Entries Tagged 'Spanish Fort' ↓

Following months of speculation, city officials have confirmed Spanish Fort is in the hunt for a Publix Super Market, and an undeveloped site at the Eastern Shore Centre is being considered

District 2 Councilman Mike McMillan said developers have asked the city to “put together a financing package” that would address infrastructure issues “associated with a retail development of this size.”

Neighboring Daphne officials have been debating for months the possible construction of a 45,600-square-foot Publix near TimberCreek, and McMillan said a six- to seven-acre site just north of Belk at the Eastern Shore Centre is now on the table if the financing package can be approved.

Publix package requested

An electrical contractor tackled one of two men who caught fire Monday while working on a new Books-A-Million store in Spanish Fort, helping to put out the flames.

Eddie Wrenn said he heard the sound of a fiery explosion Monday and saw the two unidentified workers in flames.

“I started running toward that area and somehow one got it put out, but one was still running and screaming for help. I knew I had to help so I charged and tackled him,” said Wrenn, owner of Gulf States Electrical Contractors, who added, “I didn’t do it for recognition.”

Contractor tackles man on fire at new Books-A-Million site

Baldwin County’s highway department has applied for a permit to build a road connecting two Spanish Fort malls, but it remains to be seen whether the company that owns the land involved is still interested.

That company, TimberCreek Land Co., had pledged $2 million toward the construction of what is being billed as an Interstate 10 service road, provided the roadway was started by the summer of 2010. Baldwin County highway officials estimated that construction could begin in three to six months, with completion 18 to 24 months after that.

“They’ve got to have our land and our money,” said Allen Cox with TimberCreek. “We’ve still got a high interest level, but we haven’t seen the timeline. And, we’ve got to look closely with the current economic climate and things like wetlands

I-10 service road would connect Baldwin County malls

With three Spanish Fort bicyclists recovering from a recent collision with a car only two years after a similar accident claimed the lives of two residents, Spanish Fort Police Chief David Edgar said caution and vigilance on the parts of both cyclists and drivers are the best defense against future tragedies.

Police: Bicyclists, motorists should watch out for each another

Ummm….yeah, this is good advice because they probably weren’t watching out for cars or being vigilant. Other things that might help bikers stay alive:

1. Avoid being run over by a drunk driver
2. Avoid being run over by a drunk driver who has already killed people and been released so he could run over and kill more people

Thanks, Chief Edgar, any other advice for us?

After more than a year of debate about whether to allow a new cellular tower to be built on the Causeway, the chatter abruptly dropped off Tuesday as the City Council rezoned land to allow the tower’s construction.

With almost no discussion, the council voted Tuesday to rezone a parcel adjacent to the WLVV-AM 1410 radio station on the Causeway, where two AM radio towers already exist, to allow construction of a 150-foot cellular tower.

Spanish Fort OKs Causeway cell tower on radio station property

Spanish Fort City Council members could decide Sept. 8 to rezone land on the Causeway for construction of a cell tower, according to Mayor Joe Bonner. Bonner said that the council will hold a public hearing on the request that night and could vote to rezone property in one of two locations

The cell tower sites under consideration include an area behind the R&R Seafood restaurant — near the Causeway property with the dilapidated building formerly occupied by the Ramada Inn and Las Brisas hotel — and a patch of land near the WLVV-AM 1410 radio station, where two AM radio towers already exist

Cell tower public hearing set for Sept. 8 in Spanish Fort

After two mistrials, Leslie Eric Buzbee’s attorney is seeking dismissal of his capital murder-robbery charges on the principle of “double jeopardy.”

Buzbee is accused of savagely beating and robbing Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur “Bobby” Wilson in the early morning of Aug. 11, 2007.

Baldwin County Circuit Judge James Reid declared a mistrial Friday at the prosecution’s request when the defense announced an expert witness who was prepared to dispute the timing of the attack as laid out by law enforcement

Buzbee’s attorney files for dismissal

The attorney for Leslie Eric Buzbee is seeking to have his capital murder-robbery charges dismissed based on the principle of “double jeopardy.”

Baldwin County Circuit Judge James Reid declared a mistrial Friday, after a jury was seated, when the defense attempted to introduce a medical expert to testify about the time Spanish Fort service station owner Arthur “Bobby” Wilson was attacked Aug. 11, 2007.

Buzbee defense seeks dismissal

With an empty Circuit City building and nearly a dozen vacant store spaces, things may not look so good at first glance for the year-old Spanish Fort Town Center.

The 200-acre Town Center, near the intersection of Interstate 10 and U.S. 90/98, opened last August when Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, the 140,000-square-foot anchor store, was ready for customers. The center is also home to retailers such as JC Penney, Kohl’s and La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, along with two Marriott hotels and an apartment complex.

Mayor Joe Bonner said that although many of the store managers report to be faring relatively well, Town Center as a whole was once expected to do better

Spanish Fort Town Center awaiting recovery

Last-minute summer vacations coupled with the staggered return of students to area colleges and high schools have impeded blood collection by area agencies and prompted a public plea for increased donations as the Labor Day holiday approaches

The urgent need at the moment is for types O, A and B negative, while a critical need remains in effect for everything else except O positive.

Blood supplies dwindle

In advance of preliminary budget discussions set for Sept. 8, City Attorney David Conner asked council members during Monday’s work session to review and consider whether the adoption of impact fees might be prudent at this juncture in the city’s growth

Impact fees are those assessed by municipalities on developers—and sometimes individuals, depending on the nature of the project—to cover the costs of new infrastructure that must be built or increased due to property development. Such fees are also designed to offset costs associated with increased services such as police and fire protection services, libraries, parks and recreation

Impact fees considered

Impact fees are taxes, too.

As Leslie Eric Buzbee heads to court again this week in the 2007 robbery and fatal bludgeoning of a popular Spanish Fort service station owner, both sides plan generally the same witnesses, testimony and schedule, while hoping for a different outcome.

A mistrial was declared in May, when the jury deadlocked after a monthlong capital murder trial.

Jury selection is set to start Monday in Baldwin County Circuit Judge James Reid’s courtroom

Jury selection set for capital murder trial in Bobby Wilson killing

Attorneys clash over medical records

Attorney General Troy King announced the arrest of a Spanish Fort woman, for making terrorist threats and harassing communications over the MySpace network.

Angela Michelle Grill, 20, was arrested by agents of the Attorney General’s Office and taken to the Baldwin County Jail.

Grill was arrested on warrants which were based on evidence presented by an investigator of the Attorney General’s Office. The first warrant charges that Grill committed terrorist threats by threatening to commit any crime, violence or property damage by intentionally or recklessly terrorizing a 15-year-old girl. The second warrant charges that Grill intentionally harassed and alarmed the young teenage girl, threatening to kill the victim in a MySpace message that included vulgar profanity.

Arrest made in MySpace terror threats

Students returning to Spanish Fort classrooms Monday might have noticed a few more faces than in years past, but larger classrooms are a small price to pay when weathering proration amid steady growth, school officials said.

We’re doing as well as can be expected from the budget cuts,” said Rockwell Elementary School Principal Robbie Owen, who was forced to cut three positions—but only one teaching unit—when the state announced sweeping funding cuts in April.

The school was spared what might have been a devastating staffing blow, however, when district lines were redrawn earlier this year to funnel some Rockwell students to Spanish Fort Elementary School along with six teaching units. So while Rockwell closed the 2008-09 school year with 830 students, it begins 2009-10 with only about 650, a number Owen expects to exceed 700—on par with SFES—before the close of the year.

Doing more with less

A Baldwin County man is being held without bond after his girlfriend is struck and killed during a domestic dispute.

It happened Tuesday night in Spanish Fort along Stagecoach Road near highway 31. Investigators say Lisa Taylor and her 11 year old son were riding home from a party with her boyfriend, Alfred Banks.

According to authorities the two were arguing when Taylor tried to jump out of the moving vehicle. Taylor’s son got out of the truck to help his mother, when Banks drove off. Moments later, Taylor was hit and killed by another car. Investigators say she may have been hit by Banks’ truck, but it is still under investigation.

Man Behind Bars After Girlfriend Struck And Killed