Better MS Report

The Clarion-Ledger: We might not want to call it the Mississippi Miracle just yet, but news that state revenue has perked up should end some “poor mouthing” by politicians that there won’t be enough money to adequately fund education next year. State government ended the fiscal year June 30 with about $62 million in the [...]

The Sun Herald: Ward 4 Councilman Rusty Walker said Tuesday he’s upset with BP’s offer to the city to cover damages from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil gusher, as well as how the company is dealing with city officials. Walker said the company’s offer of about $77,000 works out to about $1.11 per resident for damages [...]

THE MISSISSIPPI PRESS: Shrimp landings in Mississippi are the highest since 2007′s bountiful early brown shrimp season, said Traci Floyd, director of the state Department of Marine Resources Shrimp and Crab Bureau. Floyd said 903,908 pounds of brown shrimp were landed in the two weeks after the brown shrimp season started on May 25. In [...]

THE MISSISSIPPI PRESS: Enough Mississippi River water was discharged through the Bonnet Carre Spillway to fill the Mississippi Sound to a depth of 14.5 feet, according to Scott Gordon of the state Department of Marine Resources. Gordon reported to the state Commission on Marine Resources at its Tuesday meeting that the spillway gates were closed [...]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: An internal investigation by the owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year largely blames oil giant BP for the disaster. The Transocean report released today said the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill was the result of a succession of well design, [...]

THE CLARION-LEDGER: If you spark a wildfire while shooting fireworks in Copiah County, be prepared to pay for any damages incurred. That’s the message officials in Copiah County want citizens to get. The county is one of 10 in the state under a burn ban because of extremely dry weather. Copiah Emergency Operations Center Director [...]

THE CLARION-LEDGER: Relief from dry, hot days is forecast in the form of rain Tuesday. The weather has been warmer than normal for the month of June, but tropical moisture from the Gulf is making its way here. That’s good news considering the area has not received over an inch of rain since April 21, [...]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: James Winters walked slowly through the sweltering remains of his waterlogged home, then wiped the sweat from his brow and pointed to a ceiling fan – the sagging blades were covered in mold because the Mississippi River flooded the house to the roof. “I don’t know if I can save this place,” [...]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: The cost of repairing Mississippi River levees damaged by this year’s historic flooding could reach $1 billion, but it’s not clear how much funding will be available, a high ranking U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official said Thursday. Col. Thatch Shepard, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi River [...]

The Mississippi Press: The Mississippi shrimp season, which had a record early opening, is unfolding as one of the best since right after Hurricane Katrina, said Traci Floyd, director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Shrimp and Crab Bureau. The shrimp are running small — mostly 41 to 60 shrimp per pound — but [...]