NEWS

• Carter blasts Bush, FEMA
Denver - As Tropical Storm Gustav spins toward the Gulf Coast, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday that the federal government is ill-equipped to deal with another natural disaster.

• All eyes along Gulf Coast watching Gustav
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Wednesday and activated the National Guard in advance of Gustav. Oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico began leaving their rigs, and New Orleans drew up sweeping evacuation plans in an attempt to avoid Katrina-style chaos.

• Gustav could spoil holiday weekend
Vacation Realtors and hotel owners from Orange Beach to Dauphin Island were fielding calls Wednesday from prospective tourists concerned about Gustav as summer's last big weekend loomed.

• Annual Labor Day parade slated to roll downtown
Mobile's annual Labor Day parade, consisting of six high school marching bands and an assortment of floats honoring the workforce, is scheduled to roll through downtown streets, starting at 10 a.m. Monday.

• Bass Pro Shop holds grand opening
Spanish Fort - Bill Dance is a real bass pro. Keith Dunnam is a Bass Pro shopper. But they had something in common Wednesday night.

• Citronelle woman killed, husband injured in wreck
A Citronelle woman died, and her husband was injured in a Tuesday morning wreck on U.S. 45, Alabama State Troopers said.

• Clear skies on tap today
Residents should be able to enjoy a couple of days of pleasant weather, before we may have to deal with a tropical system approaching the Gulf Coast.

• Clinton says Obama is 'my candidate'
Denver - Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday night summoned the millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Barack Obama to the White House, and drew thunderous applause at the Democratic National Convention when she declared her one-time rival is "my candidate and he must be our president."

• Faith-based organization to lead local meeting on 'insurance crisis'
A faith-based group seeking to address soaring home insurance premiums and policy cancellations in coastal Alabama will hold a meeting tonight in Daphne, an attempt to draw supporters to its efforts to influence state insurance policy.

• Grand Bay woman dies after wreck
Pascagoula - A Grand Bay woman died Tuesday from injuries she received in a Saturday wreck at the intersection of U.S. 90 and Hospital Road.

• Metro Briefs
Girl struck walking to school

• Mobile schools install automated phone messaging
The Mobile County Public School System is using automated telephone messages to get out its news ? including letting parents know when their children skip school, when PTA meetings are being held and when schools will be closed because of bad weather.

• Motorcyclist killed in collision on service road
A Mobile man died Wednesday after his motorcycle crashed into a car and burst into flames as he was driving on East I-65 Service Road South, police said.

• Provisional votes may decide Millry election
The mayor in Millry, Roy Chapman, thought he would easily win a second term in office.

• Robbery defendant found guilty
Von "Ric" Miller and the Mobile jury sitting on his trial this week never saw each other, but what jurors heard about him was enough Wednesday to convict him of first-degree robbery.

• Speaker raves on downtown Mobile
The RSA Tower, historic homes on Government Street and oak-lined streets are all assets that downtown Mobile should develop around, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said Wednesday.

• Student contracts staph infection
Spanish Fort - A high school football player has been diagnosed with a staph infection, school system officials said Wednesday.

• 'Sweet Home ALObama' a hit with Bama delegates
"Sweet Home ALObama" - a play on Barack Obama - is a second home for Alabama delegates attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week.

• Willie Bean returns to Fairhope campaign trail
Willie Bean, the Fairhope Labrador retriever who "ran" as a candidate for mayor in Fairhope, is back on the campaign trail as city runoffs approach. The dog won 107 more "votes" than the two leading mayoral candidates combined, so efforts to raise funds for the Baldwin Animal Rescue Center will resume until the October vote, the canine's supporters said Wednesday.

• Yesterday's news
From 1858:

• Alabama too inexperienced for tanker?
DENVER ? The U.S. Air Force tanker contract is too important to put in Alabama's inexperienced hands, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., said Tuesday during an interview at the Democratic National Convention.

• Mosher, Kant in runoff for Fairhope mayor
FAIRHOPE ? Two candidates ? incumbent Tim Kant and local artist Dean Mosher ? emerged from a crowded, seven-man mayoral contest Tuesday and headed to an October runoff.

• Wright wins in Bayou La Batre
BAYOU LA BATRE ? Mayor Stan Wright narrowly won a third term Tuesday in this fishing town on the Alabama coast after beating two opponents.

• 3 arrested, charged in bank holdup
A young robber at the RBC Centura Bank branch at Moffett and Schillinger roads warned a teller in a note Tuesday that he would kill her unless she gave him money, Mobile police said. He fled with an undisclosed sum.

• Annexation vote will take place
After a contentious 3cm HALF-hour debate, filled with impassioned pleas and hurt feelings, Mobile City Council members unanimously agreed Tuesday to let residents in four areas vote on whether to annex into the city.

• Child accidentally shot by father, authorities say
Staff Report

• Commissioner Ludgood resigns
Merceria Ludgood resigned as Mobile County commissioner Tuesday, a day after the other two commissioners voted to seek an opinion from Alabama Attorney General Troy King regarding her status.

• Correction
A story in Tuesday's Press-Register about a fatal fire in Mobile's Crichton area contained an incorrect time reference. The fire occurred Sunday night at 10:20, rather than that morning.

• Council OKs new Spring Hill plan
The Mobile City Council wasn't done with its work Tuesday after a 3cm HALF-hour debate over annexation. Council members held another lengthy public hearing and then approved a new plan for the Spring Hill area.

• Current, former mayors clash in Daphne runoff
DAPHNE ? Current Mayor Fred Small and former three-term Mayor Harry Brown will face each other in a runoff, after voters Tuesday chose the familiar over political newcomer Ernie Berger.

• Election returns from Mobile County
BAYOU LA BATRE

• Fair, warm days ahead
Rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay moved on through Georgia and Tennessee and left southwest Alabama to enjoy fair weather on Tuesday.

• Gustav weakens after hitting Haiti /ByJONATHAN M. KATZ
Associated Press Writer

• Kennon wins seat as Orange Beach mayor
ORANGE BEACH ? Former City Councilman Tony Kennon, who resigned under muddy circumstances less than a year after being elected in 2004, beat two opponents and won the city's mayoral seat Tuesday.

• LNG meeting gets hot
With only Gov. Bob Riley standing in the way of approval of a new liquefied natural gas terminal 63 miles south of Dauphin Island, supporters and opponents of TORP Technology's project squared off at a mostly cordial public meeting Tuesday evening.

• Metro Briefs
Three charged in Theodore burglary

• Poverty still high in Mobile /byBy JEFF AMY
Business Reporter

• Prichard votes Davis back in as mayor
Prichard voters put Ron Davis in the mayor's chair for another four years, electing him Tuesday over three other candidates by a wide enough margin to avoid a runoff.

• Robbery trial begins for no-show defendant
Von Ric Miller wasn't talking Tuesday or having anything to do with his robbery trial in Mobile County Circuit Court, so it went on without him.

• Ruffin, Kennedy face off to pick city's new leader
MONROEVILLE ? Candidates Rodie Ruffin and Mike Kennedy finished at the top of a five-candidate mayoral field Tuesday in a race destined to launch a new era, as longtime Mayor Anne Farish retires from politics.

• Saraland keeps mayor, ousts council member
Voters in Saraland on Tuesday re-elected Ken Williams as their mayor, while one councilman was voted out of office and another retained his seat.

• Tillery elected Bay Minette's new mayor
BAY MINETTE ? The county seat has a new mayor ? businesswoman Jamie Tillery who barely bested Councilman Tony Edwards for the city's top spot.

• Yesterday's news
From 1858: