Dec. 28—COVID-19, the pandemic of a century, dominated the national and local news in 2020.
In South Mississippi, residents also braved an unnerving hurricane season, welcomed the opening of a new tourist attraction, supported Black Lives Matter, hoisted a new state flag that becomes official in January, and followed the legal drama of a prominent Ocean Springs family.
Below is a rundown of the top stories in South Mississippi for 2020, in no particular order.
COVID-19 invades South MS
COVID-19 crept into South Mississippi on March 13, when one case was reported in Pearl River County, a neighbor to New Orleans and Mardi Gras parades where crowds gathered unaware and took the infection home with them.
In those first days, infections were confined to Pearl River and Hancock counties. But the pandemic spread quickly. By April 5, the last of the six southernmost counties to avoid the pandemic, Stone, reported its first case.
Today, all six South Mississippi counties are under mask mandates because of rapid coronavirus spread. Despite the mandate, many residents still leave their houses without masks and gather socially in large groups, contrary to public health orders Gov. Tate Reeves issued statewide.
A vaccine has arrived to much fanfare, but it is not expected to reach the general public until spring or summer, after high-risk groups are inoculated. Meanwhile, public health officials expect more deaths in the worst pandemic to hit the United States since the flu of 1917-18.
Black Lives Matter draws Coast supporters
Black Lives Matter protests across the nation swept through South Mississippi as well, as residents of all colors demanded racial justice after Minneapolis resident George Floyd died with a police officer’s knee pressed into his neck.
In Gulfport, hundreds turned out for speeches and a march along U.S. 90. Many held signs calling for racial equality or decrying racism. The crowd chanted a familiar slogan, “No justice, no peace.”
Residents also were joined by then-Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania, city officials and ministers to rally for unity and an end to racism, hate and violence.
In Biloxi, demonstrators gathered two days in a row at the iconic lighthouse on U.S. 90. The demonstrations, not new to the Coast or nation, nonetheless took hold in a way that they hadn’t in the past.
George Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” caught on an agonizing cellphone video, and the long list of Black deaths that preceded Floyd’s created calls for change that reverberate still.
MS Gulf Coast endures record hurricane season
Hurricane Zeta was the worst storm to hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast since Katrina in 2005. The state has documented $10 million in residential damage and $79 million in damage to public infrastructure, but is still waiting for a disaster declaration that would release federal funds for repairs in affected counties, including all three Coast counties.
The Mississippi Coast avoided scrapes with Hurricane Sally, which shifted east after threatening landfall in Hancock County, and Category 4 Hurricane Laura, which devastated southwestern Louisiana.
In all, the season ended Nov. 30 with 30 named storms, beating the record of 28 in 2005 and prompting a move to the Greek alphabet for names. That’s happened only twice.
Calls for Confederate monument removal
As the Black Lives Matter movement caught hold, demonstrators called for Harrison County supervisors to remove a Confederate monument from courthouse grounds in Gulfport. The Daughters of the Confederacy erected the monument in 1911 as part of an effort to idolize the Confederacy and its Lost Cause with monuments across the South.
A courthouse protest by supporters for removal in June drew counter-protesters led by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, many of whom dressed in rebel garb and waved the former state flag with its Confederate emblem.
Although Confederate monuments came down in other Mississippi localities and across the South over the summer, Harrison County supervisors decided a more suitable location for the statue would need to be found before it could be moved, based on a legal interpretation of a state law governing such monuments.
Another protest in September also drew proponents and opponents of removal, including members of the pro-monument Southern Defense Force. They wore bullet-proof vests and carried weapons. Although the protest was tense, no violence was reported.
The lone Black supervisor, Kent Jones, recently requested a board vote on removing the monument. Supervisors deadlocked 2-2 on the issue, meaning the monument of a lone Confederate soldier atop a pedestal will — for the time being — remain standing.
MS state flag comes down in localities across Coast
At least four Coast cities — Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs — removed the state flag from public flagpoles before the state Legislature’s historic vote this summer to retire the flag with its Confederate battle emblem, the last in the nation.
The flag was long a symbol of racism and oppression, but lawmakers and local public bodies were reluctant to remove it, especially after a statewide referendum in 2001 when Mississippians voted 2-1 to keep the flag.
The climate changed with growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and continued brandishing of the flag by white supremacists and hate groups. Under pressure from the business community and others, the state Senate and House on the last weekend in June took historic votes to retire the 1894 flag.
In November, Mississippi voters overwhelmingly supported the “In God We Trust” flag, with a Magnolia as its graphic symbol, to replace the old state flag. In South Mississippi, cities and businesses raised the Magnolia flag as soon as shipments arrived. The Legislature is set to approve the new state flag when it convenes in January.
Bill Walker’s court saga continues
Bill Walker, convicted of fraud while serving as executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, was forced to return to court after the Sun Herald reported in August that he had stopped making restitution payments for his crime.
It is the second time U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett has sentenced Walker to jail for failing to make monthly payments on a total of almost $700,000 in restitution and fines stemming from his 2014 conviction. This time, Starrett stayed the sentence and ordered a guardian appointed for Walker, who says he is suffering from memory problems.
Starrett found during a hearing that Walker’s son, Scott Walker, was “misspending” his parents’ retirement income, which amounts to around $270,000 a year.
More drama ensued as the case moved from federal to state Chancery Court, where Judge Neil Harris is presiding over the guardianship.
Harris has clamped down on spending for the couple and ordered the beneficiaries changed on their life insurance policies so that the federal government will be repaid should Bill Walker, 75, pass away before his full restitution and fine are collected.
Mississippi Aquarium opens in Gulfport
The $103 million Mississippi Aquarium finally opened in Gulfport on Aug. 29, the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
COVID-19 wasn’t in the plans, but the aquarium staff adapted with safety precautions for the crowds.
The design is unique, with exhibits spread outdoors and in the main building, Aquatic Wonders. LED lighting and decor is designed to make visitors feel as if they are underwater when they enter Aquatic Wonders.
The star exhibit, a three-story tank, features a suspended acrylic tunnel with 360-degree views of sharks, rays, grouper, angel fish, red snapper and many others.
An active hurricane season delayed the arrival of another main attraction, dolphins featured in an outdoor pool with viewing windows.
Casino developments proposed for Biloxi, another site rejected
Two proposals were announced for casino developments in Biloxi, while the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected a developer’s appeal for a third site on Veterans Avenue, finding it did not meet state regulations.
A $1.2 billion casino resort, which would be the most expensive ever built on the Coast, is proposed for the old Broadwater Hotel property on U.S. 90, while a $700 million casino, hotel and conference center are planned on the U.S. 90 site of the old Tivoli Hotel in East Biloxi.
The Tivoli property still needs site approval, but the Broadwater is an established casino site and was home to the President Casino Broadwater Resort before Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.
Picayune shooting death stirs social media rumors
The shooting of a Black resident of Picayune, Willie “Chill” Jones, set off rumors on social media that a “Black militia” was planning to attack the city. As a result, dozens of white men from right-wing militia groups in Louisiana and Mississippi gathered in July for the expected onslaught.
The rumors started after the law office of a white attorney burned down. His son, 25-year-old Dustin Gray, a suspect in Jones’ disappearance, and was later charged with capital murder in the case.
All that had been planned was a prayer vigil for Jones, who was still missing at the time.
Friends and family of Jones held their peaceful prayer vigil while the white militia members were parked nearby. Similar events have played out in other communities, with vague information about violence and outside agitators shared on social media where no real threat exists.
Ocean Springs men plead guilty in healthcare fraud case
Two Ocean Springs businessmen pleaded guilty in a massive healthcare fraud case that had previously netted others in South Mississippi.
Dempsey Bryan Levi and Jeffrey Wayne Rollins pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Both admitted that they bilked military insurer TRICARE, Medicare and other private plans out of millions of dollars for expensive compound medications.
Levi, Rollins and Levi’s late brother, Clark Levi participated in the scheme to take kickbacks and pay bribes in exchange for promoting the compound prescriptions and marketing them to patients who didn’t need them, the complaint said.
Clark Levi, now deceased, owned Gardens Pharmacy and the other two men were business partners.
CORRECTION: A mask mandate is in force in all six South Mississippi counties. An earlier version of this story included outdated information.
Corrected Dec 28, 2020
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