| Tuesday, February 10, 2015 |
| Sledge Taylor, An MSU Alumnus, To Lead The National Cotton Council In 2015 | |
 | Sledge Taylor, a Como, Miss., ginner, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2015. Named during the NCC's annual meeting held in Memphis on February 6-8, he succeeds Wallace L. Darneille, a Lubbock, Texas, cooperative marketer. Taylor is president of the Como Consolidated Gin Co., Inc. in north Mississippi. He also is owner of Buckeye Farms, where he raises cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts and cattle, and was named the Sunbelt Southeastern Farmer of the Year for Mississippi in 2004. A Mississippi State University graduate with a bachelor's of science degree in Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business, Taylor is active in his church and community. |
| Starkville aldermen hashing out park board numbers, terms | |
 | Starkville's takeover of its parks system appears unavoidable, but the department remains independent of the city for now as aldermen decide how to reform its soon-to-be advisory board. Aldermen tabled discussions on the takeover last week after questions legal questions about Starkville Parks Commission -- how reducing or increasing the number of board members would impact term limits, specifically -- emerged as the board discussed creating a task force of residents to address issues within the department. |
| No guns, but knives, found at Golden Triangle Regional Airport in 2014 | |
| Approximately 39,229 passengers were screened before getting on planes at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport last year. None were carrying firearms. Some were carrying knives, though, according to Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Sari Koshetz. She did not have an exact number. No firearms have been found at GTRA during the last two years. Some passengers have been caught with ammunition in their carry-ons, though, according to Koshetz. A total of 17 guns were confiscated at Mississippi airports in 2014. |
| New Episcopal Bishop Installed | |
 | It was a bittersweet weekend for Episcopalians, who gathered in Jackson for their annual meeting. Members honored retiring Bishop Duncan Gray III, and installed his successor, Bishop Brian Seage. Gray led the denomination for 15 years. He tackled the challenges of rebuilding six churches destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, prevented the diocese from splitting over the issue of same-sex marriage and promoted racial reconciliation. Through it all, it's the relationships Gray says he'll cherish. Bishop Seage said his goals are to listen to the vision of the members, strengthen smaller churches and support youth programs. |
| Anne Moody, activist and chronicler of the civil rights movement, dies at 74 | |
 | Anne Moody, a civil rights activist whose memoir, "Coming of Age in Mississippi," unsparingly chronicled the deprivations and injustice she witnessed as a black woman in the Jim Crow South, died Feb. 5 at her home in Gloster, Miss. She was 74. She had dementia, said a half-sister, Frances Jefferson. Nearly half a century after its publication, Ms. Moody's 1968 autobiography remains a noted volume in the library of first-person accounts describing the inequality suffered by African Americans of her era. The book recounted her upbringing in grinding poverty and the experience of discrimination and violence that propelled her to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s. |
| Will new manufacturing ease Mississippi's 'psychosis of poverty?' | |
| In Mississippi, where the unemployment rate peaks at 15 percent in some areas, pockets of new manufacturing have ignited hopes for an economic rebirth. And while signs of growth give some people hope for a new era, how much will the area's poor actually benefit? NewsHour's John Larson reports as part of our continuing series, "Main Street America." |
| Anderson Regional Medical Center announces Bill Crawford to board | |
 | Anderson Regional Medical Center is proud to announce the addition of Bill Crawford to its Board of Directors. Crawford brings a diverse business and public service background to Anderson. Crawford received a bachelor of science degree from Millsaps College and a master of science degree from Mississippi State University. He currently serves as the President of The Montgomery Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to serve as an innovative regional development organization for east central Mississippi and west central Alabama. |
| Rep. Nunnelee remembered as public servant, family man | |
 | The late U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee was a state senator for 15 years before being elected to Congress in 2010, but his greatest source of pride didn't come from a political office. "The title I'm most proud of is 'Dad,'" Nunnelee said in a video clip played at his funeral Monday. It was a speech he gave in 2012 when the oldest of his three children graduated from law school. More than 1,200 people packed the sanctuary of Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi, to remember the third-term Republican congressman who died of a brain tumor Friday. He was 56. About 40 members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, attended the funeral. |
| Sadness and celebration: Nunnelee's life heralded as an example for all | |
 | Though not in equal measure, tears and laughter filled Calvary Baptist Church, as family, friends and former colleagues celebrated the life of U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee on Monday. "Alan was my brother, my friend and the best man I ever knew," Gov. Phil Bryant said. "I love Alan Nunnelee, and I know that God loves him, too." Bryant had to hold back tears after noticing how his view from the pulpit of Nunnelee's flag-draped casket reminded him of looking down from his seat as lieutenant governor when Nunnelee was chairman of the Mississippi Senate Appropriations Committee. |
| Reeves to propose franchise tax cut | |
| Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will propose eliminating Mississippi's franchise tax on business capital as part of a larger package of tax cuts. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Joey Fillingane confirms that Reeves will propose a phased-in elimination of the franchise tax Tuesday. Fillingane says the package will also include tax relief for individuals. Mississippi has collected about $220 million a year in franchise taxes the past four years, according to the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. |
| Senator: TIF bill stemmed from Madison County 'debacle' | |
 | State Sen. Joey Fillingane said as the result of a recent "debacle" concerning an economic development project in Madison County, Trustmark Bank has pulled its participation from similar projects in the state. Fillingane, R-Sumrall, said that's what prompted him to author Senate Bill 2550, which allows (but does not mandate) cities and counties to use general fund or other taxpayer money to make tax increment financing bond payments when in danger of defaulting. TIF bonds are a financing option that allows counties and municipalities to borrow money to fund an economic development project based on the taxes the project would generate in the future. The payments are made off taxes from the property itself and adjacent lands, not regular taxpayer money. |
| Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler qualifies to run for auditor | |
| Republican Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler, serving her ninth term as mayor, is challenging two-term State Auditor Stacey Pickering in the Aug. 4 GOP primary. Butler had been considering a run for state auditor for months. In October, when asked about it, she said "Never say never." Hawkins confirmed she qualified to run Monday, but had little comment, saying she will make an official announcement sometime soon. Pickering was first elected auditor in 2007, then re-elected in 2011, carrying about 75 percent of the vote. He previously served two terms in the state Senate. The State Auditor is responsible for auditing public accounts and conducting investigations of public agencies to ensure accountability. |
| Annual trip a 'Capitol' idea; DeSoto leaders get slice of pie | |
 | DeSoto County economic officials recently traveled to Jackson to make sure the state's fastest growing county gets a slice of the state's economic pie. They also wanted to make sure that officials in other counties got to taste hot and delicious fried pies from local pie maker Sarah Watkins' kitchen stove. "I'm 86 years-old but I enjoy making these pies," said Watkins, adding that she made a total of 510 fried pies this year. "I had all of January to do it and I had some help." Hundreds of the pies are taken to Jackson each year by DeSoto County Economic Development Council President and CEO Jim Flanagan. During the trip, DeSoto County Economic Development Council officials met with members of the Legislature and other state and elected officials. Officials also talked about growth, the completion of I-269, and other economic development happenings in and around the county. |
| Attorneys general, others support Google investigation | |
| With representatives of the electronics industry saying Mississippi's attempt to investigate Google should be blocked by federal law, some state attorneys general and other groups are taking the opposite position. They say Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has the power to examine Google's behavior, and should be allowed to collect evidence from the Internet giant before a court steps in. Google is trying to block a subpoena that Hood issued. The sides are scheduled to argue their positions Friday before a federal judge in Jackson. |
| GOP challenges Obama over flood risks from climate change | |
 | Underscoring the political challenges President Barack Obama faces as he presses ahead to combat climate change, eight Republican senators are contesting the legality of his Jan. 30 directive toughening floodplain standards for new federal projects. In a letter to Obama last week that was coordinated by Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, the newly empowered chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senators expressed concern about "the vast implications" that the standards would have for families and workers in coastal communities. Cochran's Mississippi colleague, Sen. Roger Wicker, was another vocal signer of the letter. |
| States rise up against Washington | |
 | State legislators around the country have introduced more than 200 bills aiming to nullify regulations and laws coming out of Washington, D.C., as they look to rein in the federal government. The legislative onslaught, which includes bills targeting federal restrictions on firearms, experimental treatments and hemp, reflects growing discord between the states and Washington, state officials say. Friction between the states and the federal government dates back to the nation's earliest days. But there has been an explosion of bills in the last year, according to the Los Angeles-based Tenth Amendment Center, which advocates for the state use of nullification to tamp down on overzealous regulation. |
| Obama faces high stakes in rollout of controversial immigration program | |
 | President Obama will soon roll out one of the most ambitious and controversial programs of his presidency, an effort to grant a reprieve from deportation to millions of adult immigrants living in the country illegally. With time short and stakes high, the Obama administration knows it cannot afford another debacle like 2013's botched introduction of the Affordable Care Act. The challenges posed by the new immigration program will be enormous. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services projects 1.3 million people will apply in the first six months, starting in May, although no one knows for sure. Anything close to that will be a giant new workload for the agency, which processes about 6.3 million other applications annually. |
| No state has fought harder against gay marriage ruling than Alabama, expert says | |
 | Day one of gay marriage in Alabama did not exactly go smoothly. Monday began with a 7-2 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to let a federal judge's order striking down the same-sex marriage ban take effect and ended with many probate judges vowing to fight or professing confusion. When the dust settled, most probate offices had not issued licenses to gay couples, although the few that did represented most of the high-population counties. Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond School of Law professor who has tracked same-sex marriage litigation across the country, said he does not believe any other state has resisted the federal court system as aggressively as Alabama. |
| The GOP's Alabama problem: Candidates confront the issue of states' rights -- again | |
 | Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's defiance of a federal court order on gay marriage is just the latest in a long line of bitter states' rights fights on issues from school integration to the Confederate battle flag -- and the latest potentially embarrassing political sideshow for the 2016 field of GOP presidential hopefuls. Moore's decision, however, increases the chances that Republican presidential candidates will be forced to discuss the issue -- in the racially freighted framework of states' rights, no less -- before extremely conservative voters in the heat of a primary campaign. "It's really the same arguments that the Civil War pivoted on, from nullification to states' rights and all this stuff," said Bill Carrick, a longtime Democratic strategist and native South Carolinian. |
| Economic Outlook Forum set for Feb. 19 at Southern Miss | |
 | The Southern Miss College of Business and the Trent Lott Center will host the Economic Outlook 2015 Forum from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Thad Cochran Center on the Southern Miss campus. The First Bank of Hattiesburg is serving as the title sponsor for the event, which will focus on economic trends and forecasts. Scheduled speakers include Paula Tkac, Darrin Webb, Manfredo Dix and Sermoon Chang. |
| New Meridian Community College Hall of Famers unveiled for 2015 | |
 | The newest inductees to Meridian Community College's Hall of Fame were honored during a ceremony Monday held on campus in the Dulaney Room at Webb Center. This year's incoming hall of famers are Dr. Shawn Anderson, Dan Hollingsworth, Dr. Lana Jackson, Fannie Johnson, Dr. Lavon Fluker-Reed and Dr. Ben Rush. Dr. Anderson began the round of speeches by explaining how great the honor is. "I'm certainly a man of few words," Anderson said. "It's really so bad that my speech professor, Ronnie Miller, whenever I would give a speech would put his head down. And, I think I saw a few tears fall from his eyes." |
| Pearl River Community College student accused of sexual assault | |
| Campus police at Pearl River Community College have arrested a student accused of sexually assaulting another student in her dorm room Sunday morning, according to a release. The student charged with sexual assault in the case has not been identified but is being held at the Pearl River County jail, according to Doug Rowell, PRCC's director of public safety. The suspect, the release said, is accused of entering the other student's room and threatening her before the alleged assault. The student arrested in the case has been suspended from the college pending the results of the case. "PRCC has always put the safety and security of our students as the highest of institutional priorities," said William Lewis, the university's president. |
| Ex-U. of Alabama professor faces felony ethics charge | |
 | A former University of Alabama computer science instructor is facing a felony ethics charge after requiring students to buy his book through his own company. According to an indictment filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, Charles Horton is accused of collecting $378,023 in profits by requiring students to buy a book from Josserand Co. LLC. Horton, 44, is listed as the president of the company formed in 2011, according to Alabama Secretary of State's website. Horton is no longer employed by the university, UA spokeswoman Cathy Andreen said Monday. |
| Anxiety on Louisiana college campuses over possible budget cuts | |
 | Across the state, people are bracing for potentially devastating cuts to college and university funding that could change higher education in Louisiana for years to come. The talk of deep -- many have been throwing around figures around 40 to 60 percent -- cuts to campuses has prompted responses from faculty, students, alumni and administrators, though most are left with only speculation and concern. Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposed budget, which his administration says will include recommendations for paring back costs, is slated to be revealed Feb. 27. During the recent LSU board meeting, LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander gave an impassioned speech -- detailing the threat with campuses facing 40 percent reductions in state funding. |
| U. of Kentucky names two deans as finalists for school's top academic post | |
 | Two University of Kentucky deans are the finalists for the school's top academic post. Tim Tracy, dean of the College of Pharmacy, and David Blackwell, dean of the College of Business, will hold public forums this week as they vie for the job of provost. UK President Eli Capilouto decided to look internally for the next provost after Christine Riordan left in December to become president of Adelphi University this year. "The search committee and I arrived at this decision because both Dean Blackwell and Dean Tracy already are significant leaders on our campus, with strong academic and research backgrounds," Capilouto wrote in a campus-wide email Monday afternoon. |
| U. of South Carolina students seek normalcy following shooting | |
 | University of South Carolina students in the Arnold School of Public Health faced a somber reminder of a lost life when they arrived at classes Monday. They were returning for the first time since the school was closed Thursday afternoon following a shooting that claimed the life of a distinguished professor. Awaiting them were flowers, chalk writings and signs that were hung to keep the memory of 45-year-old Raja Fayad's time with the university alive. Fayad was shot and killed by his 46-year-old ex-wife Sunghee Kwon inside of the public health building before she shot and killed herself. |
| Transition plan laid out stakeholder visits, selfies long before Fuchs took U. of Florida helm | |
 | Nearly a month before the University of Florida board of trustees knew who its next president was going to be, the university relations team already had a plan in place for the first 100 days, from meeting state leaders to waiting in line with students for coffee. A nine-page memo titled "President Transition Communication Plan," dated Sept. 22, outlines objectives, identifies stakeholders, communication tools and an action plan for rolling out the presidential announcement, and includes a list of activities for the president during the transition. "It was a group effort because of all the moving parts," said Nicole Yucht, UF director of marketing. |
| U. of Florida gets $13.5 million to shoulder citrus greening fight | |
| The University of Florida is getting $13.5 million to help fight citrus greening -- part of a $30 million grant announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "This is a great success for us," said Jack Payne, senior vice president of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UF. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the funding to combat Huanglongbing (HLB), otherwise known as citrus greening, the same day the International Research Conference on HLB in Orlando began. |
| U. of Tennessee pleased with proposed Haslam budget increases | |
 | After last year's disappointing withdrawal of a planned budget increase for Tennessee's public colleges and universities, University of Tennessee officials say they are pleased with the substantial increases proposed for next year by Gov. Bill Haslam. Officials from both the University of Tennessee and Board of Regents systems say they expect to hold student tuition increases for the 2015-16 school year to the zero to 4 percent range suggested in December by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission on the condition the governor was able to fully fund the budget THEC requested. The budget also fully funds the major maintenance requests for colleges and universities submitted last in December by THEC and several new-construction building projects. |
| Michael Young getting acquainted with Texas A&M and its traditions | |
 | Future Texas A&M University President Michael Young delivered his first public "howdy" and indicated he will be in College Station for the long haul during a media briefing Monday morning in Rudder Tower. "I could get used to that," Young said after the traditional Aggie greeting. "I kind of like that." Young, who was chosen as the sole finalist for the position by the A&M System Board of Regents last week, discussed the vetting process for the job, his flexible vision for the school, pertinent legislative topics and his intentions to settle down in Aggieland during the 45-minute conference. Despite needing to wait 18 more days to officially become president, Young said he has already begun to identify areas he would like to address, but a plan for his presidency will not take hold until he gets the opportunity to collaborate. |
| Texas A&M president's house to be used as venue for donors, legislators, other VIPs | |
| The colonial-style home outside Spence Park will no longer belong solely to the sitting Texas A&M University president, but Aggie Nation as a whole. During future president Michael Young's introduction to members of the media Monday morning, Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the president's house on campus will continue to serve as an event venue as it has for the past year instead of a residence. The home has been unoccupied since former President R. Bowen Loftin resigned in 2014. Interim President Mark Hussey opted not to live in the residence. |
| Author discusses new book on 'creativity crisis' in science | |
 | By some measures -- Nobel Prizes over time, graduate programs the best students globally aspire to be part of -- American science is the envy of the world. But Roberta A. Ness sees an erosion of excellence. In The Creativity Crisis: Reinventing Science to Unleash Possibility (Oxford University Press), Ness argues that American science has become too risk averse and that frugal federal agencies and university politics and policies combine in ways that discourage breakthrough discoveries. Ness -- author of 350 scientific papers or books -- is dean of the School of Public Health and vice president for innovation at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. |
| BILL CRAWFORD (OPINION): Mississippi's sports heritage second to none | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "'Stories worth remembering and savoring... again and again,' said Robin Roberts, co-host of Good Morning America. Indeed. Stories remembered and savored in the telling by Rick Cleveland in his book 'Mississippi's Greatest Athletes.' ...Where do all these stories come from? Some from Cleveland's 40 years as a writer covering Mississippi sports, but most from the one place that gathers, preserves, cherishes, and re-tells the stories of Mississippi's greatest athletes -- the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum." |
| NATHAN GONZALES (OPINION): Why Special Elections Really Matter | |
 | Analyst Nathan Gonzales writes for Roll Call: "Special elections matter, but not for the reasons you might think. It's an annual sport in politics: arguing whether special elections serve as bellwethers. But while special elections often poorly portend results around the country, they can produce potential leaders. They're also excellent predictors of voter behavior inside that particular district. Even when special elections aren't competitive, they are worth paying attention to because the winner could be around for awhile and climb the leadership ladder. The upcoming special election in Mississippi's 1st District after the death of GOP Rep. Alan Nunnelee might be the latest example of a special race that is not at risk of changing partisan hands." |
| GARY PETTUS (OPINION): Chris McDaniel needs to 'conserve' energy | |
| Jackson-based journalist and syndicated columnist Gary Pettus writes: "Ever since Chris McDaniel made a formal announcement about his new PAC, I've been looking out my window for a sign. There has to be one out there somewhere. One what? A sign of what? That the sky has fallen over Mississippi. ...I've been searching for a sign that Mississippi's political activity has dropped below 11.5 on the Richter Scale of Fundamentalist Magnitude. Because McDaniel, a state senator and former U.S. Senate candidate, evidently believes it has. He must believe the state that frequently holds the title of the Most Conservative in the Union falls short of its reputation. That it's living a lie, and it's time to turn things around. Before we're overrun with Volvo-driving, Guinness-swilling, granola-munching, tree-hugging, climate-change-believing heathens and infidels." |
| BOBBY HARRISON (OPINION): Legislators respected Nunnelee in the treatment of the process | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "It was almost as if Alan Nunnelee determined the timing of his death as to not interfere with the workings of the Mississippi Legislature -- an institution where he thrived and an institution that he loved and respected. The Tupelo Republican, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, succumbed to brain cancer Friday morning at his home in Tupelo. ...If the death or the funeral had occurred later this week, a key deadline week for Mississippi legislators, it would have created a great deal of havoc in the process. ...It might seem trivial to talk about such matters in connection with a man's death, but it is just the type of issue that would have concerned Nunnelee." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State hosting Alabama at the right time | |
| Mississippi State won't be playing an Alabama squad at full-strength Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide will be without Ricky Tarrant, coach Anthony Grant said Monday. Tarrant averages 13.1 points per game, good enough for second on the team. While Tarrant is expected to miss his third straight game with a leg injury, his replacement, Retin Obasohan is also "doubtful" according to Grant. While Tarrant is expected to miss his third straight game with a leg injury, his replacement, Retin Obasohan is also "doubtful" according to Grant. |
| After step back, Bulldogs want to move on | |
| Mississippi State wants to put its 20-point loss at Arkansas over the weekend in the past and move on as quickly as possible. The Bulldogs will have an opportunity to do just that after a three-day turnaround, hosting Alabama at 8 p.m. tonight on the SEC Network. "You want to get that sour taste out of your mouth and get back on the court as soon as possible," said MSU coach Rick Ray. The Bulldogs (11-12, 4-6) had been playing its best basketball over the past month, including signature wins against LSU and Tennessee. |
| Mississippi State hopes to rebound vs. Alabama | |
| In Rick Ray's first two seasons, there wasn't a need to keep an eye on the conference standings. Prior to this season, Ray had never coached Mississippi State to a win in February. The Bulldogs finished near the bottom over the last two seasons. Their record didn't hold any weight regarding postseason discussions. But today's home game against Alabama (8 p.m., SECN) will influence MSU's seeding in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Both teams enter with 4-6 records in the league. "I know this may sound bad, but I had no idea what our conference record is. I had no idea what Alabama's conference record was," Ray said. "To me, I'm so bad about this, I'm a game to game guy. I'm just worried about the next preparation." |
| Mississippi State jumps in polls after win vs. Texas A&M | |
| Mississippi State celebrated its first-ever win against Texas A&M on Sunday. A day later it has even more to celebrate. The Bulldogs (23-3, 8-3) climbed four spots in the most recent Associated Press rankings to No. 13. It's the highest ranking for the team since the 2002-03 season. MSU finished the year No. 13, but reached as high as No. 10 during the season. The Bulldogs have five games remaining in the regular season, including a trip to No. 10 Kentucky on Thursday. MSU also has to travel to No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 26. |
| Foley: Facilities will get done at U. of Florida | |
| New Florida coach Jim McElwain has made it clear he thinks UF's football facilities are in need of an upgrade. UF athletic director Jeremy Foley made it just as clear Monday that McElwain is going to get what he needs to rebuild the Gators into a championship program, including probable future renovations to the locker room and dorms. "We're going to do all we can to help Mac be successful," Foley said. The movement has already begun. Construction recently began on a $15-million indoor practice facility that is expected to be completed by September. Foley said UF also is looking into making improvements in the dorms and will evaluate the football locker room and where that needs to be. |
| U. of Arkansas Extends Bret Bielema's Contract Through 2020 | |
| Arkansas has announced the signing of Bret Bielema to a two-year contract extension and raise, keeping the coach at the school through the 2020 season. Bielema, who led to the Razorbacks to a 7-6 season and their first bowl game in three seasons last year, will also receive a raise from his previous $3.2 million salary -- making an average of $4.25 million annually over the six-year deal. |
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