Fairhope Now | 08.19.2026 | Fairhope Schools Debate Packs City Hall

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Happy Wednesday, Fairhope!

School is back in session, the air conditioners are pulling their weight, and yet somehow our little town has produced a week's worth of news that's worth every bit of attention. Our community is wrestling with a question that touches every family with kids in school, as Fairhope weighs the possibility of forming its own school district independent of Baldwin County. The Fairhope Hotel — a 1925 landmark that's seen a century of comings and goings — has reopened its doors as a boutique inn, and we think that calls for a proper welcome back. And Hannah Legg has brought a fresh mural to life at the Eastern Shore Art Center, because beauty, apparently, does not take a summer break.

Your Wednesday Funny: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? Great food, no atmosphere.

Dive into today's full issue below — there's a lot worth knowing.

— Joy Davis, Anne Dorman, & John Oldshue

Today’s Fairhope Now Newsletter

Dozens of residents and school employees filled Fairhope City Hall for the first of three public meetings on whether the city should break away from Baldwin County Public Schools and establish its own system. Supporters say a separate system would give Fairhope more control over local priorities — from athletics to classroom expansion — while many opponents, some wearing blue "We Are Better Together" shirts, raised pointed questions about funding, building ownership, and which students would actually be included. Two more input meetings are scheduled: Sunday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, September 9 at 5:30 p.m., both open to the public.

Community interest in a potential Fairhope city school system is running high — the feasibility meeting drew an overflow crowd. A second public meeting is set for Sunday at 5:30 p.m., with video recordings available on the City of Fairhope's Facebook and YouTube channels or by clicking Read more below.

A downtown landmark is officially open for business again. The Fairhope Hotel at 131 Fairhope Ave. — originally built in 1925 by Marmaduke Dyson, an Englishman who went on to serve as president of the Fairhope Single Tax Colony — has been lovingly restored by owner Shelley Springer and is now welcoming guests under its original name. The six-room boutique hotel sits in the heart of the Bayfront Historic District, listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, with rooms named for the stories that make this area so singular: the Colony Room, the Jubilee Room, and more. Weekday and weekend rates start at $179 per night; visit fairhopehotel1925.com to book your stay — or send a friend from out of town who has been putting off that visit for far too long.

Through the Lens of Stephen Savage

For photographer Stephen Savage, photography is about more than simply taking a good picture. After decades of studying, teaching and practicing the craft, Savage describes his work as an attempt to capture “the commonality of the human experience” the small, often ordinary moments that reveal something about who we are. His path into photography began in Washington, D.C., where he managed commercial buildings and found himself spending nearly every night at the legendary 9:30 Club, which was located in one of his buildings. He began photographing the bands performing there, eventually taking promotional photos and album covers and contributing to a local music magazine. What started as an expensive hobby quickly began to pay for itself, and eventually became a lifelong passion. After moving to Lower Alabama in the 1990s, Savage opened Savage Photo Lab and Gallery in Mobile, combining a photography business with an art gallery and photo lab.
Today, Savage’s work ranges from commercial photography to fine art, with Baldwin County itself serving as one of his most important subjects. He has created a portfolio of roughly 120 images of the county, photographing everything from the Bay and Gulf to farmland and the rural countryside. He says the Eastern Shore’s close-knit arts community has also shaped his experience as an artist, describing it as a very giving and nurturing community where artists regularly collaborate and share ideas. His approach to photography is rooted in both technical discipline and an appreciation for human moments. Composition, he says, is essential, but so is the human element—the part of a photograph that allows someone looking at it to recognize something familiar in their own experience.
One photograph that remains especially meaningful to Savage was taken more than 20 years ago in the Bahamas. He photographed two young boys sitting on the bow of a boat, watching fish in the water after they had finished feeding them french fries. The boys had nothing left to do but sit and watch, creating what Savage describes as a moment of discovery. That sense of curiosity is something he looks for both in his own work and in photography as a whole. For aspiring photographers, his advice is simple: “Look at lots of photographs and make lots of photographs.” Savage continues to do both, while remaining fascinated by the ways photography continues to change. From film to digital photography and now artificial intelligence. Through it all, he says, the goal remains the same: to keep learning, keep looking and keep finding those fleeting moments that remind us what it means to be human.

Source: Editor

Local artist Hannah is home in Fairhope, and she's got brushes in hand at the Eastern Shore Art Center downtown. For the next couple of weeks, she'll be painting a brand-new mural at the ESAC — a project that's been in the works for a while and one she says holds a special place in her heart. Swing by, take in all the Art Center has to offer, say hello while she works, and — word has it — there may even be a free sticker in it for you.

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