Weekend preview: Football, Chefs of Coast, Town Green fun and more

High school football, a family-style fundraiser on the Town Green, and Chefs of the Coast at the Civic Center highlight the weekend entertainment lineup.

It’s Biloxi vs. D’Iberville and City of Biloxi night on the Biloxi High School campus this evening, with ID-card-carrying city employees getting two-for-one seats to the 7 p.m. game.

Then on Saturday morning, the CISV International Children’s Festival – a family-friendly event with food from around the world, arts and crafts, music, children’s games and bounce houses – takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Biloxi Town Green. Live music includes the Ocean Springs High School Jazz Band and Blarney Coast Irish band. The event benefits the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Children’s International Summer Village. It’s free for spectators, but there’s a small armband fee for bounce houses. Contact: 228-388-4735.

And wrapping up the weekend it’s the prestigious Chefs of the Coast soiree at the Biloxi Civic Center.

These events, of course, are only a few of the highlights. To see the entire weekend lineup, as compiled by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau,
click here.

Council preview: Casino zoning proposal and yards of boats, campers and RVs

The Biloxi City Council will have a host of zoning and land-use issues to deal with during its meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Councilmembers are seeking public input on a proposal to re-zone nearly 19 acres of land – on Back Bay from I-110 westward to Keegan’s Bayou – to allow casinos. Councilmembers will also decide whether or not to repeal a city ordinance that prohibits boats, campers and RVs from being stored in front yards of residences.

To see the complete agenda and supporting documents – more than a dozen measures in all — click here.

Payne promoted to Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention

Vincent Payne

Vincent Payne, an 18-year veteran of the Biloxi Fire Department, was named the department’s Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention this week by Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney.

Payne succeeds Mark Dronet, who was promoted to assistant chief several weeks ago, when Boney was named chief of the department.

Payne joined the Biloxi Fire Department in 1995, and joined the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau in 2005, eight years ago and just days before Hurricane Katrina.

The department held a pinning ceremony earlier this week, which was attended by firefighters and Payne’s family, wife, Traci, and son, Travin.

To see photos on the city’s Facebook page, click here.

News and notes

Finances, Part 1: The city’s plans for spending more than $600,000 in federal funds in FYI 2014 are outlined in a draft of the Community Development Block Grant One-Year Action Plan now online. To go directly to the report, which is on the Community Development page of the city web site, click here.

Finances, Part 2: For a glance at the city’s FY 2014 municipal budget – a combined funds statement, statement of revenues and departmental summaries — click here.

Halloween at Hiller: Ward 3 Councilmember Dixie Newman is seeking sponsors and volunteers to help coordinate Halloween in Hiller, scheduled for Oct. 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the popular west Biloxi park. Those interested in being part of the affair should contact Newman at dnewman@biloxi.ms.us or (228) 547-5851.

Dearly Departed: The Biloxi Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department next week is hosting a special genealogy program, “The Dearly Departed: The Mourning After.” To learn more about the free program and how you can be involved, click here.

Webcasting: Hear about the issues du jour in this week’s City Desk webcast. To listen to the 12-minute program, click here.