This just in from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium:
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and its partners will host a community forum to help provide answers to the public’s questions about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The forum will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 2, at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, 2350 Beach Blvd., in Biloxi.
Representatives from state resource agencies, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, BP and other agencies will speak about the situation in the Gulf and answer audience questions. Topics will include seafood safety, the Vessels of Opportunity program, oil impacts on habitats, dispersants and human health, business and personal finance, mental-health impacts, legal perspectives and more.
“We know there is a lot of uncertainty out there, and people want answers,” said LaDon Swann, director of Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. “We will do our best to provide answers to questions that have answers. If we are unable to answer a question, there will be a follow-up response.”
The forum will start with a 45-minute joint session. Then, participants can attend the sessions about the topics that interest them most.
Similar forums will be held at the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Ala., from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 2 and from 9 a.m. until noon on June 3.