Hancock Holding might pay less for merger with Whitney

GULFPORT — Hancock Holding Corp. says it’s on track to spend less than previously projected to wrap up its merger with the former Whitney National Bank, with profit rising in the fourth quarter. The parent of Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank said it earned $19 million in 2011’s fourth quarter, up from $17 million in the [...]

• Hawaii man charged with post-Katrina investment scheme
• Keesler FCU gets five-star rating from Bauer Financial
• First M&F reports increased earnings last year
• BancorpSouth closes offering; BancorpSouth Insurance launches app

Sara Lee closing plant; 150-plus workers left unemployed

SHANNON — Sara Lee says it will close a plant in Shannon by the end of March putting 155 people out of work, according to a report by WTVA-TV. WTVA says in an email it received from Illinois-based Sara Lee, the company says the work done in Shannon will transfer to plants in Kentucky and Missouri. The [...]

• Foley Products opening plant, creating 40 jobs
• Primos, eTAGZ ‘amicably resolve’ patent dispute
• GE Aviation: GE90 engine sees record-breaking year
• CME becomes largest roof-mounted solar power complex

Interior Department to sell offshore gas leases in June

GULF OF MEXICO — The Department of Interior says it has set a June date for the next Gulf offshore oil and natural gas lease sale. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The sale will take place in New Orleans on June 20. The proposed lease [...]

• Ex-BP worker files whistleblower lawsuit over oil spill cleanup
• Protestors gather in Vermont to stop Entergy nuclear plant
• BP denies city’s oil spill damages claim, officials promise fight
• Construction mistakes halt TVA’s nuclear reactor project

Property owner balks on homeless shelter project

VICKSBURG — Plans for a transitional shelter for homeless people near the former ParkView Regional Medical Center have been scrapped. But planners tell the Vicksburg Post they will look for another site. Owners of the property where the former medical complex sits “weren’t interested in making it available for it anymore,” said Tina Hayward, executive director of [...]

• Officials to break ground for new Choctaw County Hospital
• County worried about impact of Justice Department report on ESS
• Judge gives cancer center defendants more time for defense
• USM nursing school wants college status reinstated by Board

IP Casino lays off ‘dozens’ of workers in ‘right-sizing’

BILOXI — IP Casino has laid off employees at its Biloxi gambling house. General manager Jack Bernsmeier tells The Sun Herald the layoffs were modest and was “in the dozens.” Bernsmeier says the layoffs this week were across all departments. He says those workers can apply for jobs at 16 Boyd casinos in six states. Boyd operates Sam’s [...]

• Casinos won more money from gamblers in December
• Caesars exploring what to do with Coast casino
• Hard Rock considering new 154-room hotel tower
• Officials present post-oil spill restoration plan

Hawaii man charged with post-Katrina investment scheme

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST — Federal officials say a man in Hawaii has been charged by a grand jury in connection with an investment scheme related to rebuilding projects in areas of Mississippi affected by Hurricane Katrina. A Justice Department news release from the Jackson FBI office identifies the man as 54-year-old Dan Doyle, a resident of [...]

• Fitch puts Mississippi Valley Title on ‘Rating Watch Negative’
• Property owner balks on homeless shelter project
• FNC index: Home prices continue to fall
• Home sales, prices up on Coast compared to 2010

Lawmakers debating new charter school legislation

JACKSON — With even opponents conceding that a bill expanding charter schools in Mississippi is likely to pass, lawmakers are trying to hash out details of a new law. The alternative public schools promise high academic performance in exchange for freedom from rules governing regular public schools. But witnesses told House and Senate members yesterday that [...]

• Supervisors to view scaled-down tennis facility project
• USM nursing school wants college status reinstated by Board
• Board approves $112M bond issue for UMMC
• Foundation launches fundraiser for new nursing school

USDA allocates emergency funding in wake of natural disasters

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Mississippi landowners and communities will have access to more than $5.46 million in emergency funding to restore land and property damaged in floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters last year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its allocation of $308 million in federal emergency funding approved by Congress last November as part of [...]

• Farmers making planting decisions for 2012
• USDA closing 11 state offices in cost-cutting move
• Growers offered chance to become EBT retailers
• EPA starts cleanup of former Davis Timber site