s Meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 23 at Hub Stacey’s at the Point — 5851 Galvez Rd. Pensacola FL 32507 — and registration
closes at 9 p.m. The scales will be open at Lost Key Marina and Yacht Club — host
site for the event — from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 24 and the awards will be
presented at Hub’s at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 25.

The Mack Attack not only signals the beginning of what promises to be a stellar
season of fishing along the Gulf Coast, it also provides several unique features to set it apart from the crowd.

King Mackerel, Cobia and Amberjack will be the target species and all boats
registered before May 19 will be eligible for a free artificial reef courtesy of
Pensacola Reef Builders.

Set at Perdido’s Lost Key Marina — 10045 Sinton Dr. Pensacola FL 32507— the Mack Attack is unique in location alone. Add kayak and pier divisions as well
as bonus awards for the top lady and junior anglers as well as a target weight bonus
and categories for single-engine boats and vessels 23 feet and under in length, and you have one of the most entertaining events on the water. The public is invited to attend the weigh-in and get a chance at great prizes and giveaways as well.

Entry forms and tournament brochures are available throughout the Pensacola area
at most bait and tackle stores. For more information, contact Tournament Director Brad Sauers at (850)723-8834 or e-mail bradsauers@bellsouth.net.

COWNOSE RAYS CAUSE CONCERN

Sunday, April 20, 2008
By BEN RAINES
Staff Reporter

Chocolate-colored wings flapping in unison as they ghost through the surf, a dozen cownose rays slip along Sand Island as the sun comes up.

The rays are hunting, flying just over the seafloor and watching intently as the beating of their powerful wings stirs the sand and uncovers bottom dwelling creatures.

Any sign of a clam or oyster, even a crab scuttling for safety, and one of the rays will peel off from the group and pounce, a pair of giant "teeth" inside its big suction cup of a mouth crunching oysters and crabs as easily as a person crunches a cracker.

Scientists know little about the large rays, and that has them worried, especially as the population in Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound appears to be increasing.

Along the Eastern Seaboard, the rays are blamed for wiping out North Carolina's century old commercial scallop harvest, a feat that was accomplished in just a few short years. In Chesapeake Bay, some believe cownose are one of the primary culprits behind massive, decades-long declines in the harvest of blue crabs and oysters.

Click here for the full article from the Mobile Press-Register.

THREE SOMEHOW

Thursday, April 17, 2008
By LAWRENCE SPECKER
Entertainment Reporter

When Widespread Panic wrapped up its 2007 spring tour with two nights in Orange Beach, it seemed like any fan of the band could hardly ask for more: An outdoor setting, pleasant spring weather, all the accommodations and a attractions of a resort area.

But of course, a true fan always has a wish list. For example, "How about three nights next time?"

Wish granted. The titans of the jam-band scene return to Orange Beach for shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A week and a half later they come back to the coast for their first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival since before Hurricane Katrina hit.

That's a whole lot of Panic, especially the three nights in little Orange Beach. But bassist Dave Schools said it all comes down to keeping listeners happy.

"It's a cool place, it's an interesting little area," he said. "And I think the reason that it was so popular with the fans is that they could all get condos, they could all stay there, there's some things for them to do around there, there's beaches and fishing and so forth, and they just make a whole weekend out of it. They come from everywhere."

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

New citizens group forms in Orange Beach

by Ron David

Residents of Orange Beach recently formed a new group, the Orange Beach Citizens Association, and organizers said it will be responsive to the needs and interests of residents and will monitor city meetings on matters and issues affecting citizens.

The City Council elections will be held Aug. 26, and during the coming months, the association plans to conduct public forums in order to give residents an opportunity to listen to the candidates and their platforms.

The first public forum will be held at 6 p.m. April 29 at the Adult Activity Center on Canal Road next to the library. At this forum, residents will have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions of the candidates in attendance.

Any candidate planning to run for the City Council is invited to attend.

The association also has several questions that it will be asking the candidates relating to character traits and important issues it expects the candidates to support, organizers said.

Some of these will include quality of life issues, infrastructure, citizen oversight and economic development.

Maritime project approved by council

Developers seek to preserve 60 percent of forested tract
Thursday, April 17, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Praising designs that will leave more than 100 acres of forest and wetlands intact, the City Council on Tuesday approved plans for Maritime, a mixed-use project planned for 182 acres between Canal Road and Gulf State Park.

The developers, Pat Martin and Paul Monroe, plan to build 325 residential units -- a mix of 211 houses, 55 townhomes and 59 condos -- and nearly 210,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space.

"This is probably one of the most well-thought-out (planned unit developments) that's ever come before the city," said Mayor Pete Blalock. "I think it's great. I don't know what else we could ask for."

The council voted unanimously in favor of the plans, though Councilwoman Tracy Holiday abstained because her husband, Tim McCrory, was once a partner with the developers on the property.

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

Gulf Shores bank robbed on Tuesday

The Gulf Shores branch of Bank Trust was robbed Tuesday afternoon.

The robber walked into the bank on Alabama 59 at 3:10 p.m., slipped a teller a note saying he was armed and asked for money, Gulf Shores police said in a news release.

The robber was described as a small-framed white man weighing about 130 pounds and standing between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall. He is believed to be in his 50s and was described by police as having a sunken face.

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

Missing Boater Mystery

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Alabama Gulf Coast Weather

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar | Hurricane Center

Spring Break Dangers

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Second Military Drone plane washes ashore in Baldwin County

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Gulf Shores Officer Arrested

By Debbie Williams Reporter

Published: Wed, April 09, 2008 - 5:45 pm
Last Updated: Wed, April 09, 2008 - 7:02 pm

Debbie Williams

He's been stripped of his freedom and fired from his job. Now a "former" Gulf Shores police officer sits in a Monroe County jail cell charged with stealing four-wheelers.

Gulf Shores police officer Jason Terry is used to throwing people in jail, now he's the one who sits in a Monroe County jail cell charged with theft according to Monroe County Sheriff, Thomas Tate. "This involves his alleged theft of four wheelers which occurred in the fall of 2006 and the fall of 2007."

According to investigators, Terry stole items from hunting camps in North Monroe County. "Various equipment, farm related, sports related equipment no firearms have been reported at either location that we are presently working on," says Tate.

This all came to light when a stolen four wheeler was recovered two weeks ago on the Mexican border. It's sale traced back to the now former police officer Jason Terry.

"I understand he is a Gulf Shores Police Officer or was, I don't know that he is now," says Tate.
In fact, as soon as Gulf Shores police chief Arthur Bourne was notified of the arrest, Terry was fired. Bourne calling the arrest "shocking and unfortunate". He says the former officer would have to "suffer the consequences of his actions and the department would move on."
Terry is charged with two counts of theft of property and remains in jail on 150 thousand dollars bond.

He has previously been an officer with the Monroe and Baldwin County Sheriff's offices and the Foley Police Department before accepting the position in Gulf Shores last August.

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Wrecks of two gill net boats prompts restrictions

Wednesday, April 09, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Over two days this week, two gill net boats have run aground on local beaches while pursuing the Spanish mackerel that are making their spring run westward along Alabama's coastline.

Orange Beach officials have long sided with recreational fishermen and sought a ban on gillnetting. To them, this week's boat accidents -- one of which involved gasoline spilling into the surf along a stretch crowded with swimmers -- illustrate net fishing's incompatibility with tourist beaches.

City officials said they will ask the state to set a limit on how close gillnetters can come to the shore.

"We just feel strongly that they shouldn't be in that close," said Orange Beach Coastal Resources Manager Phillip West. "It clearly is hazardous."

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

Zatarain's to sponsor Shrimp Festival

New Orleans food and seasoning company to take part in 37th annual seafood celebration in October
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
By GUY BUSBY
Staff Reporter

GULF SHORES -- The National Shrimp Festival will get its first sponsor this year in a New Orleans company widely associated with Gulf Coast cuisine, officials announced Tuesday.

Zatarain's will be the presenting sponsor of the festival for at least three years, starting this October, said representatives of the company and the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the annual event.

Ron Kutter, festival chairman, said the connection between the company and event is appropriate.

"When it came to finding a presenting sponsor, truly there is no one else who can foot the bill, be a better fit than Zatarain's, with this being on the Gulf and the abundant amount of seafood here and the close proximity to the shrimping community here," Kutter said.

Jim Pearse, general manager of Zatarain's, said company members are enthusiastic about becoming part of the Gulf Coast event.

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

Dissolve phantom boards

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

DORMANT SCHOOL boards in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach aren't really hurting anything, but they aren't doing much good, either.

The appointed school boards are the last vestiges of Pleasure Island's failed attempt to create a separate public school system from that of Baldwin County.

Just over a year ago, voters emphatically turned down a 7.5 mill property tax increase that would have been used to start and pay for the separate school system.

The controversial issue of a Baldwin County school system split was thoroughly researched and debated before the vote took place. When the election was held, 72 percent of the voters in Orange Beach and 68 percent in Gulf Shores turned the proposal down.

In other words, it wasn't even close.

The message should have been clearly understood by the proponents of the school split.

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

Cities ‘Paint the Town Purple’ to support Relay For Life

by Clayton Wallace


The cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are turning purple, and that’s just fine with city leaders. Resolutions that passed unanimously in both cities named April as “Cancer Awareness Month”. To highlight the month, and to bring attention to the annual Relay For Life on the Alabama Gulf Coast, the city’s have joined the American Cancer Society to “Paint the Town Purple”.

Purple has long been the signature color of Relay For Life, according to Relay Co-Chair Jeanne Fitzgibbons, and she said the Relay For Life Committee would like to encourage everyone to hang a purple bow, fly a purple flag or otherwise display purple at their homes and businesses.

According to Fitzgibbons, bows are now available at several locations around the island. “For a donation of $3 anyone can pick up a purple bow to put on mailboxes, lampposts, front doors, and anywhere else,” she said. “We encourage people to also make their own bows and even display purple flags.”

Bows are available at Orange Beach City Hall, Gulf Shores City Hall, Whitney Bank – Gulf Shores, Vision Bank – Orange Beach and The Beach Club. “Even if you can’t come out and take part in the Relay event on April 25, anyone can show support for Relay by helping us ‘Paint the Town Purple,’” Fitzgibbons said.

In part, the proclamations from the cities states, “The Relay For Life of The Alabama Gulf Coast is unique in this community in that it blends fundraising, cancer awareness and prevention activities, fellowship and support for cancer survivors, and this April will also host its first “Painting The Town Purple” event in conjunction preceding this year’s Relay For Life.”

The American Cancer Society will hold its annual Relay For Life of The Alabama Gulf Coast on April 25 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. The national theme of this year’s Relay is “Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.”

This year’s goals, according ot Fitzgibbons are to celebrate more than 200 cancer survivors in our community, to remember those who have lost the battle against cancer, and to fight back by raising money to go towards research to end this horrible disease.

For more information on the Alabama Gulf Coat Relay event, contact Fitzgibbons at 981-1524 or jfitz@cityoforangebeach.com, or Co-Chair Janice Rayborn at 967-1212 or JRayborn@whitneybank.com.

School boards sit in limbo

Beach cities won't have their own school system now, but fate of the boards of education that were created is still being debated
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
By JOSH BEAN
Staff Reporter

More than a year after voters in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach turned aside efforts to create a new school system there, the appointed school boards in the two cities remain intact yet inactive.

For now.
The Baldwin County Board of Education wants the city boards to be abolished, but the cities remain unsure about the legal fallout of such a move. The crucial question: Could the beach cities restart the school boards in the future if they're dissolved now?

Attorneys for the two sides -- Mobile's Matt McDonald, representing the county board, and Birmingham's Carl Johnson, representing the beach cities' boards -- agree that nothing in state law prohibits a city school board from forming, disbanding and restarting.

In fact, Johnson cited the 1985 Marshall County Board of Education v. City of Albertville case, in which the state Supreme Court affirmed Albertville's right to re-form its city school board. Albertville had a city system before 1945, when it consolidated with the county system until it wanted to break away in 1985, according to the court ruling.

Based on such legal opinions, why would the beach cities be wary of eliminating their school boards? Orange Beach Mayor Pete Blalock and Gulf Shores Mayor G.W. "Billy" Duke said the cities need assurance -- most likely a formal agreement -- that the county board would not oppose reviving the city boards in the future.

The one-sided nature of the March 2007 referendum votes indicated that there's little public support for the city school boards. About 70 percent of voters opposed higher taxes to support a breakaway school system.

Still, the mayors said that local voters might favor independent city schools in the years ahead.

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

Two boats capsize in Orange Beach

(The Orange Beach Community Website file photo: Gill Net Boat)
Bon Secour man was gill-netting when boat tipped over; salvage attempt claimed second vessel
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- A fishing boat owned by a Bon Secour gill net fisherman capsized in the Gulf of Mexico late Sunday and he had a second vessel overturn early Monday while he was trying to salvage his first boat.

Both boats washed onto a section of beach crowded with tourists Monday.

No one was injured in either incident, but the fisherman, Johnny Williamson, lost pretty much everything on both boats. And the stretch of beach where the boats washed up smelled strongly of gasoline.

Alabama Marine Police Sgt. Jody Kelley said that the larger of the two boats had been carrying about 80 gallons of fuel and that it had been leaking from the boat since it capsized.

Orange Beach Coastal Resources Manager Phillip West said that because the fuel will evaporate in the sun quickly and be carried away with currents, it probably won't do much lasting environmental damage.

"There are more significant health risks than environmental threats associated with a gasoline spill of this size and location," West said. "However, it isn't likely that the spill was heavy enough in a short enough period of time to cause burns or respiratory problems for swimmers."

City officials will continue to monitor the area for oil residue, he said.

Kelley said that Williamson was out in his 24-foot-boat setting his nets just beyond the sand bar nearest to shore at about 11 p.m. Sunday.

"He got too close to the shoreline and a big wave hit him sideways," Kelley said.

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

City signs new deal with SEC

Women's soccer tournament will be played at Sportsplex through 2010
Monday, April 07, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- City officials have finalized a deal with the Southeastern Conference that will keep the athletic league's women's soccer tournament coming to south Baldwin County through 2010.

"Obviously it's a plum for the city to have an SEC championship event," said Mayor Pete Blalock. "What it shows is the SEC believes in what we're doing and how we're putting the tournament on, and that they're very pleased with the outcome."

The city first hosted the event in 2003. Some 1,700 attended the championship match between the University of Tennessee and the University of Florida and a television audience across the Southeast saw the nailbiter, which ended when the Lady Volunteers won 7-6 in a penalty-kick shootout, on Fox Sports Net South.

Impact fee income increasing in new year

Commercial projects have bolstered Orange Beach's take in recent months
Sunday, April 06, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER, Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- When developers of the new 54,000-square-foot Publix grocery store on Perdido Beach Boulevard applied for building permits in December, they paid $130,913.50 for what stands as the largest impact fee the city's collected to date.

That mark will surely be shattered as soon as construction starts on the next Gulf-front high-rise, but the first 17 months Orange Beach has collected impact fees has coincided with a halt in the resort real estate market.

That said, Orange Beach has taken in nearly $692,000 since the fees on new construction were enacted in November 2006, city records show.

After a slow start -- $12,072 was collected on three houses in late 2006 -- the city collected more than $383,117.15 in 2007, municipal records show.

"In reality that's not bad for a down year," Mayor Pete Blalock said Friday.

City financial planners had expected to bring in about $500,000 in impact fees last year and Orange Beach was on pace to badly miss that mark until the grocery store developers started construction. That group has also paid substantial fees for four other commercial buildings it's constructing at the intersection of Alabama 161 and the beach highway, a project called Palm Pointe.

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

School bands to perform spring concert Thursday

by Teri Westbrook

Gulf Shores school bands will perform their annual spring concert Thursday at the Erie H. Meyer Civic Center in Gulf Shores.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and music is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The free concert is presented by the city of Gulf Shores as the opening event of Gulf Shores Outdoors & In 2008 series. Complete schedules are available throughout the area, as well as online at www.cityofgulfshores.org.

The Gulf Shores Elementary School band is composed of sixth-graders who have studied musical fundamentals and have been chosen to participate. Directed by Ryan England, students are ready to show off their musical knowledge.

Under the tutelage of Jeremy Willis, the Gulf Shores Middle School band competed in February at a district band assessment. On a scale of one through four, with one representing "superior," the middle school band scored a one for "Courage" by Larry Clarke, a two for "Quicksilver Overture" by Anne McGinty, and a one for "Declaration in the Blue" by Robert W. Smith.

Many of the middle school musicians participate with the Gulf Shores High School band, led by Tim Brannan. At district assessment, the high school band received all superior ratings.

From football games, pep rallies, assemblies and local parades, the combined Dolphin band represents Gulf Shores schools and supports local athletic teams, as well as winning awards for their musical skills.

Over the past two years, Gulf Shores High's band has been rated superior in all of the marching and concert competitions in which they have participated. This includes last year's Dynamic Music Festival in Orlando, Fla. This has led to an invitation to represent the state in 2009 in Honolulu for Hawaii's 50th anniversary of statehood.

For the annual spring concert, the Gulf Shores High School band will present four numbers:

"Flight of the Thunderbird" by Richard Saucedo

"Amazing Grace" by Frank Ticheli

Highlights from the Broadway musical, "Wicked" music by Stephen Schwartz; arrangement by Michael Brown.

"Train Blues" by Christopher Norton.

For more information about this or other Gulf Shores Outdoors & In 2008 free concerts, call the special events information line at 968-1172 or visit www.cityofgulfshores.org.

Widening project to require road closing

Work on schedule to expand Baldwin County 20 into five-lane artery between Alabama 59 and Beach Express

Friday, April 04, 2008

By GUY BUSBY

Staff Reporter

FOLEY -- As crews work to create a five-lane throughway between Alabama 59 and the Foley Beach Express, Baldwin County 20 will be closed for much of the weekend during construction.

The road between Alabama 59 and Juniper Street will shut down at 6 a.m. Saturday. Work is scheduled to be completed by around noon Sunday, Wendell "Butch" Stokes, city engineer, said Thursday. The closing had been scheduled for last weekend, but was postponed to avoid having the project rained out.

While the road is closed, traffic will be detoured onto Riviera Boulevard and Juniper Street. Baldwin County 20 is south of the Tanger Outlet Center.

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

2009 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest Welcomes New Sponsor

Two New Categories Will Include Students and State Parks

Do you think the photos you snap are award winning? Why not enter them in the 2009 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest? Digital photos taken in Alabama by amateur photographers are eligible for entry into the annual contest sponsored this year by Academy Sports + Outdoors.

Categories added for the 2009 contest include State Parks and Student Snapshots. Student Snapshots will consist of two divisions: Youth ages 6-12 and 13-18 while the State Parks category will include photos taken in any of Alabama’s 22 State Parks operated by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). The remaining seven categories are Birds, Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians, Other Native Wildlife, Scenic/Pictorial, Nature-Based Activities, and Wild Flora.

“We really look forward to the Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest because the number and quality of entries increases each year,” said ADCNR Information and Education Chief and Outdoor Alabama Magazine Editor Kim G. Nix. “Most of the entries are so beautiful, it’s hard to judge and pick out the winners.”

All photos must have been taken in Alabama and species must be native to the state. Photos must have been taken within the past two years and not published previously. All photos must be high quality digital images submitted on a CD-ROM accompanied by an 8x10 print of each photo. Photographers may enter up to 10 photos.

In addition to having winning entries printed in the February 2009 issue of Outdoor Alabama, prizes courtesy of Academy Sports + Outdoors will be awarded to the winners in each category. Certificates will be awarded to first, second and third place winners and honorable mentions. The deadline for entering the contest is October 31, 2008, at 5 p.m. Entries received after this time will be disqualified.

For more information or to download the rules and entry form, visit www.outdooralabama.com or call 1-800-262-3151. To receive an entry form by mail, write to Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest, 64 N. Union St., Ste. 106, Montgomery, AL 36130 or request by email at magazine@outdooralabama.com.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdooralabama.com.

A dangerous path to Perdido

'Everybody seems to be in a hurry out here'

The deaths of two motorists on Perdido Key Drive on Wednesday night have some residents questioning why nothing has been done about the dangerous road.

"There are no lights and you cannot see," said Dale Hoffman, 39, a bartender at The Reef on Perdido Key. "When the fog comes in or it rains real hard, you are way out of luck."

The two-lane stretch of State Road 292 extends from Orange Beach, Ala., to Navy Boulevard and changes names three times — from Gulf Beach Highway to Sorrento Road to Perdido Key Drive.

The road has seen more than its fair share of fatal accidents in the recent months. In January, Brenda and Tracy Herring died in a head-on crash between South Blue Angel Parkway and Fairfield Drive, the same stretch that claimed the life of a motorcyclist three months before.

The latest fatalities occurred about 8 p.m. in front of the Seaspray condominiums on Perdido Key. Pensacola resident Vanessa L. Young, 43, was driving east on Perdido Key Drive when she crossed the center line and struck an oncoming Ford sport utility vehicle, troopers reported.

Both Young and the driver of the Ford, Chris W. Barnette, 61, of Jacksonville, were killed in the accident. Barnette's wife, Dorothy Barnette, also 61, suffered injuries that included a broken leg. Dorothy Barnette was listed in fair condition at Baptist Hospital Thursday, officials there said.

A 4-year-old boy secured in a child-safety seat in the Barnette's SUV was not injured. The accident is still under investigation, and it was not determined Thursday if speed or alcohol were attributing factors in the fatal accident, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Preston said.

Speed is a problem on Perdido Key Drive where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour, said Tom St. Clair, 39, a Lillian, Ala., resident, who works at Geno's Fresh Catch Grill in Orange Beach.

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

Anglers to descend on Orange Beach

Ronald Davenport thinks he knows the secret to reeling in king mackerel. And redfish and speckled trout plus half a dozen other saltwater species lurking off the Alabama Coast.

Davenport and dozens of other anglers will test their fishing skills this weekend when the City of Orange Beach kicks off the Red Snapper World Championship with the 1st Annual Orange Beach Saltwater Series World Championship Tournament at Zeke's Landing in Orange Beach and the Orange Beach Marina.

"I've been fishing for a great many years, and I think I've got as good a chance as anyone. That's the best thing about these tournaments — with a little know-how, luck and skill, anybody can win," Davenport said. "Plus it's all to preserve what we anglers love to do, no matter where you're from."

This year, fishermen can double their tournament chances by entering both the Red Snapper World Championship Tournament and the Orange Beach Saltwater Series. The proceeds from the two tournaments are directed towards improving and preserving the future of recreational saltwater fishing. Last year's tournament donations, when combined with Alabama's matching funds, generated more than $250,000.

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

Settlement reached in Orange Beach foreclosure suit

Development company ordered to pay primary lender $13.2 million; no plans now for Gulf-front property

Thursday, April 03, 2008

By RYAN DEZEMBER

Staff Reporter

Developers of the defunct Mandalay Beach Resort in Orange Beach have reached a legal settlement with Checkers restaurant co-founder and Mobile native Jim Mattei, who sued them for defaulting on a $45 million loan used to buy Gulf-front property, records show.

Two of the developers, John Case and Rick Phillips, along with OB Development -- the company they started to build what would have been Orange Beach's tallest towers -- have been ordered to pay $13.2 million to Mattei's company, Oxford Investments.

Paul Kirkland and Robert Williams, two other developers involved in the project, settled with Oxford under separate agreements last week. Mobile County Circuit Judge Robert Smith dismissed the case Tuesday, according to court records.

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

Saltwater Series begins on Friday

Thursday, April 03, 2008

By JEFF DUTE

Outdoors Editor

The Orange Beach Saltwater Series Tournament kicks off Friday and ends May 26, giving one fisherman a chance to win $20,000 for a big king mackerel, $10,000 for a big cobia, gator speckled trout or slot redfish, or $2,000 for a first-place sheepshead or triggerfish.

Tournament organizers said the new tournament, along with the continuation of the Red Snapper World Championship, is an effort to counteract the effects of past and recent red snapper management decisions by the National Marine Fisheries Service. "It is also intended to help protect recreational fishing for people in small boats and big boats or who fish from the jetties or the beach," tournament director Tony Kennon said. "With ever-increasing regulation of our fish stocks, it is imperative recreational fishermen have a voice in how those stocks are managed."

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

Orange Beach Fishing Association Partners with American Cancer Society Through Local Skin Cancer Screening and Education Effort

by Ken Grimes, City of Orange Beach

Bright sunshine along the sugar white sands of the Alabama Gulf Coast is one of the magnets attracting people to enjoy the feel of the powder, the splash of the surf and to “catch a few rays”. But when working daily in the hot sun’s rays like many beach attendants, construction laborers or even boat captains, this exposure on the skin can become deadly if not protected. The American Cancer Society understands the risks of skin cancer in areas such as this coastal resort community and recently conducted a skin cancer screening of the charter boat captains and mates of the Orange Beach Fishing Association. ACS is striving to be more active in community projects like this and the screening for the OBFA was a perfect fit for Orange Beach as thirty four captains and mates voluntarily stopped for the service. Thanks to the support and medical expertise of Dr. William Hixson and Dr. Steven Kinsey who devoted their time for this particular effort, their local outreach may save lives in the future as seven of the fishermen were referred for further examination. “We felt that the charter fishermen and crews have long hours of exposure to the sun and we felt that they could benefit from this type screening and process due to their time constraints during the peak season. Ultimately these captains were advised on how to protect themselves from future damage as related to skin exposure. As a charter-boat captain myself, I understand the consequences of the many hours of exposure to the sun on the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico” adds Iris Ethridge, Vice President and Board Member of the American Cancer Society for Baldwin County. She knows about the risks and takes it seriously after many years running the vessel into the gulf with the bright sun shining down all day and her passion to help others understand how to prevent damage is obvious. Laurie Gruenloh, President of the ACS for Baldwin County noted “this screening with the OBFA is a great first step along the Alabama Gulf Coast in further reaching the many residents and visitors, while teaching preventative measures to fight cancer.”

People across the country are gaining knowledge about the terrible disease known as cancer, yet through efforts like this screening the public is becoming more aware of signs for early detection and prevention. Added to the outreach efforts like the Relay For Life Walk in cities across the nation which will be held on Friday, April 25 beginning around 6pm at the Orange Beach Sportsplex, people are fighting and surviving with the help of their friends, neighbors and family members. The City of Orange Beach City Council just passed a Resolution declaring to “Paint the Town Purple” during the month of April in the fight against cancer as residents and businesses alike will join with public facilities in hanging purple ribbons, bows and flags as an awareness outreach. Janice Rayborn, Chairman for 2008 of the Gulf Coast Relay was on hand to accept the resolution for Mayor Pete Blalock and she stressed “for everyone to show their purple, put up a bow on their door and join the fight against cancer this month culminating with the Relay For Life event which is open to the public.” Rayborn expressed her sincere appreciation to the City of Orange Beach employees and leadership who as she said “give more than 100% to the Relay effort and totally commit to help make it a huge success each year.” To find out more about the efforts and resources of the American Cancer Society or Relay For Life log onto www.cancer.org today and take advantage of the knowledge already available to you.

Photo: ACS Screening for Orange Beach Fishing Association Captains and mates was coordinated by (LtoR) Carolyn Marston, Bobbi Walker, Dr. William Hixson, Iris Ethridge, Laurie Gruenloh, Dr. Steven Kinsey and held at the Orange Beach Adult Activity Center recently (photo Ken Grimes, Jr.)