Best of the Bay 2010: Best Grassroots Activist Event

The Critics' Pick for Best grassroots activist event: Hands Across the Sand

Two months before the Deepwater Horizon volcano blew its black tide of toxic funk, the people of Florida came to the beaches, joined hands and told our state legislature how they felt about drilling our coasts. Hands Across the Sand turned out 10,000 people on 80 beaches around the state on a very cold, windy day in February. The Tampa Bay area was the big star of the day, with 3,000 people on 16 Pinellas beaches. Four days before the rig explosion, the legislature backed down and dropped its plans for drilling within the 3-12 mile coastal zone.

Check out the rest of the winners from the BOTB 2010 Readers' Poll and Critics' Picks.

This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2010.