Governor Wants To Rebuild Bigger, Better

JACKSON, Miss. -- Gov. Haley Barbour on Tuesday challenged lawmakers to help the Mississippi Gulf Coast rebuild bigger and better after Hurricane Katrina.

He said part of that rebuilding effort should be allowing casinos to move off the water and a few hundred feet on shore.

"Many will see the vote on shore-based gaming as the first defining vote of where Mississippi is headed," Barbour said. "Will it be business as usual; the same old, same old? Or are we going to lift our horizons and take advantage of this opportunity to have something better?"

Barbour talked to the Legislative Conservative Coalition about his proposal, and some members of the group said they will not support him.

Usually, the conservative lawmakers are among the strongest allies of the Republican governor.

Most of the 13 coast casinos were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Some gambling companies say they can make safer structures if they can go on land.

State law currently says casinos can be only over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Mississippi River.

Barbour said that morally, it makes no difference whether the casinos are over water or 1,500 feet on shore. But he said from a public safety and financial standpoint, it makes a big difference.

Legislators are in a special session to deal with hurricane recovery issues. So far, neither the House nor the Senate has debated a casino bill.

Barbour, a Republican, campaigned in 2003 on preventing the spread of gambling.

The state legalized casinos in 1990, but restricted them to the waters of the Mississippi River or the Gulf of Mexico.

Religious groups including the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the American Family Association are lobbying against any change in state casino laws.

Officials Praise Guard Response

Military leaders said Tuesday that the Mississippi National Guard was able to adequately respond to Hurricane Katrina by using troops that were available and resources from other states.

Nearly 4,000 of Mississippi's 12,500 Guard soldiers and airmen are deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But nearly 15,000 soldiers from Mississippi and across the country were called up for the hurricane relief efforts.

Long convoys of camouflage military vehicles from throughout the country could be seen snaking along Mississippi's major highways in the days following the storm. Emergency officials said the response was rapid only because a plan was already in place.

Mississippi Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Powell said every natural disaster provides a learning experience for emergency workers but, overall, he's proud of the relief effort in Mississippi.

The Mississippi Guard alone has delivered over 37 million pounds of ice, 4.5 million gallons of water, and almost 4 million MREs -- meals ready to eat.

Environmental Agency Reports No Leaks At DuPont

The Dupont facility in Delisle has not been compromised since Hurricane Katrina.

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality officials said that there's no evidence of hazardous material leaks at the facility.

A jury last month awarded Bay Saint Louis oyster fisherman Glenn Strong $14 million in damages after finding chemicals from the plant responsible for causing his multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer.

Strong's wife, Connie, received $1.5 million for loss of "love and companionship."

DEQ officials said inspections at the facility in Harrison County since Hurricane Katrina have revealed that the plant site was inundated with water, but no hazardous material releases or leaks were observed.

The onsite landfill for waste disposal remained intact and was not overcome by the storm surge.

Lawmaker Offers Thanks For Hurricane Relief

State Rep. Jim Simpson Jr. stood before the Mississippi House on Tuesday to offer his thanks for the assistance his community has received in the days after Katrina.

Simpson followed the example set by his father, Rep. Jim Simpson Sr. in 1969, when he also thanked the state and the nation for help after a horrific hurricane.

The younger Simpson, a Republican representing Long Beach, first apologized to his colleagues for breaking the House chamber's coat-and-tie dress code.

Just like 90 percent of his constituents, he no longer owns a suit, a tie, or much else.

He choked back tears as he read the speech his father delivered on Aug. 17, 1969 -- just 10 days after Hurricane Camille flattened the Simpsons' hometown of Pass Christian.

Jim Simpson Sr., a Democrat, served from January 1964 to January 1992 and died in 1994.

He said in 1969 that he saw a new light of hope on the Mississippi coast in the dark days after Camille.

Like his father 36 years ago, Jim Simpson Jr. thanked fellow Mississippians and Americans for their help and their prayers.

Government Credit Cards To Be Reviewed For Spending Abuse

Pentagon auditors said they will investigate whether federal employees have been abusing government-issued credit cards since their purchase limits were hastily raised to $250,000 to help pay for hurricane-related expenses.

Gary Comerford, spokesman for the Pentagon's inspector general, says the audit comes after Congress increased the purchase limit as part of a massive Katrina recovery bill approved earlier this month.

Previous government audits have shown that the credit cards, which typically have a purchase limit of $2,500, were improperly used to pay for prostitutes, gambling activity and even breast implants. About 250,000 federal employees currently have the government credit cards.

The review comes as part of the department's broader study of Katrina-related spending.

The Bush administration requested the increase of the credit card limit to speed aid to victims. Since then, it has issued guidelines putting some restrictions on the spending, but critics say they aren't enough to deter abuse.