Jackson Mississippi News as its happening

Category — Jackson, Mississippi

Delta changing flight schedule

TUPELO — Delta Airlines has moved its morning flight to Memphis from Tupelo Regional Airport to the afternoon. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the change takes effect April 5.

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Report finds state’s roads among deadliest

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Reader’s Digest revealed the best, worst and deadliest roads in America, and exposed the risks drivers pose to themselves and others.

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Rocket engine passes early tests

HANCOCK COUNTY — Aerojet, a GenCorp company, and Orbital Sciences Corporation, along with Aerojet’s Russian partner, SNTK, announced that a series of NK-33 rocket engine tests conducted in Samara, Russia, were successfully completed in support of the development of Orbital’s Taurus II space launch vehicle.

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Ex-MVSU president dies at home

ITTA BENA — Ernest A. Boykins Jr., who lead Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) as its president for 10 years, has died. He was 78. Boykins died Sunday at his home after a lengthy illness, the university announced on its web site. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

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Mortgage report finds state ranks high in bad loans

The Feb. 2010 Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing Services Inc., shows that while delinquency rates in the U.S. have risen to historic highs, the pace of deterioration has slowed.

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Home builders lose confidence

LOS ANGELES — The National Association of Home Builders says its housing market index slipped in March, as harsh winter weather and competition from foreclosed properties hurt builders’ sales prospects.

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Let the Madness begin

Conversation in offices around the state have likely, at some point, turned to Mississippi State’s devastating loss to Kentucky yesterday in the championship game of the SEC Tournament, and to March Madness as a whole.

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Humphreys leaving DRMC to lead Anderson

GREENVILLE and MERIDIAN — L. Ray Humphreys, who has led Delta Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Greenville as CEO/president for the past nine years, has resigned to accept the position of CEO of Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian.

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Investigators puzzled by findings of Toyota probe

The U.S. government said today it cannot explain a reported incident of sudden, high-speed acceleration in a Toyota Prius on a San Diego, California, freeway last week.

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World markets affected by U.S. banking reform

LONDON — World stock markets fell today as investors fretted about the status of banking reform in the U.S. and awaited confirmation of a rescue package for debt-laden Greece. The British pound slipped amid growing British political and economic concerns.

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Pepsi buying back shares for $15B

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo says it will buy back up to $15 billion shares of its common stock through June 2013. The world’s second-biggest soft drink seller previously said today it expects to repurchase about $4.4 billion shares this year.

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Phillips-Van Heusen buying Tommy Hilfiger for $3B

NEW YORK — Phillips-Van Heusen says it will buy privately held Tommy Hilfiger in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $3 billion, creating one of the world’s biggest clothing companies.

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City leaders extend business ban

CLINTON — New businesses, including payday and title loan shops, pawnshops and tattoo parlors, still cannot open in Clinton. For the second time, Clinton aldermen have extended a 90-day moratorium on new businesses while crafting a zoning ordinance.

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L-3 Vertex lands NASA contract

MADISON — NASA has selected L-3 Vertex Aerospace to receive a contract for aircraft and airfield related services at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The contract has a maximum value of $20 million.

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Delta county getting high-speed Internet

CLARKSDALE — Clarksdale and Coahoma County residents will soon have high-speed Internet access thanks to a partnership between the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) and the Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA).

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Hancock Fabrics makes money

BALDWYN — Craft and fabric retailer Hancock Fabrics reports net income of $1.8 million for fiscal 2009 — its first annual profit in five years.

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MEMA accused of misspending Katrina funds

PEARL — The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency misspent nearly $18 million in Hurricane Katrina reconstruction grants, and should pay it back — with nearly $1 million interest, federal auditors say.

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Another city mulls smoking ban

BRANDON — The Brandon Board of Aldermen is considering a ban on smoking tobacco in groceries, restaurants and retail businesses. And Ridgeland is thinking about making its tobacco ban even tougher, forbidding smoking even on city parking lots and property next to city buildings.

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American Airlines may face more fines

DALLAS — Federal regulators are proposing more maintenance-related penalties against American Airlines. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would fine American $787,500 for three cases of alleged maintenance problems.

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The Med to get Medicaid payments

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mississippi can use supplemental Medicaid payments to reimburse the Regional Medical Center (The Med) at Memphis for the cost of treating Mississippi residents.

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Lawmakers pass cut-and-sew bill

JACKSON — The state Senate has passed a bill to provide help to the cut-and-sew industry in Mississippi. The bill, passed March 11, would provide a $2,000 tax credit for each new cut-and-sew employee hired in the ailing furniture industry.

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Cochran pushes water projects as job-creators

WASHINGTON — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is pressing federal officials to accelerate federal water projects in Mississippi as one way to create greater economic activity in a state with a 12 percent unemployment rate.

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Shareholders okay Stanley-Black & Decker deal

TOWSON, Md. — Shareholders have approved a nearly $3.5-billion stock buyout, clearing the final hurdle for Stanley Works to acquire Black & Decker.

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Q&A: Joel Yelverton, Owner, Yelverton Consulting

Lobbying for change Yelverton finds niche in halls of Capitol Joel Yelverton is owner of Yelverton Consulting, a Clinton-based firm specializing in lobbying, professional association management and local government consultancy.

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Skelton had ‘Crave’ to get back in business

With a sleek décor, unique gifts, specialty gourmet foods, an espresso bar, dozens of cupcakes and other treats, Crave is quickly becoming a favorite place to dine or lounge in Cleveland.

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Keeping Our Eye On: Farris Watson

Farris Watson says she was made for her job.

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Baptist appoints Rollins to board

Columbus businessman Dick Rollins has been named to the board of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. His appointment was approved by the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation board of directors in Memphis in December.

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Thompson tapped for study

Hattiesburg Clinic vascular surgeon Keith Thompson, D.O., F.A.C.O.S., has been selected to serve as a principle investigator in a nationwide Food and Drug Administration approved clinical study evaluating the minimally invasive repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

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Leadership Pinebelt class meets

The 2010 class of Leadership Pinebelt, a long-standing program of the Area Development Partnership (ADP), has met for the first time. Throughout 2010, these individuals will attend a number of training sessions focusing on different aspects of the community.

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Incentive enhances profits

Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 49 of them are located within the Go Zone region Tax incentives created under the Gulf Opportunity Zones legislation in 2005 have helped spur economic development as the region recovers from hurricanes that rocked the region that year.

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