south bay communities alliance

paul nelsonIn 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.

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

The 25,000 kilowatt system, powered by 108 solar panels, was installed in the Coastal Response Center, a hurricane shelter, community center, and home to the local group South Bay Communities Alliance, whose advocacy repaired and renovated the building after Hurricane Katrina.

ana_chauBayou 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.

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.

green goop 3Tuesday, 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.”

BP spokespeople and local officials, meanwhile, also have a unified message: “It’s algae.”

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