Entries Tagged 'Spanish Fort' ↓

For the past decade, scientists have suggested that the U.S. 90-U.S. 98 Causeway is hurting Mobile Bay and the vast and swampy Mobile-Tensaw Delta to the north by artificially splitting one of the nation’s largest coastal estuaries in two.

Short of removing the Causeway entirely, the best fix anyone has proposed involves putting in bridges to allow water to flow more freely from the bay to the delta.

Now, after years of study and a number of related scientific papers, a team of scientists led by John Valentine of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab says it is time to “experiment” with a small bridge near Meaher Park

Scientists say Causeway hurting the bay

Every day, 14,000 children around the world die from hunger and malnutrition, according to the Christian charitable organization World Vision.

Church youth groups from Baldwin County came together Friday and Saturday to participate in the “30-hour Famine” and community service in hopes that their efforts will raise awareness of world hunger and reduce the number of hunger-related child deaths per year.

“This is the first time youths from St. Andrew by the Sea Community Church in Gulf Shores, Providence United Methodist Church in Spanish Fort and Christ Presbyterian Church in Daphne have teamed up to participate in the 30-hour Famine,” said Sharla Berry, director of Youth Ministries at Christ Presbyterian Church

Youths ‘starved’ to fight hunger

The Spanish Fort City Council rejected a proposal last week to stop sewer installation until the city develops design specifications for the expanding system.

District One Councilman Dennis Dismuke, who worked for years as a licensed master plumber and electrician in Ohio, proposed delaying the installation of any new sewer mains for six months or longer until the city could adopt design standards for sewer construction and installation.

After the vote, Dismuke presented a petition signed by 111 of the 115 residents of Wakefield stating that they “do not want Baldwin County Sewer Service” to provide services to the subdivision. Mayor Joe Bonner stood by the franchise agreement and its amendment

Spanish Fort rejects sewer moratorium; councilman claims customers at risk

• Spanish Fort BBQ Co. has leased a 2,500-square-foot building on U.S. 31 near Coleman Lane just east of Ala. 181 in Spanish Fort, and plans to open in August, according to Dane Haygood of H Proper ties , who represented the tenant. KV Properties worked for the landlord.
• Snappers Lounge leased 2,400 square feet in Wolf Bay Plaza on Canal Road in Orange Beach, according to Beau Haginas of Atlas Group in Orange Beach.
• Anchor Title has leased 1,500 square feet in the Coast al Bank & Trust building on Canal Road in Orange Beach, according to Donna Haginas of Atlas Group.
• Founders Square developer Mike Bernhardt said he plans to start construction later this fall on 3,400 square feet of office space and a loft apartment in the second phase of his project off Section Street in Fairhope. The four gated townhomes in the first phase are sold. The 1,600-square-foot loft apartment is priced at $619,000, he said.

Spanish Fort BBQ leases building

The City Council covered a tremendous amount of ground during its two-hour work session prior to Monday’s regular meeting, discussing everything from a potential smoking ban and lodging tax to regional cooperation for future grant requests and the potential creation of regional transportation hubs

Regarding adoption of a lodging tax, City Attorney David Conner presented a draft proposal to council members based primarily on the policies in place in Daphne and Fairhope. He said Fairhope, Daphne, Robertsdale and Foley each levy a 4 percent lodging tax; Loxley’s tax is 3 percent; Silverhill does not impose one; and Mobile’s is 8 percent.

Smoking, lodging discussed

Smoke ‘em if got ‘em and tax ‘em if you can.

After years of sporadic discussion about a citywide tobacco smoking ban, the City Council, for the first time, parsed out the details of an “air quality” ordinance during Monday’s pre-meeting work session.

Council members expressed support of an ordinance that would be largely based on the one approved by the Daphne City Council early last year.

That measure, which became effective last May, prohibits smoking in public or public-access facilities, but exempts bars

Spanish Fort considers smoking ban

‘Cause we don’t want you to die of lung cancer unless you’re a drinker. Sorry, Tom.

It was a busy Tuesday morning at the Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort. That’s because Prodisee Pantry has seen an increase in the number of families that need assistance with food products.

Two families from the Baldwin County area were featured in a recent article of the Wall Street Journal. It was part of the paper’s coverage on the growing need for assistance by families all across America who are struggling to make ends meet.

Prodisee Pantry gets national coverage

Local families in national media

Managers and employees the Logan’s Roadhouse are typically always pleasant and always prepared. However, the last time we checked in on the Spanish Fort restaurant we were exposing quite a few unsanitary conditions. They also earned a score of 76. State health officials draw the line at 85 out of 100 possible points.

While it’s our obligation to point out the bad, we also celebrate the opportunity to fill you in on the good. Logan’s was given another chance to get it right recently and they stepped up to the plate. This time, the Steakhouse is rustling up an improved rating of 97.

There’s only one below average score to tell you about this week. Inspectors found violations, including employees eating in the kitchen, gumbo held out of temperature. This week Fish Camp Restaurant in Orange Beach has a score of 82.

Restaurant Scorecard: “Road to Recovery”

The City Council will begin a dialogue during Monday’s 4 p.m. work session regarding the possible adoption of both a smoking ordinance and lodging tax

Because neither measure exists on the Spanish Fort books, Mayor Joe Bonner said City Attorney David Conner has been collecting comparable information from the cities of both Daphne and Fairhope to distribute to council members.

“We want to be fair to businesses, but we also want to be fair to those who don’t smoke, and that’s why we’ve got so much to talk about,” he said. “It’s really not meant to be an issue of smokers vs. not smokers. It’s an issue of courtesy, and we have to decide where to draw that line.”

Proposed smoking ban, lodging tax on agenda

People can decide if they want to go to a business without government help. If a place is smokey and you don’t like it, then don’t go there. If smoking is so bad, then why just ban the use? Shouldn’t they ban the sale of cigarettes, too?

Alabama State Troopers have identified a man who’s truck fell off the Bayway Wednesday afternoon. They said he’s 38 year old Lester Anthony Jackson of Mobile. The accident forced the closure of the west bound lanes of the Bayway Wednesday night. The scene was cleared by 3:30am Thursday morning.

Bayway Wreck Cleared

Bayway Still Closed After Truck Drives Off Bridge

The City Council has awarded Asphalt Services Inc. a $40,000 public works contract for emergency stormwater sewer repairs in the Westminster Gates subdivision. The unanimous decision was reached just after 1 p.m. Monday during a special called meeting of the council to address the issue before additional inclement weather moves into the area around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Torrential rains from the previous weekend created a sizable sinkhole and compromised the stability of the sewer line, but the council’s decision allows public works crews to repair the line.

City Council approves emergency stormwater sewer repairs

Baldwin County’s indigenous red-bellied turtles are hatching and scrambling for area waterways, but precautions enacted five months ago to ensure the official state reptile’s safe passage across the Causeway have already reduced mortalities by 74 percent.

Hank Burch, manager of Five Rivers Delta Resource Center in Spanish Fort, said the freshwater red-bellied turtles follow the same life cycle as sea turtles, but they don’t follow the light of the moon to the water like their seawater counterparts.

“(Red-bellied turtles) just wander aimlessly until they fall into the water, and that creates trouble zones—especially for motorists—between the nests and the water,” Burch said.

Beware as turtles make dangerous trek

The Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce recently launched a grassroots campaign in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act legislation introduced in Congress March 10

Chamber President Darrelyn Bender said although union rolls in the area—including Spanish Fort, Malbis, Daphne, Montrose, Fairhope and Point Clear—are slim compared to the total work force, union activity is not the target of the group’s letter-writing campaign.

“The state of Alabama already gives unions the right to come in, sit down and talk with employees, and this legislation—the way it currently reads—takes away a key component of that process. That’s why we oppose it,” Bender said.

Chamber opposes labor legislation

Bailey Ulmer was crowned Miss Spanish Fort High School 2009 Tuesday night at the Daphne Civic Center.

A crowd of about 350 cheered for 32 contestants competing for the title with the theme “On Quest for the Crown in the Wild Wild West.”

Ulmer was crowned Miss Spanish Fort High

With only days until spring’s official arrival, the renovation and expansion of Meaher State Park’s camping facilities are complete, including a new bathhouse, laundry facilities and day-use bathrooms to complement a fourfold increase in the number of improved campsites

Meaher Manager Mark Pillion said the sites are attracting significant traffic early in the season with occupancy for the 56 slots hovering around 80 percent.

“That’s about the same rate as this time last year when we only had 12 sites, so I’d say the word is out,” Pillion said

Campground upgrades complete