Pinellas County To Host Red Tide Summit

From Pinellas County: Pinellas County and City of Indian Rocks Beach will host a Red Tide Summit on Thursday, March 28, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort at Clearwater Beach. Moderated by Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Joanne “Cookie” Kennedy, the event will bring together the community and leading authorities on Red Tide to discuss the science, public health, management actions, economic impacts and what citizens can do to promote healthy water quality.

Attendees can learn about the latest technological advances and ongoing research, including impacts to local reef systems, red tide monitoring, new innovative tools and the use of satellite imagery and forecast modeling. Citizens without tickets can watch live on the pcctv1 YouTube channel.

Speakers will include Kelli Hammer Levy, Pinellas County; Gregg Mims, Indian Rocks Beach; Dr. Kate Hubbard, FWC; Dr. Robert Weisberg, USF; Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System; Dr. Richard Stumpf, NOAA; Brittany Barbara, Reef Monitoring, Inc.; Kurt Forster, business expert; and Randy Deshazo, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

The program will include two sessions during which attendees may ask questions.

· Event planned for 6 – 8:30 p.m., Thursday, March 28 at Sheraton Sand Key Resort
· Media planning to attend should RSVP to Marketing & Communications, (727) 464-4600
· Event is full. General public must have an EventBrite ticket to attend
· All parking is at Sand Key Park, 1060 Gulf Boulevard, just north of the hotel

Pinellas County to stream the event live to the pcctv1 YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8raGjOfUWLU