ORANGE BEACH, AL – Governor Riley has encouraged people in Alabama to visit the Gulf Coast. He says it’s the best way to support our neighbors to the south during this time of suffering.
Many have responded. Sandy McDaniel took hundreds of pictures. She wanted to document her trip to Orange Beach. She and her husband traveled south for their honeymoon, not just to vacation, but to help put tourist dollars back into their economy.
GRAND ISLE, Louisiana — Most days, a huge fleet of boats would be skimming oil from the Gulf of Mexico and ferrying workers and supplies. But Hurricane Alex churning in the Gulf has turned many people fighting the massive 11-week-old spill into spectators. And they will be for days.
via Wind, waves from hurricane dock oil skimming boats – Forbes.com.
Depression. Domestic violence. Rising divorce rates. Growing feelings of mistrust. Suicides. Substance abuse.
These are a few of the mental health problems that Steve Picou says Pensacola area residents can expect from the long-term effects of the BP oil spill.
via Oil spill’s toll spreads beyond beach | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal.
Rumors of oil-tinged rainfall in Louisiana have shaky video evidence of this horrific side effect to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But is it true? Can oil really be carried by rain clouds? We spoke to the experts.
Can it rain oil? That’s the question badgering environmental bloggers and tweeters who are anxious about a YouTube video that seems to show the aftermath of an oil rainstorm in Louisiana near the Gulf Coast. The video is ominous. In it, oil-slicked puddles pour through a street grate and pool in gutters in a Louisiana town during a rainstorm. But does it imply that it is actually raining oil in the gulf?
via BP Oil Spill and Oil Rain – Louisiana Oil Rain Video – Popular Mechanics.
(ORANGE BEACH, Ala.) – Oil has managed to get into Perdido pass despite a $4.5M steel boom system put in place to block it.
Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon says even though the steel pipe at the pass is in place the system is not fully operational. Kennon says a large skimmer that was supposed to be pre-positioned outside the boom to clean it up has not arrived.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY – A six square mile patch of dark red tar mats has been spotted just south of the entrance to the Pensacola Pass.
The tar mats range is size from 6 to 10 feet across, and were seen about three miles from the pass. Skimmers have been requested to respond to work the area. As a result, the pass will be closing tonight with the incoming tide and will reopen with the outgoing tide tomorrow.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY – Santa Rosa County has closed off several waterways to keep oil from being pushed into sensitive areas by Alex. County officials closed the booms at Villa Venyce, Santa Rosa Shores, Soundside Drive, and Polynesian Isle. While the city of Gulf Breeze closed Zamarra Canal, Gilmore Bayou, Woodland Bayou, and Hoffman Bayou. The waterways may remain closed for several days.
The Jimmy Buffett & Friends concert event has been one of major interest and excitement. We know, from the onset of ticket distribution, that there has been a great deal of frustration around the handling of tickets, and that many people were not able to obtain desired tickets for this event. You may now be aware of the rescheduled date for the event, which is Sunday, July 11, 2010. Though this concert has been rescheduled, it remains that all tickets are “sold out” and no new tickets will be issued. Those who were able to acquire tickets for the July 1 show will still be able to use them for the rescheduled date, as they will be honored in the same manner as prior to the change of date.
Facebook | City of Gulf Shores: Some information RE: Tickets, Parking, and other concert inquiries….
WASHINGTON – The United States is accepting help from 12 countries and international organizations in dealing with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The State Department said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. is working out the particulars of the help that's been accepted.
via US accepts international assistance for Gulf spill – Yahoo! News.
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama – Ripple effects from Tropical Storm Alex sent BP crews back to dry land on Dauphin Island Tuesday. “Mother nature comes along every once and a while and presents us with a challenge, which it has today,” said BP spokesperson Henry de la Garza. BP officials say they can’t afford any more mistakes, and won’t take chances when sending out crews in dangerous weather. Rough waters forced skimmer boats back to shore, leaving the Gulf and Mississippi Sound vulnerable to approaching oil. Barges carrying large amounts of equipment to Katrina Cut were forced to return back to West Dauphin Island twice Tuesday, and finally abandoned cleanup efforts in the afternoon. Boom around Katrina Cut was also not deployed Tuesday.
GULF SHORES, Alabama – Three beaches, all have been oiled and all have been cleaned. Yet just below the surface of the sand oil remains. We took a shovel to three beaches, Gulf Shores public beach, an area of West Beach and Romar Beach in Orange Beach. Digging about a foot down what we found might surprise you.
Click on the link below to view Today’s Oil Flight Data.
Today’s beach update from the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB. Rough surf conditions and chance of rain make it a good day for indoor activities. Montgomery Gentry concert July 4th. Jimmy Buffett and Friends rescheduled for July 11th.
WASHINGTON — BP has met its July 1 deadline to pay the federal government for the initial costs of responding to the Gulf oil spill.
via BP meets first deadline on Gulf oil spill payment | al.com.
BP and the Coast Guard sent oil-scooping skimming ships in the Gulf of Mexico back to shore today because nasty weather from Tropical Storm Alex churned up rough seas and powerful winds.
via Rough seas halt oil skimming off Gulf Coast | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal.
Steven Picou doesn’t have the happiest of jobs. He specializes in the human toll of disasters. As a sociology professor at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, he has studied the social fallout from Hurricane Katrina, the nation’s worst “natural” disaster, and from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound which, until BP’s unstoppable leak, was America’s largest and most destructive “technological” disaster. Picou draws a sharp distinction between natural and technological events. The drawn out recovery period and the uncertainly that comes with it make technological disasters much more threatening to the health and welfare of the affected people and communities.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Small businesses across the Gulf coast have been brought to a screeching halt because of the BP oil spill. Now, those businesses have nowhere to turn but to BP.
via Gulf residents depend on BP after being put out of business – Jun. 29, 2010.
Bloomberg TV's Lizzie O’Leary, was reporting from Manhattan Monday after spending five weeks reporting on the Gulf Coast.
O’Leary, who is based in D.C., was dispatched to the Gulf Coast on May 24, and reported from locations throughout Louisiana (New Orleans, Venice, Grand Isle, Buras, Myrtle Grove), Orange Beach, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla.
I caught up with her to find out about her trip.
via Bloomberg TV’s O’Leary Remarks on Sights (and Smells) of the Gulf – mediabistro.com: FishbowlDC.
Some people are expressing anger about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by refusing to buy BP gasoline.
It’s the wrong approach on several levels. Most of the economic pain would be felt by the independent station owners, not the giant oil company.
But the goal to financially punish the company is also misguided. BP is paying for the cleanup. If the company runs out of money, taxpayers would have to cover all the costs.
via Hoping BP succeeds.
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Andy Andrews – Inspirational Author & Speaker – Blog – Letter to the Editor
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010This morning, I am looking at a “letter to the editor” that I cut from our local newspaper. It’s been professionally framed and I’m deciding where in my office it should hang. As I sit at my desk, looking for the perfect spot, I am thinking about our upcoming holiday. . .
When I was growing up, the 4th of July wasn’t just an excuse for a long weekend. Do you remember? The 4th of July was one of the “big four” holidays and uniquely celebrated. Thanksgivings held lavish feasts. Christmas was for hot chocolate and a manger and we actually got to put a tree inside the house. Easter meant new shoes for church. New shoes that mama liked and I didn’t. But Independence Day was totally different. Firecrackers and homemade ice cream. Ribs on the grill. We spent long summer evenings at the lake or a swimming pool or even in our own backyard.
Andy Andrews – Inspirational Author & Speaker – Blog – Letter to the Editor.
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