MEMA director Mike Womack is on the Mississippi coast taking
part in ceremonies marking the third anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina-- and checking on preparedness for Gustav which could
be making landfall somewhere along the coast early next week.
Womack believes some of the people who died in Katrina had
a false sense of security based on their experiences during
Hurricane Camille in 1969.  He doesn't think the same thing will
happen if Gustav hits Mississippi.


The Better Business Bureau of Mississippi says complaints
have tapered off concerning a Publisher's Clearinghouse
scam operating in the state.  The BBB says it got several
calls late last month about someone pretending to
represent the magazine subscription company, telling people
they had won the sweepstakes.  The con artist, who sometimes
posed as an attorney for the Clearinghouse, told the "winners"
they had to send in a fee in order to collect their prize, which--
of course-- they never got.   The company says it has nothing
to do with the calls.   One victim in Mississippi admitted losing
more than $40,000.


I've finished a story about one of the oil and gas surveys
being done in the Jackson area.   A company has been working
in the Clinton area to see if any significant deposits can be found.
I've gone along with dynamite crews and vibrator trucks as they
send sound waves into the ground to create a seismic map
which geologists will use to see if there's potential for development.
If you missed the story on the air when it aired, it's now posted below.


I witnessed the recent execution of Dale Bishop at Parchman.
Unlike most of the inmates who've been
put to death in Mississippi in recent years, Bishop chose to
make a final statement.   He spoke clearly, apologizing to
the family of his victim and winking at his nephew, who was
in the same observation room as me.  Bishop had a message
for death penalty opponents-- vote for Barack Obama.  That
may have come as a surprise, but really it shouldn't have--
as prison officials say Bishop had been discussing politics
during his final hours.   His final words were: "God bless America.
It's been great living here.  That's all."

In the wake of the execution, State Rep. John Mayo of Clarksdale
is concerned about fairness in sentencing.  Mayo says either
the governor or the courts should have recognized the inequity
of Bishop being put to death while his co-defendant in the murder
case got life in prison.   He's researching a legislative remedy to
try to make sure that people who commit the same crime get the
same punishment.   But Mayo says he won't pursue it if it might
send more people to Death Row.   He's a longtime opponent of
the death penalty.


Mississippi is a lot safer from tornadoes than it used to be. 
More than 4,000 storm shelters and safe rooms have been
installed across the state-- paid for, in part, by federal grants.
And the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expects
as many as 2,500 more to be added in the next year. 
Pontotoc County has led the way with about 400 individual
shelters and some 50 community shelters.  The interest in
the program was sparked by a tornado that killed 6 people
in Pontotoc in 2001.   In the Jackson area, Rankin County
has seen 64 shelters or safe rooms built through the grant
program, Madison County has had 25 and Hinds County 17.



State officials now have a new system to notify Mississippians
about approaching hurricanes and other emergencies.  It's similar
to a large-scale "reverse 911" system which can make thousands
of phone calls in a matter of minutes.  But the Connect-GOV
technology also gives MEMA the ability to text message and
email those alerts.  The state is spending $500,000 for the
service for seven months.  It should be able to send up to three
million phone messages, 1.8 million texts and one million emails
per hour.   Regular land-line phone numbers will be included
automatically in the database and Mississippians can go to
MEMA's website to register their cell phones and email addresses.




At the bottom of the page, I'm continuing to post some of my favorite
stories, old and new.  You'll find "Next Stop, New Orleans", a feature
from last year that was named co-winner of Best of Show by the Miss.
Association of Broadcasters-- and more recently, an RTNDA regional Edward R.
Murrow Award winner.  Also, there's "A Visit to Holsten's", a story about the
place in New Jersey where the final scene in the final episode of HBO's
"The Sopranos" was filmed.  And now, there's a story from last year about
a World War Two hero who died in Hattiesburg recently-- "Jack Lucas,
American Hero"-- and a new story, "Mickee the Medic" about a local
ambulance company employee who's saving lives after almost losing
his own.  Finally, there's "British Baseball Fan", a story from last year about
an Englishman who visited Trustmark Park as part of his quest to see a
baseball game in every state in America.   This story won a national
Edward R. Murrow Award this year, honored as the best example of sports
reporting among small-market radio stations.