The Sun Herald (Sunday)
‘Poker granny’ Hammons is a star of Beau Rivage Casino tournament
She didn’t find the slot machines she usually plays on the casino floor of Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, so Linda Hammons headed up to see what the action was all about on the second level. The game underway there was the 2026 Beau Rivage Heater...
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Ingalls Shipyard shows Navy it has capacity for Golden Fleet
Ingalls Shipbuilding hosted the Secretary of the Navy and other top military leaders Wednesday and showed them the shipyard has the capacity and workforce to build a share of the nation’s Golden Fleet. With ships under construction around them and a...
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Last MS Coast rail crossings without gates to get them soon
Some of the Mississippi Coast’s last railroad crossings without gates that lower when a train is approaching will get them early next year. The installation, expected this spring at eight crossings in Pass Christian, will seal nearly all the region’s...
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Their dream of a bed and breakfast dashed, Biloxi couple resorts to Plan B
Biloxi transplants who hoped to put their skills to work as bed and breakfast hosts have instead put the house on the market for $1.65 million. Dan and Heidi Hoye, who are from Wisconsin and worked for years in the hospitality industry, bought the...
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Rural bridges at Mississippi-Louisiana line are closed
Every time that traffic stops near the state line on Interstate 10, drivers heading from Mississippi to Louisiana have few choices. A popular detour on Highway 90 is closed and may not open for years. Texas Flat Road, a two-lane route between Kiln and...
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Deaths on Texas Flat Road raise concern after latest tragedy
The young brothers killed in a tragic crash last week on Texas Flat Road are among 13 people who have died in car accidents there over the last three years, according to the Hancock County coroner. The toll of fatal collisions on the two-lane route is...
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MS Coast city ends lease with museum after months of turmoil
The Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum will leave Bay St. Louis’ Historic L&N Train Depot next year after the City Council voted Tuesday night to end the museum’s lease. The 5-2 vote came three months after city leaders asked all nonprofits housed in...
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South MS population growing fast, can the roads keep up?
Every morning, the two-lane roads in Harrison County start filling up. Cars pack bumper-to-bumper at stoplights. Brakes screech. And another day of traffic begins in South Mississippi’s countryside. “There used to be ways we could get around it,”...
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Soccer player killed in crash remembered as loyal leader
Landon Perry was driven and devoted. He was the kind of teenager who insisted on Mother’s Day flowers, who never missed class and whose leadership and talent on the soccer field influenced his teammates and the young athletes he mentored. “He was...
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Ocean Springs coughs up $468K in uninsured motorists fees
The city of Ocean Springs plans to place $468,681 into an account linked to a federal lawsuit filed by motorists until a judge decides whether they were improperly ticketed for driving without insurance after traffic cameras captured photos of their...
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How often does Fort Bayou Bridge get stuck open?
The Fort Bayou Bridge in Ocean Springs has malfunctioned three times this fall. The recent problems are the latest of seven malfunctions on the bridge over the last three years, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The...
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Jackson County deputy killed in crash remembered at funeral
When Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Brashears died in a crash on his way home from his night shift, his son said he died in uniform just like he thought he would. “I always knew he’d die in uniform,” his son, Josiah Brashears, said at his...
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A peek inside area’s newest doughnut and coffee shop
Those who like to be the first to try a new restaurant will want to be in line Saturday morning when Parlor Doughnuts opens in Ocean Springs. For the grand opening celebration, “This weekend will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days,” said owner Colten...
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Cruisin’ the Coast party features performances, vintage cars
Vintage car enthusiasts made their way to downtown Biloxi this morning at 8 a.m. to show off their rides at the biggest block party of the year. People attending Cruisin’ the Coast got to inspect hundreds of vintage vehicles that have been brought...
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Is the Ocean Springs golf cart parking experiment working?
A parking and traffic experiment in downtown Ocean Springs seems to be working, the city’s new mayor is pleased to say. Mayor Bobby Cox said he’s gotten more calls in support than in opposition to the parking and traffic flow plan the city began using...
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Moss Point PD to lose chief, more than half its officers
Moss Point Police Chief Brandon Ashley is stepping down — and a majority of the officers in the understaffed department are following suit. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter confirmed Tuesday that Ashley had completed the standard interview...
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Ex-mayor takes responsibility over city’s financial turmoil
After weeks of financial turmoil in Pass Christian, former mayor Jimmy Rafferty is responding to blame with a blunt message. “Mistakes were made under my watch,” he said in an interview. “I take full responsibility.” Rafferty, who lost his reelection...
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Confusion over beloved museum’s fate goes ‘small town viral’
Ocean Springs can claim renowned artist Walter Anderson. Biloxi has a museum dedicated to ceramicist George Ohr. And Bay St. Louis boasts folk artist Alice Moseley – for now. Renewed Amtrak service and a Bay St. Louis City Council with four new...
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Hurricane Katrina rearranged Coast life in multiple ways
Meteorologist Richard Knabb was working his first season as a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center when Hurricane Katrina hit Category 5 status in the Gulf of Mexico. He was pulling together updated forecasts on the overnight shift and had just...
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Suspect in custody in Ingalls Shipbuilding fatal shooting
A man is in custody after one person died in a shooting Friday morning at Ingalls Shipbuilding, authorities said. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said law enforcement officers were sweeping buildings and warehouses across the shipyard and had...
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Coastal city faces financial woes, seeks state investigation
The Pass Christian Board of Aldermen has voted unanimously to ask the state auditor’s office to investigate potential financial mismanagement in the city’s code, water and harbor departments, Mayor Kenny Torgeson confirmed. Torgeson, a former...
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Local artist to paint second mural in Pascagoula
The City of Pascagoula plans to pay for a second mural along Magnolia Street, according to City Manager Justin Larsen. The mural, still in the planning stages, will sit across from local artist James Mayo’s first piece and depict a swamp scene with...
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Developer cancels plans for Austin Square project
Plans to build a lively shipping container shopping and entertainment venue in downtown Biloxi are off the table. In April, developer Ivan Spinner revealed plans for a project that would rejuvenate part of Howard Avenue in the center of town. It would...
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Rural residents oppose rapid growth near Buc-ee’s
Down the two-lane roads where he built a home three decades ago, Jerry Gathof sees change coming to the quiet countryside. Developers keep asking the county for permission to build new subdivisions in the dense oak and pine. A steady stream of cars...
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Southern Girl Cookies sells out of muffulettas in under an hour
Southern Girl Cookies, a Waveland sweet shop just off Highway 90, teamed up with New Orleans’ famed Central Grocery to bring its iconic muffuletta sandwich to the Mississippi Coast. On launch day, owner Kimberly Marquar sold more than 200 sandwiches in...
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New venues, more changes as Biloxi’s Restaurant Row evolves
Restaurant Row in Biloxi is seeing big changes that will bring new energy and a surprise to the beachfront in Biloxi. The waterfront restaurants are a favorite place for sunset views and strolls along the boardwalk. The area has seen several changes...
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Data shows vaccine exemptions are rising across MS Coast
The number of families refusing to vaccinate their children is growing across the Mississippi Coast, which has recorded more religious exemptions to vaccines than any other part of the state. New data from the State Department of Health shows that...
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Rising Hispanic populations diversify the MS Coast
The Mississippi Coast has grown more diverse over the last four years largely because of rising Hispanic populations in Harrison and Jackson counties, according to new estimates by the Census Bureau. The data, released Thursday, shows Hispanic...
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Jayne Mansfield’s legacy explored in HBO’s ‘My Mom Jayne’
Nearly six decades after Hollywood beauty Jayne Mansfield was killed in a tragic crash near Slidell, La., her daughter, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay, explores the legacy of Mansfield through the upcoming documentary “My Mom...
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Gas tax rises, food tax drops in Mississippi on July 1
Tax rates change in Mississippi on July 1, when the tax on gasoline rises and taxes on food and personal income decrease. House Bill 1 shook up parts of the tax code for the first time in decades, increasing the gas tax that had held since 1987 and...
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Keating tops Williams Barnes in Gulfport mayor’s race
Attorney Hugh Keating has defeated former state Rep. Sonya Williams Barnes in a contentious and high-profile race for Gulfport mayor that saw what she described early Wednesday as “a historic level of voter participation.” “While we didn’t win the...
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Why remote workers from across US are moving to MS Coast
Christian Braswell is done with rush hour. Every day, he goes to work for a website management company in Denver. But he lives full-time in Gulfport. “In Colorado, I was commuting over two hours a day,” said Braswell, a Mississippi Coast native who...
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Sun Herald’s first foodie event a blend of stories, pastries
The first Sun Herald live food event at Zoe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop Wednesday was a journey and an experience. A journey as Chef Shane Gorringe, who was raised in Surrey, England, and apprenticed at a renowned Austrian pastry shop near London,...
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Zoning delays Biloxi couple’s bed and breakfast venture
The Hoyes didn’t just quit their jobs, sell their possessions and move from Wisconsin to Biloxi. They had a plan. The couple, who have long worked in food service and hospitality, wanted to start their own business. They worked with business mentors,...
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Biloxi Hurricane Hunters prepare for new season
Standing beneath the wing of a hulking gray plane, Lt. Col. Sean Cross said the Hurricane Hunters are ready. “If it’s going to make landfall, we’re going to be in it,” he said at the Keesler Air Force Base on Tuesday, where the 53rd Weather...
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Police find bleach, blood linked to mom’s killing
The Mississippi man accused in the murder of a Pass Christian woman had what appeared to be blood inside his pickup truck and in the cab, along with a bottle of bleach and bloodstained clothing, according to new information in the case. Pass Christian...
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Candlelight vigil held for Gracelynn, her family in Saucier
Sporadic thunder and lightning cracked overhead as members of the Saucier community gathered to say goodbye to one of their own for one last time. On Tuesday, dressed in pink, a crowd that included family members and friends lit candles under a...
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No signs of foul play in Gracelynn Vick’s death, sheriff says
Gracelynn Vick, the 6-yearold girl found dead after her family reported her missing, had no visible injuries to her body to suggest any foul play, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said. A member of a search crew found Gracelynn, a student at...
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Traveling Vietnam Wall memorial on display in D’Iberville
Jerry Delahoussaye leaned against the granite wall, touching his forehead directly to one of the names engraved on it. With tears in his eyes, he tapped his fist against the wall. In his hand he held a rubbing he made of the name: One of his friends he...
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Buc-ee’s held job fair for first Mississippi location
BILOXI People lined up to work at Buc-ee’s new travel center when the three-day job fair opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The job fair will continue from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and Buc-ee’s expects...
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More public parking to open in downtown Ocean Springs
In an age when downtowns across the United States are struggling, Ocean Springs’ biggest issue is enough parking for all those who want to dine, wander, shop and enjoy the downtown festivals. Finding a parking place will be easier starting April 30,...
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Coast man set up fentanyl sales from prison, police say
A Mississippi Coast convict serving time in a federal prison in Alabama arranged bulk fentanyl sales from a stash house in Gulfport, where he kept the drugs, according to authorities. Marcus “Spurt” Agee, 34, of Gulfport, coordinated the sales over...
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NOAA hurricane hunter rehired as weather experts sound alarm
Experienced meteorologist and hurricane forecaster Rocco Calaci warned for years that the National Weather Service was understaffed and underfunded. He even predicted what he feared would happen, a possibility now being championed in Project...
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Coast man shot his children with airsoft gun, police say
A Gulfport Seabee shot his three children with an airsoft gun to punish and silence them, according to police testimony. Nicholas Harold Clark, 35, of Gulfport, is jailed in Harrison County on three counts of felony child abuse for allegedly torturing...
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Signs going up at Mississippi’s first Buc-ee’s
A beaver mascot in his red hat is one of the first signs up on the Buc-ee’s travel center that’s opening in a few months in Harrison County. The installation of signs is a bright, bold indication of the progress being made toward opening day. Crews...
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MS Coast man expected to cooperate in bribery case
A Diamondhead man waived his preliminary hearing in a bribery case Thursday and is expected to cooperate with state and federal investigators looking into whether others were involved in an offer to pay a teen cash to drop a stalking charge against a...
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Woman says teenage son killed in a ‘setup’
At 17, Keontae Colbert had big dreams. The Gautier High School senior planned to attend college and later work as a machinist at Ingalls Shipbuilding. A gunshot wound shattered those dreams. Jackson County sheriff’s deputies discovered the teen’s...
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Woman blames county jailers for suicide of daughter, 16
The scars on her daughter’s arms, remnants of past selfharm, should have been a warning to Harrison County jailers that 16-year-old Kayelyn Gwen Drake was at risk of suicide, her mother, Viola Carter, said. If those visible signs weren’t enough, the...
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TOTAL FREAK SHOW
The remnants of South Mississippi’s biggest snowstorm in six decades began dripping and melting on Wednesday, but will endure just long enough to freeze roads and send cars sliding again before the rare ice that enveloped and enchanted the region thaws...
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Buc-ee’s in Alabama could hold clues for Mississippi
The interstate exit in Alabama used to be quiet. Then, six years ago, a Buc-ee’s Travel Center opened. The cars have not stopped since. The giant roadside convenience store brought an economic boom to the small but growing city of Loxley, just a...
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New wedding venue coming to the beach in Biloxi
It may be known as Restaurant Row between U.S. 90 and the sand in Biloxi, but now something new is planned for this stretch of Biloxi beach. “We’re calling it a wedding venue but it really is an events center,” said Freddie Fountain when describing...
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Will attack change Mardi Gras plans on Coast?
Carnival season starts this weekend in South Mississippi and the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day has South Mississippi police and krewes considering security plans for Mardi Gras parades over the next two months. King’s Mardi Gras...
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Who is estranged wife accused in courthouse shooting?
From her country porch, or behind the wheel of her pickup truck, Tanya Saucier had a habit of raising her phone and recording short videos of what was on her mind. Some days, she spoke vaguely of suspicions and perceived threats. In other recordings,...
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Man’s estranged wife faces murder charge in shooting
Pearl River County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a Tuesday shooting death outside the new courthouse on South Main Street, Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison confirmed. The Sheriff’s Department received a report of shots fired at the...
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Hancock County leaders discuss new facility for courts
The Hancock County Courthouse in Bay St. Louis has demanded so many repairs since it was built more than a century ago that leaders are now discussing whether the county could build a new facility in a different spot. The courthouse on Main Street...
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Mahoney’s, Quality want potential class-action suit tossed
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed against Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant and Quality Poultry & Seafood is a ‘manufactured attempt’ to cash in on the criminal case against two seafood institutions in Biloxi, the companies say. Mary...
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Loved ones wear pink for restaurant owner’s final goodbye
Last Thanksgiving Kingjaks restaurant in Biloxi served a free turkey lunch to anyone in the community who wanted to share a meal. This Thanksgiving the young owner of the restaurant’s family and friends are buying pink and preparing to say goodbye...
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Leaders hope to expand beach boardwalk wall
The old seawall is mostly buried now, covered by sand that has risen for decades. But now it is the focus of a fierce new debate over nostalgia and nature on the Mississippi Coast. State and local leaders hope to cover the old seawall across all of...
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Community event showers expectant moms with resources
In a state often known for its high infant and maternal mortality rates, dozens of expectant and new mothers and their families pushed strollers and held young children Thursday night as they received free diapers, entered raffles for car seats and...
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Former WLOX-TV anchor Dave Elliott hired by rival NBC station
Longtime news anchor David “Dave” Elliott, who said he was fired from WLOX-TV because of his political views, has been snapped up by rival station WXXV-TV. “Dave brings with him a wealth of experience and a distinguished career in Mississippi...
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MS Coast high schooler takes her life after bullying
Editor’s Note: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org Stephenie “Stevie”...
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Gautier daycare had state violations before abuse arrest
Jessica “Camay” Brown thought she had done everything she could to make sure she placed her 3-year-old special-needs child in a safe environment. Or at least she thought she had. “Just imagine, if you had a child, a toddler, and he could not speak,...
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Private companies shift Stennis Space Center’s role
Five decades after it began testing rockets deep in South Mississippi’s woods, the Stennis Space Center and sites like it around the country are trying hard to adapt to a world that includes billionaire rocket moguls like Elon Musk. A recent report by...
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Cruisin’ The Coast nears all-time registration record
This year’s Cruisin’ The Coast, which runs through October 13, is proving to be another big one. According to Cruisin’ The Coast Executive Director Woody Bailey, there were 9,602 registered cruisers as of the end of the day on Wednesday, still just...
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2019 spillway opening causes $30M losses, endangers seafood
The 2019 opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway cost the Mississippi Coast hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars, a scenario likely to repeat itself and endanger a seafood industry that has been vital to the economy and culture, a study from...
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Helene leaves 7 dead, nearly 1 million without power
At least seven people dead. Nearly 1 million people without power. Record coastal flooding from Tampa to the Big Bend. Hundreds of millions of dollars in property losses and damages, at the very least. Hurricane Helene, which roared ashore just after...
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