Business Blog

What’s keeping Alabama’s economic development officials awake at night? Perhaps it’s the new propensity of state lawmen to snag high-ranking executives of foreign carmakers in immigration enforcement dragnets. Over the years, Alabama put the welcome mat out for the car manufacturers to come to the state and create thousands of well-paying jobs. But strict enforcement [...]

Range Fuels, a manufacturing startup that planned to convert wood chips to cellulosic ethanol has declared bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. The company was heavily backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, whose Khosla Ventures is also backing four green energy startups to which the Mississippi legislature has authorized tens of millions in state aid: Soladigm, KiOR, Stion [...]

>> MDOT awards $3 million for metro area improvements Cities are realizing that hike and bike trails are not only important for citizens’ quality of life but are also a powerful economic development tools. Recently, the cities of Jackson, Ridgeland and Flowood received a collective total of $3.1 million for pedestrian trail enhancements awarded through [...]

A facilities study that could guide the State of Mississippi’s policies for accommodating its office and other operational needs is expected to be completed before the Christmas holidays. International commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield is wrapping up work on the second part of a study whose initial phase led to a recommendation to [...]

Monique Davis, who doubles as owner and chef of Lumpkins Barbeque on Raymond Road, thought about taking her barbecue and Southern cuisine on the road after the Jackson City Council gave the green light for food trucks to operate in the city. But she’s doing what it seems other potential food truck operators are also [...]

One of the reasons people choose artificial Christmas trees over live ones is upkeep. Dry, dead trees are messy and present a fire hazard, artificial tree proponents say. However, there are ways to keep a live tree green and safe throughout the holiday season. Here are a few tips from the Mississippi State University Extension [...]

Mississippi’s Christmas tree growers are optimistic about this year’s sales season despite national reports of a new “tree tax” to fund promotional efforts. Growers now hope consumers visit their operations and see prices are generally the same as last year. “Here we are trying to self-promote our industry, and we get this,” said Michael May, [...]

The budget balancing that lies ahead for Gov.-elect Phil Bryant and the 2012 Mississippi Legislature just got tougher. The monthly report from the Department of Revenue shows that Mississippi’s November revenue collections fell below the estimate by 1.5 percent, or almost $4.9 million less than anticipated. Adding to the difficulty of the balancing act is [...]