Category — Jackson, Mississippi

Burr & Forman, LLP, has named eight new partners from four of its Southeastern offices, including Bradley B. Vance in its Jackson law office.

Waggoner Engineering Inc. is pleased to announce additions to the firm. Samuel Holder has joined the firm as an environmental scientist.

J. Frank Betts, managing member of the Jackson-based firm of Eubank & Betts, PLLC, was elected chairman of the International Board of Directors of CPA Associates International Inc. at the annual meeting in Phoenix. He will serve a two-year term.

TUNICA — A German company broke ground on a $300-million pipe manufacturing plant today in Tunica County, kicking off a development that officials believe will have far-reaching economic benefits.

The federal government allocated more than $26 billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for improvements to the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

D’IBERVILLE — A 2 percent tax could be added to the checks at D’Iberville restaurants. The council will vote today to ask the Legislature for permission to charge a tax at city restaurants and bars.

TOKYO — A high-ranking Toyota executive says the automaker’s North American sales spiked around 50 percent the first eight days of March as incentives helped lure customers after a series of embarrassing safety recalls.

ELLISVILLE — Microsoft Gold Certified partner, Howard Technology Solutions, will recommend and sell desktop computing solutions based on the new Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 (WMS) operating system and NComputing virtual desktops.

JACKSON — The difference between what Medicare covers and actual medical bills can put an extra financial burden on the already strained budgets of Mississippi Medicare recipients. Many seniors turn to a Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) policy to ease that gap.

Mississippi’s unemployment rate for January 2010 was 12.0 percent. The Nation’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2010 at 10.6 percent was up ninetenths of a percentage point over the month and was 2.1 percentage points higher than the year ago rate of 8.5 percent.

TUPELO — The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has directed Mesaba Airlines to continue air service in Tupelo through at least April 14, or until replacement service begins.

PASCAGOULA — Chevron Corp. says its refinery in Mississippi is safe and could possibly expand. Chevron said yesterday it will cut 2,000 jobs this year. It also will seek to sell some overseas entities.

HARRISON, N.Y. — A New York police official says Toyota wants a Prius that was involved in a crash — but his department is “not prepared to release it just yet.”

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A federal magistrate handling dozens of lawsuits that seek damages from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) coal ash spill has extended deadlines for some court filings.

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders announced today that they will ban the much-criticized practice of using annual spending bills to direct pet projects to for-profit companies that often return the favor with campaign contributions.

JACKSON — Parents would get to restructure operations of a dozen Mississippi public schools that are failing or at risk of failing under a plan that passed the state House March 9.

WASHINGTON — Legislation blending help for the jobless with popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals is slated to pass the Senate today over protests from conservatives who say it adds too much to the $12.5-trillion national debt.

PLANO, Texas — Denbury Resources Inc. and Encore Acquisition Company have received the requisite stockholder approval to merge Encore with and into Denbury.

NEW YORK — LifeLock Inc., an identity theft protection company that backed its guarantees by putting its CEO’s social security number on the side of its trucks will pay $12 million to settle claims it misrepresented its services, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

MADISON — Century Club Charities Inc. announced that the 2009 Viking Classic raised $567,641 for local charities, including the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children and the Birdies For Charity program’s 89 participating Mississippi charities.

There were 2.7 million job openings on the last business day of Jan. 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday. The job openings rate rose over the month to 2.1 percent, the highest the rate has been since Feb. 2009.

DALLAS — Continental Airlines plans to cancel flights rather than risk stiff fines under new federal rules designed to punish carriers for delaying passengers.

FLORA — To better serve the needs of southern farmers, Monsanto has broken ground on a new corn breeding station in Flora. The 26,000-square-foot, $2.4-million corn breeding station, located in the Flora Industrial Park, will employ approximately 10 full-time and up to 50 seasonal workers.

Mississippi ranks 10th in the nation for federal spending per person from grants that are based on the Census count. That’s according to a new study, released yesterday, by the Brookings Institution in Washington.

NATCHEZ — Callon Petroleum Company reported fourth quarter net income of $53.9 million, or $2.27 per share, compared to a net loss of $457.5 million, or $21.19 per share, for the 2008 fourth quarter.

JACKSON — The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Tuesday that aims to prevent “double dipping” by state employees who retire and then return to work as part-time or contract workers for the government.

MIAMI — Toyota owners claiming that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3 billion or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent and interviews with experts.

KINGSTON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will hold an informational public meeting March 16 in Kingston, Tenn., to receive comments on changing the handling and storage of wet coal ash to a dry system at the Kingston Fossil Plant.

Chris Jacobs is experiencing a little “sticker shock.” Owner of the Sportsman’s Lodge in Jackson, Jacobs is preparing for the first crawfish boil of the season, and cannot believe the asking price of “mudbugs.

GULF COAST — Mississippi officials expressed both disappointment and disgust with a Pentagon process that prompted Northrop Grumman Corp. to drop out of the competition for an Air Force refueling tanker contract.