News
The music of Cristy Spiteri forges a link between Australia and Dauphin Island
Aside from the beach sounds we all know and love so much about Dauphin Island, a constant for us and for many vacationers is music. Good music and the beach go hand in hand. Music relaxes, invigorates, motivates. Music defines us. It helps us remember who we are.
Obviously we love good music here at The Dauphin Island Times; and that's why we agreed without hesitation to sponsor an up and coming musician, Cristy Spiteri.
Work begins on the Berm
And so it's begun. Finally. After all the wrangling and arm-wrestling, work has begun on the berm. A contractor started the process on Monday. Two huge black rubber pipes are being filled with sand dredged up from the Mississippi sound, north of Dauphin Island.
The operation started on Monday and will continue day and night until the berm is finished. Town of Dauphin Island officials expect the project will complete sometime in June.
John Reed's letter to the editor
Today's Mobile Register carries a letter from John Reed to the editor. John explains the current situation on Dauphin Island and why it is necessary to take the steps the Dauphin Island Property Owners are recommending, to declare the west end Dauphin Island beach public property and thereby make it eligible for public funding.
Arriving at the crossroads
Dauphin Island is a unique environmental, recreational and economic resource to Mobile County, the state and the nation. That is why it deserves special intervention and assistance before it literally washes away.
Dauphin Island, which represents one-third of Alabama's short coastline, is the barrier island that protects Mobile County from tropical storms and hurricanes. It has an 18-mile shoreline, bird sanctuaries, wetlands and a golf course.
Since lots were sold by the Mobile Chamber of Commerce in 1953, Dauphin Island has developed responsibly. In 1997, it stopped further development on its fragile west end, where nine miles have never been developed. The island has followed 1953 rules prohibiting buildings over 70 feet high.
Dauphin Island Strategic Plan review meeting tonight
Here is more information on the Town of Dauphin Island public meeting tonight. The purpose of the meeting is to review and solicit comment on long range planning work being done on behalf of the town. Last fall the town let a contract totaling $88,000 to Five E's Unlimited to create a long range plan for the Town of Dauphin Island.
This is a debate about the future of Dauphin Island. If you're in the neighborhood you'll definitely want to attend.
Mississippi Sound Cleanup Underway
The Mobile Register is carrying an update to the recent story about the cleanup of the Mississippi Sound. From initial accounts of the sheer volume of debris - pilings, parts of houses, cars, trucks... - this is a project that the $100,000 funding won't begin to cover.
Crews are trolling the shallows and hauling up whatever they snag within 200 yards of the north shore of Dauphin Island. In the process they're spotting plenty of storm debris in deeper water. Once the budget for the current cleanup project is exhausted the only way to clean up any more of this hazardous debris will be to go back to the well for more public funding.
Previous story: Mississippi Sound Cleanup to Begin