Proposed Elvis resort gets first-round OK

Hernando, Miss. (ap) Â A proposal to build a $500 million Elvis Presley theme resort in North Mississippi has cleared its first legal hurdle.

Georgia developer J.D. Stacy is proposing construction of a complex which would include a hotel, golf courses, condominiums, retail shops and theaters on a site where Presley once owned a ranch and where he spent his honeymoon.

The DeSoto County Planning Commission on Feb. 28 approved rezoning an 808-acre parcel of land at Goodman Road and Mississippi 301 to allow the development.

Deputy County Planning Commission Director Michael Garriga said questions about such issues as traffic congestion and drainage would have to be answered before the county could sign off on such a major development.

Household items not safe on airplanes

Many common household items can become dangerous when transported by air. In flight, variations in temperature and air pressure can cause items to leak, generate toxic fumes or start a fire.

The following is a partial list of materials that are forbidden in carry-on and checked luggage:

 Aerosols containing flammable material

 Propane, butane cylindars or refills, lighter refills

 Equipment containing fuel

 Drain cleaners and solvents

 Pressure containers such as spray cans, butane fuel, scuba tanks, propane tanks, self-inflating rafts

 Fireworks, flares

 Safety or “strike-anywhere” matches

 Cylinders of compressed air or oxygen

 Photographic chemicals

If passengers are unsure whether items are hazardous, they should contact the airline.

Sioux City to welcome passenger riverboat

Sioux City, Iowa (ap) Â The first passenger boat in more than three quarters of a century is scheduled to visit Sioux City this summer.

The River Explorer, a 198-passenger hotel barge, is scheduled to arrive on Aug. 15. It is believed to be the first passenger boat to arrive in Sioux City since the steam ferry, the B.A. Douglas, in 1926.

The barge’s arrival will be timed to coincide with the annual Lewis & Clark encampment at the Sergeant Floyd Riverboat Museum and Visitor Center.

The New Orleans-based RiverBarge Excursions is offering a nine-day excursion from Kansas City to Sioux City and another seven-day trip from Sioux City to Kansas City.