Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Hurricane Katrina
Conventions look east for sites
Associated Press
Published September 5, 2005
It seems that all sections of Florida have taken in people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Soon, the state could also start taking in another displaced segment of the Gulf Coast's normal population: conventiongoers.
Hotels and convention centers are reporting that the phones are ringing from some groups inquiring about availability of Florida facilities to accommodate events that were scheduled to take place in New Orleans and other areas in Katrina's path.
"We've had a number of inquiries and were working trying to accommodate them," said Carlos Cabrera, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Estero, a 400-room hotel. The problem is that the hotel already had full bookings for October.
In Jacksonville, city boosters have already called colleagues in Louisiana and in Mobile, Ala., to offer meeting space.
"Certainly, in the short term there's a possibility that cities that regularly compete with New Orleans will see an increase," said Jennifer MacPhee, spokeswoman for Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Small fry raise big bucks
In Jacksonville, some kids started a fundraiser with what they thought was an ambitious goal: raising $100 for the American Red Cross.
In a few hours, from selling coffee, lemonade and cookies, they raised more than $4,000.
"You see kids raise $150 or $200 or $350, and you see a lot of that, to be honest with you," said Jack Morgan, CEO of the Red Cross' Northeast Florida Chapter. "$4,000! That never happens!"
Firefighter boots fill up
Along the Panhandle, which has seen its share of hurricane problems, firefighters got more than water in their boots this weekend.
Union firefighters from Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties collected more than $33,000 in their boots in a matter of hours Friday and Saturday. They plan to deliver the money to the Biloxi firefighters union to help with the recovery.
[Last modified September 5, 2005, 01:15:10]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
Multimedia: Continuing fallout
