| Tuesday, March 17, 2015 |
| Veterans give Mississippi State high marks again | |
 | Ronnie White's mission began in 2006 on the Mississippi State University campus. As the leader of the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans, he said it has always been his goal to make a significant impact on the university for the sake of veterans. "It's great to see that where we are now, that that's taking effect and that other departments on campus are coming on board," said White. Mississippi State is in the top 75 best four-year college and university business schools in the nation for military personnel and veterans. Now, there is a new honor. Mississippi State's College of Business is ranked 16th in the third annual "Best for Vets: Business Schools" survey. |
| Kinsey Collection Owners to Speak at Mississippi State | |
 | As the national conversation continues about how African Americans are portrayed and treated in modern-day America, Mississippi State University prepares to showcase 400 years of achievements and accomplishments by African Americans. "African American Treasures" from The Kinsey Collection, one of the world's largest private collections of African-American art, artifacts, documents and manuscripts, will be displayed March 21- June 20 in MSU's John Grisham Room at Mitchell Memorial Library. Following the opening reception on March 21 at 6 p.m., also to be held in the Grisham Room, owners Bernard and Shirley Kinsey of Los Angeles will speak on March 22 at 3 p.m. in Bettersworth Auditorium at Lee Hall. |
| Mississippi State Students Win Big at Interior Design Competition | |
| Mississippi State interior design students picked up 24 of 57 possible awards at the recent American Society of Interior Designers South Central Career Day at Harding University in Arkansas. MSU participants won first place in 12 categories during the competition, which included interior design students from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. MSU swept the commercial design team, hospitality design team and retail design team categories. Professor Beth Miller, MSU interior design program director, credited the group's success to its involvement in a wide variety of university programs, including furniture design, computer renderings and hand renderings. |
| Bryant, Barbour invite world to see Mississippi Coast 10 years after Katrina | |
 | Mississippi is inviting the world to come see what it has become 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. Gov. Phil Bryant, in announcing former Gov. Haley Barbour and his wife will lead the One Coast One Remembrance Katrina Remembrance Commission, said the purpose was to honor the remarkable people of the Gulf Coast and the people of the world who came to help them recover from the storm. "There just is no quit in them," said Bryant at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi. "It makes you want to cry, it makes you want to celebrate, makes you want to roll up your sleeves and work even harder to make sure we finish strong." |
| Parents protest PARCC; tell kids to skip test | |
 | Mississippi students who refuse to take this year's statewide assessment risk suspension and the loss of a high school diploma, but some parents say it's their right to opt out of controversial PARCC exams. Legislation in Mississippi to dismantle Common Core and end the state's alliance with PARCC likely will become law later this year. Meanwhile, though, students in grades 3-12 began taking the computer-based tests earlier this month. Brandon Smith of Oxford said his son will not be among them. Smith told the Oxford Public School District that he and his wife, Angel, oppose PARCC testing and have instructed their fifth grader not to participate. |
| Reeves proposes more tax cuts | |
 | Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday floated a larger $555 million tax cut proposal with more income tax cuts, setting the stage for negotiations as the end of the legislative session approaches. Reeves originally proposed a $396 million tax cut over 10 years, aimed at phasing out corporate franchise taxes and cutting some income taxes. House members countered with a plan to phase out all $1.7 billion in individual income tax collections over 15 or more years, depending on revenues. Now, Reeves wants to go further on income taxes, cutting another $157 million in income taxes over another five years. And unlike the House plan, state revenues would not have to grow by a certain amount for the tax breaks to take place. |
| Reeves ups his tax cut by $160M | |
 | Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is increasing the size of his tax cut proposal by nearly $160 million in what he described as an effort to find common ground with the state House on tax cuts. Reeves' announcement is significant because one chamber will have to pass the tax cut bill that originated in the other chamber by today for the possibility of tax cuts to remain alive for the 2015 session. Tax cuts are a priority for the House and Senate leadership, as well as Gov. Phil Bryant, this session in advance of statewide elections later this year. "I am absolutely serious about getting meaningful long-term tax relief for our citizens," Reeves said Monday in his office before the Senate Finance Committee passed the proposal. It is expected to be voted on by the full Senate today. |
| Reeves floats tax cut compromise | |
| Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves Monday announced a tax cut compromise aimed at reconciling competing Senate and House proposals. Reeves and the Senate had proposed a tax cut plan that would eliminate the corporate franchise tax over 10 years, provide breaks for small businesses and eliminate the lowest, 3 percent bracket on personal income taxes. The plan would cost an estimated $400 million when fully implemented. Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, argued against the new Reeves proposal in the Finance Committee on Monday. "This is 10 percent of the general fund that we are giving away," Bryan said. |
| Bill still alive to redirect money for Mississippi counties with casinos | |
| Legislation is still alive that would direct some of the $36 million from annual casino taxes back to the counties that have casinos. House Bill 1630 came out of the Senate Finance Committee on Monday after being amended. Senators who serve on the committee were not available before deadline to discuss the amendments. Mississippi's Gaming Control Act requires that $36 million be set aside each year from the 12 percent tax casinos pay on gross casino revenue. The money was directed to be spent on improving roads and bridges "in and approaching" counties where casinos are located. The original intent of the Gaming Counties Bond Sinking Fund was to build the infrastructure to bring visitors to the new casinos. But since 2012, any money left after the bonds were paid has been turned over to Mississippi Department of Transportation to fund projects throughout the state. |
| Democrats boot one state candidate over residency | |
| One candidate for state office will not appear on the election ballot, because the Mississippi Democratic Party determined she lives in Nevada. Clara Davis-Dawkins had filed papers to run against incumbent state Sen. Robert L. Jackson, D-Marks, but failed to provide sufficient evidence that she resides in District 11, according to a report from the party's Executive Committee. Davis-Dawkins was one of three Democratic candidates who faced qualification challenges from opponents claiming false residency. The committee held a hearing Friday to consider the challenges and issued its report Monday. |
| Political blogger's Mississippi antics irk California cops | |
| California-based political blogger Charles C. Johnson's infamous meddling in last year's Cochran-McDaniel race apparently earned him a reputation back home, too. Capitol police at a California fundraising event for Speaker of the House John Boehner grilled Johnson about his involvement in the Mississippi campaign before ejecting him from the event to which he had tickets. "It was a misunderstanding," Johnson told The Clarion-Ledger in an email on Monday. |
| Food industry waging a bitter battle over proposal on added-sugar labels | |
 | Of all the issues the Obama administration is grappling with, a modest redesign of what food labels say about sweeteners might not have seemed among the more controversial. But ever since First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the plan last year, a lobbying frenzy has ensued. The objections have come not only from candy makers and bottlers of soft drinks. The governor of Massachusetts implored the administration to rethink its proposal. The governor of Wisconsin protested too. So did the government of Australia, which warned the move could violate international trade agreements. The proposal being considered by the Food and Drug Administration would add a new line to labels on packaged products noting how many teaspoons of sugar had been added. The furor over the idea reveals the extent to which extra sugar is infused into even the most unlikely foods. |
| How Prison Stints Replaced Study Hall | |
 | Police officers in Meridian, Mississippi, were spending so much time hauling handcuffed students from school to the local juvenile jail that they began describing themselves as "just a taxi service." It wasn't because schools in this east Mississippi town were overrun by budding criminals or juvenile superpredators -- not by a long shot. Most of the children were arrested and jailed simply for violating school rules, often for trivial offenses. For many kids, a stint in "juvie" was just the beginning of a never-ending nightmare. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit to stop the "taxi service" in Meridian's public schools, where 86 percent of the students are black. The DOJ suit, still unresolved, said children were being incarcerated so "arbitrarily and severely as to shock the conscience." The reality, though, is that Meridian's taxi service is just one example of what amounts to a civil rights crisis in America. |
| State College Board Makes Appeal for Faculty and Staff Raises | |
 | In an editorial, Aubrey Patterson, the president of Mississippi's College Board, said it takes excellent faculty and staff to challenge and inspire students. That means offering competitive salaries. Patterson says that a study found over the past five years the average pay for a four-year faculty member in Mississippi dropped three percent when adjusted for inflation -- ranking the state next to last. Bob Press, Faculty Senate president at the University of Southern Mississippi, says, the issue has far reaching implications. Press says all eight university faculty presidents are releasing a joint statement in support of a five percent raise, which would cost an additional $36.2 million. |
| AUBREY PATTERSON (OPINION): Path to growth goes through university system | |
| Aubrey Patterson, president of the Board of Trustees of Mississippi's Public Universities, writes: "As the 2015 Legislative Session enters the final stretch, lawmakers are hard at work crafting the Fiscal Year 2016 budget. As a banker, I have spent many years looking at budgets, crunching the numbers and thinking about the bottom line. It is easy to forget that behind the numbers are people. As lawmakers finalize the budget for next year, it is important to remember the people behind the numbers. As President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the people that I focus on most are the students and what we can do to help them succeed in the classroom and upon graduation. I believe at the top of the list is to provide them with excellent faculty and staff to teach them, lead them and guide them." |
| New student health center opens at Southern Miss | |
 | A state-of-the-art health center offering easy access for students opened Monday at the University of Southern Mississippi. The Moffitt Health Center opened its doors at 8 a.m., and it soon had students asking for services. "We have been busy," said medical director Virginia Crawford. "The students have really enjoyed the new facility. Some of them have used the old one and know what a big step up this is." The center is located on the first floor of Scott Hall, which is part of the Century Park South residential complex. |
| Auburn University senior influencing educators worldwide | |
 | Some teenagers bag groceries, flip hamburgers or deliver pizzas. By the time Ben Gustafson graduated from Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, S.C, in 2011, he co-owned a company. Gustafson, now a senior in software engineering and business analytics at Auburn University who grew up yearning to be an astronaut, co-founded Classroom Mosaic -- a computer-based classroom/teacher observation system -- as part of a project with high school classmate Tyler Smith. Since its release, more than 500 schools and 25,000 educators worldwide have used Classroom Mosaic, one of 14 startups based at the Auburn Business Incubator. |
| Alabama Legislature might create new board to govern two-year colleges | |
 | The Alabama Legislature is considering a bill to set up a new board to oversee two-year colleges, which would remove that responsibility from the state Board of Education. Members of the Alabama Community College Board of Trustees would be appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, and Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Gulf Shores, said the state BOE has too much on its plate and the two-year colleges can operate more efficiently and effectively. "We need a full-time board to oversee community colleges," said Pittman, who chairs the Senate's education budget committee and is sponsoring the bill. Alabama has about 25 community and technical colleges, but many have multiple campuses. |
| Louisiana college leaders brace for cuts, decry state's bureaucracy | |
 | As Louisiana's public colleges and universities brace for another significant round of budget cuts, higher education officials said during a public forum Monday they need more autonomy to improve their institutions without the hassle of bureaucracy. But while pleading for sovereignty, those officials also agreed during the Acadiana Press Club luncheon that privatizing higher education is a bad idea that would lead to unequal access for future generations of students. It's the paradox plaguing the state's higher education systems, which -- in a worst-case scenario -- face up to a $608 million reduction in state funding this year, Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Rallo said. "I don't want to leave people with despair ...but we have to come to grips with the numbers that are there as well as the numbers that we believe will be there," Rallo said. |
| Swastikas painted in Jewish fraternity at Vanderbilt | |
 | Three swastikas were spray-painted inside Vanderbilt University's Jewish fraternity house over the weekend, prompting officials to launch a hate crime investigation on campus. The graffiti was discovered early Saturday after a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house on Vanderbilt Place, according to a statement from Provost Susan R. Wente that was sent to students Monday. Two of the swastikas were spray-painted in the elevator and a third was found on the basement door. Authorities believe the vandalism took place between 1:55 a.m. and 3:22 a.m. Saturday. No suspects have been identified. |
| U. of Kentucky tuition for in-state students going up 3 percent | |
 | University of Kentucky students from the Bluegrass State will pay 3 percent more for tuition and fees this fall, an increase that brings tuition to $10,780 a year for first-year students. The UK Board of Trustees approved the change unanimously Monday and without discussion. Housing and dining costs also are on the rise. Housing costs will increase 3 percent and dining costs will jump 3.2 percent. Students from other states will continue to pay an ever-growing portion of UK's bills: an estimated 37 percent of the student body this fall, out-of-state students will pay 6 percent more for tuition and fees. |
| UGA-Georgia Power solar farm on Regents agenda | |
 | University of Georgia officials hope the state Board of Regents take a shine to the university's proposal for a solar farm. The board's real estate and facilities committee might consider on Wednesday a proposal to lease 10 acres to the Georgia Power Company for the demonstration solar farm on UGA land. Officials plan to establish the solar farm on a site just north of UGA's intramural sports fields, near the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, off South Milledge Avenue. The solar tracking facility would deliver one megawatt of electricity to the power grid, operating more for teaching and demonstration purposes. UGA will also get renewable energy credits from the solar plant, which will help the university achieve the renewable energy goals listed in its 2020 Strategic Plan. |
| Guns on campus bill moves forward in Florida | |
 | Emotionally charged legislation that would allow concealed weapons on Florida's college campuses gained more momentum Monday, easily clearing a second Senate committee following impassioned testimony from gun control advocates and gun rights supporters. "We do not want this bill," said Harrison DuBosar, the director of governmental affairs for the FSU Student Government Association. "We do not want guns on our campus." The bill had support from the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates, including student groups advocating for concealed carry on campus. Critics of the legislation pointed to the potentially toxic mix of guns and young, immature students in an environment that often includes excessive drinking. |
| Dance Marathon at U. of Florida breaks $2M barrier in raising funds for children | |
| The 21st annual Dance Marathon at the University of Florida cracked the $2 million mark this weekend -- two years after it broke through the $1 million ceiling. The money was raised by more than 800 student dancers who went 26.2 hours on their feet from 11:48 a.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday. Without rest. Without caffeine. The money was raised for UF Health Shands Children's Hospital --- the local Children's Miracle Network participating hospital for the Gainesville/North Central Florida, Tallahassee/Panhandle and West Palm Beach areas. |
| High Tennessee Promise participation numbers boost FAFSA completion rates in state | |
 | Tennessee's free community college program is exceeding expectations. Demand remains high and the state's completion rates for federal aid applications are up, which is putting colleges on notice about a likely influx of students. "We couldn't be happier where we are," said Mike Krause, executive director of the Tennessee Promise program. Of the initial 58,000 applicants, more than 43,000 attended their first meeting with mentors -- an important milestone for student participation. Those 15,000 that have since left the program are consistent with the program's projections. "That number is our population. We still think tons of students in that group are going to a four-year school next fall or to the military. There's just a myriad of options they might pursue," Krause said. |
| U. of Missouri chancellor hires former lobbyist as special assistant | |
 | The executive suite at the University of Missouri has a new addition -- a Jefferson City regular. Brian Millner, former legislative director for the Department of Economic Development and, before that, longtime lobbyist with John Bardgett & Associates, joined MU as a special assistant to Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin this month. Millner is no stranger to MU. He spent three years of his time as an undergraduate -- Millner graduated in 2007 -- donning the Truman the Tiger mascot. He jokes that he "bleeds black and gold." To the chancellor, Millner's longtime commitment to MU was a plus in hiring him. Loftin said Millner's primary role is to be a liaison with the legislature. |
| 2 Former Politicians, Now College Chiefs, Lament the Pace of Academe | |
 | Two of the nation's highest-profile nontraditional university presidents expressed frustration on Monday with the slow pace of change in academe and lamented faltering public support for higher education. Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., president of Purdue University, and Janet A. Napolitano, who heads the University of California system, shared the dais during a wide-ranging session at the American Council on Education's 97th annual meeting. Ms. Napolitano and Mr. Daniels are two of the biggest names to enter higher-education leadership in recent memory, and their appointments are seen as evidence that political experience and fund-raising prowess are crucial to a successful college presidency. |
| Education Department Considers Creating Not 1 but 2 College-Ratings Systems | |
| The Education Department, under continued fire over its planned college-rating system, is considering creating two systems, an agency official said at a policy briefing here on Monday. The first ratings system would be geared toward consumers and be based on raw outcomes metrics. The second would be geared toward policy makers and researchers, and would rely on metrics adjusted for student and institutional characteristics, the official told attendees at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual policy briefing. Only the second system would be used to measure accountability. The shift appeared designed to answer criticism that the department was trying to do too much with one system. |
| States Prepare Public for Common-Core Test Results | |
 | Even as states begin administering new tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards, they are ramping up efforts to eliminate or minimize public backlash when the scores---widely expected to be markedly lower than results from previous assessments -- are released later this year. From old-fashioned fliers designed to reach parents via students' backpacks to webinars intended for administrators and teachers, states are using a diverse set of resources and partnering with various groups to prepare school communities and the general public for what's coming. Their goal: to spread their message that the new tests are a much more accurate and complete reflection of what students know and can do than past exams, and will in turn better inform classroom instruction. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State gets No. 5 seed, matchup vs. No. 12 Tulane | |
 | The disappointment didn't last long. With all the Mississippi State women's basketball team has accomplished in a record-breaking season, the announcement Monday that MSU was heading back to the NCAA tournament was plenty of reason to celebrate for coach Vic Schaefer, his coaching staff, his players, and the fans at Dawg House Sports Grill. And while the sting of missing a chance to play host to the first and second rounds in Starkville hurt, earning a No. 5 seed and a matchup against No. 12 seed Tulane (22-10) at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Durham, North Carolina, tempered the news and helped everyone re-focus on the next game. |
| Mississippi State women headed to Durham for NCAAs | |
| The No. 12 Mississippi State women's basketball team is going dancing for the first time since 2010. The Bulldogs were selected as a No. 5 seed in the Durham Regional of the NCAA Tournament and will face 12th-seeded Tulane in the opening round Friday at 1:30 p.m. "I'm so happy for our players and the three seniors that stuck with us after coach (Sharon Fanning-Otis) retired," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "I promised them this day would come. I know it was hard to see when we were 13-17 in Year 1. But I knew what the process was. We had a great formula, and here we are." The Green Wave (22-10) will be a familiar opponent for the Bulldogs. |
| NCAA Women: Mississippi State heads to Durham | |
| Victoria Vivians grins every time she sees Mississippi State's logo. Nothing changed Monday night as the images from ESPN's NCAA Tournament Selection Show flickered in front of her on a screen as large as a wall. But when "Mississippi State" appeared on the broadcast as the No. 5 seed in the Spokane region, the freshman added to her smile. "Every time I look at Mississippi State, I smile anyways, but just seeing on the screen it was great. It was a great feeling," Vivians said. "I knew it was for me and my teammates." The matchup on Friday with 12th-seeded Tulane ignited screams within MSU's viewing party at the Dawg House Sports Grill. The Bulldogs jumped off their front-row seats waving their hands in anticipation for the 1:30 p.m. tip at Durham, North Carolina. |
| Bulldogs draw No. 5 seed in NCAA Tournament | |
| A room filled with anticipation erupted into celebration Monday night when the Mississippi State women's basketball team was revealed as the No. 5 seed in the Spokane regional, their first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2010. The Bulldogs (26-6) will face the 12th-seeded Tulane Green Wave (22-10) in the opening round Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Durham, N.C., at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "I'm so excited for our players and for my staff. This is a tremendous opportunity," coach Vic Schaeffer said. "This time of year everyone is good so we're excited for the opportunity." |
| Mississippi State set to open spring practice | |
| Nearly three months removed from one of the most memorable seasons in school history, Mississippi State football returns to the field with the start of spring practice at 3:20 p.m. today at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. Inclement weather is in the forecast for Wednesday, therefore the start of spring ball was moved up a day to accommodate clear conditions. All outdoor spring practices are open to the public. Head coach Dan Mullen, who accepted the Maxwell National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award last weekend in Atlantic City, N.J., begins his seventh season at the helm. |
| Pitchers from Mississippi State get their day in sun | |
| Three pitchers with Mississippi State ties made Cactus League appearances on Monday as major league spring training continues. Kendall Graveman, an eighth-round draft pick in 2013 by Toronto, tossed 42⁄3 innings of scoreless ball for his new team, Oakland. In Goodyear, Ariz., former MSU and Tupelo pitcher Chris Stratton got a spring start in place of San Francisco's Tim Lincecum, who had a stiff neck. The winning pitcher for the Reds was another former first-round pick from MSU, Paul Maholm, who gave up a two-run homer in 2 1/3 innings of relief. |
| Mississippi Coliseum's deterioration may cost it MHSAA hoops championship | |
 | With the "Big House" in Jackson all but crumbling down, the Mississippi High School Activities Association is considering moving the state basketball championship tournament to Tupelo, Mississippi Coliseum officials say. The 11-day tournament that wrapped up over the weekend drew thousands of fans to the 53-year Mississippi Coliseum. But it also drew the frustration of MHSAA officials over dilapidated dressing rooms that double as locker rooms and the absence of adequate seating behind one of the goal standards, says Cindy Hyde-Smith, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the entity that oversees the Coliseum and other facilities on the State Fairgrounds. "The Mississippi High School Activities Association is moving to Tupelo if it can't get better dressing rooms," she said MHSAA Executive Director Don Hinton has told Coliseum management. "They are not happy with us at all." |
| Ole Miss officials 'as surprised as anyone' about fake Twitter user catfishing recruits | |
| Michael Thompson was in Nashville for the SEC men's basketball tournament on Thursday night when he noticed a discussion on Twitter about "FinsUpAP," a popular account run by an Ole Miss fan named "Analesa Presley." "Presley" was an attractive young blonde woman with a heavy interest in Ole Miss football and recruiting. She frequently tweeted at coaches, players, recruits and other fans. She even got a birthday shoutout from Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze. She was well-known in the Ole Miss online fan community. There was only one problem: She wasn't real. "Presley" had actually been using a young Georgia woman named Bailey Mills' photos for years. The woman told Scout.com she's actually an Auburn fan. Thompson, Ole Miss' senior associate athletic director for communications and marketing, said the revelation caught everyone in the Ole Miss athletic department off-guard. |
| Brannen named interim head coach for basketball at Alabama | |
 | Longtime assistant coach John Brannen will coach the University of Alabama men's basketball in the NIT, UA announced Monday morning. Brannen spent nine seasons as an assistant with Anthony Grant, who was fired as Alabama's head coach Sunday. Alabama opens the NIT Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum against Illinois. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and tips off at 8 p.m. "It goes without saying that it's been a very emotional 24 hours for our team, our coaching staff, and for our players. (Yesterday) we found out about Coach Grant not returning next year," Brannen said Monday. |
| Is Chris Borland's retirement the beginning of the end for the NFL? | |
 | The news Monday night was shocking, even at a time in which the NFL has had one shocking headline after another. Chris Borland is quitting one of the most coveted jobs in America, retiring as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers at 24 because he's concerned about the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma. Now, just weeks before a new crop of college kids are drafted into the league, the NFL finds its offseason dominated by stories about young players who are quitting. A history major, Borland made his choice after speaking with concussion experts and former players and will undergo baseline tests to monitor his health and "contribute to the greater research." |
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