As a way to pass the terribly dull hours of Friday afternoon, let’s wrap up what’s been going on this week: Compiled a spreadsheet of all the property on Oak Street (above) to help us determine what properties might need zoning changes or help rebuilding. Perversely, this was a lot of fun. Piles were driven for Hung’s house on Crawford Street (see previous post). Apparently, they ran into just about every obstacle under the sun, including a huge taproot about 6 feet down, but succeeded in the end. My floor plans for the Nguyen family (a four-bedroom house just across …

Rebuilding Infrastructure & Culture on Biloxi’s Oak Street February 27, 2008 by Elise Roberts, WLOX It was a meeting of the minds for some people who live in East Biloxi. Wednesday night people came together to give their feedback on plans to revitalize the Oak Street community. “We lost so much of the face of our community, and that’s something we cannot reclaim,” said Thao Vu with the Boat People SOS. Vu says after Hurricane Katrina, very few homes and businesses returned to the area. Instead, many relocated to D’Iberville and Ocean Springs. That’s why her organization, as well as …

Oak Street is the bookend for my mental map of East Biloxi, the last real stop of consequence before you head east to Ocean Springs. It’s not only because most of my projects are within a few blocks of the street, although (from east to west) Hoxie, Crawford, and Rosetti Streets are all ones I visit often. It’s the character of the street; even in its diminished state, you find the Vietnamese/French “Le Bakery”, the “Pho 777” restaurant, the Hong Kong Market with its (to me) exotic foods, several convenience stores, the Vietnamese church and Buddhist temple, and more. Spanning …