State
Water advisories in effect on some Coast beaches as spring break begins
WLOX
Spring break is here, which usually means more people out at the beach enjoying the beautiful Gulf Coast. But some South Mississippi beaches have water advisories in place right now, which means swimming is not recommended.
$76 million transformation planned for Point Cadet
WLOX
Plans are in the works to transform a section of Biloxi's waterfront.
The Point Cadet Enterprise project would be geared at bringing a lot more visitors to South Mississippi.
Toyota Mississippi president: 'We have a bright future'
Daily Journal
NEW ALBANY – Sean Suggs has been president of the Toyota Mississippi assembly plant in Blue Springs for three months, and he marvels every day at the people working under his tutelage.
CHILD'S PRAYER
Northside Sun
The simple prayer of a child for the patients of Batson Children’s Hospital brought about a $1.5 million gift from the Van Devender Family Foundation to expand pediatric care at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).
State Government
State Rep. Gipson named Mississippi agriculture commissioner
AP
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday appointed a third-term state lawmaker to be the state’s new agriculture commissioner.
Analysis: Mississippi lawmakers leave big issues unresolved
AP
Leaders of the Republican-dominated Mississippi Legislature put only a few big items on their to-do list for 2018, and two of the biggest — education and transportation— remained unresolved when the nearly three-month session was gaveled to a close Wednesday.
Mark Keenum Elected to Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History
MBJ
Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University, has been elected to the board of trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, pending confirmation by the Mississippi State Senate.
Oil Spill
Why the bill to get BP money to the Coast didn’t get passed
Sun Herald
Another legislative session ended Wednesday with about $700 million in BP economic damages money unprotected from the grasp of upstate lawmakers.
Regional
New York City’s Sewage Shipment Runs Afoul in Rural South
Alabamans want human-waste deliveries to local landfill to stop; ‘We didn’t produce it. We don’t want it here.’
WSJ
New York City is famous for a lot of things: the Yankees, Times Square, bagels.
But 1,000 miles away in rural northern Alabama, it has become infamous for about 200 shipping containers full of sewage sludge that came by rail from the Big Apple. They have been rotting on train cars for six weeks, stalled on the way to a nearby landfill.
Lake Charles area petrochemical firms to pay $11 million for hazardous waste violations
Times-Picayune
Three major Lake Charles-area petrochemical companies have agreed to pay $11 million to federal and Louisiana government agencies to settle charges that they illegally disposed of hazardous waste that damaged natural resources in part of the Calcasieu River estuary for decades, according to a notice in the Thursday (March 29) edition of the Federal Register.
Congress pours money into fight against Louisiana's wetland pest
Times-Picayune
National
States Go to Forefront as EPA Chips Away at Backlog of Decisions
Bloomberg
Shifting the burden of environmental protection to states could speed approvals of air and water permits that businesses need to operate, as the EPA tries to halve its backlog of overdue decisions.
EPA pushes informal policy to deal with polluters outside courts
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embracing an informal policy that would enable polluters to come to an agreement with the agency outside of the federal justice system.
How do coyotes thrive in urban areas? The answer is not for the weak-stomached
LA Times
Danielle Martinez donned a lab coat, pulled on a pair of latex gloves and adjusted her safety goggles in preparation for one of biology’s little surprises.
A century after WWI, munitions still making way onto beaches
AP
MANTOLOKING, N.J.
It's been 100 years since World War I ended, yet munitions from that and other wars continue to surface on beaches around the United States.
Press releases
Ronnie Daniels appointed to CMR
BILOXI, Miss. – Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed Ronnie Daniels to the state Commission on Marine Resources to represent charter boat fishermen. Daniels begins his term July 1. He will replace Ron Harmon, who currently represents charter boat fishermen. Harmon’s term ends June 30.
“I have enjoyed serving on the Commission,” Harmon said, “but my work obligations have made it difficult for me to devote the time needed to represent charter boat fishermen.”
Daniels owns Fisher-Man Guide Service and has 20 years of fishing experience. He lives in Pass Christian with his wife Jamie and their two children, Abigail and Fisher.
“I am honored to be asked to serve on the Commission,” Daniels said. “I am very excited about all this term will bring.”
