Vilano Beach site of Hands across the Sand event

Ashley Usina invited local Historic City News readers to come out to Vilano Beach and participate this Saturday in the local “Hands across the Sand” gathering to raise awareness about the dangers of offshore drilling and to call on leaders to move America into a clean energy future.

This event is scheduled to be held on Saturday, June 26th at 12:00 noon. Participants will begin arriving at about 11:00 a.m. and the event will be over at 1:00 p.m.

“The image is powerful, the message simple,” said event founder Dave Rauschkolb. “No to offshore oil drilling, yes to clean energy. We are drawing a line in the sand against offshore oil drilling along America’s beaches and in solidarity events across America and around the world. No one industry should be able to place entire coastal economies and marine environments at risk with dangerous, dirty mistakes.”

Rauschkolb is a surfer and the owner of three restaurants on the beach in Seaside, Florida, located on the northern Gulf Coast between Pensacola and Panama City.

He founded “Hands across the Sand” in October of 2009. He organized a statewide gathering on February 13, 2010, to send a message to Florida‘s legislators and Governor Crist that Floridians did not want them to lift the bans on near and offshore oil drilling in Florida’s waters. Thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola Beach. Lifting of the near shore ban would have brought oil rigs as close as three miles from Florida‘s shores. Shortly after the event the Florida Legislature tabled the plans.

Facebook users can visit this link to learn more about this Saturday’s local event.