| Tuesday, April 2, 2019 |
| Using Drones to Improve Flood Forecasts | |
 | As the Yalobusha River rose around Greenwood, Mississippi, during a major rainstorm in late February, scientists from the Northern Gulf Institute at Mississippi State University deployed a small unmanned plane that took high-resolution images of rising waters and beamed them back in real time to NOAA weather forecasters. "We were able to see the water as it rose over the course of two days, which helped our office confirm when the crest had been reached," said Dr. Suzanne Van Cooten, hydrologist-in-charge at the NOAA National Weather Service Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, Louisiana. "This visual information really helps us improve our forecasts so we can provide critical information to those in an affected area." Scientists piloted the 8.5-foot long by 14-foot wide Griffon Outlaw G2E unmanned plane from MSU's Raspet Flight Research Center in Starkville, Mississippi, equipped with the Overwatch Imaging TK-5 payload -- a system able to take, process and transmit images with 6-inch resolution when flying 4,500 feet above the ground. |
| Taking age into account: Field study watches how asphalt ages in southern U.S. climate | |
| his article summarizes key findings from a longer-term aging experiment in Mississippi that is a partnership of APAC-Mississippi, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, the Mississippi DOT and Mississippi State University. Experiments began in November 2011 and are expected to continue until at least November 2021. Figure 1 provides several photographs of the outdoor aging site, which is located in Columbus, Miss. The overall goal of this partnership is to better understand how modern asphalt mixtures age in the southeastern U.S. climate and to develop laboratory conditioning methods and tools to reasonably replicate a few years of aging in this climate. To date, over 5,000 mixture specimens have been tested alongside hundreds of measurements on recovered asphalt binder; multiple mixtures, binder sources and binder grades have been included in the study. |
| Starkville to consider sidewalk improvements | |
 | Starkville is preparing to move ahead with a project that could add more than 4,100 feet of new sidewalk along Highway 12. City Engineer Edward Kemp and Wayne Black, a project manager with Jackson-based Garver Engineering, presented plans for new sidewalk improvements along Highway 12 at a board of aldermen work session Friday. While the total project includes more than 8,200 feet of sidewalks that would stretch from west Starkville to Mississippi State University's campus, aldermen will likely decide only on what to include in the project's first phase at Tuesday's meeting. The Spring Street intersection improvements will also tie into an upcoming Transportation Alternatives Program project that will see new sidewalks built from the Hampton Inn at that intersection to the amphitheater on Mississippi State University's campus. |
| Mississippi State students line up for free film festival | |
 | The 2019 International Film Festival was back at the Mississippi State campus. The Holmes Cultural Diversity Center is in partnership with MSU's Institute for the Humanities. Students lined up to grab free popcorn, soda and a seat for the event. Three diverse films ranging from family comedy to coming-of-age drama aired. "Our intention is to provide an opportunity for students or people from here to come like see other worlds and cultures," said Program Coordinator Kei Mamiya. This served as a chance to expose students and community to other places and cultures. "That's the great opportunity for us to show them here within the university setting in and also these films of daily life is like in other countries in some ways it's very very similar," said Director Julia Osman |
| MSU College Republicans to host GOP debate | |
| Mississippi State University College Republicans will host a debate for the Republican primary candidates for governor on campus Tuesday night. The debate will start at 6:30 p.m. in Bettersworth Auditorium at Lee Hall. MSU College Republicans invited gubernatorial candidates Bill Waller Jr., Robert Foster and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves. Both Waller, former chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, and Foster, state representative, agreed to attend the debate, while Reeves declined due to scheduling conflicts. Adam Sabes, chairman of the College Republicans, said the debate will last four rounds, with each round focused on a particular issue. Each candidate will have two minutes to answer the question. A panel will then ask rebuttal questions, Sabes said, in hopes of highlighting the differences between the two candidates. |
| 2 of 3 Mississippi GOP candidates for governor set to debate | |
 | Two of the three Republican candidates for Mississippi governor are set to take part in the first debate of the campaign season. State Rep. Robert Foster of Hernando and former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. of Jackson accepted an invitation for the event at Mississippi State University in Starkville. The candidate who has raised the most money in the race, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves of Flowood, declined the invitation. His campaign spokesman, Parker Briden, originally said Reeves would be busy with the legislative session, where he presides over the state Senate. |
| Corps opens Steele Bayou structure | |
| The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District has opened the Steele Bayou Control Structure. The structure, which was built in 1969 and combined with the Mississippi River and Yazoo Backwater levees, prevents the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers from backing up and further flooding the Delta. The Corps announced it had opened the structure about 7:45 p.m. Monday. The control structure, which has been closed since Feb. 15, is located approximately 10 miles north of Vicksburg. At 8 p.m. Monday, the backwater level on the landside of the control structure was 97.1 feet. The riverside level was 97.11 feet. "We have experienced below average rainfall during these last few weeks in March and are relieved that stages on the Mississippi River are gradually falling." said Vicksburg District Commander Col. Michael Derosier. The 97-foot level in the backwater area was the highest since 1973, as the water in the area pooled because there was no way for it to drain from the area. |
| Watkins & Eager Welcomes Former United States Congressman Gregg Harper | |
 | Watkins & Eager is pleased to announce that former United States Congressman Gregg Harper has joined the firm as a member in its Jackson office. "Gregg has represented Mississippi at the highest levels of government for a decade and brings a wealth of experience and relationships throughout Congress, the Administration, and around the State," said James J. Crongeyer, Jr, Managing Member of Watkins & Eager. "Gregg's experience and relationships in both Mississippi and Washington will further enhance our ability to serve clients at the state and federal levels. We are honored to have Gregg become a part of our firm." Gregg joins Watkins & Eager's Governmental Relations Practice Area which supports public and private sector clients at the state and federal level. He will focus his efforts on practicing law and advising clients on issues before federal agencies and the Administration, the United States Congress, and the State of Mississippi. |
| USM celebrates 109th birthday with eye on the future | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi is now 109 years old. USM celebrated the anniversary of the school's founding at its Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach with an address from the university's leader. President Dr. Rodney Bennett highlighted the school's accomplishments during a 30-minute address to faculty and students. USM Gulf Park Campus Vice President Dr. Steve Miller is glad to celebrate with an eye on what lies ahead. "It gives everyone a chance to reflect on the great things that we've done in the past, get a look at what's going on currently and then talk about great plans for our future," Miller said. A big part of USM's future is centered on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. "We serve more than just the Gulf Park Campus," Miller said. "We're all the way in Hancock County over to Ocean Springs with the Gulf Coast Research Lab, and there's tremendous activity and new developments at the Port of Gulfport. So, we're really all-encompassing across the three Coastal counties." |
| Local officers provide tips when using ride sharing apps in wake of college student's death | |
| New attention is being focused on how to use ride sharing apps safely. This after 21-year-old South Carolina student Samantha Josephson was found dead over the weekend when she mistakenly got into a car that she thought was her Uber. From work, to school, to late nights out with friends, millions of people count on the popular ride sharing apps for their everyday commute. "Maybe 60 to 70 percent of our students use the ride share apps," said JSU Public Safety Officer Salisha Jordan. Officer Jordan says Uber has become a part of student's daily lives. "We see our students on a day-to-day basis using Uber and Lyft from morning until night." One of those regular Uber users is JSU sophomore Sierra Lovings. "Uber is very convenient for me because I don't have transportation. When I have to go to work, I Uber there." Lovings says she is always aware of her surrounding "I am looking at the profile picture, male of female. I am seeing if I can call you. Also looking at what kind of car it is and the model." |
| U. of South Carolina offers ride share safety tips, extra counseling after Samantha Josephson's death | |
 | The University of South Carolina is offering extended counseling hours and ride share safety tips after the death of Samantha Josephson. Police say Josephson was murdered by Nathaniel Rowland, 24, whom she thought was her Uber driver, early Saturday morning. "The events of last week were extremely difficult for our entire community. Mere words cannot match the depth of sorrow we feel or fill the sudden hole torn in our collective hearts," USC President Harris Pastides said in an email to the student body. In that email, Pastides said he had met with Josephson's family and friends Sunday morning and urged students "in Samantha's memory" to immediately begin using two, key safety tips when taking an Uber or a Lyft. First: make sure the car that arrives to pick you up matches the model, color and license plate number listed in the app. Make sure the driver's name and photo matches the description in the app, Pastides said. Second: ask the driver "what's my name?" and if they get it wrong or don't know, do not get in the car, Pastides said. |
| Vanderbilt University chancellor Nicholas Zeppos stepping down in August | |
 | Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos is stepping down in August due to health problems, the university announced Tuesday. Zeppos, who has spent more than a decade at the prominent university's helm, plans to take a one-year leave before returning to the Vanderbilt faculty as a law professor. "I truly love Vanderbilt and serving you has been a privilege," Zeppos wrote in a message to the university. "Yet my health is presenting challenges that demand my focus, with the love and support of my family." Provost Susan R. Wente will serve as interim chancellor, the university said. A national search will be conducted to find Zeppos' permanent successor. Zeppos started at the university as a law professor in 1987. Over the decades, he worked his way into the administration, eventually becoming the university's chief academic officer and previous chancellor Gordon Gee's chief deputy. Zeppos started his tenure as chancellor in 2008, in the midst of a historic national financial crisis. He led the university through the Great Recession and into an era of growing prestige and accomplishment. |
| U. of Arkansas Redesigning MBA Program on Quest to Be Best | |
 | The University of Arkansas slipped from first to fifth place on this year's list of the state largest MBA programs after temporarily halting admissions to finish redesigning its full-time Master of Business Administration program. The most recent full-time MBA students enrolled in January 2017. The program, with many changes, will be relaunched in fall 2019. This year's list shows an enrollment of 125 in UA's MBA programs, but that count includes only the students who signed up in fall 2018 for a Walton Executive MBA, which is a mostly online program designed for working professionals that allows students to obtain a degree in two years by attending classes one Saturday each month. The UA's Sam M. Walton College of Business began formulating the redesign of its full-time MBA program in 2015, and officials spoke to at least 100 industry leaders throughout that process about the skills they need to see in new hires, Vikas Anand, executive director of MBA programs, told Arkansas Business. The program was redesigned because the school is "on a quest" to be the best it can be. |
| Road Dawgs share their stories at high schools across Georgia | |
 | Ja'Von Holmes knows firsthand the impact the University of Georgia's Road Dawgs program makes. Last year, the group visited Spencer High School, where Holmes was a senior making his final decisions about where to attend college. This year, he joined the Road Dawgs to help inspire others as they inspired him. "It was definitely a reason why I chose to attend UGA, and I want high school students to know that I was in their position at one point, too," said Holmes, a first-year student majoring in computer science. "They introduced me to the beginning of my four years at UGA. The things they shared with me have all been true, and I feel that UGA is only getting better with each passing day." Road Dawgs, a program in which students use their spring break to travel across Georgia to talk with high school students about the collegiate experience, is now in its fourth year and continues to expand its reach. |
| U. of Florida's Dance Marathon marks 25 years by raising millions | |
 | Nate Ferrell is stopped in the hallway of the Stephen C. O'Connell center by fans. "You're like a hero," one University of Florida student says as she hugs the 11-year-old for a quick photo. Ferrell, who was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease shortly before his first birthday, is a member of one of 74 Miracle Families represented at this year's Dance Marathon at UF. The annual Children's Miracle Network fundraising event, which partners schools with hospitals to raise funds for pediatric illnesses, celebrated its 25th year at the Swamp by raising a total of $3.23 million. More than 825 dancers remained standing for 26.2 hours over the weekend to show their commitment to and support for families receiving care at UF Health Shands Children's Hospital. Hundreds of other people also took part in the event. Last year, UF raised about $3.26 million. Since 1995, it has raised a total of more than $21.5 million. |
| Aggies build shacks on Texas A&M campus to raise funding, awareness for Habitat | |
 | Some Texas A&M students are taking shelter this week in shacks outside of Kyle Field. A "shack village" has been built on campus each spring since 2003 for an event known as Shack-A-Thon, an effort to raise awareness about substandard housing and generate donations for a Habitat for Humanity home being built in the Bryan-College Station area. Aggie Habitat for Humanity, the Texas A&M branch of the national organization, auctioned off plots to Texas A&M student organizations, which build shacks from donated materials, with at least one member of the organization occupying the temporary structure through the end of the event on Thursday. On Monday, 12 shacks designed with themes including Coachella, Whataburger, iconic board games and an old-timey saloon were constructed in The Zone at Kyle Field. Entertainment is scheduled throughout the week. The Texas A&M yell leaders will hold a yell practice at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. |
| If There Is a Free-Speech 'Crisis' on Campus, PEN America Says, Lawmakers Are Making It Worse | |
 | Free speech is being tested on college campuses by rising numbers of hate crimes and deepening racial tensions, according to a report released today by PEN America, a human-rights association of writers and editors. But the Trump administration's warnings of a "crisis" overstate the problem, it says, and risk further polarizing colleges. The 100-page report, "Chasm in the Classroom: Campus Free Speech in a Divided America," finds that threats to speech are coming from both the right and the left. Lawmakers at state and federal levels are, in many cases, making the problem worse by raising "politicized and one-sided alarms over the state of free speech" on campuses, it says. The association examined 100 speech-related controversies that have broken out in recent years. Often, the authors found, the battles reflected tensions between free speech and the goals of equality and inclusion. |
| U. of North Carolina Memorial to Slaves Is Defaced With Urine and Racial Slurs | |
 | A memorial dedicated to slaves and African-American workers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was vandalized Sunday, the university said, as the university is still reeling from tensions over a Confederate monument that was toppled by protesters last year. The memorial, called the Unsung Founders Memorial, was vandalized by two people, including one person with ties to a group called Heirs to the Confederacy, the university said. The Unsung Founders Memorial was installed in 2005 to honor "those men and women of color -- enslaved and free -- who helped build the Carolina we all know and love," according to the university. It features a stone tabletop six feet in diameter that is held up by 300 bronze figurines. At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, the memorial was defaced with urine and racist language written in permanent marker, the university police said. The vandalism comes more than six months after the toppling of a 105-year-old Confederate statue called "Silent Sam," which prompted heated protests and drew national attention to the university. Many asserted that the statue was an emblem of white supremacy. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan voted first-team All-American | |
 | Mississippi State senior center Teaira McCowan led the way for the Bulldogs on Monday as the Associated Press rolled out its annual women's basketball All-America team. McCowan was voted to the first team, while senior teammates Jazzmun Holmes and Anriel Howard were honorable mention selections. A third-team AP pick last season, McCowan has earned All-American honors from five national outlets so far this season. McCowan had a stellar senior season, carrying Mississippi State to the first SEC Tournament title in school history and earning most outstanding player honors in the process. She averaged 17.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and blocked 2.4 shots a game. "I can't tell you how proud I am of her. It's been a work in progress for her to where we are today," Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. |
| Portland proved to be far from a neutral site | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Logan Lowery writes: Sunday's Elite Eight setting played out exactly the way I thought it would when Mississippi State was announced as the top seed in the Portland Regional. With not much competition within the rest of the of the West bracket, it was inevitable that the Bulldogs would have a rematch with No. 2 seed Oregon in what would essentially be a home game for the Ducks. The Moda Center was supposed to be a neutral playing site for both teams but it was far, far from that. A raucous crowd of 11,534 filed in for the game and all but about 200 of those were clad in green and yellow and cheering vehemently for the "visiting" Ducks. ... Was it fair? No, but that's where the Women's NCAA Tournament is at right now. ... MSU coach Vic Schaefer was asked about Portland not being a true neutral site game after Sunday's game and I found his response really interesting. |
| Alabama athletics brings in school record $177 million revenue, profits dip | |
 | The business of Alabama athletics remains a big money maker, though a few things are changing. The school reported a $10.9 million surplus in its official NCAA budget report for the 2018 fiscal year. That's down from the $15.6 it made a year earlier even as revenues climbed by more than $3 million, according to the documents AL.com obtained through a public records request. That slipping number wasn't a result of the football program's financial performance. Its profit was $48.2 million (up more than $2 million) on revenue of $111.1 million. The bottom line has Alabama's total athletics revenue at $177.5 million -- up from last year's $174.3 million that was then the school record. It still doesn't meet Texas' economic punch that included $219 million in revenue last year, USA Today reported Tuesday night. |
| John Calipari agrees to contract to finish career at U. of Kentucky | |
 | John Calipari has agreed to terms on a long-term contract with the University of Kentucky, and will finish his career as head coach of the Wildcats, UK announced Monday evening. On his radio show later Monday, Calipari said university officials approached him about a new contract that would allow him to finish his coaching career at UK. "Where else would I want to go?" said Calipari, who later joked about it being referred to as a lifetime deal. "I don't know what that means. It could be two years." More seriously, he added, "The faith they've shown in me, I appreciate it. I've let them know that." UK did not announce terms of Calipari's new long-term deal. "This is a unique place," Calipari said. "And I appreciate the opportunities I've had here." |
| Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt reportedly talking about coach opening | |
| Jerry Stackhouse is reportedly in line to be the next Vanderbilt men's basketball coach. The former NBA All-Star and current Memphis Grizzlies assistant is in "contract negotiations" with Vanderbilt, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Stackhouse's lone head coaching experience came in the NBA G-League from 2016 to 2018. Vanderbilt athletic director Malcolm Turner, a North Carolina graduate, served as G-League president from 2015-2018. Stackhouse, a former North Carolina star player, led the Toronto Raptors' G-League affiliate to a title and was named the league's coach of the year in 2017. Turner fired Bryce Drew on March 22 after the worst season in school history. The Commodores finished the season with a program-record 20-game losing streak and a 0-18 SEC record as the league's first team with a winless conference record in 65 years. |
| College basketball insiders agree Arkansas remains a good job | |
| The emphasis SEC schools have placed on basketball -- mandated by the late Mike Slive as commissioner after the conference had three teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2014 -- is evident the past two seasons. The SEC had a record eight teams make the NCAA Tournament in 2018, and this season followed it up with seven. Four SEC teams made the Sweet 16 -- Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee -- for the third time. It also happened in 1986 and 1996. But there's a less cheerful side to the SEC's progress in basketball. It means more coaches are losing their jobs. Four SEC coaches were fired after competing their seasons, including Mike Anderson, who had a 169-102 record in eight seasons at the University of Arkansas. "When you're at a high-profile job such as coaching men's basketball in the SEC, you've got to understand now that many times change comes with the territory," said Kennedy, an SEC Network analyst who was Ole Miss' coach for 12 seasons. |
| UNC's women's basketball coaches under internal investigation | |
| The North Carolina women's basketball coaching staff has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation into "issues raised by student-athletes and others," the school said in a press release. That includes head coach Sylvia Hatchell and her three assistants, a spokesperson confirmed. Hatchell has coached at North Carolina since 1986 and is in the national Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. She is the only women's basketball coach to win national championships at three different levels -- AIAW, NAIA, and NCAA. "The Charlotte-based firm Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein will conduct the review and assess the culture of the women's basketball program and the experience of our student-athletes," the school's statement said. |
| Texas A&M track and field teams take first steps in E.B. Cushing Stadium | |
| The Texas A&M track and field teams returned from being selected the teams of the meet at the Texas Relays on Saturday to holding their first training session Monday at brand-new E.B. Cushing Stadium. With its first home meet in nearly 15 years only five days away, members of the A&M track and field team gathered at their new home, just as they have for the last 10 weeks, only this time instead of walking past construction workers to get to their old track, they stepped outside their locker rooms directly onto the Benyon surface track recently put down. "It's a great day for track at Texas A&M, and our athletes love it and are appreciative," Texas A&M track coach Pat Henry said. The $39.8 million facility, which broke ground a little more than two years ago, will see plenty of action in its first month with four meets scheduled in a 28-day period. The track has two unique features, a straightaway near the middle of the oval and four pole vault runways at different angles to allow for the direction of the wind. |
| Less Pizza, More Yoga: E-Sports Embraces Traditional Training Methods | |
| The squats and leg lifts were harder than they looked, and after a few sets, Alfonso Aguirre Rodriguez placed his hands on his knees and attempted to compose himself. In November, Aguirre, a 24-year-old professional video game player from Spain, joined the five-man roster of Origen, a League of Legends team that competes in the game's top European league. The players -- all signed in late fall -- were told at the time that the team might be run a bit differently from what they were accustomed to. Now here they were, five young men who make their living sitting almost completely still in front of desktop computers, sweating through an hourlong workout in a cramped gym. The debate about whether competitive gamers can be considered athletes may never end. In the meantime, though, gamers are increasingly acting like them. |
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