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.
July 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.
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.
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.
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.”
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 state's plan for the Canal Road/Alabama 161 intersection would eliminate the Tom Thumb convenience store in the southwest corner.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 on July 3 near The Wharf./Photo by David HutchinsBrian 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.”
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.
S&S Seafood on West Beach in Gulf Shores cooks fresh seafood and sides daily.
S&S sells "tons of shrimp."
By John Mullen
July 1, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL – (OBA®) The cases at S&S Seafood Market at the Waves Grocery complex on West Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores are full of fresh seafood. Currently, there are four sizes of shrimp plus filets of Grouper, Wahoo, Triggerfish, Snapper, and Tuna Loin.
But hardly any of the fresh offerings leave the store raw.
“I’d say we cook 85 to 90 percent of what we sell here,” owner Scott Bryant said. “We sell a good bit raw, but mostly people want us to cook it for them. A lot of people maybe don’t know how to cook it. And we can do it here for you so easily. We’re set up for it.”
Behind that gleaming counter and through the window is a scratch kitchen where Bryant and staff take all that fresh seafood and make countless to-go plates. Accompanying the seafood are fresh-made southern sides of fried okra, onion rings, new potatoes, mound of fries, corn on the cob, hushpuppies and cucumber and corn salad.
June 28, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - Four businesses in Orange Beach have been nominated for the Customers' Choice Retailer of the Year award by the Alabama Retail Association (ARA). There are a total of 54 retailers in the running for this award.
Click “Like” for one vote or “Love” for two votes for your favorite retailer. You can vote for your favorite one or you can vote for all four. Remember, clicking the "Love"button counts for 2 votes. You can also comment on your favorite retailer’s photo and tell the ARA why you think they should win.
JUNE 29, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – With Baldwin County’s burgeoning population – the fastest growing in the state – people are going to be buying houses. If you’re looking for a career change the Academy of Real Estate at Roberts Brothers Real Estate can put you right in the middle of this economic boom.
Butch Blum, with the Roberts Brothers Academy of Real Estate, is one of the instructors at the school and like most Real Estate companies, Roberts Brothers is looking for quality agents.
“We hire quality agents and that’s what we try to prepare our agents to be successful professionals,” Blum said.
From left are U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, Commissioner Chris Elliott and Mayor Tony Kennon.
By John Mullen
June 25, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – There are a lot of similarities in the federal government’s plan to house illegal immigrants at a Navy airfield near Orange Beach to one floated by the Obama administration in 2016.
But there’s also a big difference in the Trump administration’s effort to house illegal immigrants on the same fields while they are awaiting processing through the legal system, Baldwin County Commissioner Chris Elliott said.
“There has not been any official notification,” Elliott said of the new effort. “It’s my understanding it’s some kind of leak Time got ahold of about the Navy doing this assessment. Hopefully, we can get ahead of it and push back.”
Last time Elliott and other officials received an email from the Department of Health and Human Services alerting them a study was underway. There was no forthcoming email in this new effort.
Peahens on top of a car in Orange Beach.
By John Mullen
June 22, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – It’s no secret getting around Orange Beach during the busy summer season can sometimes be a challenge.
But maybe city leaders can take a few pointers from a pair of peahens – female peacocks – that have had no problem getting around town since their unexpected arrival in March.
The peahens were part of a lively discussion during the bi-monthly city council sessions along with a boat abandoned on the jetty seawall at Perdido Pass and stinking fish carcasses.
“They’ve made the circle from The Wharf to Publix to Zeke’s, to the Waffle House, to the east side of the pass and back over here to East Orange Beach,” Wade Stevens of the Coastal Resources Department said. “They were likely released by someone. They were first seen as Juveniles in March near Swift Supply and the Wharf area and reported as wild turkeys.
“There were no reports for quite a while then they surfaced in the same area in late April or early May. Since then they have made the rounds all over town.”
June 20, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – The way Brian Krstich sees it, his new Internet fundraising coupon site will be beneficial to all involved.
“We wanted to make something that was a win, win, win for everybody,” Brian said. “The restaurants and businesses are getting everything for free, the kids are getting an absolute value that sells, and the customer gets reusable coupons that do not need to be printed, right on their phone.”
He believes everyone will win with the new GulfCoastDiscounts.Com website he and wife Polly recently launched. Memberships are $25 for a year with 60 percent of that going to youth organizations on Pleasure Island. Those include PTOs for all the island schools, the Orange Beach Sports Association and the Dolphin Athletic Club for Gulf Shores High School. Members must specify which organization they are affiliated with.
There is also a two-week signup available to tourists for $5.
June 20, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) — Mayor Tony Kennon, local writer and historian Margaret Childress-Long, city staff, residents and members of the Orange Beach City Council gathered in front of Orange Beach City Hall on Tuesday, June 19 to unveil the community’s newest historical marker.
The Orange Beach Municipal Complex marker highlights the history of the incorporation of the city in 1984 and the community-changing land donation made by John M. Snook and his wife Marjorie. It also details the growth that followed.
June 19, 2018 Gulf Shores, AL - (OBA®) - Plans for a new luxury hotel and mixed-use development have been unveiled in Gulf Shores.
Mayor Robert Craft announced Tuesday that the City has reached an agreement in principle with DD Partners, LLC, a development team led by Birmingham-based developer Ron Durham and Marietta, GA-based developer Ron Day, to construct a new $85 million mixed-use development on a 1.93-acre parcel at the corner of West Beach Boulevard and West 1st Street.
The 398,000-square foot project will be anchored by a 229-room Embassy Suites hotel and will include a fine dining restaurant, street front retail and a 23,000-square foot outdoor rooftop featuring a pool, bar, lounge and event terrace overlooking the recently renovated Gulf Place beachfront. Additional hotel amenities will include nearly 12,000-square feet of conference space including a 7,800-square foot ballroom, full-service spa, indoor pool and fitness center.
June 14, 2018 - Gulf Shores, AL - (OBA®) The Annual National Shrimp Festival presents artist Loran Chavez of Fairhope, Alabama as the 2018 Poster Contest Winner.
The Annual National Shrimp Festival has been hosting the Poster Contest since 1981. Artists must incorporate the festival themes of art, food, and music, the festival location of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Alabama, and the year and name of the festival.
This year, the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber received 32 entries from all over the country. The entries are judged by a sub-committee made up of members of the Chamber staff, the retail committee, the fine arts committee, and the Festival Chairman. They select they top 5 posters from the whole. Then, the entire Shrimp Festival Committee vote on the winner.
June 13, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) –On June 12 at approximately 7:10 p.m. Orange Beach Police and Orange Beach Fire Rescue responded to the report of four swimmers in distress at Perdido Pass. Two swimmers made it out of the water and two remained.
An Orange Beach police officer with floatation devices entered the water to assist the two remaining. One swimmer was up and attempting to help the other but that swimmer was under the water. The swimmer that was struggling while attempting to help the other swimmer was given a floatation device and assisted by personnel on jet skis.
The officer pulled the second swimmer up to deploy a second floatation device. The second swimmer was unresponsive and loaded on an arriving police vessel. Resuscitation began, and the swimmer was transported by vessel to the dock at marine headquarters at Perdido Pass and medics began treating the swimmer. The swimmer was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for treatment where he remains at this time.
The responding police officer took on water and was also transported by ground to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center for treatment and evaluation. The officer was released from South Baldwin Regional Medical Center after he was treated.
Most of Hazel's breakfast staff are now working mornings at the new Cactus Cantina.
Cactus Cantina is using Hazel's pancake recipe.
By John Mullen
June 11, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Cactus Cantina has quickly established itself as a tradition with its popular cuisine of Tex-Mex with a Southern twist including its light, crispy chips and fresh-made salsa and guacamole.
But with its newest location on beach road in Orange Beach, it is keeping alive the longstanding tradition of a good ol’ breakfast at Hazel’s – with a Tex-Mex twist.
It’s the only one of the five Cactus Cantinas serving breakfast in the long-time Hazel’s location. Serving you that familiar breakfast will be some familiar faces with dishing up familiar recipes.
“I think we kept 13 out 14 from Hazel’s,” co-owner Michael Lane said. “They’re the same people here that you are used to getting that friendly service with. It’s the same building and the same crew and a lot of the same ingredients they used at Hazel’s.”
Linda and Tommy Tucker, left, on their wedding day June 8, 1968. At right are red roses she received for her 50th anniversary.
Linda Tucker
By John Mullen
June 11, 2018 – Orange Beach AL (OBA®) – Linda Tucker wanted to do something special for her 50th wedding anniversary on June 8.
So, she stopped at one of her favorite restaurants, Doc’s Seafood Shack, and got a to-go plate of her favorite dishes. There she chatted at the counter with a couple on one side and a man on the other as she waited.
“We started talking about how it was my anniversary and I stopped in to get some food that I thought I really wanted,” Tucker said. “I came for fried chicken and onion rings and this is the best place for onion rings.”
Before the day was over she was treated to one of the nicest surprises springing directly from her counter conversation with new acquaintances. And ended up with a dozen red roses at her door. The same type of flowers her husband gave her for many of their 46 anniversaries during their marriage.
Though it was her 50th wedding anniversary, it was her fourth without husband Tommy who passed away in 2014. The Tuckers retired after 33 years each in education and moved to Orange Beach in 1998.
Containers like the ones used at The Gulf near Perdido Pass will be used in the food court./Michelle Stancil Photo
By John Mullen
June 8, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – West Beach is not the place for outdoor music in Orange Beach.
While approving an outdoor food court plan for beach road east of Lartigue’s Seafood on June 5 as part of the Beach Village planned unit development, it was made clear music would not be part of the attraction.
Also, during the meeting, the council began the process of taking over maintenance and control of Canal Road from Alabama 161, or the Doc’s Seafood Shack intersection, to its end at Perdido Gate subdivision.
“With the staff conditions implemented and, on the record, as being included, especially outdoor music shall not be permitted,” Councilman Jeff Silvers said in his motion to OK the project.
June 6, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - On June 19, 2018, at noon at Orange Beach City Hall, the city will honor its heritage by unveiling a municipal complex historical marker. All are welcome to attend the unveiling ceremony. The historical marker was written by local author Margaret Childress Long.
The marker details a brief history of the incorporation of the City of Orange Beach and the community-changing property donation made by John M. Snook and his wife Marjorie. It also details the growth that followed. From the introduction of the nation’s first wireless telephone service, to the building boom following Hurricane Fredric, to the movement to incorporate in 1984, Orange Beach continues to grow to this day with the municipal complex as its hub.
Bailey Kennon, left, and Alexia Williams from Orange Beach are Miss Alabama contestants.
By John Mullen
June 4, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Two contestants from Orange Beach will be competing this week in the Miss Alabama Pageant starting Tuesday at Samford University in Birmingham.
Alexia Williams is the reigning Miss Coastal Alabama and will be competing in her first state pageant. A former Miss Coastal Alabama and reigning Miss Leeds Bailey Kennon will be competing in her third straight Miss Alabama.
“I ‘ve actually been able to be excited about it,” Kennon said. “In past years I’ve just been so nervous. I’m prepared, I’ve done the work and I’m ready to enjoy the week.”
May 31, 2018 - Alabama Gulf Coast – (OBA®) - Since 2009, the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) has crowned numerous Global Sports World Series champions and left behind millions in economic impact for south Baldwin County. During the summer of 2018, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach will welcome 968 teams to the area for more sluggers and summer fun.
Over the years, USSSA has attracted thousands of youth athletes and their families to Alabama’s beaches. The event series’ room night numbers have grown tremendously from 8,013 in 2009 to more than 67,718 in 2017. Additionally, USSSA contributed $80.44 million in direct visitor spending to the area’s economy in 2017.
“USSSA reflects the core of our beach visitor base – families,” said Beth Gendler, vice president of the Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission. “Each summer, we have the privilege of welcoming thousands of the families to Alabama’s beaches to experience quality competition on the fields and new adventures in the destination. Those guests take home lifelong memories and leave behind economic impact.”
May 31, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - The 52nd Annual Orange Beach Volunteer Fire Department BBQ will take place on Saturday, June 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - or until the 'Que runs out - at the Orange Beach Community Center, located at 27235 Canal Road, across the street from Fire Station No. 2.
This year it was decided to change up the BBQ fundraiser to reduce costs and waste. The fire department will be selling 4,500 pounds of pork, as follows:
Tacky Jacks has been an island instutition since the 1980s.
By John Mullen
May 30, 2018 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – Tacky Jacks offers a triple-play of options when it comes to good food and good times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at three waterfront locations accessible by land or by sea.
Hit a home run with breakfast on Cotton Bayou at the original Tacky Jacks in Orange Beach, find family fun and a hearty lunch on the Intracoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores and watch the sunset over Mobile Bay with a world famous bushwacker in Fort Morgan.
May 25, 2018 - Gulf Shores, AL - (OBA®) - Yesterday, Governor Kay Ivey introduced two major parts of the Gulf State Park Enhancement Project, the Interpretive Center and East Pedestrian Bridge. The first look took place at the newly constructed Interpretive Center located at 22250-A East Beach Boulevard, adjacent to the Beach Pavilion. These facilities create a gateway to Gulf State Park, inspiring visitors to explore the park’s 6,150 acres and connect to nature.
“There is simply no place like Alabama’s beautiful Gulf Coast, which is why I’m committed to protecting its natural beauty and furthering its growth. Today, I am glad to join Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship and Tourism Director Lee Sentell at Gulf State Park to receive a first look at the progress we’re making on the construction of the Interpretive Center and Pedestrian Bridge,” Governor Ivey said. “The Gulf State Park is a crown jewel in Alabama tourism, and I very much look forward to the success these enhancements will bring.”
May 24, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - Brian and Jodi Harsany have built a solid reputation for community involvement in more than 20 years of being in the restaurant business in Orange Beach.
But there’s a really good reason for that, Brian says.
“We’re just very fortunate and happy the locals have been in our favor, the community,” Brian said. “People say ‘you do so much for the community’ and I say because the community does so much for us. If we take care of each other then we’ll all be all right.”
Harsany was relaxing in the bar area of his iconic Cosmo’s restaurant on Canal Road, the flagship of the five restaurants he and Jodi now own in the city. They took over the Ivan-ravished courtyard-type building in 2006 and built it into an icon of the Gulf Coast culinary scene.
May 21, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - Thanks to funding approved by the Orange Beach City Council, the Sea, Sand, & Stars Science and Nature Center at Orange Beach Elementary School will be open to the public for free for the third summer in a row.
The center will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 11-28 and July 9-26. Staff members will offer the public a rotating schedule for guided tours, night sky presentations and IMAX type movies in the planetarium.
The facility features a 6,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, 1,500-gallon marine life touch tank, 800-foot nature boardwalk with a weather station, the planetarium, a microscope lab, a library and a gift shop.
May 23, 2018 - UPDATE - Video from the release by Ben Taylor...
May 21, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - A rehabilitated Green sea turtle, named Obi, is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 23rd in Orange Beach, according to the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network.
Obi was rehabilitated at the Gulfarium C.A.R.E Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida after being being rescued in Orange Beach in December 2017 by Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network volunteers Cathy O’Brien Howle and Lisa Graham, who are also part of the Orange Beach Coastal Resources Department.
July 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.
By Outdoor Alabama
June 28, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - Four businesses in Orange Beach have been nominated for the Customers' Choice Retailer of the Year award by the Alabama Retail Association (ARA). There are a total of 54 retailers in the running for this award.
By John Mullen
by Orange Beach Police
May 31, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - The 52nd Annual Orange Beach Volunteer Fire Department BBQ will take place on Saturday, June 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - or until the 'Que runs out - at the Orange Beach Community Center, located at 27235 Canal Road, across the street from Fire Station No. 2.
May 21, 2018 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) - Thanks to funding approved by the Orange Beach City Council, the Sea, Sand, & Stars Science and Nature Center at Orange Beach Elementary School will be open to the public for free for the third summer in a row.
May 31, 2018 - Alabama Gulf Coast – (OBA®) - Since 2009, the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) has crowned numerous Global Sports World Series champions and left behind millions in economic impact for south Baldwin County. During the summer of 2018, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach will welcome 968 teams to the area for more sluggers and summer fun.
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