Economic Development

By BECKY GILLETTE What’s ahead for Mississippi’s economy in 2017? Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn L. McCullough Jr. expects 2017 to be another exciting year in economic development in Mississippi. “Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Legislature have enacted several strong, pro-business measures like the phaseout of the franchise tax and the creation of the Mississippi Works fund which dedicates ...

By BECKY GILLETTE / Hattiesburg Business Today The greater Hattiesburg area is quickly becoming a solar hub of the state and region with two, $100-million solar farms covering 1,000 acres current under construction that are expected to come online producing 100 megawatts of electricity by the summer of 2017, said Chad E. Newell, president of the Area Development Partnership (ADP). ...

By BECKY GILLETTE / Hattiesburg Business Today HATTIESBURG — Prior to 2000, most hospitals in the U.S. had medical waste incinerators, often on site. That included Forrest General Hospital. Then the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that all hospital incinerators in the U.S. had to either be shut down or be upgraded — something that could cost millions of dollars — by September ...

Hattiesburg City Council has voted to postpone adopting an ordinance establishing a new land development code. The new code, more than three years in the making, still had some language that needed to be clarified. City Attorney James Gladden recommended Monday the council make the changes, re-advertise the changes and vote on the code in January. The Hattiesburg American reports ...

Jones County voters, in a non-binding referendum, say they want the county to keep operating separate courthouses in Laurel and Ellisville. WDAM-TV reports voters Tuesday rejected a consolidation proposal by a margin of nearly 2-to-1, with 16,768 votes against consolidation, and only 8,693 votes for it. County supervisors had proposed closing one of the courthouses, which are 8 miles apart, to save ...

The push to incorporate the Bellevue community may soon reach a milestone. John Adcock, proposed mayor of Bellevue, tells The Hattiesburg American they are within 250 signatures of the total needed to file for incorporation. In accordance with Mississippi incorporation procedures, Adcock says officials will step up their efforts to garner the signatures of two-thirds of the registered voters in ...

By JACK WEATHERLY Praxair Surface Technologies Inc. and GE Aviation on Monday announced a $100 million joint venture, PG Technologies LLC, in Ellisville. The project is expected to increase employment at the former GE Aviation facility to 250 by 2020, with the potential to grow to 400 jobs. It currently employs 100, according to an email in response to a question ...

By JACK WEATHERLY Tissue paper manufacturer Sofidel America Corp. announced on Thursday that it bought a building just constructed by another company in Hattiesburg and will hire 230 to 260  workers. Sofidel acquired the new 400,000-square-foot building  in the Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park From Green Bay Converting Inc., which had intended to set up expanded operations there. Green Bay will maintain operations at its ...

HATTIESBURG — The Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport is one step closer to its new hangar. During Monday’s meeting of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, The Hattiesburg American reports board members authorized and approved a loan not to exceed $230,000 on behalf of Forrest County and the Airport Authority from the Mississippi Development Authority. The funds will help build the airport’s 17th general ...

By NASH NUNNERY The epicenter for spectator sports security isn’t located in a mega-metropolis such as New York, Chicago, London or Barcelona. Actually, the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) is housed on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The Center is the nation’s first academic center dedicated to spectator sports safety and security ...