| Thursday, February 18, 2021 |
| MSU Riley Center 2021 Spring/Summer Series: Thrilling music, comedy, unique Southern culture and a culinary treat on tap | |
 | Following a tumultuous year, the MSU Riley Center is proud to announce its Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series and welcome guests back into one of the most beautiful venues in the South. "We're thrilled to deliver live music, laughter and good food – all essential for our overall quality of life and sense of well-being," said Dr. Dan Barnard, DMA, the Riley Center's executive director. "Gathering together to share an arts experience connects us to our inner selves, to each other and to the community at large. We on the Riley Center staff have greatly missed it, and we know our patrons have, too. We can hardly wait to welcome folks back to this stunning venue to enjoy quality performances and unique experiences." Country music fans get a double treat: Chris Janson, a rising star with four No. 1 hits, and seasoned veterans Sawyer Brown will perform April 16 and June 3, respectively. "Safety for our guests takes precedence over everything else," said Barnard. "We continually fine-tune our protocols in line with the latest medical information, loosening restrictions as soon as we can responsibly do so. We'll continue to update our website with the latest COVID-19 procedures and requirements." |
| Obituary for Dr. R.L. Qualls, Little Rock, AR | |
 | Dr. R. L. Qualls of Little Rock peacefully departed this life on February 15, 2021. He was born and raised in Burnsville, Miss. He graduated from Burnsville High School where he earned the title of "Corn King" for his FFA research on agricultural production. He graduated from Mississippi State University, earning a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics. R.L. received his Ph.D. in Economics from Louisiana State University before completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago and Vanderbilt University. He was a proud veteran having served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. During his extraordinary career, R.L. served in numerous leadership positions. As a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and a lifelong Bulldog, Mississippi State University was near and dear to his heart. He served as Chairman of the Development Committee of the Foundation Board and served on the Executive Advisory Board of the College of Business where he helped establish the Entrepreneurial Center. One of the greatest honors of his life was being named the 2018 Mississippi State University National Alumnus of the Year for his distinctive achievements in business, economics, education, industry, and politics. |
| Can your plants survive the snow, ice and record low temperatures? | |
| Record freezing temperatures combined with the snow and ice and are taking their toll on some plants. With temperatures in the teens and below freezing for several days, some plants have taken a beating. Horticulturist Felder Rushing says despite below freezing temperatures, many varieties of plants will survive. Aside from bringing them indoors, plant lovers will have to wait and see what can endure the extreme cold. Crops, according to experts, won’t see significant damage. Extension and Research professor Dr. Eric Stafne with Mississippi State University Extension said a lot of fruit plants like pecans have not bloomed. An issue is ice on trees that could break the branches. The fruit specialist said some blueberries and plums have started to flower in south Mississippi and may be destroyed by the extreme weather conditions. If the blueberry buds are closed, Stafne said they are probably fine unless there are prolonged temperatures below 10 degrees. |
| Thousands without power in Golden Triangle, surrounding area | |
 | Nearly 9,000 of 4-County Electric Power Association's members are without power after a second winter storm brought rain, light snow and icy conditions to the region Wednesday night. Jon Turner, 4-County's public relations and marketing manager, said it will be at least Saturday and possibly Sunday before linemen restore power to all the members. "We got hammered pretty good," he said. The bulk of the outages are in Oktibbeha, Noxubee and Choctaw counties, Turner said. Noxubee and Choctaw each have about 2,800 members without power, and Oktibbeha has another 1,000. Lowndes County has about 820 members without power. Some residents of Starkville were also without power after a large tree fell in the early morning hours Thursday, taking out a major electricity circuit near downtown. That tree has been removed and electricity restored, Starkville Utilities Manager Terry Kemp said Thursday morning. "The tree took out service in the City Hall area and areas to the west," Kemp said. "It fell around 3 or 3:30 in the morning and we were able to get the tree cut up and removed and power restored after about four hours." Kemp said he did not know exactly how many customers were affected by the outage. He said there were other scattered outages reported in other parts of the city. "I'd say, at this point, we have well over 90 percent of the outages repaired," said Kemp, who said the other outages were also the likely result of fallen tree limbs. Starkville Utilities was also working to repair a main water line break on Highway 182 near Jackson Street. |
| Starkville residents may have pipe problems with fluctuating temperatures during ice storm | |
 | As temperatures stay below and around freezing, it is important to keep an eye on pipes. Starkville Utilities General Manager Terry Kemp said the utility company is monitoring water wells to ensure local businesses are not experiencing any pipes bursting. However, as temperatures warm back up, he said workers could see more issues. They could see more leaks when the ice melts. Kemp said Starkville residents have so far maintained much of their power. He attributes the lack of outages to the city's preparations. "There's been a lot of capital investment put into our system on electric, water and sewer, and that, plus constant preparation, you know from our tree trimming, we spend a good bit of time on that each and every year," he said. "Those things really show up in situations like this." |
| Starkville, Oktibbeha County try to weather winter storms through impassable roads, hundreds of traffic incidents and limited resources | |
 | Oktibbeha County got some of the worst of the winter storms that have left numerous drivers stranded and caused law enforcement to declare certain roads impassable. "This is not a normal event that people in the South deal with," said Oktibbeha County EMA Director Kristen Campanella. "So there's not a tremendous amount of supplies, such as salt, to cover this entire county." That has been the challenge facing emergency officials in Oktibbeha County as they combat the freezing rain and snow that shutdown much of the Golden Triangle. Campanella says area utility companies as well as local road and street departments have been prepping since Saturday but there is only so much they could do. In Starkville, Mayor Lynn Spruill says Reed Road near Highway 182, University Drive and South Montgomery Street were some of the areas that were so icy at one point, that cars were getting stranded. "Normally in a tornado-type of event, we can give you a list of roads you can avoid but with this event, it is county-wide," Campanella said. "So there's no way possible I can tell you what roads are safe and which roads are not so we just ask everybody just to stay home." |
| Starkville police warn residents to stay off icy roads | |
| The roads across northeast Mississippi are creating dangerous situations for anyone attempting to drive in these hazardous conditions. Although the ice appeared to be melting on the roads of Starkville, those roads were still slick, covered in a layer of ice. The Starkville police officers have been working tirelessly to keep folks in the area safe. "Even where it looks like it's safe, there's a great hazard there," said Starkville lieutenant, William Durr. Working through the ice storm, Durr said the roads are not something to mess around with. "Everybody wants to go see what town looks like with ice everywhere," he said. "It could be fun but also you know it just takes one wrong, you hit one wrong place, a piece of ice and then there's a tragedy." Durr warned drivers that the roads just aren't safe to drive on right now. "You just can't drive on ice," he said. |
| When will Mississippi road conditions improve, snow melt? Not as soon as you’d like | |
 | This winter weather is getting old. Days of rain, sleet and snow combined with bitter, record-breaking cold have kept many Mississippians at home since Sunday, and many of those who ventured out found themselves in a travel nightmare. Thousands have been without power and the second front that is moving through the state now is making things worse. So when will the winter storm misery end? Well, it's a bit of an ebb and flow process and will likely continue until Sunday. "There will be a threat of icy roads all the way into the weekend," said Mike Edmonston, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. "The good news is we're looking into Sunday and Monday with a warm-up and Saturday as well." The problem is what happens between now and then. Additional ice and snow in the Delta and other parts of the state on Wednesday won't help. The additional precipitation piled on top of inches of snow and ice is bad enough. Then we have the tug-o-war between day and night temperatures. Temperatures in the day will be above freezing for the remainder of the week, but nighttime lows will be below freezing in most of the state, refreezing what melted during the day. |
| Farmers From Kansas to Alabama Have Never Dealt With Weather Like This | |
 | Brutal winter weather continued to batter the U.S. agriculture industry, as companies and farmers contended with snow, ice and cold temperatures that disrupted processing, snarled transport and killed livestock across the Midwest and South. Winter storms are sowing challenges from Kansas to Alabama, state and industry officials said. Energy shortages forced meat-processing plants to temporarily close, while ice buildups kept grain barges off rivers and cattle ranchers struggled to save calves born onto frozen ground in the middle of the night. The processing and transport disruptions, as well as the loss of animal life, are projected to cost agriculture companies and farmers millions of dollars. Farmers and state agriculture officials said it remained too early to tally all the costs. State agriculture officials in Louisiana and Alabama fretted over cold-injured strawberry fields and lost forage crops for livestock. Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, said low temperatures have threatened the state's crawfish production, likely reducing their size and quantity. |
| Governor: 'My office building is flooded, while my home is without running water' | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves took to Twitter on Thursday to talk about the effects the winter storm has had on Mississippi. "Mississippians are being hit hard again, and so many are stepping up -- again," Reeves began in a series of tweets. "We are not used to this, but we are always ready to come together and protect one another." Mississippi has been facing icy conditions all week that have closed roads, interstates, schools, government offices and businesses. The latest ice storm has left thousands without power. The ongoing freeze has led to water outages in several cities, including Jackson. "My office building is flooded, while my home is without running water," Reeves said. "Look after your loved ones and neighbors -- share resources and check in." The governor asked residents to record storm damage because emergency management teams will work to calculate the totals to seek federal assistance if needed. |
| MDOT's limited resources likely worsened winter storm's impact on central Mississippi | |
| While drivers in central Mississippi deal with a third day of treacherous road conditions and the potential for a second wave of winter weather, new information from the Mississippi Department of Transportation reveals at least two factors that likely made the impact of that snow and ice on roads even worse. For days, MDOT told reporters -- and the public -- that its crews pretreated the state's major highways and interstates with a mixture of brine, salt and slag before the arrival of snow and ice on Sunday evening, which would have lowered the freezing point on those roadways and made it harder for that frozen precipitation to accumulate. 3 On Your Side has learned that only a portion of Interstate 20 was actually pretreated at all: overpasses and bridges in the Jackson metro area, as well as the criss-cross of elevated roadways known as "The Stack." The agency's deputy director of public affairs, Jas N Smith, told WLBT initially none of I-20 had been treated before the winter weather, but corrected his original statement after a MDOT engineer saw WLBT's Wednesday evening story and noticed what Smith said. |
| Mom and Pop opens in former Biscuit Shop in Starkville | |
| A little less than a year ago, Hunter Bell was preparing to debut his food truck in Starkville. As of last week, the Mom and Pop Food Truck expanded and opened its bakery in the former Biscuit Shop at 104 S. Washington St. "The food truck has been getting booked for most events," Bell said. "That's what inspired us to open up our space so we could still cater to our community." The Mom and Pop bakery will be open 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The bakery will serve breakfast items, quiches, salads, casseroles to-go and a slew of bakery items. Starkville good news continues. Big Dawgs Barbecue, 804 Old West Point Road, is officially still open. Big Dawgs owner Yulanda Haddix previously announced the barbecue/convenience store's closure last year when her husband, former Mississippi State and NFL running back Michael, had surgery. Initially, Michael's health was the sole reason for the year-end closure in December 2020, but it became pretty clear that he may be the reason its open light is still shining. "When he's there at the store," Yulanda said, "he's relaxed." The Haddix duo is happy to keep their doors open and continue to be that quick stop for area residents near Old West Point Road. |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann pushes to overhaul Mississippi business incentives, avoid boondoggles of the past | |
| Lawmakers are trying to revamp incentives to businesses that expand or relocate to Mississippi, to simplify the process, provide more transparency and prevent boondoggles that in the past have left taxpayers holding the bag. "This will be performance-based, not promise-based," said Senate Economic Development Chairman David Parker, R-Olive Branch, author of Senate Bill 2822, the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive Act, or "MFlex." To qualify for MFlex incentives, a business would have to make a minimum investment of $2.5 million and create a minimum of 10 new full-time jobs. The application would be only a few pages, compared to hundreds of pages of code companies have to sift through for many current state incentive programs. A company using the MFlex program would not be able to participate in other tax incentive programs. Scratching for jobs and development for a poor state, lawmakers over many years have created dozens of tax breaks, credits and incentives for new or expanding businesses. Many sit in the books unused by or unknown to qualified businesses. Others, economic experts have said, provide little benefit to the state. Lack of oversight on the incentives has in the past resulted in businesses taking the incentives then defaulting on providing promised jobs and investments, leaving the state on the hook for millions with little way to recoup. |
| Top Republican files bill calling for vote on raising gas tax for designated roads projects | |
| A sweeping transportation bill filed by one of the most powerful Republican leaders in the Legislature would allow voters to decide whether to temporarily increase Mississippi's tax on motor fuels to pay for specific improvement projects on highways. The bill, authored by Ways and Means Chair Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, calls for a statewide election this summer on whether to temporarily raise the tax on gasoline by 10 cents and the tax on diesel fuel by 14 cents to pay for $2.5 billion of bonds that would primarily fund specific state projects. The bill would also designate $300 million for local roads and bridges. Lamar's proposal also calls for adjusting the current 18.4-cent gallon tax on motor fuel on a regular basis for inflation starting in 2031. Officials with the Mississippi Department of Transportation have long said the 18.4-cent-per gallon tax, approved in 1987, no longer provides enough revenue to meet the state's infrastructure needs. Lawmakers face a first deadline of Feb. 24 to pass the bill. If the bill passes the House, it will move to the Senate for consideration. If the Legislature approves the bill, the statewide vote on the tax increase would be June 8, 2021 -- the same date as the state's municipal elections. "I think I can get some support," Lamar said when asked whether he could pass the tax increase. "Members like the statewide election feature. It is for specific projects, and the money is not just going down a dark hole at the Transportation Commission." |
| Scott Walker apologizes for comments made in court, avoids jail time for now | |
 | Scott Walker appeared again in court Wednesday morning, apologizing for comments he reportedly made the day before. Those comments prompted Jackson County Chancery Court Judge Neil Harris on Tuesday to threaten Walker with 30 days of jail time for being in contempt. Judge Harris started the hearing on Wednesday by recounting what unfolded the previous day during a hearing regarding the conservatorship of Walker's parents Drs. Bill and Sharon Walker. Harris said Scott Walker made comments to attorney Matthew Pavlov, who represents the guardianship for Bill and Sharon Walker, that were disrespectful to the court. After launching into an explanation of what merits contempt of court, Harris found Scott Walker to be in direct criminal contempt. He did not sentence him on Wednesday, though, saying, "I'm not going to put in jail, though I should. You deserve it." During the hearing, Scott Walker was also given the chance to speak on his own behalf. "I apologize. [My behavior] was beneath me and beneath the court," he said. "I take full responsibility for my actions." |
| Proposed legislation would help Coast veterans home continue with construction | |
| Proposed legislation in the nation's capital could make it possible for a veterans home project on the Gulf Coast to move forward with construction. Sen. Roger Wicker introduced the State Veterans Homes Relief Act on Thursday. If passed, it would provide $500 million for outstanding projects, including the $54 million Gulfport State Veterans Home at Tradition. Wicker said he posed the new legislation after only $90 million was appropriated for State Veterans Homes this fiscal year, leaving dozens of approved SVH construction projects without funding, including the Coast veterans home. A groundbreaking ceremony for that facility was held in 2019, but the construction has been held up. "Our nation's veterans deserve the best possible support to meet their needs, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic," said Wicker. "Eliminating the current backlog of State Veterans Home projects would provide critical upgrades to veteran housing across the nation, ensuring our former service members have safe and modern facilities to minimize transmission of infectious diseases and improve quality of care for years to come." |
| It might just be game over for the Iowa caucus | |
 | The siege of Iowa and New Hampshire has begun. The two states with privileged places on the presidential primary calendar are finding their roles more threatened than ever before -- most recently in the form of a bill introduced in Nevada this week to move that state's nominating contest to the front of the line in 2024. On its own, the Nevada encroachment would mean little. For years, Iowa and New Hampshire have successfully defended their one-two position from states eager to jump ahead. But the combination of Iowa's botched 2020 caucus and increasing diversity in the Democratic Party's ranks has made the whiteness of Iowa and New Hampshire all the more conspicuous, putting the two states on their heels and throwing the 2024 calendar into turmoil. "There's no reason in the world that those states should go forward so early, because they're not representative of what 90 percent of the country's all about," said former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who remains influential in party politics. "America looks different than it did 50 years ago, when these traditions were put in place, and the Democratic electorate looks really different." He added, "It's no longer palatable, as far as I'm concerned, for those states to take precedence over states like South Carolina and Nevada." |
| To retake House, centrists say GOP needs candidates who can win swing districts | |
 | Republican moderates have long been considered a dying breed in a party overtaken by the extremes of the tea party and Trumpism. But even as the GOP embraces the far right in the post-Trump era, some Republicans see an overlooked opportunity to expand their ranks -- in the center. They point to moderate House Republicans in swing districts who were considered among the most vulnerable incumbents in the 2020 election but emerged with convincing victories that outpaced the top of the ticket. Those victories, along with wins from similarly minded Republicans who flipped seats held by Democrats, helped the GOP narrow the Democratic majority to the point that a net gain of five seats in 2022 would flip control of the chamber. Defending Main Street, another major outside group supporting Republicans in the middle, announced Thursday it would spend $25 million to support centrist candidates in swing districts, more than three times what it spent in the 2020 cycle. Other groups have formed in recent weeks to support Republicans who have pushed back against the party's embrace of Trump. It is too early to tell how much support such initiatives will have in the upcoming cycle, and they are up against strong headwinds. |
| Trump-McConnell clash threatens to settle into a cold war as GOP eyes midterms | |
 | Were it up to former president Donald Trump, Republicans would spend the next two years purging their ranks and reshaping themselves in his own image -- a process he moved to jump-start Tuesday with a searing attack on the party's most powerful elected leader, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell (R-Ky.) has other ideas. Having held Trump responsible for both the loss of his Senate majority in the Jan. 5 Georgia runoffs and the deadly attack on the Capitol a day later, he has moved to chart a different path -- one that steers clear of the former president's personal grievances and conspiratorial rhetoric to put the GOP back in power as soon as possible. The clash between the two men stands to define the Republican Party for years to come and was sketched out in a recent series of dramatic public attacks -- with McConnell labeling Trump as "practically and morally responsible" for the Capitol riot in a Saturday speech, followed by Trump lashing into McConnell in a Tuesday statement as a "dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack" who should be stricken from GOP leadership. But 10 Republican operatives interviewed Wednesday said the conflict is likely to quickly settle into a cold war, with major battles over the direction of the party to be avoided or deferred for months as leaders hope to train their fire on Democrats rather than each other. |
| Rush Limbaugh Is Dead at 70; Right-Wing Radio Host Shaped Politics | |
| Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk-radio icon and pioneer of a thriving right-wing media industry, died Wednesday of complications from lung cancer, his wife, Kathryn Rogers, announced on his show. He was 70 years old. Mr. Limbaugh told listeners he was undergoing treatment for advanced lung cancer in early 2020. He said later that year that the cancer was stage 4, terminal and progressing after months of several different treatment regimens. At the time he reiterated his intent to continue with his show, despite fatigue and other symptoms. Beginning as a relatively unknown disc jockey at stations in Pennsylvania and Missouri, Mr. Limbaugh saw his star rise quickly after starting a talk show in 1984 in Sacramento, Calif., where he began espousing conservative political ideas during the Republican revolution of the Reagan era. In 1988 he began a new show at WABC-AM in New York that was syndicated nationally on AM and FM stations. "The Rush Limbaugh Show," marked by his signature brash and acerbic conservatism, was the most-listened-to radio talk show in the U.S., according to Nielsen Audio, reaching more than 20 million monthly listeners on more than 650 affiliates as of the end of 2020. |
| UM Student government advocates against state transgender athlete ban | |
 | The Mississippi Senate voted to ban transgender athletes from competing on women's sports teams in the state on Feb. 11 during a late-night session. If passed by the state House of Representatives, the ban would be established by Senate Bill 2536, which passed through the Senate with little discussion and only nine votes not in favor of it last week. Now, UM's Associated Student Body is urging the House to vote against the bill, and ASB president Joshua Mannery said he hopes other student governments in the state will do the same. "To actively exclude transgender women from women's sports, you're cultivating this environment of hostility that will just continue to push violence and typecasting on that community," Mannery said. "We don't want to be a part of a system that actively makes our students feel unsafe and unwelcome." Hours after the bill passed in the Senate, Mannery contacted the student body presidents of all seven other public institutions in the state asking them to utilize their "connections to the state legislature" to advocate against the bill. Mannery said the other student body presidents seem to be waiting to take action. |
| Joshua Maeda to present lecture as Meridian Community College's 2021 Humanities Teacher of the Year | |
| It's a concept that philosophers ponder: If you could be connected to a machine that enabled you to live a virtual life, would you? Meridian Community College's 2021 Humanities Teacher of the Year, Joshua Maeda, will give audiences food for that thought in his presentation, "Why Live -- Isn't There an App for That?," on Friday, Feb. 19. As the recipient of the humanities accolade, Maeda will present to the public his lecture beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the Casteel Gallery, located in the L.O. Todd-Billy C. Beal Learning Resources Center on the MCC campus. The Mississippi Humanities Council honors outstanding humanities instructors annually from colleges and universities in the state through its Humanities Teachers Awards, which celebrate these educators and promote continued interest in the humanities. An MCC alumnus, Maeda began teaching full-time at the College in 2011 and today teaches English, philosophy and world religions. Maeda was a student at MCC from 1997-1999. "I was homeschooled. MCC was my first experience with a traditional classroom setting, so in that sense, I found it to be very helpful. It alleviated any fears that I had about my ability to transition into academia," he said. |
| Rust College president Ivy Taylor experiences multiple firsts over career | |
 | Firsts come naturally to Rust College President Ivy R. Taylor. The Queens, New York, native is not only the first female president of the historically Black liberal arts college, during her time in politics she became San Antonio's first Black mayor and second female mayor. "I just feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve and also to inspire young women that they can be and do whatever they aspire to be and do," Taylor said. Taylor's journey from politician to college president was years in the making. Her parents had roots in the South, moving north in the 1960s for better opportunities. Growing up in New York, Taylor didn't know any historically Black colleges and universities besides the fictional ones she would see on TV. She attended Yale University, working a few dead-end corporate jobs in Queens after graduation. It was only after returning to school, this time to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, when Taylor discovered her new focus: urban planning, with a particular focus on affordable housing. |
| Keith's Superstores donates $34K to William Carey for student testing, vaccinations | |
 | Hattiesburg Clinic and William Carey University have teamed up with Keith's Superstores to provide a safe learning environment for students returning to classes next week. Officials from William Carey and Hattiesburg Clinic were on hand as a $34,000 check was presented to the university. The funds will be used for testing students and staff for COVID-19 and vaccinations when they become available. Melissa Saucier, marketing director for Keith's Superstores, said the company is committed to giving back to the community. "Our company is following through once again with our promise to give back to our community, our schools," Saucier said. "And what better way to honor and pay tribute to the healthcare community." Recently, Hattiesburg Clinic opened a new office on campus at William Carey, which will serve as a place to test and give COVID vaccinations and other health needs for those attending the university. |
| 'Space archaeologist' Sarah Parcak: Rush Limbaugh should have suffered; UAB president 'disgusted' by tweet | |
 | UAB President Ray Watts Wednesday night issued a statement condemning a tweet by archaeology professor Sarah Parcak saying conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh should have suffered until his last breath. Watts condemned the tweet saying: "UAB is disgusted and extremely troubled that Sarah Parcak would tweet something so unprofessional and blindly inhumane and cruel. Her poor judgment is completely counter to our shared values as an institution that include integrity and respect. She absolutely does not speak for our university, and we are reviewing the matter." It appears Parcak has deleted the tweet and efforts to reach her for comment were not immediately successful. Limbaugh died Wednesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 70. His death prompted a wave of responses from political leaders in Alabama and the nation. In September, UAB condemned another series of tweets from Parcak following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. |
| U. of South Carolina students are giving their own name to a campus building named for a slave owner | |
 | Tired of waiting on officials to act, a group of University of South Carolina students has decided to rename a building named for a slave owner. The group of students, led by the newly formed USC chapter of the NAACP, will now be calling the Thomas Cooper Library the Willie L. Harriford Library. "Dean Harriford," who died in 2018, was USC's first Black administrator, a U.S. Army veteran and the founder of the Theta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. "On behalf of the Harriford family, we thank you all for working hard to keep his legacy alive," said Taylor Platt, one of Harriford's grandaughters, during a Wednesday press conference outside the library. "My grandfather believed in inclusion for all people, no matter their background or their race." Cooper, who served as the second president of USC, was a slave owner and white supremacist, according to an online history of USC. The library was named for him in 1976. The name cannot be changed without two-thirds approval from the S.C. legislature, according to the Heritage Act. "It's not a cry for help, nor a request for sympathy, but instead a demand for change," said Dyrek Hamilton, the vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha at USC and a member of the university's NAACP chapter. "It is apparent we cannot change our history, but we can change who and what we decide to represent." |
| First listen: UGA grad student, recording artist's new single was created via remote | |
 | For decades, Athens has been a destination city for musicians looking to get inspired and get involved with the world-renowned creative scene. When Victoria Powell arrived to attend the University of Georgia in late 2019, she would find that scene at a historic standstill in a matter of months. By day, Powell, attends remote classes and runs track. By night, specifically around 10:30 p.m., she's a recording artist by the name of ivy., who has so far released four singles through the Portland, Oregon-based indie label Never Home Music. The latest, "SB," came out Feb. 19. If the "sad girl vibes" of the genre-defying track don't hit you immediately, the Nina Simone-like timbre of Powell's vocals will. The artist says the entire song was completed in about 45 minutes. "My process is very fast," said Powell, who currently resides in Athens. Since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from making the usual connections in places around town, she relied on online collaboration with out-of-state friends to turn "trying times" into impressively productive times. |
| U. of Tennessee identifies sixth COVID-19 cluster of semester | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has identified its sixth COVID-19 cluster of the semester. The Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house is the latest cluster identified by UT, the university announced Wednesday. Because of the way sorority houses are arranged, with many shared living spaces, if there is a case of COVID-19 in the house, all residents are considered a close contact. There are four positive cases and 24 close contacts in this cluster, UT spokesperson Owen Driskill said. "Students have been responsive to contact tracing, and their assistance and cooperation are greatly appreciated," Driskill said. UT identifies a cluster as at least five positive cases or 20 close contacts coming from one event or location. Several other sorority houses have been clusters this semester, because of the shared living spaces. Of the six clusters identified this semester, four have been in sorority housing. The other two clusters came from off-campus gatherings. |
| Bryan, College Station, Texas A&M campus communities urged to conserve water | |
 | Bryan and College Station community members are asked to reduce their non-essential water usage, the former saying water pressure is "critically low" and putting essential services in danger while the latter cites high water demand. Texas A&M University also said campus water supplies are "nearing critically low levels." In an alert to the flagship campus community, A&M said the root of its problem is that the school is experiencing power outages at the water wells and widespread water leaks in campus buildings. The message said that water supplies are necessary for personal use and to support the campus' heating system. University officials are asking for strict conservation of water and postponement of any unnecessary use of water, such as laundry and showers. A&M will let the campus community know when normal water usage can be resumed. |
| Pictures of the Year: U. of Missouri tradition continues despite pandemic and frigid temps | |
 | The solemn looks on the faces of the judges indicated the seriousness with which they took their duties. Looking intently at photos on the screen, one judge leaned in to get a better look. One of the judges decided to relieve the tension. "I've been in a lot of Zoom meetings, but I can't recall having stared at people's faces this close and personal for this long," said James Forbes on Wednesday. They were participating in the 78th annual Pictures of the Year photo competition at the University of Missouri, which started Tuesday in the Reynolds Journalism Institute. It runs through March 7. The competition began at MU in 1944, and a pandemic and frigid weather didn't stop it -- though there were changes. The judges were taking part via Zoom. Competition director Lynden Steele and a few students were at the university, with others logging on to a Zoom link as panelists. Wednesday morning, the four judges were deciding the winners for photo stories in the category "Impact 2020: Protests and Movements." |
| Kansas lawmakers want tuition refunds for college classes put online due to COVID | |
| Kansas lawmakers want to refund tuition to college students who lost class time or were forced into online courses as a result of the pandemic. A House panel amended the state's higher education budget Wednesday to require that colleges, community colleges and technical schools reimburse students for 50% of the tuition paid every day they spent online instead of in the classroom. The amendment would reimburse at 100% for days that students missed class entirely. The move is the latest in a string of actions taken by lawmakers to show their disdain for online learning in colleges and k-12 schools. Kansas colleges finished their spring semester online last March as the coronavirus began to spread. They've adjusted schedules and kept some courses online in an effort to limit new infections. "It wasn't something they by any means chose to do, it's something they felt they had to do. It was a safety measure," said Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat who teaches at KU. "They were scrambling just like everyone else." Using federal relief funds, colleges have already refunded students some fees for lost housing and food services. |
| Cases rise (again) on college campuses | |
 | COVID-19 cases are on the decline nationwide. College campuses are another story. Though the large, mostly public universities that set records for their high case counts last semester are actually doing better than they did last term, other campuses -- including those that kept cases low in the fall -- are seeing numbers rise. Boston College, for example, set a new record on Sunday for most cases in a week, with 95 cases among students. The college, like some others, said the blame fell on students, specifically freshmen, who have not been following safety rules. The situation means further restrictions, such as a no-guest policy or the premature closure of campus, could be on the table if things don't improve, Michael Lochhead, acting vice president for student affairs, said in an email to students. "This rise in cases is a direct result of students letting their guard down with respect to pandemic health precautions," he wrote. "The pattern of cases clearly demonstrates that many students are ignoring the basic health and safety protocols that allowed us to remain in-class and in-person on campus during the first semester." The administration suspended some students or evicted them from college housing for holding large gatherings without masks, Lochhead wrote. |
| New Diversity. Striving for Prestige. Limited Money. Meet the 'Broke' Research Universities. | |
 | Before the pandemic, two researchers dug into a particular type of college --- what they dubbed the "new university." It's a public research university striving for status in national rankings. It's also a campus that enrolls more students who are racially marginalized and economically disadvantaged. Many of those campuses don't have the same wealth that predominantly white research universities have long cultivated. And when a disaster like Covid-19 hits, these colleges don't have the financial cushion that softens the blow for state flagships. The researchers -- Laura T. Hamilton, professor and chair of sociology at the University of California at Merced, and Kelly Nielsen, a senior research analyst at the Center for Research and Evaluation at the University of California at San Diego -- realized there would soon be more of these colleges. National demographic shifts will force changes in the racial composition of the student body at historically white research universities. That will require support from administrators, faculty, staff, and community members, and a responsiveness to students' protests. And regional public universities, seeking new revenue, will try to expand their research output. These ambitions, often funded by undergraduate tuition, can have consequences for campus culture. Their new book, Broke: The Racial Consequences of Underfunding Public Universities, shows how some of those consequences emerge. |
| More International Grad Students Wanted to Come to the U.S., but Couldn't | |
| The number of first-time graduate students enrolling in American colleges has plunged during the pandemic, a decline fueled by precipitous drops from the two largest-sending countries, China and India. New graduate numbers fell by almost 40 percent in the fall of 2020, according to a new survey by the Council of Graduate Schools. Application numbers, however, rose modestly before the Covid-19 outbreak. While international enrollments are estimated to be down across American higher education, the impact is outsized at the graduate level, where one in five students is from overseas. In certain science and engineering graduate programs, more than half of those who earn degrees are student-visa holders. By comparison, international students make up 5.5 percent of the overall American college population, according to the Institute of International Education. First-time enrollments decreased by 26 percent at the doctoral level and 43 percent among master's-degree students, the new report shows. Because master's programs are shorter in duration, students may have opted to defer or to reapply next year, rather than spend much of their studies online or in hybrid mode. |
| President Biden rejects plan for $50,000 in loan forgiveness | |
| Top Senate Democrats and progressive groups continued to press President Biden on Wednesday to use his executive powers to wipe away up to $50,000 from the debts of all student borrowers -- after Biden said for the first time he has no intention of doing so. Biden addressed the debate over canceling student loans in the strongest terms yet during a town hall meeting sponsored by CNN Tuesday night. Asked by a member of the audience to make that level of debt relief happen, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren have called on him to do, Biden replied, "I will not make that happen." Biden did say he would support canceling a smaller amount, $10,000. But for the first time, Biden said he thinks wiping $50,000 from the balances of all student loan borrowers is too much. "I'm prepared to write off $10,000 of debt but not $50 [thousand]," he said. Even progressives are divided over the growing calls from the left to cancel a good chunk of the nation's $1.5 trillion in student debt. Biden's remarks reflected the concerns of some critics of canceling the debt of even wealthy college graduates and that the cost to the federal government could be used for other things. |
| President Biden balks at taking executive action to cancel student loan debt | |
| In the starkest terms he's used to date, President Joe Biden made explicit Tuesday night that he favors modest student loan debt relief over the ambitious proposal his progressive base -- and party leaders in the Senate -- are demanding. Then, on Wednesday, his White House suggested that even that modest package may not happen. Speaking to reporters at the daily briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden planned to hold off on making any decisions on student loan debt executive action until his appointees at the Justice Department have a chance to review the issue. There is no immediate time frame on that legal review process, which will happen alongside a review by Biden's domestic policy advisers, she said. "We'll wait for that conclusion before a final decision is made," Psaki said. The timeline offered is the latest indication of the Biden White House's discomfort over calls to move swiftly and aggressively on student debt forgiveness. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball can get 36-year revenge against Texas | |
| Ron Polk doesn't think about what happened in Omaha, Nebraska 36 years ago all too often. He told The Clarion Ledger this week he didn't lose much sleep over it that summer either. That's more than many Mississippi State baseball players and fans can say. "A lot of us think about the 1985 Mississippi State baseball team as the ultimate 'what if,'" said Gary Blair, an early 1981 graduate of Mississippi State and lifelong Bulldog fan. "The only time I think of it is when people remind me of it," Polk added. "It's happened, it's over, and we didn't win the game." That might happen more than he'd like it to because of fans like Blair who have a hard time letting it go. Letting what go? Let's set the scene. It's June 7, 1985. Mississippi State is up against Texas in the College World Series. Yes, the same Texas program the Bulldogs face in Saturday's season opener at 11 a.m. at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas as part of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. It's the first time the two have tangled since then. Rewind back to the mid-1980s. The Bulldogs were led by home run machines Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro. Thunder and Lightning. Two future MLB All Stars. |
| Analysis: Breaking down Mississippi State baseball's opening day roster | |
| Baseball season is upon us. After a year's worth of uncertainty and a season that was stopped in its tracks, Mississippi State is scheduled to open its season Saturday against No. 9 Texas as part of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. With a slew of returners and a number of new faces that should make an immediate impact, MSU has one of its most talented rosters in recent memory. That said, let's dive into who the Bulldogs will trot out on Opening Day. To say MSU's pitching staff is loaded is almost an understatement. Speaking with Starkville Rotary Club on Tuesday, Lemonis said as many as 14-15 players on staff have touched 95 miles per hour on the radar gun this offseason. MSU's starting staff should see some changes in the midweek, but the weekend staff stacks up with the best of them nationally. Sophomore Christian MacLeod dazzled onlookers with a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings pitched a season ago. Now back for another year, MacLeod should anchor the staff as the Bulldogs' Friday starter -- a spot vacated by MLB draft pick JT Ginn. Also in the weekend rotation will be sophomore Eric Cerantola and Will Bednar. |
| Mississippi State men's basketball's rescheduled game with Auburn postponed | |
| The winter storm continues to throw a wrench in Mississippi State's schedule. Two days after rescheduling a contest against Auburn originally slated for Tuesday to Thursday, Mississippi State men's basketball is dealing with another postponement. The Bulldogs' Thursday matchup with the Tigers has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. After not having a postponement or cancellation all season for either weather or COVID-19 related reasons, MSU has now had two schedule changes in one week. The Bulldogs' contest against rival Ole Miss Saturday in Oxford is still on as scheduled, according to a university official. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball game against Auburn postponed due to inclement weather | |
| For the third time in less than a week, Mississippi State women's basketball has lost another game on its schedule. MSU announced Wednesday morning that Thursday's game against Auburn has been postponed due to inclement weather in the Starkville area. No make up date has been made at this time. MSU previously had games against Ole Miss (Sunday) and No. 21 Tennessee (Tuesday) postponed as severe winter weather continues to make travel conditions difficult in the state. The Bulldogs have now had nine games postponed or canceled entirely this season. Six games were postponed or canceled due to COVID-19-related issues outside the MSU program, while three have been related to the recent winter storm surge in Mississippi over the past week. |
| East Central Community College reinstates golf beginning 2021-22 season | |
| The East Central Community College Board of Trustees approved the reinstatement of the men's golf program at ECCC at its Feb. 9 meeting on campus. Play will begin in the fall of 2021 and grows East Central's varsity sports to 10 teams. The program was suspended in November of 2017, but play continued through the spring of 2018 as the Warriors traveled to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Golf Championships at Glen Lakes Golf Club in Foley, Ala. where the team finished in 12th place. The trip was East Central's first-ever appearance in the event and highest finish. "We are excited to bring this program back as it will provide students yet another way to participate in athletics and grow as individuals," said ECCC President Dr. Brent Gregory. "East Central has a tradition of producing competitive teams, and we look forward to great days ahead with our golf program." The storied tradition of East Central's golf team goes back decades as the program originally started in the late 1970s by Joe Clark, who coached the team for 30 years. Joe's son, Chris Clark, has been named head coach of the program. |
| Major leaguer Adam Frazier stops by alma mater OCHS (with gifts!) on way to spring training | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Adam Frazier is like most baseball lovers: This time of year certain things begin to happen. Baseball players and fans are creatures of habit, so he can feel when the game's annual restart is just around the corner. "I'm a little sad to leave my home in Nashville, but at the same time it's time to get going and get out of the cold weather and get going and have some fun," Frazier said. "I'm excited to get back on the field and play the game. I've been fortunate enough to be able to continue to play. I'm going to try and have fun with it, make it last as long as I can." Frazier always stops by Oconee County to see his parents before the season kicks off. This year, he brought gifts. Frazier is set to report to Pirates camp at the end of the week to begin his sixth season in the Major Leagues. Much of Frazier's family still resides in the Oconee County area and, with the rigorous baseball schedule ahead, he checked in to see his family and spend time hitting at his alma mater. |
| College Football Is Back Already. Really. | |
 | Post-Presidents' Day February can be cruel and cold for football fans. National signing day has come and gone. Preseason scrimmages are months away. If it's like a lot of years, Tom Brady has won another Super Bowl or Alabama has won another national championship. Gridiron doldrums descend. It is different this year: Although the sport's richest powers crowned Alabama anew only last month, Division I college football is already back. There was a game on Saturday evening, when McNeese State beat Tarleton State, 40-37, and there is a robust slate this weekend. In fact, the schedule calls for college football every weekend until mid-May. Really. The Football Championship Subdivision, a proud if less noticed wing of college football, is beginning its season in earnest this week. And the coming months will settle whether a gamble -- that it would be safer to practice and play early in 2021, particularly if F.C.S. leagues and teams could copy health protocols forged inside wealthier and more famous programs -- was a masterstroke or just a monthslong delay of chaos. Cody Orgeron, McNeese State's starting quarterback and a son of Ed Orgeron, the football coach at Louisiana State, said he and his teammates closely watched the turmoil that enveloped F.B.S. programs during the 448 days between their games. How those teams stumbled in the fall, he said, offered lessons for players who were looking toward a season scheduled to start in mid-February. |
| NCAA Division I Council extends recruiting dead period for all sports through May 31 | |
| The NCAA Division I Council announced Wednesday it was extending the recruiting dead period for all sports through May 31, continuing a ban on in-person recruiting that has been in place since the coronavirus pandemic began last March. The council said it will provide an update on a potential return to in-person recruiting no later than April 15, meaning there's a chance coaches will be able to attend events during the June and July live periods in men's and women's basketball. With the dead period potentially ending in June, it will have been at least 14 months since there were official campus visits for prospects or in-person evaluations by coaches. "After careful consideration of all available information, the Council agreed that an extension of the dead period through May 31 was necessary," council chair and Penn athletic director M. Grace Calhoun said in a statement. In Wednesday's announcement, the council also increased the number of hours football teams can spend on out-of-season activities from eight to 10 hours per week, including up to four hours per week for meetings and walk-throughs, and up to six hours per week of physical activities. |
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