Wednesday, February 2 2011 11:56 AM EST2011-02-02 16:56:07 GMT
If you don't like to fly, then don't – I repeat, don't – board a plane that's taking off in blizzard-like conditions. It can turn you as white as the snow outside your airplane. The best way to describe my flight from Chicago to Atlanta on Tuesday would be with two words – oy vey.More >>
Tuesday, February 1 2011 11:27 AM EST2011-02-01 16:27:17 GMT
Hello from snowy Chicago. I'm sitting at my sister's, about to leave for O'Hare International Airport. My flight back to Gulfport (through Atlanta) departs at 12:56. The question is whether it will take off.More >>
Thursday, September 30 2010 9:02 AM EDT2010-09-30 13:02:05 GMT
I stepped on the scale, expecting it to read about 230 pounds. And that would have been wonderful. That would have meant I lost 19 pounds from the Fourth of July to the end of September – quite an accomplishment for a nearly 45-year-old man who, because of a new management position at WLOX, sits at a desk for up to 12 hours a day.More >>
Monday, September 6 2010 11:26 AM EDT2010-09-06 15:26:43 GMT
Hurricane Earl came and went. It reminded me of my first gulf coast storm threat. Back in September, 1988, Hurricane Florence was making a bee line toward South Mississippi. But it fizzled before reaching our shores.More >>
Friday, September 3 2010 11:10 AM EDT2010-09-03 15:10:31 GMT
My wife thinks I'm stupid for heading to Boston with Earl poised to impact the area. "Why risk it?" she asked. If anyone knows the power of a storm, she told me, it should be the WLOX News Director. I keep asking Bostonians if they're worried. They all say, "About what?"More >>
Thursday, September 2 2010 2:14 PM EDT2010-09-02 19:14:10 GMT
Welcome to Stamford, CT, or whatever town the Amtrak conductor said we just passed. Last night, I was at a tennis grand slam. I went to the US Open and saw Oudin lose.More >>
Monday, January 4 2010 9:31 AM EST2010-01-04 14:31:22 GMT
This Tuesday, state lawmakers open the 2010 legislative session. It may be one of the most important sessions in Mississippi history, because how lawmakers decide to handle the budget crisis will be critical for every one of us. It's so critical that WLOX News will reformat its five o'clock news that day.More >>
Tuesday, December 22 2009 7:12 PM EST2009-12-23 00:12:12 GMT
A chain falls off an elderly man's bike. Three people are there to help the bike rider repair the damage. When the work is done, the volunteers demand payment. So, the man pulls out his wallets and offers to give the men a gift for their assistance. It sounds like a wonderful holiday story, until you hear what happens next.More >>
Friday, November 20 2009 9:52 AM EST2009-11-20 14:52:30 GMT
I was recently invited to sit in on the Gulfport Police Department’s weekly GAPS briefing. What I witnessed were supervisors from each division in the police department using eye opening crime statistics from the previous week to draw up a law enforcement blueprint for the upcoming week.More >>
Tuesday, November 17 2009 9:54 AM EST2009-11-17 14:54:01 GMT
In his final term as Mississippi’s 63rd governor, Haley Barbour appears to be thinking about his future. And several national pundits have said that future could include a move from the governor’s mansion to the Oval Office.More >>
Thursday, September 24 2009 11:31 AM EDT2009-09-24 16:31:05 GMT
Remember the days when Mississippi touted itself as the nation's number three gaming destination? Remember when gaming insiders predicted this state's gaming revenue would quickly surpass Atlantic City? This week, a gaming executive told me, "We're just a small, regional market now."More >>
Wednesday, September 16 2009 5:18 PM EDT2009-09-16 22:18:13 GMT
I'll never forget September 4, 1988. That was the day a young reporter began what he thought would be about a two year stay in south Mississippi. More >>
Thursday, September 3 2009 10:29 AM EDT2009-09-03 15:29:39 GMT
It's 7:30 on the last Monday night in August. I'm sitting in a restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue in New York City's Upper West Side. And I'm about to meet an angel. His name is John Chargar.More >>
Thursday, September 3 2009 10:29 AM EDT2009-09-03 15:29:02 GMT
When three MEMA cottages showed up on County Farm Road, Angel Middleton was skeptical. When she found out they were about to be burned, she called WLOX and asked the news department to look into the situation.More >>
Thursday, August 13 2009 10:16 AM EDT2009-08-13 15:16:42 GMT
While I sat on the tarmac at Memphis International Airport Tuesday night, several different thoughts flashed through my head. I thought about those Minnesota passengers who got stuck on their regional jet for more than six hours. That couldn't happen to me, could it?More >>
Wednesday, July 22 2009 11:34 AM EDT2009-07-22 16:34:37 GMT
On Tuesday, Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel sent an email detailing a plan to shut down the Cowan Road fire station and the Railroad Street fire station and move them to the VA. The mayor wrote that by combining two fire stations, jobs would be saved.More >>
Wednesday, July 15 2009 11:53 AM EDT2009-07-15 16:53:30 GMT
Leaders across Mississippi face a daunting task. They must come up with budgets for the 2009-10 fiscal year, knowing their revenues will likely be below expectations. A lot of hard decisions must be made to ensure that each agency can operate.More >>
Wednesday, July 8 2009 9:46 AM EDT2009-07-08 14:46:29 GMT
Typically, I stay away from the beach on the Fourth of July. But this year, I set my chair on the sand at 20th Avenue and watched, in both amazement and fear, as fireworks purchased at county stands shot into the sky above my head.More >>
Thursday, June 25 2009 9:53 AM EDT2009-06-25 14:53:18 GMT
There's a collection of dedicated men and women in Biloxi and Ocean Springs, in Pass Christian and Waveland, who love being at sea, who love carrying on the traditions their fathers and grandfathers taught them. They're the reason south Mississippi's seafood heritage still exists. They'll be the one's who drop their nets in the Mississippi Sound on Thursday morning. We all hope the shrimp they catch are large and plentiful.More >>
Monday, June 15 2009 3:06 PM EDT2009-06-15 20:06:31 GMT
Kobe's won an NBA title. Lord Stanley's Cup is back in Hockeytown. And Tiger is ready to defend his remarkable U.S. Open championship. Yet, the one sports story that has captured my undivided attention is in Omaha, Nebraska.More >>
Tuesday, June 2 2009 10:28 AM EDT2009-06-02 15:28:13 GMT
There are a handful of times in a person's life when you get to do something that impacts a community for generations to come. If you're a member of the building committee at your church - or in my case, my synagogue - you have that opportunity.More >>
Thursday, May 21 2009 9:41 AM EDT2009-05-21 14:41:50 GMT
Last weekend, Keesler Air Force Base once again hosted the annual sporting competition. I was lucky enough to emcee the opening ceremonies last Friday. What a night! I admit the Beijing opening ceremonies were spectacular. However, the Special Olympics Mississippi opening ceremonies were just as meaningful.More >>
Friday, May 15 2009 9:04 AM EDT2009-05-15 14:04:59 GMT
On June 2, Gulfport will elect a new mayor. Brent Warr will leave office. What the VA property becomes will be out of his hands. This week Mayor Warr stood on the balcony of a Gulfport VA building this week and described his vision for the 92 acre property.More >>
Thursday, May 7 2009 9:33 AM EDT2009-05-07 14:33:15 GMT
The second largest city in Mississippi had 9,778 people cast a mayoral ballot in Tuesday's party primaries. One of those voters literally left his hospital bed to make sure his voice was heard. That voter didn't want to be identified. But his story has to be told.More >>
Thursday, April 30 2009 12:26 PM EDT2009-04-30 17:26:20 GMT
Hey candidates, you do know the election is next Tuesday, don't you? Where are the mudslinging barbs at your opponents? Where are the negative ads? For that matter, where are the ads?More >>
Wednesday, April 22 2009 11:20 AM EDT2009-04-22 16:20:23 GMT
In the mid 1990s, the Harrison County Tourism Commission did a report that indicated 19 million people a year were vacationing along the shores of the Mississippi Sound. New hotels started going up, top notch golf courses were created, and museums began expanding their programs. And then, in an instant, the area's tourism industry got swamped.More >>
Wednesday, April 8 2009 6:38 PM EDT2009-04-08 23:38:37 GMT
Don't look now, but Texas could be the next state to gamble on casinos. There's a proposal in the Lone Star state asking the Texas legislature to approve a sweeping resort casino plan that also legalizes slot machines at race tracks, and on tribal Indian lands.More >>
Wednesday, April 1 2009 6:00 PM EDT2009-04-01 23:00:32 GMT
If you know anything about Mississippi Sea Wolves hockey, the team's decision to suspend operations for next season isn't a surprise. Attendance at hockey games is way off. And travel costs are through the roof.More >>
Wednesday, March 18 2009 12:08 PM EDT2009-03-18 16:08:11 GMT
Getting old stinks, especially if you like to play basketball. Each Saturday, middle aged men in Gulfport try and prove they haven't lost their competitive zeal.More >>
Thursday, March 12 2009 9:29 AM EDT2009-03-12 13:29:34 GMT
The numbers are proof the Gulf Coast Winter Classics is not horsing around. Their economic impact is an estimated $42 million. And yet, they get very little fanfare from the communityMore >>
Thursday, March 5 2009 10:03 AM EST2009-03-05 15:03:41 GMT
There's so much history buried beneath the city of Biloxi. Artifacts unearthed near the famous Biloxi lighthouse have forced the Department of Archives and History to temporarily halt construction of the city's new visitor's center. Steve McCluskey's crew dug up even more history just a foot below Howard Avenue.More >>
Wednesday, February 25 2009 4:59 PM EST2009-02-25 21:59:38 GMT
The Wind Creek Casino and Hotel offers its guests 1,500 gaming devices. Their slogan is, "There's something in the wind." Could that something be competition for the gulf coast? More >>
Thursday, February 19 2009 11:11 AM EST2009-02-19 16:11:08 GMT
I ran into Chappy by accident. I was in Nashville, heading home from dinner, when I drove past a restaurant with his name on the front door. One phone call later, we realized we stumbled upon an old friend.More >>
Wednesday, February 4 2009 8:44 PM EST2009-02-05 01:44:51 GMT
Did you catch my Tuesday story about the revitalization of the Long Beach Harbor? In that piece, I interviewed two boat owners. Without being provoked, both men made comments about how long it's taking to rebuild the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor.More >>
Wednesday, January 28 2009 4:56 PM EST2009-01-28 21:56:46 GMT
It started with an e-mail last Tuesday. A Gulfport businessman dropped me a note, because he heard gossip that Brent Warr had been indicted. By late Friday afternoon, the phones at WLOX News rang off the hook. People "in the know" claimed that the Gulfport mayor had been served with legal papers.More >>
Wednesday, January 21 2009 11:11 AM EST2009-01-21 16:11:33 GMT
Just as south Mississippi was being blanketed by the chilliest temperatures this year, I went to the Windy City, and braved a brrrrr-utally cold Arctic blast that dropped one thermometer to -24 degrees.More >>
Wednesday, January 14 2009 12:23 PM EST2009-01-14 17:23:14 GMT
The Sea Wolves brass wants the 2010 all star game. I think that's great, but here's my fear. The ECHL will award the game to Mississippi. All stars will come to Biloxi next season. And the coliseum will be empty. Think I'm wrong? Have you been to a Sea Wolves game this season?More >>
Wednesday, January 7 2009 9:53 AM EST2009-01-07 14:53:02 GMT
The economy is awful. Casino revenues are down. So as many of you know, some of the area's casinos slashed jobs. Immediately, the rumor mill kicked into high gear. Stop gossiping. Don't believe what you're hearing.More >>