| Monday, December 8, 2014 |
| Mississippi State online MBA program ranked highly | |
 | Mississippi State's online Master of Business Administration program is listed No. 26 in the just-released SuperScholar.org rankings. The 2015 Smart Choice Best Online MBA ranking is designed to help students find quality online MBA programs like those at the university that best fit their needs. "We were an early adapter to distance education in the MBA program, and the strength of our program is a tribute to the outstanding faculty who teach in it," college Dean Sharon Oswald said of the recognition. |
| MEC's Wilson: Transportation plan in works | |
 | Top-tier Mississippi private-sector leaders and the Mississippi Economic Council have quietly joined forces with two of the state's universities to lay the groundwork for a major transportation initiative in 2016, MEC President Blake Wilson said Friday. Wilson, who led the fourth of this week's MEC regional meetings in northern Mississippi in Tupelo, said Joe Frank Sanderson Jr., CEO of Sanderson Farms, a nationally ranked poultry processor, is spearheading a confidential effort to gather firm figures, projections and potential priorities for a transportation undertaking like the landmark 1987 Highway Program. Wilson, in an interview with the Daily Journal, said Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi are using program resources in place to provide an overview of costs, financing possibilities and a timeline. |
| Mississippi State Crops Short Course Brings Record Attendance | |
 | A record number of agriculture professionals attended Mississippi State University's 2014 Row Crop Short Course, which has rapidly become one of the region's top educational opportunities. The workshop was held Dec. 1-3 in Starkville and brought together more than 440 farmers, crop advisers, university experts and industry representatives. It was offered by the MSU Extension Service. Darrin Dodds, Extension cotton specialist and event coordinator, said the short course is designed to be relevant and valuable to the producers of the region. "We go to whatever lengths we can to make everything first class," Dodds said. "Growers have worked all year, and when they finally get out of the field, they would like to hunt or fish or take it easy. We do everything we can to make this a worthwhile use of their time." |
| Pigs blanket Mississippi | |
| In just three years, Jim Pittman has watched a single hog sighting grow into a breeding population that may soon be out of control. Though he and other hunters have killed about 15 this year, the pigs continue to plow through food plots and fields. "By the end of deer season, we'll probably hear more of that," Bronson Strickland, Mississippi State University Extension Wildlife Specialist, said. He explained that a survey is currently being conducted statewide among several hundred landowners. The responses indicate that 44 percent of landowners have seen hogs on their property. The percentage didn't surprise Strickland. Through the data collected so far in the MSU survey combined with areas already known to have hogs, Strickland said Mississippi probably has hogs in every county now. |
| Mississippi State Prof Touts Cooking With Bugs | |
| The peanut brittle at John and Peggy Guyton's house looks like it might be made from a special family recipe, but they are not keeping their unique ingredient a secret: insects. In fact, the Guytons used black soldier fly larvae to provide additional protein to peanut brittle whipped up in the microwave in a matter of minutes. Peggy also bakes banana nut bread with crickets and has several recipes featuring mealworms. John Guyton, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said he first began cooking insects for the annual MSU Bug Camp 16 years ago, when he and a colleague served "chocolate chirp cookies." |
| Popular stock seminar to be held at MSU-Meridian | |
 | A popular seminar about choosing financial stocks will once again be made available by a Mississippi State retired accounting professor whose investments made more than $1 million over a 10-year period. Paul Allen, an MSU-Meridian professor emeritus, will host his seminar, "Choose Stocks Wisely," on December 16 from 4-6 p.m. downtown at MSU's Riley Campus computer lab. Allen has hosted two previous seminars for those interested in learning how to use the investing strategy he outlines in his recently published book "Choose Stocks Wisely: A Formula That Produced Amazing Returns." Allen is a CPA who spent 25 years teaching accounting as well as finance courses at MSU-Meridian. |
| Mississippi State Experts to Speak at Dec. 12 Field Day | |
| Fruit and vegetable growers can learn about the best seed for spring crops, equipment maintenance, and winter fruit crop activities during a Dec. 12 field day. Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the MSU Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will present several educational sessions at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm Field Day in Goodman. David Nagel, a horticulture specialist with the MSU Extension Service, will help producers select the right seed for spring crops and the equipment best suited to their operations. Eric Stafne, Extension fruit crops specialist and research professor with MAFES, will discuss pruning, pest control and soil fertility for fruit crops. |
| Architectural tour to spotlight Meridian's Modernists | |
| An upcoming tour of Meridian's Modernist architecture will call attention to the area's historic contributions to the Modernist movement in the south. The Mississippi Heritage Trust, in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Mississippi Development Authority, is hosting a series of tours in Mississippi as part of a new project entitled MS MOD. With the Modernist Movement clearly stamped on Meridian by the late architect Chris Risher Sr., the Queen City will be a part of the tour. The building was accepted for decades as the pinnacle of Risher's career, and it influenced many Mississippi architects who studied the building while at Mississippi State University. |
| Covenants expected to control business types, impact in Innovation District | |
 | As many homeowners from neighborhoods surrounding the proposed Innovation District asked city officials for buffer protections from expected manufacturing parcels Tuesday, officials with the Golden Triangle Development LINK were already developing covenants to limit future noise pollution and unsightliness in the area near the Highway 182 and Highway 25 junction. Aldermen eventually approved buffer areas to the northern and eastern portions of the park to help protect residents' property values and quality of life. More restrictive covenants are expected as Joey Deason, Oktibbeha County's primary LINK representative, said his organization is drafting documents that will limit the types of potential industries that can locate to the park and will minimize visual and sound annoyances that stem from production. |
| Governor touts area's economic development at LINK luncheon | |
| When Gov. Phil Bryant was announced as the featured speaker at Thursday's Golden Triangle Development LINK luncheon at the East Mississippi Community College Mayhew campus, there was speculation that the event would be used to announce the arrival of another major industry. Bryant's presence, combined with an announcement last month that American Specialty Alloys was looking into Lowndes County property and that it would announce its "rollout" on Dec. 19, seemed to suggest big news was in the air. American Specialty Alloys said in a release it was prepared to build a $1.2 billion facility that would employ up to 850 people and produce 600,000 tons on aluminum annually. "If you were expecting the Governor to talk about a big project coming here, I'm sorry," LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told the crowd Thursday. "We're not there yet." Instead, the governor used his time to tout the state's progress on the economic development front. |
| Identity theft scam targets Rankin sheriff's deputy among others | |
| A scheme to use victims' personal information to file fraudulent unemployment benefit claims has affected almost 200 in the metro area, including a Rankin County sheriff's deputy. The metro area and counties across the state have seen a rash of identity thefts as part of a puzzling scheme to use individuals' information to file fraudulent unemployment claims with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The Attorney General's office is working on cases across the state and is aware of similar scams in other areas of the country. "We are seeing this scam all across the state, including the Madison area. We are working these cases with the Department of Employment Security and the U.S. Department of Labor," Attorney General Jim Hood said in a written statement. |
| Scrapping Common Core not Reeves' only goal | |
| Facing a lawsuit over education funding and the possibility of a citizen-sponsored initiative on the 2015 election ballot designed to enhance education funding, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said recently he will be working during the upcoming legislative session to put more money into public schools. Reeves made news last week with his announcement that he would support legislation "to end Common Core in our state." But scrapping the Common Core academic standards that local and state educators have been working since 2010 to put in place in Mississippi is not Reeves' only education priority for the upcoming 2015 legislative session. "My goal for the next year's budget is to have appropriated more money for Mississippi's public education than ever before in the history of the state," Reeves said last week at the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute/Capitol press corps luncheon where his Common Core announcement received the most attention. |
| Analysis: Board of Education authority eroding | |
 | The steady erosion of the state Board of Education's authority was thrown into sharp relief last week, when Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves proposed bypassing the board to rewrite academic standards and Gov. Phil Bryant said lawmakers and the people -- not the state superintendent of education or the board -- are in charge of the state's school system. Lawmakers and the governor have been nibbling away for years at the power of the board, created by voters in a 1982 amendment to the Mississippi Constitution. Now, though, with state Superintendent Carey Wright steadfastly defending use of the Common Core State Standards, Mississippi could be drifting toward a minor constitutional crisis. |
| Education chairs on Common Core hot seat | |
| The chairs of the two Education committees in the Mississippi Legislature -- Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, and Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford -- have expressed support for the Common Core academic standards in the past. Both said recently they didn't anticipate any major changes to Common Core in the 2015 legislative session. But that assessment may have changed. During the upcoming 2015 legislative session, they may be in a position of guiding to passage legislation that would alter or even end Common Core in Mississippi. While Reeves has staked out a position, it is not as clear how the House leadership wants to address the issue in the 2015 session. Meanwhile, back in the Senate, Reeves' top education lieutenant, Tollison, said recently he stood by his past Common Core comments that were generally supportive. |
| Mississippi appeal leaves gay marriage status in limbo | |
| For weeks, Rebecca "Becky" Bickett and her longtime partner Andrea Sanders kept a bag packed with wedding clothes. It stayed in their minivan, Bickett said, so they could get ready on short notice in case a judicial ruling suddenly allowed same-sex couples, like themselves, to marry in Mississippi. Bickett, 34, and Sanders, 32, have been together for a decade and lost a home to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They are one of two lesbian couples who, along with the gay-rights group Campaign for Southern Equality, sued the state of Mississippi in October to challenge its ban on same-sex marriage. On Friday, the 5th Circuit set oral arguments in the Mississippi case for Jan. 9 --- the same day that the same three-judge panel in New Orleans will hear arguments over same-sex marriage bans from the other two states in its circuit, Louisiana and Texas. |
| The States That Benefit the Most from Federal Spending | |
 | Federal spending totaled $3.1 trillion last year -- the equivalent of about one-fifth of all economic activity across the states, a new analysis has shown. The impact varied wildly from state-to-state. Mississippi potentially benefited the most from federal money -- the $34.3 billion spent there was equal to a full third of that state's Gross Domestic Product in 2013, according to report released last week by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The total spending in states varies but so does the type of spending. In Mississippi, for example, federal spending on retirement and nonretirement benefits alone equaled a full 20 percent of that state's GDP -- a result of Mississippi's aging population. |
| Southwest Mississippi officials kick start tourism train initiative | |
 | Last Thursday, city officials from Brookhaven, Meadville, Natchez and Bude gathered together on the Meadville courthouse steps for a press conference to introduce legislation directing the Mississippi Development Authority to take bond money to purchase a passenger train to run between Natchez and Brookhaven. Also in attendance were other elected officials, including Rep. Bobby Moak and Rep. Becky Currie. Titled the Southwest Mississippi Tourism Train, the train will shuttle visitors or residents from Brookhaven to Natchez passing through Bude and Meadville. Natchez Mayor Butch Brown spoke extensively about the benefits of such a project. "It's not an expenditure, it's an investment," he said. |
| Cochran's Vicksburg park bill before Senate | |
| Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran is expecting a vote in the Senate as early as this week on legislation to allow the Vicksburg National Military Park to add 10,000 acres to protect historic Civil War battlefield sites in Claiborne and Hinds counties. Cochran and Sen. Roger Wicker, both R-Miss., co-sponsored the bill. It passed the U.S. House this past week. The legislation addresses three areas: the Port Gibson Unit in Claiborne County and the Raymond Unit and Champion Hill Unit, both in Hinds County. |
| South's shift to conservatism now complete with defeat of Mary Landrieu | |
 | In retrospect, the bigger surprise of Mary Landrieu's political career may not have been her defeat Saturday in her bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, but her victory in the Senate race six years ago. As it has turned out, that 2008 win by Landrieu was the last rung up by a Democrat in a statewide election in Louisiana. That same year, Republicans won six of the state's seven U.S. House seats. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, captured 59 percent of the Louisiana vote. "It may take a generation for the Democratic Party in Louisiana to recover from this," said Brian Brox, a political science professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. "Senator-elect Cassidy's win symbolizes completely the end of an era," said Joshua Stockley, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. |
| Mary Landrieu defeat widens party, racial divide in the South | |
 | Mary Landrieu's thumping in a Louisiana run-off election Saturday has many lessons for Democrats, none of them happy. It strengthens Republicans' grip on the US Senate, increasing their majority to 54 seats -- nine more than they had before last month's mid-term election -- which also gives them a better hand in 2016 when more GOP senators up for reelection will be vulnerable (as were Democrats this year). The election also confirms the extreme difficulty D's now have in winning (or holding on to) elected positions in the South. Landrieu's defeat at the hands of US Rep. Bill Cassidy confirms the widening racial divide in the South regarding party affiliation and elections. |
| Can Southern Democrats make a comeback? | |
 | Phil Bredesen, the Democratic governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011, has a message for a party that, after Saturday's runoff in Louisiana, will have no senators from the Deep South: "I come out of the business world. If you have a product that's not working, you don't say, 'Our customers are lazy' or 'Our customers don't know what's best for them.' The ones that are successful say, 'I need a better product.'" Sen. Mary Landrieu was the latest Democratic casualty in the region, losing this weekend's election to Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy in a rout. But in interviews with more than a dozen elected Democratic officials, strategists and academics found some optimism that the party can find at least selective success across the South in the not-distant future. Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said Democrats need a broader, more comprehensive plan. "To me, the sweet-tea-and-grits crowd still likes our economic issues," said Musgrove. |
| House to hold drone hearing | |
 | Lawmakers in the House will holding a hearing next week to discuss the possibility of allowing nonmilitary drones flying alongside commercial airplanes in the U.S. The hearing comes as the Federal Aviation Administration faces increased pressure to approve a rapid expansion of U.S. drone use. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Friday it would hold a hearing on Dec. 10 to check on the FAA's progress with a congressionally mandate drone review. "The Aviation Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), will hold a hearing next week on the status of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration into U.S. airspace and the development of the UAS industry," the panel said in a statement about the hearing. |
| Manufacturers both upbeat and gloomy, thanks to Washington | |
 | Manufacturers are more upbeat about their own companies' prospects than at any time in almost a decade. Yet about three-quarters of them also feel the country is on the wrong track. The seeming contradiction is found in the latest National Association of Manufacturers/IndustryWeek quarterly survey to be released Monday, a copy of which was obtained by McClatchy in advance. The survey of manufacturers small, medium and large found that more than 91 percent of them were positive about the outlook for their own company. The optimism doesn't extend, however, much beyond their own circumstances. Nearly 73 percent of respondents felt the nation was on the wrong track. |
| Bryant to speak at MUW's December graduation | |
| Mississippi University for Women graduates will hear from the state's top elected official at commencement Friday at 2 p.m. in Rent Auditorium. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is expected to deliver his address to about 105 W graduates who are expected to walk in the ceremony. Bryant was sworn in as Mississippi's 64th governor in 2012. Before becoming the state's chief executive, he was lieutenant governor from 2008-2011. Bryant also served as state auditor and represented his legislative district in the Mississippi House of Representatives for five years. |
| The W announces spring culinary classes for the public | |
| Mississippi University for Women's Culinary Arts Institute will offer five hands-on culinary arts certificate classes during the spring 2015 semester. Courses announced Wednesday include Culinary Basics, Date Night/Steak Night, Potatoes, Grains and Vegetables, Regional Cuisine and The Basics of Entertaining. |
| Ole Miss students protest Ferguson decision | |
 | Clutching posters that read "#BlackLivesMatter" and "#Support," around 40 students at The University of Mississippi staged a peaceful demonstration Thursday afternoon in response to a grand jury's decision not to indict the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Demonstrators discreetly entered the student union, formed a single file line dividing the food court and seating area and proceeded to lie on the floor in unison for four minutes and 30 seconds, signifying the time Brown's body was in the Ferguson street -- 4 hours and 30 minutes. This is the second protest to occur at the university regarding the Ferguson ruling since it was announced last week. Wednesday, the university's chapter of the NAACP assembled a peaceful demonstration around the bronze James Meredith statue behind the Lyceum. |
| UM Gospel Choir Turns 40 | |
 | One hundred twenty-three members of the University of Mississippi Gospel Choir are filing onto the stage, practicing the correct line-up on the bleachers. It's the dress rehearsal for the choir's 40th anniversary concert at the Gertrude Ford Center in Oxford the same night. In the fall of 1974, there were only 355 African American students at Ole Miss, making up just 4.5 percent of the total student body. That's when a small group decided to found the Black Student Union Choir. "We were like a family. We were drawn together by our love of gospel music, also, of course, our ethnicity," says Edwin Smith who joined three years after inception. Now a communications specialist, the 56-year old never thought the group would survive that long. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi helping children in need | |
 | Compassion can be given in many different ways, but for a child, the warmth and comfort of a new, stuffed, cuddly friend means more than we grown-ups know. In an effort to make a difference in our own community and change lives one donation at a time, the Department of English at the University of Southern Mississippi will collect children's books, blankets and stuffed animals through Dec. 15 as part of a nationwide initiative called Project Night Night. The organization works toward advancing the emotional and cognitive well-being of homeless children by providing them with nighttime comforts. "We hope others will consider helping us make night time a bit more comfortable for children in need this season," Joyce Inman, assistant professor in English, said. |
| Alcorn State band bus windows shattered by BB gun shots | |
| Authorities in Natchez are investigating after someone shot a BB gun at an Alcorn State University band bus. The band was returning from Houston, Texas where they had just won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship. Police said Sunday around 9:20 p.m., someone shattered a couple of windows on the bus while no one was in it while parked at the McDonald's on Highway 61 in Natchez. |
| Hinds Community College holds graduations Dec. 18-19 | |
| More than 800 students will graduation at winter ceremonies at Hinds Community College. Charlie Mitchell, assistant dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi, is the speaker on Dec. 18 for the 10 a.m. allied health and practical nursing graduation ceremony and at 2 p.m. for the associate degree nursing ceremony. Janet Wasson, an English instructor on the Raymond campus, will speak Dec. 19 to academic and career-tech graduates. |
| Auburn University at helm of global fight against hunger | |
 | Auburn University president Jay Gogue, Ph.D., will lead a group of more than 50 universities around the world Monday in a pledge to end food insecurity. The coalition will meet at the United Nations in New York City to sign the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security in an effort to combat the worldwide issue of hunger and malnutrition. In February, Gogue hosted a number of university presidents as his Auburn home to discuss the role of universities in solving hunger, as well as their collective role. There, the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security was conceived. Monday's meeting in New York will mark the first gathering of PUSH -- Presidents United to Solve Hunger -- where higher education leaders acknowledge their commitment to making food security a priority |
| U. of Alabama to join global fight against hunger | |
 | University of Alabama President Judy Bonner is scheduled to join leaders from the other universities including Auburn University for a ceremonial signing of the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutritional Security at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday. "While Alabama and Auburn may battle it out on the football field, I am so proud of the young men and women from both schools who work in partnership each year to combat hunger in our communities," said Bonner in a released statement. "By signing the Presidents' Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security, I am pleased to work with (Auburn University) President (Jay) Gogue and nearly 50 other presidents from around the world who are standing together to say that hunger and malnutrition have no place in the 21st Century." UA and Auburn are joined by Southeastern Conference peers Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Tennessee. |
| Legislators get primer on state government at UGA Biennial Institute | |
 | More than a dozen freshman legislators got a crash course in how state government works Sunday morning at the University of Georgia, weeks before they're scheduled to report to Atlanta and the next session of the Georgia legislature. The session kicked off the UGA Carl Vinson Institute's Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators, held every election year. In Sunday's 10 a.m. primer on state government, Institute of Government staffers Paul Burks and David Tanner, both veterans state government planners, shared basic facts on the state, state government and a little bit of how the budget process works in a two-hour session. |
| U. of Arkansas College Names Emily Williams Director of Development | |
| The University of Arkansas has named Emily Williams the director of development for the university's College of Education and Health Professions. Williams will work to secure private giving to the college. Williams has been director of corporate relations for the Walton Arts Center and previously was director of development for UA's College of Engineering. |
| Questions surround sudden departure of Clemson vice president of student affairs | |
 | The vice president of student affairs who attempted to rein in Clemson University's Greek system after a student death earlier this semester is being replaced, the university announced last week. The university offered no explanation for the sudden departure of Gail DiSabatino, who served as student affairs vice president for eight years, but the shake-up came amid rising tensions between university officials and campus fraternities. While it remains unclear how involved fraternities and their alumni were in DiSabatino's ousting, some members reacted with glee to the news of her departure, with one fraternity allegedly singing, "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead." |
| China's influence threatens American universities, experts say | |
 | The Chinese government's influence over American universities is broad and deep, ranging from such subtle pressures as the denial of visas for vocal American scholars to more overt efforts, including opening Chinese cultural institutes on U.S. college campuses, experts on human rights and education told lawmakers Thursday. That influence has become more pronounced as American universities open satellite campuses in the country and welcome Chinese government-funded programs on their stateside campuses, experts said. "U.S. colleges and universities should not be outsourcing academic control, faculty and student oversight or curriculum to a foreign government," Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. |
| After Retreat on Rolling Stone Article, Virginia Campus Still Uneasy | |
 | Two days before the final exam for her course on the fall of the Roman republic, Mary Strunck took a study break on Saturday afternoon to discuss the staggered University of Virginia. A junior history major at the university, Ms. Strunck has, like the rest of the 15,000 undergraduates here, endured a tumultuous semester: the disappearance of a sophomore who was later found dead and ruled the victim of a homicide, two student suicides and, most recently, a Rolling Stone article about an alleged 2012 gang rape at a fraternity house that put the university in the crosshairs of a national debate over sexual assault on college campuses. When those allegations appeared to lose some credibility on Friday, with Rolling Stone apologizing for relying on unverified information and for how the story was generally handled, debates and tension remained. If there was one developing consensus it was that, at the very least, the embattled campus might begin to regain some semblance of normality. |
| OUR OPINION: New transportation plan rises as more than talk | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "Few Mississippi businesses carry more weight in discussion of highways and bridges than the industries using big truck to haul millions of pounds of raw goods and finished products on our state's roads virtually every day. ...Mississippi Economic Council executive Blake Wilson reported at a Friday meeting in Tupelo that Sanderson Farms CEO Joe Frank Sanderson, Jr., has taken the lead in quietly promoting formation of a transportation initiative for 2016. ...The rising interest in the private sector, of course, would be coupled to the oft-addressed issue of inadequate maintenance funds in the existing highways budget. The politics and organization of a major transportation initiative requires a careful balancing of interests and a willingness of all players to work collaboratively." |
| PAUL HAMPTON (OPINION): DeLano gets his party started | |
 | The Sun Herald's Paul Hampton writes: "The Legislature could use a few more Scott DeLanos. I'm sure many Mississippians have been telling themselves: Look at all these tax-cut plans. Oh, it's an election year. What a coincidence. DeLano, a Republican from Biloxi, just said it publicly, and a bit more succinctly. But he wasn't talking about Gov. Phil Bryant's tax-cut plan alone when he called all the tax-cut talk in Jackson 'political hogwash.' All the GOP leaders are talking about tax cuts. Even Democrats are at it, countering the Republicans with a call for a reduction in the sales tax. Bryant is just the first out of the gate with a plan in writing in plain sight where the people of Mississippi can read it, digest it and debate it. I thank him for that." |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): How much manufacturing should matter in Mississippi? | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "The 10 states where 'manufacturing still matters,' according to a Wall Street Journal story, include Alabama and Louisiana, but not Mississippi. The WSJ determined this by dividing each state's manufacturing output (2012 numbers) by its gross domestic product. ...In many states, like Mississippi, manufacturing is still the top producer but the ratio keeps falling. ...This is not to say that manufacturing jobs are not important. They are. In Mississippi average manufacturing wages are among the highest of all sectors. But, the output rise of other economic sectors besides manufacturing does give rise to certain questions..." |
| LLOYD GRAY (OPINION): Reeves and the fear factor | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Lloyd Gray writes: "Chris McDaniel may have lost the bitter Senate primary battle to Thad Cochran, but at this point he and his supporters appear to be winning the war. Not that McDaniel himself will necessarily make an immediate comeback as a statewide candidate. But his near-miss effort to knock off a political giant by taking on the Republican Party establishment in Mississippi has obviously struck fear in the hearts of top state officials. The most striking evidence of that is Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' sudden emergence last week as an opponent of the Common Core State Standards for Mississippi's public schools. ...You don't have to believe Common Core is flawless to see the absurdity of junking it before the first tests have been given and after all the time and the millions of dollars spent in its implementation." |
| BIRNEY IMES (OPINION): Kendall Graveman takes the mound | |
| The Dispatch's Birney Imes writes: "If Kendall Graveman's baseball career continues its present trajectory, he's going to turn at least one cliche on its ear. Nice guys can do just fine in the Majors, thank you. Graveman and Dispatch sales rep Hamp Holley are longtime friends, and Hamp invited Kendall to ride on our float in the Starkville Christmas parade Monday evening. As we chatted aboard our pontoon boat float (courtesy of Glenn Miller) someone brought to my attention the exceptionally pleasant and unassuming young man I was talking with also happened to be a major league pitcher. Three days later we met at 929, the coffee house in downtown Starkville." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Immigration action expected | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant joined a 17-state coalition this week in a lawsuit over President Barack Obama's unilateral executive actions on immigration. The suit seeks to bar Obama's action. ...Immigration is not a simple issue with a simple solution. There are economic consequences to both conservative and liberal 'solutions' for the problems associated with immigration -- legal or otherwise. But one factor remains a political reality -- political postures necessary for many Republicans to survive their primaries in congressional races locally at the same time damages the chances of the party being successful nationally in trying to retake the White House from the Democrats." |
SPORTS
| Orange Bowl brings Mississippi State's Dan Mullen back to Miami | |
| Dan Mullen recalled his last bowl trip to Miami. The Mississippi State coach had won his second national title while at Florida with a 24-21 win over Oklahoma. He held the championship trophy for a second, snapped a picture with his wife Megan, then cut ties with the Gators. "I went right upstairs (in the hotel), packed up, got on a plane and got in my first team-meeting (at Mississippi State)," Mullen said on Sunday. Six years later, Mullen returns to Miami for the Orange Bowl, where the No. 7 Bulldogs face No. 12 Georgia Tech on Dec. 31 at Sun Life Stadium; the game will be on ESPN. |
| Bulldogs: Their first trip to Orange Bowl since 1941 | |
| Mississippi State made a surprise jump to No. 7 when the final College Football Playoff rankings were released on Sunday. The Bulldogs rose three spots in the standings and secured a spot in the Capital One Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech. The game will kickoff from Sun Life Stadium at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 and be televised by ESPN. "We're excited to be going back to the Capital One Orange Bowl," said MSU director of athletics Scott Stricklin. |
| Tech to play Mississippi State in Orange | |
| Georgia Tech has its Orange Bowl invitation. Tech will play Mississippi State on New Year's Eve, just the Yellow Jackets' second appearance in one of the historically major bowls (Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Rose, Sugar) since Tech went to the Orange in 1967 at the end of coach Bobby Dodd's final season. The other was the 2010 Orange Bowl following the 2009 ACC championship. The announcement was made Sunday afternoon by the College Football Playoff selection committee. Mississippi State is a bit of a surprise opponent. The Orange's ACC opponent is the highest-ranked non-champion from either the Big Ten or the SEC or Notre Dame, and the Spartans entered this weekend ranked No. 8, ranked two spots ahead of Mississippi State. Neither played this weekend, but the Bulldogs jumped to No. 7 while the Spartans stayed at No. 8. |
| Mississippi State's Scott Stricklin 'optimistic' in extending Dan Mullen's contract | |
| The college football world has been busy adding and subtracting coaches as the offseason began. Mississippi State has been quiet since the end of its regular season on Nov. 29. The Bulldogs expect to jump into that discussion. Scott Stricklin expects a contract extension for Dan Mullen soon. "Dan, in his defense, his focus has been recruiting, being in bowl prep," Stricklin said. "But I'm optimistic we can get that wrapped up pretty soon." Mullen makes about $3 million in his current contract. |
| Several sports stadiums land on list of most popular places on Instagram | |
 | More than 15 states boast sports stadiums as their top geotagged locations on Instagram, according to data released by by the photo-sharing app, including Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
