Ellington

InLine, a Birmingham-based technology company, is set to install a high-speed fiber network that will connect 16 counties to high-speed Internet in southern and central Mississippi.

The company received $20 million in a stimulus funds this month to install 600 miles of fiber-optic cables to rural communities that currently have limited broadband access. Inline is contributing $5 million to the project, bringing the total project cost to $25 million.

Brian Walker, managed services director at InLine, says the new network will connect more than 200 schools, hospitals and public institutes--improving communication between the entities. He also said the installation will provide 40 new jobs to the state.

The following counties are included in the project: Hinds, Rankin, Newton, Lauderdale, Leake, Copiah, Simpson, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Jones, Pike, Walthall, Marion and Forrest.

Food on the Go

Robin DeVos Owen wants to bring quality food to busy Jacksonians. Owen's new business, Cookin' Up A Storm, opened July 1 in Canton Mart Square.

The store offers grab-and-go dinner entrees, desserts and kitchen-related gifts. A Madison resident, Owen grew up near her Canton Mart business, in northeast Jackson. The name is a winking tribute to her 10-year-old son Storm. While she previously operated a janitorial business, Owens says that food has always been her passion.

"I love food, and I've always wanted to do this," Owen says. "I'm not cut out to work for somebody else; I've just got that entrepreneurial drive. The time and the place finally opened up, and I decided to go for it."

Owen plans to host a grand-opening celebration and sampling events in the near future.

Cookin' Up A Storm is at 1491 Canton Mart Road, Suite 1. Call 601-957-1166.

Stops, Starts for Fishing, Cars

The Nissan manufacturing plant in Canton has resumed production after a three-day stoppage. Company officials announced July 14 that the plant would stop production July 15, 16 and 19, because of a delay in receiving an engine part. The plant, which employs 3,300 people, makes roughly 5,000 Nissan Altimas, Titans and Armadas a week.

The Mississippi Sound is open again today to recreational fishing, but commercial fishing remains prohibited. Representatives from the Mississippi Departments of Marine Resources and Environmental Quality announced the change yesterday.