| Friday, June 7, 2019 |
| Mississippi State names David Shaw new provost and executive vice president | |
 | Mississippi State University has named longtime faculty member and senior administrator David Shaw its new provost and executive vice president. MSU President Mark Keenum announced Shaw's appointment, which is awaiting formal approval from the state Institutions of Higher Learning's Board of Trustees, on Wednesday. "I'm confident that Dr. Shaw will make an immediate impact on our university in this new and demanding role. David understands our land-grant mission and the diverse constituencies we serve. I have great personal confidence in his commitment to MSU," Keenum said. According to a university press release, Shaw, as the university's second-ranking administrative officer, will report directly to Keenum and is responsible for all academic policies, the integrity of the university's academic mission and MSU's academic operations. |
| County Road 11: MSU Entomological Museum | |
 | Mississippi State University in Starkville boasts 22 museums and galleries, and all increase educational opportunities on and off campus. The MSU Entomological Museum has almost two thousand specimens of insects, which is one of the largest in the southeast. It's featured on County Road 11. "It's important that our young people have an understanding and appreciation of nature and insects in their backyard," said Richard Brown, the museum's director. "We get lots of tours of young people, not only visiting the insect zoo but also we bring them back and show them some of the exotic insects from Panama." "I'm currently working on a project. It's been a long term project with ants of Mississippi, and we're especially concerned with the new invasive species," said Joe MacGown, a research technician. "I'm trying to finish up a big paper on the exotic ants of Mississippi." |
| Mississippi State Partners with ed2go for Continuing Education | |
 | Mississippi State University's Center for Continuing Education recently announced that it is partnering with online continuing education provider ed2go to provide more than 300 online professional development courses beginning Wednesday, June 12. The courses are open to anyone and cover subjects such as accounting, business, design, health care, language, teacher development, technology and writing, a release from MSU says. The CCE will give participants a certificate of completion for each course. After the June 12 session, MSU will hold new course sessions at the beginning of each month. Tuition is $115 per student for six-week, instructor-led courses and $135 for self-paced, open enrollment courses. Students can begin open enrollment courses at any time and have three months to complete them, CCE manager Dixie Cartwright told the Jackson Free Press. |
| Farmers fight nature and trade war to keep heads above water | |
 | Even with the latest federal "bailout," the best outlook is break-even for Mississippi row-crop farmers who have been hammered by Chinese tariffs and inundated by flooding, says Dr. Josh Maples, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Mississippi State University. Prices for soybeans were low at the beginning of the year. Then came the floods that swamped roughly 250,000 crop acres that were, or were planned to be, planted in soybeans, cotton, rice and corn -- about 9 percent of arable land in the Delta, Maples said. The Delta accounts for about 75 percent of the state's total acreage planted in those crops, Maples said in an email. President Donald Trump ordered $16 billion through the Market Facilitation Program on May 23 for the woebegone producers. "Even without the flood, without the tariffs, producers were already looking at a tough year," Maples said. |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast fishermen struggling as flooding disaster wipes out marine life | |
 | The Mississippi Gulf Coast is now bearing the effects of the record rain and snowmelt that has caused major flooding throughout the Midwest this year. The influx of water that has drained into the Mississippi River and is now being diverted into the gulf coast has wreaked havoc on marine life and Mississippi's commercial fishing industry. The situation could be worse for oyster farmers who were already yielding just 4 percent of the half a million oysters fishermen would harvest before disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Deep Horizon oil spill ruined nearly all of the state's coastal oyster reefs. Dr. Anna Linhoss believes if the spillway is continually opened every year or two it could wipe out Mississippi's $40 million oyster industry. "Some of the reefs close to where that water comes into the sound can lose up to 100 percent of their oysters," said Dr. Anna Linhoss, assistant director of the Northern Gulf Institute. |
| Bolivar levees remain in good shape | |
| "The levees are unbelievably great. That's all I can say," said Peter Nimrod, chief engineer of the Mississippi Levee Board. The Mississippi Levee Board is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the four main levees in the state: the Mississippi River Mainline Levee, the Greenville Harbor Dike, the Brunswick Extension Levee, and the Yazoo Backwater Levee, comprising 212 miles. The board also maintains the 360 miles of Mississippi's rivers and streams. "We've been at flood stage since mid-February and at Greenville we've been above flood stage for over 100 days now, which is headed toward a record," said Nimrod. "We're going to break the record in a couple of weeks." The river has been above flood stage for 103 consecutive days as of May 31. The record is 115 days, established by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. |
| Starkville moves ahead with 1-percent tax, annexation hearings | |
| Starkville is moving ahead with implementing its new 1-percent tax after aldermen approved it on Tuesday. The city will implement the tax on Aug. 1, after it passed a May 30 referendum with 74 percent of the vote. The tax will add 1 percent to Starkville's existing 2-percent restaurant and hotel-motel tax. Mayor Lynn Spruill, who has been an avid supporter of the 1-percent tax, said she's very pleased with the election results. "It was a 73.93 percent in favor and we had to have 60," Spruill said. "I obviously am still very excited that it happened that way." Starkville plans to use the tax, which is expected to generate $1.2 million in revenue, to support the construction of Cornerstone Park, a new tournament-ready recreation facility that will be built southwest of the Highway 12 and Highway 25 intersection. It will also use the new revenue, and 40 percent of the 2-percent tax funding that's already dedicated to the parks system, for maintenance and capital improvement projects at its existing parks. |
| Court: If you fail the Mississippi bar exam 3 times you have to go back to law school | |
 | The Mississippi Supreme Court has changed the rules to say a person seeking to become a lawyer in the state has to pass the bar exam within three attempts or they will have to go back to law school for at least 12 semester hours before they can retake it. The rule change comes after the annual passage rate on the Mississippi Bar exam has dropped from 79 percent in 2014 down to 48 percent last year. The rule change says an applicant has to successfully complete 12 additional semester hours of law school courses at an American Bar Association accredited law school on subjects covered by or skills necessary to pass the bar exam. After going back to law school and successfully completing the 12 hours or additional course work, an applicant will be permitted to take the bar exam one additional time, the state Supreme Court order says. The order, filed last week, written by Justice Leslie King will take effect with the February 2020 bar exam. |
| Mississippi Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson's father killed by Simpson County deputy | |
 | Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Gipson's father was shot and killed by law enforcement Thursday morning. Harry Gipson, 70, was shot during an incident with a Simpson County sheriff's deputy. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation released a statement saying it was "investigating the circumstances that led to an officer involved shooting" at the request of Simpson County. The release did not identify Gipson or the officer. Andy Gipson said in a statement: "My father passed away tragically after a years-long struggle with a brain injury and related illness. Please pray for our family and we ask for a period of privacy to grieve." Harry Gipson was a home builder and a minister who served at several churches and as a missionary around the world. He experienced traumatic brain injury from several major accidents, his family said, including a mule wagon wreck, a forklift accident and a motorcycle wreck. |
| AG Candidates Praise 'Heartbeat Bill,' Anti-LGBT Laws, Tort Reform | |
| About 50 people showed up at a venue that would seat 1,200 on Wednesday night to hear Republican candidates explain why voters should elect them as Mississippi's next attorney general. In the mostly hollow auditorium at the William Carey University campus in Hattiesburg, longtime state GOP lawyer Andy Taggart debated Mississippi Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon. The two often found common ground in their shared criticisms of the current Democratic attorney general, Jim Hood, who is running for governor this year. Both men specifically targeted Hood for criticism for his defense of Mississippi's recently passed six-week abortion ban, known as the "heartbeat bill," in federal court. Unlike Democrats and liberal activists who were angry that Hood defended it at all, though, Baker and Taggart criticized him for not defending it with enough vigor. Baker said Hood was "AWOL on the heartbeat bill" because he did not personally appear in court while State attorneys defended it last month. |
| Trent Kelly represents Mississippi in Congressional Baseball Game | |
 | Congressman Trent Kelly is gearing up to represent Mississippi in the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity later this month and will be showing his pride for one DeSoto County School in particular. Started in 1909, the Congressional Baseball Game has become a beloved tradition for both politicians and citizens. The game, an annual bipartisan event, supports charities. Kelly, who was elected to represent the First District of Mississippi in June 2015, has played in the Congressional Baseball Game since 2016. He represented Ole Miss in 2016; Northwest Community College, Itawamba Community College and Northeast Community College in 2017; and Ole Miss and the Mississippi Braves in 2018. This year, DeSoto Central High School is among the schools that Kelly is representing. For Kelly, showing support for a local high school is about helping a school in his district be recognized for their achievements and about bringing their accomplishments to the forefront. |
| Area airports benefit from nearly $5.7 million in FAA grants | |
 | Twelve airports in Mississippi have received $5.68 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced the awards geared toward improvements to 12 airports in Mississippi. The grants will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration. "Mississippi's airports connect our state to the wider world and contribute to economic development, tourism, and commerce in their communities," Wicker said. "This funding will support growth and improve safety for the many travelers, businesses, and pilots who rely upon these airports across our state." |
| US-Mexico tariff talks resume Friday as implementation looms Monday | |
 | Mexico and the U.S. will continue talks Friday about efforts to curb the flow of Central American migrants to the southern U.S. border, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said in a short statement late Thursday. Mexico is trying to reach an agreement with the U.S. on migration in order to avoid a series of escalating tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on all Mexican imports. The first round of tariffs would begin Monday with a 5 percent duty on imports ranging from fruits to machinery. Ebrard said talks are advancing, but provided no details other than mentioning that Mexico discussed making greater use of its National Guard in the southeastern portion of the country. The talks come as Customs and Border Protection reported that agents detained or turned back more than 144,000 migrants at the southwest border in May, up 32 percent from April. |
| Poll: Majority Want To Keep Abortion Legal, But They Also Want Restrictions | |
 | Three-quarters of Americans say they want to keep in place the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, that made abortion legal in the United States, but a strong majority would like to see restrictions on abortion rights, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll. What the survey found is a great deal of complexity -- and sometimes contradiction among Americans -- that goes well beyond the talking points of the loudest voices in the debate. In fact, there's a high level of dissatisfaction with abortion policy overall. Almost two-thirds of people said they were either somewhat or very dissatisfied, including 66% of those who self-identify as "pro-life" and 62% of those who self-identify as "pro-choice." "What it speaks to is the fact that the debate is dominated by the extreme positions on both sides," said Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll, which conducted the survey. "People do see the issue as very complicated, very complex. Their positions don't fall along one side or the other. ... The debate is about the extremes, and that's not where the public is." |
| Anti-abortion bills inspire waves of activism among college students | |
 | A sign posted outside the Feminist Women's Health Center in Atlanta lets potential patients and passersby know that the facility, which provides abortions and other sexual health services, is open. The sign is important. Georgia is one of several states that passed laws in recent months that restrict abortions. Georgia's governor signed a bill forbidding the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, a time frame when most women don't yet know they are pregnant and when, abortion opponents claim -- while medical professional disagree -- a fetus supposedly has a heartbeat. Although these restrictive laws have not yet taken effect, local reproductive health activists worry that many college students in the affected states may believe abortion is already banned and may be confused by media coverage that doesn't make clear that legal challenges may keep the laws from being implemented. The activists are in the midst of an aggressive campaign to inform the public that abortion remains legal for now, but the prospect that abortion services could disappear has especially galvanized college students. |
| U. of Alabama may vote Friday to return $21.5 million after abortion remarks | |
 | When philanthropist Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. pledged a record $26.5 million to the University of Alabama in September, the institution showered him with praise, lauding his generosity, describing him as a "special person" and renaming the law school in his honor. That relationship quickly soured. On Friday, Alabama's board of trustees is expected to reject Culverhouse's gift, give back the $21.5 million received so far, and remove his name, too. Depending on which side you talk to, the flap is either the most high-profile fallout from Alabama's new abortion ban or a completely unrelated dispute. The bond began publicly unraveling last week after Culverhouse, a Florida real estate investor and lawyer, called on students to boycott the university to protest the ban. Hours later, Alabama announced it was considering giving back his money, the biggest donation ever made to the university. |
| U. of Alabama System won't raise in-state students' tuition | |
 | Tuition for in-state graduate and undergraduate students will remain unchanged at the three University of Alabama System campuses while rates for out-of-state students will increase by 3-3.5% under a proposal being considered by the board of trustees on Friday. The financial chiefs for the three campuses and the system presented the proposals on Thursday, along with budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. The priorities included additional spending for student supports, increases in insurance and benefits costs, additional faculty, merit raises and research. System Chancellor Finis St. John IV announced plans in April to keep tuition rate growth flat for in-state graduate and undergraduates at the three campuses. Vice Chancellor of Finance Dana Keith speculated the pledge to keep tuition flat contributed to an increase in state funding for the system in the budget recently approved by state lawmakers. The system will get an additional $36 million in state appropriations. |
| U. of Florida trustees approve $100 million in projects | |
 | The University of Florida Board of Trustees approved building and infrastructure projects totaling more than $100 million for the campus in Gainesville at its meeting Thursday. The board approved spending $26 million on a new student health center, $20 million on a new university police department facility, $8 million on a new specimen storage facility for the Florida Museum of Natural History and $50 million on a thermal infrastructure project. The funding for the projects will come primarily through UF's general operating funds, according to UF spokesman Steve Orlando. The new student health center will replace the current center on Fletcher Drive, commonly called the infirmary, said Curtis Reynolds, UF vice president of business affairs. The 45,000-square-foot health facility will be built in the southwestern portion of UF's campus, near the UF baseball facility and future UF football facilities site. The facility will house all of the infirmary's current functions, including primary medical and psychiatric care, a pharmacy, a women's clinic and various other ancillary services. |
| New study finds discrimination against women and racial minorities in hiring in the sciences | |
| A major 2012 study revealed significant gender bias in hiring in the natural sciences: male and female scientists alike discriminated against hypothetical undergraduate female candidates for a lab manager position whose CVs were identical to those of male candidates. The scientists rated women as less competent and even recommended paying them much less than men. Years later, another group of scientists has managed to carry out a study on racial bias in hiring in the sciences, concerning postdoctoral researchers in physics and biology. The experiment also included gender, to see how racial and gender biases intersect. The results, published this week in Sex Roles, are startling in their magnitude. They also have major institutional policy implications, and not just for hiring. Consistent with their hypotheses, the researchers found that scientists operated on a slew of stereotypes when asked to consider hypothetical postdoc candidates with identical qualifications but different names: apparently female or male, and white, black, Asian or Latinx. |
| George Mason University's President Is Sole Finalist for Georgia Tech Leadership | |
 | If chosen for the new gig, this college president would navigate familiar territory: Moving a campus forward after previously signed contracts sparked outrage. Angel Cabrera, George Mason University's president, has been named the sole finalist for the Georgia Institute of Technology presidency one year after the Atlanta powerhouse began reckoning with an ethics scandal that pushed out several administrators. At George Mason, Cabrera faced backlash from the faculty and alumni after the university released contracts from between 2003 and 2011 that showed that the Koch Foundation had the ability to choose faculty members funded by its money and influence their work. Those contracts predated Cabrera's presidency. Still, he urged a review of all active donor agreements supporting George Mason professors "to ensure that they do not grant donors undue influence in academic matters." |
SPORTS
| NCAA Baseball: What happens in Starkville Super Regional in case of inclement weather? | |
| Mississippi State has been pretty fortunate with the weather this season. Aside from one game in early March that was cancelled due to cold, windy weather conditions (the final game of the Frisco Classic, which was supposed to be against Nebraska), the Bulldogs have been able to play the rest of their schedule. The Nebraska game was made up against Louisiana Tech in the middle of May as well. The series against Texas A&M in early May was the only other time in which there was significant weather issues. Thursday's game was moved to Friday, and there were two seven-inning games on Saturday. This weekend's Super Regional between No. 6 Mississippi State (49-13) and No. 11 Stanford (45-12) at Dudy Noble Field could get just as dicey. The weather outlook in Starkville is not great, but it has gotten a bit better since the initial forecast came out earlier this week. |
| 'In his genes': How Canadian-born, hockey-crazed Eric Cerantola made way to Mississippi State | |
| The story of how a hockey-crazed kid from suburban Canada ended up on the pitcher's mound for one of the premiere college baseball schools in the Southeastern Conference is just as crazy as it sounds. MSU freshman Eric Cerantola was watching the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in his hometown of Oakville, Ontario, a suburban Canadian town outside of Toronto. Airbourne's hit single played when Team Canada took the ice. Cerantola knew instantly that he had to make it the tune to which he runs out at Mississippi State. The first time he ever did so, on that chilly day back in February, he threw one scoreless inning in relief with two strikeouts. The radar gun on the scoreboard flashed 97 MPH. "As we make our run here in the NCAA Tournament, he's a really nice power option out of the bullpen," MSU pitching coach Scott Foxhall said. "He can come in and really attack hitters like he did in the SEC Tournament. He can really blow batters away with his stuff in short stints." |
| Bullpen shouldering load for Bulldogs | |
| The Mississippi State baseball team was riding high following a series sweep against Georgia in late April. The Bulldogs had just scored 34 runs against the No. 3 team in the country. But while the offense thrived, the bullpen faltered. In the final two games of the three-game set, the bullpen allowed seven runs in the final two innings -- including four in the ninth of a 6-5 victory April 28. Since then, the bullpen for No. 6 national seed MSU (49-13) has become one of coach Chris Lemonis' biggest weapons entering the NCAA tournament's Starkville Super Regional against No. 11 seed Stanford (45-12). Game 1 will be at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Dudy Noble Field. MSU has four relievers who can shoulder the load -- all of whom were selected this week in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft. Seniors Cole Gordon and Jared Liebelt have saved their best for last as they hit the final stretch of their MSU careers. |
| Stanford Preview: Outfielders and designated hitter | |
| The Starkville Super Regional is set. With the No. 11 seed Stanford Cardinal (45-12) coming to town, MSU (49-13) will host its second Super Regional in the past four years. In the three days leading up to Saturday's game one, we will offer a position-by-position breakdown of the visiting Cardinal. Up next is the Stanford outfield and designated hitter: For what the Stanford infield and catchers lack offensively, the Cardinal outfield makes up for it. With a starting group of Kyle Stowers, Christian Robinson and Brandon Wulff, Stanford boasts solid power across its outfield. In the designated hitter's slot is Will Matthiessen, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound right-handed pitcher. Matthiessen leads the Cardinal in average (.322), hits (67) and RBIs. He comes into Starkville on a relative hot-streak as he was 7-for-19 with six runs and five RBIs in the regionals. The Cardinal are a limited offensive team, but both Wulff and Matthiessen will be the guys to watch in the batter's box come game time Saturday. |
| Colby White's wildest dreams come true | |
| The past year has surpassed Colby White's wildest dreams. White has served as Mississippi State's setup man this season and was drafted in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. Both of those things seemed far fetched a few years ago when White graduated from West Marion High School with only one scholarship offer, to Pearl River Community College. "I was just blessed to get a college baseball offer and I ran with it," White said. The hard throwing right-hander dominated at the juco level, leading the team in saves and was named All-MACJC in both of his seasons at Pearl River. That success led to a second scholarship offer from Mississippi State, which he accepted within an hour on a visit to the Bulldogs' campus. "I was just overwhelmed by how amazing everything is here," White said. |
| Former UMS-Wright star Tanner Allen will pass on draft again, stay at Mississippi State | |
 | Former UMS-Wright star Tanner Allen was part of the MLB Draft for the second time in three years on Wednesday. And, for the second time in three years, Allen made the same choice. "I'm very humbled obviously," Allen told AL.com late Wednesday afternoon. "But I'm planning to come back to Mississippi State." The sophomore was drafted in the 34th round by the Colorado Rockies. Despite leaving high school just two years ago, Allen was draft eligible because he turned 21 on Wednesday. He was drafted in the 36th round in 2017 by the Chicago Cubs but opted to sign with State instead. "I was flattered," Allen said of his most recent selection. "I told my advisor that if I was drafted in the first three rounds, I would have to consider it. If not, I was coming back. I love this place too much. It will take a lot to get me away from Mississippi State early." |
| Person of the Day: Mississippi State's Ethan Small, Breakout Pitcher | |
| In the long and bright history of Mississippi State University baseball, it might be hard to find a player with a bigger breakout season than redshirt junior Ethan Small. The pitcher is enjoying his best season on the mound as a Bulldog in what could be his final year. In the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Small with the 28th overall pick. He will have a decision to make after the season to return to MSU for a senior season or leave as he begins his path to the majors. Small and his teammates will be in action this weekend as the Bulldogs host Stanford University in the Starkville Super Regional. Game one is Saturday, June 8, on ESPN2 with a 2 p.m. first pitch. The second game of the regional will start at 8 p.m. on ESPNU on Sunday, May 9, with a third game on Monday, May 10, if necessary, with a 6 p.m. start on ESPN2. The winner will advance to the 2019 College World Series. |
| How Ole Miss could handle alcohol sale at sporting events | |
| With the Southeastern Conference lifting their ban on alcohol sales at sporting events last Friday, Ole Miss is now free to sell alcohol at all major sporting events if they so choose. Effective August 1, individual schools in the SEC now have autonomy to choose for themselves whether they will sell alcohol. Under the new regulations, schools will be required to come up with a specific plan on how to sell alcohol, specifically how to limit its distribution to minors, under a certain set of SEC guidelines. Among the noteworthy regulations are that alcoholic beverages cannot be sold by vendors within seating areas, alcohol sales are limited to beer and wine and alcohol must be dispensed into cups. This presents an obvious question: Will Ole Miss sell alcohol, and if so, how? Without a permanent athletic director or chancellor, it's unlikely that the University of Mississippi will make a decision on the subject soon. However, with football season quickly approaching, you would think it's one of the top items on the agenda when a new chancellor and athletic director are hired. |
| Sanford Stadium alcohol sales will stretch to other premium areas | |
 | Georgia will sell alcohol this football season not only to the highest-end donors in Sanford Stadium in a new lounge area revealed last week, but in other preexisting premium spaces. An additional 900 fans with season tickets will have access to beer and wine sales: approximately 800 in the SkyClub and about 100 in the Champions Club. That's according to Matthew Borman, executive director of the Bulldog Club. Champions Club seats require a $2,250 annual per-seat donation and SkyClub seats a $1,200 per-seat donation. The Champions Club is an open air, covered space on the 50-yard line that features a buffet and flat screen TVs. The SkyClub's 6,000-square foot space includes covered exterior seating, interior lounge seating, a buffet, private restrooms and about 25 flat screen TVs in an air-conditioned and heated area. Georgia hasn't indicated it would open up alcohol sales to the general seating area this season. The SEC presidents and chancellors last week gave the go-ahead for schools to do that if it so chooses. Georgia president Jere Morehead said the school will "carefully evaluate the new SEC rules on alcohol," but has expressed caution due to concerns of underage drinking. |
| Sen. Richard Blumenthal resumes crusade against sports blackouts | |
| A Democratic senator is renewing his crusade to eliminate sports blackouts. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wants sports leagues to make live programming available through alternate means when cable distributors and satellite operators get into contract disputes with broadcasters that can lead to events being pulled off the air. "We're blowing the whistle on these anti-consumer tactics and putting more games in front of the fans that deserve to see their favorite team play," the Connecticut Democrat said in a statement. "The FANS Act would ensure fans have rightful access to the live games of their favorite teams, regardless of where they live." Blumenthal, who serves on both the Judiciary and Commerce panels, is not at all new to the issue. He previously introduced legislation on the same topic and sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission with the late GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona. |
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