Tired of calling your local utility company and getting an automated
voice?  Public Service Commission vice-chairman Lynn Posey says
it's one of the most common complaints he gets.  And the PSC
plans a hearing in December to consider requiring the companies
to give customers access to a live person-- at least during regular
business hours.   Posey says that shouldn't be a financial burden
on the utilities. 


It looks like the $5.5 million it cost Ole Miss  to host the
first presidential debate was money well spent.  A company
which measured the media exposure the debate generated
says the university enjoyed almost $35 million worth of publicity
from the broadcast, print and internet stories.  It says those
stories reached more than 806-million people worldwide.


Despite the country's economic troubles, people are still going to
fairs.   North American Midway Entertainment, the company
which supplies the rides and games for the State Fair, says business
has been good on the fair circuit this season, with many people
apparently choosing to spend their entertainment dollars closer to
home.    At the same time, the company has seen its expenses
climb, especially the cost of fuel to power the generators which
run constantly during the fair and the hundred or so trucks used
to move the rides from town to town. 

The IRS says more than 51,000 Mississippians eligible for
economic stimulus rebate checks still haven't filed a tax return.
And the deadline is Oct. 15.  People who receive social security
and veterans benefits-- who normally don't have to file returns--
need to do so this year so they can receive a rebate. 



Mississippi's restaurant industry has taken a hit from the
country's economic troubles-- with fewer customers eating out
and spending less when they do.  But as restaurant revenue
drops, expenses are going up as they are for the rest of us.
Many of the businesses have resisted the temptation to raise
their prices, knowing that their customers are already in a bind.
And now, the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association
is saying thanks to those who've continued to patronize eateries
across the state.  Gov. Barbour has proclaimed October as
Dine Out Mississippi Month.  And the MHRA is rewarding
frequent customers with a special promotion.  Details can be
found at www.dineoutms.com




Attorney General Jim Hood says he won't know for sure until
his investigators check some records, but he suspects there
may have been some price gouging at the gas pumps in
Mississippi during the recent hurricane threat. Hood says there've                        been reports that some
gas stations raised their prices more than once in a day's
time-- and unless they received multiple shipments of fuel
at different prices, they may have violated the law which
prohibits boosting profit margins during a state of emergency.
Hood says his consumer protection division received hundreds
of complaints about rising gas prices.

Update:  A Jackson motel owner has been fined $500 for
overcharging a customer $17 for a room during the state of
emergency.  It's the first price-gouging case from this year's
storms to be settled.





I've finished a story about one of the oil and gas surveys
being done in the Jackson area.   A company has been working
in the Clinton area to see if any significant deposits can be found.
I've gone along with dynamite crews and vibrator trucks as they
send sound waves into the ground to create a seismic map
which geologists will use to see if there's potential for development.
If you missed the story  when it aired, it's now posted below.




Mississippi is a lot safer from tornadoes than it used to be. 
More than 4,000 storm shelters and safe rooms have been
installed across the state-- paid for, in part, by federal grants.
And the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency expects
as many as 2,500 more to be added in the next year. 
Pontotoc County has led the way with about 400 individual
shelters and some 50 community shelters.  The interest in
the program was sparked by a tornado that killed 6 people
in Pontotoc in 2001.   In the Jackson area, Rankin County
has seen 64 shelters or safe rooms built through the grant
program, Madison County has had 25 and Hinds County 17.



State officials now have a new system to notify Mississippians
about approaching hurricanes and other emergencies.  It's similar
to a large-scale "reverse 911" system which can make thousands
of phone calls in a matter of minutes.  But the Connect-GOV
technology also gives MEMA the ability to text message and
email those alerts.  The state is spending $500,000 for the
service for seven months.  It should be able to send up to three
million phone messages, 1.8 million texts and one million emails
per hour.   Regular land-line phone numbers will be included
automatically in the database and Mississippians can go to
MEMA's website to register their cell phones and email addresses.




At the bottom of the page, I'm continuing to post some of my favorite
stories, old and new.  You'll find "Next Stop, New Orleans", a feature
from last year that was named co-winner of Best of Show by the Miss.
Association of Broadcasters-- and more recently, an RTNDA regional Edward R.
Murrow Award winner.  Also, there's "A Visit to Holsten's", a story about the
place in New Jersey where the final scene in the final episode of HBO's
"The Sopranos" was filmed.  And now, there's a story from last year about
a World War Two hero who died in Hattiesburg recently-- "Jack Lucas,
American Hero"-- and a new story, "Mickee the Medic" about a local
ambulance company employee who's saving lives after almost losing
his own.  Finally, there's "British Baseball Fan", a story from last year about
an Englishman who visited Trustmark Park as part of his quest to see a
baseball game in every state in America.   This story won a national
Edward R. Murrow Award this year, honored as the best example of sports
reporting among small-market radio stations.