Posted on 07/12/2010 3:54:30 PM PDT by Qbert
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport at 2:34 today to begin meeting with local officials and residents about the ongoing oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama was greeted by Panama City Mayor Scott Clemons, Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst, Bay County Commissioner William Dozier, and Randy Curtis, executive director of the newly built airport.
The first lady's first stop was a roundtable discussion at the Panama City Beach Welcome Center, Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she was be joined by Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, and Julie Walden, deputy director of business for the U.S Department of Commerce..
Obama used the roundtable discussion opportunity to make a public pitch, urging would-be tourists to head to Gulf Coast beachside towns like Panama City Beach, that have not been hit with the barrage of tarballs seen to the west in areas like Pensacola.
"There are still thousands of miles of beaches not touched by the spill," Obama said, before noting that she flew into the newly opened Northwest Florida Beaches Airport in Panama City.
"There are still opportunities to experience these beautiful beaches," she added.
During the roundtable, Yonnie Patronis, who runs Captain Anderson's Restaurant, spoke about the consequences of BP scooping up local fisherman for cleanup efforts.
Patronis said he took oysters off the seafood restaurant's menu, not because they weren't available but because "all the oystermen are working for BP," leaving few men to scrape the oysters from nearby Apalachicola Bay.
"It just hurts the big picture," said Patronis, whose family has run the local restaurant since 1953.
He followed up by handing Obama a copy of his restaurant's cookbook.
Oberst, the Panama City mayor, said she worried about the economic ramifications that would come a year down the line, noting the area had to find other ways to diversify its tourist dependent economy.
"We bill ourselves as the world's most beautiful beaches," Oberst said. "But if a person can't come enjoy the beaches or own a second home, we have to find something for them to do."
Oberst added: "Listen we're going to see some tough times when the sand is not white and the water is not green anymore."
"The message today is looking forward," said Dan Rowe, with the Bay County Tourist Development Council. "To look at the Gulf Coast region and say how do we build a strong economy." Michelle Obama began her day in Kansas City, Mo., where she spoke at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's national convention in Kansas City.
At that stop, Obama said Americans need to change their eating habits to avoid producing the nation's first generation of children who live shorter lives than their parents.
She spoke to the standing-room-only audience at Bartle Hall about her childhood, when she walked to school and ate whatever her mother put in front of her.
Obama touted her "Let's Move" campaign to cut childhood obesity, a problem she says will lead to other illnesses, such as diabetes.
(Compiled by the Press-Register with contributions from Miami Herald pool coverage of the Panama City visit and an account of the NAACP appearance from The Associated Press. Report last updated at 4:13 p.m.)
No mention that she and her family are heading up to the Maine coast this weekend?
‘There are still 1000s of miles of beaches not touched by the spill’
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln...
No.
No mention of why Jug Ears and the kids aren’t planning a vacation to those untouched beaches
That’s bad, but hilarious at the same time!! I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there!!!
At least Bigfoot is likeable. MO is a reprehensible POS.
The Obama’s are a disaster for America.
“There are still 1,000’s of businesses we haven’t ruined!! There are 1,000’s of personal assets we haven’t seized!! There are 1.000’s of new taxes we haven’t even yet passed!!! America, Barack and I will destroy you!”
no thanks to your sloth moving husband
It’s a 40,000 fine and a felony charge if you take a picture of an oil-spilled bird.
Thousands miles of Gulf beaches?? She seems to count mile as they count votes...
"I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad."
EXACTLY. Lead by example. Take your little children to play in the toxic Gulf waters. Watch what they do, NOT what they say.
Do we have two Presidents and two Air Force Ones now. or is the Kenyan so busy playing golf he doesnt have the time to attend meetings.
and 663 miles of those beaches are actually in Florida
True
They inspire us, the future leaders and do-ers amoung us, to LEAD by their most terrible example.
Michelle opines on how we have it good because life could be so much more awful, just to make us feel better. What a sweetheart.
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