Author Archives: Vincent Creel

Biloxi Little Theater opens its Carnival opus “And the Ball at All” tonight, and those attending the sold-out show may have smiling faces even before they enter the theater: The Lee Street playhouse is no longer on a dirt road. Oscar Renda crews this afternoon added a level surface of pea-sized rocks to Lee Street […]

It’s something that you don’t see that often, and it’s great news, says Linda Hornsby, longtime Biloxi and Gulf Coast tourism authority: Biloxi and the Gulf Coast are close to hanging out a “No vacancy” sign for this weekend, with only a handful of the 15,341 rooms from stateline to stateline available, primarily for the […]

The city now has a Facebook audience of more than 28,000, and, as a result more and more timely news updates are posted on the city Facebook page to augment news on the city website. However, a while back Facebook changed the way it chooses the posts you see – and you may need to […]

Biloxi residents, motorists, businesses and public safety workers are preparing for more visitors and heavy traffic this weekend in connection with an influx of visitors for Spring Break events. Here are frequently asked questions and answers about the event and steps the city takes to keep traffic moving: Who puts on Spring Break, and why […]

“When I was a boy, we used to go jump in Back Bay, or we ran through the water on the beach,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said the other day. “Boy, have times changed.” Gilich and Harrison County Supervisor Beverly Martin will open the city’s newest splash pad, at Hiller Park, on Saturday with a […]

It’s official. The 2017 Mercury Southern Kingfish Association National Championship will be presented Oct. 27-29 at Point Cadet Marina in Biloxi. The event, which is scheduled to attract as many as 131 boats, is one of a half-dozen fishing tournaments in the offing at Point Cadet Marina, which is at the easternmost tip of the […]

Biloxi will name its Outstanding Citizen Wednesday, April 26 during a Biloxi Lions Club luncheon at the Biloxi Yacht Club.  The noontime luncheon is open to the public and has a $20 fee. For reservations, contact Vincent Creel at vcreel@biloxi.ms.us or (228) 435-6368. The Lions Club outstanding citizen program dates back more than 80 years, […]

Spring Break, the annual ritual of college-age youths cruising in cars and on foot along west beach in Biloxi, rolls into town Friday, and Biloxians should expect to see more traffic and more people for this year’s two-day rendition. If U.S. 90 traffic approaches gridlock a point during the event, Biloxi Police, who implement traffic […]

The “Walk for Christ” takes place on Caillavet Street on Saturday morning, and thanks to last-minute work from contractor Oscar Renda, walkers will be able to walk on Caillavet all the way from IP to MGM Park. Since Monday, contractors have had a large trench at the intersection of Division and Caillavet, with the road […]

See updated story Caillavet Street, which has been closed since Monday while infrastructure crews install major water and sewer lines at Division Street, will remain closed until the end of the day Monday, when work is expected to be completed. However, one lane of the roadway will be opened temporarily Saturday morning for pedestrians taking […]

Preliminary site work and the delivery of materials and equipment has begun on the Popp’s Ferry causeway, and over the next 12 months visitors to the area and motorists on the Popp’s Ferry bridge will see a 30-year-old idea becoming a reality: Popp’s Ferry Causeway Park.  The project will include a bait shop and kayak […]

East Biloxi infrastructure contractor Oscar Renda, fresh from paving a half-dozen neighborhood streets last week, is planning for a busy summer, with a host of milestones expected by June 1. “We expect a round of paving across the project every month,” Oscar Renda Superintendent John Cowart says in this month’s video of progress, which was […]

“Southern Living,” which is all about Great Things Southern, has a glowing update on Biloxi, which it hails as a charming town “with gorgeous scenic views, a fantastic art museum, and some of the best seafood around – you’ll want to stop and stay awhile.” Among the list of seven things that would-be visitors are […]

Absentee voting is now taking place Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the April 6 Democratic and Republican primaries for mayor and City Council. Some registered voters are eligible to vote by an absentee ballot because of age, health, work demands, temporary relocation for educational purposes or their affiliation with the […]

The Biloxi Town Green turns into Bunnyland on Saturday morning thanks to Biloxi Excel by 5. “Hop the Trail to Bunnyland,” a free affair open to children ages five and younger, will take place from 9 a.m. to noon. Children can participate in fun hands-on activities such as eggs in the basket, tissue paper eggs, […]

Boat owners who use the boat launch at Hiller Park have complained for years about the need for dredging of the canal near the boat launch, and now it appears a city project is on track for deepening of that area and other sites along the Biloxi waterfront. Christy LeBatard, the city’s director of engineering, […]

The Biloxi City Council on Tuesday made decisions on a couple of key issues: the consolidation of six of the city’s 29 rail crossings and the green light for rezoning of more than 600 acres for a planned community in the north part of the city. So what’s next?   The next steps on the […]

The race for the Ward 4 council seat, which represents areas of west Biloxi north and south of the Bay, became a two-man field Friday after candidate Nick Patano withdrew from the race. As a result, two candidates will meet in the Ward 4 Republican primary on May 2: incumbent Robert L. Deming III and […]

MGM Park will host its first-ever Christian Concert on Saturday, April 1, the Inaugural Unity Christian Music Festival, an all-day alcohol-free event open to all ages and free to children 7 and under. The Grammy-winning group Anthem Lights, which claimed the 2015 K-LOVE fan choice award on I-Heart Radio and has more than a half-million […]

The college baseball doubleheader at MGM Park this afternoon is launching a weekend of baseball at the downtown park, culminating  with four high school games that will bring the curtain down on a weeklong “Battle at the Beach” tournament that has featured 30 high school teams. The college doubleheader features Loyola and Tougaloo at 4 […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is asking the City Council to begin a process to consolidate seven of Biloxi’s 29 rail crossings and for CSX and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to help the city improve safety at existing crossings. The council is being asked to vote on the resolution during a public hearing on Tuesday, […]

Three-time Grammy winner Nathan Best, a former member of two-world renowned groups, The O’Jays and the Fairfield Four, will perform the National Anthem to open today’s Jackson State-Alcorn State baseball game at MGM Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Best is one of the few African-Americans to ever win Album of The Year […]

Merit Health and the City of Biloxi are hosting a First Responder Appreciation Event, actually a picnic in a downtown city park, to honor the public safety personnel and emergency workers who assisted in the aftermath of the tragic train-bus collision last week. Hamburgers, hot dogs, beverages and desserts will be provided to first responders, […]

 There’s an old black-and-white government-created documentary floating around on the internet that should have special appeal to Biloxi residents, and the city is embarking on a project to give the short film new life and new meaning. “Social Change in a Democracy,” an almost half-hour documentary created by the U.S. Army in 1951, discusses the […]

MGM Park ushers in another big week of baseball this evening with a college game between Ole Miss and Nichols State, followed by a slate of other college and high school games into the weekend. First pitch will be tossed out at 7 this evening. Then, on Friday, its a college doubleheader, with Loyola and […]

The Biloxi Police Department, which raises money throughout the year for Special Olympics Mississippi and the Law Enforcement Torch Run, will hold a fish fry on Friday, March 31, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center. On the menu will be fish or hamburger plates, which include potato salad and […]

The Biloxi Lions Club is now accepting nominations for Biloxi’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year. Nominations are due at Biloxi City Hall by 5 p.m. Friday, March 24. Forms can be obtained at the Biloxi Visitors Center or online at biloxi.ms.us. Nominations should be emailed to vcreel@biloxi.ms.us, faxed to (228) 435-6129, or dropped off at the […]

A former east Biloxi resident, who said he cried when he heard about the deadly bus-train collision Tuesday in downtown Biloxi, is organizing a candlelight vigil for Sunday evening at 6:30 in memory of those involved in the incident. Jerome Harrison, who worked for years in a seafood plant on Back Bay before moving to […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says the city, the Biloxi Shuckers and Overtime Sports Management have reached agreements regarding terms of use of MGM Park and are all ready to move forward to get on with the business of baseball. The three parties have cooperated to iron out certain issues that had prompted the city to […]

The section of Cedar Lake Road between Interstate 10 and the Cedar Lake bridge, which closed for five weeks in November while contractors installed sewer lines, will be closed for five days next week, but when the road re-opens on Friday, motorists will be driving on a freshly paved roadway. The work, which is expected […]

The Popp’s Ferry bridge will be reduced to one lane at its draw this morning while workers make repairs to the bridge’s steel grate. The work, deemed as emergency repairs by the city’s Public Works Department,  is to repair or replace teeth in the steel grate of the span. The work is expected to be […]

Members of the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Biloxi today and conducted a briefing at the Main Street site of the fatal collision of the CSX freight train and charter bus. Anyone with information regarding the collision should contact the NTSB by email at witness@ntsb.gov. The NTSB website is at www.ntsb.gov.   Learn more about […]

“This is a sad day,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said this afternoon after a downtown Biloxi collision between a CSX train and a tour bus carrying 48 people. Three passengers died on the scene and another died later. Eight are reported critically injured. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those in this tragedy, and, of […]

The City Council meeting on Tuesday night is expected to take place before a standing-room-only audience because of three items of note on the meeting agenda. A proposal to create Belle La Vie, a planned community that would be created in multiple phases on 626 acres in the northern part of the city, is one […]

A total of 17 would-be candidates, including seven of the eight current officeholders, have filed their Statements of Intent to run for elective office in Biloxi. Longtime Ward 7 Councilmember David Fayard is not seeking re-election, but today, on the last day to file paperwork, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich picked up two opponents in the […]

The Biloxi City Council will hear more information and allow citizens to comment on Belle La Vie, a planned community that would be situated on 626 acres in the northern part of the city, during its City Council meeting on Tuesday night.  The public hearing will be part of the council meeting that begins at […]

CoastCon, the state’s longest-running and largest science-fiction, fantasy and gaming convention, celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend with a three-day gathering at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center. The event, which promotes reading, education, fellowship, and science fiction, fantasy and gaming, is one of the many recreational diversions this weekend. CoastCon began today at noon and […]

Single-game tickets for all 70 Biloxi Shuckers home games at MGM Park during the 2017 season go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at the MGM Park box office, online at BiloxiShuckers.com or via Ticketmaster outlets. The Shuckers will open their 2017 home campaign against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos at MGM Park on Wednesday, April […]

Elections for Biloxi mayor and City Council are just around the corner – in fact, Friday at 5 p.m. is a key deadline for would-be candidates – and the city is sending information to residents to make sure they know when and where to vote. The party primaries, when voters will decide Republican or Democratic […]

Biloxi Public Works and Parks & Recreation laborers this morning began picking up Mardi Gras leftovers – broken strands of beads, empty beer cans and the like – from the streets of downtown Biloxi and expect to have the job completed in the next day or so. “We’re picking up the major roadways right now,” […]

Biloxi Police will be closing streets and reducing traffic shortly in preparation for the Gulf Coast Carnival Association parade, which begins at 1 p.m. Here’s the traffic plan: — At noon, U.S. 90 will be reduced to two lanes from Bellman Street to Gill Avenue and I-110 south of Division is closed. — At 12:30 […]

Mike Leonard enjoyed his first parade as Biloxi’s chief administrative officer, once he donned the right equipment. The retired Marine colonel, who was named Biloxi’s CAO in September, donned a City of Biloxi hardhat for protection after being pummeled by beads from Krewe of Neptune floatriders passing the City Hall reviewing stand Saturday night. “Everybody […]

Heads up on road closures for the Krewe of Neptune parade: — At 4 p.m., U.S. 90 will be reduced to two lanes from Bellman Street to G.E. Ohr Street. — At 5 p.m., the parade route itself closes to vehicular traffic. — At 5:30 p.m., the parade begins. — About 6:30 p.m. all lanes […]

It’s all about Mardi Gras this weekend. Or is it? Actually, there’s a whole bunch more in this weekend’s lineup of entertaining diversions. First, MGM Park offers two days of baseball, with college match ups tonight (Jackson State vs. Texas Southern) and a high school triple header on Saturday (games at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who has a degree in mathematics and likes to say numbers are his friend, would get along just fine with the city’s “barricade brigade,” the handful of Public Works laborers who help set up pedestrian and traffic controls for the city’s two Mardi Gras parades. This week, the barricade crew has […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, saying that it’s a safety issue and he’s personally known three people who have died in car-train collisions, asked the Biloxi City Council to call a public hearing to discuss closing as many of six of the 29 rail crossings along the 8.5 miles of CSX railway in Biloxi. The city […]

Representatives of Alcorn State, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State and even alumni of the old Biloxi Colored School will have exhibits set up this evening when the community’s Black History Month program takes place at the Dr. Frank G. Gruich Sr. Community Center on Howard Avenue. Between 150 and 200 people are expected to […]

Motorists on Interstate 10 Tuesday will get the first peek at the Krewe of Neptune’s 2017 floats when the 19 50-foot-long, double-decker vessels make their way from New Orleans to Biloxi for the Neptune parade Saturday night in downtown Biloxi. The floats will travel a top speed of 20 mph in the five-and-a-half hour trip […]

Biloxi municipal elections are just around the corner, with deadlines for potential candidates rapidly approaching. The Democratic and Republican primaries, where voters chose candidates vying to represent a party, take place May 2. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in each of the city’s seven wards. Runoff elections, in cases […]

Standard & Poor’s Financial Services this week affirmed the City of Biloxi’s excellent credit rating of “AA-/Stable,” based on the city’s economy, financial management and ability to pay its debt.  An AA rating is the second highest on the 10-point scale, which ranges from AAA to D. An AA rating, S&P says, differs from the […]

There’s a new exhibit in the children’s section of the Biloxi Public Library on Howard Avenue that local history authority Jane Shambra recommends  for both children and adults. It highlights several of our notable people from our African-American community, in celebration of Black History Month. The exhibition of nine locals is on display during library […]

The Biloxi Veterans Administration Medical Center, which provides care for more than 50,000 veterans throughout Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, has been named the host of the 2017 National Veterans Golden Age Games, a weeklong event that is expected to attract a thousand veterans and their families to the city. By hosting the games, which are planned […]

A week after Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich promised more progress in east Biloxi, Oscar Renda Contracting has announced that it will begin its largest round of paving, covering a dozen east Biloxi neighborhood streets. The paving work, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Wednesday and is expected to take two weeks, will see 6,000 tons […]

The success of the year-old Margaritaville Resort and its pending expansion has captured a great deal of attention in recent months, but Margaritaville is part of a bigger story, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said last week in his State of the City presentation. It’s the tremendous and continuing expansion of non-casino hotels in the Biloxi […]

“Mr. Saturday Night” himself, Billy Crystal, the comedian who parlayed a standup act into becoming a star of the small screen, silver screen and Broadway stage, is joined by Bonnie Hunt to headline this weekend’s entertainment lineup. Crystal and Hunt are on bill at the Beau Rivage, and you’ll find Creedence Clearwater Revisited at the […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will be asking the Biloxi City Council next week to take action on four of the major economic development issues he touted in the State of the City presentation this week. On Tuesday, during a 4 p.m. special meeting of the City Council, the mayor will be discussed the proposed high-tech […]

Biloxi is working to create two boulevard-style rail crossings in the city, one for the extension for Popp’s Ferry Road to U.S. 90 and another for the Pine  Street extension to Back Bay Boulevard, but the growth, according to CSX officials, means that at least six of the city’s current 29 rail crossing may have […]

Online and cable-TV versions of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s State of the City presentation are now available for those who may have missed the luncheon or just want to see it again. During the 32-minute presentation, which is a 21-minute prepared video with opening and closing remarks by the mayor along with an introduction by […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich updated a host of major city projects and initiatives for an audience of 650 at the State of the City luncheon today, all designed to help foster “that Biloxi thing.” “You know all about that Biloxi thing,” Gilich told the audience in his opening remarks at the Biloxi Bay Area Chamber […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo”  will update a number of familiar initiatives during his State of the City presentation Wednesday, but one of the most important will be following through on a commitment to keep Biloxi a safe community. Mixed in with progress reports on infrastructure work, economic development and waterfront efforts, Gilich will announce that the […]

Nearly 600 seats have been purchased for the annual State of the City luncheon next week, and the Biloxi Bay Area Chamber of Commerce is expecting another sold-out audience for the affair. Deadline is 4 p.m. today to reserve seats for the Wednesday luncheon. Call 228-435-6149. Meantime, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has been applying the […]

The disaster relief team from the city’s all-volunteer fire museum, West End Hose Co. No. 3, will be responding next week to a call for help from Hattiesburg and Petal tornado victims, and residents of Biloxi be a part of the effort. Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney, whose team from West End Hose Co. No. […]

Applications are now available for the annual Biloxi Children’s Mardi Gras Walking Parade, which is open to those ages 12 and under. This year’s theme is “The Luck and Lore of Superstition.” Participants can walk, bike, skate or be pushed in strollers or wagons in this parade, which takes place Saturday, Feb 18.  After the […]

The Biloxi City Council has called a special meeting for March 7 at 6 p.m. to hear more information and allow citizens to comment on Belle La Vie, a planned community that would be situated on 626 acres in the northern part of the city. Developers of the site propose zoning to be changed from […]

Talk about a stellar lineup of weekend entertainment. You’ll find Engelbert Humperdinck at the Beau Rivage, Irma Thomas at the Golden Nugget, Neil Sedaka at the IP, and the Golden Dragon Acrobats at the Hard Rock.  Read the entire weekend lineup   Employees recognized for service milestones Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich this week recognized 26 […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich came a step closer this afternoon to his goal of having Ship Island ferry service resume in Biloxi after the City Council approved $165,000 in funding for a city pier to be constructed on Point Cadet, between Harrah’s and Margaritaville. “This is something we’ve been working on for months,” Gilich said. […]

It’s official. The City of Biloxi’s MLK celebration, an event that has attracted thousands to the city over the years, is now known as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, updating a decades-old ordinance that labeled the day as “Great Americans Day.” The City Council voted unanimously to make the change during a special City […]

Hundred gathered this afternoon at the Biloxi Civic Center for one of the mainstays of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, a Sunday afternoon program. This year’s program, co-sponsored by the city and organized by the Coastwide MLK Celebration Committee, featured songs, speakers and a keynote address by Brandi Harvey, daughter of superstar […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is calling a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council for Monday, the observance of Dr., Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so the city can formally change a 30-year-old ordinance to reflect the national name of the holiday. Gilich and members of the Biloxi City Council were unaware of the city’s […]

Here is background on the city’s actions that caused widespread criticism concerning the holiday Monday.   What happened? The city Public Affairs office, using its various means of communication, typically notifies the public when non-emergency municipal offices will be closed for a holiday. On Friday afternoon, ironically about the same time the city was publishing […]

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, responding to a flurry of comments about a city tweet today referring to Monday as “Great Americans Day,” believes the Biloxi City Council on Tuesday should take steps to update the city’s Code of Ordinances to reflect the official federal name of the holiday, “Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King […]

The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade has gained a reputation over the years in Biloxi for having a top-notch lineup of marching bands, and this year the MLK Coastwide speakers program will also boast star power. Brandi Harvey, daughter of superstar game show host and radio personality Steve Harvey, speaks Sunday in a […]

OK, here’s the scoop on the Twelfth Night celebration coming up Thursday evening: There’s only a 30 percent chance of rain, but it’s going to be on the chilly side, with temperatures as low as 47. But Bill Raymond, manager of the Biloxi Visitors Center and one of the organizers of the affair, says have […]

The city now has a Facebook audience of nearly 30,000, and, as a result more and more timely news updates are posted on the city Facebook page to augment news posted on the city website and delivered through Bmail. In the past week, many of the city’s 27,500 Facebook followers were updated on weather issues […]

Here are links to river stages and projected crests. Tchoutacabouffa River Biloxi River near Lyman Biloxi River near Wortham

Several low-lying areas of east Biloxi streets were closed because of standing water after a torrential overnight downpour, more than five-and-a-half inches in the past 24 hours, and workers this morning are working to clear streets of water and prepare for the expected next round of rain. “We had a dozen men manning water pumps […]

Heavy rainfall may usher in the New Year, with more showers expected the first night of the New Year and into Monday. The National Weather Service forecasts three to five inches of rainfall, with the threat for heavy rain beginning this afternoon and continuing through tonight, with more showers Sunday night and into Monday. As […]

The Gulf Coast will officially change from the holiday season to Carnival season on Thursday, Jan. 5 with the celebration of Twelfth Night beginning with a 5 p.m. gathering at the Biloxi Visitors Center, followed by a parade to the Mardi Gras Museum. “The Biloxi Visitors Center is where we began the holiday season, with […]

Portions of Popp’s Ferry Bridge will be reduced to one lane of traffic Wednesday morning between 8:30 and noon while city contractors install LED street lights on the bridge. Flagmen will be at the work zones to help direct traffic, and motorists are advised to use caution and expect delays. Meantime, at the eastern end […]

The city’s infrastructure crews in east Biloxi are placing more asphalt these days than at any other time since the project began, and after the Christmas break, residents should expect to see entire blocks paved on a monthly basis. That’s the word from Project Superintendent John Cowart, who this morning was overseeing the beginning of […]

The inch-and-a-half of rain that fell in east Biloxi in the past 24 hours had contractors manning water pumps overnight and smoothing out potholes in dirt roads at daybreak this morning, and Tuesday they’re looking to be laying asphalt on a half-dozen neighborhood streets north of Division Street. While some Oscar Renda Contracting crews were […]

City employees and anyone who has encountered disruptions or slow service with the city’s email, take notice: Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is recommending new hardware to upgrade the city’s email and wireless systems. The $856,000 in technology improvements, funded from across city departments, are one of the more than a dozen measures on the agenda […]

Walt A. Rode (say “road-ee”), the civil engineer whom Mayor Andrew “FoFo”  Gilich hired six and a half months ago to oversee the city’s massive infrastructure work, answers the tough questions on this week’s City Desk Podcast. Among them: Why is every street in east Biloxi torn up at the same time? What’s the key […]

Two cases scheduled for this afternoon’s Planning Commission meeting are scheduled to be removed from the agenda at the request of the developers and will be considered at a future meeting. Belle La Vie/Pitcher Point is a request to change the zoning for 626 acres in the northern part of the city from Agricultural to […]

East Biloxi infrastructure workers, deluged by three inches of rain in a 24-hour period last week, manned extra water pumps until 10 o’clock Tuesday night and heavy equipment was grading Division and adjoining streets at daybreak this morning, dealing with what ended up being nearly an inch of rain, most falling late afternoon Tuesday. Meantime, […]

Workers with Oscar Renda Contractors, the firm handling the east Biloxi infrastructure work, are turning their attention from installing curbs on neighborhood streets this afternoon to preparing for rainfall headed to the area. The company has ordered more pumps to help with water that may pond from the rainfall expected to make its way to […]

The multi-award-winning Biloxi High Sound Surge Show Choir’s annual dessert theater will be presented Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. at the Biloxi Civic Center. Besides hearing a lineup of Disney- and holiday-inspired numbers from the choir, which earlier this year won its seventh straight first place award in regional competition, audience members also will be […]

The Biloxi City Council this evening is expected to consider a new set of standards and guidelines that could transform the city’s waterfront, with guidance for future public and private development. However, at the outset of the 6 p.m. meeting, during the mayor’s report, councilmembers will hear a report from Walt A. Rode, the city’s […]

The city has directed its Oscar Renda Contracting, its infrastructure contractor, to increase the number of pumps to move water from east Biloxi roadways, many of which are unpaved and inundated by the three inches of rainfall that has fallen in Biloxi since 6 p.m. Sunday.  And the forecast calls for more rain this evening.  […]

The City of Biloxi is asking a Harrison County Chancery Court for help in getting a clear accounting of revenue from operations at MGM Park, the two-year-old downtown stadium and entertainment venue. Biloxi filed suit this morning asking a court to compel Biloxi Baseball, owners of the Biloxi Shuckers, and Overtime Sports, managers of the […]

Three big forward-looking issues top the City Council meeting agenda for Tuesday: redistricting for the 2017 municipal elections, waterfront design standards, and borrowing $7 million to fund myriad city improvement projects. The good news for Biloxi voters: Your ward lines are not going to change under a proposal on the agenda. In a hearing last […]

Biloxi’s annual Christmas on the Water boat parade, which dates back more than three decades, is the signature event of the city’s holiday lineup, but the Lighting of the Biloxi Lighthouse is steadily becoming a new tradition. The lighthouse event, which kicks off a weekend of city-coordinated festivities, takes place Thursday night from 5:30 to […]

The Biloxi Fire Department has created a new battalion chief’s position that will focus on firefighter safety, and the new post is a first of another sort for the 127-year-old department: a female in a chief’s position. But Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who approved Fire Chief Joe Boney’s promotion of firefighter Michelle Crowley, says it’s […]

Speeding motorists on U.S. 90 are getting a friendly reminder from the city these days, showing them their speed as a subtle reminder to slow down. The Biloxi Police Department, at the suggestion of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, began attaching small electronic devices to existing speed limit signs to display excessive speeds in flashing numbers. […]

Drug dealers will be paying for half of the 16 cruisers the Biloxi Police Department plans to order today. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and Police Chief John Miller this afternoon will be asking the City Council for approval to spend nearly $440,000 to buy 14 Ford SUVs and two other vehicles to be used in […]

A number of familiar issues – waterfront design standards, new ward lines and the new Keesler gate – will be on the agenda when the City Council meets Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. The agenda includes more than three dozen measures in all, including public hearings to discuss the proposed new standards and guidelines for construction […]

The Biloxi City Council approved $725,000 in contracts for three streets and drainage improvement projects in Woolmarket the other day, and the trio of projects represented the winding down of a $14 million streets and drainage initiative begun two years ago. Although $14 million was borrowed in 2014 and nearly $10 million was spent or […]

Biloxi’s seven ward lines will be redrawn to incorporate the annexations of 2013 and 2014, meaning some residents may find themselves in new wards and voting at a different polling place when municipal elections take place in May 2017. A public hearing to consider three proposed maps will be held Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., at […]

Now that all of Back Bay Boulevard has been paved, offering an alternate route between I-110 and Point Cadet, construction workers and police are hearing a complaint that usually follows any newly minted street: Motorists are speeding. Contractor Oscar Renda, which completed paving on the four-lane boulevard Monday, still has as many as two dozen […]

Workers at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor will be closing the boat launch and parking areas near the boat launch this evening so contractors can begin removing aging pavement on Wednesday morning. Access to the Biloxi Harbor Bait and Fuel Dock will be maintained, and parking areas at McElroy’s Seafood Harbor Restaurant also will remain […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and his wife, Serena, heard from the First Lady and key members of the Obama Administration about the challenges of veterans homelessness during a six-hour gathering at the White House Monday, and it was informative, the mayor says, once you got past the awe-inspiring trappings of the White House. The Giliches, […]

Asphalt is being poured in all areas of the city today, with the final segment of paving on Back Bay Boulevard taking place right now, the final overlay at the Cedar-Popp’s intersection beginning at 8 tonight, and paving planned for the boat ramp area of the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor beginning Wednesday. The Back Bay […]

First Lady Michelle Obama will recognize Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and a handful of other U.S. mayors in a White House ceremony Monday for their efforts to help end homelessness among veterans in their respective communities.  The First Lady invited Gilich and his wife, Serena, to the White House for the ceremony, which follows up on […]

Cedar Lake Road will be a beehive of activity beginning Monday, with the start of a major sewer installation project beginning by mid-day south of the Cedar Lake bridge and nighttime paving scheduled for the intersection at Popp’s Ferry Road. Contractor Jay Bearden said he expects to close the section of roadway just south of […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will recommend on Tuesday the City Council take two huge steps toward following through on pledges the city made during its annexation cases. The mayor proposes that the city, through an agreement with South Mississippi Planning and Development District, construct two new fire stations to serve north Biloxi and the Woolmarket […]

Workers are aiming to wrap up the last phase of base asphalt Friday on Back Bay Boulevard between Boomtown Casino and Lee Street, meaning the four-lane boulevard will be completely paved from IP Casino Resort all the way to Oak Street on Point Cadet. The work is just part of the tons of asphalt being […]

The city moments ago issued a building permit valued at $8 million to allow developers of the White House Hotel to transform the Katrina-ravaged Santa Maria retirement center into an upscale, all-suites hotel. The Barrington Group, the local firm that restored the upscale White House Hotel in 2014 and unveiled the family-oriented Margaritaville this summer, […]

Oscar Renda, the firm overseeing the 55 miles of infrastructure work in east Biloxi, reports that in the next week asphalt will cover all of Back Bay Boulevard, as well as Crawford Street and Seal Avenue north of Division. The updates, along with progress reports on Lee Street, Porter Avenue and other thoroughfares, are among […]

The area of Cedar Lake Road south of the Cedar Lake Bridge will be closed to traffic for five weeks beginning Monday while city contractors install sewer manholes, sewer mains and other services along the stretch of roadway. The Cedar Lake construction zone is less than a half-mile long but will require a detour that […]

Workers installing a new water main on Forrest Avenue as part of the east Biloxi infrastructure project will work Tuesday evening at the Meadows Drive entrance to Keesler to avoid disrupting base traffic. Walt Rode, who is overseeing the infrastructure work for city, said the work will coincide with the nightly closure of the Meadows […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich this afternoon asked the Biloxi Planning Commission to once again postpone its vote on whether to re-zone waterfront land near the current Margaritaville resort, a change that could open the door to a $140 million expansion of the family oriented resort. “We’re asking you to postpone this vote until your next […]

Biloxi has 243 miles of waterfront, twice as much as all other Mississippi Gulf Coast cities combined, and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich believes the city needs to protect and take advantage of that asset, with design standards and guidelines that promote Biloxi’s heritage and future. Gilich has asked the Biloxi City Council to approve new […]

The City of Biloxi, as part of a MEMA-directed effort, is seeking public input to help make south Mississippi become less vulnerable to natural hazards, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, as well as man-made hazards, including hazardous material incidents. The input will be used to help prepare a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which will […]

A new aerial video on the city’s YouTube page shows the status of work on two main thoroughfares in the east Biloxi infrastructure work, Division Street and Back Bay Boulevard, and the nearly complete widening work on Popp’s Ferry Road. In fact, the video traces the entire length of Division Street, from Oak Street to […]

Since he became mayor 18 months ago, Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has said more than once that when infrastructure work moves south of the CSX railway in east Biloxi, it will not be nearly as disruptive as the work has been for residents, businesses and motorists north of the CSX railway. In fact, Gilich, on occasion, […]

City Code Enforcement officers are looking for workers who have been placing notices on mailboxes, primarily in west Biloxi, offering to paint street addresses on pavement to make house numbers more visible to first responders. “Caleb S.” is offering to provide the service for $25, but the city has no record of a permit for […]

The Christmas season is just around the corner, so now is the time to register to participate in the upcoming festivities. Organizers of Biloxi’s signature holiday event, Christmas on the Water, are taking applications for participants in the boat and children’s parade as well as the Christmas in the City festival. Boat owners are asked to […]

When the late Will Smith is inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame on Friday, the City of Biloxi will play a role in the ceremony. F. Cliff Kirkland, the city’s Chief of Civic Innovation and Development, will represent Biloxi as a presenting sponsor at the New Orleans Saint Hall of Fame Induction […]

CSX contractors this morning have closed the Iris Street rail crossing in west Biloxi to make repairs. The crossing will be closed overnight and through Wednesday, and work may stretch into Thursday, contractors say. Street closed signs and detours have been marked. See the status of roadwork citywide

Halloween at Hiller takes place tonight from 6 to 8, and there are a few things you need to know. The biggest is that you must enter the park from the Atkinson Road entrance, off Popp’s Ferry or Jim Money Road.  The Hiller Drive gate will be used only as an exit. Police will be […]

When Fire Chief Joe Boney and current and retired Biloxi firefighters gather at the gravesites of Kurt Jacquet Sr. and Carl Ohr Thursday morning, Boney will be thinking back to that day 30 years ago when he and Jacquet swapped firefighting shifts. Jacquet and Ohr died in the early morning hours on Oct 20, 1986 […]

The City of Biloxi today cut its charter boat berthing fee in half, and Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said he expects the new rate to create more commercial opportunities at the public harbors and marinas, given the thousands of potential customers in nearby hotels. The Biloxi City Council, during its meeting this afternoon, voted […]

The City of Biloxi is moving forward this week with the process that could see more than 20 acres of land on Point Cadet re-zoned to make way for Margaritaville Phase II, a $140 million proposal that was announced during a City Council meeting a week ago. The requested zoning change would involve 20 parcels […]

Motorists passing Pass Road and Veterans Avenue will soon see a project underway to remove age-old underground gas tanks at the site of a former gas station at that intersection. The work is part of the city’s federally-funded Brownfields Program, which seeks to rid properties of potential environmental hazards and render the sites suitable for […]

It’s going to be a few years before drivers are able to take Popp’s Ferry Road all the way down to U.S. 90, but the city continues to take steps to make the new roadway happen. Now that a route west of the Coliseum parking garage and straddling Oakmont Place have been chosen, the city […]

“I think things went very smooth, considering that the volume of vehicles was probably more than we had ever seen,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says of last week’s Cruisin’ the Coast, an eight-day Coastwide rolling block party that registered nearly 8,000 vehicles from across the country. “We were able to make some adjustments, such as […]

A house fire that took three hours to extinguish at an elevated home off Back Bay capped off a week for the Biloxi Fire Department that included a 41 percent increase in emergency medical calls and a 12 percent increase in fire calls. The house fire aside, “you’re going to see more emergency medical calls […]

Churchill Avenue will be closed at Bay Vista Drive in west Biloxi this week to allow city contractors to replace a manhole and make sewer repairs. Work on the recently overlayed road will begin Tuesday and is expected to be completed Friday. Contractors will have to repair a sewer line 12 feet below the roadway […]

Creations from 40 artists and craftsmen will fill the lawn of the Biloxi Visitors Center on Saturday for the 4th Annual Biloxi Lighthouse Arts and Crafts Fair. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors will be able to shop for items such as jewelry, arts, crafts, T-shirts and more. “With so many visitors in town […]

His military career and private sector work have taken him around the world, but Mike Leonard has always considered himself “a proud son of Biloxi.” Now the native is back home fulltime, serving as the city’s chief administrative officer. In this week’s City Desk podcast, Mike Leonard talks of growing up in Biloxi, his days […]

OK, students consider this your warning: The annual Homecoming Week junior-senior wars, which in recent years have escalated from malicious mischief to property destruction, will not be tolerated this year. School leaders and police say the annual hijinks would traditionally begin this weekend, in advance of Homecoming Week at Biloxi High School, but after a […]

The Barrington Group, the folks who restored the upscale White House Hotel in 2014 and unveiled the family-oriented Margaritaville this summer, were at City Hall tonight with the next big thing in Biloxi, but it actually turned into two next big things in Biloxi. Attorney Michael Cavanaugh appeared during a City Council meeting this evening […]

Welcome to 2017, Fiscal Year 2017, that is. City departments today began the workweek operating under a new municipal budget, a $59.9 million spending plan that projects the city will end the fiscal year with a $4.06 million financial cushion. The city’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 each year. The city’s […]

Cruisin’ the Coast, the huge rolling car show that kicked off Sunday and runs through this Sunday, takes over downtown Biloxi Wednesday and has a salute to veterans on Friday at MGM Park. “We actually began seeing cars roll in earlier this year,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said this morning. “The volume of cars […]

The annual Biloxi Community Festival Against Crime will make its debut at a new location on Saturday, at Point Cadet Plaza, and Biloxi Police Chief John Miller expects it to be a resounding success. “We’ve been on the Town Green for years,” Miller said, “but being down at Point Cadet Plaza this year means it’s […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is hailing Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann for a new agreement that in the past several weeks has seen the city receive more than half of the rent due from a Point Cadet casino lease with a plan for monthly payments to begin Oct. 1 with the new fiscal year. The […]

Mayors Andrew “FoFo” Gilich of Biloxi and Billy Hewes of Gulfport have been working with their colleagues and other elected leaders from across the Coast to build consensus for a plan that would see real, measurable economic benefits from the $750 million in BP economic damages money. And, remember, you heard it here: June 2018 […]

Billy Ray Allen, a veteran Public Works employee who became the department director 10 months ago, received an important report card this month: a perfect score from the Mississippi State Department of Health regarding oversight of the city’s water department. The state health department, in a new report, gives the city a perfect 5.0 score […]

Biloxi civic leader and former school board member Jaye Brice, sister of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, will be the roastee for the 14th annual Biloxi First Roast, which will take place Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. at the IP Casino Resort Spa. The event is the major annual fundraiser for Biloxi First, a non-profit […]

Oscar Renda Contracting, the firm that’s rebuilding infrastructure on 55 miles of streets in east Biloxi, reports that permanent asphalt will be on Back Bay Boulevard from Oak to Lee in the next week and you can expect to see asphalt going down on Division Street beginning in the middle of October. The milestones on […]

Kenneth McKeown, who as director of Administration is the go-to numbers guy for the City of Biloxi, discusses the just-approved municipal budget in this week’s City Desk podcast. The good news: City property taxes will not be increasing and no city services will be reduced. The bad news: Expenditures for the next fiscal year are […]

October is shaping up to be a gangbusters month, with the annual Cruisin’ the Coast Downtown Biloxi Block Party, the Fourth Annual Lighthouse Arts and Crafts Fair and a host of other special events. Cruisin’ the Coast will enjoy two days in downtown Biloxi: the traditional block party that consumes the entire downtown area on […]

Mike Leonard, the Biloxi native and Marine whom George Lawrence says “has more degrees than a thermometer,” has been approved as Biloxi’s next chief administrative officer. The Biloxi City Council voted 6-1 this afternoon to approve the nomination by Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich. Councilmember Robert L. Deming III casting the lone dissenting vote. Councilmembers also […]

A year-long effort of the Gulf Coast Broadband Initiative to establish timely, redundant, universal and affordable ultra-high speed Internet connectivity has stimulated a large scale infrastructure investment that could eventually provide between one-third to one-half of the public fiber network. At a news conference this morning in Biloxi City Hall, InLine, an Internet Service Provider, […]

Chris Harris, the voice of the Biloxi Shuckers, will update the team’s standing during this week’s “Our Love Affair With Baseball” exhibition, and Harris will arrive at the Ohr-O’Keefe Friday bearing gifts. He’ll be presenting a check to the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, proceeds from the August  auction of “Mad Potter” jerseys at a Biloxi […]

Margaritaville Resort in Biloxi is going to be the starting and finishing point for the second annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk, an event that helps provide funding for the organization of New York firefighters who have delivered Christmas gifts to the Mississippi Gulf Coast annually since Hurricane Katrina. The run, in its […]

The annual Biloxi Fireman’s Day Parade rolls through downtown Biloxi on Saturday, Sept. 17. The parade, which will feature firefighting vehicles from responding fire departments Coastwide, will begin at 10 a.m. at the foot of Lameuse Street. The parade will proceed westward on MLK Boulevard to Howard Avenue and end at the West End Hose […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is proposing longtime Biloxi attorney Peter Abide and his firm, Currie Johnson, be named the new city attorney. The appointment would allow Gerald Blessey and his firm to step away from the day-to-day running of the Legal Department and serve as an outside counsel focusing on economic development issues and specific […]

The second annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m., beginning at Fort Maurepas on Front Beach in Ocean Springs and ending at Margaritaville in Biloxi. The announcement was made by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, established by Siller’s family in honor of the […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich unveiled his newest economic development initiative Wednesday at the first-ever Biloxi Technology Summit before an appreciative audience of Coast industry leaders. “We’re working to bring new, cutting-edge, high-tech industry to Biloxi, and when we do, it will attract more high-tech industry,” Gilich said after the five-hour event at the Biloxi Civic […]

The mayor and City Council of Independence, La. will be serving steak dinners tonight to a group of off-duty and retired Biloxi firefighters who have cooked and served meals and gutted nearly a dozen homes in and around the small flood-stricken town. The Biloxi contingent, which arrived in Independence on Aug. 25, spent their first […]

Tropical Depression 9 is looking better organized and now moving slowly north at 2 mph, and is expected to push tides higher than normal today and Thursday. “This may be the long awaited turn toward the north and eventually northeast today,” Harrison County Emergency Manager Rupert Lacy said this morning. “Once it completes its turn, […]

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will up the ante on his innovation push Wednesday when the city hosts its first Technology Summit at the Biloxi Civic Center. The summit is being held to focus on two development opportunities created over the past six months. “We have an opportunity to bring leading edge technology to Biloxi […]

Tropical Depression 9 is still somewhat disorganized and moving slowly west-northwest through the eastern Gulf of Mexico, acco rding to Harrison County Emergency Manager Rupert Lacy. The forecast track for the next couple of days, Lacy said this morning, is a continued slow track to the west and then slow turn to the north-northwest later […]

National Weather Service forecasters, in an overview released this morning, say Tropical Depression 9 is expected to move northwesterly in the Gulf of Mexico and be in the mid-Gulf in the next two days before curving to the Northeast later in the week. However, the same report says the track and intensity “still has a […]

The city on Tuesday morning will have multiple crews working on U.S. 90 to remove sand and trim medians on east and central beach in Biloxi, working their way to DeBuys Road later this week. A Parks & Recreation crew of 14 laborers will be focusing on the northern median from Oak Street working westward, […]

A record crowd of about 450 turned out Sunday evening to help celebrate the latest entries into the Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame, a collection of 17 stars representing an array of sports. Five former Biloxi Dodgers, three local club boxers and a nationally renowned boxing referee were among those honored during a two-and-half hour […]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi has selected Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich as a 2016 Criminal Justice Reform honoree. The ACLU is recognizing the first-year mayor for the city’s “involvement and commitment to destroying the practice of modern-day debtors’ prisons” as well as making “systematic upgrades concerning the jailing of people unable to pay […]

Former Atlanta Braves baseball player Dale Murphy, arguably the biggest speaker in the Ohr-O’Keefe’s weekly Friday luncheon series, is going to get a big room – the Saenger Theater – after a fire has caused smoke damage at the museum’s Mississippi Sound Welcome Center, site of the weekly luncheons. Murphy’s sold-out luncheon, with a crowd […]

The City of Biloxi is seeking permits to dredge seven sites along the peninsula, including two public boat docks and the Hiller Park boat launch and bayou. The $355,000 project, which would be paid for with Tidelands funds, proposes deepening the water at seven locations: a canal near the Sherman L. Canaan Back Bay Fishing […]

Interested residents and businessowners have a chance to learn more about land use plans and how to minimize the impact on Keesler’s current and future missions during a public workshop Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Municipal Building in downtown Biloxi. The meeting is part of the Keesler […]

Here is the obituary of War War II hero, former mayor, legislator, and community leader Jeremiah J. “Jerry” O’Keefe, as released by Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Homes: Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe, III July 12, 1923 – August 23, 2016 Jeremiah Joseph “Jerry” O’Keefe, III, 93, of Biloxi died August 23, 2016. Mr. O’Keefe was born in Ocean Springs […]

Biloxi City Attorney Gerald Blessey, who reconstituted the city’s Legal Department and helped generate millions of dollars in grants and funds recovered for the city over the past year, plans to step down in September, at the end of the current fiscal year. Blessey, a former Biloxi mayor and state legislator, notified Mayor Andrew “FoFo” […]

“We’ve lost a great Biloxian, someone who did so much for this community in so many ways, and the country has lost an American hero,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says of the passing of former Mayor Jeremiah J. “Jerry” O’Keefe. O’Keefe, the country’s youngest World War II flying ace, former state legislator, two-term Biloxi mayor, […]

A new $405,000 walkway and overlook at the western entrance to Hiller Park is headed toward an October completion. The 10-foot-wide, 1,700-foot walkway, which runs alongside a bayou at the western end of the park, is the last phase of a sidewalk project that connects Popp’s Ferry Road to Hiller Park. The project includes a […]

The City of Biloxi and Cable One will air a day of special storm-related programming on Monday to commemorate the 11th anniversary of Katrina and to help educate residents about the dangers of storms and flooding. “These programs are designed to tell the story of Biloxi, how we’ve weathered the storms and moved forward,” said Mayor […]

Talk of the municipal budget dominated the City Council meetings yesterday, but amidst the long discussions, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich welcomed new royalty to Biloxi City Hall. Gilich introduced 2016 Shrimp Bowl Queen Savannah Goolsby Belcher, who dropped by City Hall to promote plans for this week’s high school football classic at Biloxi High School. […]

The city’s annual Storm & Flood Preparedness newsletter should be arriving in homes and businesses throughout Biloxi today and Wednesday, and this year’s edition has information about garbage, recycling and trash pickup. The 12-page compendium includes a storm tracking map; information on evacuation routes and shelters; tips on how to create a storm plan for […]

Members of the Biloxi City Council will get their first look at parts of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2017 during a special meeting Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall. The mayor and councilmembers are expected to hammer out a spending plan for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 […]

Fire Chief Joe Boney says that the all-volunteer West End Hose Co. No. 3, more popularly known as the Biloxi fire museum, has activated its online GoFundMe account and is seeking donations for a relief trip in the works to help flood victims in Louisiana. Boney says money is needed to help feed the five […]

For all the reports of torrential downpours and widespread flooding, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller says roadways in Biloxi have remained passable and without many traffic incidents. So far. Flood advisories remain in effect for Biloxi and the surrounding area, with the National Weather Service continuing to forecast numerous showers and thunderstorms that could produce […]

Biloxi and all of Harrison County are now under a flood warning until 4:15 this afternoon, meaning flooding is imminent or occurring in the area and property owners should take appropriate action. Earlier, the National Weather Service had issued the warning for the southwestern areas of the county. A warning means conditions favorable for flooding […]

Five former Biloxi Dodgers, three local club boxers and a nationally renowned boxing referee are among a list of 17 inductees into the Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame this year. The newest class will be honored Sunday, Aug. 28 in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony at the Biloxi Civic Center. The program, which will feature the inductions […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich underscored Biloxi’s strong support for, and commitment to Keesler AFB’s mission Tuesday night when he hosted a dinner at Mary Mahoney’s for visiting U.S. Air Force dignitaries. Gilich, Chief of Civic Innovation & Development Cliff Kirkland and City Attorney Gerald Blessey used the occasion to lobby a site review team that […]

Longtime Biloxian Susan Hunt, whose family owned and operated the fabled Isle of Caprice casino resort, will be one of the featured speakers Thursday when the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum unveils an exhibit focusing on the island that was 12 miles off the Coast of Biloxi. The free reception will be from 5 to […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is ready to move forward with his announced plans to nominate City Councilman Paul A. Tisdale as the city’s new chief administrative officer, now that the state Attorney General and Ethics Commission both have signed off on the idea, and Tisdale has agreed to work with no compensation. Gilich made the […]

The city now has a Facebook audience of 25,000, and, as a result more and more timely news updates are posted on the city Facebook page to augment news on the city website. Just this week, Facebook followers were updated on a late-night ammonia leak in downtown Biloxi, and traffic updates are frequently posted. A […]

The Mississippi Gulf Coast has a colorful past with some of that history hidden in the woods with early settlers and their moonshine stills.  Local author, historian, and storyteller Al Saucier provides glimpses of that history in “Kiln Moonshine,” the eighth edition of his successful book which tells the story of the wilderness families of […]

Four major projects, some that have been in the works for years, are expected to take another step forward when the City Council meets Tuesday night. The four projects – a new main entrance for Keesler, a beachside boardwalk in west Biloxi, a second pedestrian walkway over U.S. 90 and repairs to the Saenger Theater […]

He was the man who brought Elvis to Biloxi just before he rocketed to stardom, and, just as importantly, he brought James Brown to Biloxi Municipal Stadium where a diverse audience gathered in an otherwise turbulent Civil Rights era. And, now, on the 50th anniversary of Soul Brother No. 1’s appearance in Biloxi, the City […]

The city has filed a motion in Harrison County Chancery Court in an effort to recoup Point Cadet casino rent money that the state had inadvertently moved into its general fund. The city is hoping to recoup $1.18 million on top of the $1.3 million that was recovered from the state a few weeks ago. The […]

The city must re-bid the multi-million-dollar project to rebuild and repair infrastructure work south of CSX railway because a Harrison County judge has found there was not substantial evidence to accept the bid and award a contract to Hemphill Construction. The city in January had rejected an apparent low bid from Oscar Renda of $82.9 […]

There’s a new downtown street fair this weekend in the Vieux Marche that will combine daytime arts and crafts, live music and food booths with a nighttime cast party for “Shrek the Musical.” The Vieux Marche Street Fair takes place Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. with daytime activities, and a cast party for “Shrek […]

Oscar Renda Contracting began paving on Back Bay Boulevard last week, and the company hopes to have the entire roadway rebuilt and repaved within 45 to 60 days. The four-lane boulevard, which travels along Back Bay and connects Oak Street to I-110, would serve as a detour route around the infrastructure work.  The work now impacts about 55 miles […]

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, continuing the innovation and development initiatives that have underscored his first year in office, today hosted a STEM Summit at City Hall to stimulate a greater dialogue about the necessity of promoting science and technology education in the modern classroom. “Encouraging our children to embrace science, technology, engineering and math […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich this morning sounded familiar themes on his vision of Biloxi – “friendly, safe and beautiful” – and drew a round of applause when he mentioned the $5 million in state funding that has been committed toward a new main entrance for Keesler Air Force Base. Gilich spoke to a Biloxi Chamber […]

The City Council approved three new members of the city’s Architectural and Historical Review Commission today and also set up the advisory body to consider one of its biggest cases, the proposed La Quinta Inn and Suites, off Seal Avenue. Councilmembers OK’d Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s nomination of Wallace Barnes, Mary Wallace Boles and Anthony […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday will ask the City Council to approve a memorandum of understanding with State Treasurer Lynn Fitch that is expected to lead to the city receiving $5 million in funding toward a project for a new main entrance at Keesler Air Force Base. The Keesler issue is one of two-dozen […]

A request by the Salvation Army to acquire the former Lee Street ballpark site to construct a new gymnasium will be part of the discussion this week when the City Council holds a special meeting to consider an affordable housing initiative in east Biloxi. The Lee Street site, immediately south of the Army-owned Yankie Stadium, […]

The Biloxi Police Department today honored a police officer and firefighter who saved lives in two separate incidents over the past several weeks. The awards, to Police Inv. Nick Sonnier and Firefighter Charlie Hebert, were made during the department’s quarterly awards ceremony at the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center. Police Chief John Miller also administered the […]

Good news from Oscar Renda Contracting, the company overseeing the massive and disruptive infrastructure work in east Biloxi: Motorists and residents should be seeing permanent asphalt going down on Back Bay Boulevard near Oak, and on Crawford Street, and next month on Seal Avenue. Project manager Joel Murrah made the announcements on these areas and […]

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the dedication of three of the city’s high profile post-Katrina projects – the Biloxi Visitors Center, the Biloxi Civic Center and the Biloxi Public Library. Together, the three represent an investment of about $35 million in federal funds in the city’s rebuilding effort and have become shining examples of […]

The Pokemon Go craze, which has attracted a steady stream of mobile game players to the Biloxi Lighthouse, hit a zenith last night when dozens of players gathered at 2 a.m. on the lawn of the Biloxi Visitors Center. The lighthouse, the city’s signature landmark, has become a local focal point of the location-based reality […]

U-Haul has approached the city with an idea to convert the former Walmart on Pass Road into a retail outlet and interior storage facility for boats, RVs and individual storage units. The proposal had its first airing last week before the city’s Development Review Committee, a multi-departmental city body that looks at various issues of new construction. […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says he was encouraged by an Ethics Commission ruling that says current City Councilman Paul Tisdale could serve as the city’s new chief administrative officer, if he worked without compensation. “We’ve known from Day 1 that salary might be an issue,” Gilich said, “but our primary question to the Ethics Commission […]

About three dozen members of the Biloxi Police Department and representatives of the military police at Keesler gathered today on the steps of the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center to answer the call for prayer from Dallas Police Chief David Brown. Pastor Lindsey Robinson of St. Paul United Methodist Church offered a prayer and called for […]

The big Saints weekend has arrived. As many as a thousand youngsters ages 6 to 15 will have a chance to take part in the Saints Kids Experience Saturday at MGM Park and then on Saturday night the park hosts the inaugural Saints Hall of Fame Road Show, a collection of Saints memorabilia. Events kicked off […]

The Biloxi City Council has called a workshop for July 19 to discuss a proposal by a nationally award-winning housing developer to construct 125 affordable single-family homes in east Biloxi on four sites of vacant land in a deal that could net the city more than half a million dollars. The public session will be […]

Saints fans young and old have a chance to meet a who’s who of Saints lore this weekend:  Rickey Jackson, Morten Andersen, Bobby Hebert, Deuce McAllister, Dalton Hilliard, Vaughan Johnson, Jim Dombrowski, Tyrone Hughes, Joe Johnson, Michael Lewis, Derland Moore and Jim Wilks. It’s the inaugural Saints Hall of Fame Weekend, with a golf tournament Friday […]

Biloxi saved nearly $3 million for city and county coffers Tuesday with the refinancing of $28 million in debt that had been incurred years ago to widen and improve Caillavet Street, Back Bay Boulevard and Popp’s Ferry Road. The City Council unanimously approved Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s proposal to move the bonds from variable rates […]

Those who watched the Biloxi fireworks show in the fireworks-free zone may have been taking part in something that looks to be the beginning of a new tradition. “I was very happy with the way the fireworks-free zone went,” said Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, adding with a smile, “and my wife was happy with it […]

The “No Fireworks” signs will be going up on east beach in Biloxi today, signaling what could be a new tradition for the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show. The fireworks-free zone on the mile-long stretch of the beach from the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor to Oak Street is part of a weekend that […]

The new Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the City of Biloxi, a report that provides detailed financial information about city operations, is now available online at biloxi.ms.us. The 149-page document uses graphics, bar charts and balance sheets to provide an accurate and complete financial position of the city, as of Sept. 30, 2015, the end […]

Biloxi residents have known for years that they have some of the lowest water, sewer and garbage rates of any community in the state, and a new report confirms that the city’s drinking water meets or exceeds federal and state requirements. The city’s Annual Report on the Quality of Drinking Water, a scorecard mandated by […]

Biloxi Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols has accepted an administrative post with Biloxi Public Schools, and, as a result, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich plans to nominate City Councilman Paul A. Tisdale to be the city’s new chief administrative officer. Before being elected to represent west Biloxi in 2013, Tisdale led Biloxi Public Schools with a […]

Electronic billboards and barricades have been positioned at high profile locations and intersections on U.S. 90 signaling the approach of the annual “Scrapin’ the Coast” and heavy traffic. “Scrapin’,” a car show that bills itself as “the wildest show on the Coast,” returns to Biloxi Friday through Sunday, and Biloxi leaders are asking participants to […]

The new Lorraine Road bridge, 10 times longer than the old bridge and twice as wide, opens Friday, months ahead of schedule, and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says it’s the bridge to the future. The $7.5 million bridge, which crosses the Biloxi River and connects Biloxi and Gulfport, was funded by the Mississippi Department of […]

The issue of the La Quinta Inn and Suites, the hotel planned for front beach between Hopkins Boulevard and Seal Avenue, will be discussed this afternoon in a special meeting immediately after the 1:30 City Council meeting. No votes are expected to be taken during the session, which is at City Hall and open to […]

The reconstruction of Back Bay Boulevard has begun. The four-lane, mile-long boulevard that connects Oak Street with I-110 has been a dusty, unkempt four-lane trail since August of last year when Oscar Renda Contracting says design flaws halted work on the roadway. Today, however, with new sewer and drainage pipes in place, workers have begun […]

Weekend events will kick off tonight with an “Aloha to Summertime” dance at the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center.  The Parks and Recreation Department will present a free special needs party and dance this evening from 6 to 9 at the Community Center, 2520 Pass Road. Physically and mentally challenged children and adults and […]

The east Biloxi infrastructure work, which involves replacing 650,000 feet of water mains, sewer and storm drain lines under 55 miles of streets, is approaching the halfway point. A report issued by the city’s Engineering Department last week showed that as of April 25 contractor Oscar Renda had completed 40 percent of the overall work, […]

The city’s initiative to create a string of public waterfront amenities is expected to begin taking shape this summer with a West Biloxi Festival Boardwalk, and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday will be asking the City Council to reapply to the Mississippi Legislature for nearly $15 million in Tidelands funds. Under the city’s ambitious […]

Former and current mayors and city councilmembers, past and present police chiefs from Biloxi and surrounding areas, and representatives of the FBI, Keesler Air Force Base and the Gulf Coast hospitality industry joined family and friends Friday night to mark the end of Rodney McGilvary’s milestone career with the Biloxi Police Department. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” […]

A couple of longstanding attractions fill this weekend’s entertainment lineup: the 20th annual Billfish Classic at Point Cadet Marina and the 30th Annual Summer Fair at the Coast Coliseum. You’ll also find a new show at the Beau Rivage and a host of performances and other diversions on stages and venues throughout the city. See […]

Hundreds of people in town for conventions this week discovered something that locals already knew: Point Cadet Plaza is the place to be for an outdoor event. With its large shade-filled pavilion, breezes wafting across the Biloxi Bay, a nearby splash pad and playground for children, and convenient restrooms, it has everything. And don’t forget […]

A week’s worth of photos galleries from the city’s Facebook page: Oak Street affairs:  A host of city and civic leaders turned out at The Biloxi Lugger restaurant and Le Bakery this week for two ribbon cuttings to mark the paving of Oak Street. Even former Mayor A.J. Holloway was there. To see photos, click […]

Hundreds of fire chiefs from across the South will be in town next week for the three-day Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs Conference. The 88th annual conference will take place at the IP Casino Resort and Spa Tuesday, with nearly 200 fire chiefs and directors from across 10 Southern states attending. “This conference is usually hosted […]

“Clear skies and paved roads, can it get any better than that?” asks the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce in its invitation for a dual ribbon-cutting ceremonies on Oak Street this morning. “This is an event worth celebrating.” The chamber will conduct two ceremonial ribbon cuttings this morning, at 11 a.m. at The Biloxi Lugger […]

After protecting and serving the citizens of Biloxi for nearly 40 years, Biloxi Police Assistant Chief Rodney McGilvary will have the tables turned on him Friday. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, Police Chief John Miller, countless law enforcement officers as well as numerous city employees and citizens are expected to gather at the Biloxi Civic Center, […]

The city’s new street-sweeping program, which proposes to pick up dirt and debris from 15 major thoroughfares each month, began earlier this week, and the firm cleaning the streets agrees with Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich: It’s going to be a big job at the outset. Sweep Masters, a firm that specializes in cleaning parking lots […]

(From the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation) The Mashantucket (Conn.) Pequot Tribal Nation announces its plans for the development and operation of a Foxwoods-branded, casino resort, to be located at Biloxi Pointe in historic Biloxi, Miss. Through a new strategic partnership, the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise will partner with Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC, Chris Ferrara, sponsor; […]

Biloxi’s Municipal Court, as part of its settlement agreement with the ACLU, is resetting municipal court cases where defendants owe fines or fees dating back to March 2014. The court is now sending notices to as many as 500 defendants letting them know that any existing arrest warrants against them for non-payment or failure to […]

One of city’s most cherished traditions, the Biloxi Shrimp Festival and Blessing of the Fleet, takes place this weekend in East Biloxi. The weekend-long celebration, which dates back to the Old Country, is highlighted by the Sunday afternoon blessing of a brightly decorated shrimping fleet to ask for God’s blessing for a safe and bountiful […]

MDOT has announced that workers will close the I-110 off ramps at Bayview and Division Street for one night next week to allow the installation of new overhead signage. The southbound exit at Bayview Avenue will be closed Wednesday from 7 p.m. to Thursday 6 a.m. At Division Street, the southbound exit will be closed […]

Biloxi’s tree committee, a new city board that will advise the city on striking a balance between protecting trees and economic development, has scheduled its first session. Committee members will have a training session Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the city’s Community Development Department to review the city’s tree ordinance and discuss procedures. The meeting […]

The 2016 Preservation in May program will have a bonus presentation this evening to help launch this weekend’s 87th annual Biloxi Shrimp Festival and Blessing of the Fleet. The bonus event, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Sinking of the Emma Harvey, will begin at 5 p.m. at the St. Michael Parish Life Center, adjacent to […]

The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum is offering individuals a chance to ride aboard the Biloxi schooner “Glenn L. Swetman” for the Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday. Tickets are $30 per person and can be purchased by calling the museum before Saturday or at the pier on Sunday.  However, tickets will be sold on […]

U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today announced that the City of Biloxi is receiving a $9 million federal grant to reimburse the city for utility easements that are being purchased across front beach property to make way for new water and sewer lines and improved drainage. The city has already bought […]

The summer season kicks off this weekend with the Shuckers back in town for a three-game series, a two-day firefighter-headlined fun day on the Town Green, a family fun day at Hiller Park, and such headliners as Charley Pride and Peter Frampton in town. And don’t forget, you’ll see a host of motorcycles and motorcycle […]

Longtime historian Ray Bellande, who has created an online resource about local history that is invaluable to researchers around the world, has been named the city’s Preservationist of the Year. Bellande’s recognition was one of a dozen awards presented this evening as part of the city’s monthlong Preservation in May series. The presentations were made […]

City and county crews were on U.S. 90 in west Biloxi today, clearing sand from turning bays, parking bays and medians as part of an effort to remove as much sand as possible before the busy Memorial Day weekend. It marks the third time this year that Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has directed city crews […]

“I am so thankful that I had loyal customers who have been making their way through all this since August,” says Sue Nguyen-Torjusen of Le Bakery, as she watched paving crews apply the long-anticipated permanent paving outside her bakery on Oak Street this morning. “And now, the great news is that we have pavement, finally, […]

Cake, cupcakes and other treats will join fresh produce, jams and jellies at the Biloxi Farmers Market Thursday, when Biloxi Main Street hosts the season’s first installment of the Downtown Farmers Market Festival. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Howard Avenue at the I-110 overpass. Cake-themed activities, such as a cake […]

If there was ever a question about where someone was buried in the generations-old Biloxi City Cemetery, the best place for researchers, family members and funeral home directors to turn for answers was Annette Barhonovich. From her desk in the lobby of City Hall, Ms. Annette for the past 16 years has managed records on […]

As many as 50 wooden boats, ranging in size from 6 to 76 feet and dating back as early as 1928, will be on display this weekend for the annual Billy Creel Memorial Gulf Coast Wooden Boat Show at the Seafood Industry Museum Pier in east Biloxi. The two-day event is a celebration of historic, […]

Biloxi firefighters are learning about the stress-relieving aspects of pottery this week from a Georgia potter who’s familiar with disaster and the stress-relieving aspects of creating pottery. Fulltime potter Amy Stickland, an artist from Dahlonega , Ga., and aunt of Fire Capt. Jim Davis. saw firsthand the stressful days after Hurricane Katrina and has returned this […]

Longtime housing advocate and community leader Delmar P. Robinson, whose efforts led him to be named the city’s outstanding citizen in 2008, has died. He was 78. Robinson served as chairman of the Biloxi Housing Authority after being appointed by Mayor A.J. Holloway in 1997. During his 19 years with the agency, he oversaw the transformation […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who was sworn in one year ago today before family and friends at the Biloxi Visitors Center (days ahead of his formal inauguration on May 20), spoke about the importance of being a data-driven city during his “Breakfast with the Mayor” presentation this morning. “If you can measure it, you can […]

Biloxi had some successes and disappointments in city-driven initiatives in the 2016 Mississippi Legislative session, according to a report given to the Biloxi City Council this afternoon. “This was a great start,” said Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who championed a number of issues, including an unprecedented request of $14 million to fund a number of waterfront […]

The city and county stand to save a total of $2.3 million in interest payments over the next decade if the Biloxi City Council approves a measure being proposed by Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich. The proposed bond-refinancing is one of a dozen issues on the City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at […]

“Our Love Affair with Baseball,” the Ohr-O’Keefe’s new multi-media exhibition chronicling the history of baseball on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, wraps up its first week Saturday with a day of children’s events and a 1 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., showcasing a campus-wide exhibit that features […]

The City of Biloxi will hold a public meeting on Wednesday to let residents know about the pending installation of sewer service in the Holly Bluff and Cedar Lake areas. The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the North Bay Elementary School Gymatorium, 1825 Popp’s Ferry Road. Employees from the City Engineering […]

A new round of temporary paving for streets of east Biloxi is scheduled to begin Monday and be completed several days later. Warren Paving is expected to apply asphalt to Porter Avenue and Bohn Street, south of Division Street; Division Street, from Porter to Forest Avenue; and Main, Lameuse and Reynoir streets, from Division to […]

Nearly two years into a huge job that contractor Oscar Renda says was beset with multiple engineering issues, progress is being made on installing a main sewer line on Division Street, which will lead to similar, smaller lines being installed on connecting streets. The company, which is constructing a federally funded $119 million project that […]

The Biloxi Police Department’s annual Fallen Officers Memorial, part of National Police Week, is typically a somber mid-week event, but this year the department ushers in its weeklong observance on Saturday with a family fun day on the Town Green and a 5K run that will feature as many as 800 participants. The activities will […]

This week’s Preservation in May installment pays tribute to the men, women and children who stood up for Civil Rights in Biloxi in the late 1950s and ’60s and fought to desegregate the beach. “The Roll Call: Biloxi Wade-in Memorial & Tribute Ceremony” begins at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Dr. Frank Gruich Sr. Community Center, […]

South Mississippi’s long and enduring love affair with baseball is the subject of a new six-month multi-media exhibit and luncheon series opening May 10 at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi. The exhibition, titled “Our Love Affair with Baseball,” will shine a spotlight on locals who have been involved with major league baseball, trace […]

Preservation in May, the community’s annual month-long salute to Biloxi’s colorful past, kicks off Thursday with a lesson for those interested in preserving their own stories. “Voices: An Introduction to Oral History,” which takes place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Biloxi Public Library on Howard Avenue will be introduce participants to the concept […]

Longtime auctioneer Nick Clark says bargain hunters will find great deals this weekend when the city auctions more than 500 surplus or seized vehicles, jewelry, tools, heavy equipment, TVs, computers and other material, and it’s going to be a great deal, even for spectators. The city will be auctioning the property, including dozens of bicycles, […]

“Precious Cargo,” the south Mississippi-filmed movie starring Bruce Willis, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Claire Forlani, has its Coast premiere Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Saenger Theater in downtown Biloxi. Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. for this free event, and Island View Casino Resort will be providing refreshments.  Tickets are not required for admission. It’s […]

Arlene Canaan, a retired Biloxi businesswoman and former City Councilmember who has made beautification a hallmark of public service, has been named the city’s Distinguished Volunteer of the Year. The announcement was made during the city’s annual Volunteer Recognition Awards Thursday at the Biloxi Civic Center. Canaan, who serves on the city’s Architectural and Historical […]

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says residents in low-lying areas, especially those near the Biloxi and Wolf rivers, should make plans for rising river levels, and those throughout Biloxi should remember that more rain may be expected later in the day. Areas of Biloxi sustained as much as 10 inches of rainfall this morning in […]

The City of Biloxi has a rich and diverse cultural and architectural history, and in  celebration of that history, Biloxi biannually presents Historic Preservation Awards to individuals, businesses, and organizations that are protecting and restoring our architectural history as well as those working to preserve or promote local cultural history and traditions. The city is […]

The City of Biloxi will recognize more than a hundred volunteers during the 33rd Annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony on Thursday at the Biloxi Civic Center. The free ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. and is designed to recognize volunteers as individuals and groups for their service in such areas as health, community, arts and history, education, […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday will introduce to the Biloxi City Council the newest beat cops in the city: two bicycle-riding, shorts-clad officers who work the downtown area of the city. The new pedal-powered officers, who actually began patrolling the downtown area on Friday, are to give an increased police presence to the growing […]

Dozens of pure-bred, AKC-registered canines prance in front of a full arena and national TV audience in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show each year, but a dog show on Saturday morning in Hiller Park will showcase the regular guy’s answer to man’s best friend. Fido, Spot and Rebel, get ready for your close up. […]

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is seeking volunteers for its upcoming multi-media baseball exhibit. “Our Love Affair with Baseball,” which spotlights Biloxi’s and the Gulf Coast’s long and colorful relationship with amateur and Major League baseball, opens May 10 and through Nov. 4. The exhibit will be open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to […]

Tuesday morning at 6:45, the Biloxi Fire Department reaches a huge milestone: The department, already one of the top-rated in the state, will have the ability to meet the national standards of having 15 firefighters on the scene of any active fire call. The department is able to achieve the new standard thanks to a […]

The City of Biloxi added a million dollars to its bank account Thursday afternoon and ushered in a new era of business development with the sale of a waterfront site that will see the development of a new 100-room hotel and the creation of 45 jobs. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and hotel operators Shivam of […]

The Fourth of July fireworks, of course, are still a few months away, but the City of Biloxi is already working on how to make this show more enjoyable in Biloxi. The city is proposing to make the mile-long stretch of the beach between Oak Street and the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor a fireworks-free zone. “For […]

“I thought it was a great weekend, considering that we had 35,000 people in town,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says of this weekend’s spring break event, which, understandably choked traffic on major arteries in west Biloxi from Friday night into Sunday afternoon. “This is what we’re all about, hospitality and people having a good time,” […]

OK, you’ve heard the talk of slow-moving, wall-to-wall traffic this weekend, especially on U.S. 90, but there’s another way of looking at it, says Bruce Lacey. “I’ve heard the talk about traffic, especially in the media,” says Lacey, managing partner of the downtown eatery Sal & Mookie’s, “but the fact is, it’s going to be […]

The Coast hotel industry has a record number of reservations for this weekend, with sunny skies, a spring break weekend and a Shuckers homestand driving interest, and city leaders are ready to help keep traffic moving on U.S. 90. “It’s unprecedented, the level of activity I’m seeing,” says Mississippi Lodging Association Director Linda Hornsby, a 30-year […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich went on the record today: Biloxi does not discriminate and is open for business and tourism and residential development to all, regardless of religion or identity. “We do not discriminate, period,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said today, as he passed along to the Biloxi City Council a measure he expects the […]

The Charles R. Hegwood Biloxi Farmers Market launched a new season today with dozens of vendors offering a host of farm-fresh produce, homemade jams and jellies, baked goods, plants and, new this year, arts and crafts. Biloxi Civic Innovation and Development Officer F. Cliff Kirkland and Parks and Recreation Director Cheryl Bell welcomed the vendors […]

Everybody’s excited about the return of Jimmy Buffett and the Margaritaville brand to Biloxi, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says, but he also tipped his hat to the people who are making it happen. Leaders with Barrington Development Group on Sunday announced that the refurbished Casino Magic on Point Cadet will be a new Margaritaville Resort, […]

The Local History and Genealogy Department will host “When the Stork Drops In” on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Biloxi Public Library, 580 Howard Ave.  The program will highlight the department’s existing resources to assist individuals tracing child descendants. The free program will offer remedies to stumbling blocks that may be encountered in genealogical […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says the rain will clear out Saturday morning, which means a huge amount of baseball fans in downtown Biloxi for the exhibition baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Biloxi Shuckers, and Biloxi Police believe parking and access to the stadium will not be an issue. “This is what it’s […]

The Milwaukee Brewers will face the Biloxi Shuckers — The Crew vs. The Future Crew — in an exhibition game at MGM Park on Saturday afternoon, and Main Street Biloxi is already looking to the opening of the Shuckers minor league baseball season next week. On Saturday, MGM Park gates will open at 11 a.m., […]

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon, a Dec. 11 event whose route runs from Pass Christian to Biloxi, was announced only a couple of weeks ago, and it’s already making headlines. The race, writes correspondent Larry Olmsted on Forbes online, combines two great ingredients: a flat, beachfront route that’s great for marathoners, especially first-time marathoners, and […]

“We’re not going to slow down,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich declares in this week’s City Desk podcast. “I’ve got a fuse that’s lit, so we’re going to make sure we cover as much ground as we can.” Among the topics discussed in the 14-minute program, which was recorded this morning: The challenges of paving in […]

The paving juggernaut in east Biloxi continues, with Warren Paving Co. crews applying asphalt to Lee Street today and planning to move to Hopkins Boulevard Thursday morning. Since Friday, crews have applied temporary paving to sections of Main, Division, Lameuse and Lee streets to make traveling smoother on major thoroughfares in the 55 miles of […]

Paving on major thoroughfares in east Biloxi continues to make progress. Warren Paving Co. had two lanes of asphalt on Division Street from Lee to Caillavet by midday today, and paving on Lameuse Street south of Division was expected to be complete by the end of the day. The temporary paving is a continuation of […]

The raindrops have won over the egg drop. The inaugural Easter Egg drop at MGM Park, planned for Saturday, has been moved to Sunday afternoon to avoid the forecasted inclement weather on Saturday. A Harrison County Sheriff’s Office helicopter will drop more than 12,000 prize-filled eggs onto the field at MGM Park on Sunday. The […]

The City of Biloxi takes another step in the process to see a new road connecting Popp’s Ferry and U.S. 90 next week when a hearing will be held to gather public reaction to two proposed routes for the new roadway. The public will have a chance to review and comment on the two proposed […]

It’s been months in the making, and longtime Main Street business owners were so excited to see asphalt going down on their street this morning that they couldn’t wait to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony. And Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and Ward 2 Councilmember Felix O. Gines complied. Inez Thomas of Inez’s Cafe and Tyrone Burton […]

Warren Paving Co. began grading Main Street today and expects to have paving underway on the roadway Friday or Monday, weather permitting. Announcement of the east Biloxi work was part of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s presentation to the Biloxi Chamber’s Breakfast with the Mayor session this morning at IP Casino Resort Spa. The temporary paving […]

The American Civil Liberties Union and the city of Biloxi have settled a federal lawsuit that alleged the jailing of people unable to pay court-ordered fines and fees in traffic and other misdemeanor cases. As part of the settlement, Biloxi has initiated policies that both parties agree are a model for courts in Mississippi and […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will discuss the pending temporary paving on roadways in east Biloxi and a host of the projects during the Biloxi Chamber’s “Breakfast with the Mayor” session on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the IP Casino Resort Spa. The free program, which will be in the IP ballroom, is designed to give […]

The fees for slips at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor and Point Cadet Marina, and how those fees are determined, will be discussed during a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council on Tuesday morning at 10:30 at City Hall. The morning meeting will preface an afternoon meeting where councilmembers face an agenda of nearly […]

Organizers of the annual Grillin’ on the Green, the barbecue and crafts fair planned for this weekend on the Town Green, have decided to postpone the event until April 16 because of the threat of inclement weather, but the Hibernia Marching Society says it’s still a green light for the St. Pat’s parade on Saturday. […]

When Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich met with the members of Cub Scout Pack 213 Wednesday, he was also meeting with the stars of new short film “The Boonies:  Hidden Treasure of Biloxi.” That’s right. The kids from Pack 213 are the ensemble cast of the slickly produced short that gives hi-def screen time to such […]

For years, Biloxi has become known for hosting a number of Easter Egg hunts and related events in the days and weeks leading up to Easter Sunday, but a new tradition will be launched this year: eggs falling from the sky. Yep, you read that right.  A helicopter will drop more than 12,000 treat-filled eggs […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and the Biloxi City Council are inviting residents to help recognize outstanding volunteers at the 33rd Annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony. The ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at the Biloxi Civic Center, 578 Howard Ave.  Invitations will be sent to all nominators and nominees. Awards will be […]

Main Street ushers in the weekend and a new month this evening with its “Finally First Friday” gathering throughout downtown, you’ll find MGM Park’s inaugural high school baseball game this evening, and on Saturday the Rube Goldberg-like potter Steve Barney is back for daylong outdoor shows. Main Street’s Finally First Friday kicks off at 5:30 […]

The inaugural high school baseball game in MGM Park is going to have to wait a day. The matchup between the Biloxi Indians and D’Iberville Warriors, billed as the Battle of Back Bay Tomahawk Cup, has been pushed back from this evening to Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets sold for this evening will be honored […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich today praised Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for urging the state Legislature to commit $15 million of BP Economic Damages payments to the Keesler Air Force Base Division Street gate project. “Three days after I took office, Gov. Bryant was kind enough to meet with me to discuss issues important to the […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, who has rallied local leaders on the issue of securing at least 80 percent of the state’s BP money for the Gulf Coast, said he was disappointed with today’s measure passed by the state House that would see $50 million of BP money diverted for roads and bridges projects statewide. “This […]

Shuckers baseball is still a month away, but you’ll have a chance this week to whet your appetite with three days of baseball at MGM Park. This evening at 7:05, the downtown Biloxi ballpark hosts teams Jackson State vs. Southern. Then on Wednesday at 7:05, it’s Southern Miss vs. South Alabama, and on Thursday at 7 […]

The City of Biloxi takes another step in the process to see a new road connecting Popp’s Ferry and U.S. 90 this month when a hearing will be held to gather public reaction to two proposed routes for the new roadway. The public will have a chance to review and comment on the two proposed […]

A team of assessors from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission will be in Biloxi Thursday and Friday conducting an on-site assessment to ensure that the Biloxi Police Department is complying with professional standards. The assessors, who checks the department’s compliance with 140 measured standards, will review agency policies and practices, interview personnel, and examine […]

The rates for those who rent slips for boats moored at the city’s public harbors and marinas will not be changing under an updated fee structure, but the manner in which those fees have been calculated will be revised in a measure that goes before the City Council on Tuesday. The council gets its first look at the […]

Division Street at the Caillavet Street intersection will be closed to east and westbound traffic beginning Tuesday morning at 7 so city contractors can make emergency sewer repairs at the site. Lane Construction expects to keep Caillavet Street open to traffic during the work, but motorists traveling Division Street will detour at either Bohn or […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has called a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council for 4 p.m. today to discuss granting a two-month extension for the firm overseeing the city’s massive infrastructure work. Under the proposal, HNTB would continue overseeing the $355 million in infrastructure work until April 29. HNTB has agreed to continue the […]

Tommy Moffett says when he was named the city’s first black police chief in 1986, he viewed the promotion as more about doing a good job, and he brushed aside  the distinction of breaking a color barrier. “It was irrelevant to me at the time,” says Moffett, who held the rank of chief in the […]

Main Street Biloxi District, one of seven national programs from across the country chosen as a site for a refreshed approach to comprehensive community revitalization and preservation-based economic development, will have its first series of visits today and Thursday. Kathy La Plante, senior program officer with the National Main Street Center, and Kennedy Smith, who […]

Biloxi Public Schools leaders have announced that students will be dismissed from class two hours early today, and city workers have been removing leaves and other debris from storm drains in low-lying areas, as residents and businesses are being encouraged to prepare for severe weather this afternoon. In fact, the National Weather Service has issued […]

Visitors to a number of high-profile landmarks in Biloxi are noticing new markers that tell the historical significance of those locations. The City of Biloxi used FEMA funding to replace 10 Katrina-destroyed stainless-steel markers that had dated back to the Blessey administration in the ’80s. The difference with the new 36-by-24-inch markers, says Biloxi Historical […]

Among the entertaining diversions this weekend in Biloxi: Center Stage offers its rendition of the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning show “The Piano Lesson,” Beauvoir welcomes the Southern Paranormal and Anomaly Research Society and you’ll find Jay Leno at the Beau Rivage,  and The O’Jays (“Love Train,” “I Love Music,” “Used Ta Be My Girl”) in […]

The Hibernia Marching Society St. Patrick’s parade, which takes place on Saturday, March 12, has a slightly different route this year, limiting its time on U.S. 90. The procession still begins at the Biloxi Yacht Club, but travels west toward downtown on Howard Avenue instead of U.S. 90. From Howard the parade turns south on […]

“The people of Biloxi did a great job,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says of this morning’s turnout of several hundred people to greet Amtrak at CTA’s Biloxi Transit Center. “Senator Wicker, the governor and the Amtrak folks were impressed with what they saw when the Amtrak train pulled into Biloxi.” Gilich, his wife, Serena, and […]

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney was named today as Biloxi’s Outstanding Citizen for 2015 in a Lions Club luncheon. Boney was cited as someone who has “blended his love of his community and its colorful history with his passion for firefighting and making Biloxi a better place to live.” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich read a […]

Biloxi’s Amtrak visit on Thursday morning is becoming quite the pep rally, with the Biloxi High pep band, cheerleaders and dance troupe, Biloxi Second Liners Mardi Gras Club, the Old Biloxi Marching Club, food vendors, and, of course, the Amtrak inspection train, which is scheduled to pull into CTA’s Biloxi Transit Center at 11:21 a.m. […]

Observations and follow-up news from Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s inaugural address on Tuesday: All ‘FoFo’ all the time: Beginning at 1 p.m. today Cable One in Biloxi began a 48-hour marathon replay of Mayor Gilich’s complete State of the City presentation. The 45-minute cablecast, which begins at the top of every hour, can be viewed […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, speaking today to a standing-room audience in his first State of the City address, acknowledged the poor condition of roads under construction in east Biloxi and made two promises about the work: temporary paving is in the works for major thoroughfares, and residents and businesses would not see a repeat when […]

If you failed to buy one of the 700 tickets for Tuesday’s State of the City luncheon, you’ll still be able to see the mayor’s presentation. Doors to the sold-out Biloxi Bay Chamber luncheon at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino open at 11 a.m., with the program beginning at 11:30. Text and photos from […]

Community college baseball is underway at MGM Park right now, with the Gulf Coast Bulldogs hosting St. Louis Community College. The first game of the doubleheader began moments ago, at 4 p.m., and the second game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The baseball contest, part of the Bulldogs’ 18-game slate this season at […]

“The word’s getting out that we have a really nice family-oriented Mardi Gras,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller says of the two Biloxi parades, which collectively attracted as many as 80,000 people with a record-low number of arrests. “On behalf of Mayor Gilich and the City Council, we want to thank the public for making […]

The Gulf Coast Carnival Association parade begins at 1 p.m. in downtown Biloxi, with dozens of units and marching groups, and Biloxi Police are reminding paradegoers that streets along the parade route will begin closing at noon. Theme of this year’s parade is “Extra! Extra!” with a nod to newspaper headlines from epic events through […]

More than 60 floats, including nearly a dozen bands, have been lined up for the Krewe of Neptune parade, which makes its way through downtown Biloxi on Saturday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. “We’re ready to kick off a great four days of Carnival fun,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said, referring to a weekend of parades […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday evening will ask the City Council to move forward on several proposals that have been on the agenda for a couple of meetings now, and a multi-million BP-funded project that has been in the works for years, completion of a waterfront park at the Popp’s Ferry causeway. The City […]

Dozens of youngsters will be on bikes, trikes, wagons and other contraptions Saturday morning in downtown Biloxi for the annual Children’s Walking Mardi Gras Parade. The procession, which begins at 10 a.m., is one of a half-dozen parades scheduled to roll on the Mississippi Gulf Coast this weekend. The children’s parade, open to those 12 […]

Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission have announced a tour of the railway between New Orleans and Jacksonville, Fla., will take place next month, and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says he wants the Biloxi stop, on Feb. 18 at 11:21 a.m., to be a pep rally to promote a revival of passenger rail service on the […]

Visitors to the Maritime and Seafood Industry on Thursday morning will be able to hear personal recollections of the life and times of Joe Moran when two of his daughters, Mary and Beverly, host “Cup of Joe,” part of the Point Cadet museum’s retrospective of the famed Biloxi artist. The session begins at 9 a.m. […]

A number of lingering issues – regulation of taxicabs and other vehicles for hire, better oversight on tree permits, and adjusting the city’s water, sewer and garbage rates – may be resolved by the Biloxi City Council next week. Councilmembers, who meet Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 at Biloxi City Hall, face an agenda with measures […]

A Harrison County Circuit judge has ruled in favor of the City of Biloxi and State of Mississippi in a rent dispute involving the Golden Nugget that could have meant millions of dollars in lost revenue over the long-term lease. In a ruling issued this week, Circuit Court Judge Roger T. Clark found that the […]

The Biloxi Second Liners parade, which originated as a neighborhood parade of children and wagons and today boasts dozens of units, will roll Saturday at 1 p.m. The Second Liners parade is one of five parades this weekend on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the march to Fat Tuesday, Feb. 9, continues. This year’s parade […]

The city’s Office of Federal Programs wants to make sure you know your rights and the law when it comes to fair housing. As part of the educational outreach efforts of the city’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, a Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act workshop will be conducted Thursday at […]

The City of Biloxi encourages you to have a spirited-yet-safe time at Mardi Gras. In order to make the occasion a safe one, the Biloxi Police Department asks that you follow these suggestions, which are more than suggestions in many cases: Before the parade — Carpool and anticipate traffic delays. Appoint a designated driver. Obey […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is proposing changing the city’s tree ordinance to create a seven-member advisory committee and provide more oversight over the process. The new ordinance, set to be voted on during the council meeting on Jan. 26, is the result of pleadings by dozens of residents more than two years ago for more input […]

The streets in downtown Biloxi on Monday will be filled with marching bands in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and this year’s event will culminate with the Battle of the Bands in MGM Park. The MLK “Marade” and Battle of the Bands will begin at 11 with a parade that will travel west […]

The Biloxi City Council this morning approved Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s recommendation to reject the bid of Oscar Renda Contracting  for infrastructure work south of the CSX railway, and authorized the mayor to work with contactor Hemphill Construction for a price closer to Renda’s $82.9 million proposal. Councilmembers voted to reject the Renda bid because […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says he is encouraged by a new report by Amtrak that shows a number of scenarios where daily passenger service could return to the Gulf Coast. “The most important thing about this Amtrak study is that is it an acknowledgement that daily passenger rail service for the Gulf Coast is viable,” […]

As part of the city’s educational outreach efforts to comply with the goals set forth in Biloxi’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, a Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Development Department’s Auditorium. The meeting is free and open to the […]

Popp’s Ferry Road east of Cedar Lake Road will be closed Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow contactors to install underground utilities as part of the widening of Popp’s Ferry Road. The work will be taking place between Motsie Road and Ellington Drive; motorists are advised to use Brodie Road as an […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Friday will be asking the Biloxi City Council to move forward with infrastructure work south of the CSX railway and to spend city money to temporarily pave major thoroughfares in the current construction zone north of the railway. Gilich has called a special meeting of the council for Friday at […]

Water and sewer rates for all Biloxi homes and businesses would increase anywhere from 4 to 7 percent under a new rate scenario being considered by the City Council. The council will have a workshop for Friday at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the issue. The meeting will be held at City Hall and is open […]

A new exhibit about renowned Biloxi artist Joe Moran at the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum promises to offer unique insight into the master boatbuilder who later became a celebrated Biloxi artist. The “Joe Moran Retrospective” opens Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and runs through March 15 at the Point Cadet museum, and visitors will be […]

The Road To Freedom Bus, a traveling showcase designed to raise awareness of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, will be in Biloxi Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., south of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The bus, which will be open for tours, features displays on The ADA Legacy Project and its […]

The Biloxi Lions Club is now accepting nominations for Biloxi’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year, who will be recognized during a luncheon at the Biloxi Yacht Club on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Nominations are due at Biloxi City Hall by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3. Forms can be obtained at the Biloxi Visitors Center or online […]

Billy Ray Allen, who has worked in the city’s Public Works Department for more than 40 years, has been named acting director of the department. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich made the announcement today. Dan Gaillet submitted his resignation last week to spend more time with a son who is recovering from a catastrophic automobile accident. Allen, […]

Members of the Biloxi City Council have asked Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich for alternative proposals for increasing water and sewer rates, which could mean increases for all Biloxi residents and businesses, instead of only the high-end users under the administration’s proposal. “It’s still early in the process,” Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols said, “and we […]

A group of six to 10 volunteers from the Biloxi Fire Department will be making a return relief trip to Three Forks next week to help four volunteer firefighters who lost their homes in a devastating tornado that struck days before Christmas. Some of the Biloxi firefighters will be making the six-hour drive to the […]

The City Desk podcast returns from a two-week holiday break today with updates on a host of major city initiatives. Among the progress reports in the program that was recorded this morning: the status of ongoing infrastructure work and how the program will change as it moves south of the CSX railway, the proposed increases […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will deliver his inaugural State of the City address on Tuesday, Feb. 16 in a Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce-sponsored luncheon at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Gilich, who will have been in office nine months when he makes his presentation, will discuss the city’s ongoing program of work since […]

Applications are now available for the annual Biloxi Children’s Mardi Gras Walking Parade, which is open to those ages 12 and under. Participants can walk, bike, skate or be pushed in strollers or wagons in this parade, which takes place Saturday, Jan. 30.  Applications are being distributed this week through Biloxi schools and can also be […]

Gumbo and bread pudding from Mary Mahoney’s Old French House Restaurant, pasta from the Half Shell Oyster House and king cakes from Le Bakery will be on the menu for this evening’s Twelfth Night celebration, which kicks off at 5 at the Visitors Center before moving to the Mardi Gras Museum. The Visitors Center portion […]

The Biloxi City Council ushers in the New Year with two meetings on Tuesday, a 4 p.m. workshop to discuss water and sewer rates and ongoing infrastructure work, followed by a 6 p.m. meeting where council members will vote on whether to amend the city’s tax abatement program. Both meetings will be at City Hall, […]

The Gulf Coast will officially change from the holiday season to Carnival season on Tuesday with the celebration of Twelfth Night beginning with a 5 p.m. gathering at the Biloxi Visitors Center, followed by a parade to the Mardi Gras Museum. “The Biloxi Visitors Center is where we began the holiday season, with the lighting […]

The Lorraine Road bridge, which connects Biloxi and Gulfport and spans the Biloxi River, will be closed to traffic for as long as six months beginning Monday, as contractors continue making progress on having a wider, more efficient bridge in place for June. Beginning Jan. 4, those traveling the Lorraine Road area will have to use […]

Biloxi is looking to raise its water and sewer rates for the first time since 2009, and nearly 90 percent of the city’s customers will not be affected. And those who do get the new rates will still be paying among the lowest on the Gulf Coast The Biloxi City Council on Tuesday will consider […]

Julian Castro, the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, called Mayors Andrew “FoFo” Gilich of Biloxi and Billy Hewes of Gulfport this afternoon to congratulate the two city leaders on their efforts to help end homelessness among veterans. In fact, Castro told the mayors and other local housing advocates, the U.S. Department of Housing […]

Infrastructure work at the eastern tip of the Biloxi peninsula, that area bordering Oak Street north of the CSK railway, is 85 percent complete, according to the latest report from the city’s Public Works Department. The report, which provides a snapshot of work completed through Nov. 25, shows that 33 percent of the overall work […]

Biloxi Public Works Director Dan Gaillet, whose son has continued to undergo physical therapy since suffering catastrophic injuries in a car accident shortly after Gaillet joined the city two years ago, has announced that he is stepping down from his city position effective Jan. 4. Gaillet (pronounced “guy-yaa”), who was hired by Mayor A.J. Holloway […]

Dozens of artists and craftsmen will be showing and selling their wares Saturday for the Biloxi Visitors Center Holiday Open House. The 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. affair, which is free and open to the public, offers Christmas shoppers a last-minute opportunity to find locally created arts and crafts. Vendors will be set up throughout […]

The City of Biloxi is applying for $14.75 million in Tidelands funds for waterfront improvements along Back Bay and west beach, and at the same time is applying for more than $112 million in funds through the state’s Restore Act. The proposals include improvements and expansions of city marinas and harbors for recreational and charter […]

The Lorraine Road bridge, which connects Biloxi and Gulfport and spans the Biloxi River, will be closed to traffic for as long as six months beginning Jan. 4, as contractors continue making progress on having a wider, more efficient bridge in place for June. Beginning Jan. 4, those traveling the Lorraine Road area will have to […]

Hiller Park ushers in the holidays Saturday with a daylong “Spirit of Christmas at Hiller Park” celebration at the Barbara Ferrill Softball Fields. This first-year event, organized by the Friends of Hiller Park Committee, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include a children’s area filled with games, arts and crafts area, […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will ask the City Council on Tuesday to consider action on a number of big-ticket issues: improving oversight of the ongoing federally funded infrastructure projects, better monitoring of city finances and speeding up the process of paying contractors working on infrastructure work. The mayor has called a workshop for 10:30 Tuesday […]

Did you know the city has sold a beachfront parcel of land to make way for a new hotel? You can hear about that, along with a status report on other hotel projects, plans for Woolmarket and the city’s reaction to the opening of the Scarlet Pearl in D’Iberville in this week’s City Desk podcast. […]

The stretch of Bayview Avenue from Caillavet to past Boomtown Casino now has its initial coat of asphalt, meaning all lanes of the roadway are open to traffic. Oscar Renda Contracting opened the roadway Thursday evening at 7, four days ahead of its Dec. 15 target date. For months, motorists using the section of Bayview […]

The project to widen the final mile-long stretch of Popp’s Ferry Road between Cedar Lake and the D’Iberville city limits remains on schedule for a summertime opening. Contactors last week activated new traffic signals at Cedar Lake and Popp’s Ferry roads, and drainage is 80 percent complete on the project. All sewer has been installed […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said he was pleased to see Gov. Phil Bryant include $5 million of his pledged $15 million for broadband expansion among the monies designated for recovery projects from the BP oil spill. The governor announced Wednesday at a news conference that $54 million in projects had been selected for funding from […]

Local and community leaders are asking for the public’s help in identifying historic structures in the Division and Main streets. A community forum will be held Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Our Mother of Sorrows School, 800 Division St. “This is an area that has been considered historic for a long […]

With promises of support and words of encouragement, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich this morning congratulated the City of D’Iberville on the opening of the Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort. “Our friends in D’Iberville have worked so hard for so long for this day, and we share in their excitement about the potential of Scarlet Pearl not […]

The City of Biloxi this week begins advertising for engineers to design drainage plans for a section of East Woolmarket Road, but, more importantly says, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, the city is also advertising for qualified engineers to work on a master plan for utilities and infrastructure in the Woolmarket and Eagle Point areas. Proposals […]

The Biloxi Police Department’s Santa Wears a Badge program, which provides Christmastime toys for children and treats for seniors, is entering its final week, and, as usual, demand is outpacing supply. For years, the Biloxi Police have organized a toy drive providing for children up to age 11, and in recent years the program has […]

Biloxi will have land and water Christmas parades this weekend, along with the lighting of the Town Green and a downtown arts and crafts fair. The Children’s Christmas Walking Parade this evening at 6 kicks off the weekend. A fire truck carrying Santa and Mrs. Claus will be the main attraction of the parade, which […]

The city’s Public Works Department is now publishing detailed monthly reports on the infrastructure work in east Biloxi, providing residents an easy-to-read status report on work in their particular neighborhood. The reports, in map form, are based on the monthly pay requests from contractor Oscar Renda Contracting, which means they will show progress for the […]

By Jerry Creel, Community Development Director This week in Community Development , the Biloxi City Council approved the sale of surplus property on Beach Boulevard to hotel developers for the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel development will be located on the former specialty hospital property, east of the old Santa Maria Del Mar. The […]

A new holiday project by the Open Doors Homeless Coalition is using Hurricane Katrina to help fight homelessness on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Through an arrangement with the City of Biloxi and Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, the Open Doors Homeless Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated to ending homelessness, is offering to ship two Katrina books […]

It all began with a 50-year-old photo of a Christmas-garbed Biloxi Lighthouse, and Thursday night revelers can take part in a new Biloxi tradition: the Christmas lighting of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The ceremony, where Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will flip a switch to energize red and silver garlands draped from the top of the 64-foot […]

Main Street Biloxi District was one of seven programs selected from across the United States to serve as demonstration sites for a refreshed approach to comprehensive community revitalization and preservation-based economic development, it was announced Wednesday. Biloxi, Philadelphia (Penn.), Milledgeville (Ga.), Detroit (Mich.), Gary (Ind.), Lexington (Ky.) and Miami (Fla.) were named by the National […]

It all began with a 50-year-old photo of a Christmas-garbed Biloxi Lighthouse, and Thursday night revelers can take part in a new Biloxi tradition: the Christmas lighting of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The ceremony, where Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will flip a switch to energize red and silver garlands draped from the top of the 64-foot […]

The new cantilevered traffic signals at the Cedar-Popp’s intersection, part of the project of widen Popp’s Ferry Road, will be installed tonight beginning at 10 o’clock. Motorists are advised to use caution in the area, as flagmen and electrical workers will be working in and near the roadway. The work, incidentally, is being done late […]

The Local History and Genealogy Department at the Biloxi Public Library will host a salute to World War II veteran and Biloxi native Louis Hengen during a program on Saturday at 3 p.m. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, covers five years of the life of Hengen who served before and during […]

The Biloxi City Council has called a special meeting for Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to discuss issues involving infrastructure work in east Biloxi, and the council will have its regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. Both meetings will be at City Hall and are open to the public. The 4:30 meeting will be in an […]

The City of Biloxi, just like Santa, is making a list, but this one is not who’s naughty or nice; it’s a compendium of city-sponsored holiday events. You’ll find the city’s traditional fare, such as the Christmas lighting of the Biloxi Lighthouse and Town Green and Christmas on the Water, but you’ll also find a […]

Good news, Woolmarket motorists: The Woolmarket Plantation sewer installation work that’s going to close parts of Old Highway 67 for a month has been pushed back until after the Thanksgiving holiday. The section of Old Highway 67 in Woolmarket will be closed to traffic for a month beginning Monday at 9 a.m. so city contractors […]

The Charlie Daniels Band, Daughtry, Creedence Clearwater Revisited are among the entertainers in town this weekend, and you’ll find “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” on stage at Biloxi Little Theater. Meantime, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum is also hosting public ice skating each weekend through Jan. 10. See the entire weekend lineup   City Desk: Refugee […]

The Biloxi Police Explorers has a tasty fundraising drive underway. The group will be making the Coratian treat pusharatas and delivering them to Biloxians for $7 a dozen. The Pusharatas will be delivered between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Orders are being taken through Nov. 23. Contact 228-385-3033 or bwescovich@biloxi.ms.us. Learn more […]

A section of Old Highway 67 in Woolmarket will be closed to traffic for a month beginning Monday so city contractors can install the final sewer lines in a year-long $4.8 million project. The last phase of construction, which covers three-quarters of a mile, will be taking place on Old Highway 67 from near the […]

“You can’t get anything done without a plan and without a vision,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says, and this morning the mayor presented a list of more than two-dozen big-ticket items for the Biloxi City Council to consider as the beginnings of a seven-year plan. The list totaled more than $700 million that could be […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and members of the Biloxi City Council will be seated at the same table this morning in a workshop setting that the mayor hopes will encourage thoughtful consideration and discussion of policy issues. The session begins at 11 a.m. at City Hall and is open to the public. Among the issues Gilich […]

Speculation about Syrian refugees being relocated to Biloxi is misinformed and creating unnecessary anxiety, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said today. Gilich said his administration has spoken with Catholic Social Services, which some Internet stories have identified as the agency being the conduit for refugees to relocate. Catholic Social Services has been in contact with immigration […]

Biloxi’s Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, the gleaming “boat in a bottle” museum on the eastern tip of the Biloxi peninsula, has been given the highest architectural design award by the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The state AIA’s Design Awards Celebration “seeks to applaud architecture and design by bringing attention to […]

The Biloxi Police Department is recommending that residents take advantage of a free, secure online service to record serial numbers and upload images for phones, electronics, and other valuables to help recover items that may be stolen or lost. LeadsOnline, a service the police have used for years, has developed a new service, ReportIt, that allows […]

A trio of outdoor events are planned in east Biloxi this weekend: The 32nd annual Mayor’s Cup 5K run at 9 a.m. at City Hall, the Walk to End Alzheimers at 9 a.m. on the Town Green, and the Second Annual West End Hose Co. No. 3 Fire Museum Flag Football Tournament at 9 a.m. at […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has called a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council for Tuesday at 11 a.m. to discuss a number of long-range and big-ticket items. The meeting, which will be held at City Hall, is open to the public. Among the issues Gilich plans to discuss are strategic planning for capital improvement […]

Some Mississippi Power customers have reported receiving suspicious calls from persons representing themselves as power company collections employees, Biloxi Police say. During the calls, customers were told they will encounter a service interruption unless payment was received immediately. In order to facilitate payment, customers were instructed to go to various points of sale and transfer […]

Hundreds of Biloxians will be on hand this evening at the Dr. Frank G. Gruich Sr. Community Center to honor Mickey Bradley during the Biloxi Bay Chamber’s “Biloxian Made Good” honoree. The sold-out affairs begins at 6 p.m. at the Howard Avenue center. (A Bmail earlier today mistakenly said the dinner would be at the […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will be firing the starting gun to launch his first Mayor’s Cup Run on Saturday, an event that is expected to attract about 300 runners to downtown Biloxi for its 32nd annual presentation. “It’s one of our larger races,” says longtime Gulf Coast Running Club director Leonard Vergunst, who oversees more […]

Kress Live is hosting a free concert for veterans and the military this evening to mark Veterans Day and honor those in the armed forces. The concert will be headlined by Saliva, with guests Whiskey Kiss and My Hero the Villain. General admission is $20 at the door for non-military guests. Bacchus Biloxi will prepare free […]

The Biloxi Visitors Center will host a book signing with well-known Coast photographer Alex North unveiling his new book, “Mississippi Coast Blessings,”  on Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The book is a collection of images that convey North’s joy and passion through the lens of his camera.  It is, he says, a […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has placed contractors on notice that roadways disrupted by the ongoing infrastructure project must be better maintained for the safety of motorists and the welfare of citizens. Gilich sent a letter to Project Manager HNTB late Monday, directing it to enforce roadway maintenance requirements placed on contractors involved in the $355 […]

Merit Health Biloxi, the downtown Biloxi medical center formerly known as Biloxi Regional, will be showing off $3 million in improvements and state-of-the-art technology Tuesday morning when the facility hosts Breakfast With the Mayor. The breakfast, which begins at 8 a.m., will be held in the Merit’s recently renovated lobby, where the medical center invested […]

Pop and hip hop music icon Flo Rida’s 2015 GDFR (“Goin’ Down For Real”) World Tour rolls into MGM Park tonight. Gates to the park open at 8 p.m., according to promoter Tim Bennett. Tickets for the show, which is sponsored by Overtime Sports and Driven Entertainment, begin at $25, and are still available. The […]

Leaders of the Biloxi Police Department commended several officers, civilian workers and residents during the department’s quarterly awards ceremony this morning. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and Police Chief John Miller presented awards during the ceremony, which was hosted by the VFW Post 2434. Supervisors of the Quarter were Michael Brennan and Darren Lea; Vickie Lee […]

Attention business owners!  Biloxi Main Street is presenting a new opportunity for a local business to become part of the downtown shopping district by leasing the historic Slay House. An open house will be held this eventing from 5 to 8 at the house, which is at 128 Rue Magnolia. Main Street will be accepting […]

The Biloxi Police Department’s quarterly awards ceremony will be conducted Friday at 10 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Veterans Avenue. It’s the first time the ceremony is being presented outside the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center. It’s open to the public and light refreshments will be served. VFW Post 2434 is on […]

Gulf Regional Planning Commission is now seeking proposals for qualified planners to facilitate the Joint Land Use Study to review issues related to potential effects of future growth for Biloxi, Keesler and the surrounding area. The agency, which was tasked by the City of Biloxi to oversee the 24-month process, has set Nov. 30 at 5 […]

Popp’s Ferry Road between Cedar Lake and Lamey Street will be closed from Saturday at 8 a.m. until Sunday at 5 p.m. so workers can install new drainage lines as part of the widening of that stretch of Popp’s Ferry Road. Motorists should use either Cedar Lake Road or Lamey Street as an alternate route. The […]

The heavy rainfall forecast for Halloween night is expected to actually attract more trick or treaters to two Halloween events, organizers say. Tonight’s Halloween in Hiller is actually expanding to two softball fields at Hiller Park instead of one to accommodate the expected 3,000 people and to help the flow of visitors.  On Saturday night, […]

There’s a 70 percent chance of rain on Saturday, Halloween night, and parents and trick or treaters should keep that thought in mind when making preparations. Among the Halloween events planned in Biloxi are Halloween in Hiller on Friday night and indoor trick or treating at Edgewater Mall on Saturday. (A Bmail on Wednesday listed […]

Baseball fans have a chance to see some of the Coast’s best high school players in a couple of free exhibition games Thursday at MGM Park. The Barry Lyons Fall Wooden Bat League, which recently completed a six-week season at the A.J. Holloway Sports Complex, will have two showcase games Thursday at MGM Park in […]

Halloween is Saturday night, and Biloxi public safety leaders are advising those families who are not participating in organized gatherings to make safety a priority when trick-or-treating in city neighborhoods. The city offers these tips: When trick-or-treating: — A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds. — Use a […]

The merchants of Edgewater Mall wiIl be handing out candy to family trick or treaters on Saturday, Halloween, from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. In fact, trick or treaters can even pick up a treat bag from any of the mall’s tour entrances, and two photo booths will be set up for a complimentary photo to take home. […]

Nearly 50 businesses will be handing out Halloween treats Friday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Hiller Park for the third annual Halloween in Hiller. The affair, sponsored by the city and Friends of Hiller Park Committee, will take place in the Barbara Ferrill Softball Fields, and kick off with a costume contest for […]

The Biloxi City Council will meet twice this afternoon, at 1:30 to consider an agenda of more than two dozen items before convening a special meeting to hear a report from the Coast Transit Authority on its services and potential services in Biloxi. Both meetings will be at City Hall and are open to the […]

C-SPAN’s award-winning, 45-foot customized Campaign 2016 bus will visit Biloxi next month as part of a cross-country tour to promote C-SPAN’s “Road to the White House” series and introduce a customized 2016 campaign app. The bus will be available for tours at Biloxi High School on Nov. 6 from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. Students and […]

Biloxi Police report the following road closures and conditions this morning: — Barricades put on the north end and south end of Cedar Lake Bridge — Howard Avenue at Cadet Street — Bayview Avenue west of Holly Street flooded. — Walmart Lane at U.S. 90,  sand on the ground — Popp’s Ferry causeway flooded — […]

Biloxi ushers in the Halloween spirit this evening and on Saturday with two events. The Parks and Recreation’s free annual Special Needs Halloween Costume Ball will be this evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Donal Snyder Community Center, and on Saturday there’s an afternoon of costume contests, trick or treating and an outdoor movie […]

A quick preview of a number of city-sponsored Halloween events coming up: Halloween, Part 1: The Parks and Recreation’s free annual Special Needs Halloween Costume Ball will be Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Donal Snyder Community Center.  Individuals with physical and mental disabilities can don Halloween garb and enjoy tasty treats. Details: 228-388-7170. To see […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich applauded U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran today for his leadership in obtaining a quarter-million dollars in funds that will allow the city to analyze land use issues affecting Keesler Air Force Base. Cochran, chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced the award of $214,000 in Department of Defense funds and […]

    Biloxi has its homecoming football game against George County Friday, but school and city leaders are asking parents to caution their children about the penalties of the mischief often associated with homecoming.     “It’s moved beyond the point of play,” Biloxi Public Schools Superintendent Arthur McMillan said, alluding to incidents that have […]

The Biloxi City Council on Tuesday morning will hear comments from taxicab drivers and others about proposed regulations that would be administered by a new authority involving the cities of Biloxi, Gulfport and D’Iberville. The public hearing, which begins at 10:30 a.m. at Biloxi City Hall, is the first of two meetings the council has scheduled for […]

By Jerry Creel, Community Development Director This week in community development, the Development Review Committee approved site plans for a new sanctuary for St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Woolmarket Road, and an addition to the Biloxi Natatorium on Father Ryan Avenue. The new church sanctuary will be 10,280 square feet and will seat approximately 300 […]

The initial coat of pavement should be applied on Bayview Avenue from Caillavet to past Boomtown Casino by Dec. 15, and all of Oak Street north of the CSX Railway should be paved by mid-January, according to the construction company working on Biloxi’s infrastructure repair and replacement program. And while trenches as deep as 18 […]

The growing number of designated bike lanes on major thoroughfares in Biloxi may have some motorists wondering the rules of the road, but Biloxi Police say the answer is an easy one: “Motorists should think of a designated bike lane just as it were a lane for another vehicle. Those bike lanes are for bikes […]

The cities of Biloxi, Gulfport and D’Iberville, after hearing months of complaints and comments from taxicab drivers about regulation and regulatory fees, are a step closer to moving forward with a revamped Motor Vehicle for Hire Authority. The City of Biloxi will conduct a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at Biloxi City […]

Those anticipating the annual cemetery tour scheduled for later this month can whet their appetite Thursday when the Biloxi Public Library hosts a presentation titled “Carl Matthes: Designer of Biloxi.” The free program, sponsored by the library’s Local History and Genealogy Department, begins at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The library is at […]

The Biloxi schooner Glenn L. Swetman was named the best of show and first place in its size during the 26th Annual Wooden Boat Festival in Madisonville, La., an event that attracts 30,000 people each year. The 72-foot, 49-passenger schooner, a two-masted gaff-rigged oyster schooner, with the Mike Sekul, is one of two Biloxi schooners […]

Firefighters from the city’s nine fire stations will be canvassing neighborhoods this month in an effort to make sure Biloxi homes have working smoke detectors. The Fire Prevention Month effort, called “Turn Your Attention to Fire Prevention,” is a project of the Biloxi Fire Department, the American Red Cross, Firehouse Subs and volunteers being trained […]

Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnston will join local and state leaders at MGM Park Saturday to name the American Star Vodka Best Cruiser on the Coast. Gates to the park open at 1 p.m., and fans will be allowed on the field to view the cars, up close and personal. Judging by the […]

The Biloxi Public School District has announced a five-year, $1 million  partnership with the Department of Defense Education Activity to enhance Biloxi’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs, also known as STEM, and provide more transitional support for military-connected students and families. The grant, known as Operation IMPACT (Improving Mathematical Practices and Access to Counseling […]

Biloxi swept a doubleheader this evening, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said after the City Council approved measures to move forward with two roadways of the future. The council voted to support an agreement that would see a $22 million boulevard at Pine Street to connect Point Cadet to Back Bay Boulevard, with more than half  […]

Pop and hip hop music icon Flo Rida’s 2015 GDFR (“Goin’ Down For Real”) World Tour plays MGM Park on Friday, Nov. 6 and tickets for the show go on sale Wednesday at the MGM Park box office and through Ticketmaster. To charge by phone: 800-745-3000. Tickets for the show, which is sponsored by Overtime […]

More than 30 artists and craftsmen will be showing everything from jewelry to Marlin Miller’s wood sculptures during the Third Annual Lighthouse Arts and Crafts Fair, on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Biloxi Visitors Center. Admission to the event is free and refreshments will be available for purchase.   Visitors are encouraged to bring […]

Mayors Andrew “FoFo” Gilich of Biloxi and Billy Hewes of Gulfport will ask their respective City Councils on Tuesday to approve a measure to set up the Gulf Coast Broadband Commission, an agency that would plan and oversee the delivery of ultra-high-speed internet and broadband to their cities. Gilich, who took office four months ago […]

Those attending the Community Festival Against Crime Saturday on the Town Green could get a whiff of that new car smell. That’s because the Biloxi Police Department will be showing off its array of new cruisers and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and the Biloxi Fire Department will be displaying its new million-dollar ladder truck, which will be […]

Every element of the City of Biloxi’s website has been cleaned and scrubbed, and has been certified as virus-free by Google. The re-certification occurs after a piece of malicious software, also known as malware, found its way into the coding that powers the city website. We apologize for the inconvenience.          

The city is willing to move forward with completing an east Biloxi traffic loop with a wider Pine Street to link Back Bay Boulevard with Point Cadet, but only after half the expected $22 million price tag is in place. Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday will ask the City Council for approval to enter […]

The Cedar Lake-Popp’s Ferry intersection will turn into a four-way stop for a couple of hours after midnight tonight while contractors re-locate the control box for the traffic signals at the intersection. Temporary Stop signs will be placed at the site shortly before work begins, and the traffic signals will be inoperative while work is […]

Though city funding may not be available, Biloxi municipal leaders want to be aware of the funding needs of social-service agencies and other organizations that serve Biloxi residents. Representatives of groups and organizations have until Oct. 9 to submit a completed form in order to have a chance of being included in the FY 2016 budget. […]

Popp’s Ferry Road between Cedar Lake Road and Lamey Street will be closed Saturday at 7 a.m. and remain closed until Sunday at 8 p.m. so workers can install drainage systems as part of the widening of that stretch of Popp’s Ferry Road. Motorists should use either Cedar Lake Road or Lamey Street as an […]

The Biloxi City Council will have a special meeting Wednesday at 11 a.m. to reconsider the measure to realign Fayard Street at Bayview Avenue. Councilmembers had approved the resolution at their meeting last week. Read the agenda and amended resolution   Stretch of Popp’s Ferry to close Saturday Popp’s Ferry Road between Cedar Lake and Motsie […]

Children and adults are invited to play in the clay studio and make cool, sculptural clay piggy banks Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s Center for Ceramics. The session, open to ages 10 and up, is $25 per person and feature Ohr arts staffers helping visitors – no […]

A five-member delegation of local leaders from the republic of Georgia will be arriving on the Mississippi Gulf Coast next week to spend seven days learning about the area, its economy and its forms of government.  Four of the dignitaries will be making their first visit to the United States. The Steps Coalition, a non-profit […]

Cruisin’ the Coast events in downtown Biloxi are expanding to two days this year and involving a new location, MGM Park, for a salute to veterans. Crusin’, the Coastwide auto show that is expected to attract a record 7,500 participants to south Mississippi, takes place Oct. 4 through 11, and will focus on downtown Biloxi […]

Biloxi municipal employees, who have not received a pay increase since 2008, will see salaries boosted anywhere from $1,000 to 5 percent in a measure passed today by the City Council. Under the plan, which will cost the city about a million dollars, all employees with at least a year of service will receive at […]

Biloxi Parks & Recreation and Public Works crews are back on U.S. 90 this week, trimming medians and scraping up sand from the eight-mile stretch of highway along Biloxi’s waterfront. About 20 workers will be working daily beginning at 7 each morning, with Parks and Recreation workers using weed eaters to trim medians and Public […]

Biloxi’s beaches and casinos make the city a haven for Gulf Coast tourists. And since it’s one of America’s oldest communities, local residents have seen many iconic treasures come and go. Before Hurricane Katrina, more than 150 historical structures dotted the area. Of those, 60 were lost to the devastating storm, including the Father Ryan […]

It’s Fireman’s Day weekend, kicking off with the revival of the Fireman’s Ball this evening from 7 to 10 at the Biloxi Civic Center, a Fireman’s Day parade Saturday morning through downtown Biloxi and a drawdown for the firefighter’s relief fund Saturday night at the Biloxi Civic Center. The Fireman’s Ball, open to the public […]

By Jerry Creel, Community Development Director This week in Community Development, the planning commission wrapped up their workshop on Short-Term Rental, and directed the planning staff to prepare “draft” language for the proposed text amendment. The recommendation is for the “use map” in the Land Development Ordinance, to remain the same as it relates to STR, but […]

Well-known Coast insurance executive and longtime community theater actor John B. “Shorty” Sneed will be the roastee for the 13th annual Biloxi First Roast, which will take place Thursday, Oct. 8, at the IP Casino Resort Spa. The event is the major annual fundraiser for Biloxi First, a non-profit organization that has provided more than […]

The Biloxi Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration are offering the public a chance to safely dispose of unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs, which often become sources of abuse. The two agencies will offer another free drug take-back sessions, at the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center, on Porter Avenue two blocks north of the […]

Don’t have lunch plans yet? The West End Hose Co. No. 3, the city’s fire museum has you covered. From now until 1 p.m., the museum, on Howard Avenue, is selling plate lunches to help defray medical costs for fire mechanic Allen Brindley. The $7 plates – pulled pork sandwich, potato salad and baked beans […]

No doubt about it, fresh Gulf seafood and tasty seafood dishes are the main attraction at the Biloxi Chamber’s annual Biloxi Seafood Festival, and this weekend’s two-day affair at Point Cadet Plaza stands to be bigger than ever. “We’re going to be building a 200-foot shrimp po-boy,” says Biloxi Chamber Director Rachael Seymour, Why? “Why […]

Motorists on Pass Road west of Eisenhower Drive have seen the barricades in place for a week now, and in the next day or so construction workers will be on the scene to begin a 60-day, $300,000 project to replace drainage boxes in the stretch of Pass Road between Eisenhower and Westview drives. The barricades […]

You’re never too young to learn about saving money, and Biloxi Excel by 5 and First Lady Deborah Bryant will help youngsters get in the spirit on Thursday morning with a program called “I am a Super Saver.” The free program, which is open to children up to age 5, will begin at 10 a.m. […]

Buford Jordan, the storied New Orleans Buccaneers and Saints player, will be making the rounds in downtown Biloxi this evening for Biloxi Main Street’s Downtown After 5. The event, held quarterly, runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and includes uniquely themed events at downtown restaurants and shops, especially throughout Rue Magnolia and the Biloxi Art […]

The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum holds its 30th Annual $10,000 Drawdown on Saturday, Sept. 19. The affair, the museum’s major fundraiser of the year, will be at the museum, 115 First St., and begins with cocktails and entertainment by Hank Berumen at 6 p.m. The buffet opens at 7 p.m. with a host of […]

Fireman’s Day in Biloxi marks 125 years this month, and to commemorate the occasion the West End Hose Co. No. 3, the city’s fire museum, is turning it into a weekend-long celebration, complete with a Fireman’s Ball and Fireman’s Day Parade. Dozens of fire trucks are expected to roll through the streets of downtown Biloxi […]

The Biloxi City Council on Tuesday created a new economic development fund that could help pay for facility improvements, create new businesses or expand existing businesses, without cost to the taxpayers. The fund would use the $4.1 million BP settlement to create a perpetual account that would have a variety of uses and is expected […]

The Biloxi Visitor Center next week will host an opening reception for a month-long exhibition of works by photographer Robert Brooks. Brooks, a New Orleans native who has been a professional freelance and art photographer for more than 40 years, settled in Biloxi in 1987. In 1994 he volunteered to hang an exhibition of black-and-white photographs […]

The Biloxi City Council and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will have a special meeting Tuesday morning at 10:30 to continue discussing the Fiscal Year 2016 Biloxi Municipal Budget. The morning meeting is a precursor the council’s regularly scheduled 6 o’clock meeting Tuesday night. Both meetings will be at City Hall and are open to the […]

Visitors to Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast will have from today through the end of Labor Day to see “Katrina +10,” the hugely popular multi-media exhibition at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. The six-month exhibition, which launched March 20 at the east Biloxi museum, is scheduled to wrap up its campus-wide run at the […]

Former Gov. Haley Barbour, who marshaled state and federal aid for the Coast’s sustained recovery from Katrina, will headline the city’s 10th annual Katrina Memorial Observance on Saturday morning at 9 at MGM Park in downtown Biloxi. The hour-long event is one of several Katrina commemorations taking place in Biloxi. The weekend activities actually kicked […]

When visitors to the Katrina memorial observance began arrving at MGM Park for the 9 a.m. program Saturday morning, they will be greeted by 22 ushers volunteering from Americorps, and another 50 Americorps workers will be among those in the audience. Says Vicksburg-based Rachel J. Turner, unit Leader, acting assistant program director, of the group’s […]

The City of Biloxi will host a brief ceremony Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Biloxi Visitors Center to unveil one of 17 Katrina and Camille highwater markers that are being placed between Waveland to Ocean Springs. The markers, which are being presented on the 10th anniversary of Katrina, are designed to bring awareness to […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will ask the Biloxi City Council on Tuesday for the first realignment of Biloxi municipal government in more than two decades, creating a new city department from existing staff to better address the existing and new challenges Biloxi will be facing in economic development, management of cultural resources and improving the […]

Indian Nation, it’s time to get fired up! A pep rally for the varsity football team, your chance to meet the players and coaches, will be this evening beginning at 6 on the Town Green. It’s also your first look at this year’s edition of the marching band, cheerleaders and Biloxi Belles. Additionally, the Touchdown […]

Gerald Blessey, the man whom Gov. Haley Barbour appointed as his post-Katrina housing czar, plans to take a critical look at the recovery from Hurricane Katrina during his Hancock Bank Katrina Café presentation on Friday at lunchtime. The session begins at noon at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art. Tickets for the luncheon are $10, which […]

The annual “Ready, Set, Go!” Children’s Health and Safety Fair, focusing on ages up to age 5, takes place Saturday, Aug. 22 from  9 a.m. to noon at Edgewater Mall The free event will feature screenings for vision, hearing, physical growth and speech/language development. Also available will be safety information for homes, on the water, […]

The Biloxi Library is hosting a book talk and signing with local author Dr. James Patterson Smith on Tuesday, Aug.  25, at 4:30 p.m. Dr. Smith’s book “Hurricane Katrina:  the Mississippi Story” is rooted in a wealth of oral histories, and tells the dramatic but under-reported story of a people who confronted unprecedented devastation.  In often […]

The City of Biloxi has cracked open the vault and the original award-winning “Biloxi & Katrina” photo album and DVD can be yours for $5 now, when you purchase the updated “Katrina +10” photo album and DVD for $20. “Biloxi & Katrina” is a photo album and DVD package produced by the city a year […]

OK, sports fans, it’s your chance to get a sneak peek at the 2015 Indians football squad and to meet a host of other Indians athletes. Biloxi will be hosting its annual football jamboree this evening, beginning at 6 o’clock, with a scrimmage against Poplarville, at the stadium on the Biloxi High School campus. The […]

Tickets for the “Concert for the Coast” in MGM Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, featuring headliners Dr. John and Trombone Shorty, are now on sale at the MGM Park box office at Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for limited VIP seating on the infield are $45 plus fees. Reserved chair back seating is $35 plus fees and General […]

A new piece of firefighting equipment joined the Biloxi Fire Department fleet today: a million-dollar ladder truck that will help firefighters deal with highrise fires and rescues. The new truck,  which will be stationed at the Lee-Chinn Fire Station on Veterans Avenue,  replaces a 22-year-old ladder truck, and it will be one of five ladder […]

The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s huge “Katrina +10” is approaching the home stretch of its six-month run, and some of its most popular programs are just around the corner. “This is the biggest thing we’ve done in the 17-year history of the museum, and the attendance continues to grow exponentially as we approach the Aug. […]

The Cultural & Heritage Committee of the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce has announced that the next Biloxi History Cruise will be Friday, Sept. 11. This will be a two-hour sunset cruise aboard the historic Pan American Clipper, with boarding at 5 p.m., and departure at 5:30 from Biloxi’s Point Cadet Marina.  The $50 ticket […]

An agreement worked out by Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and approved this afternoon by the Biloxi City Council will result in a $200,000 net increase for the city from the BP oil spill settlement. Gilich negotiated a deal over the weekend with the law firm Page, Mannino, Peresich & McDermott that will increase the city’s […]

The Biloxi Shuckers host their in-state rival, the Mississippi Braves, this evening at MGM Park, kicking off a weekend of entertainment. The Shuckers-Braves series runs nightly through Tuesday. Meantime, the Commodores will be in concert this weekend at the IP, Beauvoir hosts a Ladies Tea and Civil War Ball, and on the community theater scene “Fiddler […]

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has called a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council for Thursday at 4 p.m. to ask the City Council to rescind a 2012 contract that would pay 20 percent in legal fees from a $5.9 million BP claim the city and Biloxi Public School District expect to receive. In his […]

Celebrating 10 years of recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the City of Biloxi will present the “Concert for the Coast” in MGM Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, the actual 10th anniversary of the storm. Headlining the first concert in the new stadium are two signature New Orleans acts spanning generations: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer […]