Biloxi will face Jackson Callaway on Saturday evening in the 18th annual Hoopsfest at the Coast Coliseum.
The game, part of a 16-game high school extravaganza, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Overall play in Hoopsfest begins at 9:30 Saturday morning.
To see the entire schedule, along with ticket prices, click here.
Elsewhere this weekend: The Vietnamese New Year will be ushered in this weekend with a dragon dance at the Vietnamese Martyrs Church on Oak Street, and you’ll also find such stars as Merle Haggard, Little Big Town, 38 Special, and comedians John Pinette and Katt Williams in town for shows this weekend. To see the complete lineup, courtesy of listings from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau,
click here.
And on Monday: The Biloxi Indians Marching Band will lead the MLK parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on the grounds of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.
Council to get progress report on electronic water meters
Director of Administration David Staehling is scheduled to give City Council members an update on the city’s progress in installing electronic water meters during a meeting on Tuesday morning at 10:30 at City Hall.
The city plans to purchase and install nearly 13,000 electronic meters as part of an upgrade of the city’s water and sewer systems. The $5 million project is expected to be funded through the savings from eliminating the current third-party meter reading contract.
The Tuesday morning meeting, which will be at City Hall, is open to the public.
Margaritaville update planned for Tuesday afternoon
Representatives of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant will provide an update on progress of the $53 million east Biloxi development during a City Council meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The agenda also includes a measure to employ Tax Increment Financing – using a portion of the property and sales taxes from the Margaritaville project – for a $1.77 million upgrade of Fifth Street, the public thoroughfare between Oak Street and the Margaritaville site.
Among the other issues on the agenda: purchase of property east of the Biloxi Civic Center to be used for additional parking; a proposal to lease the city-owned Swetman House to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History; and a proposal to use $500,000 in federal funds for the widening of Popp’s Ferry Road from Cedar Lake to the D’Iberville City limits.
Several Katrina-related code-enforcement cases also are on the agenda.
To see the complete agenda and available supporting documents, click here.
News and notes
State of City update: The Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce reports that invitations for the State of the City won’t actually be mailed until next week, but half of the 700 seats for the Feb. 8 event have already been sold through email and Bmail. “As usual, we’re expecting an early sell-out,” says Tina Ross-Seamans of the Bay chamber. For more on the luncheon and to see a reservation form, click here.
Webcasting: To listen to this week’s City Desk webcast, click here.
