| Wednesday, August 21, 2024 |
| Mississippi State offers bachelor's degree in applied behavior analysis | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) is launching a new bachelor's degree to meet the growing demand for applied behavior analysis service providers nationwide. Beginning fall 2025, MSU's Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) will be among only a few undergraduate ABA programs in the country, preparing students for impactful careers in behavioral health. According to university officials, students in the new program will learn how to utilize the concepts and principles of behavior analysis to effectively design, implement, assess and analyze intervention programs for individuals or groups in a variety of settings, such as clinics, homes and schools. ABA practitioners seek to improve quality of life for a variety of individuals across the lifespan, but most frequently provide services to individuals diagnosed with autism or an intellectual or developmental disability. The curriculum will be offered at the Starkville campus and online. It meets the coursework requirements for two certifications in the field of ABA: Registered Behavior Technician and Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst. It also positions students to pursue licensure, which is required by most states, including Mississippi. |
| Are they a nuisance or key to our health? Coast scientist supports misunderstood species | |
 | During a torrential rainstorm in April, Stormy Rose was washed through Biloxi's storm drainage. Eventually, she wandered under the shining lights of the Beau Rivage. A casino employee spotted her red fur coat and wide, dark tail and called Woodside Wildlife Rescue. Soon after, Stormy arrived at the home of Holley Muraco, a marine mammal scientist and research professor at Mississippi State University. The beaver was in bad shape -- her spine rose out of her fur in a sign of malnutrition. "There was nothing specifically wrong with her that I could find from a veterinary perspective, but by studying her over time, I realized she actually had this incredibly rare, weird, protozoa parasite that she should not have had," Muraco said. "... She got this parasite, because it's in our environment, and most likely, was spread through wild hogs." Muraco's research takes a "One Health" approach, a relatively new scientific perspective that recognizes that the health of humans and animals is connected through our shared environment. Once Muraco confirms the presence of the parasite, she will publish papers asserting that beavers could be "sentinels" for human health. Essentially, if beavers are sick, it could act as a warning for similar diseases in people. Muraco emphasized that her research does not imply that beavers are vectoring disease to humans. |
| MSU to celebrate Fish Innovation Lab | |
 | Video: Mississippi State University is holding an event to celebrate its Fish Innovation Lab. |
| Supervisor advocates for demolishing historic old hospital | |
 | District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer wants to move forward with demolishing the old Felix Long Memorial Hospital, even without Mississippi Department of Archives and History approval. But other supervisors were less sure, deciding during Monday's board meeting to engage legal advice before tearing down a building on the National Register of Historic Places. "If the state auditor says we can't do it, that's different; or if the Attorney General's office says we can't do it," Trainer said. "But I'm not concerned with what Mississippi (Department of) Archives and History says, because they're not spending a quarter on this project. We need to tear that building down right now. Then when we get it torn down, we can decide what to do after that." Earlier this month, Ryan Ashford with Major Design Studios of Columbus presented the board with updated demolition and construction estimates and designs, with costs ranging between $24.2 million for a complete rebuild and $28.2 million for a partial renovation and additions to the facility. Supervisors voted Aug. 5 to send the provided estimates, but not the designs, to MDAH for the department to review. During Monday's board meeting, District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver updated the board on a recent trip he and Board President and District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard took to Jackson, where they presented those estimates to MDAH. Both said MDAH didn't feel the documents provided were sufficient to decide between renovation and demolition. |
| Aldermen give up raises next fiscal year for extra police camera | |
| The mayor and aldermen are passing up raises next fiscal year, instead dedicating that money toward the police department's camera request. During Tuesday night's board meeting, aldermen held the first public hearing for the city's Fiscal Year 2025 tax millage and budget. While it included no tax increase, the proposed budget reflected money aldermen shuffled around during its Friday work session to buy 20 police cameras and hire two additional personnel to monitor them. The original budget draft only included money for 10 cameras and one new person, with the police department $140,000 short of its full request for next fiscal year. Roughly $100,000 for the police cameras came from the city's capital outlay fund, which Ward 2 Alderwoman and budget chair Sandra Sistrunk told The Dispatch would delay the installation of traffic cameras for the city's signalization project. Another $30,000 came from funds dedicated to "unreimbursable" expenses like training and equipment that would come along with reopening Fire Station 5, if the city receives a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant to fund nine salaries of the firefighters that will staff it over the three years. "There's no match," Sistrunk said. "It's just for expenses the SAFER grant won't cover." |
| Shoe Country Warehouse opening SCW Run in Starkville | |
 | Following the successful launch of its specialty running department last year, Shoe County Warehouse is expanding its SCW Run brand into Starkville. The location at 100 Russell St., Suite 2, will open Thursday. The store can be found behind the iconic George Sherman Clothiers and will be open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. "This past year has been unbelievable with the reception and success of SCW Run, and customers are buying so many athletic running shoes," said SCW co-owner Brandon Davis. "We ended up buying so many shoes from Brooks, Altra, Saucony, Mizuno, Asics, etc., and we learned so much about active recovery, which is what a runner does when they get off a race. That's when they take off their running shoes and put on something like Oofos, a springy like sandal or Birkenstocks with their extra support, and it's like you're starting fresh with your feet again." With those brands and more, plus the running shoe industry expected to increase market share again by 2030, with an estimated value or around $19 billion. That means there are plenty of feet for the shoe to go on, and Davis believes SCW and SCW Run are well positioned to capture some of that growth locally. And it's not just runners; walkers can benefit, too. Having had success with SCW Run in Tupelo, Davis thinks opening in an active college town will be a hit as well. |
| Marty Stuart's Congress of Country Music to partner with Country Music Hall of Fame | |
 | Marty Stuart's Congress of Country Music has announced a collaboration with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Per a news release, the Congress of Country Music in Stuart's hometown of Philadelphia will be "a major step forward" in the preservation and promotion of Mississippi's country music history. The announcement was made during a Tuesday ceremony in Nashville alongside Chapel Hart, Chris Stapleton, and other artists. "This is a top-of-the-world moment for me," Stuart, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, said. "To have my collection live alongside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's is monumental, to be part of a ceremony and witness the Congress of Country Music and its people formally welcomed into the family of country music is a spiritual high. And, to share such a gathering with family and friends from both Nashville, as well as Mississippi, is just the best. Such a day only comes along once in a lifetime." The partnership will allow items and artifacts from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to make their way to Mississippi for different periods of time, and vice-versa. The Hall will also serve as an organizational advisor to the Congress of Country Music with hopes of enhancing education and exhibition output. |
| As Generation X Approaches Retirement, Reality Still Bites | |
 | The oldest members of Gen X are turning 60 next year. Many can't afford to stop working any time soon. Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen Xers launched their careers at the start of a massive shift in how Americans work. Companies moved from pensions that promise steady income after years of service, to plans such as 401(k)s that place employees' retirement destiny in their own hands. Some Gen Xers were hit hard in their prime working years during the 2008 financial crisis. Others are still paying off student debt. Their children are increasingly living at home well into adulthood, while their own aging parents often require care. Few believe they can rely on Social Security to make ends meet later in life. By some measures, Gen Xers are worse off financially than their baby boomer predecessors. The median household net worth of Gen Xers between 45 and 54 years old was about $250,000 in 2022, about 7% lower than that of baby boomers at the same age in 2007, according to inflation-adjusted Federal Reserve data. That was the only age group that experienced a drop in median wealth over the 15-year period. The roughly 65 million Americans in Gen X are sometimes referred to as the "forgotten generation," sandwiched between the larger and louder baby boomer and millennial generations. They are also called the "latchkey generation," often coming home from school as children to an empty house. Goldman Sachs Asset Management in a recent report called Gen X the "'401(k) experiment' generation." |
| Ford Steps Back From EVs -- and Says Hybrids Are the Future | |
 | Spooked by weakening demand for its EV sales, and the number and ingenuity of Chinese automakers, Ford is scaling back its all-electric ambitions, despite other manufacturers experiencing significant growth for electric car sales in the first quarter. Noting that the Dearborn, Michigan, company is responding to market demand, chief financial officer John Lawler told reporters on a call today that Ford would be "pivoting" away from an all-electric future and instead expand its other platforms. "What we've learned is that customers want choice, and so we're providing that choice, with a full lineup of EVs, hybrid, electric, gas and diesel products," said Lawler. Ford's limited number of existing EVs, including the Lightning and Mach-E, would remain in the portfolio, he said, but announced the cancellation of higher-range all-electric EVs with three rows of seats, which Ford CEO Jim Farley previously described as a "personalized bullet train." These SUVs will be built as hybrids instead, leading to the company taking a non-cash charge of about $400 million for the sunk costs. Ford also warned the cancellation could lead to an additional future hit of $1.5 billion. Ford is not the only automaker in pivot mode. General Motors and Honda ditched a plan to codevelop low-cost EVs last year, with GM preferring to prioritize hybrids. VW of America, too, said recently that a "balanced approach is the best way." |
| Federal judge strikes down FTC rule banning noncompete agreements | |
 | A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday struck down the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompete agreements, finding that the agency exceeded its authority with a rule that would have voided contracts that bar workers from moving to rival employers. In a 27-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown found that the FTC lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule, which would have taken effect Sept. 4. In reaching her decision, Brown wrote that the "FTC's promulgation of the Rule is an unlawful agency action." An estimated 30 million U.S. workers in a wide range of fields are subject to noncompete agreements. The FTC in April voted 3-2 to issue the rule, with commissioners in the majority pointing to evidence that the agreements suppress wages, stifle entrepreneurship and gum up labor markets. If it had gone into effect, the rule would have made it illegal for employers to include the agreements in employment contracts and would have invalidated existing clauses for most workers subject to them. "The role of an administrative agency is to do as told by Congress, not to do what the agency thinks it should do," Brown wrote. |
| Secretary Michael Watson Hosts 2024-2025 SOS Student Ambassador Fall Summit | |
| Secretary of State Michael Watson hosted the 2024-2025 Secretary of State (SOS) Student Ambassadors for their Fall Summit on Monday. The event, hosted at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, marked the first of the in-person summits the Student Ambassadors will attend throughout the school year. The Student Ambassadors had the opportunity to participate in a reverse Q&A with Secretary Watson discussing some of the biggest challenges facing Mississippi's youth and ways state officials may address some of their concerns. Another highlight from the day included a panel, moderated by Secretary Watson, featuring representatives from three divisions of the Secretary of State's Office. The Student Ambassadors also toured the Mississippi State Capitol and participated in a Lunch & Learn Q&A with C Spire Chief Information Officer, Rabun Jones. The next SOS Student Ambassador summit will be held on September 4, 2024, on the campus of Mississippi State University. |
| Senate, House elections committee plans to talk voter registration, voting laws Aug. 28 | |
 | Mississippi House and Senate lawmakers will meet Aug. 28 at the Capitol to rehash discussions had during the 2024 Session about electronic voter registration, early in-person voting and other issues. Senate Election Committee Chairman Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, told the Clarion Ledger during the 2024 Session, he had tried to work on an early in-person voting bill. After it died by a legislative deadline, he and House Apportionment and Elections Committee Chairman Noah Sanford, R-Collins, decided to have a special hearing to further discuss the legislation. "I know a lot of our committee chairman between the Senate and the House maybe don't get along as well, but Noah and I are really working together on this to try to make sure that we have good election laws," England said. The joint-hearing will include members from both committees, and the primary topic of discussion will be early in-person voting and electronic voter registration. England also said that Secretary of State Michael Watson, circuit clerks and several election commissioners and even a think tank group will appear to talk about elections related issued. "The ability to vote kind of on your own time is an important thing," England said. "If we're going to move to that in Mississippi, one of the things that my law did was, was ensured that that those early votes are counted and tabulated on election day, so you don't have the delay of opening absentee ballots and counting them after the fact." |
| Women discuss leadership roles at Mississippi AG Fitch's Women's Summit | |
 | If there was anything women leaders communicated Monday during a Women's Summit hosted by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, it was that women have both a seat at the table and the means to become successful, active participants in their communities. "In politics, if you want something said, ask a man," Fitch said during the event, quoting a line from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who became the United Kingdom's first woman head of Parliament in 1979. "If you want something done, ask a woman." On Monday, about 400 people attended a Women's Summit at the Oxford Conference Center on Ed Perry Boulevard, featuring several panels of women discussing their roles as leaders in government, nonprofits in Jackson, owning and running companies and how they have navigated those settings among their male counterparts, among others. At the event, panelists told attendees about their experiences as women in leadership roles, how they have interacted in male-dominated fields as business owners, in government and even how they use their positions to educate others about their journey. They also discussed why it is important to educate younger generations about women's roles in leadership. State Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, also said that educating young women about the opportunities available to them will help to increase women in government and other fields. |
| Lawmakers weigh possible changes to certificate of need law | |
| A new committee convened this week at the Capitol to discuss changes to the state's law requiring medical facilities to seek state approval before offering new or expanded services. Health leaders said there is room to strengthen the law with reforms but cautioned against doing away with it entirely. The law, which requires medical facilities to apply for a "certificate of need," aims to lower costs and increase the accessibility and quality of health care in the state by avoiding duplication of services. Critics argue that the law stifles competition in the state's already sparse health care ecosystem and does little to decrease costs. Advocates say it ensures that communities have access to a range of services, not just those that are profitable for providers. Nationwide, the laws have not accomplished much of what they were intended to, like increase quality or reduce costs, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told committee members on Monday. But the law has been "extremely" successful at preventing health care companies from choosing only to offer only the most profitable services to patients, he said. "When we're looking at a very fragile health care framework, especially in rural areas of the state, cherry-picking can be disastrous," he said. "It can be catastrophic." |
| Sen. John Horhn eyeing another run for mayor of Jackson | |
| With clouds of corruption hovering over the city of Jackson after one council member pleaded guilty to federal bribery with more prosecutions expected, next year's mayoral election looms large. The field is already packed with candidates who plan to contend for current Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's seat, and Democratic state Sen. John Horhn is heavily considering joining the pack. Lumumba, a Democrat who has been in office since 2017, has already announced his intention to run for a third term in Mississippi's capital but is facing obstacles such as U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson neglecting to endorse him. Some, such as Jackson Councilman Kenneth Stokes, have also pushed rumors that Lumumba may face charges in the ongoing FBI bribery investigation that recently took down former Councilwoman Angelique Lee. On Tuesday, Horhn took some time on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. to discuss the swirl of corruption, how Jackson can recover, and if he plans to seek the mayoral seat amid an unsettling state of affairs. "We work so hard to try to put the good face on Jackson, and when issues come up, it just knocks us down," Horhn said. "It's going to be tough for us to climb out of this hole that's being dug for us. It's really unfortunate. But I hope that folks will focus on the health of the city, the survival of the city, and the survival of its people." |
| Former Ag Secretary Johanns predicts new Farm Bill isn't likely to pass before the election | |
| The former Governor of Nebraska, who served as Secretary of Agriculture under President George W. Bush, is still making predictions. Mike Johanns does not think the prospects for a new Farm Bill are good. Appearing at the recent Indiana Ag Policy Summit, hosted by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Growers Association, Johanns, with Congress taking its summer recess, not much time remains on the clock. 'If you look at the number of days available, assuming they come back on Sept. 9, you've got about 15 days on the schedule," Johanns said. "If I were to guess because the White House is up, the entire House is up, a third of the Senate is up, and it's a coin toss for who's going to be in control -- you won't see 15 days." The deadline for a new Farm Bill is in September. The 2018 Farm Bill was already extended by a year, so a new Version is required before the 2018 version expires. Led by Chairman G.T. Thompson, the House Agriculture Committee successfully marked up a bipartisan farm bill in May that modernizes risk management tools for farmers. The Senate, however, has not taken up the issue since then, and time is running out. The American Farm Bureau recently rallied more than 500 groups representing various agricultural interests and beyond. They sent a unified message to House and Senate leadership with a letter calling on Congress to pass a farm bill this year. |
| Senator J. Boozman Discusses Farm Bill Funds | |
| A recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimated the House Ag Committee's farm bill proposal is 33 billion dollars over budget. However, Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-Ark.) says CBO didn't give enough consideration to the House bill's use of USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds. "Well, what they're trying to do in the House is use some of the CCC dollars. And if you look at what's being spent on just kind of peripheral things, you know the CCC to me is for farmers. It should be spent on agriculture. There's been a lot of things, the gig climate initiative of Secretary Vilsack was a couple billion dollars, that again is peripherally attached to agriculture," he said. "But I think that there's a lot of money floating out of there that that could be used in in better ways. And so that's what they're saying is let's use some of those dollars for the ag safety net, which desperately needs to be improved. It just simply doesn't work." CCC funds are used to implement specific programs established by Congress as well as to carry out activities under the authorities of the CCC Charter Act. Boozman says the CCC wording in the previous farm bill worked at the time, but things have changed. Boozman says lawmakers would still like to complete a new bill this year. |
| Michelle Obama abandons her own plea to 'go high' | |
 | Michelle Obama first spoke her now-famous aphorism eight years ago when Democrats gathered in Philadelphia: "When they go low, we go high." Tonight, there was no going high. Instead, she accused former President Donald Trump of "going small." To a rapturous response from the United Center crowd, the former first lady delivered what amounted to a stern lecture to her party -- asking it to be laser focused for the next 80 days on winning the election and warning Democrats to not be their "own worst enemies" and instead channel their energy into getting out the vote in November. Her address was reflective of a tense and highly charged political milieu -- one in which Democrats are notably not going high. They're calling Trump and his running mate JD Vance "weird." Harris regularly talks about Trump "scamming students," being found liable of sexual abuse and being found guilty of 34 counts of fraud. And Harris' running mate Tim Walz at a recent fundraiser called Trump "low energy" and "tired" and said the "guy that needs to get a little rest on the weekend" -- thinly veiled attacks on the former president's age. Obama did not spare her own withering critiques of Trump. "Going small is petty, it's unhealthy, and, quite frankly, it's unpresidential," she said to a rapt, standing-room-only audience that hung on her every word. "It's his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better." |
| Fannie Lou Hamer rattled the Democratic convention with her 'Is this America?' speech 60 years ago | |
 | Vice President Kamala Harris is accepting the Democrats' presidential nomination Thursday, exactly 60 years after another Black woman mesmerized the nation with a televised speech that challenged the seating of Mississippi's all-white delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. The testimony of Fannie Lou Hamer to the credentials committee in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was vivid and blunt. She described how she was fired from her plantation job in retaliation for trying to register to vote and brutalized in jail for encouraging other Black people to assert their rights. She told of arbitrary tests that white authorities imposed to prevent Black people from voting and other unconstitutional methods that kept white elites in power across the segregated South. "All of this is on account of we want to register, to become first-class citizens," Hamer told the committee. Whether every eligible citizen can vote and have their vote be counted is still an open question in this election, said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who is speaking Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He got his first practical experience in democracy at Hamer's urging in 1966, when he was a college student in Mississippi and she recruited him to register other Black voters. Hamer has already been the subject of appreciation this week, as the Democrats' convention began Monday. "Our challenge as Americans is to make sure that this experiment called democracy is not just for the the landed gentry or the wealthy, but it is for everybody," said Thompson. |
| Kamala Harris memes are no joke. They're part of an organized campaign | |
 | From the floor of the Democratic National Committee convention hall, reproductive rights advocate and social media influencer Deja Foxx urged young voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. "People my age are making big decisions about our lives, and we deserve a president who has our back, not some power hungry millionaire reality TV personality who only cares about himself. We need Kamala Harris. She'll deliver a future where we can decide if and when to start a family," the 24-year-old from Arizona told the millions of Americans watching at home during prime time Monday. Surrounding her in the United Center were more than a dozen other influencers the Democratic Party credentialed to cover the convention, a dramatic change in how political campaigns seek to reach voters. But Foxx is more than an influencer. As a former Harris staffer, she played a key role in setting the foundation for the viral mania around Harris that has swept the country and could sway the outcome of this year's tightly contested election for the White House. At a moment when fewer Americans get their news from mainstream or legacy media outlets such as newspapers and cable news, the Harris campaign has prioritized working through influencers and content creators to spread their message as they scramble in a shortened window to introduce the 59-year-old vice president to the country. |
| The internet's love for 'very demure' content spotlights what a viral trend can mean for creators | |
| It's not just you. The word "demure" is being used to describe just about everything online these days. It all started earlier this month, when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she's wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful. In just weeks, Lebron's words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like "demure," "mindful" and "cutesy," several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration's recent student debt relief efforts. Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving. Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are not only aiming to court users but specifically bring aspiring creators on their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces. Companies are doubling down "to meet consumers where they are," Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but -- for now -- it's "TikTok's day in the sun," she added, pointing to the platform's persisting dominance in the market. |
| As Climate Threats to Agriculture Mount, Some Hope Mississippi River Delta is 'The Next California' | |
| A smorgasbord of bright red tomatoes and vibrant vegetables line the walls of Michael Katrutsa's produce shop in rural Camden, Tennessee. What began a decade ago as a roadside farm stand is now an air-conditioned outbuilding packed with crates of watermelon, cantaloupe and his locally renowned sweet corn -- all picked fresh by a handful of local employees each morning. The roughly 20-acre farm west of the Tennessee River sells about half of its produce through his shop, with the rest going to the wholesale market. Farms like Katrutsa's make up just a sliver of roughly 10.7 million acres of Tennessee farmland largely dominated by hay, soybeans, corn and cotton. Specialized machines help farmers harvest vast quantities of these commodity "row crops," but Katrutsa said the startup cost was too steep for him. While specialty crops like produce are more labor-intensive, requiring near-constant attention from early July up until the first frost in October, Katrutsa said he takes pride in feeding his neighbors. The World Wildlife Fund sees farms in the mid-Mississippi delta as ripe with opportunity to become a new mecca for commercial-scale American produce. California currently grows nearly three-quarters of the nation's fruits and nuts and more than a third of its vegetables. But as climate change compounds the threats of water scarcity, extreme weather and wildfires on California's resources, WWF's Markets Institute is exploring what it would take for farmers in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas to embrace -- and equitably profit from -- specialty crop production like strawberries, lettuce or walnuts. |
| MUW renovates areas with goal of increasing accessibility | |
 | Renovations continue as students return to campus. Mississippi University for Women has been renovating several buildings on campus over the summer. One of their goals is to make more spaces accessible for those with disabilities. Different buildings will have interior and exterior renovations. Some are expected to finish within the next few weeks and others may take a year or more. "All the dorms on our south campus, Goens, Frayser, Jones, and Kincannon, have all had some type of renovation slated for this summer. And we'll also have two AARPA projects that are infrastructure projects, stormwater retention center, severe cross-connect, that will help the campus to prevent flooding in the future," said Carla Lowrey, MUW VP for Operations. |
| MCC to offer course for those seeking to become pilots | |
 | Whether the dream is of flying a single-engine plane, a jumbo jet, a helicopter, a military jet or a hot air balloon, it all begins with getting a pilot's license, and Meridian Community College is offering a course to help those interested take their first step toward becoming a pilot. The 13-week course, Aviation Private Pilot Ground School, is designed for those who want to obtain their FAA private pilot or sport pilot certificate, said Darren Bane, director of Workforce Development at MCC. Whether they're just interested in flying a single-engine aircraft or have dreams of one day being the pilot of a large commercial aircraft, the class will be beneficial to anyone in the initial stages of wanting to become a pilot, he said. The MCC course is designed to take a student with no aviation experience through the first step of obtaining an aviation medical certificate and then the Ground School knowledge portion of the FAA-mandated training, according to the course description. After taking the class, the student should be prepared to take and pass the FAA Knowledge Exam. Students can register with a local instructor pilot to take flight lessons, which are separate from the MCC course and are required to earn a private pilot or sport pilot license. Some local pilots have agreed to take on students from the program for lessons, he said. |
| U. of Kentucky eliminates Office of Institutional Diversity amid DEI criticisms | |
| The University of Kentucky has eliminated its Office of Institutional Diversity, a department focused on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, President Eli Capilouto announced Monday. In a university-wide email obtained by The Courier Journal, Capilouto said he listened to concerns about DEI initiatives over the summer, including those from state legislators, who asked "questions about whether we appear partisan or political on the issues of our day and, as a result, narrowly interpret things solely through the lens of identity." "In so doing, the concern is that we either intentionally or unintentionally limit discourse," Capilouto stated. UK is no longer making its diversity trainings mandatory and will stop including diversity statements in its hiring and application processes, Capilouto wrote. "Many feel that mandatory trainings are not as effective and that diversity statements don't speak to actions," he added. The decision to eliminate the Office of Institutional Diversity came after a bill proposing the elimination of DEI policies in higher education failed to pass in the state legislature. A version of the bill written in the House called for dismantling all Kentucky college DEI programs and banning race-based scholarships at state colleges. |
| Vanderbilt Moves Forward on Florida Expansion Plans | |
 | Vanderbilt University has plans to expand from Tennessee into Florida, potentially developing a new $520 million campus in downtown West Palm Beach, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The proposed campus would reportedly feature a college for computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as an "innovation hub" seemingly focused on entrepreneurship. "It is not a satellite campus. It is a second campus," J. Nathan Green, Vanderbilt's vice chancellor of government and community relations, said in remarks reported by the Journal. "We will be as committed to this community as we are in Nashville." Vanderbilt officials presented details of the plan to the Palm Beach County Commission yesterday. Commissioners directed staff to begin negotiations to donate five acres to Vanderbilt, and the City Commission voted to donate two acres to the new campus project. West Palm Beach, dubbed "Wall Street South" in recent years, is a growing hub for finance companies, which the university hopes to tap into by focusing on certain industry-related programs. Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier previously told local media that a campus in the Florida city would emphasize graduate degrees in the finance, data and technology industries, with a planned enrollment of about 1,000 students. The move comes after the University of Florida hit pause on a similar plan . |
| WUTK GM Benny Smith gets $75K payout, despite 'high risk' audit report | |
 | In the month before longtime WUTK GM Benny Smith was placed on leave by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville -- and his subsequent $75,000 retirement payout -- an audit found the college radio station's methods for handling money went against university policy, including keeping a small cash fund of less than $500. Joe Mazer, dean of the College of Communication and Information, prohibited the college from using petty cash in August 2023. The audit also found problems with the way merchandise was sold and records were kept.On July 11, Knox News was first to report on the uncertainty surrounding Smith's status at WUTK (90.3 FM). Smith had been placed on administrative leave earlier that week, and the College of Communication and Information on July 15 announced his plans to retire by the end of the year.University emails, documents and financial reports obtained by Knox News outline the rules of retirement for Smith, who has served as the general manager since 2004, as well as the details of what the audit conducted by Internal Audit discovered about WUTK's operations. The audit was conducted for the entire College of Communication and Information and was published June 13. WUTK received a "high-risk" rating in the audit's "cash management" category. The audit noted the financial issues were caused by multiple factors, including "inadequate oversight and governance," as well as a "lack of documented department policies and procedures." |
| Texas A&M hopes to launch 3D model of campus to assist students in navigation | |
 | As Texas A&M University students started their semester Monday, many find themselves in the age-old struggle of navigating the nearly 5,200-acre campus, hoping to find the one building they need for their daily classes. Xinyue Ye, professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, envisions a future where students can use a 3D model of the campus to plan their routes to classes beforehand. "We're testing the prototype, but we look forward to utilizing it soon. Not in this semester, but maybe the semester to come," he said. "We want to build a work portal for our university admin and also our students for more testing." In collaboration with researchers from the College of Architecture and the Center for Geospatial Sciences, Applications and Technology, the project hopes to create a 3D model of campus that goes above and beyond what GPS technology can do. When calculating distance and how long it will take students to get to their classes, the digital twin is also planned to take into account rush hours, the amount of students in one building at a time and the exact location of the classroom. The overall goal, Ye said, is to give students a more accurate idea of what their daily commutes may look like, identify less crowded areas based on real-time data about building occupancy and ensure each student can reach a class in time before they register. |
| Community colleges drive rebound in higher education enrollment | |
| College enrollment is bouncing back after a pandemic-era slump. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, enrollment grew by 2.5% this spring. Leading the way are the nation's community colleges. That sector of higher education made up about 55% of the recent bump. But the students who are returning to community college classrooms today are less interested in earning a bachelor's degree. They're coming for vocational training and high-tech skills. The biotechnology associate's degree and certificate program at Middlesex Community College is among the many STEM-focused areas that are attracting students to a community college education in eastern Massachusetts. The major aims to prepare students for careers in the region's biotech industry. The school even has a clean room lab space. This biotech program has been around for more than 30 years. But officials decided to invest even more into the major, which included plans to build this clean room about 10 years ago. That was around when Massachusetts community colleges were starting to move away from their traditional role of being a steppingstone to a four-year degree. Today, they're more of a training ground for high-tech and other jobs in the region. "They are playing an increasing role in linking people directly to employment opportunities. Particularly in that modern technician space," said Bob LePage, the Massachusetts assistant secretary for career education. Recently, the growth in free community college initiatives in the area have turbocharged the trend. David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System, said vocational programs and associate's degrees in high-tech fields have been a popular choice for incoming students. |
| Anticipating More Unrest, Colleges Prioritize Civic Dialogue | |
| The fallout from last spring's campus unrest over the Israel-Hamas war, combined with anxieties about this fall's presidential election, have pushed many colleges and universities to prioritize promoting civil discourse and civic engagement as they head into the new academic year. Such programs have been available on many college campuses for years, but they're often siloed, and experts say they aren't as effective as they could be. Survey results have shown that students, particularly those who lean right politically or who belong to certain religious groups, feel like campus is no longer a place where they can speak freely. "Students are just more cautious in talking about political issues. Even when they disagree, they don't want to say it," said Ashley Biser, an associate professor and co-director of the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs at Ohio Wesleyan University. "They're worried about what their peers are going to think of them if they hold an opinion that's not part of the majority." This fall, in anticipation of those divisions deepening, campus leaders are looking to ramp up efforts, whether homegrown or guided by outside organizations, to create a more hospitable campus climate for all. At Ohio Wesleyan, that means implementing a new civil discourse certificate program in partnership with the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI). |
| Politics Climate is Increasingly a Factor in College Selection | |
| Politics count as a factor in college selection among perspective students, according to a new Echo Delta report. "Politics of College Choice: How Students' Political Views Influence Where They Enroll" -- authored by Jarrett Smit, senior vice president of strategy at Echo Delta, and Grant De Roo, the founder and principal at ADV Market Research -- is based on a nationwide survey that included more than 1,000 high school juniors and seniors. It examines, in part, their concerns about campus and state politics and how those concerns inform their decisions for attendance college. "This study provides crucial insights into the evolving priorities of prospective college students in today's divisive political landscape," said Smith. "Understanding these dynamics is essential for educational institutions aiming to attract and retain a diverse student body." The study found that political concerns account for about 20% of the decision-making process when considered alongside other factors like cost, academic quality, and location. One in four students has concerns about attending college in a specific state based on its politics, according to the report. And Texas topped the list for liberal students at 50% and 18% for moderate students concerned about the state's political climate. |
| Megyn Kelly ripped for post on HBCUs | |
 | Pundit Megyn Kelly is facing blowback for mocking a speaker at this week's Democratic National Convention who celebrated attending a historically Black college. "Laphonza Butler spkg -- (she filled Feinstein's seat) -- celebrating that she and Harris both graduated from historically black colleges," Kelly wrote Monday evening on social platform X. "Imagine the white person up there: I'm proud to tell you I went to a mostly white university!" Butler, who was tapped by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to fill the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), spoke on behalf of Vice President Harris during Monday night's gathering of Democrats in Chicago. Butler noted during her speech that she and Harris had a shared educational experience: She attended Jackson State University while Harris is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Kelly, a former Fox News and NBC anchor who now hosts a popular podcast, was hit with blowback by some online over her response. "Megyn Kelly presumably knows why historically black colleges and universities were formed in the United States. And why someone would be proud to have graduated from one," commentator and frequent critic of former President Trump Bill Kristol replied on social media. "But what this tweet shows is how eager Trumpists now are to appeal to white grievance and white prejudice." Historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, were established prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to serve Black Americans at a time when most U.S. universities limited or barred their enrollment. |
| Harris's Candidacy Has Fired Up HBCU Students. Will the Enthusiasm Turn Into Votes? | |
| Last week, Tevon Blair went to Yard Fest -- a celebratory event for freshmen at Virginia State University -- armed with a tent, a table, a photo booth and games like Jenga and Connect Four. He wanted to create what felt like a block party, in hopes of energizing and informing students at the historically Black university about the voting process. University cheerleaders performed. Members of the Divine Nine -- historically Black fraternities and sororities -- did signature step routines. Thousands of students turned up, according to Blair, and at least 77 registered to vote. A few dozen students even stuck around for a panel about how to engage voters in this election cycle. Blair, an alum of Dillard University in New Orleans, is the co-founder of Xceleader, a national HBCU alumni organization started by former Student Government Association presidents that's dedicated to encouraging student leadership. The group is partnering with HeadCount, a nonpartisan organization focused on youth voters, on an ambitious goal: mobilize 10,000 HBCU students to vote in this election cycle. He wants to see students mobilized across HBCU campuses -- not just at the big names like Howard University, Vice President Kamala Harris's alma mater -- and motivated by their own institutions' history of educating such civil rights leaders as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Ida B. Wells and John Lewis. When Vote HBCU talks about voter registration and engagement, Blair said, "we keep reminding the students that you walk on the same yard, the same campuses, the same halls that many of our civil rights leaders that we talk about today walked." |
| Borrowers Reeling After Appeals Court Declines to Clarify Order | |
| A federal appeals court on Monday declined to clarify its order, issued earlier this month, that put the Biden administration's new student loan repayment plan on hold, leaving borrowers in limbo and raising concerns about the Education Department's authority to forgive student loans. Monday's one-sentence order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is the latest twist in a legal battle over the Education Department's ability to forgive student loans and change the repayment terms for borrowers -- a fight that will likely end up at the Supreme Court and could potentially shut off a decades-old pathway to debt relief. In an order issued earlier this month, the Eighth Circuit blocked the Biden administration from forgiving any loans or interest for borrowers enrolled in the repayment plan known as Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, which was designed to make payments more affordable and offer some borrowers a quicker pathway to forgiveness. That included changing the payment calculation so that low-income borrowers have payments of $0 a month. Prior to the court order, about four million borrowers were benefiting from this change. The administration is now making its case to the Supreme Court. |
| Will state legislative leaders join growing national trend toward property tax limits? | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: As Mississippi legislative leaders contemplate additional tax reforms in the coming 2025 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature, the spotlight has been on additional state income tax cuts and yet another examination of reducing the state's highest-in-the-nation 7% grocery tax. Mississippi House Speaker Jason White has already talked of focusing his efforts on additional reductions in the state's income tax and cutting the state's grocery tax. In recent years, lawmakers have enacted a $525 million income tax cut -- the largest in state history -- set to be fully implemented over two years. Generally absent from tax cut debates in Mississippi is the topic of property taxes. Why? It's the fact that property taxes in Mississippi are primarily the province of county and municipal governments, so legislative debate on property tax issues is neither frequent nor particularly enthusiastic unless fueled by local government advocates. Based on national 50-state comparisons, Mississippi property taxes are considered in the lower third of the states and as a business climate indicator is ranked 37th by the Tax Foundation. One of the reasons that property taxes are low here is that state leaders determined that one way of holding property taxes low for property owners was to shift to a first-in-the-nation retail sales tax in 1934. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State resets with rookie coach Jeff Lebby overhauling Bulldogs in every phase | |
| Mississippi State hopes its third coach in as many seasons settles one of the program's most tumultuous stretches in recent memory. It's Jeff Lebby's turn to lead the Bulldogs, and this season will require patience as the rookie head coach handles the growing pains of starting virtually from scratch with an overhauled roster that returns no starters on offense. "It's going to be incredibly hard doing what we do. We understand that," Lebby said. "They know it's going to be incredibly hard, it's going to be incredibly tough, it's going to be difficult to do what we're going to do. But having fun in the doing to me and for us as a culture is incredibly important." The former Oklahoma offensive coordinator succeeds Zach Arnett, who was fired last November after a 4-6 start to his only full season since succeeding the late Mike Leach in December 2022 following his death from a heart-related issue. MSU's 1-7 Southeastern Conference finish matched its worst since 2008 and the Bulldogs lost by an average margin of 20.4 points per game. The Bulldogs now must climb from the cellar of an expanded SEC with Oklahoma and Texas moving from the Big 12. Those Longhorns are among six ranked foes MSU will face this fall. At first glance, Lebby couldn't have walked into a tougher situation. On the other hand, he brings in a sparkling resume of crafting high-octane offenses. |
| Mississippi State transitioning from camp to game preparation | |
| It may not be game week yet, but Mississippi State has all but wrapped up fall camp and is beginning to focus on preparing specifically for its first opponent, Eastern Kentucky. "We were just saying when we met up after practice that we're excited to game plan against new opponents instead of each other," offensive lineman Albert Reese IV said. "I definitely feel more involved and I'm definitely more in tune, and just personally getting ready to play a lot of football this season." The Bulldogs have spent nearly three weeks installing new head coach Jeff Lebby's offense, getting their inexperienced defense up to speed and figuring out the depth chart. Lebby said MSU improved at avoiding pre-snap penalties between the first intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 11 and the second scrimmage last Saturday and played cleaner football overall. With Lebby coordinating a much faster-paced offense than the Bulldogs ran last season, the defense has needed to adapt quickly in practice and handle the offense's tempo. Linebacker John Lewis, who played in every game with three starts last fall, said the defense tackled much better in Saturday's scrimmage than it had six days before. "All the linebackers that we've been preparing, I feel like we all can have a breakout year," Lewis said. "I just told some of the linebackers a few minutes ago in our huddle, we have to just stay focused. If (the scout team defense) helps the offense, the offense will help them be better players. I told them to look on the bright side; they're going against (the first team). It can't get any better." |
| SEC Unveils 2024-25 Men's Hoops Dates | |
| The Southeastern Conference announced games dates for the 2024-25 Mississippi State men's basketball season on Tuesday. In 76 days, the Bulldogs will face West Georgia (Nov. 4) in their 2024-25 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum and officially embark on the program's third season under Chris Jans, who has guided State to consecutive NCAA Tournament trips. Humphrey Coliseum was one of the nation's most electric environments featuring seven sellouts in 2023-24 -- the most on record for a season dating back to 2008-09 highlighted by four in a row. Fans can purchase season tickets through Mississippi State's Athletic Ticket Office starting as low as $225 at www.HailState.com/tickets or by calling (662) 325-2600 / (888) 463-2947 (GO DAWGS). As previously announced, State's 18-game SEC schedule features at least one matchup with all 15 league opponents. The Bulldogs have drawn home-and-home matchups with fellow 2024 NCAA Tournament participants Alabama and South Carolina along with Ole Miss. The SEC and its television partners will finalize midweek game dates in addition to announcing tip times and TV network assignments at a later date. |
| Women's Tennis: State Set For 'Jam-Packed' Fall Schedule | |
| A busy fall slate awaits Mississippi State's women's tennis team under second-year head coach Chris Hooshyar. The Bulldogs have a dozen tournaments on the docket across seven states spanning from coast-to-coast in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Individual Championships to wrap up the fall in November. "We have a mixture of different tournaments right now, which I am excited about," Hooshyar said. "We're all going to go to the Debbie Southern Fall Classic on the Sept. 13th weekend. When we went last year, it was stacked with good players and good teams. I like to go to that first tournament as a whole group. We use it as a chance to get used to being with each other on the road and playing as many matches that are guaranteed that weekend. I'm excited for that. "Then, the rest of the fall will be kind of split up because of the change with the NCAA singles and doubles championships to the fall instead of the end of the spring. We have a jam-packed fall. We have a couple of tournaments where we will go as a full team. Then, we have a lot of tournaments where we will be traveling with four or less players. It's going to be a lot of events but a fun fall." MSU will open its fall schedule in Greenville, South Carolina for the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic from Sept. 13-15. |
| MWFP Foundation partners with Department of Marine Resources to further conservation | |
| The Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Foundation (MWFP Foundation) and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) are partnering up to further enhance conservation and outdoor recreation efforts across the state. Moving forward, the two will operate under the title of Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, Parks, and Marine Foundation (MWFPM Foundation). With the inclusion of MDMR, the MWFPM Foundation will now provide comprehensive support to both state agencies responsible for preserving Mississippi's natural resources. This partnership will allow the Foundation to fund additional programs and initiatives that benefit wildlife conservation, natural resource management, and outdoor recreation from the Pine Belt to the Gulf Coast. "The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is excited to join forces with the MWFPM Foundation. Their longstanding dedication to conservation and outdoor recreation aligns perfectly with our mission," MDMR President Joe Spraggins said. "This partnership will enable us to further protect our coastal resources and provide more opportunities for the public to enjoy Mississippi's rich marine heritage." |
| Prospect of player pay another wrinkle for HBCU schools, where big NIL deals still taking root | |
| Marc Smith was relaxing in his basement when he got an alert on his phone. An athlete at his alma mater, Grambling State, had posted on social media about not having enough food and needing help. That incident led Smith to form the Icon 1901 Collective in April 2022 to help Grambling athletes land paid endorsement deals at the school best known for iconic football coach Eddie Robinson. Smith searched and couldn't find a single historically Black college or university with a collective focused on name, image or likeness compensation so he expanded Icon 1901 to represent HBCU athletes elsewhere as well. "These kids want to be inclusive in the NIL space and many of the universities don't have the resources," Smith said. Outside the biggest and wealthiest athletic programs, the financial strain of offering robust NIL options to college athletes is a constant concern and is often especially pronounced at HBCUs. The four major HBCU conferences recently agreed to work together to increase the value of HBCUs and send more athletes to the pros, but now there is a new wrinkle. The mammoth $2.8 billion antitrust settlement agreed to by the NCAA and the biggest conferences in the nation includes the prospect of schools paying athletes directly starting as early as 2025. Revenue sharing is a new and daunting factor for all schools with modest resources, including HBCUs. |
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