Thursday, May 7, 2015   
 
M.L. Waters to give MSU-Meridian commencement address
Local businessman M.L. Waters will deliver the commencement address Friday at Mississippi State University-Meridian. The 11 a.m. graduation program will take place at the MSU Riley Center for Performing Arts and Education. Some 115 students are candidates for 2015 spring semester degrees. A 1978 MSU management graduate, Waters currently serves as secretary and treasurer of family-owned Waters International Trucks Inc. Waters has been a Meridian resident and active community member since 1979. At present, he serves on the MSU-Meridian Dean's Advisory Council and Meridian Community College Foundation board of directors. At MCC, he also continues as a member of the investment committee after having held positions as its vice president and president.
 
Starr nominated for state College Board seat
Gov. Phil Bryant appointed John W. Starr, the owner of Golden Triangle Periodontal Center and a Mississippi State University graduate, to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees Tuesday. The Columbus resident's appointment must be confirmed by the Mississippi Senate. "Dr. Starr is a Mississippi native and has applied the education he received from the state's public universities to a successful career as a periodontist and business owner," Bryant said in a released statement. "I am pleased to appoint him to the College Board." He has practiced in the Golden Triangle for 29 years and operates offices out of both Starkville and Columbus.
 
Mississippi to open crowdfunding for startups
People around the world soon will have a new way to invest in Mississippi businesses. Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says Invest Mississippi Crowdfunding will begin May 26, creating an Internet-based method for small businesses to solicit start-up and expansion capital. "Our state has historically been a capital-poor state," he said. "This is a way for people with a good business idea to connect with people with money." Unlike other crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe where money is simply donated, Invest Mississippi Crowdfunding will allow the investors to actually own a portion of the business.
 
Madison County mega site unveiling Thursday
The location formerly known as Panther Creek Commerce Center will officially be rebranded Thursday in an attempt to land biotech industries and advanced manufacturers. The unveiling of Madison County Mega Site, a biotechnology and advanced manufacturing park, Thursday afternoon at the mega site pavilion will include a talk by Gov. Phil Bryant. The 2,000-acre mega site, located off Mississippi 22, was announced two years ago under the name Panther Creek Commerce Center. Since then, approximately 35 companies, national and international, have visited the site or asked for proposals, according to Tim Coursey, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority. While none have yet to commit, Coursey hopes the rebranding will establish the expansive site for what it is --- an Entergy-qualified mega site dedicated to attracting biotechnological industries and advanced manufactures.
 
Gaming Summit opens in Biloxi with energy and optimism in the cards
As the Southern Gaming Summit opened Wednesday at the Coast Convention Center the energy was something people spoke about after listening intently to Keith Smith, president of Boyd Gaming, talk about the prospects for sports betting and the changes coming as the industry focuses on making customers of millennials. That optimism carried into the seminars, where those topics and the need to add more amenities at casinos were hashed out by experts who came to Biloxi from throughout the country. In his opening speech, Smith told a standing-room-only crowd customers want these new games. A trend his company, which is the parent company of IP Casino Biloxi, has noticed in the last year is millennials -- those born from about 1980 to the early 2000s -- prefer the social aspect of table games to the solo nature of slot machines.
 
House candidates face loose residence restrictions
The United States Constitution does not place many restrictions on candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives. The Mississippi Secretary of State's office points out that Article 1, Section 2 of the federal Constitution says to run for Congress a candidate must have lived in the United States for seven years and "when elected, be an inhabitant of the state in which he shall be chosen." State law contains the same requirements, and Pamela Weaver, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, said federal courts have upheld the constitutional requirements. If the same requirements were in place to run for the U.S. Congress as are in place to run for the Mississippi Legislature, at least five of the 13 candidates vying in Tuesday's special election in the 1st District U.S. House race would be ineligible to run.
 
Bryant asks court to reject rewording of initiative
Gov. Phil Bryant, in a Wednesday filing with the state Supreme Court, said no court should have the power to reword how the Legislature phrased its version of an education funding ballot initiative. Circuit Judge Winston Kidd on April 2 rewrote the title of 42-A to say the Legislature should fund "effective public schools" but specify that citizens cannot appeal into chancery court. Bryant asked Wednesday to intervene in a state Supreme Court case, saying Kidd never had the power to reword the ballot. Bryant has said he opposes limiting the Legislature's ability to decide how much money it gives to schools.
 
Supreme Court approves Bryant's request in school funding case
The Mississippi Supreme Court on Wednesday approved Gov. Phil Bryant's request to join an appeal of a lower court's actions on a school funding initiative on November's statewide ballots. A citizen-led petition drive placed "Initiative 42," a state constitutional amendment that would force the Legislature to fully fund its adequate education formula, on the November ballot. The Legislature countered by placing an alternative "Initiative 42-A" on the ballot. Supporters of the citizen-led initiative accused lawmakers of trying to muddy the water for voters and kill the initiative. A Hinds County judge last month re-wrote the title of the Legislature's alternative initiative. The GOP legislative leadership asked the state High Court to overturn the lower court's decision.
 
Poll: Majority in state favor Medicaid expansion
A majority of Mississippians supports joining the 30 other states in expanding Medicaid, according to a survey conducted by longtime pollster Mason-Dixon. The poll, conducted April 21 through April 23, found that by a 54-41 percent margin and 5 percent undecided that Mississippians favored expanding Medicaid to cover those earning up to $15,420 per year, primarily the working poor. The Mason-Dixon survey question explained to participants that it is estimated the expansion, allowed under federal health reform law, would cover 280,000 Mississippians through state and federal funds. "One poll will not change my position on Medicaid expansion," said Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter, R-Burnsville. "My question is if we do expand Medicaid and it is defunded (by the federal government) would we get left holding the bag?"
 
Lone wolf threat rises for Obama
The threat of lone wolf terrorist attacks is becoming a growing challenge for the Obama administration in the wake of a shooting outside a "Draw Muhammad" event last weekend in Texas. Republicans have used the latest incident to bolster their criticism that President Obama has weakened national security, highlighting an issue the GOP hopes to make a central theme of the 2016 presidential campaign. Experts on Islamic terrorism say the administration should be concerned about the possibility of future attacks, particularly after the publicity surrounding the Texas shooting that they say represented a significant public relations victory for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which claimed credit for the attack.
 
FAA Gives Flight to Drone Test Program With Companies
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ...more drones, potentially. The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday a drone program called "Pathfinder," in which three companies including CNN will test the use of unmanned aircraft system for commercial purposes. "We want to harness some of this energy," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at the 11 a.m. event at the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference in Atlanta, which is the nation's largest drone conference. The three companies involved in Pathfinder are CNN, which will use drones for newsgathering; PrecisionHawk, a data-driven drone company that will conduct surveying of rural areas; and BNSF Railway, which will assess track infrastructure.
 
US Navy Cyber Launches Strategic Plan
The commander of US Navy Cyber announced a five-year strategy, and like the Pentagon's cyber strategy announcement two weeks earlier, acknowledged the dire need for talented workers with the skills to fend off the nation's foes. Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, who assumed command of Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet a year ago, said the US Navy is strengthening its ability to defend against intrusions, launch offensive cyber weapons and field 40 cyber mission teams -- a task that is halfway done. "You don't get there from here unless you invest in the capacity pieces," Tighe said of the Navy's offensive cyber ambitions, "and that's essentially what the cyber mission force has done; it's granting capacity."
 
Millennials want a work-life balance; their bosses just don't get why
Workers around the globe have been finding it harder to juggle the demands of work and the rest of life in the past five years, a new report shows, with many working longer hours, deciding to delay or forgo having children, discontinuing education, or struggling to pay tuition for their children. Why? A big reason is the economy: Professional workers in companies that shed employees in the Great Recession are still doing the work of two or more people and working longer hours. Salaries have stagnated, and costs continue to rise, according to a new survey of nearly 10,000 workers in eight countries by Ernst & Young's Global Generations Research. But another big reason? The boss just doesn't get it.
 
Alabama, Facing Deficit, Reluctantly Mulls Gambling and Taxes
After years of subjecting it to crackdowns and police raids, Bible Belt oratory and admonitions about corruption, Alabama lawmakers are now seeking fiscal salvation from an old nemesis: gambling. The State Senate president, a Republican, is pushing a state constitutional amendment that would not only institute a state lottery, but also allow traditional slots and casino table games at several racetracks across the state. The House Republican caucus, while supporting an array of limited tax increases, is championing a stunning and unexpected offer from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the state's only federally recognized tribe: In exchange for a compact giving the tribe exclusive gambling privileges in Alabama at its three casinos, as well as setting aside land for a fourth, the tribe would foot the bill for nearly the entirety of next year's state budget deficit. With Alabama facing a revenue shortfall of over $260 million -- possibly far, far over depending on how one counts -- Gov. Robert J. Bentley continues to insist that a package of tax increases is the only long-term answer. Some Republican leaders have weighed the taboos and, it appears, picked their poison.
 
Raises at U. of Southern Mississippi the first in years
Susan Hrostowski, associate professor of social work at the University of Southern Mississippi, hasn't gotten a raise in about four years. "We are underpaid," she said. "University faculty (around the country) are paid much more than we are here." In a March letter to editors, Aubrey Patterson, president of the state College Board, said in six years, the states covered by the Southern Regional Education Board saw average four-year faculty salaries fall 1 percent. Compare that to Mississippi, where the average faculty salary fell 3 percent, ranking it last among the SREB. So, imagine Hrostowski's happiness when she found out she would be getting a raise before next school year. But Hrostowski isn't holding out hope her raise will be large.
 
Applications accepted for new Applied Behavior Analysis Program at USM
The newly created training program in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Southern Mississippi is now accepting applications for the Fall 2015 semester. Graduates of the ABA Program will earn a Master of Science Degree in Psychology with emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis, and will meet the educational eligibility requirements to sit for the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. Thanks to the recent passage of House Bill 885, individuals who receive a passing score on the BACB Exam, and become Board Certified Behavior Analysts, will be eligible to become a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the State of Mississippi.
 
Huebner picked as next EMCC president
East Mississippi Community College has found its next president. The EMCC board of trustees selected Thomas Huebner of Shelton State Community College in Alabama to take over for Dr. Rick Young, who is retiring on June 30 after 11 years with the school. Huebner, who will begin his new role July 1, has spent his career at institutions of higher learning in Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama. "I've known about EMCC's outstanding reputation for a long time, and I was so impressed with the people I met when I visited the Golden Triangle and Scooba campuses last week," Huebner said. "I'm excited to be a part of that community."
 
Louisiana government bond sales goes smoothly, even after LSU encountered problems
Louisiana state government successfully borrowed $335 million Wednesday to help address state building repairs, higher education campus improvements and economic development projects, in spite of LSU encountering problems borrowing money two weeks ago. "Our strong bond ratings and history of balancing the budget helped us to get several competitive bids for our GO bonds today," said Kristy Nichols, chief administrative officer for Gov. Bobby Jindal and a member of the bond commission. There were concerns the state might also meet resistance to selling its bonds, due to LSU's recent problems and the ongoing state budget crisis. Still, Louisiana was able to sell its general obligation bonds for market rates.
 
Arkansas State Down to 4 for Mid-South Chancellor, Including Debra West
Arkansas State University System President Charles L. Welch said Tuesday that the university has chosen four candidates to interview for chancellor at Arkansas State University Mid-South. The candidates include Debra West, deputy executive director for programs and accountability for the Mississippi Community College Board in Jackson, Mississippi. Candidates will interview on campus beginning May 19.
 
Bentonville Couple Pledges $1M for Bumpers College Endowment at U. of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas said Wednesday that Bob and Marilyn Bogle of Bentonville have pledged $1 million to create an endowed fund in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The UA said the fund, called the Bob and Marilyn Bogle Endowed Dean's Innovation Fund, will support teaching, research and project-based learning experiences. It will support faculty, students, programs and facilities, and it will augment the Bumpers College scholarship program. Bob Bogle was the first manager of Walton's Five and Dime on the square in Bentonville and came up with the name "Wal-Mart" for the retail outlet.
 
UGA student on mushrooms assaults people on city bus
A University of Georgia student was taken to the hospital Tuesday afternoon after he assaulted passengers on an Athens Transit bus while under the apparent influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report. Victims and witnesses told police the 19-year-old randomly tripped one passenger as she was exiting the bus and slapped another passenger's face after she disembarked, according to the report. He reportedly then approached a man on Prince Avenue and punched him without provocation.
 
U. of Missouri English professor revives practice of letter writing for today's students
A phone call is quick. An email is quicker. A text message gets the job done in seconds. Having to wait to hear from someone today is pretty much a lost sensation, given the near-constant availability on social media. But Marty Townsend, an English professor at the University of Missouri, teaches a course challenging all that. Last fall, Townsend received a grant from the MU Campus Writing Program to teach The Letter as Genre, a look at writing letters from both literary and social perspectives. During the semester, many of the students adopted a practice of regular correspondence themselves. "Several of the students in the class began to write letters to special people in their lives," Townsend said.
 
College Majors Figure Big in Earnings
Want to make a good living? Go to college. Just be careful what you major in. On average, college graduates earn about $1 million more in their lifetimes than do adults who only completed high school. But long-term earnings prospects vary widely by subject, and the income differentials across certain majors dwarf those between graduates and non-graduates, according to a new report from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce based on an analysis of Census Bureau data.
 
NACAC's annual report on the state of admissions runs counter to much of the hype
This is the time of year full of hysterical news articles about what a small share of applicants gained admission to the likes of Stanford University or the University of California at Berkeley. Those reports may be true with regard to those institutions, but the 2014 State of College Admission report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling offers data from a survey of four-year college admissions offices that reflect the vast majority of American colleges and students. And the results are quite different from the media hype.
 
Another Use for Yik Yak on Campus? Cheating on Exams
With new technologies come new ways to cheat. Yik Yak, the anonymous, location-based app that has been a hotbed of cyberbullying on college campuses, is also the newest tool for students seeking to cheat on exams. Students have found many ways to violate academic integrity over the years -- this one is just more high-tech. Tracy Mitrano, director of Internet culture, policy, and law at Cornell University, says she thinks using Yik Yak in this way is not unlike seeking help from websites like Course Hero or from fraternities and sororities that are rumored to keep filing cabinets of old tests. But Yik Yak could allow such cheating to be done on a much broader scale that's also more difficult to police, says Jeremy Littau, an assistant professor of journalism and communications at Lehigh University.
 
SID SALTER (OPINION): Art imitates life in recent Supreme Court case
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Mississippi author John Grisham has a knack for making the art of his novels imitate life in the American judiciary. Grisham's novel 'The Appeal' was a morality play based on the premise that a chemical company owner it hit with a $41 million jury verdict and skates on appeal by bankrolling the election of a 'friendly' judge to the state Supreme Court. The novel could have been pulled directly from a real-life West Virginia case in which a coal company CEO provided 60 percent of the campaign funds for a successful candidate for the state Supreme Court. Once on the bench, the judge ruled in favor of the coal company and overturned a $50 million judgment. ...Fast forward to late last month. The U.S. Supreme Court rather unexpectedly ruled in recent days that states could legally forbid judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions."


SPORTS
 
Fight for postseason adds spice to Bulldogs-Rebels rivalry
Usually the Mississippi State-Ole Miss rivalry on its own is enough to draw interest throughout the state. The added incentive of both clubs fighting for their postseason lives makes the setting for this year's series even more intense. The three-game series between the Bulldogs and Rebels gets underway tonight at 7:30 p.m. and continues Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. all on the SEC Network. "Both of us are in a position where we've got to win so it's going to be even more competitive this year," said MSU reliever Ross Mitchell. "Both teams haven't had the seasons they've wanted but you know it's going to be a good weekend. Both teams have got something on the line that they're playing for."
 
Mississippi State's Mitchell hopes to salvage senior season with postseason run
Eight players stepped out of the dugout before Ross Mitchell. Mississippi State's senior left-hander needed three outs cushioned by a three-run lead last Saturday against No. 1 LSU to secure his first Southeastern Conference win of the season. Seven batters later, Mitchell walked off the mound with two outs and the score tied 7-7. "It's been a challenge," Mitchell said. "It's been a lot of ups and downs." Mississippi State scored in the 12th inning to win its only game of the series. Much like his team, nothing has come easy for Mitchell this season. Mitchell and MSU (24-24, 8-16) travel to Ole Miss (25-24, 11-13) this weekend for a three-game series beginning on Thursday.
 
Houston emerges as top arm out of Mississippi State bullpen
It took a simple adjustment for Zac Houston to become more comfortable on the mound for Mississippi State's baseball team. "I talked with the coaches and tweaked a couple of things here and there," said Houston, a 6-foot-5 sophomore relief pitcher. "I started holding my hands a little higher, and that helped me stay on top of the baseball and keep the ball down when I pitched it. That's made all the difference in the world. Ever since I made that little change, I've felt like I've been unhittable." That's all it took for Houston to emerge as one of MSU's most reliable arms.
 
Mississippi State's John Cohen shares thoughts on 'Thunder and Lightning'
ESPN and the SEC Network presented a glimpse into the friendship and rivalry between Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro few had ever seen before. The documentary, "Thunder and Lightning" debuted on the SEC Network on Monday. It will air again Thursday on ESPN at 7 p.m. The "30-for-30" style film documented Mississippi State's 1985 baseball team that consisted of four future major league all-stars including Clark, Palmeiro, Jeff Brantley and Bobby Thigpen. It's a team that advanced to the College World Series and baited current MSU coach John Cohen, a Tuscaloosa, Alabama native, into signing with the Bulldogs to play baseball. "It kind of takes you back in time to how old you were and what you were doing when Rafael and Will were playing at Mississippi State," Cohen said.
 
Mississippi State's Vivians invited to USA Basketball trials
The calendar might suggest it is the offseason, but the Mississippi State women's basketball team continues to make news. Today, rising sophomore Victoria Vivians will receive the inaugural Young Woman of the Year Award from the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women and Women Inc. The award will be presented at the "Empowering Women" Luncheon, sponsored by Women Inc., at The South in Jackson. That news comes on the heels of an announcement Tuesday that Vivians is one of 54 women's basketball players invited to attend the USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games and World University Games Team Trials on May 14-17 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
 
Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians receives invite from USA Basketball
Uncle Sam drafted Victoria Vivians. The Carthage native received an invite to participate in the 2015 USA Basketball Pan American Games and World University Games Team Trials. Mississippi State's leading scorer from last season will join 53 others for the Team Trials on May 14-17 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. After the trials the rosters will be cut to 12. Each squad or finalists for each team will be announced May 17.
 
Vaught-Hemingway, Ole Miss on forefront of concussion research
In the fall, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will be the only facility in the world equipped with the capability to detect the mechanism of a concussion in athletes in real time. It's a huge concept, and it goes far beyond bragging rights, and even a little beyond the exponentially increased safety of the athletes on the field. This technology, and the network of researchers, professors, and others behind it could ultimately change the world for victims of concussions, traumatic brain injuries and one day possibly autism and learning disorders. Assistant Engineering Professor Matthew Morrison says the underlying technology in the patches allow medical professionals to tell the angle of the impact, as well as the rotational forces.
 
Ongoing legal fight between LSU, former defensive coordinator Chavis headed to Baton Rouge courtroom
After two months of legal sparring, a court date has been set in the on-going legal fight between LSU and former defensive coordinator John Chavis. A judge could rule to dismiss LSU's lawsuit against Chavis at a hearing at 9:30 a.m. June 29 in the 19th Judicial Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, court records show. Chavis wants the court to throw out LSU's lawsuit against him or, at least, temporarily stop it until Chavis' own suit against the university -- in a Texas court -- is resolved. He's arguing lis pendens, an exception that protects against duplicate litigation existing at the same time and seeking similar, if not the same, relief. Chavis, now the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M, filed the exception April 15, and the court date was set last week.



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