| Wednesday, July 21, 2021 |
| Mississippi State University offers incentives to get students and staff vaccinated | |
 | Faculty members at Mississippi State University found a new and intriguing way to get students vaccinated before returning to campus. Sid Salter is the Chief Communications Officer at MSU. He's watched as the college locked down during the pandemic and later reopened. With the new variant around, Salter said it reinforces the importance of vaccinations. "There's a lot on the line," Salter explained. "Our best bet on continuing the journey towards normalcy is voluntary vaccinations." To encourage vaccinations among the members of the university, MSU is offering raffle incentives like National Championship merchandise and gift cards worth $250 to the bookstore. Salter hopes these incentives can push students on the fence to get their shots. He explained the university as a family and said as a family, you look out for each other and take care of one another. "We believe voluntary vaccination to COVID is one of the things that we can do as the MSU family to take care of each other," he said. |
| Labor shortages limit catfish supplies, raise prices | |
 | Many Mississippi restaurants that serve catfish have had to pay their distributors more to keep the popular Southern dish on the menu this year or go without, but pond inventory is not the primary issue. Instead, labor shortages at processing plants are more to blame, said Jimmy Avery, Extension aquaculture professor at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. Industry data, he said, show processing is down 9% for the first five months of 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020. MSU aquacultural economist Ganesh Kumar said the slow recovery in the industry's processing phase can be attributed to several factors related to COVID-19. These include limits on how many people could work during the same shift while maintaining social distancing, as well as processors finding enough workers willing to work for pay comparable to stimulus checks and unemployment benefits. Still, he said he is optimistic about the industry's prospects as it shakes off the pandemic's effects. "A lot of us are surprised by how quickly the catfish industry came back," he said. "The restaurant closings last year were a problem, but a lot of product usually sent to the restaurants in large bags were repackaged, refurbished and made available to other retailers." |
| IMMS releases Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles to their home | |
 | Six Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles returned to their home Tuesday afternoon after undergoing months of rehabilitation here on the Coast. Back in December, the turtles were flown to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after being cold stunned and stranded off the Coast of Massachusetts. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies along with help from Mississippi State's College of Veterinary Medicine rehabbed the sea turtles. Upon arriving in Gulfport, many turtles were lethargic and suffered from the equivalent of turtle pneumonia. MSU Radiology Resident Dr. Shanna Marroquin said, "It's been really great -- like what she was saying -- to watch them start from the beginning when they were really sick to months in advance, they're doing so much better. And we actually got to see them in person a couple of times they came up to the school and we did CT scans on them. We got to ultrasound a couple of them. So that's been really exciting to get to be a part of it." MSU Assistant Professor in Diagnostic Imaging Service Dr. Ellison Lee said, "So being able to do something and help out these endangered species and learn more about this ecosystem is really great for us." |
| Most endangered sea turtles in the world released into Mississippi Sound | |
 | Six of the most endangered sea turtles in the world are now swimming in the Gulf of Mexico after being released Tuesday in Pass Christian. Dozens of people came out to the beach to watch workers with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies release six Kemps-Ridley sea turtles into the Mississippi Sound. For those there, especially the children, it was amazing moment as they watched the turtles swim out to sea. Seeing elected leaders work together to solve the issues caused by opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway brings IMMS director Moby Solangi great joy. "I think that is the most incredible thing that came out of this event, to see both of these states who have contiguous waters, contiguous issues, to make sure that we work together," said Solangi. "The fact that we are able to incorporate telemedicine, advanced technologies and procedures, endoscopy equipment to treat these patients and help them along, just speaks wonders for veterinary medicine and what we can provide for these turtles today," said Dr. John Thomason, a Mississippi State University Associate Professor. |
| Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann: Corps ignored spillway operating manual | |
 | The Army Corps of Engineers ignored its own operating manual when it twice opened a Mississippi River spillway in 2019, causing an environmental and economic disaster in Mississippi and Louisiana, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Tuesday. He spoke on the way to Pass Christian to see endangered sea turtles released after being rehabilitated in Mississippi from cold-stunning in New England, and said he planned to bring up the topic then. "We're excited that Mississippi and Mississippi State University and our group here -- the Institute of Marine Mammal Study and (director) Moby Solangi and the others have been able to provide help to these turtles," said Hosemann, who participated along with Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. But he said the entire Mississippi Sound, where the turtles were to be released, was damaged in part because the Corps ignored one section of the operating manual for the Bonnet Carre Spillway. It requires the Corps to open the Morganza Floodway near Baton Rouge before the spillway, which opens into a big brackish lake bordering New Orleans, Hosemann said. That allegation also is made in federal court papers filed by Mississippi in May, in connection with a lawsuit challenging the way the spillway is operated. |
| Starkville police provide extra eyes for neighborhood safety at night | |
| Back in 2010, the Starkville Police Department started a program to give residents proof of officers patrolling the area. Because of the coronavirus, that program was put on hold, but now it's back. To comfort residents during these late-night hours, the department introduced the old program into their patrols allowing folks to know when an officer is in the area. The program is called A.P.P.L.E., Active Preventive Patrol by Law Enforcement, in which officers leave an orange slip telling residents they've patrolled in your area. John Michael Lay is a sergeant with the Starkville PD. He believes these cards can help give residents some peace of mind when they're most vulnerable. "When you're at home and you've cut your lights off to go to sleep and you close your eyes, our officers are out there protecting you," said Lay. Residents will see the A.P.P.L.E. cards left on windshields or in mailboxes as officers walk through neighborhoods to make sure it's safe. Sergeant Lay said don't be alarmed if you find the orange slip on your car in the morning, and if you don't you may find one in the future. |
| Oktibbeha County buys 3 motor graders through reverse auction | |
 | Oktibbeha County is getting new motor graders for maintenance and construction on county roads. The board of supervisors voted unanimously to purchase three new motor graders from Trax Plus, a construction equipment supplier from Lowndes County, for $202,000 each, for a total of $606,000, to replace current ones that no longer work. After a reverse auction Friday, a process where sellers bid for the prices at which they are willing to sell their products, through Southern Procurement LLC, the supervisors decided Trax Plus' motor graders would be the most cost-efficient and valuable of those that placed bids. While the original advertisement for bids previous County Administrator Emily Garrard released on June 25 and July 2 stated companies are required to participate in this bidding event in order to be considered for contract, Board Attorney Rob Roberson said the State Auditor's office confirmed to him that as long as concealed bids are delivered before electronic bidding starts, then they can be considered as well. "Through state statute, if you have a mixed batch, in other words, you have the computer bidding and you have the concealed bids ... according to (the auditor's office), it is perfectly OK as long as everything is turned in by the proper time and whatever we require them to do," Roberson said. |
| Mississippi tax collections improve in most recent year | |
| Mississippi tax collections increased during the state budget year that ended June 30, driven in part by people shopping online during the coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the state Department of Revenue released figures Tuesday. They said the state collected nearly 16% more in taxes than the year before. That is an increase of more than $924 million. Tax collections took a hit during the final months of the budget year that ended June 30, 2020, because of uncertainty caused by the beginning of the pandemic. The figures rebounded in most categories during the year that recently ended. Sales taxes paid on in-person purchases increased 4% over the previous year. Use taxes, paid for online purchases, increased 20%. Taxes paid on the purchase of liquor increased nearly 23% over the previous year, and taxes paid on beer and wine increased nearly 6%. |
| Mississippi sees massive increases in tax collections as economy awakens, stimulus funds flow | |
| State tax collections increased by $924 million, or nearly 16%, year-over-year for the fiscal 2021 year that ended in June, a state report released Tuesday showed, as Mississippi's economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and percolates from billions in federal government spending. The largest increase for fiscal year 2021 was in corporate income taxes, up $296 million or 54% year over year. Individual income taxes, use taxes (from online sales) and casino taxes also saw large percentage increases for the year, while sales taxes saw a modest increase of $88 million, or 4%. Total state tax collections increased from about $5.8 billion to $6.7 billion year-over-year. This comes after the state ended last fiscal year at $151 million, or 2.5% below collections for the prior year amid the pandemic economic downturn. Over the last decade or so, state revenue growth has averaged around 3%. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on Tuesday said he is "pleasantly surprised" by the fiscal year-end numbers. Economists have also cited multiple federal stimulus packages passed by Congress to address the pandemic for fueling the Mississippi economy and revenue collections. Mississippi received more than $1.25 from the first round of federal pandemic spending and will be receiving around $6 billion all told from the most recent measures. |
| Lottery generates $138 million for infrastructure, education as FY 2021 ends | |
| At the end of its first complete fiscal year, the Mississippi Lottery generated a total of $138,961,541 for the state. The Mississippi Lottery Corporation announced the total following its final transfer of the year -- $9,778,993.78 for the month of June. The breakdown of where this revenue ended up is $80 million for roads & bridges with the remaining $58,961,541 going to state's Education Enhancement Fund. Total gross sales for FY21 exceeded $510 million with the MLC crediting two new draw-style games, a series of high jackpots and an expanding array of scratch-off tickets for the surging sales. "What an incredible way to end our first complete fiscal year," MLC President Jeff Hewitt said. "Our success enabled us to return a significant amount to the state for road and bridge repair and for education. We are overwhelmed with the support of our players, vendors and retailers. We continue to introduce new games and play styles and award winners throughout the state, and I am looking forward to the continued success of the lottery." Hewitt took over for outgoing MLC President Tom Shaheen, who announced his retirement earlier this year. |
| Local Health Authorities Seek to Curb Delta Variant Without New Rules | |
 | Local health authorities in hot spots around the U.S. are seeking to blunt the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 by trying to boost stagnating vaccination rates while largely stopping short of reinstituting rules and restrictions. During previous surges, state and local leaders attempted a variety of approaches to slow infections. They instituted mask mandates, shut down public spaces and ordered businesses to close or run at limited capacity, in efforts to buy time until vaccines arrived. Now, many leaders are focused on campaigns of persuasion and education. In some places, frustration is mounting at the slow pace of vaccinations, while infections are accelerating. "I'm mad, I'm upset, I'm depressed because we're going to watch people needlessly die over the next month or two for no good reason," Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi's state health officer, said at a briefing Tuesday. Thirteen hospitals in the state have run out of ICU capacity, and many others have less than 10% of beds available, Dr. Dobbs said. Mississippi has one of the nation's lowest vaccination rates, with 33.8% of the population fully vaccinated, federal data show. |
| Dr. Thomas Dobbs: 13 Mississippi ICUs with no beds | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health says increasing COVID-19 patients are once again putting pressure on hospitals. "We're going to have a rough few weeks," said State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs during a Tuesday press briefing."Delta is hitting us very strongly. We anticipate that we are going to continue to put additional pressure on the healthcare system." Currently, 13 hospitals in Mississippi have zero ICU beds, with a higher number having less than 10% availability. "If you talk to your hospital administrators, docs, ICU docs and ER docs, they'll tell you we're getting to a point where we're actually having to fly patients from the Delta to the Pine Belt to get access to care because there's really not that much access to it right now," Dobbs said. A lack of ICU beds can impact everyone, even patients without coronavirus, Dobbs said. "It's not just if you have COVID if you can't get an ICU," Dobbs said, It's if you have a heart attack, or if you have a stroke or if you're pregnant and you need some emergency care. It's going to affect everyone. We have once again threatened the healthcare system with the explosion of COVID." |
| Top doctor: Mississippi faces 'rough few weeks' with COVID | |
| The Mississippi state health officer on Tuesday implored people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a highly transmissible variant of the virus is spreading a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. "Y'all, we're going to have a rough few weeks," Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Tuesday during an online news conference. Dobbs had said Monday on social media that Mississippi is in a "4th wave" of virus cases, following previous waves in the spring and summer of 2020 and a larger wave of cases early this year before vaccines were widely available. He said Tuesday that the delta variant of the virus is spreading rapidly in Mississippi. He said intensive care units are full in 13 Mississippi hospitals because of the recent increase in cases, and many other hospitals have fewer than 10% of beds available in ICUs. Dobbs said unvaccinated people should take "commonsense steps" to reduce transmission, including having social activities outdoors rather than indoors. He said people who have chronic medical conditions or are at least 65 should avoid large indoor gatherings. Dobbs also said he believes vaccination against COVID-19 is important for college students. However, "we are not looking to pursue any type of mandatory vaccination" for that age group, Dobbs said Tuesday. |
| Delta variant now responsible for all new COVID cases, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says | |
| State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Tuesday that the Delta variant has taken over "all the transmission within the state of Mississippi." Dobbs attributed the fourth wave of infections and hospitalizations the state is experiencing to the highly infectious nature of the Delta variant, increased social activities during the summer months and Mississippi's low vaccination rate. "It really is kind of a perfect storm for an explosion in cases," Dobbs said. The Delta variant has considerably increased the already high risks posed by the virus to unvaccinated people. Over the past month, 93% of new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi and 89% of deaths have been among the unvaccinated. One of the main hurdles MSDH faces in getting more people vaccinated is combating the troves of vaccine misinformation that regularly circulate online. The problem is so bad that on July 13, the department removed the ability to comment on COVID-related posts on its Facebook page. MSDH officials said that allowing misinformation to spread on its own page is "directly contrary" to the state's public health mission and the ability to comment will be restored when the department develops an effective plan to moderate them. In a candid moment during the press conference, Dobbs reflected on the dire situation the state is in and responded to backlash he's received from anti-vaccine activists over a comment he made last week, saying "anti-science Nazis on social media" try to find anything to make an excuse to not get vaccinated. |
| 'The killing times.' Vicksburg doctor shares what COVID peak was like to warn Mississippians | |
 | As Mississippi moves toward a "rough few weeks" of COVID-19 case surges, state medical professionals brace themselves for a repeat of the pandemic's darkest moments. The state on Monday recorded its highest one-day figure since January, and it's the first time new cases have been over 1,000 since February. On a Tuesday press call, a doctor at a Vicksburg hospital, Dr. Dan Edney, recounted some harrowing moments from the pandemic's peak last winter, in anticipation of upcoming pressure on the state's health care systems. "As I think back over the last year, some of the most difficult days I've had in the practice of medicine have been in the midst of getting through late November, December and January earlier this year," said Edney, who recently joined the Mississippi State Department of Health as chief medical officer for the central region. "Many times in our practices, we call those 'the killing times' because that's when we were just seeing the virus attacking families wholesale." Edney suggested that local physicians take the lead in curbing vaccine hesitancy in their communities. “We’re having to convince people basically one at a time that the vaccines are safe and highly effective,” he said. As a local physician, Edney said that he’s been able to persuade a number of his patients to get the shot. |
| Dr. Anthony Fauci to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul: 'You do not know what you are talking about.' | |
 | Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, accused each either other of lying Tuesday while they argued again over COVID in a Senate meeting. During a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, the argument started over whether the National Institutes of Health funded research at a lab in Wuhan, China, which has emerged as a possible source of the virus. Paul has accused the U.S. health agency of funding research that boosts a virus to analyze how it spreads and operates -- called gain-of-function research. That, Paul alleges, could have contributed to the initial coronavirus outbreak. While speaking to Congress previously, Fauci had denied that the health institute ever funded gain-of-function research at a Wuhan lab. Paul on Tuesday asked Fauci if he wanted to retract his previous denial. "I have never lied before the Congress, and I do not retract that statement," said Fauci, who was testifying to the Senate as a witness. Paul, a Republican up for re-election next year, continued to press Fauci, making claims that the viral studies being done were gain-of-function, which Fauci again denied. "Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially," Fauci said. "You do not know what you are talking about." |
| Panel chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) says Trump will be part of Jan. 6 inquiry | |
 | Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who is chairing the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said former President Trump will be part of his inquiry, telling The Guardian that "nothing is off limits." Thompson, who also serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and authored the bill creating the independent commission, said he is prepared to depose lawmakers and senior Trump administration officials who might have taken part in the attack. He told The Guardian that he "absolutely" intends on conducting a wide-ranging probe against Trump and some of his top allies on Capitol Hill. "The issues of January 6 are one of the most salient challenges we have as a nation, to make sure that this democracy does not fall prey to people who don't really identify with democracy," Thompson told the news outlet. He said Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are among the key witnesses in the investigation, largely because the California Republican was on the phone with Trump when the attack was taking place. "There will not be a reluctance on the part of the committee to pursue it," Thompson said, referring to McCarthy's call. "The committee will want to know if there is a record of what was said." He also said any communication with Trump from that day will be important to examine. |
| Seemingly safe GOP incumbents under attack from right wing | |
| Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to reelection in deep-red Oklahoma. A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nation's largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trump's position nearly 90% of the time. But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a "Freedom Rally" headlined by Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough. Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity. |
| Unfinished infrastructure deal faces uncertain vote | |
 | As the Senate hurtles toward what is expected to be an unsuccessful procedural vote on a mostly unwritten infrastructure measure Wednesday, bipartisan negotiators are narrowing down ways to pay for it, even as a disagreement on transit funding continues to be a sticking point. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has scheduled a Wednesday cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the vehicle for a $1.2 trillion, eight-year bipartisan infrastructure package that Republicans are threatening to oppose because the bill is not finalized. Schumer insisted Tuesday the vote "is not a final deadline for legislative text" and "only a signal that the Senate is ready to get the process started." Republicans aren't buying it. Negotiators Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Tuesday urged Schumer to delay the vote until Monday so the group can iron out details and explain the plan to colleagues. "There's absolutely no reason why he has to have the vote tomorrow, and it does not advance the ball," Collins said. "It does not achieve any goal except to alienate people." Schumer's caucus, including the Democratic negotiators, is supporting his decision to proceed with the vote on Wednesday as scheduled. |
| UM's Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez Passes Baton to Next Generation of Leaders | |
| Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez is almost as excited to return to the classroom as he is to see the next generation of leaders at the University of Mississippi's Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College put their stamp on the prestigious program he's spent two decades growing. As he leaves his long-held position as dean of the Honors College to focus full time on teaching and research in the Arch Darlymple III Department of History, Ethel Scurlock will assume the role of interim dean. Sullivan-Gonzalez's last day will be Aug. 17, but Scurlock said the leadership transition won't be as abrupt as it could be because he has been empowering leaders in and around the Honors College for years. She will begin assuming many of the dean's responsibilities this month. "DSG has been a wonderful resource during our leadership transition," Scurlock said. "We have met about established procedures, discussed a few areas that are ripe for change. "We both want to empower the HOCO leadership team to continue serving our students with integrity, energy, and excellence. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to carry forward DSG's excellent vision for the program." "I turned 65 this year and I've got at least two books, potentially three, in me that I want to get out," Sullivan-González said. "When I started, we had 375 students, basically, so I could still teach and administer, but we're at 1,700 now, and administration takes 100% of my time. |
| Person of the Day: Alonda Thomas | |
| Jackson State University recently named Alonda Thomas as its new associate vice president for University Communications as well as its chief communications officer. Thomas assumed both positions on July 6. With her dual roles, in addition to expanding JSU's brand both locally and regionally, Thomas is responsible for reputation management, marketing, media relations and strategic communications for the university. She also manages the JSU's Office of Marketing and Communications and serves as JSU's spokesperson to its stakeholders. Prior to joining JSU, Thomas had served as director of public relations at Howard University in Washington, D.C., since 2018. There, she was responsible for developing and managing the university's communications and media relations strategies. In 2020, she served as Howard's interim vice president of communications, during which she led the Office of University Communications and managed the campus' communications strategy during the coronavirus pandemic. Amidst the pandemic, Thomas and her PR team created the "Bison In The Know" campaign to profile campus experts on COVID-19 issues and led efforts to keep messages consistent and visible with internal and external campus stakeholders. |
| Some JSU students say recent surge in COVID-19 cases prompted them to get vaccinated | |
| Jackson State University's vaccination clinic was busy Tuesday after Mississippi's recent spike in COVID-19 cases. "You got a lot of people dying around here," JSU freshman Jeremiah Williams said. "We're just trying to stay alive and go to work and do whatever we need to do in life." With the state health department's recent report of over 2,300 new cases in just a three-day period, some JSU students said they felt it was time to protect themselves against the virus. JSU senior George Graham said he wants to be as safe as possible before the Fall semester gets underway next month. "With the Delta variant spreading and having all these cases all over the place, it helped to persuade me to go out and get the second dose and have it done so that if I was to be attacked by it, or someone close to me, I would be in a better situation to be ready for it," Graham said. JSU graduate student Keonte Hampton said he's gotten tested for the virus more times than he can count, and he's tired of cotton swabs going up his nose. "I'm tired of these COVID tests, and COVID kills a lot of people, and I'm tired of that too. Just ready to get back to normal," Hampton said. Hampton said he was hesitant to get the shot after hearing mixed things about it but ultimately decided to face his fears so that the pandemic doesn't impact his football season. |
| Belhaven University Dance Department to Welcome New Professor | |
| Kellis McSparrin Oldenburg will join Belhaven University's Dance Department as Assistant Professor of Dance in August 2021. Oldenburg is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor originally from Clinton, Mississippi. She got her start in the performing arts as a three-year singer and dancer in Clinton High School's nationally renowned Attache show choir. She continued her study of dance at the University of Southern Mississippi, and, in 2010, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. Following her undergraduate studies, she earned an M.F.A. from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2012. She is a remote instructor at the University of Southern Mississippi, teaching online dance appreciation. She also teaches at several New Orleans area dance studios, specializing in ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, and musical theatre techniques. She is a certified yoga instructor and has orchestrated her own freelance choreography and teaching business for the past 12 years. Most recently, Oldenburg completed her fifth season with the Marigny Opera Ballet. |
| U. of Alabama System to return to in-person classes this fall | |
 | The University of Alabama System will return to in-person instruction for the fall semester, according to a Tuesday news release. The UA System Health and Safety Task Force made the recommendation to the system's chancellor based on an assessment of public health guidelines, the increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines and statistical data. Chancellor Finis St. John said he was grateful for the task force's leadership. "When the COVID-19 pandemic began to emerge in early 2020, dozens of world-class public health, infectious disease and education specialists across the UA System joined together and successfully led our institutions and the nation through a period of great uncertainty," St. John said in the news release. "As we enter this academic year, we are fortunate to have a known and readily available solution -- the COVID-19 vaccine." The UA System will not mandate that students and staff receive the vaccine as a condition of attendance, according to the news release. People who are not vaccinated are expected to wear face coverings inside campus buildings and should practice physical distancing. Officials said the Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa campuses will continue to provide COVID-19 testing and resources to those affected by the virus. |
| UAB has $335 million in construction and renovation projects in progress this summer | |
 | The University of Alabama at Birmingham campus is undergoing a great deal of change -- about $335 million worth. Construction is underway on several major projects this summer to build new or renovate old buildings around the campus, from a basketball practice facility to a residence hall. One of the biggest projects underway is the new UAB Science and Engineering Complex, which will become home to the basic sciences. "This building represents a significant investment not only in our students' future and the future of this university, but in the future world-changing research that will define our technology, communication platforms, food and water sources, geopolitics, healthcare, the global economy, and the sustainability of our planet," according to a statement on UAB's College of Arts and Sciences website. |
| Georgia colleges offer second chance for students derailed by pandemic | |
| Georgia Gwinnett College student Michaela John was done with taking virtual classes last fall and the grade in her English class reflected it. John, 21, a biology major, knew she wasn't doing well in the class, but she missed the deadline to withdraw and failed the class. John, though, like hundreds of Georgia students in similar circumstances, got a second chance. Georgia Gwinnett and other colleges and universities are offering courses this summer for students who've struggled academically through the pandemic. The college began Second Chance Summer, a new program for students to retake a class in which they received a grade of a D or F or withdrew from the class. Georgia State University, nationally recognized for its efforts in using data analytics to improve student performance, also has a program to help students with low grades in a particular course or those who dropped the class. Georgia State and Georgia Gwinnett had 750 and 120 students, respectively, in their programs. Research shows college students across the country had trouble academically during the pandemic. At Georgia State, which has more students than any university or college in Georgia, the school saw an 8% increase in the number of D and F grades and in the withdrawal rate among first-year students. The colleges and universities are offering more in-person instruction in smaller class sizes with tutors, which they believe will help student performance. The final grades aren't in yet, but administrators think the students are doing better. |
| UF Heavener School of Business names new assistant dean and director | |
| Erica Studer-Byrnes, the soon-to-be assistant dean and director of the Heavener School of Business, is the first woman ever appointed to the position. Studer-Byrnes, who starts the position July 19, will be in charge of operations and strategic development within the business undergraduate program. She plans to implement university-leveluniversity level policies across campus and facilitate the undergraduate experience with career readiness skills. "I'm sure when a lot of female students read that they felt proud and excited that a female would be stepping into the role," Isabella Rowland, a 22-year-old marketing masters student, said. Studer-Byrnes' first steps as assistant dean and director will include defining the culture in the undergraduate business school by working to provide the best services to students, she said. In doing so, she will target welcoming back both students and faculty as they readjust to in-person classroom settings. Studer-Byrnes has about 20 years of experience in academic roles and is a four-time Gator, completing her Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, Bachelor of Science in psychology, Master of Arts in education and Ph.D. in counseling and counselor education. She wants to expand the college's leadership programs, which she said is a strength of the school that lacks participation. |
| Kentucky State's president M. Christopher Brown resigns amid financial anxiety | |
 | The president of Kentucky State University resigned Tuesday as the Board of Regents prepares to bring in an external auditor to examine institutional finances. M. Christopher Brown II, who had been president of the university since 2017, offered his resignation during a special board meeting. The board, with two members absent, unanimously accepted. "We anticipate a cordial, collaborative and seamless transition and wish Dr. Brown well as he follows his interest in other professional endeavors," Elaine Farris, chair of the board, said in a written statement/ The board tapped Clara Ross Stamps, senior vice president for brand identity and university relations, to serve as acting president, effective immediately. The board will discuss a search for the university's next president at its next meeting in September. The public, historically Black university in Frankfort has not publicly disclosed any information about possible financial problems, but the Board of Regents' recent actions suggest the university is not in perfect financial health. Kentucky State University is the second institution where Brown has resigned from the presidency. While president of Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Brown was placed on administrative leave after receiving criticism for spending $89,000 on the presidential residence without proper bidding, the Courier-Journal reported. He stepped down shortly afterward. |
| 6 Things to Know About the New Title IX Guidance | |
 | The Education Department on Tuesday issued new guidance for how colleges should investigate sexual misconduct under Title IX, the federal gender-equity law. The department released a question-and-answer document interpreting the Trump administration's Title IX regulations, which took effect a year ago. The guidance is a stopgap measure, indicating how federal officials will enforce Title IX while the department goes through the lengthy process of reviewing and revising the regulations. The Title IX rules, championed by the former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, added protections for students accused of sexual misconduct, like mandatory live hearings with cross-examination. They have been criticized by victim advocates who say they let colleges off the hook for not taking sexual misconduct seriously. President Biden, who led a crusade against campus rape as vice president, said during his presidential campaign that he wanted to overhaul the regulations. Here are a few highlights from the department's new Title IX guidance. |
| Appropriations bills include $272 million in higher education earmarks | |
| The House Appropriations Committee has approved more than $272 million in funding through earmarks that would go to projects at 228 colleges and universities, according to an analysis conducted by Inside Higher Ed. The earmarks span seven of the 12 bills the Appropriations Committee has introduced to fund federal departments and agencies for fiscal year 2022 (the other five bills either don't have earmarks at all or have none related to higher education). Nearly $186 million of the earmark funding is a part of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill, which was approved by the committee last week and lays out Congress's initial appropriations for higher education. Earmarks specifically for higher education institutions are also contained in the bills for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. Many of the projects are related to facilities and equipment upgrades, curriculum and program development, and workforce initiatives. |
| No to masks depicts unrestrained individual rapacity | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Freedom is a big thing these days. For conservatives it's often about freedom from government -- taxation, regulation, gun control -- and from liberal mania. For liberals it's often about freedom from the rich and powerful -- low wages, discrimination, incarceration -- and from conservative oppression. Ironically, both sides say they simply want the same thing, those freedoms our forefathers proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and sought to institutionalize in the U.S. Constitution -- "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." But each side sees those things through different lenses. And each side wants what it wants now and to hades with the other side. This chasm between the two sides subverts the founders' goals. Former Attorney General William Barr, bless his heart, accurately described a root of this dilemma in remarks delivered at Notre Dame in 2019. "The challenge we face is precisely what the Founding Fathers foresaw would be our supreme test as a free society. They never thought the main danger to the republic came from external foes. The central question was whether, over the long haul, we could handle freedom. The question was whether the citizens in such a free society could maintain the moral discipline and virtue necessary for the survival of free institutions." |
| Neshoba County Fair's return will be welcome after COVID-19 hiatus | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Even for the hot and dirty clean-up after two years of absence, it was good to get back to our Neshoba County Fair cabin after last year's pandemic hiatus. Like most native Neshobans, my year dates from the Fair. There's before the Fair and after the Fair. Despite that, I supported the 2020 decision of the Fair Association Board of Directors to shutter the event. The Neshoba County Fair 2020 closure marked the first time since World War II that the annual event was not held. For the record, the event voluntarily shut down in 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 before resuming operations in 1946. It was the right thing to do in the interest of public safety. While the day visitors skew young, the folks who live in the cabins and RVs are an older crowd with the usual vulnerabilities. But the development and proliferation of effective COVID-19 vaccines make this year's return a reasonable proposition. So, our cabin is clean, the beds made, and we're ready for the return of our families and friends. ... This summer, I will welcome my grandson Brooks Salter Gregory to his first Fair. He is the sixth generation of my Salter family to attend, beginning with my great-grandfather John Henry Salter. Brooks will share company with me on a porch where my father, his great-grandfather, shared time with me. |
SPORTS
| Scouting the Schedule, Game 5: Mississippi State pulls into College Station to face Texas A&M | |
| Texas A&M handled Mississippi State 28-14 last October in Starkville en route to a 9-1 season for the Aggies in 2020. A year later, the two teams will meet up for the 10th straight season, this time on Oct. 2 in College Station in what looks likely to be one of the most difficult games on the Bulldogs' 2021 schedule. Here's what to know about Jimbo Fisher's Aggies squad before this year's contest. Mississippi State and Texas A&M have played every year since the Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012. The Bulldogs won three of the five previous matchups -- three of which took place in the 1910s -- and have won four of nine SEC contests. That puts the all-time series at an even 7-7. Mississippi State beat Texas A&M when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 12 and the Aggies No. 6 in 2014. The next year, A&M returned the favor in College Station with both teams in the top 25. Texas A&M was blown out in its second game of 2020, losing 52-24 to an Alabama team that went on to an undefeated season and a national title. Other than that, the Aggies had an excellent year, winning all nine games that weren't played inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. They held off Florida by a field goal in College Station, took down Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU and more in the regular season before beating North Carolina 41-27 in the Orange Bowl. But A&M quarterback Kellen Mond, who threw for 2,282 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2020, is off to the NFL. Backup Haynes King and sophomore Zach Calzada will battle for the starting job in training camp. |
| 5 questions we have as Mississippi State football, Mike Leach head to SEC Media Days | |
| Ever since Mike Leach took the Mississippi State football coaching job, fans and media alike have been waiting for a day like Wednesday. Leach will address the league-wide press at SEC Media Days on Wednesday, his first time taking the podium since accepting the Mississippi State job in 2020. As a coach known for long tangents and funny soundbites, SEC Media Days is a perfect forum for Leach's belated official introduction to the league. Of course, he'll also have to talk ball. Coming off an up-and-down first season in Starkville, Leach has a young but experienced team that appears ready to take a step forward if a few questions are answered. Here are five questions we have about Leach and Mississippi State as they get ready to address the SEC media: Is there a clubhouse QB favorite? Are the youngsters taking the step? Has Mike Leach's scheme adjusted to the SEC? Is the rush ready to reload? Will Mike Leach play the hits? |
| SEC Faced With Worrying Vaccination Trends as Football Season Approaches | |
| The giant screen erected in the main room of SEC media days normally shows the league's messaging. It flashes the day's schedule, clips of championship-winning highlights and the name of the next speaker on the dais. Throughout this week, it has intermittently projected another kind of message. "THE SEC BACKS THE VAX," it reads. Welcome to the newfound plight of the SEC and all of college football -- convincing athletes, coaches, administrators and now, the community to get vaccinated. As the COVID-19 delta variant creeps across the country and the 2021 season inches closer, college football officials have sprung into this frantic mission. Signs are troubling enough around the country that SEC officials are already preparing to rescind changes to policies they had just passed months ago. The league had originally created a protocol allowing teams that met an 85% vaccination rate to eschew all regular COVID-19 testing and masking. Soon, that will change under a proposal that has not yet been approved, league officials tell Sports Illustrated. All of those athletes who are not vaccinated would remain in the conference's surveillance testing program, even if their programs are at the threshold. More changes may be coming. The mask mandate, originally lifted for those teams at 85% vaccination, could be re-imposed, especially on road trips. "The delta variant is changing how we approach the fall," says Chris Klenck, the head team physician at Tennessee. "The emerging variant of delta and how much more contagious and how ill it's making people has made us re-evaluate our strategies." |
| NIL offers college athletes lucrative opportunities, but some SEC players aren't ready to dive in | |
| Lane Kiffin was speechless. When the Ole Miss football coach was told Alabama quarterback Bryce Young had "almost seven figures" on the table in name, image and likeness opportunities without ever starting a college game, he took a few seconds to even react. "That number just blew me away," Kiffin said. "You didn't prepare me for that." Even minutes later during his 2021 Southeastern Conference Media Days session Tuesday at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama, the factoid was on the mind of the second-year Rebels head coach as he fielded an unrelated question about running back Jerrion Ealy's health status. "I'm still blown away on this Bryce Young," Kiffin said. "The guy's made a million dollars already? That's good, man. He don't need to play next year against us, then. I mean, that's mind blowing." Since the NCAA approved an interim NIL policy June 30 -- a day before it became law in six states, including Mississippi -- reactions from SEC players and coaches have been widespread. Some have been as shocked as Kiffin to find out how lucrative endorsement deals for college athletes can be; some are far from ready to dive in just yet. "With my process, I'm still trying to figure it out," LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. said. "You know, everybody is. This is all new. So I'm looking forward to seeing how it's all going to pan out in the end." |
| More than 90% of LSU football team is vaccinated, one of highest rates in SEC, sources say | |
 | The LSU football team has a vaccination rate above 90%, multiple sources confirmed with The Advocate, which means the Tigers have more flexibility within Southeastern Conference medical protocols and are less likely to possibly forfeit games if their schedule is disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday he's recommended not to reschedule games due to outbreaks within teams this season, emphasizing the need for teams to join public safety measures against a coronavirus pandemic that has surged once again with its deadly delta variant. Sankey's proposal is yet another incentive for people to get vaccinated within a league that has no vaccination mandate. The SEC has already placed an 85% threshold that, if met, no longer requires teams to test for COVID-19 regularly or wear masks inside their facilities. Dr. Catherine O'Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, gave a sobering message during a press conference Friday while Louisiana's largest hospital was in the middle of admitting its largest surge of patients since cases last peaked in January. "I want to be clear after seeing what I've seen the past two weeks," O'Neal said. "We only have two choices: we are either going to get vaccinated and end the pandemic. Or we are going to accept death." |
| SEC football coaches discuss adding 9th conference game to schedule | |
 | The praise, the scorn, the shrug. That covers the room whenever it comes to talking about expanding football schedules. With June's announcement that the College Football Playoff is studying a 12-team model that would triple the number of teams in the current system, a familiar topic popped out from the SEC weeds. The league has won four of the seven CFP championships, and expanding it would most likely give more SEC teams a better chance to win, so wouldn't it be better to offer more challenges during the regular season? Specifically, would it be worth it to increase the current eight-game SEC schedule to nine? Answers varied at SEC Media Days. "If they do it, I'm for it," rumbled LSU coach Ed Orgeron on July 20. "If I have a vote, I'll vote, but wherever they tell me to play, I'm going to play." There's always going to be coaches who like the idea and others who don't. For coaches who regularly win 10 or 11 games per year, adding one more wouldn't matter much. But what about teams on the other end of the spectrum? "I wonder if people watched last year. The league, there was quite a few people that struggled, if anybody took notice of that," said Kentucky's Mark Stoops, who has had a terrific run with the Wildcats but slipped to 5-6 last year. "So that's how I feel." |
| Texas A&M inviting public to record national commercial at Kyle Field | |
 | Texas A&M University is inviting Aggie fans to take part in filming a Midnight Yell reenactment at Kyle Field for a commercial that will be aired during Aggie football games this fall. The July 30 event is free to attend, and the first 1,000 people will receive a free T-shirt. Attendees will begin entering through the stadium's northeast entrance at 7 p.m., and filming is expected to begin at sundown. Participants must be 18 years old or be with a parent or guardian. "No other university can draw thousands of fans at midnight before Gameday like Texas A&M has done for nearly a century," said Shane Hinckley, vice president of brand development at Texas A&M, in a release. "It's one of our most powerful and unique traditions. We're excited to have it featured in our national commercial aired during Southeastern Conference (SEC) and non-conference games." |
| Jackson State blocks reporter from covering Deion Sanders at media day | |
 | A Clarion Ledger reporter was barred from covering the Jackson State football team at Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day on Tuesday, one day after his story was published on a domestic violence charge against the highest-ranked high school recruit in program history. Rashad Milligan was blocked by two JSU officials from covering coach Deion Sanders' program in Birmingham, Alabama. Sanders did not want Milligan interviewing JSU players and coaches, JSU director of internal football operations LaToya Williams told Milligan. The incident occurred one day after Milligan reported on a July 1 court filing stating that Quaydarius Davis, an incoming four-star wide receiver from Dallas, was expected to plead guilty on a charge of "assault causes bodily injury family violence," a misdemeanor in Texas, stemming from an incident in March. Davis' attorney, Henry Campbell, told the Clarion Ledger after publication of the story that the player was not planning to plead guilty. The Clarion Ledger attempted to contact Campbell multiple times before publication of the story. Jackson State, a public university, is subject to open records laws and bound by the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press. While it’s common for college athletics programs to restrict some access -- such as health records or even the ability to watch an entire practice -- it is uncommon to bar a reporter at credentialed media events. |
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