CG medevac; 2 boaters rescued

MEDEVACS CRUISE PASSENGER,

HELO ENCOUNTERS TURBULANCE

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard medevac'd a 76-year-old man from a cruise ship Saturday about 300 miles offshore from Fort Morgan, Ala. CG Sector Mobile, Ala., received a call at 4:30 a.m. from the crew of the Carnival Dream cruise ship requesting a medevac for a passenger experiencing heart attack-like symptoms. The CG launched a Mobile-based HC-144 Ocean Sentry and New Orleans-based MH-60 Jayhawk aircrews. The Jayhawk aircrew disembarked a rescue swimmer. While hoisting a cruise ship nurse, a severe squall caused the aircrew to back away from the ship. The helo then encountered a severe downwind, prompting the aircrew to recover the aircraft close to the water's surface. Both aircraft aborted the mission and returned to base due to weather. 

A second New Orleans-based Jayhawk helicopter aircrew later returned to the scene, hoisting the patient and rescue swimmer, and transferred the patient to awaiting EMS personnel at University Medical Center New Orleans.

"Through exceptional real-time risk management, crew resource management, and superb piloting (of the initial helo) the aircrew was able to safely recover the aircraft and land at the air station without further incident," said Cmdr. Keith Blair, commanding officer of GC Air Station New Orleans. (Coast Guard vieo 04/29/23) DVIDS - Video - Coast Guard medevacs cruise ship passenger offshore Fort Morgan, Ala. (dvidshub.net)

CG RESCUES STRANDED BOATERS

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard rescued two stranded boaters April 29 from their aground vessel near Whiskey Island, La. The CG got a report about 7 p.m. from the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office of an aground 18-foot aluminum vessel with two people aboard. The CG launched a New Orleans-based MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew that located the duo and hoisted them onboard. They were transported to the Houma-Terrebonne Airport. They were last reported to be in stable condition. (Coast Guard video 04/29/23) DVIDS - Video - Coast Guard rescues 2 stranded boaters near Whiskey Island, La. (dvidshub.net)

Blue state exodus accelerates

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker shrugged in 2022 after high-profile corporations left his state. “Countless companies are choosing Illinois as their home,” Pritzker said at that time. The question becomes: Why does a new IRS report show an accelerating taxpayer exodus from Illinois and other high-tax states? Each spring, the IRS publishes data on the movement of adjusted gross income (AGI) and taxpayers crossing state lines. Some Democrat governors claimed that the 2020 Census undercounted their state populations, but the IRS data shows blue states are losing taxpayers and income at an accelerating rate. The data shows a net 105,000 people left Illinois in 2021, taking with them some $10.9B in AGI. That’s up from $8.5B in 2020 and $6B in 2019. New York’s income loss increased to $24.5 billion in 2021 from $19.5 billion in 2020 and $9 billion in 2019. California lost $29.1 billion in 2021, more than triple what it did in 2019. By contrast, the lowest tax states added some $100B ion of income during the pandemic. Zero-income-tax Florida gained $39.2B - up from $23.7B in 2020 and $17.7 billion in 2019. About $9.8B of the total arrived from New York, $3.9 billion from Illinois, $3.7B from New Jersey and $3.5B from California. Texas was another winner, attracting a net $10.9 billion in 2021, which follows a gain of $6.3 billion in 2020 and $4B n 2019. Californians represented more than half of Texas’s income gain in 2021. The Golden State also sent $4.4B to Nevada, $2.7B to Arizona and $2B to Washington. Nevada and Washington don’t tax wages, and Arizona is phasing out its income tax. Illinois lost income to all of its neighboring states, but the biggest beneficiaries of its taxpayer flight were Florida, Texas, Indiana and Wisconsin. Mr. Pritzker can’t blame lousy weather since it’s not exactly balmy in Kenosha. (Wall Street Journal editorial board 04/28/23) The Blue State Exodus Accelerates (msn.com) 

Regional aero job posting

V2X - Madison, Miss., seeking highly qualified Strategic Sourcing Specialist to join our Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain Strategic Sourcing Center of Excellence Team. Strategic Sourcing Specialist II - Madison, MS (Hybrid) - Evergreen Job in 555 Industrial Dr S at Vertex Aerospace | Ziprecruiter

New Port NOLA board members

NEW ORLEANS - Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed Jeanne E. Ferrer and Darryl D. Berger to the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) this month to succeed outgoing commissioners Charles H. Ponstein and William H. Langenstein III. As incoming commissioners, Ferrer will serve as the St. Bernard representative and Berger will serve as a representative of Orleans Parish on the 7-member regional board. Both Ferrer and Berger were sworn in during April 27 and will serve a 5-year term. With the port’s alignment with the NOPB in 2018, commissioners also serve on the NOPB commission. (Biz New Orleans 04/27/23) Edwards Appoints Ferrer and Berger to Port of NOLA Board - Biz New Orleans

NOLA cruise guests top record

NEW ORLEANS - The Port of New Orleans set a record in March for oceangoing and river cruise passengers, topping pre-pandemic levels with 155,225 passengers and 39 cruise-vessel calls for the month. The port’s previous monthly high was in February 2020 with 154,409 passenger movements and 31 vessel calls. “These record numbers highlight how demand for cruising from New Orleans never went away,” said Port NOLA President/CEO Brandy D. Christian. Ninety (90) percent of cruise guests come from out-of-state. )Biz New Orleans 04/25/23) Port NOLA Sets New Monthly Record for Cruise Passengers - Biz New Orleans

Dorsey earns 'Golden Stick' award

The Mississippi Council of the Navy League presented Lt.j.g. Christopher Dorsey with the 'Golden Stick Award' during a winging ceremony April 21 onboard NAS Meridian. The Golden Stick is presented to the student with the highest composite score during flight training. 

At the winning, six naval aviators received their “Wings of Gold”: Lt.j.g. Raymond Benitez, Lt.jg. Scott Dormer, Lt.j.g Christopher Dorsey, Lt.j.g. Andrew Elgin and 1st Lt. Scott Hornick. (Skyline 04/27/23) LinkClick.aspx (navy.mil)

NASM corpsman earns MSU honors

NAS Meridian (Miss.) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jung Tai was honored as the Distance Student Volunteer of the Year by Mississippi State University on April 18 at the Student Leadership and Community Engagement awards ceremony in Starkville. HM3 Tai is a member of the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit at NASM. The program honors and celebrates accomplishments of students, faculty and staff of MSU. The Distance Student Volunteer of the Year award requires at least 100 volunteer hours completed within the academic year and good academic standing. Tai also received the Individual Excellence Award for completing more than 100 hours of volunteer service while a student on campus. Tai is completing her Master's of Business Administration Degree at MSU. (NASM's Skyline 04/27/23)

Local Tuskegee Airman honored

COLUMBUS, Miss. - The community celebrated a historical day in the renaming of the Columbus-Lowndes County Airport terminal. It is now dedicated to the late Lt. Col. Alva Temple, who was from Columbus and a highly decorated Tuskegee Airman. Temple served for 20 years and flew 120 missions for the AF in the P-50 Mustang. Temple and his all-African American 332nd flight crew won the inaugural ‘Top Gun’ competition in 1949. Temple's youngest granddaughter, Angie Billups Washington, says he didn’t like the spotlight. "(H)e was so modest he would just be in the background, trying to fade in the woodwork.” It wasn't about the accolades and fanfare for him, she continued. "He was really a person who wanted to do his job, and it shows through his accomplishments.” The Tuskegee Airmen were monumental in the fight for desegregation. (WTVA 04/28/23) The Columbus-Lowndes County Airport named terminal after local Tuskegee Airman | News | wtva.com

Thompson takes helm of VT-7

Cmdr. Bradley Thompson became commander of the "Eagles” of Training Squadron (VT) 7 on April 28 at a change of command ceremony, where he relieved retiring Cmdr. Greg Enzinger, aboard Naval Air Station Meridian. Thompson, a Naval Academy graduate, takes the helm after serving 15 months as executive officer of VT-7. After receiving his commission, Thompson reported to NAS Pensacola, Fla., for flight training and earned his Wings of Gold from VT-7 in January 2008. He has deployed with the aircraft carriers USS George Washington (CVN-73) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). 

Enzinger, who had served as commanding officer since January 2022, retired after 20 years of naval service. During his tour as CO, the squadron accrued more than 35,000 flight hours and designated 153 Naval aviators. (Meridian Star 04/28/23)

AF chapter honors Meridian airmen

The G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Chapter 376 of the Air & Space Force Association recognized four outstanding airmen of the year and a teacher of the year at its annual awards banquet on April 27. Teacher of the Year, Dunnam Shirley of Southeast Lauderdale Middle School; Outstanding Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year, 186th Logistics Readiness Squadron Master Sgt. Hank Fairchild; Outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year, 186th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Technical Sgt. Will Smith; 186th Logistics Readiness Squadron Staff Sgt. Jacob Gunn, who was awarded the Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Benthall Leadership Award; and Outstanding Airman of the Year Airman First Class Mark Gutierrez of base security services. (Meridian Star 04/28/23) Air Force Association recognizes outstanding airmen | News | meridianstar.com

Boozman keynote for Delta event

CLEVELAND, Miss. - U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) will be keynote speaker for the Delta Council's 88th annual meeting here June 2 at Delta State University’s Bologna Performing Arts Center. Boozman is Arkansas’s senior senator and dean of the state’s congressional delegation. He was raised in Fort Smith and went on to play football for the University of Arkansas. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year, co-founding a family business with his brother that would ultimately become a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas. 

He advocates for economic policies that help small businesses, and has been a champion for farmers, ranchers and loggers, according to Delta Council President Wade Litton. 

Boozman serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which enables him to play a key role in influencing policy related to the agriculture economy, nutrition programs and quality of life in rural America. (Mississippi Business Journal 04/28/23) Sen. John Boozman to keynote Delta Council 88th annual meeting in June | Mississippi Business Journal | djournal.com 

Background: Delta Council is an area economic development organization representing the 18 Delta and part-Delta counties of Northwest Mississippi.

Growth limits for Ascension swamp

The Ascension Parish government is proposing a sweeping limit on new housing for some 33K+ acres of largely isolated, flood-prone land in the parish's eastern border - along the Amite and Blind rivers and the Amite River Diversion Canal. Parish officials say the massive zoning change would prevent intensive development and the extensive use of dirt fill, avoiding increased flooding risks and improving the parish's chances to cut flood insurance rates. From near Port Vincent to Ascension's SE near Lake Maurepas and St. James Parish, the estimated 33,200 acres is mostly swamp and marsh in the parish's coastal zone, plans show. The parish council will hear the proposal in May. (NOLA> 04/28/23) Plan would greatly limit growth in 33K acres of Ascension | Environment | nola.com

MSU's human performance summit

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The second annual Mississippi State University Athlete Engineering Summit will bring together experts from across the country May 10-11 to address human performance issues in sports, industry, military and medical applications. The “Speaking the Same Language” themed summit will be held at the Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College in Columbus. 

Participants will include sports team coaches, health and safety managers from industry, human performance trainers from the military, along with engineers, data scientists, and wearable and human performance technology experts, according to Reuben Burch, head of MSU’s multidisciplinary Athlete Engineering research group. 

Registration is open at www.athleteengineeringsummit.com and is $300 for general admission, $200 for MSU and EMCC faculty and staff as well as all active service members, and $100 for MSU, EMCC and University of Mississippi Medical Center students. 

Pre-summit events include a free May 9 workshop on human readiness and human performance technology implementation and a social event hosted by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

This year’s keynote speaker is Jim Reilly, a space systems expert and former astronaut, who now serves as an executive advisor to the Booz Allen Hamilton aerospace in Virginia. Prior to joining Booz Allen Hamilton, he served as director of the U.S. Geological Survey. 

The summit will feature discussions focusing on how concepts, cultures, technologies and different courses offered in MSU’s Athlete Engineering Certificate program can bring impact to sports, industry, tactical and at-risk athletes. In addition to nationally recognized speakers and panels of experts, attendees can network with professionals, enjoy delicious food, and see human performance technology in action. 

View a complete conference schedule and register at visit www.athleteengineeringsummit.com. (MSU 04/28/23)

EPA gives OK to La. UIC program

DALLAS - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened public comment on a proposal to grant the State of Louisiana’s request for primary responsibility of Class VI wells under the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program, which regulates the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into deep rock formation. Class VI injection wells - when used as a part of carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal projects - are a critical tool for cutting carbon emissions and combatting the climate crisis. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA has developed specific criteria to ensure that when CO2 is stored underground to reduce greenhouse gases, underground sources of drinking water are protected. "EPA is moving with urgency to combat the climate crisis. and this proposal would help leverage critical technologies" to cut harmful pollution that could jeopardize people’s health and safety, said EPA Region 6 Administrator Earthea Nance. 

In working to finalize the proposal, EPA is seeking public feedback and will continue to prioritize protections for overburdened communities in order to ensure them "a meaningful seat at the table,” she said.

EPA has determined that Louisiana’s Class VI UIC program meets all requirements. EPA is requesting public comments on its proposed decision within 60 days of publication. EPA will hold an in-person public hearing on June 15 in Baton Rouge. 

Learn more at https://www.epa.gov/uic/underground-injection-control-epa-region-6-ar-la-nm-ok-and-tx 

In addition to the public hearing, EPA requests comments be sent via the Federal Register, docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0073. For more information: : https://www.epa.gov/uic/primary-enforcement-authority-underground-injection-control-program-0

 Background: UIC Class VI injection wells are used to store underground carbon dioxide that has been captured from an emissions source or atmosphere. Class VI injection wells are a critical tool for reducing carbon emissions to meet mid-century climate goals. CO2 is injected through specially constructed wells that deposit and store material deep beneath the earth in rock formations. These formations must be tested and evaluated to ensure that geologic formations are suitable for the safe containment of CO2 for long-term storage. This technology will provide well-paying jobs and can be implemented in an environmentally responsible way.

Judges overturn O&G ruling

A 3-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C formally ended an environmental legal challenge to a Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale that had been blocked by a district judge but was revived by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. After President Biden paused new O&G leasing in 2021, a coalition of attorneys general sued him and Louisiana’s AG Jeff Landry. The suit paved a way for a November 2021 lease sale that netted more than $189M. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras of Washington threw out that sale. However, the Inflation Reduction Act put the sale back on the books and forced the White House to host two lease sales in 2023. The lease sales allow O&G companies to bid for drilling space on federal land and waters. Environmental groups challenged that move in court. In the April 28 ruling, the panel disagreed and vacated Contreras’ ruling as moot. (NOLA.com 04/28/23) Federal appeals court ends Gulf of Mexico oil lease fight | Business News | nola.com

DoD regional contracts Apr. 28

* Onshore Materials LLC, Thibodaux, Louisiana, was awarded a $22,595,265 firm-fixed-price contract for berm and road repair and improvements. Bids were solicited via the internet with 13 received. Work will be performed in Laplace, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of March 26, 2026. Fiscal 2023 civil construction funds in the amount of $22,595,265 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity. 

News Note from USACE New Orleans: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District awarded a contract for constructing the third levee reach on the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain (WSLP) Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction project. This contract will construct approximately 1.8 miles of the 17.5-mile-long levee system that will provide 100-year level risk reduction to the area primarily in St. John the Baptist, St. James and St. Charles Parish. 

* Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $615,958,506 modification (P00005) to contract W31P4Q-23-C-0006 for production of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas; Archbald, Pennsylvania; Camden, Arkansas; York, Pennsylvania; Palm Bay, Florida; Brownsboro, Alabama; Boca Raton, Florida; Whippany, New Jersey; Clearwater, Florida; Dallas, Texas; and Jackson, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of May 30, 2026. Fiscal operation and maintenance, Recovery Act funds in the amount of $207,921,658 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. 

* Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $64,448,906 modification (PZ0008) to contract W31P4Q-22-C-0047 for production of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas; Archbald, Pennsylvania; Camden, Arkansas; Palm Bay, Florida; York, Pennsylvania; Brownsboro, Alabama; Boca Raton, Florida; Clearwater, Florida; Dallas, Texas; Whippany, New Jersey; and Jackson, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2025. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance, Recovery Act funds in the amount of $64,448,906 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. 

Regional Note: Lockheed Martin operates a 33K-square-foot Mission Support Center in Clinton, Miss.  The center - part of the company's Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) - supports diverse mission and technology services that LM provides to federal agencies. The facility also established LM's Gulf Coast Technology Hub, which partners with existing East and West Coast technology hubs. LM has additional presence in Mississippi with locations in Biloxi, Stennis, Vicksburg, Meridian and Pascagoula.

VE: Cutting ribbons and emissions

Vertex Energy (VE) unveiled a new facility at its Saraland, Ala., refinery - near Mobile - on April 28. It will produce renewable diesel fuel from soybean oil. “As we like to say, we’re not just cutting ribbons today, we’re cutting emissions,” Benjamin Cowart, founder/CEO at Vertex, said. The facility will still produce standard diesel fuel, as well as gasoline and jet fuel. The fuel will serve as a drop-in replacement for any standard diesel fuel, Wes Mock, general manager for the facility, which currently produces 8,000 barrels a day. A planned Phase 2 will bring the capacity to 14,000 barrels a day of renewable diesel. Renewable diesel will produce about half of the carbon emissions that the production of petroleum diesel requires, according to Mock. (AL.com 04/28/23) Vertex Energy unveils new renewable diesel facility in Mobile County - al.com 

Background: Houston-based Vertex Energy (VTNR) is an energy transition company focused on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. Vertex's Alabama refinery has an operable refining capacity of 75,000 barrels a day, positioning it as a leading supplier of fuels in the Gulf region. Vertex is also one of the largest processors of used motor oil in the U.S., with operations in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas, and Marrero, La. Vertex also owns a facility in Belle Chasse, La., with existing hydro-processing and plant infrastructure assets that include nine million gallons of storage. Vertex acquired the Saraland, Ala., refinery in 2022. In 2014, the company acquired Omega Holdings and its Marrero-based Vacuum Gas Oil refinery and the Belle Chase property for future developments, according to the company's website.

Two Army helos collide, 3 dead

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Two Army helicopters collided in flight April 27 near Healy, Alaska, while returning from a training mission, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth, the Army said. Two died on scene of the crash. A third soldier died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. The fourth soldier was being treated at a hospital for injuries. The names were being withheld until relatives could be notified. The cause of the crash was under investigation. A team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Novosel, Alabama (formerly Fort Rucker), will conduct the investigation. Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, John Pennell, a spokesperson for U.S. Army Alaska. The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks. (The AP 04/28/23) 

Regional Note: Fort Novosel is the home of Army aviation training in southeast Alabama. Airbus Helicopters Inc. of Columbus, Miss., builds UH-72 Lakota helicopters for basic helo training at Fort Novosel.

La. firefighters' sniper team #1

FORT BENNING, Ga. - Soldiers from the Army National Guard are the best snipers in the world. Four National Guard sniper teams emerged as best contenders in the 2023 International Sniper Competition. All four teams were in the Top 10. Team 7 took first. Thirty-five, 3-person sniper teams participated here from April 8-13. Team 7 leader Sgt. 1st Class Erik Vargas of the New Mexico National Guard and Arkansas National Guard Staff Sgts. Benjamin Cotten and Allen Smith of ISC Team 7 secured 1st place over competitors as Army Active Component, National Guard, Special Ops, Infantry, Army Rangers, OPFOR, Airborne, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and the most exceptional sniper teams from Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Estonia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Vargas, a full-time security executive in Las Vegas, was an active-duty member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion before joining the Guard seven years ago. He's been a sniper for 10 years. Smith and Cotten are full-time firefighters in Shreveport, Louisiana, and sniper instructors. (National Guard Marksmanship Training Center 04/27/23) Army Guard Sniper Team Wins International Sniper Competition > National Guard > Guard News - The National Guard

Regional defense contracts Apr. 27

* BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded $28,343,145 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-21-C-5393 to exercise options for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System mechanical design agent effort providing design and system engineering support, logistics, and integration support. Work will be performed in Minneapolis, Minnesota (42%); Norfolk, Virginia (18%); San Diego, California (18%); Aberdeen, South Dakota (9%); Bath, Maine (6%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (6%); and Redzikowo, Poland (1%), and is expected to be completed by April 2024. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,685,361 (48%); fiscal 2022 Defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $4,550,000 (20%); fiscal 2023 Defense-wide research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,977,540 (18%); fiscal 2023 Defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $2,568,489 (11%); and fiscal 2023 Defense-wide operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $635,843 (3%) will be obligated at time of award, of which $635,843 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 25, 2023)

* International Systems Management Corp., Greenbelt, Maryland, is awarded a $21,448,365 cost-plus-fixed fee and cost-only contract for engineering support services to conduct feasibility studies, program planning and scheduling support, and technical services for Australian Surface Combatant Combat System Ship Qualification Trials, and the Canadian Surface Combatant program. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $38,323,086. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Australia and Canada. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (92%); Sarasota, Florida (4%); and Mobile, Alabama (4%), and is expected to be completed by April 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue through April 2028. FMS (Australia) funds in the amount of $3,615,917 (58%); and FMS (Canada) funds in the amount of $2,587,160 (42%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements) and 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(4) (International Agreement). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (DoD 04/27/23)

Economy slows, GDP grew 1.1%

The U.S. economy slowed at the start of 2023, suggesting that an aggressive series of interest rate hikes at the Federal Reserve has cooled business activity even as the stock and job markets have made gains. U.S. gross domestic product grew by a 1.1% annualized rate over the three months ending in March, according to government data released Thursday. The data showed a slowdown from 2.6% growth in the previous quarter. In turn, that performance indicated a downshift from 3.2% growth in the previous quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. economy, surged over the first three months of this year, said the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a government agency. Government spending at the federal and local level also fueled the economic growth, the agency said. However, the slowdown from the previous quarter resulted from a decline in business investment and residential fixed investment, which includes money spent on home buying and construction, the data showed.  (ABC News 04/27/23) US economic growth slowed significantly at start of 2023 (msn.com)

Silver Ships delivers to USACE

Silver Ships, Theodore, Ala., recently delivered a custom-built Explorer 26 to the Army Corps of Engineers' Mobile (Ala.) District. The 26-foot marine survey vessel, Miss Agnes, will conduct hydrographic survey analyses along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Tenn-Tom waterway is a 234-mile stretch of water that connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee to the Blake Warrior River at Demopolis, Ala. (Work Boat 04/26/23) Silver Ships delivers survey vessel to Corps’ Mobile District | WorkBoat

6th berthing barge for Bollinger

Bollinger Shipyards announced this month that the Navy has awarded it the detailed design and construction for the sixth 269-foot auxiliary personnel lighter-ship (APL[S]- 67) class berthing and messing barge. Construction will take place at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., and is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2023. The previous five were built at VT Halter Marine, which Bollinger acquired in late 2022. (Work Boat 04/26/23) Bollinger to build sixth Navy berthing barge | WorkBoat

Vicksburg Corps' regulator of year

VICKSBURG, Miss. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Vicksburg District’s Regulatory Division recognized environmental specialist Andy Sanderson as the 2023 Larry N. Harper Regulator of the Year at an awards luncheon April 26. The award recognizes the regulator who exemplifies the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Additional awardees included personnel who stepped into leadership roles after several employees retired in early 2022. (Vicksburg Corps 04/26/23) USACE Vicksburg District’s Regulatory Division recognizes Regulator of the Year, personnel excellence > Vicksburg District > News Releases (army.mil)

Hurricane pump corrosion in NOLA

Corrosion in parts of New Orleans' hurricane protection system is forcing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install temporary pumps at the London Avenue Canal station - one of 17 station - ahead of the start of hurricane season on June 1. The decision comes after the USACE in March said heavy corrosion had turned up in the London Avenue pump at the city's three main outfall canals. The corrosion has occurred five years after construction. They are intended to last 35 years. The London Avenue Canal is being repaired. The discovery of corrosion set off inspections of the other 16. Nine have been inspected and, after minor repairs, "returned to operational status," the Corps said. The pumps are part of a $14.6B flood protection system put in place after levee breaches during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Floodwalls along two canals – London Avenue and 17th Street – failed in the 2005 storm, contributing to the engineering failures that flooded 80% of New Orleans and killed hundreds of people. (NOLA.com 04/27/23) Hurricane season: New Orleans site set for temporary pumps | Environment | nola.com 

NOLA Corps' media release: NOLA Corps' media release: USACE to install supplemental pumps at the London Ave. PCCP > New Orleans District > News Releases (army.mil)