Gerald Blessey, the man whom Gov. Haley Barbour appointed as his post-Katrina housing czar, plans to take a critical look at the recovery from Hurricane Katrina during his Hancock Bank Katrina Café presentation on Friday at lunchtime.
The session begins at noon at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. Tickets for the luncheon are $10, which includes, lunch, the presentation and a ticket into the multi-media exhibits, which normally costs $10 alone. Reservations are recommended: (228) 374-5547 or click here.
Blessey, a former state legislator, served two terms as mayor of Biloxi in the 1980s. On the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, in 2008, Gov. Haley Barbour appointed Blessey to serve as “czar” of housing recovery for Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast. Today, Blessey serves as city attorney for Biloxi.
In his presentation, he plans to discuss the successes, challenges and connection between housing and economic recovery.
Free children’s health fair is Saturday at Edgewater Mall
The annual “Ready, Set, Go!” Children’s Health and Safety Fair, focusing on ages up to age 5, takes place Saturday, Aug. 22 from  9 a.m. to noon at Edgewater Mall
The free event will feature screenings for vision, hearing, physical growth and speech/language development. Also available will be safety information for homes, on the water, in the water and bicyclists and school buses riders.
Smokey Bear and McGruff the crime-fighting dog also are expected to appear at the fair.
Children will be able to make their own first-aid kits and see the Mr. Germ Glow.
Sponsors of the event are IP Casino Resort Spa, Biloxi Excel By 5, Biloxi Public Schools, AMR and the City of Biloxi.
News and notes
Our visitor from  Nort’ Biloxi: When Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich was invited to throw out the first pitch with Mayor Rusty Quave at a Shuckers games last week, the Biloxi mayor had a present for his “favorite hoss from across.” To see photos on the city’s Facebook page, click here.
Pascagoula run: The Katrina +10 exhibit, which is now in the home stretch of its six-month run, saluted the City of Pascagoula on Sunday. To see photos from the Sunday afternoon, affair, click here.
