State
Mississippi Funds New School Buses, Conditions Awards on Anti-Idling Policy Adoption
ECOS
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has awarded $295,920 to 17 school districts to apply to the purchase of new school buses for the upcoming school year.
SUNDAY FOCUS: Illegal dumping a serious issue in area
Vicksburg Post
Of the many problems facing city and county government, one of the most serious is illegal dumping.
SUNDAY FOCUS: Anti-litter committee wants efforts increased
Vicksburg Post
A group of local individuals are committed to battling litter in Vicksburg and Warren County, while also bringing awareness to the community about the negative impact litter has environmentally, as well as economically.
3 companies want Brookhaven’s trash contract
Daily Leader
The fate of the city’s garbage is in Brookhaven aldermen’s hands.
Former Miss. Power president, who helped lead the Coast after Katrina, dies from ALS
Sun Herald
Anthony Topazi, a former Mississippi Power Co. president who worked tirelessly to unify and rebuild South Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, died Friday from complications from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
This monster of an alligator once roamed Mississippi
Clarion Ledger
Deinosuchus isn't a name you hear every day, and there's a reason for that — the creature has been extinct for millions of years. But when it lived, it was an alligator of incredible size, and some of them lived in what is now Mississippi.
State Government
Bryant wants transportation funding session, but no deal yet
AP
Mississippi lawmakers could be called into special session in August to earmark money for transportation, but it's unclear how close they might be to a deal as key House members say they've had little communication with senators and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
Mississippi governor names Shad White as new state auditor
AP
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Friday named an attorney who leads a conservative legal group to be the new state auditor.
Analysis: Bryant appointments could shape Mississippi future
AP
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant readily acknowledges he's in office today partly because he got a hand up from his mentor, Republican former Gov. Kirk Fordice.
Now, Bryant could be shaping the state's political future by reaching down and helping other politicians advance their careers.
Forestry commission sends ground support to Colorado
WTOK
The Mississippi Forestry Commission has deployed a ground support unit leader to Colorado to assist state and federal partners with wildfire suppression efforts.
Oil Spill
POPPS FERRY CAUSEWAY PARK UPDATE
WXXV
Coast residents have been waiting for the Popps Ferry Causeway Park to open for the last 30 years.
Study examines what lives in the Gulf of Mexico after BP disaster
Tampa Bay Times
TAMPA — Eight years ago, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank off Louisiana, one of the big problems facing scientists trying to assess the damage caused by the oil spill was that no one knew much about what lives in the Gulf of Mexico.
Regional
EPA to investigate Alabama's environmental agency
Al.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's civil rights office has formally agreed to investigate the Alabama Department of Environmental Management's civil rights policies, in a move that could jeopardize millions of dollars in federal grants that ADEM receives every year.
TVA absorbing higher costs to cool new Memphis power plant
Commercial Appeal
Rising 77 feet above the bustle of Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park, the two newly built 2.5 million-gallon storage tanks at the Allen Combined Cycle Plantstand as shiny symbols of a massive and costly change in plans.
Key witnesses take the stand in week two of federal bribery trial of Balch lawyers and coal VP
Al.com
Week two in the federal bribery trial of two lawyers and a coal company executive saw the prosecution's key witness - a former state legislator who they allegedly bribed - take the stand.
National
Acting EPA Chief Plans to Stick With Trump’s Priorities
Andrew Wheeler says the agency will push for changes in the Clean Power Plan and improve how it deals with polluters and environmental crises
WSJ
The acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday he plans to stick with President Donald Trump’s priorities, including changing the Clean Power Plan, de-emphasizing climate-change initiatives and improving how the agency deals with polluters and environmental crises.
Incoming EPA chief: ‘This is the right job for me.’
Washington Post
In some ways, Andrew Wheeler — former Environmental Protection Agency career staffer, Republican Senate aide, energy lobbyist — could hardly be more different from the man he is replacing as head of the EPA.
EPA’s relief and worries after scandal-plagued chief’s exit
PBS
WASHINGTON — Taking over from an ambitious predecessor known for seeking out the rich, powerful and conservative, the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly named acting chief has promised to reach out to anxious staffers throughout the demoralized agency and to lawmakers of both political parties.
Pruitt Is Gone. But These Five E.P.A. Policy Battles Are Still Ahead.
NYT
Scott Pruitt is gone. But the big regulatory rollbacks he set in motion at the Environmental Protection Agency are still very much alive.
Pruitt grants loophole to 'super polluting' diesel truck manufacturers on last day at EPA
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday granted a loophole to allow increased manufacturing of a kind of diesel freight truck known as “super polluting.”
Sources: EPA blocks warnings on cancer-causing chemical
Burying the formaldehyde study is part of an effort by Pruitt and aides to undermine EPA's research program, current and former officials tell POLITICO.
Politico
The Trump administration is suppressing an Environmental Protection Agency report that warns that most Americans inhale enough formaldehyde vapor in the course of daily life to put them at risk of developing leukemia and other ailments, a current and a former agency official told POLITICO.
New Railroad Switchers, Clean Buses: D.C. Unveils Plans For Spending Volkswagen Settlement
WAMU
The District says it plans to spend its portion of a national settlement with Volkswagen on new locomotive switchers for Union Station and electric buses that serve communities more adversely affected by air pollution.
Starbucks is eliminating plastic straws from all stores
CNN
The coffee company announced Monday that it will phase out plastic straws from all of its stores by 2020.
Opinion
BILL CRAWFORD — PERS financial soundness not so hunky-dory after all
MBJ
Here we go again. PERS is bumping employer contribution rates, again, to try and keep the retirement system actuarially sound. The Associated Press reported it will cost taxpayers an extra $100 million annually to do so.
