| Thursday, February 5, 2015 |
| MSU Extension Service hosts farm bill workshops | |
 | The Mississippi State University Extension Service is hosting a series of workshops in February related to the Agricultural Act of 2014. The workshops on the "Farm Bill Summary, Analysis and Decision Aids" will cover six topics related to the farm bill. The topics will include agricultural risk coverage, price-loss coverage, supplemental coverage option, stacked-income protection plan, farm bill analysis and decision aids. |
| County, city parents talk school consolidation | |
 | Change is coming for public school students in Oktibbeha County. On July 1, Oktibbeha County schools will officially be consolidated into Starkville School District and there are lots of questions on the minds of parents, students and teachers. The newly formed Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District held a "Collaboration Before the Consolidation" meeting Tuesday night to answer some of those questions. The message from SHS to county students and parents was clear: We want you here. |
| Starkville fire chief announces retirement | |
| Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann will conclude his almost 33-year career with the city by retiring Feb. 22, he announced Tuesday. Mann previously hinted at his retirement during an executive session discussion with aldermen in October and recently completed an overhaul of the department's promotion and tenure policy. He pledged to work with the city during the transition phase. Mann received a standing ovation from the board and meeting attendees. |
| China connection: Visit could lead to more Mississippi furniture exports | |
 | The People's Republic of China is Mississippi's third-largest trading partner, with the Magnolia State exporting $1 billion worth of goods to the country in 2013. But Chinese and state officials alike would like to see that figure grow. On Wednesday, Zhu Changling, president of the China National Furniture Association, and two of his colleagues visited Mississippi and the Tupelo Furniture Market for the first time. Zhu said the chief purpose of the visit was to increase exports to China. Noting that his country holds large currency reserves with other nations, particularly the U.S., he said one way to cut the trade gap with America is to bring in more goods made in America. |
| Commercial litigator Alan Perry joins Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Jackson | |
 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has announced that leading commercial litigator Alan W. Perry has joined the firm's Jackson office as a member of its Litigation Practice Group and Business Litigation Team. He was formerly a partner with Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy LLP. Perry has been involved in some of the largest and most complicated litigation matters in Mississippi. Perry serves on the Board of Trustees of Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning. |
| Mississippi, a Leader on Vaccination Rates, Stands By Strict Rules | |
 | The Mississippi state epidemiologist, Dr. Thomas E. Dobbs III, stood in a crowded room at the State Capitol this week and waited for a legislative verdict on the law that fostered what he regards as a public health triumph in a place that has few of them: the country's highest immunization rate among kindergarten students. But in recent weeks, the nearly unbending nature of Mississippi's law requiring students to be vaccinated has been in jeopardy, with two dozen lawmakers publicly supporting an exemption for "conscientious beliefs." The debate, coming as other states grappled with a measles outbreak, turned Mississippi into one more battleground between medical experts who champion vaccinations and parents who fear the government's role in medical decision-making. |
| Ex-Sen. Tim Johnson switches to Democrat to run for lieutenant governor | |
 | Tim Johnson of Madison, a former state senator who has worn beaded polyester jumpsuits and stick-on sideburns to work as an Elvis Presley impersonator, announced Wednesday that he's switching from Republican to Democrat to run for Mississippi lieutenant governor. Johnson, 55, said he's putting aside the Elvis work for the next few months to focus on more serious issues such as Medicaid expansion, school funding and highway maintenance -- areas where he said Republicans have failed. |
| Former GOP senator to run as Democrat for lieutenant governor | |
| The Mississippi Democratic Party got its first candidate for statewide office Wednesday -- a former Republican. Former state Sen. Tim Johnson of Madison announced Wednesday at the state Capitol he would run for lieutenant governor this year as a Democrat. Johnson, 55, who also served as a Madison County supervisor and as a city of Madison aldermen, all as a Republican, is the first candidate to announce this year as a Democrat for statewide office. Johnson cited support for public education and improvements to the state's infrastructure as priorities. |
| Former GOP senator switches parties, challenges for lt. gov. | |
 | Former Republican state Sen. Tim Johnson on Wednesday announced he's switching parties and challenging incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves this year. But the noted Elvis impersonator said he won't be appearing as the King on the campaign trail. "Why join the Democratic Party and run for lieutenant governor?" Johnson said before a cheering throng of supporters at a Capitol press conference. "I'll tell you: We are all Mississippians first. Elected officials should be in the business of helping all Mississippians, not picking out who to hurt." |
| Bill fails that would limit attorney general's power to sue | |
| House members are rejecting new restrictions against Attorney General Jim Hood's ability to file lawsuits or hire outside lawyers. The House voted 66-49 Wednesday to reject a House Bill 1201, which would require the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state to approve the attorney general's filing of any lawsuit in which the state could win more than $250,000. House Judiciary A Committee Chairman Mark Baker, R-Brandon, could bring the bill back up for more debate. Hood is the only Democrat holding statewide office. |
| House rejects restrictions on Hood's authority | |
| Legislation that would have required the attorney general to receive permission from two other statewide officials to file a lawsuit surprisingly was defeated Wednesday in the Mississippi House. The legislation, which would have limited the power of Attorney General Jim Hood, Mississippi's lone statewide elected Democrat, was defeated 66-49 with the help of 13 Republicans who voted with the minority Democratic Party on the measure. Hood has long maintained that existing constitutional case law gives the attorney general the sole discretion to determine whether the state should file a lawsuit. |
| Owners of iconic Hal & Mal's could finally own property | |
| For more than 30 years, Malcolm White's family has paid rent to the state and dreamed of buying the building that houses its iconic restaurant in downtown Jackson. Hal & Mal's owner White said that after the proposed Old Capitol Green project was no longer on the drawing board, discussions began about a year ago with state officials about an option to purchase the restaurant building and property. A House bill, filed by state Rep. Tom Weathersby, R-Florence, would allow the sale of the property. White said he wasn't aware of that bill, but has had discussions with state Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, and the Department of Finance and Administration about buying the property. |
| Minority groups: Dems still falling short in consultants' diversity | |
 | Three months after a devastating loss that could put them deep in the political wilderness for years, House Democrats still haven't fixed one of their members' biggest complaints -- the need to hire more minority consultants. For years, African-American and Latino members have protested that the party's campaign arms don't put nearly enough emphasis on hiring minority pollsters, consultants and strategists -- an oversight that they argue hurt Democrats in the midterm election when people from those communities failed to vote. "I think the lack of diversity in the contracting is quite clear. They can do better. Historically, the black caucus has been [taking] point on trying to highlight that issue," said Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, a senior Congressional Black Caucus member. |
| Hometown friends say Harper Lee was manipulated into publishing second book | |
 | Multiple residents of Monroeville who have known Harper Lee for years said Wednesday that they believe the 88-year-old author does not possess sufficient mental faculties to make informed decisions about her literary career. Suspicion has emerged about the timing of publisher HarperCollins' announcement Tuesday that her second novel, "Go Set a Watchman" is slated to be released this summer. Four people who knew Lee to varying degrees and live in or just outside the town where Lee has lived most of her life and on which she based Maycomb -- the fictional setting of her seminal 1960 novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- told AL.com Wednesday they believe Lee's wishes for her career are not being respected. |
| How a microbe's non-evolution could confirm Darwin's theory | |
 | Scientists say they have uncovered evidence for sulfur-loving microbes that appear to have been put on evolutionary hold for more than 2 billion years, remaining virtually unchanged during that period. If the team's analysis holds up, it would provide a striking confirmation of the theory of evolution, the researchers suggest. Evolution occurs in response to changes in an organism's physical or biological environment, explains William Schopf, a geobiologist at the University of California at Los Angeles and the lead author of the analysis, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. |
| Scientists just cracked the viral equivalent of the Enigma code | |
 | Peter Stockley is at war with the common cold. It's a wily adversary: a single, seemingly indecipherable strand of genetic material that lacks a brain or even a complete cell, yet somehow knows how to latch on to an unsuspecting respiratory lining and replicate itself, wreaking havoc on the immune system. But now Stockley, a professor at Britain's University of Leeds, thinks he has the upper hand. He has cracked the viral equivalent of the Nazi "Enigma code," which proved key to winning World War II: a genetic message embedded within the virus's RNA that tells it how to assemble new versions of itself during replication. "Down at the kind of molecular level, this kind of biology is like molecular warfare," Stockley told The Washington Post. "And this code is a vital part of how the virus attacks." |
| Why the U.S. Government Is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones | |
 | If you want to understand why the government freaked out when a $400 remote-controlled quadcopter landed on the White House grounds last week, you need to look four miles away, to a small briefing room in Arlington, Virginia. There, just 10 days earlier, officials from the US military, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FAA gathered for a DHS "summit" on a danger that had been consuming them privately for years: the potential use of hobbyist drones as weapons of terror or assassination. The conference was open to civilians, but explicitly closed to the press. One attendee described it as an eye-opener. |
| USM to host Mississippi Academy of Sciences meeting | |
 | More than 1,000 researchers, students and professors from across the state will convene at the University of Southern Mississippi's Thad Cochran Center on Feb. 26-27 for the Mississippi Academy of Sciences' Annual Meeting. Southern Miss President Rodney D. Bennett will present the keynote Dodgen Lecture -- "USM Research: Transforming Everyday Life into Infinite Possibilities" -- at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 26. The meeting is free and open to the public. |
| Author Warren St. John named winner of Cason Award at U. of Alabama | |
 | Best-selling author and Birmingham native Warren St. John has been named the 2015 winner of the University of Alabama's Clarence Cason Award in Nonfiction Writing. "We were impressed by St. John's professionalism and productivity, both in his newspaper life at The New York Times and in his books," said Rick Bragg, Cason Award selection committee member and previous recipient of the award. The annual award given by the College of Communication and Information Sciences and the journalism department honors a writer with a strong connection to Alabama whose work has made a critical contribution to the journalism and literature of the South. The award is named for the founder of UA's department of journalism, Clarence Cason. |
| Morehouse professor kicks off Black History Month at Auburn University | |
 | Auburn University kicked off its celebration of African American History Month Wednesday with a lecture from Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of African American studies at Atlanta 's Morehouse College. Hill is also an author and culture critic, and hosts 'Our World with Black Enterprise' and the online series "HuffPost Live." Hill challenged students to use the month to remember the past -- both the positive and negative elements -- to analyze the present. |
| Florida governor seeks increased performance funding for universities | |
 | Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday announced $460 million in performance-based funding for higher education for 2015-16 -- more than 2 1/2 times the amount approved for the current school year. The budget proposal adds $100 million for performance funding to the existing $300 million base for state universities, according to a news release. The budget also adds $30 million for performance funding in addition to $30 million of existing base funds for state colleges. "We are working to increase the quality of education our students receive so they have the resources they need to find a job and pursue their dreams when they graduate," Scott said in a prepared release. |
| GBI warrant names killer of UGA student, provides details of deadly drug deal | |
 | A recently filed search warrant names Athens resident Cormaine Xavier Goss as the man who shot and killed University of Georgia student Min Seok Cho last month during an alleged drug deal. Goss and Andre Ruff had met with Cho and fellow UGA student Lucas Amsler Raposo the afternoon of Jan. 13 to buy marijuana, but the meeting turned into an armed robbery in which Goss allegedly shot Cho in the head, according to the warrant filed in Clarke County Superior Court. |
| Brett Powell Named Next Director of Arkansas Higher Ed Department | |
| The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board has appointed a University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumnus to be the next director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. In his new role -- effective Feb. 9 -- Powell will champion the cause of state higher education as a member of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's cabinet. |
| Colleagues praise sole A&M presidential finalist Michael Young for visionary presidential skills | |
 | Michael Young's two previous appointments in higher academia were short-lived, but his contributions as a visionary and a fundraiser will continue to have a positive impact on both schools. Young, whom the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents named as sole finalist for the position of president at the flagship school on Tuesday, helped lead record-breaking fundraising efforts and transformational academic initiatives while serving as president of the University of Washington from 2011-2015 and the University of Utah from 2004-2011. Administrators and faculty members at both institutions who worked closely with Young said they already see his efforts coming to fruition. |
| Rift opens over destruction of moldy books at U. of Missouri | |
 | The destruction of almost 190,000 books, journals and documents has created a rift between a University of Missouri faculty committee and the school's director of libraries. Committee members contend Jim Cogswell, director of libraries, did not inform them of the destruction of about 188,000 books, despite assurances they would be updated as efforts to save the books and documents continue. Cogswell admits communication should have been better but maintains he acted correctly. |
| War of words erupts after UM President Wolfe says Missouri is in 'race to the bottom' | |
| University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe should stay home and take care of the school, state Sen. Eric Schmitt told the Senate Tuesday as he accused Wolfe of improperly questioning state tax and spending policy. Schmitt, R-Glendale, was upset about an editorial in Friday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch praising Wolfe for advocating an increase in state cigarette taxes and questioning state priorities. Wolfe visited with the newspaper's editorial board Thursday as part of his Show Me Value Tour, touting the benefits of higher education. "I think it is appalling the University of Missouri president is so opposed to people keeping more of their own money," said Schmitt, a candidate for state treasurer in 2016. |
| The College Loan Bombshell Hidden in the Budget | |
| In obscure data tables buried deep in its 2016 budget proposal, the Obama administration revealed this week that its student loan program had a $21.8 billion shortfall last year, apparently the largest ever recorded for any government credit program. The main cause of the shortfall was President Barack Obama's recent efforts to provide relief for borrowers drowning in student debt, reforms that have already begun to reduce loan payments to the government. For more than two decades, budget analysts have recalculated the projected costs of about 120 credit programs every year, but they have never lowered their expectations of repayments this dramatically. The $21.8 billion revision will be tacked onto the federal deficit. |
| Incoming students' 'emotional health' at all-time low, survey says | |
 | The emotional health of incoming freshmen is at its lowest point in at least three decades, a new survey shows, with students reporting that they're spending more time studying and less time socializing with friends. The American Freshman Survey, an annual report that is now entering its 50th year, collected responses from about 153,000 full-time, first-year students at 227 four-year public and private institutions in 2014. When asked to rate their emotional health in relation to other people their age, only 50.7 percent of the students reported that their emotional health was "in the highest 10 percent" of people or "above average." It's the lowest rate since the survey began measuring self-ratings of emotional health in 1985. |
| College Freshmen Are Leaning Away From Religion | |
 | Today's college freshmen are less likely than ever to identify as part of an organized religion and are quick to question their emotional well-being. They are drinking less before arriving on campus and are more inclined to be eyeing a graduate degree than their counterparts from years prior. That is all according to the 49th annual installment of the American Freshman, a survey conducted by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. The results, being released Thursday, include responses from more than 153,000 first-year students at 227 schools. |
| Wisconsin Governor Drops Proposal to Strip Public-Service Focus From University's Mission | |
 | Wisconsin's governor, Scott Walker, said late Wednesday that his proposal to remove the public-service focus of the public university system's mission was a "drafting error." Earlier on Wednesday, it was revealed that Mr. Walker had proposed replacing the so-called Wisconsin Idea, which devotes the system to reaching "every family in the state," with language that puts meeting "the state's work-force needs" front and center, the Journal Sentinel reported. Amid an already-contentious relationship between the Republican governor and the University of Wisconsin System, the episode triggered worries about the future of the Wisconsin Idea. |
| 'Drafting error,' or gubernatorial assault on expansive view of higher ed in Wisconsin | |
| Governor Scott Walker backed away Wednesday from an effort to end the University of Wisconsin's mission to search for truth and improve the human condition -- at least on paper. A draft of Walker's budget proposal, which cuts the university budget by $300 million over the next two years, would have removed key parts of the Wisconsin university system's mission from state code. The word changes shocked Wisconsin higher education leaders and faculty, even those seemingly numb to a governor famous for antagonizing educators. “It represents a way of thinking about not only the University of Wisconsin and its mission as land grant, but it flies in the face of every land-grant university in the country,” said Alan Knox, a professor emeritus of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. |
| Clemson University suspends fraternity for five years in wake of student death | |
 | Clemson University officials announced Wednesday a five-year suspension of the university's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter for alleged violations of the student organization conduct code. Cathy Sams, a university spokesman, said in a statement that an investigation was conducted of the fraternity's actions following alleged code of conduct violations committed during new-member education processes held in the fall of 2014. Sams said it was not a criminal investigation but rather an investigation into reports concerning actions taken by the fraternity and not by individual students. |
| BOBBY HARRISON (OPINION): Winter successfully blends after-office public service | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Andy Mullins, longtime chief of staff to former University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat, tells the story of campaigning with former Gov. William Winter in southeast Mississippi in 1984 when he challenged incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. ...That story was among many told recently at a Mississippi Press Association roast of Winter, who served as governor from 1980-84 and has been one of the state's most active ex-governors. ...The event, held annually to raise funds for journalism scholarships, was more a coronation than a roast of the 92-year-old Winter. ...William Winter in essence has proven over a period of time that politics and public service can be synonymous -- and a good thing." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Nunnelee a man of courage, integrity | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Learning that Congressman Alan Nunnelee had run out of medical options in his battle with brain cancer and the complications that battle has produced was sobering and distressing on several levels. ...My sister Sheila and I were classmates of Alan Nunnelee at Mississippi State. I knew him through student government involvement. In the rough and tumble of student politics, Alan won some and he lost some -- but he never went down without a fight and his absolute best effort. ...Nunnelee's courage and his deep desire to serve were always evident. Perhaps more important is the fact in the midst of the political grind, Nunnelee has never lost his good humor and his humanity." |
SPORTS
| Staying home: Mullen, Mississippi State load up on in-state recruits | |
| When Dan Mullen was hired at Mississippi State seven years ago, he vowed to keep in-state recruits at home. Mullen has held true to his word. Of the 176 players Mullen has signed since 2009, 111 have been from programs within the Magnolia State. The Bulldogs brought in 28 players during their 2015 class, with 16 hailing from instate programs. "When I came here seven years ago, one of the most important things I saw is there were a lot of people not in our Hall of Fame that could've been," Mullen said. "Guys like Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, Steve McNair, Walter Peyton and Jackie Slater. They were small-town Mississippi kids that were overlooked. We want to make sure we don't do that." |
| Mississippi State class stayed together | |
| If Mississippi State didn't pitch a perfect game, National Signing Day was, at worst, a one-hitter. Every one of its verbal commitments signed with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs even scored a letter of intent from the nation's top inside linebacker, Leo Lewis. The Brookhaven native narrowed his choices to LSU and MSU leading up to Wednesday. Expectations were high for this year's class. The Bulldogs were already well-positioned with the additions of in-state blue-chippers in safety Jamal Peters and defensive end Fletcher Adams. When Lewis picked MSU, it capped off a top-20 class nationally. |
| Mississippi State lands heralded class | |
 | While National Signing Day provided a few surprises for some SEC schools Wednesday, there were no disappointments for the Mississippi State Bulldogs' signing class. With six early enrollees already on campus, the Bulldogs inked 22 players, and the 28 recruits landed the Dogs with the 16th-best class in the country, according to ESPN. "Every signing day is a great day for us. You get to welcome a bunch of new guys into our family," Coach Dan Mullen said. |
| Mississippi State signs area standouts | |
| Jamal Peters wavered a bit toward the end of the process, but in the end he stayed true to his commitment. Peters, the multi-talented athlete who helped Bassfield to three consecutive Class 2A state championships, signed a college scholarship offer Wednesday to play for Mississippi State. Peters, who is projected as a safety, will be joined in Starkville by Collins star Mark McLaurin. The two Pine Belt standouts were part of a big day for Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen, who also landed in-state stars Leo Lewis, a top-rated linebacker from Brookhaven, and Murrah running back Malik Dear. |
| Ole Miss left to scramble while Mississippi State has drama-free finish | |
| When the ink dried Wednesday, the vibe inside Ole Miss and Mississippi State's war rooms was likely as different as the two schools' recruiting philosophies. National Signing Day for the Bulldogs was a major success. It was also relatively drama free. For the Rebels, it was an uneven finish at best. And there was no shortage of heart-pounding moments. The difference? Those differing recruiting philosophies. |
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.
