Latest Mississippi Headlines

All the headlines from our Mississippi Topic Page, ordered by recency.

USG Expands to Mississippi and Alabama

Jul 21 2008 // USG Insurance Services Inc., a national wholesale broker of commercial insurance, is expanding operations nationwide with the addition of a dedicated underwriter to Mississippi and Alabama. Debbie Rogers is the new contact...

Montgomery Insurance Names Mississippi Territory Manager

Jul 16 2008 // Charlotte, N.C.-based Montgomery Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, appointed James Woodall as territory manager for Mississippi. Woodall will manage existing agency relationships and identify...

Mississippi Highway Patrol Tickets 5,000, Arrests 40 over Holiday

Jul 8 2008 // The Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol says it issued more than 5,000 tickets over the Fourth of July weekend. The counting period began at 6 p.m. July 3 and ended late July 6. The tickets issued include: 134 for driving...

Nationwide, Allstate Grab State Farm Policies in Miss.

Jul 7 2008 // Nationwide and Allstate will insure homes along the Mississippi coast where the current insurer decided not to renew policies, officials said. The State Farm Insurance action involves 892 policies within 1,000 feet of...

Ratings: MS Frontier, PARIS RE RISC

Jul 3 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a+” to Bermuda-based MS Frontier Reinsurance Ltd. (MS Frontier) with stable outlooks. MS...

Mississippi Jury Returns Verdict in Favor of Pascagoula Couple

Jul 1 2008 // A Jackson County, Mississippi jury returned a $900,000 verdict for a Pascagoula couple who sued their insurer for unpaid Hurricane Katrina damages. Retired Navy Admiral James Lisanby and his wife sued USAA insurance for...

Mississippi Supreme Court Won’t Hear Funeral Home Owner’s Appeal

Jul 1 2008 // The Mississippi Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the embezzlement convictions of the former owners of Salts Funeral Home in Booneville, Miss. A Lee County jury in 2005 convicted Michael I. Salts and Alice Marie...

Mississippi Judge Rejects Punitive Damages Bid by Pascagoula Couple

Jul 1 2008 // A Jackson County judge won’t let a jury consider punitive damages in the case of a Pascagoula couple who sued their insurer for unpaid Hurricane Katrina damages. USAA had paid the Lisanbys $46,000 for their wind...

High-Profile U.S. Trial Lawyer Scruggs Sentenced to 5 Years

Jun 30 2008 // A high-profile Mississippi lawyer, who became unpopular on Wall Street for battling powerful companies, was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to conspiring to bribe a judge. Richard...

Midwest Flood Losses Sink In as Mississippi River Water Levels Recede

Jun 30 2008 // Farmhouses appear to float on lakes, and farmers use boats to get to their barns. Businesses are shuttered as flooded roadways cut off customers. Rail lines, factories, river locks are shut down. Homeowners, who watched...

N.Y. Governor Supports Easing Rules for Foreign Reinsurers

Jun 27 2008 // New York will hire more minority- and women-owned debt underwriters, lawyers and risk managers and ease regulatory barriers that are “openly discriminating” against foreign reinsurers, Democratic Gov. David...

Fire Hydrant Vandals in Mississippi Pose Threat to Property, Lives

Jun 27 2008 // Officials with the Laurel, Mississippi Fire Department are concerned that some recent vandalism to the city’s fire hydrants could pose problems when its time to save property or someone’s life. Fire Chief David...

Friends Seek Leniency for Well-known Mississippi Attorney

Jun 27 2008 // Some high-profile friends are seeking leniency for a well-known Mississippi attorney who took on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies before he pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a state judge. Attorney Richard...

Hydrologist: No Flood Danger for Lower Mississippi

Jun 27 2008 // While the Midwest continues its struggles with Mississippi River flooding and its aftermath, residents to the south along the Lower Mississippi have little to fear from the high water. The Lower Mississippi, which begins...

Mississippi Plans Storm Evacuation Drill on Interstate 59

Jun 24 2008 // The Mississippi Department of Transportation plans to conduct a hurricane evacuation drill on Interstate 59 in south Mississippi on July 1. The contraflow or lane reversal drill is part of MDOT’s hurricane...

Levees Hold Back Cresting Mississippi River; Aid Requests Mount

Jun 23 2008 // Walls and levees held back the cresting Mississippi River Sunday as requests for government aid poured in from homeowners and businesses swamped by the worst Midwest flooding in 15 years. Across from St. Louis, where the...

Judge Dismissed Mississippi Pastor’s $200M Countersuit in Sex Case

Jun 20 2008 // After a woman filed a $10 million lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted by the Rev. Jeffery Stallworth, the Jackson, Miss. pastor turned around and sued her for $200 million. Hinds County Circuit Judge William...

Illinois, Missouri Residents Prepare for Floods with Sandbags, Sweat

Jun 19 2008 // Hundreds of volunteers stacked sandbags atop a levee in small Missouri towns on the evening of June 18, hoping the extra few feet of protection would save the town from record-level flood crests expected to hit this week....

Feds Open Loan Office for Mississippi Flood Victims In Yazoo County

Jun 16 2008 // The U.S. Small Business Administration will open a disaster outreach loan center in Mississippi for Yazoo County flood victims. The SBA announced a disaster declaration for the county June 12. It’s in response to...

Update: 2 Insurers to Pick up State Farm’s Non-renewals

Jun 16 2008 // Nationwide and Allstate will insure homes along the Mississippi coast where the current insurer decided not to renew policies, officials said. The State Farm Insurance action involves 892 policies within 1,000 feet of...