Gulf Coast Media

Gulf Coast Media Baldwin County, Alabama’s News Leader: 4 Local Newspapers 📰; Best of Baldwin🏆; Beachin’ mag & more!

Local media and newspaper group based in Baldwin County, Alabama, providing comprehensive coverage to Alabama’s Gulf Coast. GCM publishes The Courier, The Onlooker, The Islander and The Baldwin Times, along with the Gulf Coast Visitor Guide, Beachin' magazine and daily news updates at GulfCoastMedia.com.

Are you a fan of Auto Medic Wrecker & Towing?“Auto Medic Wrecker prides itself on using top-of-the-line equipment and em...
09/25/2025

Are you a fan of Auto Medic Wrecker & Towing?

“Auto Medic Wrecker prides itself on using top-of-the-line equipment and employing trained and Wreckmaster-certified drivers who are available 24/7 to provide fast and professional service to clients. Our company is licensed, insured, and bonded, and it is committed to delivering good customer service.”

Show your support by nominating them in the Best of Baldwin 2026 Contest now at https://gulfcoastmedia.com/bestof2026/ #/gallery/505730619/.



** This is a paid advertisement as part of Gulf Coast Media’s Best of Baldwin promotional packages.

Has your business been nominated?
Promote your nomination and get in front of thousands of voters. Contact your sales representative — Frank Kustura ([email protected]) for North Baldwin and the Eastern Shore, or Shawna Stefankiewicz ([email protected]) for Central and South Baldwin — to learn about options that fit businesses of every size.

🚧 Starting Monday, Sept. 29, crews will begin the next phase of sidewalk construction on North Cedar Street. Work will s...
09/25/2025

🚧 Starting Monday, Sept. 29, crews will begin the next phase of sidewalk construction on North Cedar Street. Work will stretch from West Fern Avenue to West Peachtree Avenue — and it could affect driveway access for people who live along the street.

The project is part of City of Foley Municipal Government’s $1 million annual investment to connect neighborhoods through a citywide sidewalk network. 👣

Read our full story in the comments for more details.

📷: City of Foley

Are you a fan of Kindness Air ?“I am beyond proud to serve the Baldwin and Mobile area. I strive to be the best air con...
09/25/2025

Are you a fan of Kindness Air ?

“I am beyond proud to serve the Baldwin and Mobile area. I strive to be the best air conditioning company around! I pride myself on being the best value ac company and would love to have you help me spread Kindness! Please reach out if you need me to take a look at your ac or heater, or if you would like a quote to replace your existing equipment. Your air conditioner and heater use up to half of your electric bill! With the hot days we have been having lately, it could even be more than that! Let me help you keep your utility bills in check with a tune-up.”

Show your support by nominating them in the Best of Baldwin 2026 Contest now at https://gulfcoastmedia.com/bestof2026/ #/gallery/505665196/.



** This is a paid advertisement as part of Gulf Coast Media’s Best of Baldwin promotional packages.

Has your business been nominated?
Promote your nomination and get in front of thousands of voters. Contact your sales representative — Frank Kustura ([email protected]) for North Baldwin and the Eastern Shore, or Shawna Stefankiewicz ([email protected]) for Central and South Baldwin — to learn about options that fit businesses of every size.

A new study has found arsenic and cadmium levels in the Mobile River near Alabama Power’s Plant Barry that are comparabl...
09/25/2025

A new study has found arsenic and cadmium levels in the Mobile River near Alabama Power’s Plant Barry that are comparable to — and in some cases higher than — those measured after the 2008 Kingston coal-ash spill in Tennessee, the largest industrial spill of its kind in U.S. history.

The peer-reviewed study, published in Science of the Total Environment, was led by researchers Natasha T. Dimova and Stephen Anderson of the University of Alabama, along with Dini Adyasari of Texas A&M University. The team set out to identify “sources of heavy metal pollution in suspended sediments and surface water in the Mobile River near the Plant Barry ash pond.”

“Prior to our study, there was limited seasonal testing of heavy metal levels in the area of the Plant Barry coal-ash pond,” said Dimova, who served as principal investigator. “Our results show that near the coal power plant’s discharge channel, during the dry season, arsenic and cadmium levels in suspended sediments are close to those found at Kingston after the 2008 spill. Our goal is to raise awareness about this issue and to protect ‘North America’s Amazon.’”

Arsenic and cadmium are toxic heavy metals with wide-ranging health impacts. Arsenic exposure has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and skin lesions, while cadmium is known to damage kidneys and weaken bones, among other effects.

The Kingston disaster, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described as releasing more than 1 billion gallons of coal-ash, contaminated hundreds of acres and two rivers and is believed to have contributed to approximately 50 deaths and 250-plus illnesses related to toxic exposure from cleanup efforts, according to reporting at the time from Tennessee-local news.

Read the full story in the comments ⬇️ .

✍️: Gabriella Chavez, Report for America Corps Member / GCM Staff Journalist
📷: Courtesy of Mobile Baykeeper

🚨 Don’t miss your chance to make your favorites shine! 🚨Nominations for Best of Baldwin 2026 end Oct. 8. The top five no...
09/25/2025

🚨 Don’t miss your chance to make your favorites shine! 🚨

Nominations for Best of Baldwin 2026 end Oct. 8. The top five nominees in each category move on to the voting round, so now is the time to show your support.

Have a favorite restaurant, shop, or service? Nominate them today and keep the momentum going! 🌟

Are you a fan of RJs Seamless Gutters & More?“RJ's Seamless Gutters, Inc. & More. We make and install seamless gutters a...
09/24/2025

Are you a fan of RJs Seamless Gutters & More?

“RJ's Seamless Gutters, Inc. & More. We make and install seamless gutters and leaf control.”

Show your support by nominating them in the Best of Baldwin 2026 Contest now at https://gulfcoastmedia.com/bestof2026/ #/gallery/505252827/.



** This is a paid advertisement as part of Gulf Coast Media’s Best of Baldwin promotional packages. **

Has your business been nominated?
Promote your nomination and get in front of thousands of voters. Contact your sales representative — Frank Kustura ([email protected]) for North Baldwin and the Eastern Shore, or Shawna Stefankiewicz ([email protected]) for Central and South Baldwin — to learn about options that fit businesses of every size.

Meet the chefs who will be representing the Gulf Coast at this year's World Food Championships (WFC) in Indianapolis: Ma...
09/24/2025

Meet the chefs who will be representing the Gulf Coast at this year's World Food Championships (WFC) in Indianapolis: Maegan Bratton, Brandy McGill and Fletch Miller.

After winning qualifying competitions or scoring in the top 10 at last year's WFC, these three will travel across the country to go against hundreds of chefs from around the world. The WFC will be held Oct. 16-19 and will be streamed on the competition's YouTube page and social media sites.

Bratton owns and operates Cowbell Rolled Ice Cream in Gulf Shores with her husband, Greg.

McGill previously worked as the executive chef at Wolf Bay Restaurant but recently got a new job as executive chef at the White House Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi. This will be her first year competing in the WFC, though she has competed in, and won, several local competitions, including this year's Coastal Tailgate Cook-Off Challenge, which is where she won her golden ticket to the WFC.

Miller is the food and beverage manager at the Island House Hotel in Orange Beach.

Bratton and Miller have both competed in the WFC before.

After volunteering and then working at the WFC since 2017, Bratton has now competed in the seafood category for the past two years. She placed eighth at the competition one year with a New Years' Eve-themed meal. This year, she won a golden ticket from competing in Taste of America: Elevated with Marcel's Modern Pantry.

Miller has competed in the WFC in the recipe, seafood, chef and noodle categories. Several times, she has placed in the top seven, in which competitors earn a medal, a qualification to enter the second round of the competition and an invitation for the following year.

Read more in the comments.

✍: Ruth Mayo / Gulf Coast Media
📸: Micah Green / Gulf Coast Media
Food and competition photos provided

Are you a fan of Rouses Markets?“Rouses Markets is the Gulf Coast's largest independent grocer with stores in South Loui...
09/24/2025

Are you a fan of Rouses Markets?

“Rouses Markets is the Gulf Coast's largest independent grocer with stores in South Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We're family owned, family run since 1960 and proud to call Louisiana home. We focus on serving our community through providing top notch customer service at our first class facilities and are a champion of local products, from center store to farmers and fishermen and beyond.”

Show your support by nominating them in the Best of Baldwin 2026 Contest now at https://gulfcoastmedia.com/bestof2026/ #/gallery/504563778.



** This is a paid advertisement as part of Gulf Coast Media’s Best of Baldwin promotional packages. **

Has your business been nominated?
Promote your nomination and get in front of thousands of voters. Contact your sales representative — Frank Kustura ([email protected]) for North Baldwin and the Eastern Shore, or Shawna Stefankiewicz ([email protected]) for Central and South Baldwin — to learn about options that fit businesses of every size.

2026 is more popular than ever - more than 100,000 nominations have already been made! Nominate your favorites daily t...
09/24/2025

2026 is more popular than ever - more than 100,000 nominations have already been made! Nominate your favorites daily through Oct. 8. Only the Top 5 in each category will advance to the final voting round.

Robertsdale will not only have a new mayor leading the city for the first time in 33 years, but this new mayor’s electio...
09/24/2025

Robertsdale will not only have a new mayor leading the city for the first time in 33 years, but this new mayor’s election Tuesday night also marks a historic first.

Preliminary results from the runoff election held Sept. 23 show Ruthie Campbell won enough votes to become Robertsdale’s first female mayor. According to tallies posted outside PZK Hall, Campbell secured 548 votes (51.8%) to Russell Johnson’s 510 votes (48.2%).

Campbell, who currently serves on city council alongside Johnson, told Gulf Coast Media Tuesday night she was on cloud nine.

“I’m so thankful and grateful for the support that I got from all over Robertsdale,” she said.

She said she is excited to start in November – all winning candidates will be sworn in Nov. 3 – and to become Robertsdale’s first female mayor.

Regardless of the history written with Tuesday’s vote, Campbell brings experience to the city’s government that will help guide a city council with only one returning member. She is finishing her third term on the at-large council, having been first elected in 2012, while Johnson is finishing his first term after being elected in 2020. Both chose to run for mayor rather than another term in their council seat, and both made the runoff out of four candidates over current Mayor Charles Murphy, who was first elected in 1992.

Fellow council members Joseph Kitchens and Sue Cooper did not run for reelection, leaving Paul Hollingsworth, who was first elected in 2000, the only incumbent seeking to retain his seat, which he did successfully.

“With the new ideas I have coming forth, I look forward to listening to the new ideas the council has as well and working together as a team and establishing an awesome relationship with the citizens to just see a new day in our city,” Campbell said.

📣 More in the full story, in the comments, about one of those new council members who also won his runoff last night, as well as details on the city's high turnout for the runoff.

✍: Kayla Green / Gulf Coast Media

RUNOFF ELECTION RESULTS - RobertsdaleTwo runoffs were held in Robertsdale Sept. 23, determining the city's new mayor and...
09/24/2025

RUNOFF ELECTION RESULTS - Robertsdale

Two runoffs were held in Robertsdale Sept. 23, determining the city's new mayor and one council member.

MAYOR
Ruthie Campbell: 548 votes (51.8%) - winner (first female mayor elected...see story in comments)
Russell Johnson: 510 votes (48.2%)

CITY COUNCIL PLACE 2
Adam Manning: 568 votes (55.7%) - winner
Beth Lores Robinson: 452 votes (44.3%)

Results are unofficial until tallies are counted to include provisional votes during canvassing on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Full story linked in comments and on our website soon.

MUNICIPAL RUNOFF ELECTION RESULTS - Gulf ShoresIncumbent Joe Garris Jr. appears to have retained his seat on Gulf Shores...
09/24/2025

MUNICIPAL RUNOFF ELECTION RESULTS - Gulf Shores

Incumbent Joe Garris Jr. appears to have retained his seat on Gulf Shores City Council after earning 722 votes (53%) to Austin "Coach" Boyd's 641 votes (47%).

Results are unofficial until tallies are counted to include provisional votes during canvassing on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Full story linked in comments and on our website soon.

📸✍️: Ruth Mayo / Gulf Coast Media
Graphic by Brooke Duck / Gulf Coast Media

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