The OBA Community Website

Covering the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast (AFGC)tm since 2006!

Click above to visit the Gulf Shores High School Alumni Association Facebook page.

By John Mullen

Gulf Shores grads are getting together to form a alumni association to be involved in the school and the community and are planning a kickoff social on Sept. 28 at Big Beach Brewing.

“We decided to form the Gulf Shores High School Alumni Association recently to basically help establish some traditions for the community moving forward,” one of the officers, Johnny Armstrong, said. “We also wanted to be able to have a channel for alumni to give back, mentor current students and alumni and support everything alumni-related. Whether it be business, athletics and just really have an outlet for alumni to go to and voice their opinions on education, athletics and in the business community.”

Suspect Left Scene of accidentBy Orange Beach Police Dept.

Sept. 20, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - On September 20, 2108 at approximately 6:10 AM Orange Beach Police responded to the intersection of AL161 and AL182 for a reported accident.

Upon arrival officers determined that a Black Nissan Xterra had caused damage to the pedestrian crosswalk signal on AL182 to Al 161 North.

According to witnesses the vehicle had driver side front damage and a shattered windshield.


John Bullard working hard at Rouses Supermarket in Orange Beach. He's worked at the store location for 22 years.

Rouses Supermarket in Orange Beach, Alabama.By John Mullen

September 14, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – John Bullard was a fixture and an icon pushing buggies for 22 years at a grocery store in Orange Beach. But when the store closed, John was not out of luck.

Word around town was Rouses Market, a chain based in Louisiana, would take over that space and is in there today. While Rouses was getting the new location in ship shape, John could be seen pushing buggies at the Rouses in Gulf Shores.

“When we first came in we saw John and talked with John and I asked him if he’d be interested in coming to work for Rouses,” Orange Beach Store Director Kenneth Jones said. “John said, sure, and he was all excited about it. I talked to his mom and got a little information from her and we brought him over to the Gulf Shores for training. Once we got him in everybody just fell in love with John. He was welcomed go the Rouses’ family. He’s a pleasure to have on the team.

“Customers, a lot of them thanked us for keeping him on.”

John has autism. He can recite sports scores and issues and teams. He can talk about all the political issues that are raging around the country. He’s also a voracious reader and has taken some college-level courses mostly in accounting because he’s great with numbers. In his free time, he helps out at his church’s food pantry and is a volunteer reader for WUWF’s Sightline program for the vision impaired.

When he’s not working hard he always has time to greet customers or help them find items in the store.

“Since we’ve transitioned into the Orange Beach store he’s just been Johnny-on-the-spot telling us everything about sports and politics,” Jones said. “He’s always just busy, busy. Walking, looking, learning. He can tell where just about anything is in the store if you need to know something.”

From left are Beach Safety Director Brett Lesinger, Lifeguard of the Year Johnny Menke and Mayor Tony Kennon.
At the Sept. 11 city council meeting Johnny Menke was announced as the 2018 Lifeguard of the Year. From left are Beach Safety Director Brett Lesinger, Menke and Mayor Tony Kennon. Orange Beach Photo by Marc Anderson.

Logo of the City of Orange Beach, Alabama.By John Mullen

September 13, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – With the new Orange Beach High School and Middle School being built at the former wastewater treatment site it put the squeeze on the Public Works Department located at the eastern edge of that property.

On Sept. 11 the city agreed to buy $2.1 million for 56 acres on Powerline Road from Georgene Connor to build a new Public Works complex.

“It’s next to Powerline Road and 23 acres of it is dry which is all that matters,” Mayor Tony Kennon said. “We will now be able to use and move Public Works there and be able to keep it on the south side of the canal which is where we think it needs to be.”

Also, during the meeting, the council accepted a bid of $29,000 from Modern Signs for a new digital sign for the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach. The council also promised resident Tem Blalock they would act, if necessary, to dim or redirect new lights at Zeke’s Landing Marina that are blinding to residents along the north side of Cotton Bayou.

The council also finalized the takeover of Canal Road from the state from Doc’s to Perdido Gate. The city will net almost $3 million from the takeover, some of it from the Alabama Department of Transportation.

“Which means we are able to do a lot more that we deem needs done on Canal,” Kennon said. “They gave us $650,000 in cash for taking it over which gives us about 15 to 17 years of maintenance cost.”

Soon the city hopes to begin adding a third center lane from Doc’s to Wilson Boulevard or to the recreation complex.

“We’ve got $1.9 million from the RESTORE Act to three-lane it with a roundabout at the arts center/library for a U-turn and to repave it,” Kennon said. “So we have about 30 years of maintenance including all that cash and all the improvements at no cost to the city. I think we got a pretty good deal on that.”

Island Time Daiquiris at The Wharf wing menu.

By John Mullen

September 9, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – It’s football season and your team is playing at Island Time Daiquiri Bar at The Wharf.

“It’s the biggest little sports bar on the island,” owner Bobby Graves said. Graves recently shut down for a few days to make improvements like a shiny new bar top, new coating for the floor and some new furniture.

Most importantly, he’s added a bunch of TVs, too, "We turned some 55-inch screens to 65s and a couple of 65s to 80s."

Oh, and he’s added a football game-day food to the Daiquiri Bar, the first time he’s sold food in this location.

“Wings, wings and wings,” Graves said. “What is football without wings? We just completed adding a small kitchen and now we’re working on the flavors.”

One flavor for sure will be the international award-winning Wild Bill’s Wing Sauce. Serving them up will be Graves’ long-time friend Bill Howard himself.

“At first we’ll just have wings on Saturdays and Sundays and see how that goes,” Graves said. “We may look into expanding it to more days if there’s a demand. They will be big, tasty wings just right for the big game.”

Graves started the Daiquiri Bar about five years ago in the season-ending month of August.

“You’re crazy for opening that place,” Graves said he was told. “And you’re opening it at the end of the season. It’ll never make it.”

That was hardly the case. His first foray into the beach economy, the Daiquiri Bar, has been a success story.

Band picture
Roadside Glorious members, from left, Aydan Closson, Basch Jernigan, Tyler Self and Evan Hall.
Brawn and Bones by Roadside Glorious album cover.
Brawn and Bones by Roadside Glorious

August 30, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL – (OBA®) New Orleans southern rock and soul band Roadside Glorious, founded by Gulf Shores natives Basch Jernigan and Aydan Closson, is having a special pre-release party for their soon-to-be-released debut album “Brawn and Bone” at Big Beach Brewing Company in Gulf Shores.

The band will be in town on Sept. 14 from 6-10 p.m. and play from 8-10 p.m. The album was recorded at legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals by 2018 Grammy-nominated engineer John Gifford III and mixed/mastered by 2018 Grammy-nominated engineer Don Syrgley. Gifford has worked with the likes of Greg Allman, Alicia Keys, Phish and Royal Southern Brotherhood, among other well-known artists.

August 27, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - On August 26th, 2018, at approximately 4am, the Orange Beach Police Department received multiple calls from concerned residents of suspicious individuals in the area walking around their houses and vehicles.

After police responded to the location in question a female subject was eventually located hiding in the wood that was identified by police as Hannah Lea Edwards, 19.It was later determined that several vehicles had been entered unlawfully where items were taken.
 
After further investigation, it was determined that a second subject, later determined as, Levi Caleb Bowman, 20, was involved in these crimes as well.

The city's programs for children, like Expect Excellence shown above, is taxing city facilities.

By John Mullen

August 23, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – It’s a fact of life that Orange Beach is growing in leaps and bounds with new homes sprouting in formerly empty lots all over East Orange Beach. Combine that with several subdivisions building houses or permitted for houses, two townhouse developments underway and two condo towers under construction and two more approved it is beginning to stretch city services.

“It’s grown and we’re busting out at the seams,” Councilman Jeff Silvers said.

One of the places it’s most evident is the recreation center and the adjoining tennis and aquatic centers.

“We have had numerous workshops about our recreation center complex,” Silvers said. “We have met with some architects and different firms and we’re going to use a couple of those firms to come up with a comprehensive plan for that whole rec center, swim center. We’ll have some exciting plans to show people real soon.”

But that’s not the only area where the burgeoning population is taxing city resources, Mayor Tony Kennon said.

The Sunny Lady dolphin cruise boat is based at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Capt. Jeremy Perry, right, lets a Ukrainian drive the Sunny Lady dolphin boat.
The Sunny Lady dolphin cruise boat is based at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama.
The Sunny Lady dolphin boat.

August 24, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – When Chris Litton was tasked with finding local businesses to help show a group of Ukrainian orphans a good time in Orange Beach, he had a long list drawn up in his mind of who to call.

He didn’t need it.

“I know there’s a lot of people out there who would have said yes if I had asked but I couldn’t get past the first five,” Litton, the city’s logistics coordinator, said. “Everyone that I spoke with and asked to help out with this, there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation. It was instantaneous before I could even finish asking. They were on board with what we were doing.”

August 23, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon sets down with Jack Robinson and answers questions about the city. 
 
 
 
 

Shown from left are Chief Fierro, Sgt. Jeremy Mote, Mayor Tony Kennon, Cpl. Brian Kincaid and Sgt. Bryan Johnson./Marc Anderson City of Orange Beach Photo
City of Orange Beach

August 23, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Orange Beach Police Chief Joe Fierro announced three promotions during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 21.

He introduced Cpl. Brian Kincaid, Sgt. Jeremy Mote and Sgt. Bryan Johnson.

Chief Fierro said Cpl. Kincaid served with the U.S. Marine Corps for six years, earned a bachelor of science degree from Auburn University, worked for two years as a corrections officer in Tuscaloosa County before working for 10 years at the Northport Police Department. At Northport PD, Cpl. Kincaid served as a firearms instructor, investigator and patrol officer.

“He relocated down here to Orange Beach in 2016 with his wife Emily and his daughter, and now they have two daughters,” Chief Fierro said. “He was promoted to corporal in July of this year and as you can see he brings a lot of experience with him. He is part of our leadership team.”

A sea turtle sits atop a snorkeling reef off the coast of Florida.
A sea turtle sits atop a snorkeling reef off the coast of Florida.

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Marine Resources Division.By John Mullen

August 28, 2018 Update: The reef sites are located at:

Alabama Point
N30 16.420”
W87 32.520”
 
Romar Beach
N30 15.621”
W87 36.361”
 
Pavilion
30 15.083”
W87 38.643”

August 22, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Phillip West is ready to put on his gear and swim out to try the newest attraction on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Walter Marine of Orange Beach is deploying 166 modules in three locations to create snorkel reefs.

"I know I’ll be donning a mask and snorkel,” West, Coastal Resources Director for Orange Beach, said. “Potentially, it could be pretty dynamic.”

This is a project the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation has been pursuing since it was formed to raise money to sink the LuLu in 2013. Chairman Vince Lucido is glad to finally see the effort come to fruition.

“It’s something we’ve been waiting on for years,” Lucido said.

Rum Sisters Orange Beach
Click above to order your cake online.

August 22, 2018- Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - In July of 2014, Elizabeth Jones and her husband Kel Jones were busy promoting their aviation business, Executive Aviation Group. In an effort to grow their business they decided to be sponsors in a local fishing tournament, called the Blue Marlin Grand Championship.

As sponsors of this fishing tournament, they were asked to have gifts for each entry in the tournament. There were 75 fishing vessels that year. They wanted to give out unique gifts that would be remembered.

Elizabeth turned to a family recipe (her Mom Linda’s) and she, along with a friend, produced 75 rum cakes out of the Jones’ home kitchen. Each was wrapped and placed in a tin to help market the aviation business.

orange beach banner logoAugust 19th, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - The Orange Beach City Council will hold its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 21st, followed by the Committee of the Whole meeting.

Perdido Key Sports Bar Business After HoursAugust 17, 2018 - Perdido Key, FL - (OBA®) - The Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce and the Perdido Key Sports Bar teamed up once again to bring the Key to life on Wednesday night. Perdido Business professionals and community members gathered at one of their favorite local hot-spots to network and relax after a busy summer season. Many New Members were announced, and even joined during the After Hours, after being welcomed by the wonderful Keyholders of the Chamber, fellow members and the staff.
 
Judy Davis, owner of the Perdido Sports Bar served up some delicious food items including pulled pork tacos, smoked Macaroni and cheese, and more from her new menu items. The high energy of the Sports bar brought everyone together to celebrate the feeling of community in Perdido, while being entertained by the popular duo on the key, Tony Ray Thompson and Brian Hill!

Click above to donate, buy a CD or register for help from the Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund.
Click above to donate, buy a CD or get help from the Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund.
 
Webb Dalton of the Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund or gcmmf.org.
Webb Dalton

By John Mullen

August. 14, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – For Webb Dalton, health insurance hasn’t been a big issue in his life. With 30 years of service in law enforcement, his jobs have pretty much taken care of that.

But in his 40 years of playing music, he’s had several friends playing music full time who weren’t as lucky.

“It was little over two years ago I lost three good friends of mine who were musicians over basically minor health issues,” Dalton said. “If they could have been caught it could have possibly prevented what ultimately happened. Like diabetes, COPD and the flu.”

Since then Dalton has quietly worked to help put together a new charity to help musicians along the northern Gulf Coast.

Pete Peterson waves at take off. Behind him are Jodi and Brian Harsany./City of Orange Beach Photo by Marc Anderson
Ret. U.S. Navy Capt. Pete Peterson of Orange Beach, Alabama.
Pete Peterson
By John Mullen
 
August 13, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Pete Peterson of Orange Beach was all smiles as he stepped off the vintage Huey helicopter after a 10-minute flight over Gulf State Park and The Wharf on Aug. 4. 
 
“They gave them people a pretty good show,” Peterson said. Among those people on the first of two media flights were Mayor Tony Kennon, his son Zane, City Administrator Ken Grimes and other city officials. Peterson was on board the second flight.
 
“They” are the Friends of Army Aviation-Ozark, an Alabama nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of Army Aviation with the Vietnam-era flying museum piloted by Vietnam veterans. The Huey flew 25 flights for 201 paying customers and received $400 in donations. A 10-minute ride cost $50 per person with the proceeds going to keep the outreach going and the Huey flying. 
 
And if anyone would know what a good show aboard one of the craft would be, Peterson’s that man. A 27-year veteran in the Navy with 6,000 hours of flying time including about a year with the Seawolf squadron of Hueys serving in Vietnam. During his career, he flew helicopters and fixed wing aircraft in search and rescue operations, was commander of a helicopter squadron on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy and air boss on the carrier Kitty Hawk.
 

Bruce Nelson, center, received his Battalion Chief badge during the Aug. 7 city council meeting. He is with Mayor Tony Kennon, left, and Fire Chief Justin Pearce.   
Bruce Nelson, center, received his Battalion Chief badge during the Aug. 7 city council meeting. He is with Mayor Tony Kennon, left, and Fire Chief Justin Pearce./City of Orange Beach photo by Marc Anderson
City Administrator Ken Grimes
City Administrator Ken Grimes
By John Mullen
August 8, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – A busy summer is winding down and even this week the stranglehold of traffic has started to abate.
 
“I want to thank all of our employees that have sort of guided all of the various jobs,” City Administrator Ken Grimes said. “It’s been a very challenging summer but for the most part, we’ve had a very strong and good summer. As you can tell by this week and today just driving to work there’s a lot less people in town.”
 
Grimes was speaking at the end of a combined regular council meeting and work session in Orange Beach on Aug. 7. Also, during the meeting, the council talked about changing clinics serving city employees and dependents and saw the promotion of firefighter Lt. Bruce Nelson to Battalion chief.
 
The long, hot and busy summer didn’t go out with a whimper, however, Grimes said. City resources were stretched right up to the last minute with first responders maxed out with recoveries and rescues on the beach. 

 
The Fuller-Tyler family from Sarepta, Louisiana, made a lip-sync video in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Claire Tyler Lay
By John Mullen
 
August 6, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – The Fuller-Tyler family – all 15 of ‘em – were winding down a week’s stay in Orange Beach when Claire Tyler Lay had a song pop in her head.
 
“Summer Nights” from the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John movie Grease is about a fun-filled summer finally coming to an end. Much like the Tylers and Fullers who were scheduled to leave the next day. (Check out the video here.)
 
“I just happened to be singing that song and said ‘hey, let’s make a video’ and we just did,” Claire said. “We were just sitting out on the beach and decided it would be a good idea.”
 
That was about noon. By 8 or 9  o’clock that night the final product was ready. The result was a stunning production that included everyone in the family lip-synching several lines with the beautiful beach as a backdrop in most of the shots. The family is from Sarepta, Louisiana. It has been viewed on social media 22 million times with more than 16 million on Instagram, 4.3 million on Twitter, 14,000 on YouTube and nearly 700,000 on Facebook.
 

Cody Cooper - Pensacola NASJuly 31, 2018 - Pensacola NAS - (OBA®) - A 2009 Robertsdale High School graduate and Robertsdale, Alabama, native is serving at the Navy’s premier and largest aviation training center.
 
Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Cooper works as a boatswain's mate and operates out of Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola.
 
A Navy boatswain's mate is responsible for maintenance and preservation of the ship, but at this command he serves as the 1st lieutenant leading petty officer in charge of setting up for ceremonies around base and maintaining the headquarters building.
 
“I come from a small town so it's all about community and family," said Cooper. "And that's what it's like here, we look out for each other.”
 
NAS Pensacola, “The Cradle of Naval Aviation” is best known as the initial primary training base for all U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers pursuing designations as Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers. 

The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber represents Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama.
Greg Alexander is the new President and CEO of the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama.
Greg Alexander
 July 23, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – After a search of more than 100 candidates from all around the nation, the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber (CABC) is excited to announce that Greg Alexander has been selected as the new Chamber President and CEO.
Alexander comes to us from the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce in Hilton Head, S.C., where he served as Director of Public Policy and Small Business. In addition to the Hilton Head Chamber, Alexander also served as the President and CEO of the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce in Clinton, S.C.
 
During his eight-year tenure as the Chamber President and CEO, Alexander helped grow membership by 20% and events revenue by 600%. He also created a young professionals organization in the area, established the Beautify Laurens County Project which helped remove over 92 tons of trash from the community, and organized a Shop Laurens County First campaign helping promote purchasing goods from locally owned businesses.
 

 
Orange Beach, Alabama, Councilman Jerry Johnson.
Jerry Johnson
By John Mullen
 
July 19, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – The effort to get CenturyLink to provide fiber optic internet connections to Orange Beach residents may have fallen short but the effort is far from over.
 
Councilman Jerry Johnson, chair of the city’s Telecommunications and Technology Committee said and other members of the panel are already working on another provider in the drive for fiber optic.
 
“We’re not giving up on bringing fiber internet to the residents of this city,” Johnson said. “We don’t consider this a failure it’s just one of the setbacks that you go through and we will continue to we find a solution.”
 
Orange Beach partnered with CenturyLink on the effort beginning in August of 2017. The city put up a good-faith amount of $1 million to let the company know it was serious about the effort. 
 

Vintage Helicopter RidesJuly 17, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - On Saturday, August 4th, the nonprofit Friends of Army Aviation - Ozark will be providing "Legacy Helicopter Rides" in a vintage Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1 Huey combat helicopter from the helipad, near the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf.
 
The flights will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 5 p.m. Each flight will last 10 minutes and the cost will be $50 per person. There will be room for up to 10 people on each flight. Each flight will be piloted by a veteran Vietnam War combat pilot.
 

Red Snapper Season ClosingBy Outdoor Alabama
 
 
July 16, 2018 - (OBA®) - The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division (MRD) announces the closure of Alabama state waters to the harvest of red snapper by private anglers and state-licensed commercial party boats at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 22, 2018.  The quota of 984,291 pounds issued under NOAA Fisheries’ Alabama Recreational Red Snapper Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) is expected to be met by the closure date.
 
“Alabama anglers fished extremely hard on the good weather days during the season,” said Marine Resources Director Scott Bannon. “That level of effort, coupled with larger average-sized fish harvested this year as compared to last year, resulted in a daily harvest rate two times higher than 2017, which prompted an earlier than anticipated closure.
 

by Flora-Bama
 
July 13, 2018 - (OBA®) - The Flora-Bama Lounge, Package, and Oyster Bar has been working over the past two years on designs and improvements to its properties that will provide for better ingress/egress of traffic, more parking spaces, and a newly designed crosswalk.
 
The Flora-Bama has worked closely with FDOT, ALDOT, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FL, and the CITY OF ORANGE BEACH on much needed roadway improvements that will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety, and provide a new crosswalk.
 
The Flora-Bama has put an extensive amount of work into a Master Plan that is complementary to the Perdido Key Master Plan and has worked closely with Escambia County, FL to increase parking, reduce traffic backups, and improve safety.

 
Fish washed ashore around the Gulf State Park pier earlier this week.
Fish washed ashore around the Gulf State Park pier earlier this week.

By John Mullen

July 13, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – A placid Gulf and hot conditions have combined to create a fish die-off of a species of baitfish that gathers around the Gulf State Park Pier.

“It’s just your typical dog days of summer,” Orange Beach Director of Coastal Resources Phillip West said. “Species like LYs or some call them pogies like to congregate around structures and suck up all the oxygen and perish. It’s typical of the conditions and the species. Some years we don’t have the heat or the stable conditions that create this lack of oxygen in the water because of the seas. Right now we are in that phase again.”

LYs like this have been dying under the state park pier.
These LYs are dying under the pier.

Longtime pier fisherman and semi-retired fishing guide David Thornton said the right combination of environmental factors caused the recent die off.

“The meteorological condition of calm wind, calm water and clear skies can cause the water around the pier to heat up even more,” Thornton said. “The other day it was like a perfect storm of a situation. We had this huge die off overnight and all these fish started floating up to the surface. Just about daylight, a light breeze picked up out of the south onshore. It pushed all these bloated fish up on the shoreline. It was like a ring around the tub on the beach on either side of the pier where all these dead fish floated up.”

The Tom Thumb store will be eliminated in this Canal Road/Alabama 161 project.
The state's plan for the Canal Road/Alabama 161 intersection would eliminate the Tom Thumb convenience store in the southwest corner.
Orange Beach, Alabama Mayor Tony Kennon
Mayor Tony Kennon
By John Mullen
 
July 12, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – This past Fourth of July week may have been the busiest on record for this summer resort town, Mayor Tony Kennon said, pending final numbers.
 
You could certainly tell it by the traffic.
 
“Here’s a request from me,” Kennon said at the opening of the July 10 city council meeting. “Please don’t text me and tell me we’ve got a lot of traffic. I’m probably in it and I already know we have a lot of traffic. We’ll continue to have a lot of traffic until Labor Day most likely.”
 
The early comments prompted a late meeting discussion and update of the upcoming work to add a second eastbound lane to Canal Road, the source of the biggest traffic bottleneck in town.

This boat burned near The Wharf in Orange Beach on July 3.
This boat burned on July 3 near The Wharf./Photo by David Hutchins
Brian Wells of Sportsman Marina in Orange Beach.
Brian Wells of Sportsman Marina
By John Mullen
 
July 11, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) –  One thing Brian Wells has learned in his many years as general manager at Sportsman Marina in Orange Beach: All boats are different. Especially when it comes to fueling.
 
“We always teach ‘play dumb and ask questions,’” Wells said. “Lots of people are happy and on vacation and they pull up to a fuel dock and just assume that everybody knows their boat as well as they do.”
 
But just about each boat has a different way or port to get fuel in the tanks for a day on the water. 
 
“A guy loses his gas cap and he goes and buys a new cap and it says water on it,” Wells said. “Or loses his water cap and goes and puts one on it that says gas on it because that’s all they had and he needed a cap. How are we to know that’s happened to your boat? I’ve had every one of those things happen.”

Phoenix Gulf Towers rendering.
 
By John Mullen
 
July 10, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Within a few months construction could begin on two 26-story condo towers to be built on the Gulf on the west end of beach road in Orange Beach.
 
On July 9 the Orange Beach Planning Commission gave a favorable recommendation in a 5-0 vote to a Brett Robinson project, Phoenix Gulf Towers. The project is planned on an empty lot between Sugar Beach condos on the east and Palm Beach condos on the west. Approval from the city council is required because the developer is asking for a change in the zoning to a planned unit development. 
 
“The current zoning is BR-2 which is beach resort high density,” City Planner Griffin Powell said. “This is a recommendation for city council for approval of preliminary and final PUD to rezone 5.8 acres to PUD to build two buildings.”
 
Each building will have 96 units or a total of 192 broken down into 24 two-bedroom units, 24 three-bedroom units and 48 four-bedroom units in each building. This will give Brett Robinson a total of 23 buildings in the Orange Beach and Gulf Shores area.

July 9, 2018 - (OBA®) - It's that time of year again when the gulf coast gets Blues Fever. There will be lots of opportunities coming up over the next few days to see the Blue Angels flying over Pensacola Beach. 
 
Here's the schedule. (All of these events take place over Pensacola Beach.) 
 
Wed. July 11th - Breakfast with the Blues at Pensacola Beach... If you go out to Pensacola Bach on the morning of the 11th you'll be able to see the Blues practicing for their show on the 14th. The Blues are expected to fly at 8am. Of course it depends on the weather.