ORANGE BEACH, Alabama - Locals Rob and Laura Ray didn't want to get stuck in holiday traffic on Sunday so they steered clear of the three-deep row of boats jammed around Robinson Island and pointed their 20-footer to Innerarity Point just over the Alabama line.

Thousands of folks are still enjoying Memorial Day weekend along Gulf Coast beaches.

Editor's Note: West Cobb Patch Editor Michael Stone ventured to Gulf Shores, Alabama last weekend to witness and explore what the Hangout Fest buzz was all about.

Foley City Councilwoman Vera Quaites, second from right, and City Clerk Vickey Southern accept the Alabama Community of Excellence sign.

Local businesses in south Baldwin County aren't banking on Memorial Day weekend, saying they made their money during last weekend's Hangout Music Festival.

Stingrays in the hundreds swim around the Gulf State Park Pier during the Memorial Day weekend Saturday, May 26, 2012, in Gulf Shores, Ala.

One man is in custody and being questioned after an attempted robbery at a local bank.

Flaming Lips mastermind Wayne Coyne took away more than just a vial of blood when he traveled to Nashville to record with Ke$ha . He also left with his first-ever tattoo ... not to mention a newfound respect for the wild-child pop star.

GULF SHORES, Alabama -- Throughout last week's successful Hangout Music Fest in Gulf Shores, as crowds flooded the beaches to hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Alabama Shakes and dozens of other acts, a plane circled the festival grounds trailing a banner that read "Pearl Jam/Foo Fighters Sept.

New Orleans legend George Porter Jr. is shown during a performance at the 2012 Hangout Fest with the Funky Meters.

A toddler was life-flighted to the hospital after falling from a balcony late Saturday night.

Capt. Lori Deangelis of Orange Beach, Ala. shares with the Examiner that she and her husband just received a mailing from the US District Court in New Orleans.

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- A sea turtle named Freddy is now free in the waters off Orange Beach after being nursed back to health.

Freddie, a loggerhead sea turtle is released this morning in Orange Beach. The turtle was rescued six weeks ago near Ono Island.

Three Orange Beach hotels will get some help installing energy management systems thanks to a program run by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

The sugar-white sand and turquoise waters of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were voted best family beach in The Weather Channel's third annual poll.

The Orange Beach Fire/Rescue department and Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach plan to partner with the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa to have a regional training campus here by early fall, according to Fire Chief Shane Phillips.

To all you fishermen or want-a-be fishermen get your tackle box stocked up, your rod and reels ready, sun tan lotion, ice chest with your favorite soda or drink, plenty of snack foods and pack a lunch to get ready for the Life Church men's deep sea fishing trip August 4, 2012.

School board members voted Thursday to rescind a contract with a Pensacola company hired to do custodial work at Foley High earlier this year when the company raised its price by some $50,000. "We had 2 companies who submitted bids in response to our request for proposals," Baldwin County Superintendent Alan Lee said.

The Gulf of Mexico's coastline continues to recover from BP's 2010 oil spill, but thanks to a three-day music festival, Alabama's Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are back in business.

Foley City Councilwoman Vera Quaites, second from right, and City Clerk Vickey Southern accept the Alabama Community of Excellence sign.

Baldwin County school officials will take action to fix drainage problems affecting the Foley Elementary School area that have continued since construction began on the new school.

FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- Questions from Baldwin County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey about the allocation of workers in the 4 probate offices could lead to changes, according to officials.

The South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce proudly announces the forthcoming eighth annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival beginning on Friday June 15 at 2:00 P.M., and ending on Sunday June 17 at 10:00 A.M. They are expecting about 50 balloonists from across the country to participate in this festival.

Storms were definitely in the air... you could see it coming. They did in Grand Bay.

School board members voted Thursday to rescind a contract with a Pensacola company hired to do custodial work at Foley High earlier this year when the company raised its price by some $50,000. "We had 2 companies who submitted bids in response to our request for proposals," Baldwin County Superintendent Alan Lee said.

City officials are considering a request to make up $25,000 in school program funding lost to Baldwin County Commission budget cuts.

U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown announced Friday, May 11, 2012, that his office would not seek criminal charges against Baldwin County officials who installed security cameras that record sound.

For four decades, Mother's Day weekend in Foley has meant strolling under the oaks looking over paintings, pottery and other artwork.

A central Kentucky man wanted for custodial interference has been found with his three children in a trailer park southern Alabama.

There was a time that I spent long hours loafing around the small bars and country stores in Northern Oklahoma waiting for some kind-hearted rancher or oil worker to give this long-haired, bushy-bearded stranger a ride.

Two men arrested and charged with the capital murder of two people in 2008 will now spend the rest of their life in prison.

"Messrs Editors! The war has at last commenced in earnest. Mobile is in earnest the State is in earnest, the authorities at last are in earnest.

The Island Mystics of Dauphin Island are holding their 18th annual Crawfish Boil at Cadillac Square on Saturday, May 19, from noon to 4 p.m. T-shirts, which are admission to the event, sell at $20 in advance for adults and $25 on the day of the event.

Gulf waves wash against the newest seawall built on Dauphin Island. State and federal officials haven't decided if this wall was built in violation of coastal regulations.

The mother of three works for HMS Global Maritime, a company that offers ferry service between Dauphin Island and Baldwin County's Fort Morgan.

It was two years ago today that tar balls started to wash ashore on Dauphin Island.

"Soon after Gen. Lovell, who had been below, and narrowly escaped capture by Federal gunboats, arrived.

On May 11-May 13, 2012 bring the entire family to Dauphin Island on the coast of Alabama for an outdoor back to nature event.

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama -- The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is offering summer programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

New Orleans legend George Porter Jr. is shown during a performance at the 2012 Hangout Fest with the Funky Meters.

A n Elberta father has pleaded guilty to child endangerment after authorities say his kids ingested meth.

David Mark Johnson, 26, of Elberta, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of chemical endangerment of child in a 2011 incident related to his 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, court officials said.

The Summerdale and Elberta police departments have a mutual aid agreement that will enable both towns to benefit from increased protection, WKRG-TV5 reported .

A 76-year-old Elberta woman who had a dog-breeding operation at her home pleaded guilty Monday to animal cruelty and illegal injection of rabies shots, officials said.

Beverly Baker has been arrested on charges of animal cruelty and operating a business without a license - charges stemming from her operation of a puppy mill called Adorable Toy Puppies.

MOBILE, Alabama -- A 76-year-old Elberta woman who was running a dog-breeding facility at her home was charged today with animal neglect and cruelty, running a business without a license, and administering rabies vaccines without a license.

A Baldwin County grand jury and investigation by the county's Drug Task Force resulted in the arrests of some 14 suspects including one man growing a crop of marijuana indoors in Elberta.

The Perdido Middle School boys and girls track teams capped off successful seasons recently finishing asA the runners-up in Baldwin County.

Perdido Elementary School first grade students in Laurie Myer, Mandy Scarborough and Amy Hill's classes recently visited the Turtle Point science center in Flomaton.

Members of Perdido's faculty, under the direction of Reading Coach Kerry Roley, presented "Alice in ARMT Land" for students as a motivational tool prior to their taking the Alabama Reading and Math Test.

To learn more about the program, visit www.flpublicarchaeology.org or contact Irina Sorset, FPAN outreach coordinator, at isorset@uwf.edu or 595-0050, ext.

Escambia County Sheriff's Deputies are investigating a shooting that sent one man to the hospital.

From a motorcycle cavalcade that promises to feature hundreds of rumbling bikes to a 21-gun salute, the long Memorial Day weekend abounds with red, white and blue events to honor those who have died in war.

Journalism often is about capturing the voice of a person or place. In this column, I'll try to reflect the area I have come to love with my voice.

During a visit to our local post office Saturday last, I spoke to the clerk on duty about how the... The inaugural Gulf Coast Pirate Festival on June 9-10 will feature pirates, battle reenactments, live entertainment, music, dancing, games and carnival rides.

Pensacola resident Paul Darling is appearing in front of the city's Code of Enforcement Authority to ask the city to be friendlier to residents with 'urban chickens.' Darling is part of a larger urban farming movement popping up around the country.

In the first wreck, at about 6 p.m., a vehicle rolled over, trapping a male patient inside at TR Miller Road near County Road 185, about 10 miles north of DeFuniak Springs.

Erie High graduate Haili Shimko, right, poses with U.S. Marine Corps General James F. Amos after Shimko received the Chesty Puller Award as the top Marine recruit in her Recruit Training Battalion.

The following classes will be held at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast.

Site construction has begun to pave the way for the 360 Pensacola Beach observation wheel at Soundside Center, across the street from the Hilton on Pensacola Beach.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - African Union and Somali government troops secured an aid corridor between Mogadishu and a former rebel stronghold close to the capital, the AU said, wresting control of a strip of land believed to hold around 400,000 people displaced by conflict. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali forces seized the town of Afgoye from the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents on Friday. ...

President Barack Obama is paying tribute to the nation's fallen warriors on Memorial Day, attending a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and honoring those who died during the Vietnam War.

Tropical Storm Beryl threatened to snarl traffic on Memorial Day as it brought drenching rain, winds and the possibility of flooding to the southeastern U.S. coast.

Poll after poll shows public support for same-sex marriage steadily increasing, to the point where it's now a majority viewpoint. Yet in all 32 states where gay marriage has been on the ballot, voters have rejected it.

President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri and several top players were arrested on Monday, while national team defender Domenico Criscito's room was searched at Italy's Euro 2012 training camp, as part of a probe into illegal betting.