State
Parents of Sophia Myers react to call for environmental study
WLOX
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) -Since the moment Joshua and Angel Myers learned their daughter, Sophia, 7, was terminally ill, they questioned how seemingly overnight she developed a rare and highly aggressive brain tumor.
Judge: Government doesn't have to pay tug owner for cleanup
AP
JACKSON, Miss. – A federal judge has denied an attempt to make the federal government pay for more of the cleanup of an oil spill on the Mississippi River where a tugboat pushed a barge into a railroad bridge.
After talking trash in court, it’s not yet clear who is picking up garbage come Oct. 1
Sun Herald
It’s not clear who is picking up garbage in each city in Harrison County beginning in October, even after a court hearing Monday that detailed a small portion the trash battle between the City of Gulfport and the Harrison County Utility Authority.
When it comes to litter, Pascagoula officials hope to lead by example
Sun Herald
The City Council is trying to get citizens interested in picking up trash in their city, so they have been gathering once a month to try it themselves.
‘A number of drivers reported fish-tailing’ after hydraulic oil spill in Biloxi
Sun Herald
A mechanical failure on a Waste Pro truck spilled more than 70 gallons of hydraulic fuel Monday, causing cars to fish-tail until public safety workers shut down parts of Atkinson and Popp’s Ferry roads, officials said.
Hydraulic fluid spill affecting traffic in Biloxi
WLOX
Both lanes of Popp’s Ferry Rd. in Biloxi are now open, but traffic in the area could still be heavy. The road was down to one lane earlier Monday due to a hydraulic fluid spill.
HYDRAULIC FLUID SPILLS ON POPPS FERRY ROAD
WXXV
A hydraulic fluid spill was causing traffic delays on Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi.
Mississippi Power solar facility operating in Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg American
The sun was burning bright Friday morning as dozens of officials cut the ribbon on Hattiesburg's new solar facility, a partnership between Mississippi Power Co. and Silicon Ranch.
MS Power asks PSC to reconsider Kemper settlement
WLOX
JACKSON, MS (WLOX) -Mississippi Power is asking the Mississippi Public Service Commission to reconsider a settlement agreement in its Kemper County project.
State Government
PSC’s Presley: Only 30 percent of state utility spending went to Mississippi firms
MBJ
The origin of Public Service Commission’s new “Hire Mississippi” rule is simple.
Port of Gulfport suing West Pier contractor for $5.8 million
Sun Herald
The state port is suing one of its contractors for $5.8 million, plus punitive damages, over a major construction contract that is now about one year and six months behind schedule.
UK hopes to expand U.S. trade by opening Mississippi office
Clarion Ledger
Great Britain plans to open a U.S. branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society in Mississippi, part of a push to strengthen U.K.-U.S. ties and trade post-Brexit, British news agencies are reporting.
National
Evidence of spills at toxic site during floods
AP
PASADENA, Texas (AP) — The U.S. government received reports of three spills at one of Houston’s dirtiest Superfund toxic waste sites in the days after the drenching rains from Hurricane Harvey finally stopped. Aerial photos reviewed by The Associated Press show dark-colored water surrounding the site as the floods receded, flowing through Vince Bayou and into the city’s ship channel.
White House Says It Reiterated Its Stance on Paris Climate Deal
Economic chief Gary Cohn held meeting in New York ahead of U.N. gathering
WSJ
UNITED NATIONS—The White House reiterated on Monday that its stance on the Paris climate accord hasn’t changed, following signals over the weekend that the U.S. was exploring ways to remain in the 2015 pact.
Looming Chinese Import Ban Creates U.S. Recycling Bottleneck
Bloomberg
It soon could become much harder for recycling centers across the U.S. to turn a profit, and some instead could divert reusable materials to landfills, thanks to a looming Chinese import ban on certain types of recycled materials.
Noisy, but that's not all: Leaf blowers flagged as polluters, possible health threat
FairWarning
Five years after starting his first job with a landscaping crew in the suburbs of Seattle, Fredi Dubon decided he had enough and called it quits. The work days were long, sometimes 12 hours, but a bigger problem was having to inhale exhaust from his gas-powered leaf blower.
Press releases
Minnesota Artist Bob Hautman Wins 2017 Federal Duck Stamp Contest
WASHINGTON – Bob Hautman, an artist from Delano, Minn., is the winner of the 2017 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. The announcement was made today by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Principal Deputy Director Greg Sheehan at the annual art contest, held at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at the Noel Fine Arts Center.
Hautman’s acrylic painting of a pair of mallards will be made into the 2018-2019 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2018. The Service produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $25 and raises nearly $40 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.
“Our nation’s waterfowl hunters and other sportsmen and women have a long tradition of leading the way in conserving wildlife and habitat,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “There is no better example of this than the Duck Stamp, one of the most successful conservation programs in U.S. history, through which hunters have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars since its inception eight decades ago.”
“Congratulations to Bob Hautman on his win today,” Sheehan said. “He is part of a collection of talented wildlife artists whose work has helped conserve habitat not just for waterfowl, but for a vast diversity of wildlife, and helped create and maintain hundreds of places where hunters, anglers and outdoors enthusiasts of all stripes can enjoy their passion.”
This is Hautman’s third Federal Duck Stamp Contest win. His art previously appeared on the 1997-1998 and 2001-2002 Federal Duck Stamps.
Hautman’s brothers, Jim and Joe, are also multiple Duck Stamp artists, having each won the contest five times.
Of 215 entries in this year’s competition, 12 entries made it to the final round of judging today. Eligible species for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were the mallard, gadwall, cinnamon teal, blue-winged teal and harlequin duck.
Greg Alexander of Ashland, Wis., placed second with his acrylic painting of a cinnamon teal; Christine Clayton of Sidney, Ohio, took third place with her oil painting of a blue-winged teal.
In 2000, Clayton won the National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest with a painting of a northern pintail. She was 17 at the time.
The judges for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were: Dr. Jacob Straub, a waterfowl biologist and the Wetlands and Waterfowl Conservation Chair in UW-Stevens Point’s College of Natural Resources; Jane Kim, an artist and science illustrator; Robert Spoerl, a lifelong hunter and conservationist with a passion for waterfowl; Tim Pearson, an artist - and flyfishing guide - who paints mostly in watercolors, inspired by the waters and surrounding wilderness of Lake Superior; and Richard Prager, an avid collector of Federal and Junior Duck Stamps and Duck Stamp remarques and original artwork.
“A huge thank-you goes to the faculty, staff and students of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for hosting the contest this year,” said Sheehan. “The UW-Stevens Point’s College of Natural Resources is one of the nation’s premier natural resources programs and has historical connections with the Service as the alma mater of a number of our staff and top agency leaders.”
Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the current Federal Duck Stamp. Many non-hunters, including birdwatchers, conservationists, stamp collectors and others also purchase the stamp in support of habitat conservation. Additionally, a current Federal Duck Stamp can be used for free admission to any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee.
Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from sales of the Federal Duck Stamp go to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which supports the protection of migratory bird habitat within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
