A meteor visible from Oklahoma to the Florida panhandle flashed across the sky Tuesday night.

via Meteor Flashes Across Alabama Sky | MOBILE, Alabama.

Two pilots assigned to a military training squadron at Pensacola Naval Air Station safely ejected before their jet crashed near Tallahassee Wednesday morning.

via Jet from Pensacola NAS crashes | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal.

Baby, it’s cold outside — but you can still enjoy the best meteor shower of the year. The 2010 Geminid meteor shower promises to be lively, with realistic viewing rates of 50-80 meteors per hour and potential peaks reaching 120 meteors per hour. Anytime between Dec. 12-16 is a valid window for Geminid-watching, but the night of Dec. 13-14 is the anticipated peak.

via NASA – Geminids Meteor Shower: ‘Up All Night’ With NASA!.

Brown Pelicans splash in the turquoise ocean looking for dinner. The sugar beach bumps up against the soft evening waves. You sip a smart cocktail lingering on the expansive lanai for the last glowing moment of a deep orange sunset. This is Alabama. Really?

via Gulf Shores and Orange Beach: Is this Really Alabama?.

Firefighters fan out at intersections to raise money for the injured Chief.

via Boot Drive for Dauphin Island Fire Chief | MOBILE, Alabama.

In a specially called town council meeting Thursday, the Magnolia Springs Town Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance which will annex the Family Dollar property on U.S. 98 into the town.

The council’s decision was supposed to follow a public hearing about the proposed annexation, but no one attended the public meeting to voice his or her opinions.

After the ordinance passed, Houser said, “Well, we’re bigger.”

via Magnolia Springs annexes in Family Dollar – Baldwin County NOW.

I. Call to Order

II. Invocation

III. Pledge of Allegiance

IV. Roll Call

V. Consideration of Agenda

VI. Consideration of Previous Minutes

Committee of the Whole 09/29/10
Special-Called Meeting 09/29/10
Special-Called Meeting 10/05/10
Regular Meeting Minutes 10/05/10
Read the rest of this entry »

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Scores of people flocked around a roped off patch of grass today to marvel at hawks, owls and even a bald eagle with a crooked beak during one of the raptor shows at the Bird and Conservation Expo.

The show was one of the highlights of the seventh annual John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest. Borom said he Expected about 2,000 visitors to the event on the Fairhope campus of Faulkner State Community College.

via Flocks of visitors drawn to John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest (with gallery) | al.com.

RACE TO ORANGE BEACH

Alabama is currently sitting in the fifth spot in the standings to reach the Southeastern Conference tournament in Orange Beach. South Carolina and Florida sits atop the seeding with 16 points each. Vanderbilt currently resides in the eighth and final spot with eight points as the final four spots are separated by just three points. The SEC tournament will begin on Nov. 3.

via Soccer Heads to Vanderbilt for Sunday Matinee – ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE – University of Alabama Official Athletic Site.

GULF SHORES, Alabama — The City Council agreed this week to put some finishing touches on 1.1 miles of dunes along West Beach, spending nearly $50,000 to plant stabilizing sea oats.

The money being spent on the project comes from a $1.06 million grant the city received to prepare for oil landfall from the Deepwater Horizon explosion, city officials said.

via Sea oats to be added to West Beach dunes in Gulf Shores | al.com.

Cemex SAB will buy out its joint venture partner Ready Mix USA of Birmingham for about $360 million, Cemex said Friday. The deal, which includes Cemex assuming $17 million of debt, is expected to close in September. Ready Mix USA will run the business until then.

via Cemex to buy rest of concrete producer Ready Mix USA | al.com.

An Elberta man escapes without a scratch after his truck is engulfed in flames. Take a look at the video in the web story—29-year-old Wesley Chandler says he was driving through the Wallace Tunnel at about 6 pm Sunday evening when he smelled something like burning leaves. Chandler says he pulled over at the first exit and that’s when his truck started to burn. Members of the Mobile Fire Rescue Department came in to put out the flaming truck. Traffic was backed up for awhile on that exit ramp when the blaze was being put out. Amazingly the driver escaped with no injuries.

via Elberta Man Unhurt After Truck Bursts Into Flames | MOBILE, Alabama.

The federal government has reopened 5,600 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico west of the Mississippi River delta to commercial and recreational fishing, effective today at 5 p.m.

via NOAA opens 5,600 square miles of Gulf fishing west of Mississippi River Delta | NOLA.com.

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Alabama — A new town project should soon allow residents and others a chance to preserve their names at the site from which the community’s name sprang, officials said.

via Town approves Springs walkway project | al.com.

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Alabama – The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a fire that destroyed a home in foreclosure in Magnolia Springs.

The river front home located on Isle of Pines Drive burned to the ground Sunday afternoon within a matter of minutes. The fire spread to the house next door, but firefighters were able to save that structure.

via Caught On Camera: Home In Foreclosure Burns To The Ground | Magnolia Springs Alabama.

The first courtroom battle in a lawsuit challenging the national health care law will take place at the federal courthouse in Pensacola this morning.

via Health care battle hits Pensacola courtroom | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal.

Holly will be in Gulf Shores, Ala., all day tomorrow [today] doing volunteer work on the oil spill cleanup, checking out the ocean for the dolphin pods and visiting a zoo to make a donation. Midweek, she gets to Orlando, Fla., and has plans to visit Disneyland and Universal Studios. Vegas DeLuxe will update news of her vacation during the week, and we’ll have Angel’s photographs from Peepshow, too.

via Angel Porrino ready for big break, spotlight thanks to Holly Madison – Monday, Sept. 13, 2010 | 11:34 a.m. – Las Vegas Sun.

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama — Tired of fronting the cash to keep medical staff and equipment on hand at three BP PLC contractor work sites – to the tune of more than $270,000 so far – Orange Beach officials pulled the city’s personnel out this morning.

via Orange Beach pulls EMS staff from BP cleanup contractor sites | al.com.

A Tribute of slides and footage to the lives lost September 11 2001.

Music: Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) by Alan Jackson.

via When the World Stopped Turning: A 9/11 tribute.