State
Meridian begins $120 million wastewater collection improvements
WTOK
MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - Meridian City Council members authorized a $120 million project to install a new wastewater collection system in the Queen City. Newscenter 11 spoke with a council member that calls this the largest Public Works project the city has ever entered into.
This $120 million project was mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency due to sewer overflow.
Fishing in Mississippi: Popular lake known for big bass and bream set to reopen in August
Clarion Ledger
If boat sales and fishing license sales are indicators, Mississippians are spending a lot of time on the water during the coronavirus pandemic and as luck would have it, a once-popular lake is scheduled to reopen for boating and fishing next month. Old Natchez Trace Lake at Trace State Park near Pontotoc was closed for dam repairs in 2017, but is set to reopen on Aug. 5 at 6 a.m.
CWD management zones: Reduction in size tabled, management changes are ahead
Clarion Ledger
Amid confusion and a lack of support, the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks voted against creating chronic wasting disease surveillance zones and reducing the size of chronic wasting disease management zones in this month's meeting.
SECRETARY OF STATE TRANSFERS TAX-FORFEITED PROPERTY TO THE CITY OF DIAMONDHEAD
WXXV
Diamondhead, MS – The Secretary of State’s Office announced the transfer of 12 parcels to the City of Diamondhead to assist with drainage improvements near the Coon Branch area.
State Government
PostMask mandate expected to be extended, possible additional counties added
MPB
A mask mandate that was set to expire today is expected to be extended an additional two weeks. And health officials are warning that Mississippi has widespread community transmission.
Mississippi top doc: COVID 'solution is not to get infected'
AP
JACKSON -- Mississippi is hiring more people to investigate the spread of COVID-19, but cases are expanding rapidly in the state and the work is outpacing the number of employees.
Regional
Breakdown: Why bad air quality could affect your health
WMC
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - In the summer months, air quality alerts get issued more than any other time of the year. In this episode of the Breakdown, we will explain why air quality alerts matter and how they get issued.
Slimy invader is attacking Louisiana where it counts: crawfish and rice farms
NOLA.com
First it came for your wetlands. Now it’s coming for your crawfish and your rice.
A foreign snail that appeared in Louisiana just over 10 years ago and quickly infested ponds, bayous and streams in about 30 parishes has recently found its way to the farms that produce two of the state’s favorite foods.
National
The Link Between Parkinson’s Disease and Toxic Chemicals
NYT
Michael Richard Clifford, a 66-year-old retired astronaut living in Cary, N.C., learned before his third spaceflight that he had Parkinson’s disease. He was only 44 and in excellent health at the time, and had no family history of this disabling neurological disorder.
EPA top official will visit Cleveland to announce Lake Erie clean-up grant
Cleaveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler will visit Ohio this week to announce details about a grant that will help clean up Lake Erie.
EPA aims to take East Chicago homes off toxic Superfund list
AP
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to remove hundreds of once-contaminated East Chicago properties from its National Priorities List to spur development in the northwestern Indiana city that could potentially qualify homes for interior lead abatement.
Stirring in the oil patch, Chevron buys Noble for $5 billion
AP
Chevron will take over Noble Energy for $5 billion in the first big deal announced since the coronavirus pandemic shook the energy sector.
Opinion
My family has worked boats off Biloxi for 4 generations. Here’s why coastal conservation is vital.
LOUIS SKRMETTA
SUN HERALD
I’m a tour-boat operator in Biloxi, on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
My family has been here for three generations before me as part of the rich seafood and tourism fabric of Biloxi. COVID-19 has hit my business and the businesses that rely on a healthy Mississippi Sound hard — but development, environmental degradation, and especially overfishing have been impacting it for years now.
