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September 23, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – There’s something folksy about being Southern and Bayes Southern Bar and Grill embraces the reference in the name.
 
“We put a big emphasis on the word Southern,” General Manager Daniel Unda said. “Southern, in our opinion, comprises kindness, hospitality and good food, some of the best things that you hear whenever the word Southern comes into play. With the term Southern, we want to make sure we provide that to our guests. A good environment, being hospitable to them and put out great food.”
 
Bayes is the first Alabama restaurant for the Volland Group which owns restaurants in Louisiana and is based in Baton Rouge. It is in the same building as the Springhill Suites by Marriott at the west end of The Wharf entertainment complex.
 
“We have fine dining restaurants, casual, family-oriented restaurants and we also have oyster bars,” Unda said. “Bayes is a combination of those concepts because put into one and we’re at the beach. We have oyster shuckers, we have delicious baked oysters, char-broiled oysters. We have a lot of Southern cuisine.”
 

Baldwin County Schools
The new middle school in Orange Beach will be located at the site of the old wastewater treatment plant on Canal Road.
By John Mullen
September 22, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Mayor Tony Kennon patiently waited as other council members made a few customary announcements near the start of the Sept. 19 meeting.
 
Kennon didn’t let on he was like a kid on Christmas, almost bursting with excitement with an announcement and guest he was about to introduce.
 
Tony Kennon
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.
 
Kennon then called up Baldwin County school Superintendent Eddie Tyler who said he plans on asking the board to build a new Orange Beach Middle School. The $15 million facility would be built at the site of the former wastewater treatment plant on the south side of Canal Road between the Sportsplex entrance and Sweetwater Drive.
 
On Sept. 21, the Baldwin County Board of Education voted to go ahead with the plan for the new middle school.
 
In a nearly four-hour marathon of a meeting, there were long discussions on two issues. The first was about rezoning property east of Zeke’s Marina from residential to commercial to make way for a Gulf Shores Power Sports boat sales and service facility. The council voted 6-0 to deny the change and preserve the nearby neighborhood.
 
And the last item on the agenda concerned an ordinance to raise lodging taxes in the city from 5 percent to 7 percent. The city wants to use the $4 million to $6 million generated by the new tax to find traffic solutions and help with the beach cleaning effort. After more than an hour of talks, the council passed the new tax 5-1 to with Councilman Jeff Boyd casting the only dissenting vote. The tax would be implemented starting May 1.
 

juanitaSeptember 21, 2017 –Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – BuzzCatz Coffee & Sweets is proud to announce that Juanita Hendrix, one of their managers, will be competing in the World Food Championships Nov. 14-18 at The Wharf in Orange Beach with a chance to win a $300,000 prize purse and the title.
 
BuzzCatz’ team is one of about 500 from across the world who will be seeking the ultimate food crown. Hendrix earned her spot with her Southern Fried Dog: a Nathan hot dog wrapped in Conecuh Bacon with ButterKase cheese, sautéed jalapeno, onions, garlic and fried green tomatoes, topped with Wild Bill's Sauce.
 
“I am very proud to be representing BuzzCatz Coffee & Sweets in this renowned competition,” Hendrix said. “I am so thankful for the love and support I have received from my team members and the creativity I am allowed to experience in my job.”
 
Sister restaurants include Cosmo’s Restaurant & Bar and Luna’s Eat & Drink located on Canal Road, Cobalt, The Restaurant, nestled under the Perdido Pass Bridge next to Caribe Resort, and GTs On The Bay overlooking Wolf Bay also located off Canal Road.

intracoastal cheeseburger po boy
Sept. 19, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – First, you get a big ol’ hunk of Monterrey Jack cheese.
 
“Everybody comes to eat our fried cheese,” owner Bobby Graves of the Intracoastal says. “It’s not frozen. That cheese is sliced in the back and battered here.”
 
“I buy a fresh 40-pound block and we cut it ourselves,” Manager Pat Wilkenson said.
 
Graves and Wilkenson have a simple explanation for the unique, sumptuous and filling fare on the menu at the Intracoastal located on the eastern end of The Wharf entertainment complex.
 
“We like to eat,” Graves said. “We make what we like to eat.”
 
And when you leave after eating at the Intracoastal, Wilkenson wants you to be full.
 
“There’s nothing worse than leaving a place and feel like you need to stop on the way home for something to eat,” Wilkenson said. “Our po’ boys are a foot long. Most of the others are six inches, eight inches max. Once they get in here, people are really impressed with the portions and the amount of food you get.”
 

Jodi and Brian Harsany of Luna's.
September 19, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Local restaurant Luna’s Eat & Drink, located on Canal Road, will host its Second Annual Oktoberfest on Sunday, Oct. 1 from 2-6 p.m.
 
They will feature German-inspired food as well as beer, polka music, stein hoisting and games. Tickets are on sale now at Luna’s Eat & Drink as well as on their website; tickets can also be purchased at Cosmo’s Restaurant & Bar, Cobalt, GTs On The Bay and Maggie’s Bottle n’ Tail.
 
They will feature a firkin tapping from Gulf Shores’ Big Beach Brewery. Other brews available include Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, Goose Island, Blue Pants and Yellowhammer.

intracoastal sports bar 1
 
September 15, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Do you want to watch your favorite team play in a sports bar atmosphere, but also want a full menu featuring fresh Gulf seafood?
 
Or maybe you want an icy daiquiri when your team takes the field? You can have the best of both worlds and they are right across the street from each other on the east end of The Wharf entertainment complex.
 
The Intracoastal has more than 50 TVs on the north side of the street and Island Time Daiquiri Bar offers about a dozen more on the south side. Owner Bobby Graves says he has the largest sports restaurant/bar on the island. Both also feature NFL Sunday Ticket.
 
“When football season gets here we’ll go through thousands of wings,” he said.

Art into wordsSeptember 15, 2017 – Gulf Shores, AL (GSA) - On Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m., the Erie H. Meyer Civic Center will play host to Art into Words, a cultural evening celebrating different mediums and interpretations of art.
This second annual event is the result of a unique collaboration between the City of Gulf Shores, Gulf Coast Arts Alliance and the South Baldwin Community Theatre and will feature a four-course meal prepared by Four Brothers Catering.
Alabama Secretary of State John H. Merrill will be the master of ceremonies for the evening. Numerous elected officials will be in attendance supporting these local organizations.

 Sirens Stormy the bandSeptember 14, 2017 – Orange Beach (OBA) – Football Season is upon us, so mark your calendar for the Sirens of the Sea “Football Tailgate Party” Drawdown. The Band “STORMY’ from Louisiana will provide the musical entertainment for the evening.
Stormy’s song list is as versatile as their musical abilities. They are composed of a solid rhythm section, horns, and keyboard with male and female vocalists, all of which offer a great variety of music for the entire crowd.
Sirens of the Sea, a local women’s Mardi Gras krewe, has lots more than great music in store for this fun filled event. It is their annual drawdown fundraiser and is going to be at the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf on Sept. 15. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The Grand Prize is a hefty $5,000.

Terry BrockSept. 12, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - Accomplished rock and roll recording artist Terry Brock, with Anna Portalupi, will headline the Sand Dollar Lifestyles Summer Experience Event at the Wharf in Orange Beach during The Wharf Uncorked Food and Wine Festival on September 16. The show, Terry Brock and Friends, is the grand finale Summer Experience event in a series of 4. The Terry Brock and Friends show will also feature performances by local bands MidLife Crisis and LSD.
 
The show starts at 2:00 and will go until 7:00 on a stage adjacent to the Sand Dollar Lifestyles stores. There is a covered tent and chairs. The Sand Dollar Lifestyles Experience is a free party, open to the public. There will be great food provided by Monroe Meat Company, Kamado Joe cooking demonstrations, games for kids, and over $7,500 in raffle prizes will be given away.
 
“This is a great family oriented event and we are proud to give back to our community and our customers who have helped us survive, grow and thrive,” said Jeff Hardy, owner of Sand Dollar. “Our great vendors have gotten behind us and donated tons of merchandise which we will be giving away throughout the day. We hope everyone will come out and join us for this fantastic music festival event. The Wharf has done a fantastic job of putting together The Wharf Uncorked Food and Wine Festival.

OB new logoSept. 9, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Due to the large numbers of evacuees associated with Hurricane Irma from across the State of Florida, we are encouraging and requesting that all condo associations and rental properties temporarily modify their policies allowing evacuees with pets to find accommodations here on the Alabama Gulf Coast. In conjunction with the City of Gulf Shores, we make this request due to the magnitude and forecast affecting the entire State of Florida as we anticipate many evacuees during this time. It is crucial we help our neighboring states during the current evacuation of Hurricane Irma and those displaced from Hurricane Harvey in Texas. We encourage and request all the condo associations and rental properties to waive any pet policies to accommodate evacuees during this time.

For the City of Orange Beach,

Sincerely,

Tony Kennon

Mayor

live bait logo
Sept. 8, 2017 - Orange Beach (OBA) – Ida Blake is not afraid to step into any role where she’s needed at Live Bait in Orange Beach.
 
She’ll wash dishes, sweep floors and drive the shuttle bringing customers to and from the back parking lot when there’s a big crowd for dinner. She’s worked for the restaurant for six years, which is fast becoming a favorite family dining and entertainment destination.
 
But she’s mostly known and needed for her cooking skills, particularly bread pudding, house-made sauces and dressings, and her delicious gumbo.
 
“Four days straight this summer I made 28 quarts of gumbo a day,” a smiling Blake said. “Whatever I need to do, I do.”
 
When she gets behind the wheel of the shuttle, she’s checking out how Live Bait is doing from the diner’s perspective.

Harbor Cove parking lotBy John Mullen
September 7, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – A city contractor working to fix seepage and improve drainage behind Fire Station 2 had to do some extra repairs in the parking lot of Harbor Cove Condominiums.
 
“If you’ll recall, we had seepage through the retention pond at Fire Station No. 2,” Community Development Director Kit Alexander said. “It was coming through the pond bank on the south side and the east side. It was crossing their parking lot and causing damage.”
 
During the course of constructing a 10-foot wide drainage underneath the parking lot at Harbor Cove, two underground utility lines were severed. The city discussed paying about $5,500 to repair the damage during a council work session on Sept. 5.

American Clean FuelBy John Mullen
 
September 6, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - Now, more than ever, your generator needs to be running on clean fuel that is stored in a clean tank. Same for boats and other watercraft.
 
And chances are if it’s been sitting idle for months or years, the inside of the tank probably needs a good cleaning.
 
As Hurricane Irma churns in the Atlantic and has coastal residents anxious, a healthy fuel system is vital to keeping a generator running in emergencies.
 
“This is one of those things people don’t want to think about and they don’t want to spend the money, but now’s the time to really start looking at it,” Jeramie Bentley of Fuel Pro said. “Especially with this storm coming in and all those condos.”
 
Bentley’s is one of two businesses operating on Alabama’s Gulf Coast that cleans fuel tanks on generators and boats and just about anything else that burns diesel. Chase Cooper of American Clean Fuel cleans both diesel and gas tanks from 30 to 25,000 gallons. Both have offices in Baldwin County and work all over the Southeast and Midwest.
 

Perdido Key Tesla
By John Mullen
Sept. 15 2017 – Perdido Key, FL (PKF) – With all of the stories about electric self-driving cars delivering pizza from Dominos and people from Uber and Lyft, we wanted to focus on where the technology is currently.
 
Electric cars are the future, but there are more of them than we realize already on the roads, including Perdido Key resident Bill Eshelman's 2016 Tesla Model S 90d. Eshelman is completely fascinated by the technology in his Tesla.
 
That fascination was fomented as he read about the feats of engineer Elon Musk who has pioneered a multitude of advances in rockets, solar power, and now, electric cars.
 
“He started this electric car company that I just marveled in,” Eshelman, a Perdido Key resident, said. “I thought ‘I’d like to try one of these cars.’ The technology on them is way, way out there and I wanted to be a part of it.”

OB new logoSept. 4, 2017 - Gulf Shores, AL (GSA) & Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Mayor Robert Craft of Gulf Shores and Mayor Tony Kennon of Orange Beach are united in their consideration of a 2% increase in lodging tax to fund critical infrastructure improvements and cleanup for Alabama’s beaches.

“Transportation improvements are needed to solve challenges affecting us all. Investing in our infrastructure will help to ensure the sustainability of our vital tourism economy and improve the quality of life of our residents,” states Mayor Craft. Mayor Kennon adds, “As it becomes more difficult to obtain federal and state infrastructure dollars, it has become apparent to us that matching monies are needed. Hurricane Harvey has just shown us that a storm can pop up very quickly in the Gulf with devastating effects, thus reinforcing the need for evacuation infrastructure for the beaches of Alabama.”

Kevin CobbSeptember 3, 2017 – Gulf Shores, AL (GSA) - The Gulf Coast Arts Alliance Art Market is back starting Sept. 9. Lots of original works of art will be on display and for sale by dozens of local and regional artists.
 
The Art Market will be from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at 116 E. 24th Ave. in the Waterway Village District of Gulf Shores.
 
One of the many artists exhibiting their work will be Gulf Shores artist, Kevin Cobb. Kevin grew up in Evansville, Indiana and moved to Gulf Shores in 2015. It was at that time that he began to turn his childhood love into reality by setting up an art studio at his home.

GTs end 
August 30, 2017 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – Local restaurant GTs On The Bay is hosting their Inaugural End of Summer Celebration on Sunday, Sept. 10 from 2-6 p.m. This is their way of commemorating the great summer that everyone here on the island had with locals and visitors alike.
 
In addition, there will be games and contests for adults and kids as well as paddle boarding courtesy of the Gulf Coast Paddle Board Company. Music will be provided by Broken Down Car.
 

GS garden club Fred Nation
August 29, 2017 – Gulf Shores, AL (GSA) - Daphne based master gardener Fred Nation will present a program titled “Gulf Coast Natives for World-class Landscapes” during the Gulf Shores Garden Club’s Sept. 6 meeting at the Harry Roberts Community Center located at 300 E. 16th Ave. in Gulf Shores. Refreshment/social time begins at 9:15 a.m., the program is presented at 9:45 a.m., with a business meeting following the program. Guests and new members are always welcome.

Nation (pictured), a master gardener, is a field botanist, freelance writer and photographer who lives in Daphne. He teaches environmental subjects and Plant Nomenclature for the Baldwin and Mobile County Master Gardener intern classes, and for the Adult Learning Center in Fairhope.

Fred conducts regular classes on habitats and ecosystems for Weeks Bay Reserve. He has written informational brochures and constructed interpreted nature trails for the City of Daphne, Blakeley State Park, Weeks Bay Reserve, Baldwin County Parks and Camp Beckwith.

He has made many presentations for workshops and seminars for the USDA Forest Service, The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Weeks Bay Reserve and the Alabama Forestry Commission. He is on the Board of Directors of Blakeley State Park and The Alabama Invasive Plant Council and is a past board member of the Mobile Botanical Gardens.

Hurricane HarveyAugust 28, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - As we all know Hurricane Harvey is wreaking havoc on our Texas neighbors. As a gulf coast community that has expierienced hurricanes we can relate to what they're going through. As usual our communities are coming together to help where we can.
 
Below is a list of drop off locations for relief supplies. If you know of other locations or useful information that will help us aid in the relief efforts please let us know so we can add it to this page. 
 
Drop off locations for relief supplies in ...

OB new logo
August 24, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) – According to city documents, the Orange Beach City Council will consider partnering with CenturyLink to provide fiber optic technology to city residences.
 
On Aug. 28 the council will vote on putting up $1 million toward the project. If approved, CenturyLink will then have four customer forums in September at the community center with the goal of signing up 1,000 residents for a $25 deposit.
 
According to Councilman Jerry Johnson, CenturyLink has divided the city into seven zones. In addition to the 1,000 subscribers, the company also seeks to sign up 33 percent of the households in at least one of the seven districts. Johnson is chairman of the Telecommunications and Technology Committee for the city.

Orange Beach Animal Care and Control Program (OBACCP)
August 17, 2017 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - On Tuesday, the Orange Beach City Council and Mayor Tony Kennon expressed the city’s dedication as committed partners in the Trap, Neuter and Return program.
 
The Orange Beach Animal Care and Control Program (OBACCP) commends Mayor Kennon and the Orange Beach City Council for supporting this proactive, progressive and humane effort. This support will make Orange Beach a better place to live for our citizens and our cats. Trap, Neuter and Return is the only proven effective method of controlling the otherwise exponential growth in stray and feral cat colonies.