The Biloxi branch of the NAACP will stage the city’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade on Monday beginning at 11 a.m.
The parade, as usual, will begin on Howard Avenue in front of the Biloxi Community Center and will wind its way around MLK Boulevard through downtown.
This year, however, the Battle of the Bands will not be conducted at Yankie Stadium.
Another MLK event with Katrina-imposed revisions is the annual Sunday afternoon program, which has been traditionally held at the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center. This year’s program will be at Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church, 4538 15th St., Gulfport. The keynote speaker for the 2:30 p.m. gathering will be Gene Young, an educator and social activist.
City Council meets Tuesday
The Biloxi City Council, which meets Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall, has a relatively light agenda, including measures to approve municipal depositories, a $14,200 appropriation for the Biloxi youth soccer league, and a continuation of the state of emergency in Biloxi.
Councilmembers also will consider a resolution to return to a meeting schedule that includes the first, third and fourth Tuesdays of the month instead of meeting each weekly, which they began doing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
To read the entire agenda and available resolutions, click here.
News and notes
On the issues: Mayor A.J. Holloway appeas on “WLOX News This Week” Saturday at 6 p.m. to discuss the latest on a new U.S. 90 bridge linking Biloxi and Ocean Springs, and the final report from the gubernatorial commission on rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Listen to thoughts on this issue in this week’s “City Desk” webcast by clicking here.
City holiday: Non-emergency city offices will be closed Monday in observance of Great Americans Day. All city offices and divisions will re-open Tuesday at their usual hour.
Weekend of prayer: Mayor A.J. Holloway has ordered flags at all municipal facilities in Biloxi to fly at half staff in the wake of the deaths of several Biloxi college students in an early morning traffic accident in Stone County.
On the way back: Dr. Paul Tisdale, superintendent of Biloxi Public Schools, says that 4,321 students were in class this week, which represents the latest increase in the eventual return to the 6,125 pre-Katrina students. Tisdale is tracking the enrollment growth weekly since school resumed Sept. 26. To see the chart, click here.
