| Tuesday, June 9, 2015 |
| MSU engineering student Stephen Hayden discusses EcoCAR competition | |
 | Engineering students from Mississippi State University have joined others across the country in spending years participating in EcoCAR competitions sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy, turning standard vehicles into environmentally friendly and fuel efficient hybrid cars. This year, the students face their biggest challenge yet -- hybridizing a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, while maintaining the muscle and performance expected from this iconic car. |
| Starkville OKs comprehensive planning, code overhaul | |
 | Starkville's overall comprehensive planning process should yield a code rewrite that makes building rules easier to follow for small- and large-scale developers, officials said. Aldermen approved a $219,973 contract for services with the Walker Collaborative LLC last week, and the Tennessee-based firm, along with multiple contractors located across the Southeast, will develop a long-range plan for the community. Planners will visit Starkville and perform a variety of analysis core aspects of the city -- infrastructure, economy and housing, for example -- and develop a strategy for growth into the next decade. The city has also tasked the Walker Collaborative to develop a new subdivision and zoning ordinance, one that will be "unified and simplified," according to the company's proposal. |
| Golden Triangle Regional Airport receives $166K in federal grant | |
 | The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding more than $10 million in grants that will be divided among 35 Mississippi airports. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said the grants will pay for project to make airports safer and more efficient, such as runway rehabilitation, new lights and new signs. The Golden Triangle Regional Airport was issued a $166,157 grant for tree obstruction removal. David Armstrong, chief operating officer for the city of Columbus and a member of the airport board, said the grants are awarded regularly to meet the needs of regional airports. |
| H.M. Richards to expand, add 500 jobs in Baldwyn | |
 | For the ninth time in its 18-year history, upholstered furniture maker H.M. Richards is expanding. The latest addition, announced Monday at the company's sprawling, 900,000-square-foot campus in the Harry A. Martin North Lee Industrial Complex, will add 280,000 square feet and 500 jobs in the next five years. "Truly, we need to build this as fast as we can," said Jeffrey Seamans, CEO of Rooms To Go, the Florida-based retailer with a majority stake in H.M. Richards. Rooms To Go is investing $8 million in the project. State and local authorities are giving cash and tax breaks projected to be worth more than $5.4 million. The Mississippi Development Authority is providing $2.95 million in state aid, including $2.45 million for site preparation, infrastructure, electrical and parking lot improvements. The company will also receive $500,000 for worker training. |
| B.B. King Estate Fight Looms for Family Group, Longtime Aide | |
| Just days after blues legend B.B. King was laid to rest near his birthplace in the Mississippi Delta, a battle over his estate is moving from the headlines to the courthouse in Las Vegas. Attorneys for King's designated executor, LaVerne Toney, have filed documents in a Nevada court to fend off allegations that King family members were kept away in his dying days, that he was mistreated medically and that his money was siphoned off before he died May 14 at his Las Vegas home at age 89. Among King's 11 surviving adult children, Williams and Patty King have been most outspoken about the music icon's care in his final days. Through their attorney, Drohobyczer, they accused Toney and B.B. King's personal assistant, Myron Johnson, of poisoning him to hasten his death. |
| 36th New York Mississippi Picnic is Saturday | |
| Only days after being feted with a festival in his hometown, the King of Rock 'n' Roll will be celebrated in New York City's Central Park. "Elvis Is In the Park" is the theme of Saturday's 36th annual New York Mississippi Picnic. From noon until 6 p.m., folks from the East Coast with Mississippi roots, New Yorkers curious about Southern hospitality and Mississippi residents with a penchant for long-distance picnics, will gather in the famous park and pay tribute to Elvis and other music and musicians responsible for Mississippi's being known as the birthplace of America's music. |
| Kelly takes oath in 1st District ceremonial swearing in | |
| Though it won't be official until today, Trent Kelly was sworn in Monday as North Mississippi's next U.S. House of Representatives member. The Saltillo resident stood in front of a packed house Monday morning at the Lee County Justice Center for a ceremonial swearing in performed by U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson. Kelly was elected last week to fill the seat left vacant following the death of Congressman Alan Nunnelee in February. Kelly will serve most of a two-year term that Nunnelee began shortly before his death. After being sworn in, Kelly thanked those who gathered for the ceremony and those who gave him the opportunity to represent the 1st District in Washington. |
| Man pleads guilty to conspiracy for taping Rose Cochran | |
| A man accused videotaping the ill wife of a U.S. senator during a heated election campaign has pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Clayton Kelly of Pearl entered the plea Monday. He faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Sentencing was set for June 15. "We are pleased that Clayton Kelly did accept responsibility for his actions," District Attorney Michael Guest said outside the courthouse. Prosecutors are dropping two other felony charges against Kelly. Those two, combined, would have carried up to 50 years in prison. Kelly was accused of shooting a brief cellphone video of the wife of Mississippi U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran while she was bedridden with dementia in a nursing home. |
| Kelly makes last-minute plea deal in nursing home case | |
 | Clayton Kelly on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to break into the nursing home room of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's late wife last year and videotape her as she lay bedridden. The last-minute plea marked a surprise end to one of the most bizarre, tragic cases in Mississippi political history. Kelly, 29, of Pearl faces up to five years in prison when sentenced June 15 by Judge William Chapman III. Kelly struck a deal with prosecutors just minutes before jury selection in his trial was to begin. He blew a kiss to his wife, Tara, in the courtroom as he was led out by a deputy and remanded to sheriff's custody. |
| Federal cyber protection knocked as outdated, behind schedule | |
 | The main system used by the federal government to protect sensitive data from hacks has been plagued by delays and criticism that it is already outdated -- months before it is even fully implemented. The Einstein system is intended to repel cyberattacks like the one revealed last week by the Office of Personnel Management -- a breach now believed to be the worst in the government's history. Four million federal workers had sensitive data exposed in the hack, with that information now thought to be part of a Chinese database that could help Beijing steal U.S. secrets. Critics say Einstein has been a multibillion-dollar boondoggle that is diverting attention away from the security overhaul that is needed. |
| Survey: Aerospace Firms Investing Little in R&D | |
 | Only half of aerospace and defense companies are actively investing in research and development, according to a survey of industry executives released Monday. The 14th annual survey conducted jointly by IT firm CSC and the Aerospace Industries Association also found that two-thirds of the 98 respondents from the commercial and aerospace and defense sectors have increased spending on cybersecurity during the last year. Of those, almost half (29 percent) have increased their spending on cybersecurity by 25 percent or more, while fewer than 5 percent said they had decreased their cybersecurity budgets. Respondents were split almost down the middle on whether their firms are investing in R&D. For those who said they were, the most popular areas for investment were cyber, UAVs and electronic warfare. |
| Tim Potts Named Ole Miss Police Chief | |
 | A long-time law enforcement officer with Purdue University in Indiana has been selected to lead the University Police Department at Ole Miss. Ole Miss officials announced the hiring of Tim Potts Monday. Potts currently serves as the captain of patrol and administrative operations at Purdue. He replaces Calvin Sellers, who retired from the university May 31. |
| Delta State University dedicates residence hall | |
| Delta State held a commemorative dedication of Bond-Carpenter Hall and Whittington-Williams Hall this week in the Foundation Hall lobby. A plaque was installed to recognize the namesakes of those buildings that were razed to prepare for the new hall. Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Wayne Blansett welcomed the campus and community. University Archivist Emily Jones provided a history of the halls, and Director of Career Services Davlon Miller shared memories of his experience as resident director in the buildings. President William N. LaForge delivered the dedication of the plaque and shared memories with the family in attendance. |
| JPD officer injured in Jackson State University police chase | |
| A man in an SUV was being pursued by Jackson State University campus police when the SUV struck a Jackson Police Department officer's patrol car. The JPD officer was not involved in the pursuit. The accident happened Monday at the Robinson Road and Eastview Street intersection, according to WLBT. The Jackson Precinct Two officer's car was struck on the driver's side. The police car then crashed into a utility pole. JPD spokesperson Officer Colendula Green said the officer suffered a head injury but is in stable condition. JSU is working to determine if the driver is a current student, WAPT reported. |
| LSU provost Stuart Bell is top pick for next U. of Alabama president | |
 | The University of Alabama System chancellor is expected to recommend a top administrator at Louisiana State University as the nominee to be the next president of the Capstone when the UA board of the trustees meets on June 18. "I am honored by the recommendation that Chancellor (Robert) Witt will be making, and I am just very excited to sit down with trustees on the 18th and talking about the position," said LSU Executive Vice President and Provost Stuart Bell, the university's chief academic and operating officer. Witt is scheduled to make the recommendation during a specially called meeting of the full board of trustees, system spokeswoman Kellee Reinhart confirmed. |
| Oskar Blues Brewery creates Auburn University endowment for brewing sciences students | |
 | The Oskar Blues Brewery has established an endowed fellowship award to benefit graduate students in the Brewing Sciences and Operations certificate program at Auburn University. The newly created endowment will provide financial assistance to a student who is enrolled in the Auburn University Graduate School and has been accepted into the brewing science program. Students enrolled in the program have already earned a bachelor's degree and are seeking entry into the malting, brewing and/or distilling industries. The Auburn program is the first of its kind in the Southeast. Oskar Blues Brewery is a Colorado-based brewery founded by Auburn alumnus Dale Katechis. |
| New U. of Kentucky art building gives faculty, students room to grow and breathe | |
 | For photography professor Ruth Adams, the University of Kentucky's new School of Art and Visual Studies Building means one pretty simple thing: "I'm so grateful to be in a building where I can breathe." For Adams, who spent years in the rundown former tobacco warehouse that housed art studios and classes, the now renovated University Lofts on Bolivar Street, also a former tobacco warehouse, mean no more toxic fumes, no more sweating in 90-degree temperatures, no more crowding and much more actual art. A few years ago, UK gave up on any meaningful renovations to Reynolds, and started on the University Lofts building. UK paid $6.7 million for the building, which had been renovated into loft-style apartments, and has used almost all of the $8 million earmarked to turn it into studios, offices and classrooms. |
| UGA's Morehead now among highest-paid collegiate presidents in U.S. | |
 | University of Georgia president Jere Morehead and two other Georgia university presidents are now among the highest paid public-college presidents in the United States, judging from a just released survey of college presidents' pay. On Sunday, the Chronicle of Higher Education published its annual analysis of college presidents for the 2014 fiscal year, during which Morehead had total compensation of $450,000. Despite their lofty salaries, the presidents are not always the highest-paid workers at their schools. |
| After call for proposals, U. of Tennessee still without resident for Williams mansion | |
 | After months of searching, the University of Tennessee has yet to find a resident who is a fit for the Eugenia Williams mansion and property. In December, the UT system announced it would accept requests for proposals, or RFPs, on the historic mansion and 23-acre waterfront property on Lyons View Pike in West Knoxville. The lease would go to the potential lessee who came up with the best plan for restoring and caring for the property. That person could build on the property, but was required to restore and maintain the mansion --- which has fallen into disrepair over the years -- and other structures on the property, including a barn. Butch Peccolo, the UT system CFO, said the system was willing to work with potential lessees and the lease could be up to 100 years. |
| U. of Arkansas to Host K-12 Education Conference | |
 | Gov. Asa Hutchinson will address educators and policymakers at conference focusing on student learning and assessment on Wednesday at Heifer International in Little Rock. The University of Arkansas is sponsoring the annual conference. The Office for Education Policy and the Office of Innovation for Education in the UA's College of Education and Health Professions are teaming up to present information on "innovation in education, student learning and student assessments." |
| Texas A&M professor has theory on whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines plane | |
 | A Texas A&M math professor thinks he knows what happened to a Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared in March 2014. Goong Chen, a faculty member in the department of mathematics at Texas A&M's College Station campus since 1987 who now teaches at the university's Qatar campus, led a research team that theorized the plane plunged vertically into the southern Indian Ocean. The researcher's work was the cover story in a recent issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society. Chen and his team used applied mathematics and computational fluid dynamics to conduct numerical simulations of a Boeing 777 plunging into the ocean. |
| Loftin makes list of highest-paid college executives for 2014 | |
 | A sizable severance package and payment of deferred compensation from Texas A&M University made University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin the second-highest-paid public college president in 2014. Loftin's compensation total from Texas A&M for fiscal year 2014 was $1.1 million. Most of that was severance of $850,000 that Texas A&M paid in 2014, as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education's annual salary survey. "They counted it twice," said University of Missouri spokesman Christian Basi, citing an email from a Chronicle database reporter. "They put severance pay in last year's pay, but it should have been in this year's pay." |
| Flood in U. of Missouri's Lewis Hall damages carpets, workers monitor drywall for mold | |
 | Campus Facilities workers removed 4,000 to 5,000 gallons of water Friday evening from Lewis Hall , University of Missouri spokesman Christian Basi said. A chilled water line on the hall's top floor broke Friday evening, sending water rushing down all eight floors. Basi said the fifth, second, first and basement levels were the hardest hit. Basi attributed the cause of the water line break to the pipe's age. He said Campus Facilities would further investigate the cause of the flood . Campus Facilities and ServiceMaster crews used more than 300 pieces of equipment, including fans and dehumidifiers, to begin repairing the damage. "The carpet and the floors will be the biggest issue," Basi said. "It will depend on how well it dries out." |
| Poll finds overall dissatisfaction with selection process; parents request more emphasis on job placement | |
 | As far as parents are concerned, the days of college being a place to focus on learning are over. A national poll released by the Robert Morris University Polling Institute Monday found that only a little more than half of respondents viewed the college selection process favorably and less than half thought colleges were doing enough to help graduates find jobs. Those involved with the poll said the results indicated a need for institutions to keep up with the changing view of higher education as a way to find employment rather than earn a degree. |
| Obama Administration Opens Door for More Student-Debt Forgiveness | |
 | The Obama administration said it would forgive federal student loans owed by Americans who can show they were lured to colleges by fraudulent recruiting, a move that potentially could involve billions of dollars and is one of the most aggressive measures yet to ease student debt. The move, announced Monday, is designed first of all to help former students of Corinthian Colleges Inc., a big for-profit chain that collapsed into bankruptcy reorganization this spring. Federal officials accused the company in 2014 of lying to prospective students about its graduates' job success. |
| Wisconsin-Madison chancellor vows to protect academic freedom, tenure | |
| Like many university leaders, Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin at Madison has had her ups and downs with the faculty. She butted heads with some professors in her support for a now-dead plan to make the university system into a more autonomous public authority, for example, but earned faculty praise when she defended professors against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's suggestion that faculty members might be shirking their teaching responsibilities. But perhaps no time in Blank's two-year tenure has been rockier than right now, with the faculty in uproar over a legislative plan to eliminate tenure from state statute, greatly broaden the circumstances under which tenured faculty members may be fired, and limit the legal definition of shared governance. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State adds UMass in football series | |
| When Tulane canceled its 2016 trip to Mississippi State last month, it left Bulldogs' director of athletics Scott Stricklin scrambling to find another football opponent. MSU announced Monday the opponent would be Massachusetts, with the Bulldogs traveling to play the Minutemen on Sept. 24, 2016 in Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. "We appreciate UMass working with us on short notice," Stricklin said. "Bulldog fans will get the opportunity to travel to a great part of the country, while watching us play in an NFL stadium for the sixth time in seven years." UMass will make return trips to Starkville on Sept. 23, 2017 and Oct. 17, 2020. MSU will pay the Minutemen $325,000 for the 2017 contest and $375,000 for the 2020 trip. There is also a $1 million buyout for both schools in those games. |
| Mississippi State announces football series with UMass | |
| It's not Davis Wade Stadium, but an NFL facility is a nice compromise. On Monday, Mississippi State announced a road matchup with UMass in 2016. It fills the fill the vacancy left by Tulane. The game between the Bulldogs and Minutemen will be played at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. It's part of a three-game series between the two programs. The trip up north completes Mississippi State's 2016 schedule. Originally, MSU planned to play Tulane. The Green Wave canceled its game with the Bulldogs in late May. The move put Stricklin in a difficult position. There were only a handful of teams with openings in 2016. |
| Mississippi State's Bougard named South Region Field Athlete of the Year | |
| Going into the NCAA Championships, Mississippi State's Erica Bougard has received yet another award for her phenomenal outdoor season. Behind a dominating 2015 campaign, Bougard has been named the 2015 South Region Field Athlete of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday. The USTFCCCA honors each gender's top track and field athletes and coaches from their respective regions after the preliminary rounds. Bougard will be competing in the 100m hurdles on Thursday at 5:02 p.m., with hopes of qualifying for Saturday's finals. The high jump will be on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. |
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