Mobile

Ala. Lawmakers Near Final Passage Of Airbus Bill

The Associated Press — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:02:30 +0000

Legislation to help protect Airbus from lawsuits involving planes built at the new plant in Mobile has moved closer to final passage in the Alabama Legislature.

The House voted unanimously Thursday for the bill that places a 12-year limit on filing lawsuits as a result of an accident involving a plane built at the new plant. A lawsuit would have to involve a problem with the airplane that arose within 12 years of when the plane was sold.

The bill passed the Senate earlier and was approved in the House Thursday.

Saving Mobile's Historic Barton Academy

Ryan Vasquez — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 06:31:00 +0000

Government Street in Mobile is a bustling center of activity—kind of like what you’d see in a lot of big U.S. cities. The only thing that might seem out of place is the school. But that’s where Barton Academy, the first public school in Alabama, was built back in the late 1830s.

Mobile Ready For Disabled Cruise Ship To Make Land

The Associated Press — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:12:39 +0000

Mobile is getting ready for the return of the crippled Carnival cruise ship Triumph that is being towed to the port there after an engine room fire left it powerless at sea for days.

It's been more than a year since a cruise ship was based in Mobile. But Sheila Gurganis, who is general manager for the terminal, says it still has the infrastructure needed to accommodate a ship like the Triumph on Thursday.

Tug Boats Tow Disabled Cruise Ship Toward Alabama

The Associated Press — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:35:32 +0000

The Coast Guard says a second tug boat has reached a disabled cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico and is helping tow it to Mobile, Ala.

More than 3,000 passengers and a crew of more than 1,000 aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Triumph have had limited services since a fire in an engine room Sunday. The original plan was to tow it to Progreso, Mexico, but currents pushed it north.

No injuries have been reported.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm in Houston says the ship was about 270 miles south of Mobile as of Tuesday morning.

Mardi Gras Celebrations Rolling All Day In Alabama

The Associated Press — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:27:19 +0000

Plastic beads and moon pies will be flying all day on the Alabama coast.

Parades began in the morning and are scheduled to go into the night in Mobile and Baldwin counties for Fat Tuesday.

Rain is in the forecast, but organizers say the celebration will continue unless the weather turns severe.

Six parades are scheduled in Mobile, home of the nation's oldest Mardi Gras festivities.

Ala. Residents To Be Surveyed On Oil Spill Effects

The Associated Press — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:12:46 +0000

Residents along Alabama's Gulf Coast are being asked to participate in a survey designed to gauge long-term effects of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. Representatives of the state Department of Public Health will go door-to-door this week to conduct the survey, which take about 15 minutes to complete. Residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties were also surveyed in 2010 and 2011. Participants also will be asked about how their community is prepared for an emergency and their access to health care. The information will be analyzed by the health department in conjunction with the Centers for

Witnesses Say Slain Ala. Student Appeared Intoxicated

The Associated Press — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 22:13:16 +0000

Witnesses say a University of South Alabama student was screaming obscenities and talking about being on a "spiritual quest" shortly before campus police fatally shot him. Two students who knew 18-year-old Gil Collar described him Monday as appearing intoxicated shortly before his death early Saturday. The university says Collar was nude, acting erratically and challenging a police officer when the officer opened fire.

Alligator Season Wraps

Stan Ingold — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:24:29 +0000

The seventh annual alligator season has just wrapped up in Alabama. One hundred twenty five tags were issued to hunters who wanted to chase down the large reptiles. Of that, seventy-eight gators were brought in, leaving forty seven tags unfilled.

Two weekends a year Alabamians get the opportunity to hunt for alligators. Hunters like Jennifer Smith and her family, who bagged a three-hundred fifteen pound alligator that measured ten feet five inches long. She says hope to go every chance she gets.

Governor Bentley Updates Evacuation Orders

Alabama EMA — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:50:05 +0000

Update: August 28, 2012 - Afternoon

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Tuesday lifted mandatory evacuation orders

NOAA: Current forecast path for Isaac includes Mississippi

The Associated Press — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:34:06 +0000

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Forecasters say a strengthened Tropical Storm Isaac is bearing down on the Florida Keys. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac was centered about 135 miles (220 kms) east-southeast of Key West at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday. The storm has top sustained winds of about 65 mph (100 kph) and is moving toward the west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph). Hours earlier, Isaac's winds were clocked at about 60 mph (95 kph).

Feds Provide $100K Grant For Passenger Rail Study

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:03:58 +0000

Federal railway officials are providing $100,000 to study the possibility of passenger train service linking Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham. The Federal Railroad Administration said Thursday it is earmarking the money in response to an application from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Amtrak used to run passenger trains linking the three cities, and the study will look at restoring the service. Amtrak's Crescent route runs through Birmingham as it connects New Orleans and New York, and the Amtrak Sunset Limited used to come through Mobile as it connected Ne

Austal USA To Add 1,000 Jobs At Mobile Shipyard

Associated Press — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:40:10 +0000

Alabama's governor says the state will provide $5 million and job training to Austal USA to help the shipbuilder add up to 1,000 jobs in Mobile.

Gov. Robert Bentley was in Mobile on Tuesday to announce an agreement with the Australia-based shipbuilder.

The agreement calls for the state to provide $1 million a year for five years, which will help with the expansion of the Mobile complex.

Change of Command for Mobile Coast Guard Cutter

Associated Press — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:30:56 +0000

FOSTER, R.I. (AP) —

A Rhode Island native has taken command of U.S. Coast Guard's Cutter Stingray during a change-of-command ceremony in Alabama.

Lt. j.g. Christopher Marquis relieved Lt. Molly Keyser as the commanding officer of the cutter in a ceremony held in Mobile, Ala., on Friday. Marquis is a native of Foster, R.I. He assumed command of the 87-foot vessel after serving as the weapons officer and the first lieutenant of the Coast Guard Cutter Albert, based in Astoria, Ore.

Mobile leaders reject smoking ban

Associated Press — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:26:12 +0000

Mobile City Council members are rejecting a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars.

The proposal received only four of the five votes it needed to pass on Tuesday.

Study says Gulf oil spill might have lasting impact

Associated Press — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:55:20 +0000

New research by an Auburn University professor and other scientists suggests that the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could have significant impacts on microscopic life that might not become apparent for years.

Auburn professor Ken Halanych and scientists from the University of New Hampshire, the University of California Davis Genome Center, and the University of Texas at San Antonio, published their work last month in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.