BP funds not solution for MS coast

BILOXI, Miss. – John Hairston, chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council and CEO of Hancock Whitney Corp. painted a picture of a “decade lost” since Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 BP oil spill: Fewer jobs, slow age growth and a widening economic gap between South Mississippi and the state and nation. Hairston challenged some 500 people at the IP Casino Resort on Oct. 31 to develop an annual State of the Coast Economy plan to restore prosperity to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Since Katrina and the BP spill South Mississippi, the area has lost 11,265 jobs since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, according to Hairston. While the narrow and short-term focus is on the BP funds, the Business Council is going to lead the chambers of commerce to develop a 20-year plan “with passion, vigor and tenacity,” Hairston said. The first steps are to improve the coast’s economy by learning the facts, debating ideas, developing a plan and getting behind it, he said. Most communities the size of South Mississippi don’t have an oil refinery, NASA or Navy shipbuilding yard. “That’s our base,” Hairston said. “We got the golden goose. We just got to squeeze her a little bit to get some eggs.” (Source: Sun Herald 10/31/17)