Mobile County Tornado Caught on Tape

October 23, 2007

Storm chasers catch tornado on tape in Mobile County.

Click here to view video on the WKRG-TV5 website.

WKRG-TV5's Report on Orange Beach Fish-Kill

By Pat Peterson Reporter

Published: October 22 2007 - 5:42 pm
Last Updated: October 22 2007 - 7:27 pm

It's a nightmare for the Orange Beach Chamber of Commerce! A trail of dead fish lines the beach from the Flora-Bama Lounge to Gulf State Park.

"It's pretty nasty," says Jody Embry. "It stinks, they're all over the place."

"Red Tide" is to blame for the fish kill. "Red Tide" is a toxic algae that forms in the Gulf of Mexico. Bacteria levels in the water kill the fish and push them up on the beach. "Red Tide" also causes respiratory problems in humans.

Click here to read the rest of the story and view the video from WKRG-TV5.

Red Tide Fish-Kill Reaches Orange Beach

October 21, 2007 - The fish-kill from the Red Tide has reached Orange Beach. The photo to the right was taken today at 12:02pm at the Cotton Bayou Beach Access. This photo is representative of the entire stretch of beach along the Cotton Bayou Access. We do not yet know how far the kill reaches east or west of Cotton Bayou Beach.

A 15 to 20 mph east-south-east wind is blowing along the coast. A north or northwest wind is needed to push the Red Tide Harmful Algal Blooms back out to the open Gulf.

Click on image for a larger view.

Orange Beach Red Tide Update- Sun, Oct. 21, 2007

October 21, 2007 - Orange Beach, AL - The last official Red Tide advisory for Orange Beach was published on Thursday, October 18th, from samples taken on Tuesday, October 16th. This advisory was published by the City of Orange Beach.

As of this report today, no new official updates for the Red Tide in Orange Beach are available. Any new updates about the Red Tide will be published on this page and on the home page of The Orange Beach Community Website as soon as they are received.

Below is a list of links to assist residents of and visitors to Orange Beach with information about the Red Tide.

Click here to see a Google Search for Orange Beach Red Tides.

Click here to view more information about Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) & Red Tides from the NOAA website.

Click here to view an interactive NOAA Map where reports of HAB have been found.
(Please note, the current map only shows HAB found on Perdido Key, and in other locations in Florida. It is not clear why this map does not show the evidence of HAB found in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.)

Click on the following links for information about Red Tides from the associated source: Wikipedia, WHOI, WHOI Photos, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Florida Fish and Wildlife Current & Historical Maps.

Pick-A-Pet Fest to be held in Fairhope

Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project of Baldwin County
Presents the 1st Annual
“Pick-A-Pet Fest”
Saturday, October 27th from 10:00am-3:00pm
Halloween Pet Costume Contest 11:00am
Faulkner State Community College
440 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope, AL

The Wright/ Steed Team of Coldwell Banker United Realtors will be sponsoring the event, which will feature dogs & cats from Maddie’s Pet Rescue Center, The Baldwin Animal Rescue Center, The Haven and the Baldwin County, Fairhope, Bay Minette & Daphne area shelters. All adoptions include the cost of spay or neuter, initial vaccinations, heartworm or feline combo testing and a microchip.

The Baldwin County Animal Control Center will be providing a rabies clinic available to the public for a cost of $10 per shot. The Haven of Fairhope will be offering a microchip clinic available to the public for a cost of $20 per chip. All pet owners must have proof of rabies vaccination in order to receive a microchip.

Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project of Baldwin County is in coalition with Baldwin Animal Rescue Center, The Haven, Baldwin County Animal Control Center, Daphne Animal Shelter, City of Fairhope Animal Shelter and the City of Bay Minette Animal Shelter. The coalition is focused on increasing pet adoptions, while decreasing the amount of healthy & treatable dogs & cats that are euthanized in shelters every day. Within 10 years, the coalition’s goal is to have no healthy euthanasia within all Baldwin County area shelters.

Participants in the 1st Annual “Pick-A-Pet Fest” pet adoption event include photographer Stefanie Raimo, pet psychic Sarah Christopher, The Borders of Infinity Flyball Team, Samson’s Pet Sitting, Pet Smart Pet Training, Humpty Jumpty Inflatable Jumpers, Microchip & Rabies clinic and The Shampoo Lab Mobile Grooming van.

Join us for a fun family filled day of activities, entertainment and prizes. For more information, please contact Brooke Steed at (251) 964-8888.

Hatten & Macik Win FLW Redfish Championship in Orange Beach

Orange Beach, AL- October 20, 2007 – Bennie Hatten, of Deer Park, Texas, and Randy Macik, of Bay City, Texas, caught six redfish weighing 35 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship presented by BP in Orange Beach, Ala. The top prize of $100,000 included a $25,000 Ranger bonus and a $25,000 Yamaha bonus.

“We squeaked into this thing by a whisker,” said Hatten, who qualified for the championship in the next-to-last place in the Western Division. “We were just glad to be here. And then to come in here and win it is just unbelievable.”

Hatten said the team caught six fish Thursday and eight fish on the second day of competition by fishing off of the Mississippi Sound. The team made the 75-mile one-way run to their spot on the second day of competition in hopes of repeating their first day’s performance of two redfish that weighed 12 pounds, 6 ounces.

On the final day of competition, the team returned to the Mississippi Sound, where they caught their limit in 45 minutes Thursday and an hour and a half Friday.

“We got to the pond we had been fishing in, and the wind was blowing on the shoreline we had been fishing,” Hatten said. “We hadn’t been able to catch anything on the shoreline if the wind was blowing on it. We didn’t catch a fish for the first two hours. We got the jitters bad.”

Hatten and Macik were fishing a white Rapala Skitter Walk, and they jerked the bait away from the first two fish that struck. The team took a minute to compose themselves, resumed fishing, and eventually boated six redfish during the day. They caught every fish during the tournament except for one on the Skitter Walk. Their last fish of the tournament came on a silver Heddon Spook.

Rounding out the top five teams are Brett Phillips and Mike Patterson, both of Rockport, Texas (six redfish, 33 pounds, 13 ounces, $15,120); Kris Walter, of Hudson, Fla., and Danny Winters, of Tampa, Fla. (six redfish, 33 pounds, 1 ounce, $5,760); Steve White, of Petal, Miss., and Barnie White, of Brewton, Ala. (six redfish, 30 pounds, 8 ounces, $9,360); Gary McKenzie, of Bartow, Fla., and Sam Bertha Jr., of Bunnell, Fla. (four redfish, 22 pounds, 1 ounce, $7,200).

Teams caught eight redfish Saturday weighing 39 pounds, 3 ounces.

The $300,000 Wal-Mart Redfish Series Championship presented by BP — the final event in the most lucrative redfish tournament trail in the world — is a three-day event. A field of 85 teams competed Thursday and Friday, and the top five teams, based on heaviest combined weight, advanced to Saturday’s final round. The winning team was determined Saturday based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.

The FLW Redfish Series consists of two divisions — Eastern and Western. Each division is comprised of four qualifying events with a $200,000 purse for each event. The top 100 teams — 50 from each division after four qualifying events — qualified for the three-day, no-entry-fee $300,000 Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship presented by BP.

Coverage of the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship presented by BP will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing Dec. 23. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Hatten-Macik take pole position at Orange Beach

By Rob Newell - 19.Oct.2007

Orange Beach, AL – After a tortuous day one, the weather gods took pity on the 100 redfish teams competing in the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship on day two: the rain finally quit, the winds laid and the dark clouds began to clear away.

In essence, the window opened for long runs and the Texas team of Bennie Hatten and Randy Macik took advantage of it by running their Ranger bay boat full throttle across Mobile Bay and into Mississippi Sound to a secluded backwater pond that is apparently teeming with redfish.

Click here to read the rest of the FLW Redfish Tournament article from FLW Outdoors.

Local Gulf Shores Businessman Makes National News

October 19, 2007
The Orange Beach Community Website

John McCombs, a Gulf Shores, AL businessman, was in a telephone interview on Fox & Friends this morning talking about his anti-Citgo billboard on Highway 59. The newsworthy billboard (right) shows a picture of Hugh Chavez holding a Citgo logo, and reads: "Don't by gas from this Ass". Citgo is a petroleum company owned by the government of Venezuela and Hugo Chavez.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack followed McCombs in the interview and said that he has not received any calls complaining about the billboard.

Click on the above image for a larger view.

Click here to see video of WKRG TV5's coverage on this story.

Click here to see the follow-up story on WKRG TV5.

Click here to read the AP story on FoxNews.com website.

Click here to see all of the online media who have picked up on this story from Google.

Red tide warning issued for Baldwin's Gulf beaches

Friday, October 19, 2007

By BILL FINCH

Environment Editor

Persistent south winds have apparently blown a red tide onto Baldwin County's Gulf beaches, prompting a warning by the Alabama Department of Public Health on Thursday.

Concentrations of the sometimes toxic organism were high enough to cause minor respiratory problems, if fragments of the tide became airborne and came in contact with beachgoers.

Orange Beach Coastal Resource Director Phillip West said Thursday that simply being on the beach caused respiratory irritation and stung the eyes.

"It's present, and it's definitely irritating," West said. "About all we can hope for is a shift in the wind."

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

Orange Beach Community Website Editor's Note: The front passing through our area today should shift the winds to the north. This shift should blow the Harmful Algal Blooms (aka Red Tide) back out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Red Tide Alert for Orange Beach & Gulf Shores

Water samples collected on Oct. 16 on Alabama beaches indicate the presence of red tide cells, the Alabama Department of Public Health announces. As of Thursday, beaches east of Dauphin Island are affected, but the winds from the south may continue to push the red tide up onto the beaches to include Dauphin Island.

Red tide results from a massive build-up of certain species of microscopic sea organisms known as dinoflagellates. These organisms produce a toxin that affects the central nervous system of fish so they are paralyzed and cannot breathe. At high concentrations, the organisms may produce a discoloration of the water. Red tides are often referred to as “blooms.” The species (Karenia brevis) may produce toxins that also cause skin irritation and respiratory problems in humans.

Health Department officials advise:

• Avoid the area if you are susceptible to respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema.
• Leave the water if you experience skin irritations while swimming or boating and rinse immediately with fresh water.
• If you experience nose, throat or eye irritation when exposed to the gulf mist, avoid the mist.

The Alabama Department of Public Health will continue to monitor gulf and bay waters for the presence of red tide cells. At this time the oyster reefs are unaffected.

Unfortunately, the presence of red tide cannot be predicted to be at a certain location at a certain time. The effects depend on many variables such as temperature, salinity, direction of the wind, and how concentrated the organisms are at a given location.

Senate Passes Bill that could bring Disaster Funds to Orange Beach

Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions vote for the measure

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Staff Report

WASHINGTON -- A bill that would send $30 million to the University of South Alabama for an engineering and science center has won approval in the full Senate but still needs the agreement of lawmakers in the House.

The bill, which sets spending levels for the U.S. Justice Department, Commerce Department and other agencies for the fiscal year that began this month, passed the Senate 75-19 on Tuesday evening.

Included in the bill is $100,000 for the city of Orange Beach and a fishing mortality education program.

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

Laptop Users Group Schedule for October-December 2007

The Orange Beach Library Laptop Users Group (LUG) will continue meeting throughout October, November and December on Monday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in the Orange Beach Public Library meeting room. Participants should bring their own wireless capable laptop.

At this time there is no registration necessary and classes are first come, first served. These classes are free and open to the public. For more information please contact the library at 251-981-2923, visit the library website at www.orangebeachlibrary.org or email arand@cityoforangebeach.com

Distinctive Kitchens and Pensacola Junior College Form Partnership

Distinctive Kitchens(DK), serving Northwest Florida and South Alabama for 65 years, is pleased to announced a new culinary partnership with Pensacola Junior College, the first junior college chartered by the State of Florida.


Together, they have served the community for over 120 years. As the southeast's largest Culinary Arts Centers with "State of the Art" kitchens for cooking classes and private events, both the downtown Pensacola and Orange Beach locations provide a festive atmosphere of "edutainment".

The DK chefs blend fun with culinary skills to leave our students fully satisfied! With both demonstration and hands-on classes, you will receive a set of recipe cards, a sampling of tasty foods and a variety of wines that compliment the class menu.

Click here to visit the Distinctive Kitchens website.

Click here to view Distinctive Kitchens' Calendar of Events for its Pensacola, Florida store.

Click here to view Distinctive Kitchens' Calendar of Events for its Orange Beach store.

Click here to view the Pensacola Junior College website.

Red Tide Update- Samples found on Perdido Key

October 17, 2007

Orange Beach, AL- While no evidence of Harmful Algal Blooms (aka Red Tide) has been found in Orange Beach, samples of the toxic substance have been reported as close as Perdido Key (as reported by NOAA).

The rain we have experienced over the last two nights will hopefully slow the spread of this Red Tide event, and prevent it from reaching Orange Beach.

Click here to view more information about Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) & Red Tides.

Click here to view an interactive map where reports of HAB have been found.

Click here to see the latest news stories about the Gulf of Mexico Red Tide.

Pittman swamps Cooper for state Senate

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

By DAVID FERRARA

Staff Reporter

Baldwin County voters overwhelmingly selected Eastern Shore businessman Lee "Trip" Pittman on Tuesday as their next state senator.

Pittman, a Republican from Montrose, collected more than 86 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent, Fairhope attorney A.J. "Jay" Cooper Jr., following a five-month race for the Alabama Senate District 32 seat, according to final but unofficial election results Tuesday night.

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

Click here to view election results.

Red Tide Health Advisory for Escambia County

by the Escambia County Health Department,
advisory published October 15, 2007

Red Tide Present along Pensacola Beach

PENSACOLA – Escambia County Health Department is issuing a health advisory for red tide, which may give residents and visitors mild and short-lived respiratory symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation similar to cold symptoms. Red tide does not affect everyone who comes into contact with it and usually symptoms end when a person leaves the area or goes indoors. Health officials recommend that people experiencing these symptoms stay away from beach areas -- once a person leaves the red tide area, the symptoms usually go away. If symptoms, do not subside, please contact your physician for assistance.

People with severe or chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic lung disease are cautioned to avoid red tide areas. If water samples indicate that the Red Tide organism is present in areas other than Pensacola Beach, the health department will issue additional advisories.

There are no long-term health effects from being exposed to Red Tide.

About Red Tide
Red Tide is a microorganism containing a concentrated toxin that is found in the Gulf of Mexico and occasionally washes onshore. Though not all people are susceptible to the effects of red tide, it can be absorbed by humans directly, as well as be absorbed in shellfish; therefore, it is important that you recognize the symptoms.

General Health Information

• Not all people are susceptible to the effects of red tide.

• Susceptible people who come into contact with salt water spray may experience varying degrees of eye, nose, and throat irritation similar to cold symptoms.

• Health officials recommend that people experiencing these symptoms stay away from beach areas – once a person leaves the red tide area, the symptoms usually go away.

• Effects from contact with salt spray – such as eye, nose and throat irritation – are temporary, with no long-term health effects. (See precautions below on eating seafood.)

• A rash can sometimes occur after contact with affected water, and usually goes away within 24 hours.

Swimming, Boating

• After swimming in an affected area, it is a good idea to rinse off with clean fresh water.

• Swallowed water is unlikely to cause health effects.

Residents of Beach Areas

• Residents living in beach areas are advised to close windows and run the air conditioner (making sure that the A/C filter is maintained according to manufacturer's specifications).

• If outdoors, residents may choose to wear paper filter masks, especially if onshore winds are blowing.

• For people with long-term exposure, such as beach workers or fishermen, a more properly fitted mask is recommended.

Locally-caught Fish and Shellfish
Precautions should be taken when preparing and cooking fish caught in local waters, and individuals should not eat locally-harvested molluscan shellfish such as oysters, clams, and coquinas when red tide may be present. Red tide may also cause fish kills.

Red tide can also affect humans if they consume contaminated molluscan shellfish. During a red tide, bivalve shellfish, including clams and oysters, concentrate the toxin. This concentrated toxin can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) in humans who eat bivalve shellfish. Both mild gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms occur in NSP, which can include tingling and numbness of lips, tongue, and throat, muscular aches, dizziness, reversal of the sensations of hot and cold, diarrhea, and vomiting. Onset of this illness occurs within a few minutes to a few hours; duration is fairly short, from a few hours to several days. Recovery is complete with few after effects; no fatalities have been reported.

Cooking does not eliminate the toxin. Only clams and oysters collected in shellfish harvesting areas monitored and open for harvesting, as determined by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), should be eaten. Scallops may be consumed as long as only the muscle is eaten. Any healthy finfish harvested from red tide affected waters should be carefully filleted and cooked fresh, avoiding consumption of roe and internal organs. The meat of fresh, healthy fish should be safe to eat.

Disposal of Dead Fish
Many questions are asked about what to do with the fish that have died during red tide conditions. Contact with fish killed in a red tide event does not produce any red tide associated symptoms. However, these fish can present a nuisance, in that they have an unpleasant odor, and attract flies and vermin. These fish may be disposed of according to local solid waste practices. It is recommended that gloves or tools be used to collect any fish and to use double-lined plastic bags for disposal

Additional Information
Attached is a summary of common questions and answers about red tide. The public may obtain more information on ongoing red tide events from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. The Institutes' website is http://research.myfwc.com/. Additionally, there is red tide information at the Mote Marine Laboratory website: http://www.mote.org/~mhenry/WREDTIDE.phtml.

To find out more about the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) Red Tide Health Effects Study visit the web site: http://www.mote.org/niehsredtidestudy.

The Florida Poison Control Information Center in Miami has a toll-free 24/7 Aquatic Toxins Hotline for reporting of illnesses from exposure to red tide, or for more information on red tide and associated health effects, at 1-888-232-8635.

844 lb Record Shark Caught in Destin Tournament

PATRICK RICE
Sunday October 14th, 2007

DESTIN – Adlee Bruner’s fishing story is about the big one that didn’t get away. Bruner and five friends headed out Saturday morning on a charter boat, hoping to catch some grouper to enter in the annual Destin Fishing Rodeo. Instead, Bruner landed a gargantuan 844.4-pound mako shark, setting a new record for the decades-old tournament.

“It was tense,” Bruner, 47, said about the fight to land the 11-foot shark with a mouthful of huge teeth. “I’ve fished for 40 years. I’ve never see one that big.”

Click here to read the full story and see more pictures from the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Gulf Shores offers more than just spring break party destination

By MARGARET LITTMAN
For The Tennessean

The Gulf Shores area is actually a composite of three distinct areas — Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach — nestled on the white sands on the Gulf of Mexico 450 miles south of Nashville. These quiet sugar-sand beaches are dotted with multi-million-dollar resort communities featuring breathtaking sunset views, chef-driven restaurants that take advantage of access to fresh-from-the-water fish and golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer.

If you're looking for a more high-end beach vacation, now is the time to plan a Gulf Shores trip for a romantic, grown-up getaway.

Click here to read the full article from the Tennessean.com .

Coastal coverage battle emerges

Click here for Condo Insurance in Orange Beach.

Riley, Hammett say proposal that would help property owners afford policies is meeting with opposition

Thursday, October 11, 2007

By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN

Capital Bureau

MONTGOMERY -- House Speaker Seth Hammett and Gov. Bob Riley signaled this week that there is opposition to a bill intended to help property owners along the coast who are struggling with the price and availability of insurance.

Hammett, D-Andalusia, said he agrees with the governor's decision to not call a special session of the Legislature because of "significant bipartisan opposition" to coastal insurance legislation.

"I absolutely have not seen that," said state Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, sponsor of the bill. "My experience with legislators has been just the opposite, Democrat and Republican. I am puzzled where that perception would come from."

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

Worker dies in fall at construction site

Thursday, October 11, 2007
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- A construction worker fell to his death Wednesday afternoon while setting a reference line for carpenters on the 10th floor of the Phoenix West II condominiums, authorities said.

Michael Long, 45, of Carthage, Miss., was pronounced dead at the scene, Baldwin County Coroner Jim Small said.

Orange Beach firefighters and paramedics were called to the Gulf-front scene at about 2:30 p.m. to respond to a man who had fallen several stories and was not breathing.

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