Public meetings set for proposed Miss. port plan

JACKSON, Miss. - The board overseeing the State Port of Gulfport could vote later this month on an ambitious plan that would greatly expand operations at the facility and help it weather future hurricanes. Port executive director Don Allee said the port authority has meetings scheduled for Oct. 14 and Oct. 24 in Gulfport to discuss lingering questions about the project. He said a final vote could take place at the second meeting. The authority has received about 100 comments regarding the proposed restoration. Hurricane Katrina devastated the port in August 2005, rendering it unusable for months after the storm. The plan being considered calls for expanding the port from its current 210 acres to nearly 1,000 acres. The expansion also would take the port south of its present location, requiring dredging and a deepening and... [read full story]