This was posted by someone on a Destin, Florida local news forum:

I am a local here, and so far we've got a very slight chance of being affected by the tragic oil spill, and therefore, currently on May 1st, we have no signs of the oil spill present in our town. We are too, very worried about it as it'd be worse than a category 5 hurricane, so they predict. I'd guess it won't happen, but personally, I'm preparing for the worst.

and this:

I am on Okaloosa Island right now, and there is no imminent threat of oil on the beach for now. It is still a long way out. Anyone who has early May plans in Destin or Ft Walton

Beach should be fine. It will probably be okay for all of May. And of course, the hope is that it will be kept away from the beaches all summer!

Something Rotten in Mobile?

Here's an interesting report from the Mobile Press-Register on whether there's actually a noticeable smell of oil along the Alabama coast.  My gut reaction is there may be a lot of false alarms being set off as a result of the threat.

Where's the Oil?

 The BBC has an interesting forecast map of the oil slick:

They also reported on BP's 3-pronged effort to contain the spill:

- Undersea robots are working on the safety valve which failed, allowing the oil to escape

- A containment vessel is being sent to the site and would, in effect, suck up the escaped oil 

-BP is drilling a new well to help relieve the pressure and stem the flow from the rupture

The Waiting

NPR really captured the excruciating waiting game pervading the Gulf Coast as the region waits to see just how bad things are going to get.

Bye, Bye Gulf Seafood

Andalusia, Alabama is a town of about 9,000 located approximately 77 miles north of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Restauranteurs there are planning to say goodbye to Gulf shrimp, oysters, flounder, grouper and crawfish.

Dead Turtles, Jellyfish, Washing Ashore

This morning the LA Times blog and others reported as many as 23 dead sea turtles, double the normal amount, washing ashore on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Now, the New Orleans Times-Picayune is also reporting and unusually large number of dead jellyfish washing ashore.

In the Beginning...

An oil rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2010. In the nearly two weeks since, an immeasurable amount of oil has spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. There is uncertainty as to who or what will be most damaged.

We hope to catalog the damage and track the effects of this ecological disaster and the Gulf Coast's hopeful recovery from yet another tragic event.

If you have stories about the impacts of this oil disaster at the local level: fishermen who are out of work in your town, restaurants whose businesses have been hampered, tourism losses in a particular city, please send them to us at gulfrecovery@gmail.com.