WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home: "Mississippi House Passes Bill To Cut Grocery Taxes, Raise Cigarette Taxes"

Lawmakers propose grant program for Katrina recovery

By KATHERINE SAYRE

SUN HERALD WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Pointing to the continued frustration of Gulf Coast residents, House Democratic leaders vowed Thursday to help speed up recovery from the hurricanes that struck nearly 18 months ago.

"The people on the coast have had enough hearings," said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La. "What they need now is action."

Calling it a first step, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would allow Mississippi and Louisiana to receive federal disaster grants without paying a matching amount. The bill also would give the states the option of avoiding repayment of disaster loans. Both measures have been used in other national disasters, lawmakers said.

Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., said New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities haven't recovered their local tax bases, making it difficult to pay matching dollar amounts to receive federal aid.

Reports: Saddam executed in Baghdad
Some Arab media, including Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya and the U.S.-financed Al-Hurrah, reported about an hour before daylight Saturday (about 10 p.m. EST Friday) that Saddam had been executed. There was no confirmation from the Iraqi government.

Red Cross Says House Fires Quadrupled
Cold weather can spell tragedy for some as people try to stay warm- from turning on heaters to lighting fires. Since this past Sunday, 12 families in Harrison, Hancock, and Pearl River counties have lost their homes to fires, and according to the Red Cross' Gulf Coast chapter, the problem of house fires is growing.

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Your Hometown News - Pascagoula

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Your Hometown News - Pascagoula: "New York City firefighters made another visit to South Mississippi Wednesday. The same nine-eleven support group that's made several hurricane relief trips to the coast, arrived with truck loads of Christmas gifts. Steve Phillips reports on the group's special holiday mission."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Mississippi Sound Should Be Debris-Free By Christmas

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Mississippi Sound Should Be Debris-Free By Christmas: "When the sun first sparkled on the Mississippi Sound, Don Beauchene remembered it being cold. 'It was about 34 degrees. The wind chill was in the 20s,' he said.

Yet on a beachfront shut down by Hurricane Katrina, people like Beauchene ignored beach closed warning signs, and went fishing. What they caught wasn't going to feed the family. The clean up teams reeled in hurricane debris. 'A bunch of trash,' was how Brian Willis described the junk he hauled from the water to the shoreline. 'A lot of tin, chairs, you name it, anything that would come out of a house.'"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Weather

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Weather

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: European Journalists See Optimism Amid Coast's Debris

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: European Journalists See Optimism Amid Coast's Debris: "The tinted windows on a Hotard bus muted a sun splashed day along the Hancock County shoreline. The area's tourism director Beth Carierre was tour guide for a group of international journalists.

'This county is actually ground zero,' Carierre told them as their bus rolled toward Waveland.

The 19 somewhat awestruck European media members gazed out the tinted windows at what ground zero looked like 15 months after Katrina. Christiane Reitshammer is from Austria.

'I can't imagine how it looked before. It must be terrible for people living here,' she thought."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Hurricane Season Is Gone, But Pressing Issues Remain

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Hurricane Season Is Gone, But Pressing Issues Remain: "Thursday marks the official end of Hurricane Season. Fortunately for us, it was one of the quietest seasons in a number of years.

The fact that we had no hurricanes allowed our Katrina recovery to proceed without disruption. And it gave us all a break from the additional stress that comes with a hurricane or any kind of tropical scare. Plus, it is giving us more time to mentally heal from Katrina."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: News & Video

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: News & Video: "Brad Kessie Reports On Pass Woman's New Home, Bought By Kids"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home: "Special Report: The Melting Pot Still Simmers - The Croatian Community"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Chertoff Christens Coast Guard Cutter On Veteran's Day

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Chertoff Christens Coast Guard Cutter On Veteran's Day: "'May God bless the ship, and all who sail in it!' Meryl Cherthoff, the Bertholf's Sponsor, says as she broke the champagne bottle over the newly-christened ship.'

'It's a glorious Veteran's Day. This is the first big cutter we've commissioned in over 35 years in the Coast Guard and it's something we really need badly,' US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allan says.

And that need was fulfilled, as hundreds gathered on this Veteran's Day to catch the christening of the newest addition to the Coast Guard's fleet.

Adm. Allen says with all that's happened in the last 15 months, the 418-foot cutter Bertholf serves as a symbol of survival both the Coast Guard and for the Mississippi Gulf Coast."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Home: "Steve Phillips' Special Report: Paddling the Pascagoula - Part 1"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Iraqi Tribunal Sentences Saddam And 2 Co-Defendants To Hang For 1982 Killings

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Iraqi Tribunal Sentences Saddam And 2 Co-Defendants To Hang For 1982 Killings: "Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted 'God is great!'

As he, his half brother and another senior official in his regime were convicted and sentenced to death, Saddam yelled out, 'Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!'

Some feared the verdicts could intensify Iraq's sectarian violence after a trial that stretched over nine months in 39 sessions and ended nearly 3� months ago.

Clashes immediately broke out Sunday in north Baghdad's heavily Sunni Azamiyah district. Elsewhere in the capital, celebratory gunfire rang out."

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: God's Katrina Kitchen Settling In At New Location

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: God's Katrina Kitchen Settling In At New Location: "The move from Pass Christian to Camp Avenue in Gulfport hasn't been easy for God's Katrina Kitchen volunteers.

'It's been a very lengthy process getting everything done. For the past month, we've been basically been moving supplies, moving the kitchen, moving office, bunk houses, RVs. And, pretty much, we've got the majority of it,' volunteer leader Vicki Weesner said.

But the new camp still has some obstacles to overcome. It has no power or running water.

'Basically we've learned to adapt by doing first response and disaster relief. You learn that sometimes you don't always have the conveniences. So we've gone back to operating on generators for our power.'"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: New Ferry Service Offers Memorable Trip For Passengers

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: New Ferry Service Offers Memorable Trip For Passengers: "Curiosity about the new ferry service lured dozens of passengers to the dock in Bay St. Louis Wednesday.

'We're impressed that this has been put together that fast,' said one woman.

'We wanted to make sure it goes all the way,' joked Marsha Favre of Bay St. Louis. 'We're wondering if we should have brought our life jackets.'"

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Weather

WLOX-TV - The News for South Mississippi: Weather: " South Mississippi Forecast
Hi 75 F
Lo 47 F Cool overnight with a chilly start for the beginning of the workweek. Then mostly sunny skies for Monday with a high temperature in the mid and upper 70's.
Sunrise 6:08 AM Sunset 5:10 PM"

The Sun Herald | 10/24/2006 | 421 days

The Sun Herald | 10/24/2006 | 421 days: "It has been 421 days since Hurricane Katrina stormed ashore. There is nothing particularly significant about that number. Unless...

Unless you are one of the tens of thousands still without a home or a job or a sense of security.

Unless you are one of those who shudders at the thought that there is still more than a month left in hurricane season.

Unless you still find yourself thinking about going to a favorite restaurant or shop or friend's house, only to realize that it is gone. And may never return.

Then, without pausing to consult a calendar, you know it has indeed been a long, long time since Katrina. But not long enough to forget. Or get over it."

Coast Skyline Changing

Coast Skyline Changing: "Just over a year has gone by since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Coast destroying almost everything along the Beach highway. But construction of new high rise condominiums is moving rapidly, changing forever the look and feel of the area.

All along the beach in Biloxi there are towers rising. The huge concrete structures will easily take the most powerful storms. These are just a few of the towers that are rising from the sand. Many more are already approved in Biloxi. There are also several in Gulfport, two at the Biloxi/Gulfport boundary. However, most of the condo's will be built along Biloxi's beachfront as Biloxi has the water and sewer infrastructure in place to support the highrise buildings."

The Sun Herald | 10/22/2006 | mad about myspace

The Sun Herald | 10/22/2006 | mad about myspace: "With an estimated 120 million accounts, the online virtual community 'MySpace' seems to be the place to be. And, if you're a teenager, that is especially true.

'One of the main reasons I use MySpace is to keep in touch with friends from all over,' said Brittany Spears, a student at Bay High. 'It's an easy way to keep in touch with friends and family.'

The site's popularity with teens, however, has been the source of a major backlash.

Several issues in the media, such as controversial message postings and predatory activities, have raised concerns among many parents and adults.

Some parental concerns are understandable, but parental reactions are not uncommon when teenagers are involved in activities not fully understood by adults. For example, there was panic over the advent of television, the rise of jazz, the onslaught of rock 'n' roll and, in the early 1800s, reading novels."