Wednesday, June 22, 2022   
 
Drone competition is underway in Starkville
Teams from across the nation competed in the third stage of the First Responders U.A.S Triple Challenge in Starkville on Tuesday. The competition was hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology; it featured the advances in drone technology. Competitors put their best bot forward to try and capture the judges' attention. Members from Mississippi State and Kansas State University teamed up to bring their year long work to fruition. Students and other licensed drone pilots participated in a four part challenge to see whose drone could outperform the others finding different objects or people. "That's really what this is all about, helping those who can help us eventually when we need it the most eventually and this is to push that technology into their hands when us or somebody else we love is lost or incapacitated, this is hopefully gonna help them find them faster," said competition program manager Kurt Barnhart. Barnhart and director of Flight Research, Tom Brooks, knew that the competition was good for participants and local law enforcement. "These competitions are vital to stoke the fires of innovation and creativity. Some of the engineers and technologist that are competing today have some exciting ideas and more over they're really passionate about bringing the technology and things they can contribute to our first responder community," said Brooks.
 
Starkville Utilities debuts new Operations Center to expand water, electric and other services to customers
Tuesday afternoon, Starkville Utilities held an official opening ceremony to debut its new state-of-the-art Operations Center. They invested nearly $2 million to unite their water, electric and other services in one place. "Having everybody in one location, utilizing shared facilities, shared resources, will help us and make us more efficient and make us more responsive to our customers," says general manager Edward Kemp. The renovation project added 10,000 additional square feet for new offices, warehouses for both the electric and water divisions and expanded storage for raw materials. "We also added all of our procurement, from materials and purchasing, for these different entities here in this location," Kemp says. "As well as the administrative staff that helps communicate and does all the backend work on our work orders and making sure that those are completed and closed out." Which means cutting down on the time it takes utility crews to fix a broken water main or respond to a downed power line. "This facility will help us to do all of those things," Kemp says. "It provides a place for our employees to do the work that they need to do, to house the materials and equipment that we need to do the work." Construction on the revamped operations center started in September 2021. Since the project was funded through its capital budget, Starkville Utilities says the upgrades will not affect customer rates.
 
Massive layoffs at Southern Motion, Fusion expected
Significant layoffs are expected to be announced at one of the largest furniture manufacturing companies in Mississippi this week. Southern Motion and Fusion Furniture employ about 2,000 workers between them, and multiple sources say several hundred could be affected. Southern Motion acquired Fusion Furniture for an undisclosed sum in July 2018. Gainline Capital Partners, a private equity firm, acquired Southern Motion in June 2017 for an undisclosed amount and forged the deal between Southern Motion and Fusion. The layoffs come after a call for voluntary layoffs. In an email to employees on June 13 obtained by the Daily Journal, Dave Hodorff, the senior vice president of operations, said, "We have determined a reduced workforce may help us return to a 36 or 40-hour weekly schedule. Before any layoff decisions are made we are actively seeking anyone who may wish to volunteer for layoff status." Hodorff said in the email that the company is unable to determine the length of the layoff and "cannot guarantee everyone who requests voluntary layoff will receive one." Employees were asked to sign up with their supervisors by the end of their shifts on June 15. Those selected for the voluntary layoff were to be informed this week. Company president and CEO Mark Weber, in an email to the Daily Journal on Monday, confirmed the voluntary layoffs. "Due to the recent slowdown in furniture demand, we have entertained requests for voluntary layoffs," he said. "No other communications have been made at this time."
 
Hosemann concerned about inflation in Mississippi
Tourists and neighbors gathered at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson on Tuesday for a luncheon and to hear concerns that the state may be facing. Participants within the group were also led on a full tour of the building. "This past year was a historical year. We've never seen one like this ever in the history of Mississippi. We cut taxes by over half a billion dollars. We raised teachers' salaries by over a quarter-million dollars, devoted $1.6 billion dollars to roads and bridges, and equal pay. I mean, you name it, and we addressed it, every issue," explained Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.). Hosemann also spoke on issues regarding medical marijuana, redistricting zones, and paper ballots coming to all counties in the state. According to state officials, inflation in Mississippi has reached eight-percent, which may be an indicator of a recession of some sort in the future. "That comes from the fact that we've had not only $1.8 billion dollars that were given to the state that is matching $900 million dollars that were given to counties and $1.6 billion that was given to education, as all of that money is now rolling into the economy here. The state obviously is collecting a significant amount of revenue from its taxes," said Hosemann. Additionally, Republican runoffs for the 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts will take place on Tuesday, June 28, and government officials are urging the public to get out and vote.
 
Doty working to develop plan for internet expansion across Mississippi
As Mississippi receives federal funds for broadband expansion, Sally Doty, the director of the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi office (BEAM), is looking to provide better internet to unserved areas in the state. BEAM was established under the umbrella of the Department of Finance and Administration by the state legislature in April. According to Doty, BEAM is expecting to receive $162 million from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The office is looking to allocate funds to various carriers statewide through a grant program. "I've been talking to a lot of different community leaders, but it really is, in Mississippi, the carriers who are going to come in and apply for that money," Doty said on a recent episode of The Gallo Radio Show. "I've had a lot of talks with them. I met with the Co-Ops this week. I've been with the rural telephone carriers. I've met with C Spire, AT&T; I've been meeting with everybody, I think we all realize that this is such an opportunity." BEAM is currently developing a plan to use the funds for broadband expansion in the most rural and underserved parts of the state. The deadline to submit the plan to the federal government is in September, but Doty wants to have it submitted internally by the end of July.
 
New law gives MDOC commissioner choice in how people are executed
Mississippi is set to become the first state where prison officials can choose how a person sentenced to death is executed. Starting July 1, the Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain and two deputy commissioners will decide the method of execution for incarcerated people: lethal injection, gas chamber, electrocution or firing squad. "This statute throws it all into the hands of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without guidance and restrictions," said Ngozi Ndulue, deputy director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Twenty-seven states have the death penalty. Ndulue said most use lethal injection as the primary execution method and some have backup execution methods if lethal injection isn't available. Cain has witnessed several executions as the former warden of Louisiana's Angola State Prison and Mississippi's most recent execution as the corrections commissioner. "The courts are the ones who decide the penalties for crime, not MDOC," he said in a Friday statement. "We just hold the keys. When the court orders me, I am required by Mississippi statute to carry out the sentence." The law does not specify how MDOC officials are supposed to decide what execution method to select.
 
Mississippi city's residents urged to conserve water
With extreme heat in the weather forecast, residents of Mississippi's capital city are being asked to conserve water. News outlets report that Jackson is anticipating increased water demand because of the heat. Conservation efforts are being urged to make sure Jackson's surface and well water systems will maintain pressure and volume. The city's Tuesday advisory includes requests that residents not water lawns between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and that they refrain from washing cars or washing down driveways and sidewalks. Jackson residents also are being urged to take showers instead of baths, only wash full loads of clothes and to reduce the draining and refilling of swimming pools.
 
Senators hail 'bipartisan breakthrough' on gun safety legislation
Senate negotiators on Tuesday reached a long-awaited deal on a bipartisan gun safety bill to take firearms away from dangerous people and provide billions of dollars in new mental health funding. The legislation represents a rare moment of bipartisan agreement on the charged issues of gun violence and gun control, breaking nearly 30 years of stalemate on those issues. The bill does not ban assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines or significantly expand background-check requirements for gun purchases, reforms that were top Democratic priorities a decade ago. But it does give states more resources to take guns away from dangerous individuals, even if they haven't been convicted of a crime, and provides billions of dollars in funding for mental health treatment. Lawmakers who crafted the legislation say their goal from the start was to prevent mass shootings, such as the mass-casualty events that left 10 people dead at a Buffalo supermarket and 21 dead at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. "I want to make sure we actually do something useful, something that is capable of becoming a law, something that will have the potential to save lives," Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the lead Republican negotiator said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "I'm happy to report as a result of the hard work of a number of senators in this chamber that we've made some serious progress," he said.
 
Wicker, Hyde-Smith vote no on moving gun compromise forward
Mississippi's two U.S. senators were not among the 14 Republicans voting to move the bipartisan gun violence bill forward for debate. In the first action on a bill aimed at curbing gun violence in response to recent mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation, Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republicans from Mississippi, voted no on a procedural motion to consider the bill. The motion, which needed only a simple majority, passed with 64 votes. However, the vote held greater significance in that it showed there was enough Republican support to break any attempt to filibuster a final vote. Ending a filibuster would require 60 votes. With all 50 Democrats in the Senate expected to support the measure, 10 Republicans are needed to vote for it. Senate bargainers reached agreement Tuesday on the bipartisan gun violence bill, the parties' top two negotiators said, teeing up votes this week on an incremental but notable package that would stand as Congress's response to mass shootings in Texas and New York that shook the nation. Nine days after Senate bargainers agreed to a framework proposal -- and 29 years after Congress last enacted major firearms curbs -- Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters that a final accord on the proposal's details had been reached.
 
Conservative faction's earmark requests illustrate GOP divide
The Republican Study Committee, the traditional bastion of conservative thought within the House Republican Conference, has taken an official position on the practice of earmarking funds in spending bills for lawmakers' districts: It's opposed. To drive that point home, the fiscal 2023 budget blueprint that the 158-member group -- representing about three-fourths of the conference -- released earlier this month calls for an outright ban on the special home-state projects. "Earmarks divert taxpayer resources to special interests, grease the wheels of Washington's spending machine and set a poor example of fiscal responsibility," reads the plan unveiled by RSC Chairman Jim Banks, R-Ind., and the group's Budget and Spending Task Force. But of the 16 signatories on that budget plan, six have themselves requested earmarks during the fiscal 2023 appropriations process that got off the ground last week: Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Fred Keller of Pennsylvania and Trent Kelly of Mississippi and Texas Reps. Troy Nehls, August Pfluger and Beth Van Duyne. Within the broader group of RSC members, CQ Roll Call tallied up 83 who submitted requests this year for "community project funding," as House Democrats have rebranded earmarks. That's over half of the group's membership, which underscores the ambivalence within the Republican Party over the long-reviled practice that returned last year after more than a decade.
 
Katie Britt poised to be one of Alabama's youngest-ever senators, could serve for decades
Katie Britt's runoff victory Tuesday over Rep. Mo Brooks puts her in the position to be the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama. But to political insiders, what is just as important for Alabama residents, is she is positioned to be one of the youngest senators from Alabama since Reconstruction. "I was told, you're too young, wait your turn," Britt, 40, said to a cheering throng of supporters during a victory celebration Tuesday in Montgomery. "One thing is clear. Alabama has spoken. We want new blood. We want fresh blood." Indeed, Alabama Republican voters backed a candidate who -- if she wins the General Election, as expected, over Democratic challenger Will Boyd and Libertarian John Sophocleus in November -- will be the youngest senator from the state since Donald Stewart in 1978. Stewart was 38 years old when he won a special U.S. Senate election that year. He only served two years in the Senate, losing in his re-election bid in 1980. For much of the state's history since the Civil War, Alabama voters sent mostly white men to the Senate. Many of them were elected for the first time when they were in their 50s. Retiring six-term Senator Richard Shelby, who is 88, was first elected to office at age 53 in 1986. "She's not only the first woman from Alabama, but (one of the) youngest United States senators and that double title is incredibly important," said Jon Gray, a GOP strategist from Mobile. "She's going to be here to define and shape Alabama for a long time. We have a young, conservative mom in the United States Senate who could easily serve 42 years in the United States Senate." "This is a young, very bright conservative woman with tremendous amount of passion who will be there to influence Alabama for a really, really long time."
 
Biden picks first woman, person of color as science adviser
President Joe Biden nominated the former head of two federal science and engineering agencies to be his science adviser, who if confirmed by the Senate, will be the first woman, person of color and immigrant to hold that Cabinet-level position. Biden nominated engineer and physicist Arati Prabhakar, who during the Obama administration directed the James Bond-like Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which came up with the Internet and stealth aircraft, to the science adviser job, which also includes running the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prabhakar helped kick-start work in DARPA that eventually led to the type of RNA vaccine used to develop shots for COVID-19. In the 1990s, starting at the age of 34, she was the first woman and youngest person to run the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Prabhakar would take over after Biden's initial science adviser, Eric Lander, resigned when a White House investigation found he bullied staff members amid complaints about how he treated co-workers. It was the first such resignation of the Biden administration. Lander had previously been criticized for downplaying the contributions of women in science. He would be replaced by Prabhakar, who was also the first woman to earn a doctorate in applied physics from Caltech, after getting a master's and bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.
 
Biden wants a gas tax holiday. Some economists say that's a bad idea
President Biden is set to announce on Wednesday that he wants Congress to give consumers a break on the federal gas tax for the summer months. That would mean the government would stop collecting the tax -- 18 cents per gallon on gas and 24 cents per gallon on diesel -- until the end of September, the peak driving period for people heading out on summer vacations. But economists say the move might not make that big a difference to drivers -- and could actually backfire on the economy. "It would be very unlikely that gas prices would fall by more than a dime because of this change. And oil company profits would go up by billions of dollars," said Jason Furman, who served as a top economic adviser to former President Barack Obama and is now at the Harvard Kennedy School. Biden also plans to call on state governments to take similar actions with their own gas taxes, to give consumers relief. He wants oil refiners to boost their capacity so there's more gasoline on the market -- another way to bring down prices. But there's no way to force those tax cuts to be passed through to consumers. And if the tax holiday encourages more spending, that could actually hurt the economy by providing a stimulus at a time when the government wants to curb inflation, said Carola Binder, an associate professor of economics at Haverford College. "By making gas cheaper that allows people to buy more of it," Binder said. "It's giving them a tax cut and that gives them more to spend elsewhere. So that is going to lead to more inflationary pressures elsewhere."
 
'The system held, but barely': Jan. 6 hearings highlight a handful of close calls
In the end, just a handful of people decisively thwarted former President Donald Trump's maneuvering to subvert the 2020 election. The pivotal pushback by a core few players willing to defy Trump is emerging as a central theme of the Jan. 6 select committee's case in its first four public hearings -- without those people, the panel clearly believes, the former president would have achieved his goal of overturning Joe Biden's victory. Committee members have unspooled a case that Trump sought to corrupt state legislatures, the Justice Department and Congress in his quest to remain in power, and then sat by as a mob tried to do what his allies in government wouldn't. And at every juncture in that complex effort, the actions of a single person or small group staved off even greater catastrophe. Nearly every component of Trump's plan revolved around then-Vice President Mike Pence succumbing to pressure. In Trump's view, Pence -- who presided over the counting of state electors on Jan. 6, 2021 --- could single-handedly reject Biden's electors or postpone the count altogether and let GOP state legislatures approve pro-Trump electors instead. Pence, relying on the advice of his counsel Greg Jacob, balked at Trump's strategy. Jacob and other White House lawyers repeatedly told Trump the scheme was illegal.
 
Jan. 6 Hearing: State Officials Recall Pressure From Trump, Allies on 2020 Election Result
Republican officials in states President Biden narrowly won recalled how former President Donald Trump pressured them to try to alter the results of the election, in testimony Tuesday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the events leading up to it. The hearing, the fourth in a series this month, examined Mr. Trump's attempts to contest the election results in Georgia, Arizona and other states in the weeks following the Nov. 3, 2020 vote. The hearing also explored efforts by Republicans in disputed states to submit false slates of electors to Congress ahead of Jan. 6, when lawmakers convened at the Capitol to count Electoral College votes. The select committee is aiming to show that Mr. Trump was made aware that his claims of election fraud were unfounded and risked causing violence, and could rise to criminal wrongdoing. Rusty Bowers, Arizona's House speaker, testified Tuesday about the White House's efforts to alter his state's election results. Mr. Bowers recounted how Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, during a call with Mr. Trump, asked him to allow a state committee to study evidence of fraud, with the goal of replacing Mr. Biden's electors with electors pledged to Mr. Trump. He said Mr. Giuliani told him "we've got lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence." Mr. Bowers said he repeatedly asked Trump campaign officials for evidence of voter fraud and that he never received any. Mr. Bowers rejected the request to intervene. "You are asking me to do something against my oath, and I will not break my oath," Mr. Bowers said he told Mr. Giuliani. Mr. Bowers said he told Mr. Trump he had voted for him but wouldn't do anything illegal for him.
 
Sotomayor accuses conservatives of 'dismantling' church-state separation
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court's most outspoken liberal, accused the court's six-member conservative majority of eroding the barrier between church and state on Tuesday by striking down a Maine policy that barred religious schools from receiving taxpayer-funded tuition aid. "This Court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build," Sotomayor wrote, dissenting from the 6-3 decision that broke along ideological lines. "In just a few years, the Court has upended constitutional doctrine," she added, "shifting from a rule that permits States to decline to fund religious organizations to one that requires States in many circumstances to subsidize religious indoctrination with taxpayer dollars." Maine law gives school-age children the right to free public education. But because many rural districts lack a public high school, a workaround was devised that allows students to attend nearby qualifying private schools with public assistance. The Maine law at issue in the case had deemed schools with religious instruction ineligible for the program. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, sided with a group of Maine parents who sued over the law, with the conservative justices ruling that the challengers' constitutional religious protections were violated.
 
Leadership change approved at Delta State University
William LaForge, who has served as the president of Delta State University since 2013, will depart at the end of June. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board, which governs the state's eight public universities, approved the leadership change at a meeting last week in Jackson. But LaForge said he didn't learn of the change until several days later. In an email message to the entire campus Tuesday, LaForge wrote that he didn't learn of the move until Monday -- just before the board published a news release announcing its decision. Beginning July 1, Butch Caston will begin serving as interim president. "The very basic explanation I was provided was that the IHL Board thinks a leadership change is warranted because the comparative state of the university from the time when I began my service in 2013 until now is not favorable -- especially with respect to enrollment metrics and financial sustainability," LaForge wrote. Delta State's student enrollment declined by just over 9% between 2020 and 2021. Between fall 2019 and fall 2021, enrollment declined by 27% -- the most drastic change of any public university in the state. In 2019, 3,761 students enrolled. That fell to 2,727 students in 2021.
 
'I am very disappointed': Bill LaForge abruptly out as Delta State president
The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees has decided that Delta State University president William LaForge's last day will be at the end of this month, marking a sudden end to a nine-year tenure that oversaw budget instability, some progressive initiatives at the university, and sharp declines in enrollment due to the pandemic. Though the trustees made the decision at the board meeting last week, LaForge wrote in a lengthy campus-wide email that IHL did not tell him until "just prior" to sending out a press release Monday night. "I am very disappointed in the decision, but I accept the outcome and am fully prepared to move on," he wrote. Through a university spokesperson, LaForge declined to talk with Mississippi Today, but he wrote in his email to the campus that the reason IHL gave for his departure was primarily financial. In his campus-wide email, LaForge wrote that his family plans to return to northern Virginia. The appointment as university president was a homecoming for LaForge, who grew up in Cleveland, Miss., and attended Delta State as an undergrad. His father, a history professor at Delta State, is honored with a library on campus. "I will be forever grateful to Delta State University for all it has given me in life," LaForge wrote.
 
IHL names new interim president of Delta State University
The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning has appointed Dr. Butch Caston as Interim President of Delta State University. DSU President William LaForge, who has served as the school's president since 2013, will continue serving through the end of June. Caston will take over on July 1. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board, which governs the state's public universities, approved the leadership change last week in Jackson. Caston came to Delta State in 1983 as Director of Field Experiences, Coordinator of Teacher Education and Professor of Education. He served as Chairman of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction for two years before being named Dean. He served as Dean and Professor of Education for Delta State University for five years, then as President of Delta Educational Services Group and as Grant Director of the Early Learning Mentoring Program and the Healthy Campus/Community Initiative for seven years. During this time, he continued to serve as adjunct faculty for DSU. Caston has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from DSU. He holds a doctorate from The University of Southern Mississippi. His career in education began at the K-12 level, serving in a variety of roles in Cleveland and Hattiesburg, including as assistant superintendent for Hattiesburg.
 
Southern Miss hosts Physical Plant department job fair
The University of Southern Mississippi hosted a job fair Tuesday morning at the Trent Lott Center on the Hattiesburg campus in partnership with the USM Physical Plant and the housing and residence life departments. With open positions for general maintenance, electricians and HVAC technicians, Physical Plant director Neil Bohn said the job fair is a great way to provide service to the campus. "The importance of this recruiting event is to improve the dynamism of this department, to bring in more talent, to bring in people that are engaged to bring in the skills and the trade that we so desperately need," said Bohn. Bohn said the organization also provides benefits and retirement to full-time employees. Interested applicants can also apply for jobs online at jobs.usm.edu. "If you have the skills and the ability, we are really looking for anybody that can bring their talents to the team," said Bohn.
 
Burnett named 10th president of William Carey University
The William Carey University Board of Trustees announces the retirement of longtime WCU President Dr. Tommy King and the selection of Dr. Ben Burnett as his successor. Dr. Burnett will assume his new duties as the university's 10th president on Aug. 16. William Carey employees were the first to hear the news in a June 20 message from Jimmy Stewart, chairman of the WCU Board of Trustees. "The Board of Trustees is very thankful for Dr. King's long and successful tenure, and we are extremely pleased that the Lord very clearly led to the selection of Dr. Ben Burnett as his successor. We look forward to working with Dr. Burnett -- as always, expecting great things from God and attempting great things for God," Stewart said. Burnett began his career in education in 1986 as assistant band director for Meridian High School. In 1988 he returned to Lamar County to become band director at his alma mater, Oak Grove High School. Burnett's Oak Grove band consistently rated superior and grew from 50 members to more than 220. Burnett retired from public education in June 2014 and accepted the position of dean of the William Carey University School of Education – which has an enrollment of 1,800 undergraduate and graduate-level education majors. In April 2020, he was named executive vice president of William Carey University. Burnett succeeds Tommy King, who became president of William Carey University in 2007 -- but his service to WCU goes back six decades.
 
NEMCC Career Development Academy provides inspiration and motivation
As one group of campers was building bridges out of balsa wood for an engineering project, another was playing a fast-paced, musical game. This is the fifth year NEMCC has hosted the Career Development Academy Camp. It runs three days a week. And every day is a full day. "We usually start out with breakfast and then they go to the first learning activity, could be health-related, or science, then fun stuff, lunch, they switch classes, some days they go to the gym, other days outside activities, like kickball," said Assistant Jalisa Estes. The campers are in grades four through twelfth. And while they learn about STEM subjects, and the arts, they also are taught other valuable lessons, such as the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and how to make wise decisions, in relationships and dating. "It teaches you life skills and you can have the most fun in your life," said Webb Devaughn, of Marietta. "Right not I'm looking at being an engineer, so this is helping me learn about engineering," said Thomas Long, of Booneville.
 
PRCC freezes in-state tuition, increases faculty & staff pay by 5%
Many students at Pearl River Community College will be paying the same for college as they did last year. The PRCC Board of Trustees has voted not to increase in-state tuition for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year. In-state tuition has remained the same at PRCC since 2017. Faculty and staff are also getting a 5% pay raise beginning on July 1. It's the fourth consecutive year for employee pay raises at PRCC.
 
Amid labor shortage, organization helps young Mississippians prepare for their careers
Multiple efforts are underway across Mississippi to train a higher-wage workforce, but not all residents are able to meet the requirements for entry. An organization in Jackson is helping to get young residents ready for their careers. Many of the developing programs to grow Mississippi's workforce assume that someone has a diploma or GED and is ready for the responsibilities of higher education. But Caitlin Brooking, President and CEO of Refill Jackson, says some may need additional training on how to thrive in a workplace environment. During a phone discussion hosted by The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, she shared how her program is bridging that gap. "So we really work to try to get them in the right mindset, and kind of stable enough to be successful in a longer-term program," says Brooking. "But we certainly have folks who have gone on from Refill and gotten a CDL license, one of them completed a program while she was at Refill. The program helps residents between the ages of 18 to 25, offers them training twice a week, and places them in a workplace environment for first-hand experience. Additionally, advocates work with students to help meet any needs they may have, including partnerships to help obtain a GED. Brooking says one of the largest hurdles that students face is transportation to work. "We have partnerships to help with childcare, we have partnerships and programs that help with education. Housing is very difficult as well. But transportation, that is really the X-factor," says Brooking. "We are able to provide transportation for our members while they are in the program. Just getting around town is a challenge."
 
U. of Alabama imploding Tutwiler Hall July 4
The Fourth of July fireworks will start early in Tuscaloosa, with the University of Alabama will imploding the old Tutwiler Hall Monday, July 4 at 7 a.m. Because of the location of the building and large safety area, the visibility of the implosion will be greatly limited. A UA released said those wishing to view the implosion are encouraged to watch UA's livestream of the implosion at news.ua.edu/tutwiler. A small public viewing area will be available on the top floor of the Magnolia Parking Deck at 800 Paul W. Bryant Drive. The public should access the deck by taking Bryant Drive to 6th Avenue. Parking will be available on the first two floors of the parking deck and in the surface lots around the deck. Dust masks will be provided to spectators who watch the implosion from the Magnolia Parking Deck. Built in 1968, Tutwiler Hall is the second incarnation of the girls' residence hall. The first was built in 1914 and was located on the land where Rose Administration now stands. The Tutwiler Hall being demolished on July 4 has housed more than 50,000 women since its opening in 1968. The building has 13 floors, although there was no 13th floor. Elevators skipped from floor 12 to floor 14 due to superstition. The building's most recent bed capacity was 1,000. UA said a comprehensive evaluation of the building determined that a renovation would not be cost-effective, so the university has built a new Tutwiler Hall next to the old building.
 
Tigerland bar patrons using new span near LSU even as workers are still building it
A new bridge connecting the main part of the LSU campus with the Tigerland bar district isn't scheduled to open until later this summer, but pedestrians are using the span across Bayou Fountain even while laborers are on duty. "It's kind of weird to see people walking across while people are actively working on the bridge," said Joseph Walker, manager at Fred's Bar and Grill in Tigerland. The city-parish closed the previous bridge last year and set up a nearly 2-mile detour to Tigerland, a mix of apartment complexes and bars to the west of the bayou and the Canadian National railroad track. Bar patrons on foot largely ignored the bridge's disappearance, at times scaling the steep banks of bayou rather than take the longer trip. Mark Guinn, owner of Guinn Construction, which is building the bridge, said he's tried to keep pedestrians off the span. "We've had the cops out there," Guinn said. "We've tried multiple things to try to keep them off, but apparently they haven't worked too well." Fred's has set up a camera pointed at the bridge in case trouble occurs, Walker said.
 
U. of South Carolina's neighbors say university is eroding trust as massive Campus Village forges ahead
Whispers of excitement flooded the University of South Carolina's conference rooms in 2015. Campus Village, four residential buildings replacing USC's worn dorms on the south side of campus, would be the largest development project in USC's history. Seven years later, construction along Whaley and Sumter streets began earnestly. Rising from the ground at this moment are four new residential buildings that will be big enough to house 1,808 students, a dining facility and other "unique" amenities. University architect Derek Gruner still carries the same excitement he shared with surrounding neighborhoods when Campus Village was still just an idea. However, not everyone close to the project shares that excitement today. Neighbors say the university has turned its back on some promises made to them, and they're worried especially about parking and safety as the massive development takes shape in their backyard. "We're threatened with this. Some of our neighborhoods are being, just, eroded," said Kit Smith, a resident of Wales Garden. The project's beginnings focused on continuous communication between USC and neighborhoods such as Wales Garden, Hollywood/Rose Hill and University Hill. Smith was appointed as chairman of a neighborhood committee involved with the project. Now, that communication has broken down, some residents say, and neighborhood leaders feel jilted.
 
Vanderbilt names Berkeley structural biologist as new dean
Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine Basic Sciences has tapped one of the world's leading structural biologists as its new dean, the school announced on Tuesday. John Kuriyan currently serves as distinguished professor of molecular and cell biology and professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on molecular switches in cells, which has revealed insights into the workings of some cancer drugs. Kuriyan is a co-founder of Nurix Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotech company that is developing therapies for late-stage cancers, according to a news release from Vanderbilt. "John Kuriyan is recognized around the world for the quality and impact of his research," said current Dean Lawrence Marnett, who will return to the faculty after a sabbatical. "He will be a beacon for attracting the very best biomedical scientists to campus." Kuriyan earned a doctorate in physical chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University on the dynamics of proteins. He will begin his new role at Vanderbilt on Jan. 1.
 
U. of Missouri vaccine specialist says COVID-19 shots are safe and effective for young kids
Children age 5 and younger will be able to get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose "in the coming days," said Margaret Day, vaccine co-chair for University of Missouri Health Care. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approved a CDC committee's decision to recommend vaccines for children age 6 months to 5 years on June 18, clearing the way for children to get vaccinated. On Tuesday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced it is adopting the CDC's recommendation, allowing providers in Missouri to move forward with vaccinations. In a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday, Day said MU Health Care had placed pre-orders for doses of the vaccine and expects them to arrive soon. Children aged 6 months to 4 years can get the Pfizer vaccine, which Day said has been 80% effective in clinical trials. The Pfizer vaccine will be administered in a three-dose series: the second shot three weeks after the first, and the last two months later. Moderna's vaccine is approved for children age 5 and younger. It has an effectiveness of about 40% to 50% in trials, Day said, but she added that both products would be highly effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization. That vaccine will be administered in two doses, the second 28 days after the first. Day said MU Health Care will not hold a vaccine event for the younger age group like it did for older people; instead, providers will integrate the doses into their "usual workflows." She said she did not foresee any supply issues or long wait times to receive the vaccine.
 
U.S. tech companies yank job offers, leaving college grads scrambling
One by one, over the last week of May, Twitter Inc rang up some members of its incoming class of new hires who had recently graduated from college and revoked the job offers in 15-minute calls, according to some of the recipients. "It was traumatic," Iris Guo, an incoming associate product manager living in Toronto, told Reuters. She received the bad news in a 10:45 p.m. video call that her position had been eliminated. Since then, she has raced to find new employment in order to secure her U.S. work visa. More than 21,500 tech workers in the United States have lost their jobs so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, a website that monitors job cuts. The number of tech layoffs in May alone skyrocketed 780% over the first four months of the year combined, according to outplacement services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. But recent college graduates like Guo, who graduated from the University of Waterloo and studied financial management and computer science, represent a new dimension to the cutbacks as their nascent careers are eliminated even before they begin. The trend reflects a new austerity sweeping across some parts of the tech industry such as crypto and venture capital-backed companies. To be sure, hiring in the tech sector as a whole has remained strong, according to experts from staffing and consulting firms. Tech roles in the healthcare and finance industries are strong, as well as in the information technology field, said Thomas Vick, a Texas-based regional director for staffing firm Robert Half's tech practice. But for the incoming class of new hires out of college, losing their job offers now is especially damaging as they said they are locked out of companies like Meta Platforms, Alphabet Inc's Google and other tech giants, which have already secured their new cohort of recruits.
 
Survey: Campuses perceived as safe for some students but not all
College students are more than six times likelier to say they feel very safe on campus than to feel not too safe or not at all safe---and about twice as likely to have a great deal of trust in campus security than to have not too much or none at all, according to the latest Student Voice survey. But rather than simply take pride in the positive, the aim for many professionals involved in national conversations or local action related to campus safety and security is to understand which students don't feel safe or don't have trust---and then make efforts to change perceptions and experiences. Female students, LGBTQIA+ students and students of color responding to the survey, conducted in mid-May by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse with support from Kaplan, tend to feel less safe, and the latter two groups have had less positive interactions with campus safety officials compared to the full sample of 2,004 students. "People's perception is their reality," says Chief Patrick A. Ogden, associate vice president for the University of Delaware Police and president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). "There's no one cookie-cutter approach, [but] we have to do everything we can to make our students feel safe." As the father of a recent college grad and of a rising senior, Ogden also knows personally how much parents are counting on campuses to be safe places. "Most universities take that seriously. We can't put a wall around our campus and make it a prison, but we do the best we can to educate students to keep them safe---and to have high-visibility patrols to make them feel safe and to deter crime."
 
AAUP: Inflation underlines years of stagnant faculty pay
Average salaries for full-time faculty members increased 2 percent from 2020–21 to 2021–22, according to an analysis out today from the American Association of University Professors. This is consistent with the flat wage growth seen since the Great Recession. But 2021–22 wasn't just another year: taking 40-year-high inflation into account, real wages for full-time faculty members fell 5 percent. This is the largest one-year decrease on record since the AAUP began tracking this measure in 1972. Average salaries for full-timers also fell below Great Recession levels in 2021, with the average salary falling to 2.3 percent below the 2008 average, after adjusting for inflation. This real wage cut was relatively consistent across institution types and faculty ranks. The AAUP released a preliminary version of this analysis and other faculty salary data earlier this spring. Glenn Colby, senior researcher for the AAUP and author of both reports, said Tuesday that he's fielded an unusual number of inquiries this year from AAUP chapters and other faculty groups seeking salary data and advice. They all want help making the case that their institutions must meaningfully respond to inflation. "I would just encourage institutions to make adjustments that maintain the standard of living so they don't lose talented people," Colby said. "That's the market comparison to make."
 
Guest gets my vote for doing right
Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: It's good to see competitive Congressional races so I'm not displeased with the fact that incumbents Michael Guest and Steven Palazzo will face runoffs to stay in office. In a country which sees 95 percent of its Congressional incumbents re-elected, these runoffs are a breath of fresh air. The higher re-election rates for incumbents stem from the fact that there are huge perks once a candidate becomes an incumbent. They have a 10-person staff and a $5 million budget. That's a great base for getting re-elected and gets Congressional incumbents an almost overwhelming advantage. However, in the case of Michael Guest, I hope the competition doesn't stem from Guest voting to investigate the January 6 attack on the U. S. Capitol following President Trump's incendiary speech blocks away. Guest's opponent, a former jet pilot and a solid conservative, has criticized Guest for voting in support of a Congressional investigation. It is a scary situation in the United States when elected representatives want to sweep an incident like January 6 under the rug. The riot was not a legitimate "coup" attempt. It was not an "insurrection" in the real sense of the word. I get that. But it was nevertheless a reprehensible, violent riot at the very seat of our representative democracy. It was a huge embarrassment to our nation and undermined our standing in the world. How anyone can fail to see that such an event requires investigation is beyond my comprehension.
 
Partisan standoff over funding means uncertain future for Social Security
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Stop the presses: Democrats and Republicans disagree over the future of what used to be called "the third rail" of American politics -- the Social Security program. Water is also wet... But in assessing Social Security, there is a very short-term fiscal cliff approaching that does not allow the usual partisan wrangling to continue to manifest itself in gridlock and inaction. In 2020, Social Security provided retirement, disability and survivor benefits to some 416,500 Mississippians with monthly benefits averaging $1,420 per month or $17,161 annually. That means that Social Security injects $7.147 billion into Mississippi's economy -- more than the state-funded portion of the state budget. The Social Security Trustees Report projects that the 86-year-old program can only meet its obligations to retirees until 2035 -- after which Congress must either shore up the program's finances or see benefit reductions of between 21% to 27%. Those dire numbers were posted before $5-per-gallon gas prices became a national reality and inflation soared to north of 8.6% -- impacting the price of everything including food, fuel, and health care. Prescription drug prices are up 35% since 2014 and up 2.5% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. One simple set of facts bodes ominously for Social Security and Medicare and government officials seeking to solve these challenges. Doing nothing is neither a strategy nor an option.


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State football tries 'something different' with new Balconies at Davis Wade Stadium
Mississippi State's newest idea for seating at Davis Wade Stadium proved popular in informal conversations within the school's athletic department. Extremely popular. "When we first started sharing this around with our staff, every time we showed it to a group, we'd have two or three people saying, 'I want one of those,'" said Mike Richey, executive senior associate athletic director for the Bulldog Club and ticket operations. Richey and MSU are hoping interest from Bulldogs fans will work the same way. On Wednesday, the school unveiled its "Balconies at Davis Wade Stadium," a new seating concept that replaces seats on the west side of the upper deck with tiered open-air boxes. The new plan bears a similarity to the Left Field Lounge at MSU baseball's Dudy Noble Field but was not intended to be a copy, Richey said. "It's the idea of the social aspect of an event like this and being able to move around and not being tied to a fixed seat," he said. "It wasn't something where we said, 'Let's do the Lounge at football." Sections 301, 302, 312 and 313 and parts of Sections 303 and 311 will all be converted from bleacher seats into the new boxes, costing MSU nearly 2,000 seats overall. The project, which costs $2.5 million, is in conjunction with LPK Architects of Meridian and the Kansas City-based firm Populous. Codaray Construction of Ridgeland is building it. Richey said Mississippi State has been working on the design since late in the 2021 season. The balconies will be completed by mid-August and in operation by the Sept. 3 season opener against Memphis. "This is something we're excited about," Richey said. "We loved the concept when we first saw it."
 
Mississippi State women believe they can compete this season under Purcell
It's been a busy period for Mississippi State women's basketball since the end of the season back in March. Sam Purcell was appointed head coach, his staff appointments were finalized, recruiting wrapped up with the addition of several transfers and high school prospects, and offseason workouts began. It's clear that the perceived confidence in the direction of the program is shared by members of the team, both old and new. "I don't wanna be part of a startup," Asianae Johnson said about what she was looking for in a transfer destination. "But (Purcell) was like: It's not a start up. These kids, they just need some heart in 'em, they just need some faith, and we're gonna push them and get to the top." From the outside looking in there has been a sense that Purcell wants to build something special ASAP at Mississippi State, a program that just four years ago made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA championship game. The arrival of so many transfers as well as younger players indicates the rebuilding process could be farther along than initially thought, and the players have fed off that excitement and set a positive tone early. "I think it's a different identity this year," Kourtney Weber, another newcomer, said about the team. "Especially with the coaching staff and new players that have come in, I think the identity has totally changed. People like to work hard, and it's gonna be a good year. The chemistry is really good, everyone likes each other, it's just a good time."
 
Iverson Molinar's Mississippi State teammates tell why he should be taken in 2022 NBA Draft
A smirk crept across Cameron Matthews' face when he was asked about his former point guard Iverson Molinar potentially hearing his name called Thursday in the 2022 NBA Draft. Molinar was one of the leaders Matthews looked up to and learned from to become a leader himself in the upcoming Mississippi State basketball season. To watch his mentor inch closer to his dreams, Matthews can't contain his smile. "It always makes me proud of my little bros going into the draft," Matthews said. "It always makes me proud. I'm really happy for him. I hope he gets everything that he deserves." Molinar is hoping to become the 27th Bulldog taken in the draft and the fourth in as many years, but it's unclear if it will happen. He entered last season as a projected first-round pick in some mock drafts, but his stock dropped after shooting 25% from 3-point range. Recent mock drafts do not include Molinar. However, his summer work could change things. In a May 20 NBA Combine scrimmage, Molinar scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a pair of assists and rebounds. He has worked out with the Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets among others teams, while his Mississippi State teammates watch from afar. "It's special," guard Shakeel Moore said. "We talked last year, and I said that being able to practice with him and play with him every day, it's just iron sharpens iron. It's amazing to see him get that opportunity. I learned a lot from him. I hope one day I could have the same opportunities."
 
College World Series Jello Shot Challenge creator in awe of Arkansas, Ole Miss fans, shares proceeds
The proprietor of Rocco's Pizza & Cantina in Omaha is so overwhelmed by the astounding numbers of Jello Shots being purchased in the name of SEC pride, he is donating a portion of the proceeds back to the communities responsible for his windfall. For the uninitiated, every year -- in conjunction with the College World Series, Rocco's has a Jello Shot Challenge. For $4.50 a shot, you can designate which team each shot purchased gets counted toward. There is a scoreboard that gets updated from time to time on social media. Fans of Arkansas and Ole Miss have shattered records. As of Tuesday night, the numbers are staggering. Razorback fans have bought 6,870 shots. Ole Miss, on the other hand, have purchased 5,723 shots. That's $56,668.50 worth of Jello Shots. And those numbers were before the Razorbacks rocked Auburn 11-2 on Tuesday night. Well, Kevin Culjat, owner of the establishment, has decided to give back. "This year, we are experiencing something we never expected when we hung up a white board with eight teams written on it four years ago: the perfect storm of two great baseball schools full of tradition, awesome fan support and huge competitive spirit on and off the diamond," he wrote in a letter to patrons posted to social media. In his show of thanks, Culjat is donating $2 for every Jello Shot purchased by each school's fan base to the June B. Gearhart Full Circle Pantry Food Pantry at Arkansas and the Grove Food Pantry at Ole Miss. "We hope to help students and staff who are experiencing food insecurities."
 
Title IX: Strides for women of color in sports lag under law
Once Tina Sloan Green took over the lacrosse program at Temple University in the years after the passage of Title IX, the landmark gender-equity law, she never stopped thinking about the girls who weren't playing. At practices during the 1970s, Sloan Green, the first Black woman to coach a college lacrosse team, noticed neighborhood kids peering through the fences at her players as guards kept them out. And when high school athletes were welcomed on the university's fields for training camps, most were white and from predominantly white suburban schools. "That was very, very disturbing to me to see that," she said. "And that was --- that was the reality that I had to face ... Title IX was a complete help for women in sports but in my mind, there were still disparities." For girls of color, some women's college sports, such as lacrosse, equestrian, rowing or even softball, are ones they are unlikely to be exposed to in grade school. The reasons vary, though availability and costs can be major challenges for youth programs. Thursday is the 50th anniversary of Title IX and in the years since the landmark law was passed, profound strides have been made in women and girls' participation in sports. Women now make up 44% of all NCAA athletes, compared to just 15% in 1971, according to the Women's Sports Foundation. Nearly 3.5 million high school girls play sports, compared to less than 300,000 in 1972.



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