Wednesday, December 2, 2020

News Clippings December 2, 2020

State

Zeta cleanup and recovery continues in Pass Christian
WXXV

Hurricane season is now officially behind us, but cleanup and recovery is far from over here in South Mississippi. Debris removal is in full swing in Pass Christian as cleanup and recovery continues.

Harrison County Sand Beach crews work to restore the 100+ benches destroyed during Zeta
WLOX

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - It has been a little over a month since Hurricane Zeta hit South Mississippi, and there’s still a lot of work left to do.

City Officials Apologize for Confusion Created by Code Red Alert
Vicksburg Post


Atmos Energy presents rebate check to Lauderdale County School District
WTOK

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WTOK) - Atmos Energy presented a rebate check to the Lauderdale County School District Tuesday.


State Government

13 Mississippi counties added to mask mandate order
MPB

Coronavirus spread has reached an all-time high in Mississippi as the rolling average tops 14 hundred new cases per day, and the Governor has added more counties to his executive order with a mask mandate.

Taylor McNeel confirmed to federal bench by U.S. Senate
NewsMS

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Taylor McNeel of Pascagoula as the newest jurist for the Southern District of Mississippi.  


Oil Spill

City, State buy USA Foundation Brookley property for $33 million
WKRG

MOBILE, Ala (WKRG) — It may be the most consequential real estate deal in Mobile in decades. Tuesday the University of South Alabama Foundation sold 300 acres at the Brookley Aeroplex to the City of Mobile and the State of Alabama.

 
Regional

Alligators can regrow tails? Yes, and it can help them in murky waters, study finds
Miami Herald

Alligators can grow back their tails, and that may help the massive reptiles thrive in murky waters, a new study finds.

‘Major milestone’ in removal of sunken ship off Georgia coast
AJC

Salvage workers on the Georgia coast are set to begin cutting the second section of the Golden Ray, the massive cargo ship that ran aground just over a year ago in the St. Simons Sound, after crews hit a milestone in removal operations this weekend.


National

Special Report: U.S. air monitors routinely miss pollution - even refinery explosions
Reuters

When explosions ripped through a Philadelphia oil refinery last year, the shock waves knocked Felicia Menna’s front door frame out of place. Then came the black smoke.

Big Companies Urge Biden, Congress to Address Climate Change
WSJ

WASHINGTON—A broad cross section of big U.S. corporations including Amazon.com Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Ford Motor Co. are calling on Congress to work closely with President-elect Joe Biden to address the threat of climate change.

EPA misses deadline, leaving ethanol policy in limbo
The Hill

The Trump administration failed to renew its biofuels policy by the Monday deadline, once again sidestepping a battle between the oil and the ethanol industries.

Cancer risk higher for over 6.3 million Texans who live near oil refineries, study says
Sacramento Bee

Living in proximity to an oil refinery significantly increases the risk of cancer, according to a Texas study.

Senate approves two energy regulators, completing panel
The Hill

Two nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) were confirmed to the panel by voice votes on Monday. 

45% of Iowa waters impaired, including Lake Macbride, parts of Cedar and Iowa rivers
The Gazette

Iowa has fewer lakes, rivers and streams on its 2020 draft list of impaired waters compared with the 2018 review cycle, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported.

N.J. environmental chief is retiring after 3 years and 13 major lawsuits filed against polluters
NJ.com

The Garden State’s top environmental official is retiring after serving three years in Gov. Phil Murphy’s cabinet.


Press Releases

Governor Tate Reeves Announces Additional COVID-19 Measures
JACKSON — Today, Governor Tate Reeves announced 13 additional counties that have qualified and met certain requirements to be placed under mask mandates with his “Safe Recovery” executive order that is in effect until December 11th.