SunHerald.com : Barbour appoints Guice

SunHerald.com : Barbour appoints Guice

Is he the best person for the job or is it a payback for something?

MS: Biloxi Housing Authority Ahead Of Schedule

With a lot of help from its friends, the Biloxi Housing Authority has in 16 months almost reached its five-year goals for building affordable housing in the city.

In February 2007, the authority announced it wanted to add 1,577 homes. During an affordable housing update Monday, Development Director Helen Werby said the authority has completed or is developing 1,430 units and is negotiating for up to 630 more.

BHA has surpassed its goal for rental units, with 1,175 occupied or being developed, well above the 737 it projected for five years. The authority has added 176 of the 351 senior units and 79 of the 480 home ownership units it proposed.

It is a shame that other area Housing Authorities are not as successful as Biloxi.  But the question should be, why are they not?  Apparently the funds are there to help low rent housing.

SunHerald.com : Cities consider cottages

SunHerald.com : Cities consider cottages

The cities are considering letting these cottages be more than just a stop gap measure. But will they limit where they can be installed?

MS Gulf Coast: Wind v Water

The Mississippi Supreme Court has agreed to decide how an insurance policy should be interpreted in a wind vs. water dispute over Hurricane Katrina claims.

In Corban vs. USAA, Long Beach policyholders argue the insurance company should cover wind damage to their property, regardless of damage caused by water. Water damage is excluded from coverage. USAA and other insurers argue that policy language also excludes coverage for a combination of wind and water.

The Supreme Court is expected to resolve the issue before the case goes to trial in Circuit Court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with insurance companies, finding that policies bar coverage when wind and water act in sequence to destroy property. The Supreme Court is not bound to follow the federal appellate court’s ruling, however, because state law governs insurance contracts.

We will see just how much influence the Insurance companies have over the state Supreme Court. My guess is that it has considerable pull within the state’s highest court.

Who Will Be Biloxi’s New Mayor?

Probably no one!

Mayor A.J. Holloway already showed his hand and announced he wants to keep the job and become a five-term mayor. “I have every intention of continuing to serve the people of Biloxi,” he said.

Since Biloxi is a betting town, the wagers around town are that Ward 4 Councilman Mike Fitzpatrick will run for the job along with Ward 2 Councilman Bill Stallworth. Harrison County Supervisor Connie Rockco is still a roll of the dice, since she would have to decide between serving the county or the city.

Other possible candidates are just starting to consider a campaign for mayor, including Andrew “FoFo” Gillich Jr., who ran a close race with Holloway in 2001, and state Rep. Michael Janus, who said “if Mayor Holloway does not run I’ll consider tossing my hat into the ring. I’m not going to run against him.”

Damn there must be some major benefits to being the mayor of Biloxi (can anyone say casinos).

Still Homeless People From Katrina

What? you ask. Yes there are still many people without adequate housing on the Gulf Coast.

As the June 1 deadline for residents to vacate FEMA trailer parks approaches, many are looking to find more permanent homes, but find few affordable options. After five months of searching for a rental house, Tamecca Carter, 37, succeeded and began moving out of her trailer in a north Biloxi FEMA park last week. Carter is moving back to hard-hit east Biloxi, which still faces a long recovery. She’ll live on the same street she lived on before the storm.

There are some good news and mostly bad news. But the worst news is that there is plenty of money for people (I use the term very loosely) to build apartments that go unrented or houses that go unsold, and yada yada, but they must depend on volunteers to build houses for those displaced by Katrina.

Ok am I the only one that sees the bullsh*t here? There is sympathy all around for Burma yes it was a terrible thing, but there are people here that need a home. send the money south. Once we are ok then I personally do not give a sh*t where it goes after that. we are talking about Americans here, if the guys in Washington cannot do the job, then throw the bums out and find someone who can.

WORD!

Another Coast Landmark Dies

S.S. Camille is gone and soon forgotten. Sad. The old tugboat gas stood on the beach as a monument to those who suffer and survived hurricane Camille. But I guess the beachfront property where it stood for 40 years was just too valuable for the reminder to remain. Sad. That seems to be the rule of the day…to destroy all reminders of the Coast and its history and culture…and to be replaced by the crap of concrete and steel. With a little luck the Coast will soon be a clone of Las Vegas…Glass…chrome..and flashing lights.

I can hardly wait.

Coast Mass Transit

Improved public transportation and more “walkable” communities are critical to solving some future problems for South Mississippi, but a light rail system is likely out of reach for many years, planners said Monday.

At a summit on smart growth, Kevin Coggin, executive director of the Coast Transit Authority, said plans call for a trolley system that would run along the beach. Itwould be easy, as the government already owns the beach, he said.

But a light rail system, an idea that came out of the post-Katrina charrettes, is still not cost-effective for a market the size of South Mississippi. It takes a high passenger load to support light rail and the Coast could still be about 30 years from that. But Coggin said officials are pursuing a bus that functions much like a light rail system, with a higher passenger load than a traditional bus.

The shame is that most residents are so addicted to their $ gallon to the mile SUVs that this will not be a reality in my lifetime. Sad.

MS: Time Is Running Out For The Gulfport Library

Harrison County supervisors are set to award the bid today for the demolition of the Gulfport Library, but the demolition needs the approval of the state Department of Archives and History as well.

Time is quickly running out for the library building. Time for all people that want to save the “historical” building to stop forward and voice your opinion. Buildings that are 50 years old and older can be named a landmark, but Baughn said buildings that have significant historical significance also can be landmarks even if they aren’t 50. The Gulfport Library is 43 years old. So a push should focus there and there would be the possibility to save the “Grand Old Girl” of Gulfport.

f the demolition goes forward, there are no plans to use the property for a public building…think about that……it is a prime piece of real estate and would bring a hefty sum to the city after the sell. If so it is about the cash and not about the saving of a building that deserves to live.

Mississippi: Jackson County Considers New Insurance

PASCAGOULA –

Along with property, wind and liability insurance, Jackson County leaders will take a look Monday at terrorism insurance coverage on the county’s 100 buildings. “But if something unforeseen happened and someone blew up the courthouse, how you going to pay for it?” McKay said.

The kicker here is that it will have to be terrorism from an agent of a foreign government. That means if Bubba gets pissed up on Old Milwaukee and puts a pipe bomb in the john att he courthouse, it is not considered terrorism. Now I ask, what are the chances that Syria gets two craps in Hell about Jackson County?

The price tag is about $46.000 and I was just thinking that the cash could be better spent on the residents of the county . I know I am just being foolish again, but the people considering this are just being STUPID!