Today, most of America will watch one of nature’s biggest spectacles unfold across the United States. A total solar eclipse will not happen in the Miss-Lou, but even a partial eclipse will have many residents interested. As we await the afternoon’s show, let us review some of last week’s spectacular news:

• The American Duchess riverboat docked in Natchez Friday on its inaugural cruise up the Mississippi River. The newest boat for the American Queen Steamboat Company plans to make more than 20 stops in Natchez in 2018. Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell and other local officials toured the riverboat. Officials say more than 80-percent of next year’s cruises are booked, which is a welcome sign to local businesses that depend on tourism.
• The Adams County Master Gardeners are out in force defending Natchez’s crape myrtles from a pest that threatens to turn the city’s beloved trees into a black, sticky mess. The gardeners are partnering with the city to treat downtown trees with an insecticide that repels the crape myrtle bark scale. Thanks to all of the local gardeners and city employees who are protecting one of Natchez’s greatest treasures.
• The Natchez Senior Center celebrated the grand opening of a new computer lab and learning center. The new service at the center on Washington Street gives local seniors access to computers for a variety of applications, including word processing and Internet research. Local computer specialist Roy King donated much of the equipment and the time to install the computers. For his contributions, Mayor Grennell declared the day “Roy King Day.”

Let us remember to be safe and use only certified solar glasses to watch today’s eclipse. If you don’t have glasses, view the spectacle on television. Let us make the eclipse the beginning to a good week.