south bay communities alliance

In the latest Hurricane Katrina corruption scandal, Stan Wright, the Mayor of Bayou La Batre, Alabama has been indicted on eight federal counts – including theft, conspiracy, and embezzlement.

Though residents of this small fishing town are upset by their Mayor’s alleged corruption, many aren’t surprised. [...Read more]

By Zack Carter and Paul Nelson, South Bay Communities Alliance. Originally posted in the Mobile-Press Register.  One day last month, we arrived at the Fowl River docks and saw several oyster catchers in soaking-wet clothes. [...Read more]

Coden, Alabama – On Saturday, this small coastal community became home to one of the largest solar power systems in the state of Alabama. [...Read more]

Bayou La Batre, Alabama - Like so many on the Gulf Coast, Ana Chau is dealing with two disasters.

This time last year, she and her husband made their living shucking oysters.  Now they are out of work, their industry crippled indefinitely by the millions of gallons of crude oil and toxic dispersant dumped into the Gulf of Mexico by BP. [...Read more]

Coden Alabama - Yesterday and today, at the Coastal Response Center, StoryCorps, hosted by South Bay Communities Alliance, recorded the voices of 13 Katrina and BP disaster survivors from coastal Alabama.  StoryCorps is the largest oral history project of its kind, and millions listen to the award-winning broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and on their website, www.storycorps.org. [...Read more]

Tuesday, Sept 14th - Over the past three days, local fishermen in Bayou La Batre, Alabama have been documenting a thick sludge that has emerged in the water along their shores.  They say it must be caused by the BP oil disaster, and they all independently described it the same way: “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” [...Read more]