Yall Politics

MS-2 candidate Cobby Williams speaks to MBJ at Delta Council

2012-05-16T18:18:01Z

MS Business Journal
5/16/12

SALTER - Higher education and agribusiness are interrelated

2012-05-16T12:21:26Z

Higher education and agribusiness are interrelated

At his speech here to the movers and shakers in the Mississippi Delta's business, agricultural, educational and political circles, Gov. Phil Bryant's remarks were met with more than polite applause. Bryant, the mechanic's son from Moorhead, understands the Delta region's challenges as lessons from his boyhood.

Bryant told the audience at the Delta Council's 77th annual meeting that he understood the interrelationship of higher education and agribusiness in that region. Bryant said: "As always, I am mindful of the impact that agriculture has on the economy of the Mississippi Delta. It is big business, and economists at Mississippi State University estimate that the activities associated with production agriculture in the Delta account for more than 1.5 billion dollars of annual income and employ more than 55 thousand people. We should support this industry, not only by treating it like the major employer that it is, but also by creating a minimal regulatory environment."

Sid Salter
5/15/12

Mississippi a favorite target

2012-05-16T12:20:08Z

Mississippi a favorite target

A businessman who often travels, Jim Fraiser said his out-of-state clients used to joke about being surprised to find him wearing shoes.

Being barefoot is one of the stereotypes Mississippians face from outsiders who unfairly punish current residents for the state's past, some say.

The solution?

Invite the critics to experience Mississippi hospitality.

"People are going to think what they're going to think," Fraiser, 57, of Jackson, said. "All we can do is try to overcome that reputation, which we will do every time someone comes here and sees us."

Clarion Ledger
5/16/12

Clarion Ledger - NC Govs remarks about Miss. raise questions

2012-05-16T12:17:37Z

Remarks about Miss. raise questions

North Carolina's governor took a shot at Mississippi on the heels of what she saw as an embarrassing victory at the polls of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman in her state.

Gov. Beverly Purdue told a crowd in Greenville, N.C., that people around the country must be confused at such an outcome in such a progressive state. "Folks are saying what in the world is going on in North Carolina," Purdue said. "We look like Mississippi."

Clarion Ledger via Hattiesburg American
5/15/12

‘Jobs-friendly’ bills signed by Bryant

2012-05-16T12:15:12Z

'Jobs-friendly' bills signed by Bryant

Four bills that became law Monday, products of what Gov. Phil Bryant called "the most jobs-friendly legislative session in modern Mississippi history," affect businesses, workers, students and the growth of the health care industry.

Taking effect July 1 are laws that will boost the tax credit businesses can claim on inventory taxes, the creation of "health care industry zones" where medical businesses can cluster, dual-enrollment programs for high-school dropouts or those pondering leaving school and changes to the state's worker compensation laws.

The inventory-tax bill increases the amount businesses can claim in tax credits to offset the cost of inventory like commodities, products, goods and, for the first time, raw materials and works-in-process.

Clarion Ledger
5/14/12

Health initiatives puts Miss. on ‘good lists’

2012-05-16T12:13:04Z

Health initiatives puts Miss. on 'good lists'

While Mississippi has been continually ranked on or near the bottom of national lists related to health and economic issues, the state's resilience and core values also have landed it on good lists, state and community leaders say.

For the last six years, Mississippi has been named the most obese state, prompting former Gov. Haley Barbour and current Gov. Phil Bryant to put special emphasis on exercise and nutrition.

Under Barbour, the state instituted a push aimed at getting people to walk and watch their diet. And earlier this year Bryant announced a 5K run to promote exercise. The event is planned for June 30.

Clarion Ledger
5/16/12

Barbour: Romney should focus on Obama’s record

2012-05-16T12:12:29Z

Barbour: Romney should focus on Obama's record

Former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour thinks presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney should focus on President Obama's "failed" economic policies.

"Best thing for Republicans was for this election to be a referendum on Obama's record," the former RNC chairman said on "CBS This Morning" Monday. "Obama's record on economics and jobs, and the policies that he's put in place and how those policies have failed."

CBS News
5/14/12

4 Mississippians added to National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

2012-05-16T12:10:56Z

4 Mississippians added to National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

The names of four Mississippi law officers who were killed in the line of duty have been added the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington.

Mississippi 's two U.S. senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker , say in a news release that more than 360 names were added to the national memorial this year, including 162 officers killed in 2011.

They are Madison Police Patrolman James G. Brooks Sr., who was killed March 23, 2011; Grenada Police Capt. John W. Haddock, killed Oct. 7, 2011; DeSoto County Sheriff William P. Harris, killed Nov. 25, 1912; and McComb City Marshal Richard M. Cloy, killed July 8, 1891.

AP
5/15/12

Jim Barksdale comments on Brett Christensen appointment

2012-05-16T11:29:43Z

Barksdale comments on Christensen appointment

Christensen’s compensation package includes:
◦The maximum amount of money that the state can pay for his salary is $183,000 a year, one-and-a-half times the governor’s salary.
◦A supplemental performance-based bonus of up to $47,000 based on how well Christensen meets Gov. Bryant’s economic development objectives.
◦A $15,000 relocation allowance is also included. Christensen currently lives in Gainesville, Fla.
◦A car is also provided, a historic provision for MDA directors that only Speed rejected.

“If we had not been able to do that then we wouldn’t have been able to pay (Christensen) more than what he was making in Florida,” Barksdale said.

“It was a necessity. Several other states do it this way. We do that within the state for several jobs. That’s how we pay our football coaches so much money in this state.”

MBJ
5/16/12

MBJ interview with new MDA chief Brent Christensen

2012-05-16T11:26:49Z

Christensen named MDA chief

2012-05-15T18:03:12Z

Gov. Phil Bryant has named Brent Christensen as executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Christensen began his career in Mississippi at the Area Development Partnership in Hattiesburg. For the past 10 years, he has served as president and CEO of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce in Gainesville, Fla.

Read the full story at ClarionLedger.com
5/15/12

Are Democrats actually happy with redistricting after all?

2012-05-15T15:00:07Z

So it looks as if some members of the House Democratic Black Caucus aren't as upset with their Republican counterparts as white Democrats would have you believe.

Democratic Rep. Charles Young attended a Meridian community meeting Monday where WTOK reports that Young said "all of the districts are very well grouped. I think the majority of them are very concise, very compact." Young also stated, "We reduced the number of split precincts from the 400s to down to a little over a hundred. The number of minority districts has been increased."

Notice the term "we."

Young's comments aren't a surprise. Yes, he was one of the Democrats that voted against the House and Senate plans, as did all the Black Caucus members in the House. However, from the talk around the Capitol they overwhelmingly like the redistricting plans, recognize them as fair, and want to see the DOJ approve the maps in short order.

This goes a long way toward taking the sting out of a possible Democratic challenge while strengthening the Republican case that indeed these maps are viable.

Woods retiring from House

2012-05-15T12:27:45Z

Woods retiring from House

State Rep. Tommy Woods, R-Byhalia, is retiring from the Mississippi House of Representatives after serving more than 25 years in the state Legislature.

In a phone interview Monday, Woods said he has not officially tendered his resignation to House Speaker Philip Gunn but plans to do so.

"I have really enjoyed doing my job and representing the people," Woods said Monday from his Byhalia home. "It has really been a blessing. I hate to have to step down but my doctor says I have to."

Desoto Times Tribune

Man pardoned by Mississippi’s Barbour charged in fatal crash

2012-05-15T12:27:32Z

Man pardoned by Mississippi's Barbour charged in fatal crash
A convicted drunk driver pardoned by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in January has been charged with driving under the influence, accused of leaving the scene of an accident that killed an 18-year-old woman.

Harry Bostick, a retired IRS agent who had been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol three times previously, was freed from jail on a $50,000 bond after being charged last week with driving under the influence.

Bostick was accused of slamming into a car in Mississippi in October being driven by 18-year-old Charity Smith, then leaving the scene. He is also charged with a death caused by driving under the influence (DUI). He was indicted on the charges by a Mississippi grand jury on May 10, according to a court document obtained by Reuters.

Reuters
5/14/12

Gov. Bev Perdue (D) refuses to apologize to Gov. Phil Bryant (R) for her anti-Mississippi remarks

2012-05-15T12:25:43Z

Perdue talks to Mississippi governor, doesn't apologize

Gov. Bev Perdue has spoken to Mississippi's governor after she criticized the approval of last week's referendum banning gay marriage by saying it made North Carolina "look like Mississippi."

But her spokesman said Perdue didn't apologize for her remarks.

Perdue spokesman Mark Johnson said Perdue had a very good discussion Monday with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who said last Friday that he was disappointed with Perdue's comments during a Pitt County visit.

Winston Salem Journal
5/15/12