| Friday, July 15, 2022 |
| 'Bringing Light to the Spirits': MSU Excavates Concord Plantation in Natchez | |
 | Debbie Cosey looked through tears of joy toward her backyard where 13 Mississippi State University Archaeological Field School students roamed around freshly dug holes in the ground on Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Natchez, Miss. "We are bringing light back to this place," Cosey, a Black woman who owns the Concord Quarters Bed and Breakfast alongside her husband, Gregory, said. The students, who work under the supervision of Mississippi State professor of archaeology and anthropology Dr. Shawn Lambert, were excavating the grounds of the old Concord plantation -- a project that began on June 1 of this year and concluded June 30. The grounds once had three primary structures positioned to form a U-shaped courtyard, but only the enslaved people's quarters still stands. Hundreds of people from across the country have visited the site. Some groups have toured the grounds while singing traditional gospel songs, while others have told Lambert stories passed down through generations about the old plantation. As the tour groups stop at the exposed dirt holes where the field-school students dig, children have the opportunity to hold a hand tool and explore alongside them. Lambert hopes the openness of the excavation will encourage other landowners of historic Mississippi properties to consider excavations. |
| Learn how to help farmers who may be suicidal | |
| When someone stops breathing and is suffering cardiac arrest, that person's life may be saved by a bystander trained in CPR. Likewise, when someone is facing a potential suicide crisis, that life may be saved by a friend who has been trained in QPR. The "Question, Persuade, Refer" method is an emergency mental health intervention intended to identify and interrupt a suicide crisis and direct the affected person to the proper care. Both CPR and QPR fill the gap between the moment of crisis and the arrival of professional care by following a prescribed series of steps. Farmers and their allies can learn the QPR method of suicide prevention by attending a free online webinar, "QPR for Farmers and Farm Families," from the AgriSafe Network. AgriSafe has seven certified QPR trainers, including Tara Haskins, the total farmer health director for AgriSafe Network, and Amanda Stone, assistant professor and Extension dairy specialist for Mississippi State University. Upon completion, attendees will be designated as QPR-trained Gatekeepers, which means they recognize the warning signs of suicide, know how to offer hope, and can get professional help for the person in need. "You don't have to be a nurse," Stone says. "All of us have a role in helping producers." This training goes beyond typical QPR training to include information specific to farmers. |
| Recent high temperatures have caused drought issues for farmers | |
 | Farmers everywhere are smiling at this week's forecast but inflation continues to take its toll. The lack of rain has caused droughts in several areas in the state. One thing giving farmers frustration is the rising cost of fuel and fertilizer, according to Reid Nevins of the Lowndes County Extension Service Office. The price of fuel has declined slightly but producers and consumers everywhere are hoping for more relief in their wallets. Nevins discussed some of the issues at the Exchange Club in Columbus. "The heat. So like our corn crop back in June, you need water and you need cooler temperatures for it to pollinate," said Nevins. "It was 90 to 95 degrees for several weeks and the nighttime temperatures were well into the seventies and it never did get below 70. That hurt the pollination. Then the lack of rainfall. Even an irrigated crop has suffered from it. It never did get a chance to cool off at night and it just didn't pollinate. A lot of pollination problems." |
| Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson addresses local food opportunities and resources available to the public | |
| Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson addressed local food opportunities and resources available to the public during a press conference held at the Mississippi Farmers Market Thursday. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) currently offers several resources for finding local food and agricultural products. "Due to various supply chain disruptions and labor shortages around the nation, our agency recognizes the concerns facing Mississippians to provide for their families," said Gipson. "However, I want to assure our citizens that there is no reason to worry about any potential food shortages." Gipson acknowledged the challenging times farmers are facing with elevated input and transportation costs. Farmers are experiencing increasing costs of fuel, fertilizer, and other input costs. Rising food prices do not translate into increased profits for farmers. "Less than two percent of the American population are farmers," continued Gipson. "That means that less than two percent of our nation is responsible for providing food, fiber, and shelter to the remaining 98 percent. That's a tall order, and we should do all we can to support our farmers. Even with record-high gas prices, the fertilizer shortage, and inflation, our Mississippi farmers and ranchers have not quit. They continue to provide in order to sustain our livelihoods during these difficult times." He encouraged the public to shop at local farmers' markets. These markets provide an opportunity for consumers to purchase local produce and other food products including meat, dairy, and eggs. He invited the public to shop at the Mississippi Farmers Market, as well as the more than 70 additional farmers' markets located in Mississippi. |
| Long lines are back at US food banks as inflation hits high | |
 | Long lines are back at food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation turn to handouts to help feed their families. With gas prices soaring along with grocery costs, many people are seeking charitable food for the first time, and more are arriving on foot. Inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high and gas prices have been surging since April 2020, with the average cost nationwide briefly hitting $5 a gallon in June. Rapidly rising rents and an end to federal COVID-19 relief have also taken a financial toll. The food banks, which had started to see some relief as people returned to work after pandemic shutdowns, are struggling to meet the latest need even as federal programs provide less food to distribute, grocery store donations wane and cash gifts don't go nearly as far. "It does not look like it's going to get better overnight," said Katie Fitzgerald, president and chief operating officer for the national food bank network Feeding America. "Demand is really making the supply challenges complex." Feeding America's Fitzgerald is calling on USDA and Congress to find a way to restore hundreds of millions of dollars worth of commodities recently lost with the end of several temporary programs to provide food to people in need. USDA commodities, which generally can represent as much as 30% of the food the banks disperse, accounted for more than 40% of all food distributed in fiscal year 2021 by the Feeding America network. |
| What does 'broad-based' inflation look like down the road? | |
| No doubt you've heard the figure by now: 9.1%. That is how much prices have gone up between June of last year and June of this year, and it's the biggest number since 1981. The Bureau of Labor Statistics called it "broad-based," which is a euphemism for inflation being ... pretty much everywhere. That said, there were some particulars driving the surge. Some might be temporary; some not so much. In just one month, from May to June, prices rose 1.3%. The month-to-month numbers haven't moved that much in 17 years. "Energy was about half of that," said Justin Weidner, a U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. Inflation's No. 1 driver in June was the cost of gasoline, up 60% year over year. On the bright side, "gas prices are already down 40 cents from their peak, so with oil falling, gas prices should continue to decline," Weidner said. So, six months from now, we probably -- knock on wood -- won't be talking about gas prices driving inflation. But inflation is running on a lot more than gas. Food, up 10% year over year, was another big driver. "We're likely to continue to see very strong increases in food prices, given the increases in wages, given the increases in food commodity prices over the last six months," said Alan Detmeister, an economist at UBS. The war in Ukraine is still disrupting global food supplies and doesn't look like it's going to resolve anytime soon. Then, rounding out the top three drivers of inflation last month, there's the rent. Now, looming behind all of this is, of course, the Federal Reserve, trying to fight inflation by raising interest rates. |
| Tesla announces grand opening of first Mississippi dealership in Brandon | |
 | Mississippi's first Tesla dealership will have its grand opening at 9:30 a.m. July 30 in Brandon. Local developer RCI and Trihelm Properties have worked together to bring the car manufacturer to Brandon. Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, manufactures and sells electric vehicles. Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who said they wanted to prove that people didn't need to compromise to drive electric. It has become one of the leaders in performance EVs. Trihelm Properties co-owner Adam Savage said that when he and some others were brainstorming businesses that might move into the property, Tesla came up as pie-in-the-sky jesting. "We were kind of pot-shotting stuff, wondering who is the best tenant you could get in here. When Telsa was mentioned, there was a chuckle," Savage said. "I found someone online and sent them an email. The next thing I know they are flying out here to look at the property." Renovations are complete at 255 Mar Lyn Drive in Brandon with the 25,000-square-foot building and associated property. "Working with Tesla has been very interesting," Savage said. "They have a lot of super intelligent people, and the way that they operate is totally different than the typical big company. It's been fun." |
| Mississippi Supreme Court upholds rules allowing bid changes after opening | |
 | A recent victory at the state Supreme Court for the Mississippi State Ports Authority wrapped up the last of a string of litigation related to the $570 million restoration of the Port of Gulfport after Katrina. The court's early June ruling closed a bid dispute between the Ports Authority and Eutaw Construction Co. In a failed claim for $3 million, Eutaw challenged the correctness of allowing winning bidder Fore Trucking to increase the amount of riprap and other materials as specified in a bid-specification change order. The materials change for elevating the port's 84-acre West Pier by 14 feet came after the bid opening. The initial bid specs required 2,200 square yards of riprap and 2,500 square yards of aggregate base course, a type of crushed limestone. An amendment to the bid shortly before the opening increased riprap to 4,400 square yards and aggregate base course to 5,000 square yards. Fore Trucking kept its bid price at $19.9 million and insisted its price took into account the added materials but failed to amend the materials amount in a bid response, said Brant Pettis, a Gulfport-based Balch & Bingham lawyer who represented the Ports Authority. "The port's perspective and position are that the bidder" intended to offer the $19.9 million all along, he said. The court agreed: "We conclude that the intended correct bid was evident." Pettis, in an interview, said the Mississippi Supreme Court's ruling gives state agencies needed clarity on rules governing bid openings and awards. With the ruling, the court vindicated a claim that state administrative rules allow a state agency to accept a bid change after bid opening but before the bid award. |
| As U.S. Covid hospitalizations climb, a chronic nursing shortage is worsening | |
 | American hospitals are once again filling up with coronavirus patients -- but not with nurses to care for them. The nation's chronic shortage of registered nurses is as bad in some parts of the country as it has ever been, experts say, and it is showing signs of getting worse. Hospitalizations have risen steadily in recent weeks, and the daily average number of people in hospitals who are infected with the coronavirus now exceeds 39,000, the highest it has been since the waning days of the first Omicron surge in early March. The rise is being driven largely by BA.5, a rapidly spreading Omicron subvariant that is the best yet at evading some antibodies from previous infections or vaccines. But in the face of the growing need, hospitals across the country say they still cannot find enough nurses. To close the gaps, hospitals are offering financial incentives for new hires, bringing in more freelance nurses and in some cases cutting services that they cannot adequately staff to provide. Martin General Hospital, a 49-bed facility in eastern North Carolina, said this week that it would temporarily shut down its intensive care unit starting in August because of the difficulty of finding nurses. "The critical shortage levels are even more challenging in rural areas," John Jacobson, the hospital's chief executive, said in a statement. Demand for nurses is projected to keep growing significantly in the United States. The McKinsey consulting firm projected in a report in May that the nation could face a shortage of up to 450,000 nurses by 2025. |
| Restricting travel for abortion would be 'unconstitutional,' Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says | |
 | Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said it would be "unconstitutional" to restrict people from traveling across state lines to seek abortion services. "We cannot stop people from traveling anyplace they want to," he told reporters Wednesday. "It's a constitutional issue and a freedom." The issue has gained traction after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, with it, a constitutional right to abortion. Now, as Republican-led states work to curtail or outlaw the procedure, some abortion opponents have advocated for putting restrictions on a person's ability to travel to other states where abortions are more accessible. Some major companies, including Amazon, Citigroup, Salesforce and Tesla, have begun to cover travel expenses for employees who need to travel out of their home state to seek abortion services. Other abortion opponents have called on Republicans in Congress to enact a nationwide ban on abortions. Asked whether he would support such a measure, Grassley said abortion is a states' issue, though he did not say directly whether he would support such legislation. "I've been fighting for 50 years for this to be returned to the states," he said. Grassley is seeking reelection to an eighth term in the Senate this November. He faces Democrat and retired U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Franken. Franken has advocated for increased access to abortion services, and he said he supports ending the filibuster in order to codify abortion protections into law. |
| Manchin rejects climate, tax elements of party-line Dem bill | |
 | Joe Manchin on Thursday rejected Senate Democrats' proposed energy and climate investments, as well as their goals of increasing taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, according to a Democrat briefed on the discussions. Instead the West Virginia senator said "unequivocally" during a meeting with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that he will only support reducing drug prices and a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies as components of a party-line bill designed to evade a filibuster, the person said. Manchin's rejection at the meeting blew up weeks of discussions over a larger legislative package. It leaves a slim health-care focused bill as the only option for Democrats who have long hoped to send far more expansive legislation to President Joe Biden's desk before the midterms. Sam Runyon, a spokesperson for Manchin, indicated the West Virginian has little concern for how his rejection might affect his party's overall political prospects, should Democrats ultimately fail to accept the narrow terms he's outlined. Manchin's Thursday rejection of Schumer's offers, first reported by the Washington Post, sparked deep frustrations from progressives, particularly those who saw Democrats' control of Congress and the White House as a long-sought opportunity to rein in carbon emissions. |
| Bipartisan bill would clarify that VP role with electors is only ceremonial | |
 | A bipartisan group of senators is expected to release a bill as soon as next week clarifying that the vice president has only a ceremonial role when Congress tallies Electoral College votes after a presidential election. The legislation would also increase, from one each in the House and Senate, the number of lawmakers required to challenge a slate of electors from a state, according to a source close to the talks. The source did not disclose what the new threshold would be. The bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers had been meeting to discuss election laws and broke into subgroups to handle topics such as funding for protecting poll workers and changes to voting procedures and rights, along with updating the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs the acceptance of presidential votes. The subgroup handling the ECA had been headed by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III. Potential changes to the ECA and other election rules have been highlighted in some of the recent hearings of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump seeking to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election. The House panel has pointed to how Trump allies argued that then-Vice President Mike Pence should use false claims of fraud to justify rejecting electors from Pennsylvania, Arizona and other states Biden won. After meeting Wednesday night, Senate lawmakers involved in talks said there's not much left to do but iron out a few remaining wrinkles in the bill's text. |
| Senate Plans Vote Focused on Semiconductor Portion of China Bill | |
 | Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) is telling colleagues to expect a floor vote as early as Tuesday on a stripped-down China competition bill that would include more than $50 billion and investment tax credits to encourage semiconductor production in the U.S. but exclude other provisions, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The decision to hold the vote comes after a briefing from administration officials Wednesday pushing lawmakers to pass semiconductor funding as negotiations over a larger competition bill have stalled, and it remained uncertain whether Republicans would allow a slimmed-down bill to advance in the evenly divided Senate. Republicans have demanded that Democrats end their efforts to pass a partisan prescription-drug and climate bill as a condition for moving the China legislation. Administration officials urged senators Wednesday to quickly enact legislation boosting U.S. spending on high-tech research and manufacturing. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the most important component was about $52 billion to rebuild the domestic semiconductor industry. Officials said the U.S. must offer incentives now before companies decide to go elsewhere. |
| White House faces disaster with young voters | |
 | President Biden is facing a disaster with young voters, increasing fears among Democrats that they are in danger of losing a generation if he doesn't improve his standing with Generation Z. Biden's approval rating has declined across the board among Democrats, but the figures with people under 30 years old is cratering. A New York Times-Siena College poll this week found 94 percent of Democratic primary voters ages 18 to 29 saying the party should nominate someone other than Biden in 2024. Biden, 79, has never been the candidate for younger Democrats, though they did rally to help him win the White House in 2020 as the president endorsed key progressive policy initiatives to address climate change and other issues. Now the polls suggest they could abandon him altogether amid frustration with a lack of progress in Washington on everything from climate change to abortion rights. "A lot of the young people that I'm talking to in particular right now are asking what the point is of having a Democratic trifecta if our rights are still being ripped away," said Ellen Sciales, communications director at the youth climate activist group the Sunrise Movement. Outside mobilization groups will also be critical in the midterms. Tzintzún Ramirez said that NexGen America is organizing on more than 180 college campuses and running a "micro-influencer program" to leverage young leaders with large platforms to help mobilize the Democratic base. |
| Have Pollsters Cleaned Up Their Act in Time for the Midterms? | |
 | With the midterms approaching in November, US politics junkies will soon find themselves sucked back into a familiar pattern: devouring news reports on the latest polls, comparing polling averages, and compulsively refreshing election forecast models until the trend lines burn into their brains. But can these news obsessives trust the numbers they're seeing? There was a stretch when it seemed as though the new science of election forecasting -- aggregating all the polls, applying statistical techniques, and adjusting with other types of economic and historical data -- could accurately predict what would happen every four years. Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight and granddaddy of this modern discipline, famously nailed the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Then came 2016, when the polls failed to capture support for Donald Trump among working-class voters. After that debacle, the polling industry vowed not to get fooled again. So what happened in 2020? The polls failed to capture support for Donald Trump among working-class voters. What had been forecast as a comfortable victory for Joe Biden ended up a squeaker in the Electoral College, with Biden prevailing by superthin margins in crucial swing states where polls had exaggerated his advantage. G. Elliott Morris is a data journalist at The Economist, where he runs the magazine's election forecasting operation -- a skill he honed as an undergraduate. In a new book, Strength In Numbers, Morris acknowledges the failures of polling over the years but argues that polls remain crucial for democracy. This week, he spoke to WIRED about what went wrong in the last election, how hard it is to predict what will go wrong next time, and why the answer to bad polls is for everyone to just trust them a little bit less. |
| Q&A: Delta State interim president talks enrollment, donations | |
| E.E. "Butch" Caston has come out of retirement twice in the last decade to work at Kent Wyatt Hall, the administration building at Delta State University. The first time was in 2013 when Bill LaForge, then the university's freshly inaugurated president, asked Caston, who had been a long-time administrator in the education college, to serve as interim vice president for academic affairs and provost. Two years later, Caston again returned as interim vice president for students affairs. In a 2015 press release announcing Caston's second return, LaForge called his "devotion and commitment" to Delta State University "legendary." On July 6, Caston un-retired once again, this time to lead Delta State as interim president after the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees announced LaForge's sudden exit, citing the university's plummeting enrollment and shaky financial position. Caston will hold the position for a year as the IHL board undertakes a search process for the next permanent president, he told Mississippi Today. In that time, he said his highest priority is to bulk up enrollment and to identify goals the university can "reasonably accomplish." Caston sat down with Mississippi Today for a 35-minute interview on Wednesday to discuss his role as interim president, enrollment, town-gown relations and giving, and diversity, equity and inclusion. He was joined by Michelle Roberts, vice president executive affairs and chief of staff, and Brittany Davis-Green, director of communications. |
| OPD executes search warrants for missing UM student, continues search around Oxford | |
| The Oxford and University Police departments are continuing their ongoing search for missing University of Mississippi student Jimmie "Jay" Lee. Lee, 20, was last seen leaving Campus Walks Apartments at 5:58 a.m. on July 8 wearing a silver robe or housecoat, gold sleeping cap and gray slippers. His vehicle was recovered Monday from a local towing company that had removed the car from the Molly Barr Trails apartment complex on Friday afternoon. Police believe Lee may have been visiting someone at Molly Barr Trails at the time of his disappearance. Since Lee's disappearance, local law enforcement has asked the community to submit any information, tips or persons or interest. "We have followed up on every tip that has come in," said the OPD in a press statement. "Remember, no tip is too small." Lee's vehicle was reportedly taken to the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory for processing. OPD and UPD have around a dozen search warrants have been executed on both physical and digital entities. "We are still waiting on some of those entities to return information back," an OPD official said. The law enforcement agencies have conducted numerous interviews of various individuals. On Wednesday, officers with OPD, UPD, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, and the Desoto County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue team and their K9s searched specific areas within Oxford. If anyone has any information regarding Lee's whereabouts or his activities on Friday, they are asked to call Oxford Police Department at 662-232-2400; University Police Department at 662-915-7234; or Crime Stoppers at 662-234-8477. |
| USM joins Carnegie Consortium to strengthen Education Doctorate | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has been accepted into the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Consortium. CPED is a grassroots effort of faculty, administrators and practitioners collaborating to strengthen the doctorate in education (Ed.D.) degree. USM was invited to join the Consortium to push CPED's collective work even further. "We are honored to join CPED as we continue to improve the educational experiences we provide Golden Eagles earning an Ed.D.," said Dr. Holly Foster, assistant professor of higher education and student affairs. "This membership will connect us to a network of accomplished colleagues who are dedicated to student success and high standards of instruction. Opportunities to learn and share with this group will be invaluable as we analyze all aspects of our doctoral programs at USM to make them even better." USM offers two Ed.D. degree programs: P-12 educational administration and higher education administration. In contrast to USM's Ph.D. program in education, which is designed for training academic researchers and future college professors, the Ed.D. programs focus on training educational practitioners to connect research to application. |
| Itawamba Community College officially opens new residential hall on Fulton campus | |
| One of the largest community colleges in the state just got larger. Itawamba Community College in Fulton officially opened its new residential facility, Magnolia Hall, with a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning in Fulton. The 72,000-square-foot facility will house 246 ICC students. ICC President Dr. Jay Allen has witnessed several milestones during his five years overseeing the college. In his comments on Thursday, he said few have been "as significant as this one." "The opening of this innovative, student-friendly residence hall will provide state-of-the-art housing accommodations," Allen said. Despite the additional housing space the new dorm provides, Allen said there are still more than 350 students on waiting lists for housing this fall. ICC's president said the demand shows expanding the community college's available housing wasn't a want, but a need. "This simply reinforces the dire need of this residence hall," Allen said. In addition to the residence hall itself, the college added a well-lit path for students traveling to and from Sheffield Hall, another dorm located directly behind Magnolia Hall. Requirements for residence include a preferred ACT score of 24, maintaining a 3.0 GPA and active participation in ICC student involvement/leadership opportunities. |
| Pearl River Community College announces new grants for workforce training | |
| New funding means new educational opportunities that could lead to filling more jobs in Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt, state and local officials said Thursday. Gov. Tate Reeves announced more than $1.7 million in grants to Pearl River Community College's job-training program during a news conference at the school's Lowery Woodall Advanced Technology Center in Hattiesburg. "Not only is Pearl River Community College the oldest community college in our state, PRCC gets it right when it comes to workforce development and training," Reeves said. "That's why I'm so proud to announce $1.7 million workforce development grant funding through Accelerate MS." Accelerate MS is an organization that helps Mississippi businesses by offering workforce development strategies and connecting them with potential employees. "Very quickly we started to identify that we need to organize the state into an ecosystem structure," said Ryan Miller, the group's executive director. "We started to think through how we could build a strategy that is unique and specific to a unique and specific part of the state." Reeves said PRCC has done a good job investing in programs and getting people into the workforce and doing it within the confines of the facilities the school already has. |
| Entergy diversity officer to lead expanded LSU office dedicated to Title IX, civil rights | |
 | LSU reached outside of academia Wednesday to select a leader for its expanded civil rights and Title IX office and directed him to improve the campus community for students, staff and faculty. Todd Manuel, currently the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion transformation with the Edison Electric Institute, will become a university vice president to handle all allegations of discrimination on LSU campuses, regardless of their basis. "When I think about the great work that is happening here at LSU and the desire to be a global force for change, I couldn't think of a better place to be to deliver the type of work that I have been engaged in for much of my career," Manuel said in a statement. LSU struggled through several high-profile sexual harassment cases in recent years, and an outside review criticized the school for essentially having just two people dedicated to handling claims under Title IX, the federal law targeting gender-based discrimination at educational institutions. Manuel, who is also the director of organizational health and diversity at Entergy, is expected to have 18 employees at LSU, and his duties will include overseeing initiatives that ensure students from historically underrepresented populations matter and belong in the LSU community. |
| Former CIA operative shares thoughts on essential leadership qualities | |
 | Commitment and dedication are two essential leadership traits in the mind of James Olson, a former Central Intelligence Agency operative and chief of counterintelligence. Olson gave his thoughts on those two traits and shared examples of how he used those characteristics during his 31-year tenure with the CIA during a Bryan-College State Chamber of Commerce Leadership Luncheon at the Stella Hotel in Bryan on Thursday afternoon. He currently works as a professor of the practice at the Bush School of Government and Public Service of Texas A&M University. "Dedication, I define as serving something larger than yourself, finding what that is and for me, it was the country. I dedicated my life to our country," he said. "And commitment means giving it everything you have. Making certain that all the talents and energies God gave you, that you devote to what it is that you believe in. Those two things together, I think, are essential. Otherwise, you're kind of just a halfhearted leader. I was surrounded by people in my career who just exemplified dedication and commitment, so I try to share that with my students and I bring it up when I have a chance to talk to current or future leaders." Olson told luncheon attendees that after he graduated from the University of Iowa, he joined the Navy and was in charge of 30 sailors. Olson noted he was later recruited by the CIA and believed he would only be in the organization for a couple of years and planned to return to Iowa to practice law and maybe become a judge. When he got to the CIA, though, Olson said his plans changed when he felt a sense of calling. |
| Safety, crime a recurring theme at student housing near U. of Missouri campus | |
 | University of Missouri student Jade Parker was eager to sublease a unit at Brookside Downtown with a few of her close friends while she worked in Columbia during the summer. "It was only for two months, so how bad could it be? I'm in downtown, it's a great location, everything will be easy," Parker remembered thinking as she signed the lease. But things were nowhere near easy for Parker, for she was not prepared to see what had happened to her apartment after returning from a weekend trip to the lake. Someone broke into the apartment, she said, and stole around $10,000 worth of items. Photos and videos of the scene were sent to Parker from one of her roommates via Snapchat. Parker is among the MU students who say they are concerned about theft, personal safety and other crime-related issues at the many privately held student housing complexes that have been built in recent years near the MU campus. "It was supposed to be an amazing day; I was ready to get on a boat with my friends minutes before I received those messages," Parker said. "And then I went completely hysterical." Students have raised concerns for their safety at other apartment complexes in Columbia, as well. In February, residents at The Den, a "premier off-campus student apartment," reported gunshots being fired. A month prior, gunshots were heard at another student apartment, U-Centre on Turner. |
| Sociology meeting loses some attendees due to Los Angeles location | |
 | Since COVID-19 hit the United States, disciplinary organizations have struggled with holding their meetings. Early in the pandemic, most of the organizations converted their meetings to virtual formats; for the last two years, many groups have tried to meet in person, but bad luck has hurt some of those efforts. Consider the American Sociological Association. It will hold its annual meeting from Aug. 5 to 9. It will be the first time the association will meet in person since 2019. The sociologists were expecting 5,000 people to attend. But the location of the meeting has raised some concerns. The ASA will meet in Los Angeles, where cases of the latest variation of coronavirus, the version that is super contagious, have been increasing. Public health experts have said people who are fully vaccinated are unlikely to get very sick if they get infected with the new variant of the virus. But people still don't want to get it, and some who were scheduled to attend the meeting in person are now canceling. "We're looking forward to a robust meeting in Los Angeles," said Nancy Kidd, executive director of the association. "Unsurprisingly, given the circumstances, some people are deciding at the last minute to join us, and others are deciding not to attend." |
SPORTS
| Here's what we expect from Mississippi State baseball in 2022 MLB Draft | |
| Los Angeles will get a look at baseball's current superstars while catching a glimpse of the sport's future phenoms when MLB All-Star Game festivities overlap with the 2022 draft next week. For some fans, new faces with Mississippi State ties could be joining their favorite organizations. For the Bulldogs, they'll watch closely Sunday through Tuesday as they receive answers regarding their 2023 roster. MSU coach Chris Lemonis and his staff already have chased the transfer portal hard but have slowed as they await to see the results of the three-day draft. Here's a look at what could await the Bulldogs. |
| Seven Mississippi State track and field athletes to compete at world championships | |
 | It's international season for the Mississippi State track and field program, as seven Bulldogs are headed to Track Town, USA, to compete at the World Athletics Championships. It will be the first time in nearly 40 years the United States plays host to one of the world's most prestigious track and field events from Friday through July 24. MSU will be represented in five different countries spanned across two continents. The seven individuals will compete across four events, with multiple Dawgs competing against each other on two different occasions. A trio will race in the men's 800m followed by a pair in the men's javelin. Full meet coverage will be presented across NBCUniversal's television networks and digital platforms. All network and cable TV windows will be simul-streamed via NBCSports.com/live, as well as the NBC Sports app, with NBC's programming also to be available on Peacock. Marta Pen Freitas (Portugal) will open Worlds for MSU on Friday night, running in the women's 1500-meter qualifiers. The race will be the first of three total for the event, with the final taking place three days later. A two-time Olympian, Pen Freitas enters Eugene as a six-time Portuguese National Champion with four 1500m titles under her belt. |
| Q&A: Matt Borman discusses LSU facility projects, if TAF will help pay athletes and more | |
| When Matt Borman started at LSU last summer, he entered during an uncertain period of college sports. The coronavirus pandemic had temporarily dried up various revenue streams for athletic departments, and the introduction of name, image and likeness deals altered the industry's landscape. While Borman and his family adjusted to a new state after moving from Georgia, he focused on improved fundraising as the president and CEO of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. The private, nonprofit organization provides a chunk of the athletic department's budget and raises money for facilities projects. "Certainly there was lost revenue because of the pandemic," Borman said. "I'd say TAF was still very healthy as I walked in, but we had to make sure we found a way to focus on fundraising." To do that, TAF altered the marketing around its annual giving program and created The Oaks, a group that offers additional perks for those who donate at least $25,000 over a five-year period. And personally, Borman tried to connect with donors. "I'll never be from Louisiana," he said, "but I certainly want them to know how excited I am to be here and be part of what they do on a day-to-day basis." A year into the job, Borman sat in his office this week for a 30-minute conversation with The Advocate | Times-Picayune. He discussed his first year, LSU's facilities projects and how NIL might affect TAF's future. |
| Clemson and South Carolina together in SEC? What realignment could mean for rivalry | |
 | Georgia didn't want Georgia Tech. Florida didn't want Florida State. And Eric Hyman, South Carolina's athletic director at the time, certainly didn't want Clemson. When it came to the SEC's 2010s realignment cycle, the very idea of Georgia, Florida and USC welcoming their top in-state rivals to their prestigious conference with open arms was a no-go because, as Hyman put it, "we really didn't want to share." "Us three ADs, we had discussions and we wanted to keep what we had," Hyman, USC's athletic director from 2005 to 2012, told The State this week. "If we were going to expand, we didn't really want to expand with those three schools." Missouri and Texas A&M ultimately left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, an outcome Hyman described as far more "palatable" than propositions mixing Bulldogs with Yellow Jackets, Gators with Seminoles or Gamecocks with Tigers. A decade later, though, amid college football's boldest realignment cycle yet, the idea of Clemson and South Carolina sharing future SEC status is a legitimate reality. Though longtime ACC member Clemson has declined to comment on realignment reports, the Tigers were credibly linked to the SEC and Big Ten as a top expansion candidate earlier this month. Immediate action seems unlikely, considering the SEC is reportedly set (for now) at 16 teams, the ACC's grant of rights has proven a remarkably strong contract and Notre Dame, perhaps the only more attractive SEC or Big Ten target outside of Clemson, remains in wait-and-see mode. Still, the Tigers' reported flirtation begs the question: Could Clemson and South Carolina coexist in the SEC? In times like this, Hyman is glad he's retired. |
| Big 12 changes coming after one last season with 10 schools | |
| On the surface at Big 12 football media days, nothing really appeared much different. The 10 mannequins lining the main stage donned the uniforms of the same schools that have made up the conference for a decade. As the annual two-day kickoff event wound up Thursday, workers began to dismantle the oversized figures, then carried them one by one off the stage that was adorned by all the team logos. The Big 12 is heading into its final season as a 10-school league. Oklahoma and Texas, the conference's only football national champions, still have at least this season -- and up to two more after that -- before moving to the Southeastern Conference. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF won't join the Big 12 until next summer. And it's unclear if there could be more teams eventually added to the mix -- from the Pac-12, or elsewhere. Matt Campbell, the league's second-longest tenured coach going into his seventh season, believes the Big 12 is in a strong position now because of the decision by Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and other leaders "to move, and not stand pat" last summer. "Probably a lot better shape than we were a year ago at this time," Campbell said Thursday. "A good move at the time because I think it's probably positioned us in a great spot moving forward." |
| Why Louisville, ACC are looking for ESPN to return to bargaining table | |
| Bound for another 14 years to a television contract with ESPN, the Atlantic Coast Conference is in a delicate spot. It needs to reopen negotiations without opening an exit door for its most marketable members. The conference's 20-year contract runs through the 2035-36 school year and represents the bulk of league distributions that averaged $36.1 million per school for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Yet with the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten both due to add two high-profile members, the financial gap among Power 5 conferences threatens to exacerbate competitive imbalance issues that already exist, adding to the instability of lesser leagues. "People know that the ACC is somewhat hamstrung, and in perhaps a weakened position because of the media contract that we're being held to until 2036," University of North Carolina Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said Monday in an interview with Chapel Hill's 97.9 radio. "And so that's what is leading to a lot of the speculation about schools looking to make a move." University of Louisville interim president Dr. Lori Gonzalez declined an interview request from the Courier Journal on the subject, a spokesman said, because "she thinks there are too many unknowns at this time to speculate on the future of the ACC." Thursday, U of L athletic director Josh Heird said, "I can assure Cardinal fans the ACC is in a strong position," and expressed confidence Commissioner Jim Phillips was working around the clock "to try to put us in a better position." What exactly that might entail Heird didn't say. Like UNC's Guskiewicz, Heird is hopeful ESPN will see some advantage in revisiting a network-friendly rights deal. |
| McClelland to become NCAA men's basketball committee chair | |
| Southwestern Athletic Conference Commissioner Charles McClelland will become the first representative from a historically Black college, university or league to chair the Division I men's basketball committee when he takes over next year. The NCAA announced Thursday that McClelland, who has been with the SWAC since 2018, would be vice chair this season under Bradley athletic director Chris Reynold before taking on the role himself for the 2023-24 basketball season. The committee's biggest responsibility is to select the field for the NCAA Tournament each March. "It is a tremendous honor to be selected by my colleagues," said McClelland, who previously served as athletic director at Prairie View A&M and vice president of athletics at Texas Southern. "The NCAA Tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the future success of this great enterprise." Meanwhile, the Pac-12 appointed Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke to replace UCLA's Martin Jarmond on the committee following the Bruins' decision to leave their longtime conference for the Big Ten in 2024. |
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