Jackson Free Press

According to WJTV the Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to declare a state of emergency in South Jackson to support work on a 48-inch water main; the work may require a significant time period of disrupted water service in the area.

Due to newly projected expenses not incurred in the past, important logistical decisions could not be made in a timely fashion, resulting in the cancellation of the annual nighttime parade.

Continental Tire awarded four Mississippi-based firms contracts to work on the construction of the Hinds County tire plant and training center, which will be located off of Interstate-20 just outside of Clinton.

Three firms, Jackson-based McCarty Architects, Clinton-based WGK Engineers and Tupelo-based Corbett Legge & Associates Engineering, were awarded 30 percent of the design contract for Continental’s training center, which is expected to begin in July 2017.

“We are thrilled to help Continental Tire make their vision of a new training facility a reality,” Kurt Shettles, McCarty Architects President & CEO, said in a press release. “Our previous experience with training facilities and automotive related projects gives us an opportunity to use that expertise to help make this project the best that it can be for our community and state.”

Jackson-based firm, Sol Engineering, was awarded a portion of the engineering design and program management contract for Continental’s tire plant.

For contracting information or updates visit www.mississippi.org/continental.

MDAH has now announced the leadership team for 2 Mississippi Museums, which will encompass the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History.

Here are more details on Hal's St. Paddy's Parade & Festival on March 18.

The Tax Foundation honored Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn with its Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform award this week.

"Reeves and Gunn led the effort to begin phasing out the state’s archaic franchise tax, a tax on investment and capital formation in a state that needs more of both," a press release from the Tax Foundation says. "Beginning in 2018, the tax rate will drop in phases until complete repeal in 2028. The legislation also reduces the tax rate on low levels of income. Reeves and Gunn have also explored further tax reform options."

Reeves and Gunn brought the Tax Foundation to the Legislature last summer to work with a tax panel made up of lawmakers to look at the state's tax code. The conservative Tax Foundation favors relieving tax burdens on businesses, and their award follows the 2016 Legislature's passage of the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act, which will divert $415 million from the state's general fund in 12 years.