Renaissance outreach efforts underway

The U.S. Postal Service today is scheduled to begin delivering tri-lingual invitations to the city’s Reviving the Renaissance kick off meeting, which takes place Thursday night at 6 at the Saenger Theater in downtown Biloxi.

All Biloxians are on the invite list.

The city also has established a presence on its web site for the rebuilding initiative, where visitors can find background, messages from Mayor A.J. Holloway and Chairman Clark Griffith, and a form to sign up to be a part of the effort.

To see the Reviving the Renaissance section of the city web site, click here.

Debris removal: Day 200 and counting – and hauling

The city’s debris removal efforts reached a milestone today, hitting Day 200.

To date, debris removal teams have hauled more than 2.3 million cubic yards of debris, enough to cover a football field and stand 108 stories high.

Jonathan Kiser, the city’s de facto debris czar helping oversee compliance and reimbursement, offers the breakdown on a debris hauling effort that has reached a $36 million price tag at this point.

Burnable debris: 434,511 cubic yards

Non-burnable: 1,837,088 cubic yards

Appliances: 32,884 cubic yards.

Electronics: 432 cubic yards

Map portal adds updated, post-Katrina maps

The Community Development Department has increased its online collection of maps, to include a number of Katrina-related issues. Among the layers offered: Post Katrina FEMA – existing flood zone coverages; Post Katrina FEMA ABFE’s – advisory base flood elevations; Katrina Surge Inundation Limit – Limit of the water from Katrina; and Post Katrina Image – aerial photos of Biloxi after the storm.

Department staff aims to post updated Zoning and Provisional Topographic information by week’s end.

To see the entire collection of online maps, and a link to the GIS mapping portal, click here.

Downtown to host spring festival this weekend

Visitors to the Vieux Marche or Town Green this Saturday will find a daylong “Hop to the Vieux” spring festival with arts and crafts booths, a farmers market, and Easter Egg Hunt.

Biloxi Main Street along with the city and non-profit organizations are sponsoring the affair, which has a daylong schedule of events:

7 a.m. – Farmers Market opens on Town Green. (The city’s Farmers Market, incidentally, marks its new season April 4 at 8:30 a.m. at I-110 and Howard Avenue.)

9:30 a.m. – Easter Bunny appearance, with music by Rochambeau, Don Hupp, Hannah Albers, Doo-wops and Ame’.

10 a.m. – Children’s Easter Egg Hunt on Town Green.

Among the other attractions: the Slavonian Lodge Ladies will be selling pusharatas; artists scheduled to showcase their work include Linda and Vern Nix, Mary and Justin Moran, Katryna Twilbeck, Jean Magee and Linda Theobald; and the Gulf Coast Symphony Guild will sell the cookbook “Encore! Encore!”

Artists interested in participating in “Hop to the Vieux” should contact Kay Miller, Main Street Director at 435-6339 or via e-mail at kmiller@biloxi.ms.us