| Wednesday, February 9, 2022 |
| GSDP Announces Annual Award Winners, Releases Annual Impact Report | |
 | The Greater Starkville Development Partnership recognized local businesses and individuals during its 2022 Annual Awards Banquet Tuesday night hosted at the Mill at MSU. Camgian Microsystems was honored as the R. Clay Simmons Exemplary Enterprise Award winner, recognized as Starkville's most outstanding business for the previous year. Led by Dr. Gary Butler and headquartered in Starkville, Camgian's expansion and growth has continued to create a positive impact within its local community. Ruth Mendoza de la Cruz was the recipient of the T.E. Veitch Community Service Award, and Melissa Rogers of Chick-fil-A Starkville was named the Partnership's Ambassador of the Year. The Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority (OCEDA) named GLO as the Industry of the Year, and the Mississippi State University Baseball National Champions took home the Convention and Visitors Bureau Crystal Pineapple Tourism Award for their impact on the tourism industry in Starkville. The Starkville Main Street Association also named Starkville Utilities Partner of the Year. The Partnership also released its annual impact report during the event, which highlighted the successes and growth of the Starkville business community. |
| Starkville residents slow to adjust to new garbage bag distribution program | |
 | Since city garbage bag distribution began Jan. 24, only about 12 percent of eligible customers have picked them up. The city, which has for years delivered garbage bags to residents as part of its sanitation services, changed the program this year, requiring residents to pick up the bags at the Sanitation Department office at 506 Dr. Douglas L. Conner Drive by April 1. As of Tuesday, roughly 1,400 of 11,666 garbage bag rolls have been claimed, Sanitation Director Christopher Smiley said. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the city will make accommodations for individuals who may not be able to travel to the sanitation department, such as those who are handicapped or have a disability. "We have a whole list of people who are disabled who we go to do a specific pickup of their trash," she said. "They can leave it at the garage or leave it at the door for pickup. Those people are on our list for garbage bag delivery." Aldermen in November increased the monthly residential sanitation fee by $1 to pay for the garbage bags, with each roll containing 104 bags. Spruill said the city paid $106,000 for the rolls, more than double the $50,000 it had paid in previous years. "That's why we increased the fee because the bags went up by 100 percent, just like we increased gas cost and increased labor costs," Spruill said. "We were due for an increase, but a large part was due to the increased cost of the garbage bags." Spruill said the city changed the distribution from delivery to pickup because, in years past, people would follow behind the trucks delivering the garbage bags and steal them from where they had been dropped off. |
| Sudduth Pre-K spots filled after one day of registration | |
| Spots for pre-K at Sudduth Elementary School for the 2022-23 school year have filled up after one day of registration. Registration began Tuesday for pre-K students who will be 4 years old at or before Sept. 1. While Sudduth Elementary only has 80 spots for pre-K students, 143 have already registered. Pre-K priority will go to students most in need, Assistant Superintendent of Federal Programs, Special Education and Preschool Anna Guntharp said at the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday. The district will use an early literacy screener to identify students who fall in the most at-risk category for literacy and reading. These students will have priority for pre-K spots, followed by students who may struggle with homelessness or those in the foster care system. Spots are on a first-come, first-served basis afterward. West Oktibbeha Elementary School also has one class for roughly 20 pre-K students. Pre-K at SES and WOES first began for the 2018-19 school year. Students who are not eligible for pre-K at SES or WOES can still participate in a pre-K program through the district's collaborative. The Early Learning Collaborative provides the same pre-K curriculum as the other two schools, which are both funded by federal dollars, but uses a different funding source through the state's Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013. The district's collaborative sites are at Emerson Preschool and ICS Head Start Oktibbeha County, providing education for 138 kids. |
| Gun violence is at peak levels in Starkville: Why? And what can we do to stop it? | |
 | On Jan. 6, a 9-year-old child named Lasang Kemp Jr. was shot and killed in a car on Santa Anita Drive in Starkville. In the words of Starkville Police Department Chief Mark Ballard, it was a tragedy the community felt. Even more, it was a tragedy he felt. "I have young children. Many of our officers here are parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and it hits home. That's one that follows you. When you're in your yard, it follows you. When you wake up at night, it follows you. When you wake up in the day. What can you do better? What can you do more of?" Ballard said. The shooting of Kemp comes during a period of increased gun violence not only in Starkville, but across the nation. Ballard said he has not seen levels of gun violence this high since he started working in the Starkville police force over two decades ago. Both Ballard and Captain Brett Watson of the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office noted that much of the recent gun violence is related to repeat offenders, stolen weapons and juveniles. Ultimately, Ballard said, the violence comes down to "the gods of the street:" guns, drugs and cash. For instance, the case of 9-year-old Lasang Kemp Jr. involved elements of all three -- and the collateral damage was the loss of a young, innocent life. But local law enforcement is not sitting back on their heels. The sheriff's office has increased patrols in apartment and housing complexes where gun theft is occurring, hoping to address one of the root issues. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill mentioned that many of these violent offenders are not from the city. Starkville's entertainment district and other features attract people from surrounding areas. As the city continues to grow, this phenomenon will continue to grow as well. Ballard said the implementation of cameras is a way to anticipate that issue and stay ahead of it. |
| Starkville's 3% Tourism Tax is making its way through the State Legislature | |
| Starkville's 3% Tourism Tax is making its way through the State Legislature. The special tax on prepared food and beverages has to be renewed periodically. Lawmakers from Oktibbeha County filed House Bill 15-47 to extend it until 2026. The money collected pays for Economic Development activities, Special events and advertising to bring visitors to the area, and programs and upkeep for Starkville's City parks. 2% is divided among Mississippi State, The Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Oktibbeha Development Authority. 1% is earmarked for Parks and Recreation. "The tourism tax benefits the city of Starkville because it allows us to market our destination to potential visitors. The tax funds the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and we have a comprehensive strategic marketing campaign aimed at our feeder markets, markets where Mississippi State University heavily recruits, so there is a lot of knowledge about knowledge, and it helps us attract visitors," said Paige Hunt, Director of Tourism. At last check, HB 15-47 was referred to the Local and Private Legislation Committee. |
| Mississippi House and Senate passed outdoor conservation bills. Why can't they compromise? | |
 | Leaders at the Mississippi Capitol for the second straight year appear to be at a political standstill over competing proposals to preserve and enhance the state's natural recreation areas. Both the state House and Senate last week overwhelmingly passed versions of an outdoor stewardship trust fund bill. In both versions, state leaders set to set aside tax dollars to improve parks, hunting areas and other outdoor sites. But beside that basic goal, the two bills share sparse common ground, and in a state where natural resources are in abundance and the state parks are in disrepair, legislators are at a political impasse over how the program should be funded and which groups should specifically receive the funds. The House wants to divert a portion of the sales tax enacted on sporting goods stores to go toward conservation projects. In addition to local governments and state agencies, House leaders want nonprofit groups to be eligible to receive these funds. "Our bill looks like last year's," House Speaker Philip Gunn said. "I don't see any reason to move away from our current bill." Senators, on the other hand, want to fund the stewardship program through yearly appropriation bills and only want the money to be spent on lands owned by public bodies. "I think all of our discussion in the Senate has been about the fact that we believe the state parks ought to be fixed first before we start fixing private land," said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the leader of the Senate. "That was our position last year, and I don't see that changing this year." |
| Why Rep. Robert Johnson, a top Democratic leader, often works with Republicans | |
| State Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez says he can remember his parents "having him on the picket line when he was 10 years old" in Adams County because a local store would not employee Black cashiers. But he said the same parents developed relationships with white power brokers in Adams County: a banker who helped his father obtain a needed loan for his business, and a real estate agent who helped his father purchase land along the Mississippi River that powerful white residents didn't want an African American to own. His mother, Johnson said, developed relationships with white school administrators that advanced her career. Johnson, the Democratic leader in the Mississippi House of Representatives, applies those values at the Capitol, where Republicans can pass any bill without a single Democratic vote. Even outside the Capitol, Mississippi Democrats wield little political influence and have struggled to organize and fight against a growing Republican landscape. Often, Johnson said, he tries to balance his party's platforms and stances on issues with his pragmatism about where the power really lies. "I know we have possibilities in this state to do things we have not done," Johnson said Monday during a lunch meeting of the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government/Capitol Press Corps. |
| Mississippi could revive a form of initiative process | |
 | Mississippi legislators are working to set a new way for people to petition to put issues on statewide ballots, months after the state Supreme Court tossed out the state's old initiative process. The House voted 91-26 Tuesday to adopt House Concurrent Resolution 39, sending it to the Senate for more work. The resolution would allow people to collect signatures on petitions to put proposed state laws on the ballot. The state's old initiative process allowed people to collect signatures to put proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot. The state Supreme Court ruled in May that Mississippi's former initiative process was out of date because it specified petitioners should collect one-fifth of their signatures from each congressional district. The process was set in the 1990s, when Mississippi had five congressional districts. Republican Rep. Nick Bain of Corinth said Tuesday that the new proposal would allow up to five proposed laws to be on a ballot at one time. He also said it would allow people to vote on issues that might not need to be enshrined in the constitution. "It allows us not to be leveraged by political whims of the day," Bain said. |
| Mississippi Legislature starts process to restore ballot initiative | |
 | The Mississippi House of Representatives voted mostly on party lines Tuesday to partially restore the state's ballot initiative process. The state supreme court nullified the old process in May 2021 when it struck down the medical marijuana initiative. That process allowed everyday Mississippians to petition to place initiatives on the ballot, giving the public a chance to directly change the state constitution. The House resolution aims to create an initiative process allowing voters to change state laws instead. Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Gov. Tate Reeves have said a process where voters can change statutes instead of the constitution is better for the state. "I think that voters should have access to the ballot," Reeves said Feb. 1. "I don't think it should be easy, and I do think that amending the code rather than amending the constitution is a better way in which to do it." The resolution will head to the Senate and if both chambers approve the final version, it will be placed on the ballot in the November 2022 elections. Because the resolution would amend the state constitution, it would require a majority of voters to approve it for it to take effect. |
| House votes to restore a version of Mississippi ballot initiative process | |
| House leaders passed legislation Tuesday that would restore a ballot initiative process, which allows citizens to bypass the Legislature and place issues on the ballot. The constitutional resolution passed 92-26 (needing 78 to pass), and now goes to the Senate. Once the resolution passes both chambers in the same form, it will go to voters to ratify in the November 2022 general election. The effort is needed because the Mississippi Supreme Court in May 2021 struck down the initiative process that had been in effect since the early 1990s. The proposal passed Tuesday is different than the one that existed before May 2021. This proposal would allow voters to place issues on the ballot to change or amend general law. The initiative adopted in the early 1990s and that was struck down by the Supreme Court last year allowed voters to amend the state Constitution. Under the new proposal, the Legislature would not be able change general law for two years after voters approved it unless for an emergency, and even then it would take a two-thirds vote of each legislative chamber to do so. House members voting against the resolution Tuesday were primarily Democrats who support the initiative process, but opposed for various reasons the form of initiative offered by the House leadership. |
| Mississippi House passes legislation restoring voter initiative process | |
| Mississippi representatives on Tuesday approved legislation that would allow citizens to create and change laws, but it would not give them the power to change the state constitution. The resolution passed 91-26, with only Democrats opposing the measure. The Northeast Mississippi representatives who opposed the legislation are John Faulkner of Holly Springs, Kabir Karriem of Columbus, Cheikh Taylor of Starkville and Rickey Thompson of Shannon. Democratic members criticized the proposal because it did not give voters a way to change the constitution and believed the process was too burdensome on citizens. GOP representatives, however, argued that allowing voters to shape state law while preventing them from changing Mississippi's constitution directly was more responsible policy. "I think you tell people that this allows us not to be leveraged by the political whims of the day," Rep. Nick Bain, R-Corinth, said on the House floor. "Not be led by something that's popular today but not popular tomorrow." The proposal would require initiative sponsors to collect an equal share of signatures from the state's congressional districts, and require the Secretary of State's office to verify the signatures. The resolution would prohibit legislators from altering a law that was passed by voter initiative for two years, unless two-thirds of the lawmakers in both chambers believe that a major emergency exists. |
| Mississippi Senate proposes more pay for lawmakers | |
| The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would give lawmakers a pay bump of $6,000 for the first year of a four-year term, and $4,500 a year for the other three years of the term. Mississippi's part-time legislators are paid a base of $23,500 a year -- although most make between $40,000 and $50,000 a year in salary, per diem, reimbursements and other payments. Some lawmakers' total compensation is around $70,000 a year. The $23,500 includes a base salary of $10,000 a year, plus $1,500 a month for office expenses during months when the legislature is not in session -- despite the fact that most lawmakers have other jobs and don't have separate legislative offices in their district. Many rely on Capitol staffers to help with administrative work year-round. Lawmakers do not receive the $1,500 a month office payment when the Legislature is in session. Typically, the first year of a term the Legislature meets four months, then three months each of the following three years. Lawmakers also receive about $150 per diem -- living expenses -- for each day they spend in Jackson (including those who live in or near it), and mileage reimbursement set at the federal government rate, currently about 58 cents a mile. All members are allowed at least four days a month at the Capitol, with chairmen allowed six days and vice chairmen five days. Extra days must be approved. |
| Senate passes bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to Mississippi mothers | |
| State senators overwhelmingly passed a measure last week that would allow mothers in Mississippi -- the state with the highest infant mortality rate -- to receive Medicaid benefits for up to a year after they give birth. "As you know, we've passed an abortion law that says abortions can't occur after 15 weeks," Senate Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, said. "The Supreme Court is currently looking at that bill. I think we've done an excellent job of protecting the baby in the womb. But once it's out of the womb, it's like, 'Whoop, you're on your own.'" The measure passed the Senate 46-5. The five senators who voted against the measure are Jennifer Branning of Philadelphia, Kathy Chism of New Albany, Angela Hill of Picayune, Chris McDaniel of Ellisville and Melanie Sojourner of Natchez, all of whom are conservative Republicans. The state's current Medicaid policy allows eligible mothers who have given birth to receive coverage for 60 days. The Mississippi Division of Medicaid has temporarily extended postpartum coverage continuously to women who enrolled in the program while pregnant as a condition of federal COVID-19 relief funding. But once the federal COVID-19 emergency ends, Mississippi mothers would go back to only receiving two months of coverage. Blackwell's legislation would allow eligible mothers to receive benefits for up to a year after the federal emergency ceases. |
| Parents of children with hearing loss push for insurance coverage of hearing aids | |
 | Hearing can be a lifelong struggle with the need for assistance from hearing aids, and paying for those hearing aids can be challenging for parents with children who have hearing difficulties. Listening and speech exercises are routine for 4-year-old Davis Moody since his mother Kimberly Moody learned he had partial hearing loss shortly after he was born. "Davis can hear somewhat out of his right ear, it's not just what you and I are used to," said Moody, a Biloxi resident. Courtney Turner works with children like Davis at the USM Center for Communication and Development at the Long Beach and Hattiesburg campuses. Turner said it's critical for a child with hearing loss to get help as quickly as possible. Children's hearing aids can cost up to $2,000 each. In Mississippi, Medicaid will cover the cost, but private insurance isn't required to. "Unfortunately cost can be a barrier to these families getting hearing aids for their children immediately," Turner said. Although a Senate bill this session to require private insurance to pay for children's hearing aids failed to make it out of committee, a bill is still alive in the House that would enable state employees under the state's health insurance plan to have hearing aids covered for their children. "Hopefully if we can get these state employees on board, then eventually the insurance might realize that it's not going to take a ton out of everyone's pockets in Mississippi," Moody said. "If we can get the state insurance approved, then everyone else might follow suit in the future." |
| Bill moving through legislature would reduce restrictions on home-based businesses | |
 | A bill is moving through the Mississippi legislature designed to create more opportunities for home-based businesses. Before his time on the State House Floor, Rep. Jansen Owen from Poplarville was a student trying to make it through law school. To help pay the bills, Owen's wife ran an online boutique out of their home. "Over 50% of my house was always filled up with clothes and inventory," said Owen. In many cases, the amount of business inventory or goods in a home can be legally limited in areas zoned residential. So Owen introduced the "Home-Based Opportunity Freedom Act of 2022." "I want to make sure that these people who are starting businesses within their home, as long as they're not hurting the people around them, that the city and governments leave them alone," Owen said. Biloxi Community Development Director Jerry Creel's job is to enforce city ordinances. He said under home occupation, businesses are allowed to operate out of homes within reason. "There can't be anything there that would change the residential character of the neighborhood," Creel said. "Any neighbors looking on wouldn't notice that there was anything of a commercial nature going on there." "It's not my intention to come in and say that a city can't control the noise coming from a neighborhood or can't control foot traffic," Owen said. "Those are common-sense regulations that you have to impose to protect the community as a whole." If signed into law, Creel doesn't believe the legislation will open the door for wide-scale businesses to operate in residential neighborhoods. |
| State Healthcare System 'Essentially Broken,' MSDH Leadership Says | |
| Mississippi's healthcare infrastructure may take years to recover from the continuing strain of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, leadership from the Mississippi State Department of Health said in a press briefing last Friday. "The hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. "If you've been in an emergency room in the past couple of weeks, you would really know what we're talking about. We have essentially broken the healthcare system for a whole bunch of reasons, and these are going to be challenges that are going to take not just weeks and months, but probably years to correct." Hospitals continue to suffer negative bed capacities, while ambulance providers are facing the looming threat of insufficient drivers and ambulance workers. "It's been pretty staggering when you think about the number of cases that we had in January alone, it has far outpaced any other previous month," State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. MSDH has reported more than 225,000 new infections since the start of the new year, with over 170,000 of those occurring in January. Byers says even that staggering amount misses some additional cases, however. "If you think about that, that's not going to be a complete view of the total amount of COVID that has occurred in Mississippi in a month, that's the individuals who either got tested or were ill enough to go to the doctor, but that doesn't account for people who never got tested, who were asymptomatic or who may never have gotten reported," Byers said. "We do have some 'light at the end of the tunnel' sort of data coming through," Dobbs noted. "We're seeing a drop in daily cases and new hospitalizations, but we still have a lot of folks in the hospital." |
| Mississippi regulators delay net metering hearing until next month | |
| The Mississippi Public Service Commission will hold a hearing next month on its new net metering rule. Central District Commissioner Brent Bailey told the Northside Sun that the commission originally scheduled the hearing for its February 8 meeting, but moved the date to March 1 to give the parties more time. The commission is looking to finalize its new net metering rule that will mark the first change to the original one passed by the commission in 2015. Net metering is a practice where utility customers (both business and household) generate their own electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind power and can sell it back to the grid. The hearing on March 1 will allow the commission to hear testimony and comments on its new metering rule. Under the new rule, utilities would provide a $3,000 upfront, one-time cash rebate for low-income customers to install a renewable generation unit that can range in capacity from 3 kilowatts to 6 kilowatts. Also, low-income customers can take advantage of a $1,000 one-time energy efficiency rebate program as well. The new rule would also deal with schools wanting to sell back their generated power back to the grid. The new rule will mandate both Entergy and Mississippi Power provide their plans for offering solar for schools within 60 days of final adoption of the new rule. |
| New judge in John Davis' welfare embezzlement case is his former colleague | |
| A Hinds County judge has reassigned the criminal case of retired Mississippi welfare director John Davis to a special judge who happens to be Davis' former colleague, according to a court order posted Tuesday. The new judge, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess Dickinson, ran the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services while Davis served as director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The two agencies that Dickinson and Davis ran interacted closely; the offices used to be one in the same until the Legislature separated CPS into its own department in 2016. But CPS still gets funding from the welfare agency. In fact, Child Protection Services, which oversees the state's foster care system, relies on MDHS sharing a portion of its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to satisfy its budget each year. TANF is the federal welfare fund Davis allegedly defrauded. The connection between Davis and Dickinson raises questions about a possible conflict of interest. But because of a gag order in the case, the parties will not say what prompted the reassignment or the likeliness that Dickinson will reassign the case again. The Mississippi Supreme Court appointed several special judges, including Dickinson, in 2020 to help Hinds County clear its backlog of cases, which is how Dickinson wound up presiding over his contemporary's case. |
| Beware: Jackson police initiative cracking down on interstate speeding | |
| Jackson Police Department Chief James Davis wants drivers on the interstates around Jackson to respect the speed limits. "It's like Jackson was NASCAR," he said. "I want people to feel safe. You shouldn't feel terrified you're going to get run over by a motorist." Police officers in the traffic division are now assigned across all shifts to patrol Interstate 55, I-220 and I-20 to catch speeding drivers as part of an initiative that Davis hopes will reduce crime in the city. Matt Steffey, a professor at Mississippi College School of Law, said one thing Davis' plan to "take care of small crime" has for it is that it is achievable because many people commonly break traffic laws, but it goes further than that. "It sets a tone that the community is expected to be law abiding or face consequences," he said. "Second, it increases the number of encounters between police officers and citizens and thereby increasing the chances of identifying someone who has an outstanding warrant, who is carrying contraband, drugs or guns or is otherwise up to no good." The initiative to slow traffic joins efforts under way in the Legislature to provide funding for additional manpower in law enforcement and the judicial branch and more. Five senators who represent Jackson including David Blount (District 29-Hinds), J. Walter Michel (District 25-Hinds, Madison), John Horhn (District 16-Hinds-Madison), Hillman Frazier (District 27-Hinds) and Sollie B. Norwood (District 28-Hinds) are focused on ensuring the state lends a hand. "We are working to increase funding for the Capitol Police so they can work with JPD," Blount said. "That will require an agreement with the two law enforcement agencies, but I am confident that can be accomplished." |
| Car Insurers Rush to Raise Rates as Inflation Takes a Toll | |
 | Car insurers are rapidly raising rates to try to get ahead of inflation, which has boosted the prices of car repairs, replacements and rentals. Many insurers are boosting premiums by 6% to 8% while some are asking for double-digit increases, according to industry executives and analysts. The rising rates are an example of inflation leading to more price increases as businesses try to compensate for higher costs. After having a stellar year when lockdowns kept many drivers off the roads, insurers struggled in the second half of 2021. Auto insurers posted dismal fourth-quarter results, and laid out plans to raise rates. During 2020, many insurers gave consumers rebates and some modestly reduced rates. Double-digit requests generally are getting knocked down to the single digits by state regulators, analysts said. In some states, insurance departments must approve proposed rate changes before they can be billed to consumers, while other states allow them to go into effect subject to subsequent review. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who heads a committee at the standard-setting National Association of Insurance Commissioners that oversees car insurance, said regulators will review carriers' experience in 2020 and 2021, along with their premium-refund programs. Consumers have a few ways to limit the increases. |
| McConnell rebukes RNC, calls Jan. 6 'violent insurrection' | |
| Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is criticizing the Republican National Committee for censuring two House GOP lawmakers investigating the "violent insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it's not the party's job to police the views of lawmakers. As former President Donald Trump has downplayed the attack by his supporters last year -- the worst attack against the Capitol in two centuries -- the RNC last week took a voice vote to approve censuring Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois at the party's winter meeting in Salt Lake City. The two Republicans sit on a Democrat-led House committee that is aggressively investigating the siege and has subpoenaed many in the former president's inner circle. The RNC resolution censuring Cheney and Kinzinger accused the House panel of leading a "persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse" -- words that drew outrage from Democrats and firm pushback from several GOP senators. The rioters who broke into the Capitol through windows and doors brutally beat law enforcement officers and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden's victory over Trump. "It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next," McConnell said Tuesday. He said he still has confidence in RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, but "the issue is whether or not the RNC should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views than the majority. That's not the job of the RNC." |
| McConnell laughs off Trump's 'Old Crow' nickname: 'It's my favorite bourbon' | |
 | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday waved off former President Trump's preferred nickname for the Kentucky Republican -- "Old Crow" -- saying, "It's my favorite bourbon." "Aren't we using Old Crow as my moniker now? It was Henry Clay's favorite bourbon," McConnell said to a member of his staff during an interview with the Washington Examiner. He was referring to a spirit distilled by Beam Suntory of the same name. Trump has frequently derided McConnell as "Old Crow Mitch" in statements issued through his Save America PAC. The former president expressed his frustration when the Senate GOP leader worked with Democrats and other Republicans to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law and accused McConnell in October of "folding" to Democrats over raising the debt ceiling. In a deal negotiated by McConnell, 14 Republican senators helped all 50 Senate Democrats in December overcome a procedural hurdle in ultimately allowing Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own despite some blowback he received from members of his caucus. "The two things we could have done [in 2021] to take the attention off [the Democrats] and put it on us would be to shut down the government or threaten to default on the national debt. You can't do that to the country either," the Senate GOP leader noted. "If it's bad for the country and bad for Republicans, I'm against it." |
| Where's Liz Cheney? The Wyoming Republican's Exile From Wyoming Republicans | |
 | The women arrived in red formal gowns, the men in suits and tuxedos. They posed in a photo booth with a cardboard cutout of former President Donald J. Trump and bid on auction items including a Glock pistol in a gift basket. Saturday was the biggest night of the year for Republicans in southwest Wyoming -- a prom-themed fund-raiser at a Holiday Inn that drew 150 of the most active conservatives in Carbon, Sweetwater and Uinta counties. But Representative Liz Cheney, the Republican who has represented Wyoming since 2017, was nowhere to be found. She spent Saturday night 230 miles away with a group certain to give her a friendlier reception: reporters and media executives at the annual gathering of the Wyoming Press Association. The wrath that national Republicans have unleashed on Ms. Cheney -- the Republican National Committee voted to censure her the day before the Rock Springs gala -- is nothing compared to the fury she is encountering from Wyoming Republicans. The state party not only censured her but adopted a resolution to effectively disown her. Yet her response has been to become strangely invisible in her home state. Ms. Cheney hasn't appeared at a state Republican Party function in more than two years and hasn't been to an in-person event for any of the party's 23 county chapters since 2020. Ms. Cheney's focus on events in Washington rather than Wyoming is all the more striking given that she faces a well-known primary opponent who has been endorsed by Mr. Trump and the state Republican Party. And it is raising questions in Wyoming about whether she is counting on Democrats to bail her out in the August primary --- or even whether she really is battling to hold on to her office. In an interview on Saturday in Cheyenne, Ms. Cheney tried to put to rest those questions and resisted the suggestion that she cared more about the fight with Mr. Trump than about running for re-election. |
| Right-wing conspiracies have a new target: a tool that fights actual voter fraud | |
 | If Republicans over the past few years have made one thing clear, it's that they really care about voter fraud. Sometimes they call it "election irregularities" or "shenanigans," but the issue has become a calling card for a party whose voters by and large falsely think elections in the U.S. are tainted. Which is what makes a currently blossoming election conspiracy so strange: The far right is now running a disinformation campaign against one of the best tools that states have to detect and prevent voter fraud. And experts worry voting policy is already starting to suffer as a result. The tool is a shared database called the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC for short. It allows states to securely share voter registration data across state lines and with a number of other government agencies, like the Social Security Administration and departments of motor vehicles. That data-sharing allows participating states to expand ballot access by giving officials information that helps them reach out to eligible voters who have moved into the jurisdiction but have not yet registered to vote. But it also increases election security by notifying those same officials when a registered voter moves away or dies, allowing states to maintain more accurate voter rolls. The decade-old program now includes more than 30 states spanning the political spectrum. But that bipartisan unity is being tested, as some pockets of conservative media have ignited a pressure campaign against ERIC. |
| After bomb threats, southern HBCU leaders discuss how to move forward: 'We can't cave' | |
 | Leaders of historically black colleges and universities in the South agreed that recent bomb threats on their campuses were deliberate attempts to disrupt studies and scare students and faculty during a virtual roundtable led by the Southern Poverty Law Center Tuesday. The purpose of the webinar, titled 'America's HBCUs Under the Threat of Attack,' was for university leaders to discuss the wave of threats made to more than a dozen HBCUs at the beginning of February and share their insights on how to move forward. SPLC Chief of Staff and Culture Lecia Brooks was joined by a group of HBCU leaders from across the southern U.S. including, A. Zachary Faison, president of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, Felecia M. Nave, president of Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Anne McCall, provost of Xavier University, also in New Orleans. Michelle Asha Cooper, deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs at the U.S. Department of Education, also joined the discussion. Alcorn State was one of six schools in Mississippi to receive threats. Jackson State University, Rust College, Tougaloo College, Hinds Community College and Mississippi Valley State University were also threatened. McCall called the threats "terrorism" and "disorienting to students to be threatened in their center." She and Nave said that although they would not like to see public outrage soften because the suspects are juveniles, they also recognize the need for mental health care for the alleged threat-makers. "They're in a very critical point in their development. Their frontal lobes are not fully developed," Nave said. "I would hope that those children are provided with the necessary resources to help change and cultivate a more positive place of understanding." |
| School leaders say HBCUs are undeterred after a series of bomb threats | |
| A week after a series of bomb threats against historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the U.S., public officials and university presidents are speaking out against what they've characterized as a racist attack against the schools and their students. "They are disappointed. They are traumatized," Alcorn State University President Felecia Nave said of the school's students and staff in the wake of the bomb threats. "[But] they're resilient. And they are resolved to continue to move forward and to make it known that we won't be threatened, we won't be scared away." Michelle Asha Cooper, deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs at the U.S. Department of Education, said she believed the threats were designed to menace the colleges. "While the interruption to learning is unacceptable, what is worse is that these acts were meant to intimidate and to invoke fear," Cooper said. "The timing of these threats to coincide with the first day of Black History Month was a likely attempt to exploit tensions among some factions of our society," she added. Nave and Cooper made the comments during a virtual roundtable held Tuesday by the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which estimated that nearly 20 HBCUs had been the subject of bomb threats on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. |
| Biloxi man arrested after carrying handgun on UMMC grounds, attacking police officer | |
| A 49-year-old Biloxi man has been arrested and charged after carrying a gun on UMMC grounds and assaulting an officer. The arrest happened around 11 p.m. Monday when a suspicious man was seen on the campus University of Mississippi Medical Center. When officers made contact with Richard Neil, he resisted arrest and then attacked an officer. Neil was also found to be carrying a 9mm handgun. He has since been charged with possession of a weapon after felony conviction, carrying a concealed weapon on school grounds, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The officer he allegedly attacked has been treated and released. |
| USM to open new military veterans center soon | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi has announced a brand new building with hopes of showing support for those who have served our country. Jeff Hammond, who is the director of the USM'S Veterans' Program, says the building is a representation of our nation and the students who call themselves veterans. "It's an amazing program and an amazing university, and when you mix all those three things together with a big heart that says, 'Let's help our veterans, their family members. You have a remarkable story.' It's about supporting those who have served us. Those who have served and have put themselves out there so we may have the freedoms that we have today. So this building by design honors those who have served," says Hammond. Hammond says this building started as a simple idea and with the help of the community, they were able to turn that idea into reality. "It started as an idea. It was embraced, people stepped forward to help us fund it, and then we were really blessed by two remarkable angels, our contractor and our architect, who came together to design this remarkable building and build it," says Hammond. The New Home of the Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families will hold an opening ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. |
| Hattiesburg police encourage USM students to apply | |
 | Hattiesburg police are encouraging University of Southern Mississippi (USM) students to apply. A Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD) recruitment team will be set up on USM's campus to assist students who are interested in signing up for the next recruitment class. Students can stop by Shoemaker Square on campus from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 9 and Thursday, February 10. Officers will be available to discuss job positions and the upcoming academy class. The deadline to apply for the summer recruitment class is Friday, February 25. |
| East Central Community College and Career STEP Program help Blakeney with new start | |
 | Troy Blakeney was looking for a career job that he could one day retire from. Thanks to East Central Community College in Decatur and the Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District's Career STEP Program, he is well on his way to achieving that dream. The Southern Mississippi Planning & Development District's Career Skills Training Education Pathways (STEP) Program is a workforce program that covers the cost of short-term (less than one year) training, such as workforce and career-technical education courses. The program partners with local community colleges, such as East Central Community College, to connect participants to training opportunities and ultimately to career pathways. Blakeney of Raleigh was pursuing a nursing degree in spring 2021 when he decided to change career paths. He had heard about ECCC's Electrical Utility Lineman program through friends who had already enrolled in the fall 2021 class. The 16-week program was launched in February 2019 to prepare students for entry-level employment in utility power transmission and distribution construction, troubleshooting, and repair to meet a need in that field. Chris Clark, ECCC's workforce development coordinator, introduced Blakeney to the Career STEP Program, which covered Blakeney's tuition, testing fees, and supportive services while in the Electrical Utility Lineman program. "I believe it was God calling me there," said Blakeney. "After looking into it, everything about that career seemed like something I knew I would enjoy, getting to work outside and alongside others who are all helping people." |
| Series of events will mark Black History Month at the U. of Alabama | |
 | Virtual discussions featuring Alabama's first Black poet laureate and the sister of one of the four little girls killed in a Birmingham church bombing highlight some of the activities planned to mark Black History Month at the University of Alabama. Lisa McNair, the oldest living sister of Denise McNair, will give UA's Black History Month keynote speech at 6 p.m. Feb. 15. Denise McNair died in the Sept. 15, 1963, bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and Lisa McNair has become a national public speaker with her own business, Speak Lisa. Lisa McNair will tell the story of Denise's life and the effects of her sister's death on her family and the city of Birmingham. She will also discuss reconciliation, social justice and conflict resolution. Beginning Feb. 21 and continuing through March 19, the Intercultural Diversity Center in the UA Student Center, 751 Campus Drive West, will host an exhibition of Denise McNair's personal items. The display is made possible through a partnership with the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham and UA's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. UA will host two virtual TEDTalk Tuesdays, "Why Your Doctor Should Care About Social Justice" and "The Problem with Race-Based Medicine" during February. |
| 'I Swore an Oath': Behind a U. of Florida Professor's Plea to Testify Against the State | |
 | Under a torrent of criticism for barring professors from testifying in a voting-rights case, the University of Florida had an explanation: This wasn't about free speech or academic freedom, university officials said in October; it was about professors doing outside paid work that was against the university's interest. But what if a professor were to go on unpaid leave to do that work? More than two weeks before the controversy spilled into public view, courtesy of The New York Times, one of the professors seeking permission to testify suggested to his dean that he step away without pay from his university duties to mitigate any conflict, emails obtained by The Chronicle show. On October 12, Michael McDonald, a political-science professor, proposed the option to David E. Richardson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: "If my outside activity approval is denied," McDonald wrote, "I would like to know my options, such as taking an immediate unpaid leave from the university during the duration of my participation in the litigation." The night before, McDonald explained, he had learned that the university had rejected a request from Daniel A. Smith, his colleague in political science, to serve as an expert witness in the same case. McDonald, whose research focuses on elections, told his dean he felt duty-bound to participate in the lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters and other nonprofit organizations, who are challenging a new Florida law that critics say will make voting more difficult for poor people and minorities. "I swore an oath to uphold the Florida constitution," McDonald wrote, "and I therefore feel that it is my duty to be involved in this litigation to ensure that plaintiffs' complaints have a fair hearing in court, a key foundation of our democratic principles as a nation." |
| Alumni magazines embrace digital, but print will never die | |
 | Like many facets of academe, alumni magazines have been forced to retrench in the era of COVID-19. Budget cuts prompted some institutions to reduce the number of print issues they produce each year; others, temporarily stopped publishing hard copies altogether. Either way, alumni magazine staffs finally "had to deal with their websites," said Capstone Communications founder Erin Peterson, a consultant for higher ed and independent school magazines. While she estimates that 90 to 95 percent of alumni publications already have a web presence, the sites are often rudimentary, offering little more than PDFs of the pages from the print edition, she said. With print removed as an option, colleges had no choice but to upgrade their digital offerings. The pandemic accelerated a shift that was already underway, said Maureen Harmon, who stepped down as director of creative and editorial content at Denison University in November to devote herself full-time to Dog Ear Consultants, a communications firm she co-founded that specializes in college magazines. "COVID really forced us to look outside the print world," she said. "When all the budgets got slashed, it helped us to break down those silos: What's a print magazine, what's digital content, what's podcast material?" Alumni magazines have long been a reliable bastion of print journalism -- and for good reason. Funded largely by their institutions and/or alumni subscriptions, they don't rely on advertising revenue and so didn't feel the loss when advertisers started abandoning print media for the internet. They remain a cherished and effective way for colleges and universities to stay connected with alumni -- and offer a promising return on investment in the form of donations. Surveys consistently show a strong positive correlation between alumni reading the print magazine and engaging with the institution, whether by donating money, encouraging prospective students to apply or attending events on campus. |
| New Carnegie Classification Will Reflect Social and Economic Mobility | |
| For nearly 50 years, colleges have eagerly awaited the latest Carnegie classifications to find out where they fall in a pecking order that, to many, has become synonymous with prestige. The pinnacle is the coveted R1 ranking for colleges where robust teams of researchers reel in the most research bucks and train the most doctoral students. Beginning in 2023, they'll have a new distinction to aspire to: a category that reflects how well they contribute to social and economic mobility while serving diverse students. The changes are being announced on Wednesday by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education, which have joined forces to create a more inclusive classification system. The new system, they hope, will better reflect the diversity of higher-education institutions and create incentives for colleges to fill equity gaps. Carnegie will retain ownership of the classification and will remain deeply involved when its home base shifts to ACE, in Washington, D.C., on March 15. The classifications, first published in 1973, were never intended as rankings or as markers of prestige, said Timothy Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation. But because America, and the world, loves rankings, "it turned into this race to the top, where the R1 became the designation that even institutions that really weren't designed to be fundamentally research institutions began to aspire to," Knowles said. |
| Students ditching college will lose collective $1T in lifetime earnings: Report | |
| The coronavirus pandemic is causing a mass decrease in college enrollment, and it's only a matter of time before greater economic kickback sinks in. More than one million fewer students are currently enrolled in college compared to before the pandemic, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Strict COVID protocols on campus and tuition that's increased five times the rate of inflation are reportedly what's pushing students away from higher education. According to a new study by My eLearning World, students who are ditching college will lose up to $1 trillion in collective lifetime earnings, equating to nearly 600,000 bachelor's degrees, 180,000 masters and 40,000 doctorates lost. The potential lost income totaling $1,062,721,400,000, calculated by comparing average income per degree, is bound to have a ripple effect on the entire U.S. economy as low-skilled job opportunities offer stagnant wages and decreased enrollment widens skill gaps. Meanwhile, people without higher education are four times more likely of living in poverty, leaning on government assistance and paying 45% less in taxes, according to the College Board Research. |
| Program to Cut Student Debt for Healthcare Providers Sticks Some With Even More | |
| Thousands of healthcare workers join the National Health Service Corps each year, pledging to work in places with too few medical providers in exchange for help repaying their student loans. Job disruptions caused by the pandemic have shaken that bargain. Layoffs have put a growing number of these workers in violation of their contracts and exposed them to heavy penalties, sometimes many times the aid they received. Instead of financial relief, they risk falling far deeper in debt. Signing a contract with the Service Corps can yield tens of thousands of dollars of student-loan relief. But if participants lose their jobs and can't find others that qualify, they owe the government $7,500 for every month left in their contracts, plus interest, currently at more than 9%. The rules have been in place for two decades, but the pandemic has put new pressure on participants as some stressed hospitals and clinics furlough workers and close facilities. The U.S. healthcare sector lost 1.4 million jobs shortly after the coronavirus struck, when clinics cut services and saw their revenues fall. As of November, there were 2.7% fewer U.S. healthcare jobs than pre-pandemic -- this despite some hospitals grappling with staff shortages and overworked providers nearly two years into Covid-19. Finding a new qualifying job without having to move can be difficult. Clinics and positions that qualify under one program may not qualify under another. The result leaves some clinicians, who signed up to work in areas with medical shortages, instead facing major new financial burdens of their own. |
| More states may require FAFSAs for high school graduation | |
| Several years after Louisiana became the first state to require public high school students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid before they graduate, a dozen other states have implemented or are considering similar measures. Legislators in Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, New York and South Carolina are this session looking at potential policies that would require public high school students to complete the federal aid application or deliberately opt out of the mandate. Advocates of such policies believe they help show students that college can be affordable and that the barriers to access higher education might not be as formidable as they thought. Lawmakers see FAFSA mandates as "actionable, low-hanging fruit," said Sunny Deye, program director for postsecondary education at the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It's been a slow trickle" of states warming to the idea, Deye said. "They invest so much in their financial aid programs, and they want to make sure that eligible students in their state receive aid." In total, the public high school Class of 2021 left an estimated $3.75 billion in Pell Grants on the table, according to a recent report from the National College Attainment Network. Between 2017 and 2021, the estimated amount of unclaimed Pell Grant dollars increased by 60 percent. The number of high school students who complete the FAFSA is declining nationwide. In 2021, 54 percent of high school graduates filled out the aid form, compared with 61 percent in 2017, the NCAN report showed. |
| Biden denounces Florida 'Don't Say' Gay' bill banning LGBTQ discussion | |
 | The Biden administration has denounced a bill being advanced by Florida Republicans that would ban the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in K-12 schools. The bill orders that schools "may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in K-12 schools "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students." The bill does not offer definitions on what would be appropriate. Conservative advocates have argued the bill advances "parental rights in education" by allowing parents to sue public schools they believe are discussing LGBTQ issues should the bill become law. On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voiced his support for the bill. Opponents have called it "Don't Say Gay" legislation that would create a more hostile environment for LGBTQ students in the state. The bill would build upon a 2021 law dubbed the "Parents' Bill of Rights" by its proponents, which bars government agencies from interfering with a parent's right to "direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health" of their children. Four states -- Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas -- already have similar laws on the books banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, according to GLSEN, an LGBTQ advocacy group. |
| What's next for Biden's research agenda after science adviser's fall from grace? | |
| An axiom of politics is that the higher you rise, the harder you can fall. This week, Eric Lander, the first White House science adviser to be elevated to the president's Cabinet, learned that firsthand. Lander, a prominent geneticist who has a close relationship with President Joe Biden, resigned from his position less than 1 day after a media report revealed a workplace investigation had found "credible evidence" Lander had bullied, disrespected, and demeaned members of his staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). There was little public indication that Lander was under scrutiny until someone leaked the results of the bullying investigation to Politico; even some of OSTP's roughly 140 staffers tell Science they were caught by surprise. Research advocates, however, have already begun to speculate about who might replace Lander and what, if anything, his departure will mean for a host of Biden's initiatives, including plans to create a new biomedical research agency and boost green energy and climate science. Some observers aren't surprised Lander's tenure imploded after less than 275 days. Although he is a brilliant scientist -- known for co-leading the public effort to sequence the human genome and founding the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a genomics powerhouse -- Lander has a reputation for appearing egocentric, abrasive, and insensitive. He also drew fire for downplaying, in a 2016 Cell essay, the role of two female scientists in developing the CRISPR gene-editing technology. (Lander later apologized for the essay.) |
| Pandemic's impact on youth mental health 'devastating': Surgeon General | |
| U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told lawmakers on Tuesday that the pandemic has had a "devastating" impact on the mental health of America's young people. "I'm deeply concerned as a parent and as a doctor that the obstacles this generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate and the impact that's having on their mental health is devastating," Murthy told the Senate Finance Committee. Senators expressed bipartisan support for addressing mental health issues among young people, with chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, raising alarm over recent increases in suicide attempts among American youth. "Millions of young Americans are struggling under a mental health epidemic, struggling in school, struggling with addiction or isolation, struggling to make it from one day to the next. Our country is in danger of losing much of a generation if mental health care remains business as usual," Wyden said. "And that means the Finance Committee has got to come up with solutions." Murthy's main recommendations are to ensure access to "high-quality, culturally competent care," focusing on prevention with school and community-based programs and developing a better understanding of the impact technology and social media have on young people. |
| Origin of state's budget surplus lost in march toward massive tax cuts | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Is Mississippi on solid fiscal footing for the future as the Republican leadership of both houses of the Mississippi Legislature take slightly different paths in their march toward a massive tax cut? As in most matters of politics and public policy, the answer to that question depends on who is providing the answer. The Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives have offered competing plans to accomplish a large (the House says they are offering the largest single tax cut in state history) and enduring tax reduction. The Senate plan offers a recurring tax reduction of $316.6 million by 2026 and a one-time tax rebate of $130 million for a total of $446.6 million, according to preliminary estimates provided by the Legislative Budget Office and Mississippi Department of Revenue. The plan greatly reduces, but does not fully eliminate, the state income tax. The House plan is designed to fully eliminate the state income tax and, like the Senate plan, also provides some relief on the grocery tax and car tags. The House plan would phase in a grocery tax reduction to 4% but would carry with it an overall 1.5-cent sales tax increase. The Senate plan would lower the grocery tax to 5% but carries no sales tax hike proposal. ... The GOP super majorities in both houses of the Legislature line up for the tax cut to pass in some form. But this issue will produce an important and closely watched conference committee process. |
SPORTS
| 65 Bulldogs Make 2021 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll | |
| Success in the classroom continues for Mississippi State as 65 student-athletes made the 2021 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll on Tuesday, as announced by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. The Bulldogs were among 1,182 total athletes named to the list. The 2021 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll includes the sports of cross country, football, soccer and volleyball, and is based on grades from the 2021 spring, summer and fall terms. Twenty-six football student-athletes, 20 soccer student-athletes, 12 volleyball student-athletes and seven cross country student-athletes represent MSU on the fall honor roll. Volleyball's 12 honorees are a program record and is the second most for the sport in the SEC, while soccer's 20 honorees is tied third-most for the sport. The Bulldog student-athletes achieved a department grade-point average of 3.1, which is the ninth straight semester MSU student-athletes have combined for a GPA of 3.0 or better. |
| Mississippi State baseball has a message for teams trying to dethrone the national champs | |
| There's no getting away from the accomplishment. When members of the Mississippi State baseball program walk around town, there are still the celebratory shirts, the congratulations from fans. On the right-center field wall at Dudy Noble Field, a College World Series championship banner hangs, a constant reminder of what the 2021 edition of the Bulldogs achieved. "Everybody's always patting them on the back, great job," coach Chris Lemonis said. "Well, we've got a new job to do." Mississippi State returned from Omaha to a parade through the Cotton District with a trophy held high. But there's an understanding that those moments of elation were left in 2021, and the 2022 players taking the field Feb. 18 against Long Beach State will begin a new quest -- looking for their own history. Plenty of big pieces from last year's squad departed, with right-hander Will Bednar now in the San Francisco Giants organization and outfielder Tanner Allen with the Miami Marlins system. The weekend rotation will be completely recrafted. Those players remaining, however, are looking to build on last season with a simple belief: That was just the start. "You probably think I'm crazy, but we never played our best baseball last year," outfielder Brad Cumbest said. The national champions didn't play their best baseball? "I think we can be better than last year's team," Cumbest said. "Hitters. Hitting-wise. I feel like we can be better hitting-wise than we were last year." |
| Mississippi State baseball: Landon Sims set to lead 'unproven' rotation into 2022 season | |
| Mississippi State fans need not worry: Landon Sims is sticking with the same Whitesnake song as his entrance music this season. But "Still of the Night" might need a name change to "Still of the Early Evening" given Sims' impending role change in 2022. Last year's lockdown closer, Sims is set to make a move from the bullpen to the weekend rotation, something he anticipated ever since coming to Starkville. "Coming in here, we knew that there was a good shot before I left here that I would be starting," Sims said. "We didn't know when that would be." That time is now for Sims and a Mississippi State team sorely needing its best pitcher to head up a reshaped rotation. The Bulldogs lost all three of their regular starters from the 2021 College World Series-winning team. Will Bednar and Christian MacLeod were high picks in the MLB draft, and Houston Harding signed a professional contract after the season. All of a sudden, Mississippi State was left with plenty of innings to fill on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in 2022. "It's pretty unsettled, but I feel good about it," head coach Chris Lemonis said of his starting rotation Feb. 1. "It's just some really good guys fighting for some spots." |
| 'He hates to lose': How forward Cameron Matthews became Mississippi State's glue guy | |
| She gets up from her seat behind the south basket inside Humphrey Coliseum, puts her phone back into her pocket, claps a couple times and locks in for the action in front of her. Timeouts are the few moments Ruthie Matthews gets to catch her breath during a Mississippi State basketball game. But as soon as the horn blows or the whistle sounds, she's right back up. From there, she's either pacing or shouting toward the Bulldogs. Or she's chatting with the fans surrounding her -- they're often sitting, but she's not bothered. If the officials make a questionable call, Matthews is there leaning toward them to voice her displeasure. Sitting behind her, you can see why she's there. "Matthews" runs across the top of her back with the No. 4 underneath -- just like her son Cameron will be sporting Wednesday night against No. 19 Tennessee. And from watching the way she engages in the action, you can see why Cameron plays the way he does. |
| Mississippi State basketball against No. 18 Tennessee: Scouting report, score prediction | |
| The time crunch ahead of the Mississippi State basketball team is understood. When coach Ben Howland looked at the calendar Tuesday, he saw nine games in 26 days -- a span that limits practice time and adds pressure to each performance. The Bulldogs need wins. Without a true road victory, adding another Quadrant 1 win would bolster an NCAA Tournament résumé for a team resting on the bubble. Howland said Mississippi State underwent a vigorous practice Monday, as well as an in-depth look at the film of what went wrong against Arkansas, when the Bulldogs (14-8, 5-4 SEC) fumbled a chance to win on the road. The sense of urgency begins with him, dictating to his players that time is running short for a statement win. Mississippi State will have ample opportunities for one during its final nine games, including when No. 18 Tennessee (16-6, 7-3) visits Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN2). "It was very clear in the hour- and 10-minute film session that there's a sense of urgency coming from the head coach, in terms of effort, in terms of execution, in terms of desire," Howland said. "It's crunch time." Mississippi State to make an NCAA Tournament statement, these are the matchups the Bulldogs will face, beginning Wednesday and continuing the rest of the month. |
| Julia Lopez Ramirez Wins Second Individual Title at Paradise Invitational | |
| Julia Lopez Ramirez opened the spring by adding another record-breaking performance to her young career. The freshman previously won her collegiate debut in the Bulldog's first tournament of the fall at the Sam Golden Invitational and has now won the first event of the spring at the Paradise Invitational. In the first round, Lopez-Ramirez broke the record for the lowest opening round in school history and second-lowest individual round with 8-under par. After the second round, Lopez-Ramirez broke the record for lowest individual score after 36 holes with 13-under. In the final round, Lopez-Ramirez broke the record for lowest score after 54-holes with 16-under (200) to capture the Paradise Invitational individual title. "Julia has been a true light for our program, and everyone enjoys watching her play," head coach Charlie Ewing said. "Even though she is just a freshman, a lot of people look up to her in a lot of ways which is a testament to her character and maturity. She is incredibly supportive of her teammates when they have success and is able to put her own frustrations aside in order to show encouragement and love for her teammates. That is very impressive for someone who is in their freshman year." |
| Antonaki's All-American Accomplishment | |
| In the 47-year history of Mississippi State women's tennis, only two student-athletes have ever been selected as an All-American in singles. One of those women, Emmanouela Antonaki, attained the honor last season when she reached the Round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship in Orlando, Florida. However, the Athens, Greece native admits that she did not quite understand the importance of what she had accomplished at the time. "I really didn't know what an All-American is because I'm not from the U.S.," Antonaki said. "I didn't know how big that was until last year when I won the second-round match against (Mia) Horvit from South Carolina." There was someone on hand last May that was more than capable of explaining just how significant being an All-American is to the Bulldogs' program. John Cade, who was working his final matches after a 30-year career working with MSU's tennis teams and knows their history better than just about anyone, came down to the court following Antonaki's 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 comeback win over Horvit to put that victory into context for her. "It was at that moment that I realized what a big thing that is," Antonaki said. "I was very proud of that moment." |
| ESPN, Southeastern Conference Release Softball TV Schedule | |
| Mississippi State's softball program will play 10 nationally televised games this spring. In addition, all remaining conference contests will air on SEC Network+ with most home games also available via the streaming network. New this season is T-Mobile's presenting sponsorship for softball games on the SEC Network. Late afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday during the regular season as well as the SEC Tournament will be presented by the Un-carrier. State's opening weekend of conference play (March 12-14) will be the league's showcase series as the Bulldogs and Florida Gators meet in Gainesville in SEC Network's Saturday-Monday slot. All three games will be carried on the network with first pitches set for 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. CT. When MSU hosts rival Ole Miss on March 19, SEC Network will broadcast the game at 4:30 p.m. That Saturday contest will also feature MSU's 40th anniversary celebration and the recognition of the "Ladies of the 80s" honoring members of the program from 1982-86. For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB." |
| Football fans are placing huge Super Bowl bets at Coast casinos. How much could they win? | |
 | Coast casinos are busy accepting bets on the Cincinatti Bengals or Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl this week, but lost what is believed to be the biggest mobile sports bet ever placed. Just how much is being wagered and which team is in the lead at the 12 casinos hasn't been calculated. "As I'm sure you can imagine in this part of the country, we are seeing fans betting heavily on the Bengals and Joe Burrow," said Mary Cracchiolo Spain, spokeswoman for the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Burrow was quarterback for Louisiana State University before leading the Bengals into the Super Bowl. Two large bets placed at the Beau Rivage were made on the opposing teams, Spain said. One is a $50,000 wager on the Bengals to win and it would pay $1 million, plus the original wager. The other is $10,000 on the Rams, which would win $120,000. The sportsbooks at the Coast casinos will be busy Sunday, with the televisions tuned to the Super Bowl and in-game bets -- like if the coin toss land heads or tails -- being placed throughout the contest. But Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale chose to make his landmark bet closer to home. He drove from Texas to Louisiana to bet $4.53 million on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl. Louisiana just launched mobile sports betting on Jan. 28, and McIngvale drove 100 miles from Houston to a convenience store just across the Louisiana border. He used Caesars Sportsbook app and had to keep upping his bet because the app wouldn't let him bet that much at one time. McIngvale likely wouldn't have driven on to Mississippi to place the bet, even if the state had mobile sports betting. The latest bills to legalize online sports betting died in committee last week because about five of the casino owners in the state are not in favor of it, said Casey Eure, House Gaming Committee chairman. |
| Palace party: Hogs take down No. 1 Tigers in Walton Arena | |
| A record crowd of 20,327 crammed into Walton Arena on Tuesday night. No one went home early. When the game finally was over, a few thousand stormed Nolan Richardson Court to celebrate the Arkansas Razorbacks beating No. 1 Auburn 80-76 in overtime. "It was crazy to be a part of that," University of Arkansas sophomore forward Jaylin Williams said of being on the court among the mass of fans. "We were talking about it all week that it was going to be crazy after the game, and we couldn't wait to share that experience with each other." Williams, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds, said the basketball players were among the fans who stormed the field at Reynolds Razorback Stadium when Arkansas beat Texas 40-21 last fall. "So we wanted to have our own experience of that," Williams said. Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said he was almost at a loss for words to describe the fans and their reaction after the game. "Kind of speechless about the crowd, to be honest with you," Musselman said. "The student section, insane. "You can go to college basketball games all over the country. You can go for the next 50 years. There's not going to be a crowd that's better than that. There might be crowds close to that, but I doubt it." The game had 17 lead changes and 15 ties. "There's not anybody that walked out that didn't have fun at this game," Musselman said. "That's a guarantee. Unless it was an Auburn fan, and there weren't any." |
| Auburn Arena name changed to Neville Arena after large donation | |
 | A landmark upgrade is coming to Auburn Athletics. Auburn Arena will be rechristened Neville Arena later this spring after the athletics department received the single largest gift it has ever received, the department announced on Tuesday. The building will be renamed in recognition of Bill and Connie Neville, of Eufaula, and the name change was approved by the board of trustees this week as the board also put into motion an expansion to the venue adding more practice space. The arena is home to Auburn men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. A dedication for the official name change is scheduled for March 4. The facility upgrade comes on the heels of Auburn men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl signing a new eight-year contract worth a total of $50.2 million. "It's a remarkable time for Auburn Basketball," Connie Neville said. "Coach Pearl has built a wonderful program, bringing excitement and enjoyment to the arena. We are very humbled to be able to make this gift." On Friday the board also passed final approval to the project renovating the women's basketball locker room for the first time since the arena opened. "The approval of our women's basketball locker room renovation shows the continued commitment of Auburn University to helping us rebuild our program," women's basketball coach Johnnie Harris said. |
| Mitch Barnhart bet Mark Stoops would work for Kentucky football. Now he's doubling down | |
 | When discussion arose around the possible exodus of University of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops for less blue pastures in December, one wish-list item continued to come up: a dedicated indoor training facility for the football team. Currently, UK's football team is one of three in the Southeastern Conference, along with Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, whose indoor turf is limited due to the presence of a surrounding track surface. Stoops' latest extension was signed with a handshake agreement in place that, by sometime in the foreseeable future, that will no longer be the case. While the school isn't prepared to make a formal announcement -- there are university protocols through which to go and logistics to determine -- UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart hopes that "within short order" there will be news to share on that matter. "We've got some some folks that have come forward and said they want to help," Barnhart told the Herald-Leader during an interview this week. "They've seen the success of football, and they've seen what Mark has done, and that has been the catalyst for them coming forward saying, 'We're ready to chip in and make this thing work.' So we're working really hard at that." Nutter Field House, Kentucky's current indoor facility, probably will remain as the football team's facility but will have turf applied to the entire floor surface in addition to upgraded amenities. A new facility would be built to accommodate the needs of other UK athletes who currently share Nutter with the football team, whose roster alone is about the same size, combined, of the other teams that frequently use the facility. |
| College athlete group files complaint, seeks employee status | |
| An advocacy group filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, the latest step in a push to give employee status to college athletes and afford them the right to competitive pay, collective bargaining and other benefits and protections. The National College Players Association filed the unfair labor practice charges against the NCAA, Pac-12 Conference, UCLA and the University of Southern California as single and joint employers of Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men's and women's basketball players. "College athletes meet the definition of employee under labor law," said Ramogi Huma, the NCPA executive director and a former linebacker for UCLA. "They are highly skilled in their sport, paid scholarships and stipends to perform athletic services, and they perform their work under extensive control of their employer. These athletes deserve every right afforded to them under labor laws -- just like other hard-working Americans." The NCPA's move comes about four months after the NLRB's general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, wrote in a memo to NLRB field offices that in her view college athletes who earn millions for their schools are employees. |
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