The Mississippi Development Authority is No. 9 in the first-ever rankings of state economic development organizations in the U.S. by the American Economic Development Institute and Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc.

Meantime, in the annual pro-business evaluation, the institute put Mississippi at No. 21, gaining an overall "B," including "A's" on incentives, for being a right-to-work state (not requiring union membership to gain a job), and for its low unemployment insurance and workers compensation rates. It got an "F" for high school and college completion.

The Army Materiel Command hosted Maj. Gen. Jacob Barak, Israeli Defense Force Technology and Logistics Branch leader, for an update on AMC's global alignment and role in supporting the Army and Israeli Defense Force.

Part of his visit to Redstone Arsenal included meetings with AMC leadership and a tour of the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center's Prototype Integration Facility.

Niels Biamon, senior executive in AMC's current operations division, kicked off the briefing with an emphasis on AMC as a global enterprise with a mission of providing materiel readiness to the joint war fighter from centers of excellence across the country. 

Charles Carr, a 35-year veteran of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, introduced transportation alternatives to a relatively rural state and helped advance economic development.

Because of his leadership roles in MDOT, he has been named the 2014 recipient of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials President's Transportation award for Intermodal Transportation.

Recipients are selected by the president of AASHTO and the four regional associates of state highway and transportation officials. As director of public transit with MDOT, he established the ground work that eventually led to the growth of public transportation options in several areas of the state where these services were nonexistent or needed improvement.

Amazon.com is following a military model to conquer cyber-space this holiday shopping season. The company has hired 80,000 seasonal workers and deployed 1,500 Kiva logistic robots for each of its 10 warehouses across the United States.