Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

Hot Air Balloons are taking to the skies once again along the Gulf Coast. The annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival is back once again to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The three-day festival is a partnership between the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, the OWA Parks and Resort and the City of Foley.

The document in which Abraham Lincoln blockaded southern ports, including Mobile, is now part of the late President’s library and museum. The order set in motion the Union's military response to the launch of the U.S. Civil War. The document is now among Illinois' prized papers of the 16th president, thanks to a donation by the state's governor and first lady. APR covered the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay, which occurred after the signing.

Alabama plans to buy the Foley Beach Express Bridge and eliminate tolls to drive across it. The Alabama Department of Transportation plans to purchase the bridge from the Baldwin County Bridge Company for $57 million. The thoroughfare is a private toll bridge that provides an alternate route to state beaches.

A new book out is gathering lots of interest in South Alabama. It’s by a 91-year-old woman who tells the stories of a difficult childhood in Fairhope. APR visits with the writer as she retraces steps from her long life.

Alabama voters decided primary runoffs on Tuesday for the state's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, setting up a potentially historic November race that could play a part in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Autism Awareness Month is in full swing across the nation, including here in Alabama, and a city on the Gulf Coast is offering modified experiences for all abilities. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition that can impair communication and interactions. It varies from person to person in its presentation.

The Ways and Means Education Committee in the Alabama has voted on a measure which would raise the sales tax on transactions on the internet. If passed by the full legislature and signed by Governor Kay Ivey, the online sales tax would more closely match the fees charged to conventional “brick and mortar” retailers.

The Mobile County Health Department and its Family Health locations are among the facilities closing today because of the threat of violent weather. Forecasters with the National Weather Service are predicting severe storms, with wind gusts of up to eighty miles per hour. There’s also the possibility of tornadoes as strong as EF2’s. Other governmental offices and schools are responding as well.

It was fifty years ago today that Mobile native Hank Aaron hit his record breaking 715th home run, which surpassed Yankees’ legend Babe Ruth. Atlanta Braves fan Charlie Russo was there to watch “hammerin’ Hank” do it.

A container ship struck a major bridge in Baltimore, causing it to plunge into the river below. The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure says between 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision. Those accident included a total of 342 people killed. Eighteen of those collapses happened in the United States, with one in Alabama