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[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T12:47:43 | null | 2016-08-29T06:56:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fovercrowding-dilapidation-force-need-new-jail%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/county_itawamba_green-130x130.png | en | null | Overcrowding, dilapidation force the need for a new jail | null | null | djournal.com | By Adam Armour
Itawamba County Times
FULTON – If there’s a person in Itawamba County who stubbornly refuses to believe jail overcrowding is a problem, jail administrator Vicky Russell will gladly set them straight.
There’s a litany of issues that come with having a packed jail. Russell is happy to list them all because she’s seen them all.
“Fights break out; inmates getting on each other’s nerves; people are constantly trying to bring contraband into jail … If God wasn’t in control, we would be in a mess,” she said.
With or without divine assistance, the county jail is in a mess. It’s not just overcrowding, although that’s easily the biggest problem. Jail officials say the whole thing is coming apart, everything from leaks in the roof to what Russell described as “rats as big as cats” emerging from the prisoners’ toilets.
“We have super-glued and duct-taped everything we can to keep it going,” Russell said. “But how long does that last?”
According to Itawamba County Sheriff Chris Dickinson, it lasts until about four years ago. That’s when he first warned the county’s board of supervisors that a new county jail isn’t just a want, it’s a need. Not only is the building, located in the heart of downtown Fulton, falling in, there’s not enough of it. If something didn’t change, either a sudden decrease in crime or a new jail manifesting from thin air, there was going to be a breaking point.
Guess which one of those things happened first?
“We’re there,” Dickinson said. “We’re looking at something that’s become a necessity. We’re at the point where we have got to have a new jail.”
Things seem to be finally moving in that direction. Earlier this month, the sheriff and county board agreed to consult with an architect about the construction of a new jail, which will need to be built to meet some strict federal standards. The type of monitoring system, thickness of walls, separation of housing and the number of guards to prisoners are all mandated by the federal government.
According to the sheriff, the life-expectancy of a jail is around 25 years or so. After that point, it either needs an overhaul or a replacement.
Itawamba’s jail passed its expiration date years ago. The newest portion of the Itawamba County Jail, not counting the kitchen, was constructed about 30 years ago. The oldest was built in 1947, nearly 70 years ago.
But it’s not the age of the jail that most concerns the sheriff. It’s the size.
It’s no secret to anyone who’s visited the local jail lately, either as an inmate or guest, that crowding is a problem. At any given point, the jail is packed to belt-bursting levels, more often than not housing far beyond its capacity.
At its most crowded, the jail was housing 66 inmates, more than double its capacity.
In order to accommodate the overflow, an average of 12 Itawamba County prisoners are being held at Tishomingo County Jail at a cost of $25 per day. County officials said Itawamba is spending between $10,000 and $15,000 each month housing prisoners in Tishomingo County.
As is her style, Russell summed up the situation bluntly:
“Itawamba County is paying for Tishomingo County’s jail. We pay them enough to make a payment on a jail every month,” she said.
There are several causes for the jail’s overcrowding. For safety reasons, female prisoners can’t be housed with their male counterparts. In Itawamba’s jail, the growing number of female inmates has created a problem of where to put them.
Currently, the jail can accommodate eight female prisoners. According to the sheriff, they average 12.
“That’s four people who I have no choice but to send somewhere else,” the sheriff said.
But the biggest problem stems from repeat offenders and the way state law dictates they be managed. Signed into law two years ago, House Bill 585 made some sweeping changes to the way the state handles its prisoners. The change that most impacts the local jail is a rule that gives the Mississippi Department of Corrections up to 21 days to revoke a repeat offender’s parole, should he or she be arrested again. According to the sheriff, MDOC often uses every second of this time. That’s jail space that the local law enforcement officials need.
On any given day, there will be 15 or so MDOC prisoners housed in the local jail, waiting to either be released or taken back to the state penitentiary. The law was supposed to ease the burden of an overcrowded state penal system. Local officials say it’s done little more than move that burden to their shoulders.
“Not only are we catching new criminals, but we’re catching the same old criminals. It clogs the system up,” Dickinson said. “Most of our offenders who are over there right now are repeat offenders.”
He said the system has become a “revolving door.” A person gets arrested, pleads guilty, goes to prison, is quickly released on parole, returns home and then promptly gets arrested again. Rinse and repeat.
A new, larger jail will mitigate some of the problems that cycle causes, at least for now.
“We don’t need a very big jail, although, of course, you want to build it with some growth in it,” Dickinson said.
Then again, just about anything will be an improvement over what they have now. Again, just ask Russell.
“You can’t control this mess,” she said. “We come in here on a prayer every single day.”
For now, that seems to be keeping the place standing. But just barely.
adam.armour@journalinc.com
Twitter: @admarmr | http://djournal.com/news/overcrowding-dilapidation-force-need-new-jail/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/bac645da42ca4f5d1b9711657d2e2d537c14b231d3555532a714573d85d85f42.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T02:47:30 | null | 2016-08-29T20:16:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Factor-gene-wilder-star-mel-brooks-movies-dies-83%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Gene-Wilder-220x300-1.jpg | en | null | Actor Gene Wilder, star of Mel Brooks movies, dies at 83 | null | null | djournal.com | By Sandy Cohen
AP Entertainment Writer
Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in “The Producers” and the mad scientist of “Young Frankenstein,” has died. He was 83.
Wilder’s nephew said Monday that the actor and writer died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications from Alzheimer’s disease. No funeral arrangements have been announced.
Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans.
Wilder started his acting career on the stage, but millions knew him from his work in the movies, especially his collaborations with Mel Brooks on “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” The last film – with Wilder playing a California-born descendant of the mad scientist, insisting that his name is pronounced “Frahn-ken-SHTEEN” – was co-written by Brooks and Wilder and earned the pair an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay.
“Gene Wilder, one of the truly great talents of our time, is gone,” Brooks wrote in a statement Monday. “He blessed every film we did together with his special magic and he blessed my life with his friendship. He will be so missed.”
With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in “Young Frankenstein” or bilking Broadway in “The Producers.” Brooks would call him “God’s perfect prey, the victim in all of us.”
But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozing gunslinger in “Blazing Saddles” or the charming candy man in the children’s favorite “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” His craziest role: the therapist having an affair with a sheep in Woody Allen’s “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex.”
Tweeted Jim Carrey: “Gene Wilder was one of the funniest and sweetest energies ever to take a human form. If there’s a heaven he has a Golden Ticket.”
Cloris Leachman, Wilder’s “Young Frankenstein” co-star, tweeted, “Oh, Gene, it’s too soon!”
Wilder and Pryor
Wilder was close friends with Richard Pryor, and their contrasting personas – Wilder uptight, Pryor loose – were ideal for comedy. They co-starred in four films: “Silver Streak,” “Stir Crazy,” “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and “Another You.” And they created several memorable scenes, particularly when Pryor provided Wilder with directions on how to “act black” as they tried to avoid police in “Silver Streak.”
But Wilder would insist he was no comedian. He told Robert Osborne in a 2013 interview that it was the biggest misconception about him.
“What a comic, what a funny guy, all that stuff! And I’m not. I’m really not. Except in a comedy in films,” Wilder said. “But I make my wife laugh once or twice in the house, but nothing special. But when people see me in a movie and it’s funny then they stop and say things to me about ‘how funny you were.’ But I don’t think I’m that funny. I think I can be in the movies.”
A Milwaukee native, Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933. When he was 6, his mother suffered a heart attack that left her a semi-invalid. He soon began improvising comedy skits to entertain her, the first indication of his future career.
He started taking acting classes at age 12. In 1961, he became a member of Lee Strasberg’s prestigious Actor’s Studio in Manhattan.
That same year, he made both his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts using the stage name Gene Wilder. He won the Clarence Derwent Award, given to promising newcomers, for the Broadway work in Graham Greene’s comedy “The Complaisant Lover.”
A key break came in 1963 when he co-starred with Anne Bancroft in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage,” and met Brooks, her future husband.
Brooks cast Wilder in “The Producers” as Leo Bloom, an accountant who discovers the liberating joys of greed and corruption as he and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) conceive a Broadway flop titled “Springtime For Hitler” and plan to flee with the money raised for the show’s production. Wilder’s performance received a supporting actor Oscar nod.
Before starring in “The Producers,” he had a small role as the hostage of gangsters in the 1967 classic “Bonnie and Clyde.” He peaked in the mid-1970s with the twin Brooks hits “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.”
Wilder went on to write several screenplays and direct five features, including “The Woman in Red” and “Haunted Honeymoon,” in which he co-starred with his third wife, Gilda Radner. The two met while making the 1982 film “Hanky-Panky” and married in 1984.
After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research and opened a support facility for cancer patients. In 1991, he testified before Congress about the need for increased testing for cancer.
That same year, he appeared in his final film role: “Another You” with Pryor.
Wilder worked mostly in television in recent years, including appearances on “Will & Grace” – one of which earned him an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor – and a starring role in the short-lived sitcom “Something Wilder.” In 2015, he was among the voices in the animated “The Yo Gabba Gabba! Movie 2.”
As for why he stopped appearing on the big screen, Wilder said in 2013 he was turned off by the noise and foul language in modern movies.
“I didn’t want to do the kind of junk I was seeing,” he said in an interview. “I didn’t want to do 3D for instance. I didn’t want to do ones where there’s just bombing and loud and swearing, so much swearing… can’t they just stop and talk instead of swearing?”
Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991, and his daughter from a previous marriage, Katherine, from whom he was estranged.
–––––
AP film writers Lindsey Bahr in Los Angeles and Jake Coyle in New York and former AP reporter Larry McShane contributed to this story. | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/actor-gene-wilder-star-mel-brooks-movies-dies-83/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/b97c9caa864a6c90e5d5b3688fa4b2ef8fb1e6baeba005b68edfe4782256dd84.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T00:46:36 | null | 2016-08-26T18:25:29 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-football-scores-week-2-2%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/09/DJScoreboardweb21.jpg | en | null | High School Football Scores: Week 2 | null | null | djournal.com | Scores will be updated here throughout the night.
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Sports Polls What’s the most likely record for Ole Miss after the first month of the season? 4-0
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Featured Jobs | http://djournal.com/sports/high-school-football-scores-week-2-2/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/c5eb3fa2517bb25cdf51c5dd85af189c4de2fcad5601b9ba11472a1dcdfc8f65.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T08:49:01 | null | 2016-08-27T03:37:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Fdavid-pannell-family-makes-room-heart-home-bg%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/02/Pannell-David1-89x130.jpg | en | null | DAVID PANNELL: Family makes room in heart, home for BG | null | null | djournal.com | “We’re going to be foster parents!” That’s the news-bomb our daughter and her husband dropped on us several months ago. She and her husband live far away, in another state, and have 2 boys of their own – our grandsons, Davey and Milo, ages 3 and 5.
They are perfect, of course. I refer to them collectively as “The Dudes.” When I heard about this decision, my first thought was, What about The Dudes? What would the insertion of a foster child into the family dynamic do to them? What would they have to sacrifice? What if this new foster child were to steal focus away from them or, God forbid, hurt them? It may sound selfish, but I think it’s a natural response, one my wife shared as well. We worried together, but had no choice but to respect the decision their family had made.
The vetting process for foster parenting is long and involved. Foster parents apply and are screened by caseworkers who track down references, inspect the home, interview the prospective foster parents, and lead classes to help protect the children from further potential abuse (some foster parents are no better than the biological ones; some are worse). They try to mentally prepare the foster parents for making the best of a variety of bad situations.
Our daughter and her husband were warned that in the unfathomable foster child universe, the children of parents who are merely drug addicts are the lucky ones. Worse still were the ones starved, abandoned, physically or sexually abused. They were warned that these children would hide food and hoard food, from habit of scarcity or fear of having it taken away. They were warned some would act out physically or shut down emotionally, having been robbed of privacy, dignity, trust and innocence. Once accepted as foster parents, they would have to be ready at a moment’s notice to receive and to rescue such a child any time of night or day, and would have to be ready to relinquish the child once a more permanent placement had been secured. They were told the eventual goal was to reassimilate them into their biological families. Still they persisted.
They requested a girl, younger than The Dudes. They cleared out a room in their small house, painted it a restful white, furnished it with little girl toys, tucked delicate little girl clothes into the drawers, and on a framed chalkboard propped on the dresser, my daughter drew a rose garland, within which she wrote the words “You Are Loved.” On a recent visit, The Dudes walked us through the empty, expectant room. Davey smoothed the covers and said, “This is Baby Girl’s bed.”
They got the call about a week ago. They dropped everything, jumped in the car, and went to pick up “Baby Girl.” She’s just turned 2 and has short brown hair that our daughter put up in little pigtails. They’ve taken to calling her BG, and we’ve been bombarded with pictures – BG in a stroller, BG cuddled in bed, reading “When the Sun Rose,” BG working a puzzle in soft, morning light (she’s an early riser), BG on a trip to Target to get new shoes and clothes, BG in jammies, laughing at the boys. Only once so far has she had a breakdown – on a bowling trip with the family. She just got too tired, the way kids sometimes do when they’re having so much fun. It hits them all at once.
I suppose it hit me all at once, too. The Dudes will abide, and at least for now, so will Baby Girl. And at least for now, she’s ours, too.
David Pannell describes himself as “a recovering farmer and the reluctant pastor of Common Ground Christian Church in Wren, Mississippi.” Contact him at davidpan1963@gmail.com. | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/david-pannell-family-makes-room-heart-home-bg/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/275b7844422701a562a7805568a976224ca4a95c900e48b2969cb4d09bce1fb0.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-28T14:52:56 | null | 2016-08-28T08:16:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fole-miss-parrish-alfords-schedule-analysis%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/04/dj_favicon.png | en | null | Ole Miss: Parrish Alford's schedule analysis | null | null | djournal.com | Sept. 5, Florida State (Orlando): Inexperience in the secondary will be off-set by inexperience at QB for the Seminoles who will start a redshirt freshman. The Rebels’ front seven will limit Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.
Winner: Ole Miss
Sept. 12, Wofford: It’s unfortunate that Ole Miss plays the FCS game so early in the season, but it’s a must with a short week after a Monday game and Alabama coming up in seven days.
Winner: Ole Miss
Sept. 19, Alabama: It’s possible the Crimson Tide arrive for this game unsettled at quarterback as they were last year when the Rebels won 43-37 in Tuscaloosa. It’s not possible that Alabama is distracted here.
Only Ole Miss stands between Alabama and perfect regular seasons the last two years. It would have been a perfect overall season in 2015.
Winner: Alabama
Sept. 26, Georgia: The Rebels avoid an 0-2 SEC start with a crisp, focused performance. The offensive line becomes a deeper unit here as freshman tackle Greg Little begins to play a larger role.
Winner: Ole Miss
Oct. 1, Memphis: Paxton Lynch threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns against the Rebels last year, but Paxton Lynch is no longer the Memphis quarterback.
Winner: Ole Miss
Oct. 15, at Arkansas: The number of replays of last year’s Arkansas lateral at Vaught-Hemingway will exceed the number of replays of Bryce Drew’s game-winning shot that always appear in March Madness. The Ole Miss secondary is coming around at this point too.
Winner: Ole Miss
Oct. 22, at LSU: A deep and talented LSU team will be tough to handle in Baton Rouge where the Rebels will play close – They always do – but will come up short.
Winner: LSU
Oct. 29, Auburn: With a second-straight win in the series Hugh Freeze evens up his record against his good friend Gus Malzhan.
Winner: Ole Miss
Nov. 5, Georgia Southern: It’s easier to prepare for an option team in a bowl game – as with Georgia Tech in 2013 – than during the season, but it’s hard for a Sun Belt team to knock off an SEC team on the road.
Winner: Ole Miss
Nov. 12, at Texas A&M: Trevor Knight will add stability and production to what was a quarterback mess for the Aggies last year.
Winner: Texas A&M
Nov. 19, at Vanderbilt: This won’t be the lopsided win Ole Miss enjoyed in its last trip to Nashville, but it will be a third-straight win in the series.
Winner: Ole Miss
Nov. 26, Mississippi State: No longer part of the SEC race at this point, the Rebels finish on a high note against the in-state rival.
Winner: Ole Miss | http://djournal.com/sports/ole-miss-parrish-alfords-schedule-analysis/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2ff4428fb29f52461f40bf054b84a01cef02cf1c91c467273f8f818012751941.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-30T22:47:39 | null | 2016-08-30T16:04:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fole-miss-memphis-basketball-set-9-p-m-start%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/07/K1F3_Ole_Miss_logo-130x118.jpeg | en | null | Ole Miss, Memphis basketball set for 9 p.m. start | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in College Sports
Nothing like a little 9 o’clock basketball.
The Dec. 3 Ole Miss-Memphis game has been set for 9 p.m. at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
Ole Miss won last year’s meeting 85-79 at The FedEx Forum and has won two straight in the series.
The eight other Ole Miss non-conference home opponents include Tennessee-Martin, UMass, Montana, Middle Tennessee, Murray State, Bradley, South Alabama and on Jan. 28 in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, Baylor.
Parrish Alford | http://djournal.com/sports/ole-miss-memphis-basketball-set-9-p-m-start/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/d735d2b48a9b79bcbeedcb6fff145a25cd94eb7ca1dc8d4d1408e1f76fffc163.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T12:49:56 | null | 2016-08-30T06:20:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Flobbyists-see-roads-bridges-priority-mississippi%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/other_state_news-130x130.png | en | null | Lobbyists see roads, bridges as priority for Mississippi | null | null | djournal.com | By Zachary Oren Smith
Mississippi Today
JACKSON – During this year’s legislative session, the Mississippi Economic Council made a lobbying push for $375 million in additional revenue to address the state’s immediate transportation needs. Alongside the MEC stood several lobbyist groups that similarly prioritized the maintenance and expansion of Mississippi’s infrastructure system.
Scott Waller, executive vice president of the Mississippi Economic Council, led the push, which was based on research from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University and the Stennis Institute of Government.
The $375 million was based on what the Transportation Department would need in additional funds if the roads were already in good shape. The Mississippi Economic Council offered several methods for investing in infrastructure.
But, as Waller points out, the longer the Legislature takes to pick a method, the less each dollar will be able to do.
“We provided a number of options,” Waller said. “Waiting was not one of those options. The longer we wait – if we are forced to wait – the more it will cost the taxpayer. It seems to me like the conservative thing to do is put forward the investment into our infrastructure.”
At hearings by special legislative committees looking at state spending last week, Rep. Robert Foster, R-Hernando, asked Transportation Department Executive Director Melinda McGrath for her assessment of the shape of Mississippi’s roads and an estimate for how much additional funding it would take to get them in adequate shape.
McGrath responded that $400 million would be approximately what it would take. However, no one on the panel asked about the method to fund that amount – such as a gas tax increase, bonding or an additional sales tax diversion.
Mississippi Today reached out to a few of these groups that supported the MEC’s push in the spring to talk about their plans for moving forward.
Supervisors’ association presses on for funding
Derrick Surrette has been the executive director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors for eight years. The association advocates for county governments. He said that road and bridge construction, maintenance and repair has been at the top of the group’s agenda since he has been there.
While the state-aid roads that wind through Mississippi’s counties are under the care of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, many local roads are maintained by county governments. Surrette said that the funding of these roads is a major cost for county governments:
“We receive a very small portion of the petroleum tax,” Surrette said. “It just goes to state aid roads, not to locally maintained roads. We only can use property taxes. Not sales taxes. Not petroleum taxes. And for the most part those property taxes are not going up because assessed values are not going up. And frankly, supervisors are doing all they can to not increase taxes.”
For large, expensive projects, counties rely on funding from the Local System Bridge Replacement Program and the Local System Road Program. The funds authorized by the Office of State Aid Road Construction give counties the ability to use those designated funds and general state aid funds for building and maintaining local bridges and roads.
Mississippi Association of Supervisors threw their weight behind the MEC’s push for greater funding for transportation needs.
“We walked the halls trying to push for road and bridge funding,” Surrette said. “I heard a lot of talk, ‘Well, nobody wants a tax increase. There is just not enough money to go around.’ Well that’s duh-huh talk. That’s very elementary talk when it comes to policy and politics. Let’s graduate to the third and fourth grade, and let’s start thinking about why we need to do this, and how we are going to do this. What are the benefits? What are the downfalls.”
Surrette said that any change in infrastructure funding is going to require Democrats and Republicans to be in the same room talking through their options: “Let’s start by making suggestions about what we can do because everybody in their right mind should realize that if we aren’t giving (Department of Transportation) enough money to maintain our bridges and our roads, there is a huge problem.”
Roads are critical to Farm Bureau’s members
Among the backers of MEC’s infrastructure plan was the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Farm Bureau has 192,000 member families in 82 county bureaus. Each year, the bureau sets legislative goals for the session.
When Mississippi Today reached out to Mike McCormick, Farm Bureau’s policy resolutions had not been set for the 2017 session.
“We usually set three priorities for each session,” McCormick said. “Road and bridge repair was one of ours last year. They are important to farmers.”
Though rural Mississippi populations are not very dense, McCormick said the roads and bridges get plenty of use. Farmers rely on local and state roads to get their crops and livestock out for processing and selling.
“I guess it was maybe in the 2014 when it came to be a big issue for (farmers) crossing Highway 6,” McCormick said. “They shut all those bridges down and our guys from east Mississippi couldn’t get across the river to the ports to deliver their grain. They ended up having to go about a hundred miles out of the way. It’s a big issue for our guys all across the state.”
The Department of Transportation’s engineers “post” bridges when they become structurally deficient. These posted bridge will have a sign denoting a limit on the amount of weight that the bridge can safely support. But when a bridge has reached a level of decay where it cannot be traversed safely the department will close them completely until repairs are made.
McGrath at Transportation said the agency is not willing to use scare tactics to get the Legislature to increase its funding: “If a bridge is in a state of disrepair, we will shut it down to keep people safe.”
Of the 840 projects in the agency’s Five Year Plan, over 350 are related to the maintenance, construction or expansion of bridges.
“Because of these posted bridges, they are having to go miles and miles out of the way to be able to deliver their goods,” McCormick said. “It’s an inconvenience, but it could also be a liability having trucks on the roads for more miles then they need to. Accidents happen.”
Municipalities want to attain solidinfrastructure
Another piece of Mississippi’s infrastructure puzzle is its cities. Shari Veazey, executive director of the Mississippi Municipal League, said that though they hadn’t approved their legislative agenda for the 2017 session, the league is working to help cities address street, water and sewerage infrastructure.
“It’s a critical issue for the majority of our cities,” Veazey said. “But a lot depends on state revenues and we’ve got to really prove our point. We tried that last year and will continue to do that next year, collaborating with any group to get this work done.”
Veazey said that a method of funding for infrastructure improvements that the league pushed for last session was for additional municipal sales tax diversions. Cities currently get 18.5 percent of sales tax collected in their municipal boundaries. Veazey said the bill pushed to increase the municipal sales tax diversion to 20 percent over a two year period.
“It died in conference,” Veazey said. “When it was fully phased in it would have been a 40 million dollar hit to the general fund. What we were told was that state revenue projections were down. But in reality, this is just giving that money back to the cities.”
Though it failed last session, Veazey said the Municipal League is hoping to find a way to get that diversion increase passed in the 2017 legislative session.
The chairman of the state’s House transportation committee, Rep. Charles Busby, R-Jackson County, wants the lobbying actions taken by the groups to be just the start.
“We need to do what is fiscally responsible,” Busby said. “How are we going to leave here not having funded something that we all agree is a core responsibility of government. Our infrastructure is a core responsibility of our government. How are we going to make a case for being fiscally responsible?” | http://djournal.com/news/lobbyists-see-roads-bridges-priority-mississippi/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/e2a9e14a9dd096c0dc9792aeda69299410d4b5bfac1d4dd3458880b607aca295.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T22:47:49 | null | 2016-08-29T16:59:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Falcorn-county-man-charged-attempted-murder%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Billy-Wayne-Lauderdale-e1472507943405-100x130.jpg | en | null | Alcorn County man charged with attempted murder | null | null | djournal.com | By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today
An Alcorn County man was charged with attempted murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling in an incident that occurred Thursday.
Billy Wayne Lauderdale, 50, allegedly fired a high-powered rifle into the residence of Gerald Guynes at 242 County Road 500, said Alcorn County Sheriff Ben Caldwell.
Lauderdale, who resides at 235 County Road 500, allegedly went to Guynes’ residence last Thursday with a shotgun. Lauderdale then pointed the shotgun at Guynes and pulled the trigger twice, but it did not fire, the sheriff said.
The shell that was in the shotgun had already been spent, and Lauderdale then tried to put a live shell in the gun. At that time an altercation between Guynes and Lauderdale occurred, and Lauderdale left the residence.
Afterwards, Guynes said he was sitting on the couch in the living room when rounds from a high-powered rifle were fired into the front door, living room window and pickup truck. Guynes was not hurt by the shots, Caldwell noted.
The shots were allegedly fired by Lauderdale, who is currently held in the county jail on a $200,000 bond.
Lauderdale was apparently upset about a prior incident, Caldwell said. | http://djournal.com/news/alcorn-county-man-charged-attempted-murder/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/e870768878a1bff273f1cb547704c4baed362b83aa785cfb93e6665571ae4261.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T12:51:40 | null | 2016-08-30T06:39:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fmlb-roundup-cespedes-homers-10th%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Cespedes-1-218x300-1.jpg | en | null | MLB Roundup: Cespedes homers in 10th | null | null | djournal.com | Associated Press
NEW YORK – Yoenis Cespedes homered with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the New York Mets a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
Jose Reyes dashed home to score the tying run in the eighth on a dangerous collision at the plate. Two innings later, Cespedes, who sat out Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia after his nagging right quadriceps flared up, launched a no-doubt drive to left-center on a 1-1 pitch from Nick Wittgren (4-3).
The Mets pulled even with Miami for second place in the NL East. With its seventh victory in nine games, New York remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the league’s second wild card.
Rookie left-hander Josh Smoker (1-0) struck out two in a perfect inning for his first major league win.
CARDINALS 6, BREWERS 5: Stephen Piscotty scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning after Carlos Martinez struck out a career-high 13, leading the St. Louis Cardinals past Milwaukee.
With two on and nobody out in the ninth, Yadier Molina dropped down a bunt. Reliever Tyler Thornburg (5-5) threw to third base for a force out, but Jonathan Villar’s throw to first was wild, allowing Piscotty to score.
After Martinez held Milwaukee to one run over six innings, the Brewers scored four runs in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. St. Louis tied it in the eighth on a two-run homer by Randal Grichuk off Corey Knebel.
Seung Hwan Oh pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save. Miguel Socolovich (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up his first win.
Jedd Gyorko and Kolten Wong each hit solo home runs for the Cardinals.
INDIANS 1, TWINS 0, 10 INN.: Jason Kipnis’ 10th-inning single scored Chris Gimenez as Cleveland handed Minnesota its 11th straight loss.
Kipnis lined a 1-0 pitch from Brandon Kintzler (0-1) with one out to left-center to finally break up the scoreless game.
Abraham Almonte pushed a bunt past Kintzler and beat the throw to first to start the inning. Gimenez fouled off two bunt attempts before poking a single through the right side with Almonte moving to second.
Third baseman Miguel Sano fielded Rajai Davis’ slow roller. Third base umpire Ron Kupla ruled Sano tagged Almonte and the call was upheld after a Cleveland challenge.
Kipnis then hit the second pitch from Kinztler for the game-winner.
Zach McAllister (3-2) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th, retiring Max Kepler on a fly ball to end the inning.
TIGERS 4, WHITE SOX 3: Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Detroit.
Justin Upton also went deep for the Tigers, who pulled within a game of Baltimore for the American League’s second wild card.
Detroit trailed 3-2 after a solo homer in the seventh by Chicago’s Tyler Saladino, but Saltalamacchia’s towering drive to right-center off Nate Jones (5-3) put the Tigers ahead.
Justin Wilson (4-4) got the win in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his 37th save in 40 chances.
Saladino drove in all three Chicago runs. James Shields allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.
RED SOX 9, RAYS 4: Rick Porcello became the majors’ first 18-game winner and the first Red Sox pitcher in 70 years to open a season 13-0 in Fenway Park, going seven solid innings in Boston’s victory over Tampa Bay.
Mookie Betts hit his 30th homer, a solo shot, and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, who hold the AL’s first wild-card spot but had lost four of five. Brock Holt had three hits and drove in two runs, Travis Shaw had three hits and Chris Young added a tiebreaking two-run double for Boston.
Porcello (18-3) allowed three runs and six hits, striking out seven without issuing a walk.
Matt Andriese (6-6) took the loss, giving up a season-high seven runs in four-plus innings. The Rays, buried in last in the AL East, have lost three of four.
NATIONALS 4, PHILLIES 0: Tanner Roark threw seven impressive innings, Jayson Werth hit a solo homer and Washington beat Philadelphia.
Roark (14-7) allowed four singles and struck out five. Marc Rzepczynski tossed a perfect eighth and Mark Melancon finished off the four-hitter.
Phillies rookie Jake Thompson (1-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings. It was the longest and best of his five career starts.
Werth lined a solo shot to left in the first against his former team.
Bryce Harper raced home from first on Anthony Rendon’s single to left-center to make it 2-0 in the first. Clint Robinson and Trea Turner had RBI singles off Frank Herrmann in the ninth.
CUBS 8, PIRATES 7, 13 INN.: Miguel Montero hit a game-ending RBI single in the 13th inning, and Chicago rallied for a wild win over Pittsburgh.
Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo set the stage for Montero’s clutch swing with consecutive RBI singles against Jeff Locke (9-8), plating the tying run. After Ben Zobrist was walked intentionally, Montero lined a clean single into left field.
Rob Zastryzny (1-0) got his first major league win despite allowing Josh Harrison’s sacrifice fly in the top half of the inning. Jorge Soler and Willson Contreras homered for the Cubs, and Javier Baez collected four hits.
Pittsburgh had won eight straight road games. It fell 1 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 1: Josh Donaldson hit his fourth homer in two days and Jose Bautista also went deep in support of Marco Estrada, leading Toronto past Baltimore.
The Blue Jays lead the third-place Orioles by four games in the AL East. Baltimore has lost four out of five and is clinging to the second wild card.
Donaldson hit a solo homer in the fourth to tie it 1-1. The AL MVP had three homers in a 9-6 win over Minnesota on Sunday.
Estrada (8-6) allowed one run and four hits with four strikeouts over seven-plus innings. The Blue Jays have won three of his four starts against the Orioles this year.
J.J. Hardy provided Baltimore’s only run with his eighth homer in the third.
Baltimore left-hander Wade Miley (8-11) allowed three runs and five hits while tying a season high with nine strikeouts over seven innings.
ROYALS 8, YANKEES 5: Dillon Gee kept the Royals’ momentum going with six sharp innings, Alcides Escobar hit a three-run homer and Kansas City beat the New York Yankees.
Gee (6-7) allowed only four hits and a run in the latest impressive start by the Royals’ staff, helping the reigning World Series champions win for the 18th time in 22 games.
Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs off Michael Pineda (6-11) during a five-hit salvo in the first inning. Pineda then retired 15 straight before getting into a two-on, no-outs jam in the seventh that led to Escobar’s homer off reliever Blake Parker.
Starlin Castro drove in two runs for the Yankees, the second in a four-run eighth inning that forced Kansas City manager Ned Yost to summon fill-in closer Kelvin Herrera.
RANGERS 6, MARINERS 3: Yu Darvish struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings and Carlos Beltran homered among three hits, helping Texas beat Seattle.
The American League-leading Rangers won the first of six straight games at home against the two teams chasing them in the AL West and dropped the Mariners into third place, a game behind Houston and 9 1/2 back of Texas.
Darvish (5-3) easily outpitched fellow Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma for his third straight win, leaving to a standing ovation with a 6-1 lead in the seventh after throwing 110 pitches, the most since his return from Tommy John surgery.
Sam Dyson struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 30th save, giving Texas 13 strikeouts.
Iwakuma (14-10) lost his third straight start while matching his shortest outing of the season at three innings.
ASTROS 6, ATHLETICS 0: Jose Altuve homered, Joe Musgrove and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as Houston beat Oakland.
Musgrove (2-2) struck out seven, walked three and allowed three hits over 5 1/3 innings, and then Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek and Brad Peacock closed things out. Musgrove had allowed 13 runs over his last two starts.
Houston closed within two games of the second AL wild card with the win and Baltimore’s loss.
A’s starter Sean Manaea (5-9) left after 3 1/3 innings with a right rhomboid strain.
Altuve hit his second homer in two games to lead off the sixth and extend Houston’s lead to 3-0.
Alex Bregman hit a two-run single and Carlos Correa had an RBI single as part of a three-run seventh.
ROCKIES 8, DODGERS 1: Jon Gray pitched six scoreless innings, Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer and the Colorado beat NL West-leading Los Angeles.
Gray (9-6) surrendered four hits and struck out eight in a crisp performance for his first win since Aug. 2. He was helped out by centerfielder Charlie Blackmon, who made a sliding catch in the fifth to thwart a big inning.
DJ LeMahieu had a two-run double in a five-run seventh that turned a pitching duel into a rout.
Kenta Maeda (13-8) was electric once again at Coors Field — except for a hanging slider to Hundley in the fourth. The right-hander with the quirky delivery allowed four hits over five innings. Maeda has a 2.12 ERA in three starts at the hitter friendly park.
ANGELS 9, REDS 2: Mike Trout and Albert Pujols each hit one of the Angels’ five home runs in a win over Cincinnati.
Trout went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs, joining Alex Rodriguez as one of two players to score 100 runs five times before his age-25 season.
Pujols hit his 586th homer, tying Frank Robinson for ninth on the career list.
Kole Calhoun was a triple short of the cycle, and C.J. Cron homered among his three hits for the Angels.
Matt Shoemaker (9-13) allowed two runs and seven hits over seven innings. After giving up a two-run homer to Joey Votto in the first, Shoemaker settled in to win his third straight decision.
Dan Straily (10-7) allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. | http://djournal.com/sports/mlb-roundup-cespedes-homers-10th/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/f2008333f38219e892232a14397fb3a659cd9638fd50041731dc8b615150a887.json |
[
"Logan Lowery"
] | 2016-08-28T14:50:56 | null | 2016-08-28T08:28:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Flogan-lowery-can-mullen-make-magic-new-signal-caller%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/05/04261658-Logan-Lowery-e1462367607700-95x130.jpg | en | null | LOGAN LOWERY: Can Mullen make magic with new signal caller? | null | null | djournal.com | STARKVILLE
Mississippi State has been in the midst of a tight quarterback competition since the spring.
A starter still hasn’t been named, and it’s now down to six days before the Bulldogs kick off the season against South Alabama. Junior Damian Williams, sophomore Nick Fitzgerald and redshirt freshman Nick Tiano are still battling things out.
Whichever one of those three wins the job, they will have the unenviable task of not only replacing a first team All-SEC signal caller but the best player in program history – Dak Prescott.
In only two-plus seasons as the starter, he rewrote all of the school’s record books while guiding MSU to its first ever No. 1 national ranking for five weeks in 2014.
Prescott’s popularity amongst Bulldog fans is unparalleled, becoming just as much ingrained in State’s identity and lore as Jack Cristil, the Left Field Lounge and Edam cheese. Prescott was the face of the program both on and off the field, always taking the extra time to pose for pictures, sign autographs or simply say hello to the mobs of fans that seemed to flock to him wherever he went in Starkville.
For as much as Prescott gave to the Bulldogs during his 5 1/2 years, the thing that will be missed most and hardest to replace is his unquestioned leadership. That’s the aspect the trio of candidates to be his replacement have the biggest shoes to fill.
Williams, Fitzgerald or Tiano will have to win over the respect of the team and fan base all the while trying to maneuver Mississippi State through the ever treacherous gauntlet that is the SEC.
Prescott’s legacy certainly casts a large shadow, but the new Bulldogs’ starting quarterback will need to create his own identity to the team and play his own game, not Prescott’s.
We will find out soon enough if Prescott was perhaps just a once in a lifetime talent for MSU or if coach Dan Mullen can recreate that same magic with another signal caller this season.
Logan Lowery (logan.lowery@journalinc.com) covers Mississippi State for the Journal. He blogs daily at Djournal.com. | http://djournal.com/sports/logan-lowery-can-mullen-make-magic-new-signal-caller/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/0da262f647fb12ad974f9e6f6bccb5233a6426346ddae7853d3124f1393b8f81.json |
[
"M. Scott Morris"
] | 2016-08-28T14:48:54 | null | 2016-08-28T09:37:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Fturf-crews-ole-miss-msu-get-ready-season%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/08111652-MSU-Football-Field-e1472394588912-1.jpg | en | null | Turf crews at Ole Miss, MSU get ready for season | null | null | djournal.com | By M. Scott Morris
Daily Journal
College football players aren’t the only people preparing for the upcoming season, which begins in less than a week.
Brandon Hardin, sports turf superintendent at Mississippi State University, and his team of full-time employees and student workers have spent the summer coaxing a new field of Bermuda grass to grow.
“Every day the sun comes up we are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Hardin said while standing on the sideline in a relatively empty Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
The same can be said for the University of Mississippi, where Brain McNeill, assistant director of sports turf, has been working with his crew to make the change from artificial turf to the natural variety.
“When someone walks into the stadium, one of the first things they see is the field, so it’s important for us each day to make it look good,” McNeill said from just outside the end zone at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
McNeill and Hardin, who studied golf and turf management together at MSU, have installed the same type of grass at their respective fields.
Tifway 419 Bermuda grass has a reputation as a hardy playing surface, and that matters when 300-pound men start churning across the same patches of ground.
“Tifway 419 Bermuda has been around a long time. It’s a very durable grass and holds up to high traffic,” McNeill said. “I felt like this would be a good fit for the stadium.”
That durability will affect how the field looks when cameras beam games to televisions across the nation each week. Torn-up turf probably wouldn’t impress potential recruits watching from home.
Even so, the professionals said looks aren’t as important as playability, and that comes in a distant second when compared to safety.
“It’s the job of the sports turf department to provide the safest surfaces we can for the student athletes,” McNeill said.
As mentioned, the Rebels had been playing on artificial turf at Hollingsworth Field and decided it was time for a change. The MSU Bulldogs played on grass last year, but it was a different variety of Bermuda.
“I had the No. 1 football field in the country last year,” Hardin said, adding that the award was given during the 2016 Sports Turf Managers Association conference in San Diego, California.
If things had gone his way, he would’ve kept what he had, but the warm winter woke up the grass at Scott Field in Starkville, and then bouts of cold weather smacked it back down.
“Really, we didn’t have a choice,” he said. “It went from green to brown.”
Both schools began their installations in June. The Ole Miss team got a short head start, and they’ll also have an extra week to bring the field along. The Rebels will begin the season on Monday, Sept. 5, against Florida State University in Orlando, Florida. The home opener will be the following week against Wofford College.
Since he’s had the extra time, McNeill’s been babying his field a bit, trying to limit the stress early on.
Hardin has to be ready to host the University of South Alabama on Saturday, so he’s been a bit more aggressive.
“People think we just cut grass,” Hardin said. “There’s way more to it. There is definitely a science background to what we do.”
Soil samples are taken and sent to labs to determine the right mix of fertilizer, and pesticides are geared toward specific invaders, such as armyworms and Bermuda mites.
Verticutting and aeration machines remove excess organic material so the turf can better absorb nutrients and water.
The new grass at both schools has to be rolled and packed to ensure arguably the most important thing in all of sports, a level playing field.
“You have to document everything and everything is planned out,” McNeill said. “There’s always work to do, hot or cold, rain or shine.”
For times of shine, both fields have strategically placed water cannons to irrigate every square inch of the playing surface. The sandy base below the grass allows for easy drainage.
“We’ll also take all the rain Mother Nature will give us until it’s game day,” Hardin said.
That might have been a slight exaggeration, because paint and water don’t mix. The turf crews are responsible for drawing yard markers, boundaries, end zones and the rest.
Coaches at both schools needed some painting done for preseason scrimmages, so the players could get used to their home turf. Painting will become more complicated when the season starts, as teams add logos, mascots and other decorations.
“On game weeks, we will start painting the field Monday morning and we will finish up Friday afternoon,” McNeill said.
The Ole Miss and MSU crews also have game-day duties. In Oxford, the crew members raise and lower the net for point-after and field goal attempts.
“We’ve been out during rain with pitchforks on the field helping water drain,” Hardin said.
Other duties could include asking coaches to encourage players to think about how they practice. The fields will experience plenty of wear and tear during games, but players can be field-conscious during pregame warmups.
In addition to players, cheerleaders and band members add to the foot traffic during their performances.
“The main concern is the middle of the field where it gets chewed,” McNeill said.
There’s still more to do, like overseeding with perennial rye grass in October to keep the field green until the last home game.
Eventually, the football season will end, but turf management at MSU and Ole Miss is never about just one sport.
“Everybody says, ‘You’re gearing up for football,’” Hardin said, “but it never stops for us. We’re out here all year.”
There are baseball and softball fields to tend. Tennis courts and soccer pitches must be maintained, and track and field events need a level playing field, too. Intramural sports also require regular attention.
“We take care of all the athletic fields on campus, as well as landscaping around the athletic facility itself,” McNeill said.
Still, the 2016 football season starts in a few days, so the new fields are of upmost importance. Both men and their crews have reasons to feel confident and concerned as kickoffs approach.
That’s what they signed up for.
“I consider myself very blessed most days,” Hardin said.
McNeill echoed the sentiment, but he’s noticed at least one drawback to the sports turf business. His yard at home has been dry lately.
“I don’t have an irrigation system at home. I try to cut it every other week and keep the weeds out,” he said, “but when you do this for a living, the last thing you’re concerned about is your own home lawn.”
scott.morris@journalinc.com
Twitter: @mscottmorris | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/turf-crews-ole-miss-msu-get-ready-season/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/6a26b6f32c829d251eb01569fd775bb041f09ea3d4213f16f740461e16d86682.json |
[
"William Moore"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:43 | null | 2016-08-26T06:12:31 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fblue-steel-challenge-returns-saturday%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/091915110-Blue-Steel-300x200.jpg | en | null | Blue Steel Challenge returns Saturday | null | null | djournal.com | By William Moore
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Law enforcement officers from across the region will gather in Tupelo on Saturday to renew friendships and establish bragging rights for the best shot.
The 13th annual Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi Blue Steel Challenge will begin around 9 a.m. at the North Mississippi law Enforcement Training Center. The event is broken into a standard three gun match – timed shoots with pistol, shotgun and rifle – along with a four-man obstacle course.
“We expect 60 or more shooters,” said Tupelo Police Deputy Chief Allan Gilbert. “It’s only $45 to shoot all four events and get a T-shirt and be entered for some nice door prizes.
“While this is a fundraiser for Crime Stoppers, it is also a way for us to give back to the law enforcement community and it gives the officers a chance to spend time together.”
Organizers stress the camaraderie aspect of the event and try to put most of the money back into prizes for the officers. Thanks to presenting sponsors Car-lock of Tupelo and Glock, as well as more than 30 smaller sponsors, the prizes include more than a half-dozen guns. That includes two Glock pistols and a Bushmaster AR-15.
The event is open to local, state and federal law enforcement officers. Participants must provide agency credentials before taking to the range.
“In the past, we’ve had shooters come from not only the 10 counties Crime Stoppers serve, but from Tennessee and Alabama as well,” Gilbert said. “We normally see a lot of city and county guys, but there are usually some from the FBI, game and fish conservation officers and even the Natchez Trace.”
For more information on the Blue Steel Challenge, call 841-6581 or visit the Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi Facebook page.
william.moore@journalinc.com | http://djournal.com/news/blue-steel-challenge-returns-saturday/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/37a6fe3b19e5d5512871a9884d400e53fdcbfef88109ae2cb5a8e2bbc044969a.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:50:09 | null | 2016-08-31T09:11:28 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fbobby-harrison-health-insurance-arguments-spin-harder%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2013/12/Harrison-Bobby1-100x130.jpg | en | null | BOBBY HARRISON: Health insurance arguments spin harder | null | null | djournal.com | In 2003 Republican Haley Barbour who ran and ultimately won the office of governor criticized then-Democratic incumbent Ronnie Musgrove for “bragging” about significantly increasing the rolls of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“Getting credit for putting 87,000 people on the welfare rolls is something that if I were governor I wouldn’t be bragging about,” Barbour said at the time.
He was responding to a question about the fact that Musgrove listed as an accomplishment in his State of the State speech that his office had worked to increase the number of children on CHIP from less than 1,000 when he took office to more than 80,000.
CHIP, of course, is a federal-state program that provides health care to children whose parents earn too much for their children to receive Medicaid benefits, but not enough to afford private health insurance. At the time, the federal government paid about 80 percent of the costs of the program. Incidentally, thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal government currently pays 100 percent of the costs of CHIP.
Comments similar to Barbour’s were made recently during hearings legislative leaders had with Medicaid Executive David Dzielak. Legislative leaders asked Dzielak what could be done to reduce the cost of Medicaid, which seemingly always is growing and placing a drain on state revenue collections.
House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, asked Dzielak what could be done to get people off the Medicaid rolls and make them “productive” citizens.
Senate Terry Burton, R-Newton, pointed out the best way to reduce the Medicaid rolls is to improve Mississippi’s economy. That, of course, is the job of the governor, legislators and the state’s economic developers.
Medicaid and CHIP are essentially government-sponsored health insurance programs. Medicaid in Mississippi is for poor children, poor pregnant women, the disabled and certain segments of the elderly population
Dzielak and his staff can look for ways to hold down administrative costs and health care costs and work to ensure there is no fraud, but the people who are eligible for the program are simply the people who are eligible – under state and federal law.
State officials can try to make it difficult for people to sign up for the program or take a different approach than Musgrove and his staff and try not to publicize the availability of the program.
But another approach is to believe it is best for the state and for its health care providers for as many people as possible, especially as many children as possible, to have health care coverage.
When people with no coverage get sick, they either seek out health care that they cannot and do not pay for or they delay treatment until they get sicker. When that occurs, they often still eventually end up in the emergency room with no ability to pay, or perhaps in some instances they just die.
Especially when children are involved, I would venture a guess that if a child gets sick enough, parents – whether rich or poor, black or white, with health insurance or without – are going to seek out treatment.
The question in that instance, is it better for the state and for the state’s health care providers for that sick child to have some type of health care coverage? Those uncompensated care costs often are passed along to those with an ability to pay.
In a perfect world, some would argue that it would be better if the government was not having to pay for that heath insurance.
Unfortunately, Mississippi is far from a perfect world.
Bobby Harrison is the Daily Journal’s Capitol Reporter. Contact him at bobby.harrison@journalinc.com, or call (601) 946-9931. | http://djournal.com/opinion/bobby-harrison-health-insurance-arguments-spin-harder/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/5c244c4d7800b08601939768a99a2699c2c50049e8a6facfb48df807a22dd3cd.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T12:48:03 | null | 2016-08-29T06:54:22 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Freeves-restarts-discussion-spending-bp-money%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/07/Reeves-Tate-97x130.jpg | en | null | Reeves restarts discussion over spending BP money | null | null | djournal.com | By Jeff Amy
Associated Press
JACKSON – Generally, there’s nothing better for a politician than spending “free” money – cash that arrived in the treasury without lawmakers having to vote to raise taxes on their constituents.
But there’s already jockeying as lawmakers consider spending $750 million in economic damages that oil giant BP has pledged to pay Mississippi over 12 years.
The money is part of nearly $2.2 billion from BP that’s supposed to be spent on Mississippi projects. But the state will have less control over the $1.42 billion that’s allotted for environmental restoration and cleanup. State government could spend the economic damages, meant to make up for decreased tax collections following lost economic activity, on pretty much anything.
“This is the Legislature’s money,” said Andrew Whitehurst of the Gulf Restoration Network. His group says it hopes Mississippi will spend on infrastructure projects that improve water quality.
Last year, a commission appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant called Go Coast 2020 issued a report with a number of suggestions about how to spend BP money in general. They included ultra-high speed internet service, creating industrial development sites including a technology park at Stennis Space Center, more worker training, a fund to invest in new and expanding businesses, and expanding the Gulfport airport and subsidizing more airline service there.
Last week, Lt. Gov Tate Reeves held a meeting in Long Beach to say that he wants to spend the money on ways that will grow the economy. This is a consistent Reeves theme, that what is maybe state government’s biggest job is to encourage private investment in Mississippi.
But that report may not be the final word on the subject. Bryant spokesman Clay Chandler said last week that “The Go Coast 2020 report is a good starting point, and Gov. Bryant hopes the group stays involved in the process moving forward.” | http://djournal.com/news/reeves-restarts-discussion-spending-bp-money/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/c81d65e4bdafcb9eda0448db24208ebc8f3c7642ff734a6a701f20a6d20a2996.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:13 | null | 2016-08-26T07:00:36 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fvideo-newsbreak-aug-26-2016%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/newsbreak-logo_condensed-1_REV.jpg | en | null | VIDEO: Newsbreak, Aug. 26, 2016 | null | null | djournal.com | Wake up and get ready for your day with the Daily Journal’s Newsbreak – a quick summary of news, sports, weather and everything else Northeast Mississippi to keep you informed and updated on the latest happenings in your community.
Browse by Date: Select month August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998 January 1998 December 1997 November 1997 October 1997 September 1997 August 1997 July 1997 June 1997 May 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 November 1996 October 1996 September 1996 August 1996 July 1996 June 1996 May 1996 April 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996
Newsmax
Polls Do you or someone in your family use Tupelo's public recreation facilities? Yes
No View Results Loading ... Loading ... | http://djournal.com/news/video-newsbreak-aug-26-2016/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/1a86495d002f605549b4cefa2989075698cb933cbb3d4f4c8d9e275dac88d003.json |
[
"Blake Morgan"
] | 2016-08-31T12:48:26 | null | 2016-08-31T06:47:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fred-raiders-click-offense%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/09041529-Tupelo-vs-Shannon-fball-300x249-1.jpg | en | null | Red Raiders click on offense | null | null | djournal.com | By Blake Morgan
Daily Journal
Shannon head coach Darryl Carter said over the summer he believed his offense had the potential to average more than 30 points a game this season.
After the first two weeks of football, the offense is making Carter look smart, averaging 35.5 points per game with a 36-27 win over Caledonia and a 35-0 drubbing of Nettleton.
“We’re executing well,” Carter said. “We are still leaving points off the board with a lot with drops, but we’re doing a good job executing.”
The early success has largely been due to the stellar play of sophomore quarterback Jordan Gilleylen. Through two games he has thrown for six touchdowns and passed for 509 yards.
The early success is a marked improvement over the eight-game showing in his freshmen year. Last season, Gilleylen tallied only four touchdowns and 616 yards while also throwing seven interceptions.
“He has that extra year of experience,” Carter said. “He’s become a leader, and the team looks at him to make things go now.”
Gilleylen and the entire offense will have to play to their potential this Friday when undefeated 6A Tupelo comes into town.
The Golden Wave defense has allowed 26 points through the first two games of the season.
“We’re approaching the game like any other,” Carter said. “We want to stay positive and consistent on what we’re doing throughout the week.”
Running back Keegan Huddleston will line up for Shannon after transferring from Tupelo over the summer. Huddleston led Tupelo in rushing last season with 577 yards and scored seven touchdowns.
This season, the senior is leading Shannon in carries with 35 for 166 yards, but sophomore Thailon Whitfield leads the team in yards with 238 on 31 carries. The duo has scored three touchdowns as well.
They will have to continue to step up and take pressure off Gilleylen for Shannon’s offense to continue living up to Carter’s preseason wishes.
blake.morgan@journalinc.com
Twitter: @BlakeMorganDJ | http://djournal.com/sports/red-raiders-click-offense/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/d8817d58cd817f7e6698383d9d6c0380b38935379914838221e2756fa440a713.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T16:46:47 | null | 2016-08-26T10:06:44 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Fhome-and-gardening%2Fmaster-gardener-location-key-growing-lush-hydrangeas%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/hydrangeas.jpeg | en | null | MASTER GARDENER: Location key to growing lush hydrangeas | null | null | djournal.com | Choosing the correct hydrangeas for your landscape can be confusing. Do they need sun or shade? Do they bloom on new wood or old? What makes the blooms different colors? The answers require a little research into the more than 70 species of hydrangeas.
Planting hydrangeas in the correct location can make the difference between growing a lush lavishly blooming shrub and one that struggles to produce scrawny blooms. Paniculata hydrangeas grow and bloom in a wide variety of climates. Unlike mopheads, they need several hours of sun to do well.
One of my favorites is Little Lime Hardy. This beauty begins to bloom in mid-June with soft green blooms that may be up to 10 inches across. In the fall the blooms turn pink and may have red and purple markings. Their color is not affected by soil pH like some species. The sturdy strong stems assure an upright bloom with little or no drooping.
Little Lime Hardy is a small but mighty shrub reaching a height of 36 to 60 inches. Blooms appear on old and new wood. Plant in well-drained soil in spring or fall. They thrive in sun or part sun with at least five hours of sun daily.
Another favorite is the Phantom Hydrangea. This beautiful shrub is named for its massive cone-shaped white flower heads that are the largest in this species. The blooms can reach up to 15 inches in diameter. The Phantom’s blooms open in early summer with a pale green tinge and mature into sparkling white by July. Finally, in the fall, they complete their bloom cycle with some pink tones.
Like the Little Lime Hardy, they require well-drained soil and several hours of sun daily to achieve their best show. The shrub can grow to 6 to 10 feet in height but can be pruned severely back to about 1 foot in March to keep it smaller. Because it blooms on old and new wood the blooms will only increase in number and size after pruning.
Plant one or more of these versatile hydrangeas this fall, and you will be rewarded with a beautiful show next summer.
Lisa Buse, a Master Gardener, is a trained volunteer of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. For gardening questions, call the Help Center at (662) 620-8280 in Lee County or (866) 920-4678 outside Lee County and leave a message. | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/home-and-gardening/master-gardener-location-key-growing-lush-hydrangeas/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/e8d30ebcf6cca9d37f84fe2650368c6620c054691c60c28176b3ee4eb82c1822.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T08:46:40 | null | 2016-08-27T02:45:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fyellowjackets-overcome-mistakes-win-little-egg-bowl%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/12/spt-1204-Woods-muK-e1449242128299-100x130.jpg | en | null | Yellowjackets overcome mistakes to win ‘Little Egg Bowl’ | null | null | djournal.com | By John Davis
Oxford Citizen
OXFORD – It was a scuffle for the Starkville Yellowjackets to secure a third straight win over the Chargers of Oxford, 28-16 in the “Little Egg Bowl” Friday night at Bobby Holcomb Field.
The top-ranked large-school team in the Journal rankings had to overcome 22 penalties for over 200 yards and a scrappy group of Chargers to improve to 2-0. Head coach Ricky Woods just shook his head about the penalties.
“It’s absolutely something isn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Woods said. “We had 200 something yards in penalties and still won. I think we have the best team.”
Starkville prevailed due to its physical style, on both sides of the football. The Yellowjackets finished with 420 yards, with 244 coming on the ground. They also sacked Oxford quarterback Jack McClure six times for negative 40 yards. Three different Yellowjackets had at least 50 yards on the ground.
Oxford didn’t turn the ball over until late, and coupled with the penalties, it allowed them to get within five points late in the fourth before Starkville iced the game with 1:35 left on a 12-yard run from Rodrigues Clark.
Extra Points
Turning Point: With the Chargers knocking at the door at the Starkville 1-yard line, OHS quarterback John Reece McClure hit his fullback and lost the ball on fourth down, giving the ball back to Starkville down a touchdown.
Point Man: Oxford linebacker Quinten Wilfawn had a second straight game with double-digit tackles. He also helped the Chargers record their safety in the fourth quarter.
Talking Point: “Their offensive line is big and physical and I thought they did a great job. Their defensive line is very fast, very physical and I thought that’s where they were most consistent, on both lines of scrimmages.” – Oxford coach Chris Cutcliffe on why Starkville won.
Notes
• Oxford was held without a yard on offense in the first quarter.
• Starkville held OHS running back Hiram Wadlington to just 39 yards on 16 carries.
• The Yellowjackets were 10 of 17 on third down attempts.
john.davis@journalinc.com
Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd | http://djournal.com/sports/yellowjackets-overcome-mistakes-win-little-egg-bowl/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/bed62fc964e3d70c081722b51afbf38a1679124aff3f329f7bc1e42a5d515822.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-31T12:49:27 | null | 2016-08-31T06:28:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Famerica-film-screen-library-today%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/lifestyle_entertainment-130x130.png | en | null | 'America' film to screen at library today | null | null | djournal.com | Daily Journal
TUPELO – “America: The Land of Hope, Opportunity and Freedom” will be shown today at the Lee County Library upstairs room at 6 p.m.
The film is a joint venture edited and directed by The Gupta and Cox brothers, ages 9, 10 and 6, who interviewed more than 15 Mississippi residents that have immigrated to the U.S.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (662) 841-9027. | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/america-film-screen-library-today/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/a422d48550d9e5213e2640dfaaff33c929d55eac49a667b12593a80097c9e1a5.json |
[
"Michaela Morris"
] | 2016-08-27T06:46:39 | null | 2016-08-27T01:06:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fcenter-offers-options-medically-complex-children%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/08261602-Pediatric-Health-Choices-e1472277855646-1.jpg | en | null | Center offers options for medically complex children | null | null | djournal.com | By Michaela Gibson Morris
Daily Journal
TUPELO – The brightly painted rooms full of toys inside the new Pediatric Health Choices center would fit in at any preschool or day care.
But the children who will soon fill the rooms on Pegram Drive are medically fragile and need more care than a day care or school can provide. The prescribed pediatric extended care center is designed to support children who would otherwise have to live in the hospital or rely on home health and private duty nursing at home. The children will come to the center during the day and stay with their families at night, creating a more normal life.
“We’re like a hospital, but with better toys,” said Deborah Fraze, vice president of Pediatric Health Choices, which operates 20 other prescribed pediatric extended care centers in five states.
Courtney Mullins of Tupelo anticipates her 19-month-old son Carter will be among the first children to benefit from the center. Regular day care isn’t an option for Carter, who was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Carter needs catheter changes every three hours because of issues with his bladder.
“It will allow him to be with other kids,” said Mullins, who has been home full-time since January caring for her son. “It means a lot to me.”
The Tupelo Pediatric Health Choices center, located in the space previously occupied by Reach Center for the Blind, has passed all of its inspections without deficiencies and is awaiting its Medicaid provider number, said Registered Nurse Lorie Graves, who oversees regional business development Pediatric Health Choices. She expects the center will start caring for children in September. The center is open to any medically complex child up to age 20 and is fully covered by Medicaid. The center is licensed to care for 35 children, but has the capacity to increase up to 40.
“Anyone can refer to us,” Graves said. “But all the services are physician prescribed.”
Pediatric Health Choices has been able to come to Mississippi because the state Legislature created a provision for the services under Medicaid. The bill passed the state Senate and House with near unanimous support, said state Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, who was one of several legislators on hand for a Thursday open house event. A team effort with the Mississippi State Department of Health and Division of Medicaid created the framework for the centers to exist.
“We created a sound program that now gives these kids a new chance for a fuller life. I am proud to have helped,” Holland said.
Pediatric Health Choices opened its Flowood location earlier this year, and already they have 21 children receiving services and another 14 in the process of being evaluated. The company has plans for two more centers in Mississippi, likely in the Hattiesburg and Biloxi areas.
“Physicians in Jackson have already asked for a second center (in the Jackson metro area) because the need is so great,” said Graves, who serves as the administrator for the Flowood program.
At the center, children will be able to receive nursing, respiratory care, infusion, medication/treatment and other services. They also will be able to participate in age appropriate developmental and educational activities in a medically-safe and socially appropriate environment.
Physical, occupational and speech therapy services are provided as needed through a services Pediatric Choices contracts with or by home health agencies that the families have established a relationship with, Graves said. The center has an agreement with the Mississippi Department of Education so teachers can come in to the center to teach older children.
michaela.morris@journalinc.com | http://djournal.com/news/center-offers-options-medically-complex-children/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2008e7e2da14d317bcbb5da3d063b0c297eab48cc7da2e7271a2e37433127a87.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T22:47:29 | null | 2016-08-29T16:42:15 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Flee-county-inmate-facing-charges%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/HAMMOCK-91x130.jpg | en | null | Lee County inmate facing more charges | null | null | djournal.com | Daily Journal
TUPELO – An attempt to bribe a jailer to bring in a cell phone has landed a Lee County Adult Jail prisoner in hot water.
Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said Kerry Ryan Hammock, 43, of Tupelo, offered to pay a detention officer $200 to look the other way and allow Hammock to obtain a cell phone. The officer told his supervisor and Hammock now is charged with attempting to bring contraband into the jail, a felony.
Investigators will present the evidence of bribing a public official, also a felony, to the next grand jury.
Hammock was booked into the jail on Aug. 20 on a charge of felony possession of methamphetamine. | http://djournal.com/news/lee-county-inmate-facing-charges/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/52748a50401389baf3fb10d5ec2812b0014fa2f0c6e9ce73c75aeb0a57d7480f.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T20:48:39 | null | 2016-08-30T11:05:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fmississippi-state-muw-stop-flying-state-flag%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/news_inthenews_green1-130x130.png | en | null | Mississippi State, MUW stop flying state flag | null | null | djournal.com | By Jeff Amy
Associated Press
Two more Mississippi universities have stopped flying the state’s flag, which prominently features the Confederate battle emblem.
Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women confirmed Tuesday that they had taken down the state’s flag from outdoor flagpoles over the summer. The universities’ actions came after state lawmakers failed to act on changing the flag this year.
“The university community supports a flag that unites everyone in the state behind it,” said Jim Borsig, president of the Mississippi University for Women.
Delta State University is the only public Mississippi university still flying the flag. A statement from that school Tuesday opened the door to removing it if the university cabinet votes to do so.
The changes at both schools came quietly while many students and faculty were away. MSU spokesman Sid Salter said Tuesday that President Mark Keenum approved campus leaders’ plans to remove the flag from four locations on the Starkville campus in June and July. Salter said the state flags have been replaced with larger American flags, to mirror the large American flag that has flown alone in MSU’s central quad for at least 15 years. He said 21,000-student MSU removed Mississippi flags from athletic arenas “several” years ago.
Borsig said 2,700-student MUW was expanding a driveway near an auditorium where the only state flag stood. Borsig said he acted after campus groups discussed the flag last year and he encouraged them to lobby elected officials. He also cited the 50th anniversary of the university’s integration and Mississippi’s 2017 bicentennial.
Mississippi flag opponents welcomed its removal.
“It was important to us to take it down because it just reminded us of the Civil War and people who wanted to keep us slaves,” said Deborah Frazier, president of the Mississippi State campus branch of the NAACP. “Now it doesn’t remind us daily when we see the flag of that oppression.”
Frazier, a junior English major from Benton, was among a group of students who protested the flag and other issues in front of Keenum’s office in April after he told students he didn’t intend to remove it.
“Taking the state flag down arbitrarily is a symbolic gesture that accomplishes nothing toward actually changing the state flag to something that everyone can support and feel good about,” Keenum said then.
Salter said Tuesday that Keenum “has been outspoken in expressing his heartfelt personal support for flag change and has maintained an open dialogue with those representing diverse points of view on the question of the state flag.” Salter said individual deans have “flexibility” in seeking changes to their academic units.
Salter said Mississippi’s flag remains part of a display of the flags of all 50 states and other nations in the university’s main cafeteria.
In a 2001 referendum, Mississippi voters strongly supported keeping the flag, which has included the Confederate battle emblem in its upper left corner since 1894. But agitation against the flag resumed following the 2015 massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The white suspect in that case had posed for online photos with Confederate flags.
The University of Mississippi, MSU’s archrival, lowered the Mississippi flag in October. The University of Southern Mississippi also removed state flags last year and three historically black universities removed them earlier. Some local governments and K-12 schools also no longer fly Mississippi’s state flag. Some state lawmakers introduced unsuccessful bills in 2016 to force governments, schools, community colleges and universities to display the flag.
Delta State spokeswoman Jennifer Farish said that 3,500-student university would remove the flag if President Bill LaForge’s cabinet, which includes faculty, staff and student members, votes to do so.
“Delta State continues to fly the State flag out of respect to our relationship with the State of Mississippi, and despite our disagreement with symbols that cause an unfortunate barrier to understanding,” Farish said. | http://djournal.com/news/mississippi-state-muw-stop-flying-state-flag/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2ad02b3fa7eb4255613eaa5dcb05c827815ea7315c2c7c8b3b28630c3929f6be.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T08:47:40 | null | 2016-08-27T02:15:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Farea-roundup-late-interceptions-help-green-wave-pull-away-wildcats%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/West-Point-logo.jpg | en | null | Area Roundup: Late interceptions help Green Wave pull away from Wildcats | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in High School Sports
Daily Journal reports
Louisville narrowed the gap in this longtime rivalry, but West Point won again.
Two fourth-quarter interceptions helped the Green Wave (1-0) pull away in a close game to win 33-13 at home in area high school football action Friday night.
West Point won last year’s meeting 55-7.
The Wildcats (1-1) had pulled to within a point at 14-13 when West Point’s Marcus Murphy broke free for a 48-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes, 7 seconds left.
When the Wildcats took over they threw it into the arms of Jason Brownlee, who returned it 50 yards for the score to give West Point a two-touchdown lead with under 6 minutes to play.
The Green Wave’s final score was set up when Xavier Fair returned an interception to the Louisville 10.
Clayton Knight passed 18 yards to Chris Calvert to break a 7-7 tie and put the Green Wave ahead early in the third quarter.
Calvert’s 14-yard run tied the game at 7 with 4:26 left in the first half.
Amory 24, Saltillo 16: The visiting Panthers (1-1) held off a late Tigers rally to earn their first win.
Amory was up 24-9 in the middle of the fourth quarter when it fumbled near mid-field. Saltillo’s long touchdown pass and PAT made it a one-score game, but Amory recovered the on-side kick at the Saltillo 32 with 4:58 to play.
Saltillo forced a punt and began its last chance drive from its 20 with 3:57 remaining, but the Panthers forced a turnover on downs.
Amory took a first-quarter lead 7-0 on D’andre McGinister’s 45-yard interception return.
The Panthers also scored on touchdown runs by Manny Jones (30 yards) and J.J. Jernigan (10 yards).
Oak Hill 31, TCPS 15: Oak Hill’s big plays spelled doom for the Eagles.
TCPS (1-1) led 6-3 in the first quarter after Bo Robertson and Cade Hall connected on a 72-yard pass play, but before the quarter was finished Oak Hill (1-1) was back on top with a 60-yard play of its own with Ken Dill passing to James Peavy.
Robertson would later pass for a 32-yard score to Rob Pillow, but Oak Hill put the game away with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by Macon McBrayer.
East Webster 30, Noxapater 10: The Wolverines (2-0) scored 30-0 points in the first half and never looked back.
Charlie Brand threw touchdown passes of 26 yards to Miller Hancock, 5 yards to Luke Wilson and 46 yards to Darius Bryant.
Qua Evans closed the East Webster scoring with a 3-yard run.
Thrasher 30, Potts Camp 16: Shawn Dee Weathersby scored on touchdown runs of 8, 12 and 80 yards to lead Thrasher (2-0).
Potts Camp (0-2) scored on Caleb Hawkins’ 30-yard run, and a 35-yard pass from Jacob Harrill to Ben Shaw.
New Hope 41, Aberdeen 24: Thomas Stevens scored three touchdowns to lead the Trojans (2-0). Aberdeen lost its season opener.
Caledonia 49, Mooreville 24: Andrew Peugh’s 65-yard punt return was one of the few highlights on a difficult night for Mooreville. He would score in the third quarter as well.
Caledonia (1-1) blew things open with a 28-point second quarter.
The Troopers dropped to 0-2. | http://djournal.com/sports/area-roundup-late-interceptions-help-green-wave-pull-away-wildcats/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/c1cf82a4abb6372cec582ec4a4c10be9b03c323be448898cd47fbd15a0ae6f31.json |
[
"Daily Journal",
"Vinny Gracchus",
"Daniel Hammond",
"Fairly Mowat"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:01 | null | 2016-08-14T07:13:08 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fhouston-bans-smoking-public-buildings%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/town_houston_green-130x130.png | en | null | Houston bans smoking in public buildings | null | null | djournal.com | By Floyd Ingram
Chickasaw Journal
HOUSTON – Aldermen are kicking butts out of public buildings, restaurants and businesses.
Houston Aldermen voted unanimously Aug. 2 to ban smoking inside virtually every closed space accessed by the public with a smoking ordinance they have been working on for more than a year.
“We’ve talked about this for a long time,” said Houston Mayor Stacey Parker. “I need to know what you want to do with this.”
On a motion by Ward 3 Alderman Frank Thomas and a second by Ward 4 Alderman Willie Mae McKinney, the board voted without dissent to implement the ordinance in 30 days.
Thomas pointed out the ordinance will be enforced by the Houston Police Department. The public will call police if they spot a violation. If convicted, the smoker will be fined $50, and the business can be fined $100 for first offense.
The fine is $200 for a second offense. The business’ fine also goes to $200 for a second offense conviction and increases $200 for each subsequent offense.
“It’s like our dog ordinance,” said Parker. “We are not going out looking to write tickets. If a dog is a problem, we respond to it. If we get a report of smoking in a public place, we will respond to it. We are asking the person who called to be willing to sign an affidavit.”
The ordinance prevents smoking within 25-feet of a door entering a building. Businesses and restaurants are allowed to set up a smoking zone outside their building.
Houston’s ordinance, which goes into effect in 30 days, is modeled on dozens of other Mississippi cities’ similar laws.
Area television stations reported in May that Houston had passed a smoking ban. While the city has discussed the issue at length, Tuesday’s vote was the official decision to implement the ordinance.
Aldermen were approached this spring by Stephanie Collier, Project Director of the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition for Lee and Chickasaw counties, reminding the city they were one of the last cities in the area without a smoking ban. Shatara Agnew has since taken over that post for the Tobacco Free Coalition.
Coalition data shows 80 percent of the state’s population doesn’t smoke, according to the 2009 Mississippi Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control.
The same survey shows 76 percent of residents believe work sites should be smoke free, and 81 percent believe restaurants should be smoke free.
Okolona and Calhoun City became smoke-free communities in 2011. Bruce, Verona, Pontotoc and Pittsboro are also smoke-free communities, among others.
A crackdown on smoking in public places has seen cities sued by individuals who said they have been injured by second-hand smoke. Cities that adopt no-smoking bans are also eligible for state and federal grants aimed at providing social programs that improve health in a community.
floyd.ingram@journalinc.com | http://djournal.com/news/houston-bans-smoking-public-buildings/ | en | 2016-08-14T00:00:00 | djournal.com/025d6af1fc0cfe9881a752d0a9308a52042081f5119ed7b6a28abb0ad403350b.json |
[
"Logan Lowery"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:46 | null | 2016-08-29T08:09:19 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fbulldogs-tight-ends-must-fill-big-shoes%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/jordan-thomas.jpeg | en | null | Bulldogs' tight ends must fill big shoes | null | null | djournal.com | By Logan Lowery
Daily Journal
STARKVILLE – Like most coaches, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen has attempted to keep his roster stocked with a healthy mix of veterans and youth at each position.
But a combination of graduation, attrition and injury have left the Bulldogs with only one tight end with game experience.
“We are so young this year,” Mullen said. “Unfortunately, injuries cut (Gus Walley’s) career short, so now it’s a trickle-down effect. Now the guys have to get accelerated and get ready to get on the field.”
True sophomore Justin Johnson is the lone tight end that has played at the Division I level. Johnson was the third-team option for MSU in 11 games last season, catching five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s come a long way because he has no choice,” said MSU tight ends coach Scott Sallach. “Unfortunately with Gus having to end his career with injuries, there’s no old guy to lean on. He is the old guy.”
Behind Johnson is only a wealth of inexperience in redshirt freshman Farrod Green, true freshmen Christian Roberson and Dontae Jones and junior Jordan Thomas. Roberson and Jones joined the team in January; Thomas did not arrive until the summer.
“Talent isn’t the issue,” Sallach said. “It’s getting that talent to perform at a winning level that’s the challenge. There’s plenty of potential in my room, how fast it turns into production will determine how much of a role they have in helping us.”
Sallach was struggling to show his tight ends the amount of effort that is required of them. To help demonstrate his point, Sallach had his group watch film from 2014 when the Bulldogs had both Macolm Johnson and Brandon Hill in their senior seasons.
“It was an eye-opener,” Sallach said. “There were some heads that were down because guys just thought they were playing hard. But that was the point of bringing it out. I can talk about Malcolm because he was special but none of these guys were here for him.”
Big target
MSU is hoping Thomas can grasp the offense and consistently play at a high level because he has shown flashes this fall. Sallach recalled the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder scoring an 80- yard touchdown in practice in which he left defenders in his dust.
“The raw skills excite everybody,” Sallach said. “But potential will get you beat in this league.”
Sallach has tried to keep his impressionable unit encouraged and positive because some of them will have to play this season.
“I remind these guys all the time that Dak Prescott was here for 31⁄2 years before he became a full-time starter,” Sallach said. “He was still an unbelievable player but it took a while to get to the level that everybody will remember him by.”
logan.lowery@journalinc.com
Twitter: @loganlowery | http://djournal.com/sports/bulldogs-tight-ends-must-fill-big-shoes/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/8a6f1619a2960a0f165b5b9203e2b8ebb7c03352502da6aece4c381ea3947ad2.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-28T14:49:35 | null | 2016-08-28T07:53:40 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fromo-hurt-prescott-may-step%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/06/Prescott-92x130.jpg | en | null | Romo hurt; Prescott may have to step up | null | null | djournal.com | Daily Journal, wire reports
FRISCO, Texas – Ready for Dak Prescott against Eli Manning?
It appears the Mississippi State rookie might be the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in their Sept. 11 season-opening game against the New York Giants and QB Eli Manning, the veteran from Ole Miss who’s won two Super Bowls.
Veteran Dallas QB Tony Romo is out with yet another back injury and it’s unknown when he will return, although Dallas coach Jason Garrett says he expects his star quarterback to play this season.
Garrett said Saturday that Romo sustained a broken bone in his back when he was hit from behind by Seattle’s Cliff Avrill and slid awkwardly on the third play of Thursday’s preseason game.
Romo tried to get back into the game and said afterward that he was OK. But Garrett said the 36-year-old woke up Friday with stiffness, and an MRI revealed Romo’s fourth back injury in less than four years. The injury will not require surgery.
Garrett wouldn’t rule out Romo for the regular-season opener. Prescott, a fourth-round pick who has had a strong preseason, is the presumed starter, although Garrett wouldn’t acknowledge that either.
“If you guys remember, he has played with fractures in his back before,” Garrett said, referring to Romo’s quick return from a small fracture in his back in 2014.
“So that probably more than anything else is what is not giving us a timetable. We’ve heard a wide range of possibilities in terms of when he’d be able to play.”
The Cowboys plunged from 12-4 in 2014 to 4-12 last season, when Romo missed 12 games with a twice-broken left collarbone. Dallas went 1-11 without him.
Romo had back surgery twice in 2013, the first time during the offseason and again in December after rupturing a disk in Week 16 against Washington and missing the finale that the Cowboys lost with a playoff berth on the line.
In 2014, the four-time Pro Bowl player sustained a small fracture in his back and missed a loss to Arizona before leading the Cowboys to the NFC East title and their first playoff win since 2009.
Garrett said Romo’s injury won’t end his season.
“It’s not related to the other back issues he’s had,” Garrett said. “It’s specific to the hit he took the other night.”
Center Travis Frederick said the team was surprised by the news.
“Still trying to take it in,” Frederick said. “The name of the game for us has always been focusing on taking things one day at a time and also have the ‘next man in’ mentality. Being able to have Dak step up and be able to take over that role and just support him in any way that we can.”
Rapid rise
Prescott was elevated to the backup job when incumbent Kellen Moore broke his right ankle in a training camp practice.
The former Mississippi State standout has a preseason passer rating of 137.8, completing 39 of 50 passes for 454 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has two rushing TDs.
The Cowboys are likely to add a veteran if Romo misses extended time, but now it figures to be as a backup to Prescott.
“Dak has done a nice job really at every turn,” Garrett said. “I thought he did a particularly good job in this game against Seattle because he certainly didn’t anticipate going in on the fourth play of the game.” | http://djournal.com/sports/romo-hurt-prescott-may-step/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/debf7c073d2a716a69a7cafcf1a93a89d555c975eeed9a26253a7eeaf93a8080.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T14:48:57 | null | 2016-08-30T09:32:35 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fcharlie-mitchell-national-parks-provide-pallette-u-s-history-natural-splendor%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2013/07/mail-1-e1401280325914.jpg | en | null | CHARLIE MITCHELL: National parks provide a pallette for U.S. history, natural splendor | null | null | djournal.com | A century ago, Congress created the National Park Service to maintain and enhance America’s natural and historic preserves. It was needed. The inventory had grown since the designation of Yellowstone in 1872.
Since then, attention from Capitol Hill has faded. We won’t hear Hillary or Donald woo voters by pledging fealty to the NPS. Parks are as valued as ever, but have no vocal constituency.
Mississippi has several. We know their names:
• The Natchez Trace is the one motorists encounter most often. That’s because it extends from, well, Natchez in southwest Mississippi up and across the state, thence to Nashville. It crosses us like a beauty queen’s sash, following a pathway charted by Native Americans and adopted by settlers.
• Shiloh National Military Park, north of Corinth and near the Tennessee line, is where soldiers, blue and gray, sustained 23,746 casualties. That total – in only a few days of combat – was more than all casualties sustained in all America’s previous wars combined.
• Vicksburg National Military Park forms a crescent around the hill city, tracking lines of the summer siege that historians say determined the future of the nation.
• Two additional sites – Brice’s Cross Roads near Baldwyn and Tupelo National Battlefield – also relate to significant events of the Civil War.
• There are National Heritage Areas for the Delta, the Hills and the Gulf that tell the stories of hot tamales, Elvis and the “ethnic gumbo” that populates coastal Mississippi.
• There is an NPS Historic Park in Natchez and the mostly wet Gulf Islands National Seashore with bases of operation in Ocean Springs and Gulf Breeze, Fla.
In total, there are 410 National Park Service-managed properties across the landscape as well as in Alaska and Hawaii.
Their greatest value is that they exist as repositories of all things that define America as a place and us as a people.
But there are nuts and bolts considerations, too. The agency has 20,000 regular and seasonal employees and operates on a $2.6 billion budget.
A bit more about those funds: For the past eight years, cash allocated by Congress has declined and the gap, more and more, has had to come from “user fees.”
There’s a myth that all parks were once totally free, but that is, in fact, a myth. On Aug. 25, 1916, the day the National Park Service was born, people were already paying $7.50 per car to tour Yellowstone. That’s a lot of money. With inflation, it ciphers to $178 today.
It is true that most parks were free, at least at the outset. Gradually, many changed. Token fees were imposed at first, followed by periodic “adjustments.” Today, it costs $12 per car to enter the Vicksburg National Military Park.
Some park properties remain free of fees, often because it would be impractical to collect. The Natchez Trace is a good example.
Still, the fees that have been collected, legions of volunteers and volunteer donations have kept the NPS going in an era of increasingly lean federal allocations.
Next on the horizon, according to Johnathon P. Jarvis, NPS director, may be corporate sponsorships. Perhaps they will take the form of added signage, making it difficult to take a photo of Bloody Pond at Shiloh without an AT&T logo in the frame. It could become tough to line up the kiddies at the Grand Canyon without including McDonald’s golden arches.
Some are aghast, quite naturally, at the prospect of crass commercialization of sacred spaces and natural vistas. Others realize (1) Congress isn’t going to loosen up and (2) increasing user fees risks making park visits cost-prohibitive. Got to do what you’ve got to do.
The lesser but still significant importance of the NPS is that in addition to managing cherished places, the parks provide an economic plus.
Official numbers say visitor spending within 60 miles of a park property added $27 billion to the American economy in 2014 and supported 240,000 private sector jobs.
Mississippi numbers are impressive. The tally was 6.4 million visitors who had to eat, buy fuel and perhaps made an overnight state.
And for just one park – Vicksburg – there were 573,252 visitors in 2012 who spent $30.8 million in nearby communities.
Mississippi has its own great network of state parks, recreation areas, preserves and wildlife management areas.
The National Park Service properties differ in that they are state assets that don’t take a nickel from the state budget.
We should notice that.
Charlie Mitchell is a Mississippi journalist. Write to him at cmitchell43@yahoo.com. | http://djournal.com/opinion/charlie-mitchell-national-parks-provide-pallette-u-s-history-natural-splendor/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2ee9d2e8cfb8d42b1f05a102d837205c4abdf8f868c2b6af9b11db0d70273ee2.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-29T20:47:48 | null | 2016-08-29T15:34:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fcollege%2Fopener-draws-closer-freeze-rebels-continue-block-ncaa-talk%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/04/dj_favicon.png | en | null | As opener draws closer, Freeze, Rebels continue to block out NCAA talk | null | null | djournal.com | By Parrish Alford
Daily Journal
OXFORD – Ole Miss players have said throughout the off-season that they haven’t been distracted by the on-going NCAA investigation into the school’s football program.
That story took another turn last week when Yahoo Sports reported the NCAA was interviewing players at other SEC schools about their recruiting experiences with Ole Miss.
That pushed the investigation story – which will soon be four years old — into the spotlight, for a time.
While there was little from which to be distracted in the summer that’s changed now. No. 11 Ole Miss faces No. 4 Florida State Monday night in Orlando.
“I’ve said this a hundred times. Our players are the priority. They have zero to do with whatever the noise is,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “That’s what motivates me. All of the talk or whatever is about a kid or kids that don’t play here anymore. When I look at these young men I think about what I owe them to get them ready to play.”
Freeze last week questioned the validity of the report, saying he didn’t know if it was true.
New twists or old, center Robert Conyers says blocking out media coverage of the NCAA investigation really isn’t difficult.
“The guys on the team have just kind of moved on from it. It happened. Now we’ve got games to win. It just crossed right over our minds, and we just went back to work,” he said.
Conyers sustained a torn ACL last October and had surgery weeks later. He sat out the spring but has had no major setbacks this month.
There is relief that game week has arrived, but that has nothing to do with the investigation, he said.
“It’s a lot better not having to go up against your own guys every single week. There’s something to look forward to instead of just practice. We’re all excited to start playing.”
Parrish.alford@journalinc.com
Twitter: @parrishalford | http://djournal.com/sports/college/opener-draws-closer-freeze-rebels-continue-block-ncaa-talk/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/a1cb77bd7a0288038ea9ad5ab816e1fca473c93df43a270d4ca477af6bc0aa14.json |
[
"Caleb Bedillion"
] | 2016-08-31T12:53:14 | null | 2016-08-31T06:31:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fmayor-proposes-budget-city-employee-pay-hike%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/town_tupelo_green1-130x130.png | en | null | Mayor proposes budget with city employee pay hike | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in Local Government
By Caleb Bedillion
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Mayor Jason Shelton has proposed a city budget for next year with total general fund expenses of about $35.5 million and a 3 percent pay increase for full-time city employees.
City revenue during the 2016-17 fiscal year is expected to be up. Property values in the city, as appraised by county officials, have increased which will drive up the money collected in property taxes.
While presenting his budget proposal to the Tupelo City Council Tuesday, Shelton noted that sales tax revenue also continued to show robust growth even as the statewide economy has been sluggish.
“We in Tupelo have the luxury of debating wants and priorities,” Shelton said, noting that many cities struggle to provide basic services.
In total, the budget he proposes projects general fund expenses of $35.5 million during the 2016-17 budget year.
That’s up from the $33.9 million in expenses the council approved for the 2015-16 budget year.
About half of that increase comes from the proposed pay raise of 3 percent as well as as increases in health insurance premiums.
Over the last four years, Shelton said city employees have seen a pay increase of 6 percent.
The budget also includes a small projected surplus of nearly $38,000, which will be held in reserve.
Council members asked only a few questions about the budget proposal.
Ward One Councilman Markel Whittington took note of the fact that about 62 percent of general fund expenses go toward employee costs.
“Are you comfortable spending 62 cents of every dollar on personnel costs?” he asked the city’s Chief Financial Officer Kim Hanna on Tuesday.
Hanna said the revenue projections for next year are conservative, and she does not believe the level of spending on employee costs will present a problem.
Almost every department will see a budget increase, mostly driven by the pay increase. Shelton noted, however, these departments all made cuts within their budget.
That was to “keep the budget in check” and minimize total increases, said the mayor.
The proposed budget must now be approved by the city council.
A public hearing will be held on Sept. 6 when the council officially approves the property tax levy for next year.
A special called meeting is then scheduled for Sept. 13 to adopt the budget.
caleb.bedillion@journalinc.com
Twitter: @CalebBedillion | http://djournal.com/news/mayor-proposes-budget-city-employee-pay-hike/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/bb2d2a46dfceee9d08a084819f0626efd1a3c87a7370c7d9a7e9dd7f3b465e22.json |
[
"M. Scott Morris"
] | 2016-08-27T06:48:00 | null | 2016-08-27T01:12:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fm-scott-morris-everyday-temptation-work%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/06/06101650-Scott-Morris-94x130.jpg | en | null | M. SCOTT MORRIS: Everyday temptation at work | null | null | djournal.com | I can’t say temptation is always a bad thing. Most days this week, I’ve walked by an object that I’d like to claim as my own.
It’s a green BMX bike, specifically, a Chaos FS20, with bars coming out from the center of the wheels, so my friends can stand there while I do the pedaling and steering.
We’re not sure how it came to be at the Daily Journal. My wife suspects someone stole it, went for a joyride and left it, perhaps hoping to incriminate members of the staff.
We have an attorney on retainer, so we’d probably be able to fight any prosecution.
Then again, he handles our First Amendment issues. Could he stand before a jury and deliver a full-throated defense of me and my actions?
It’s a question to consider, while I also ponder the potential thrills the bike represents.
I really want to get on it and ride until I find a dirt mound or a wooden ramp, and then I’d like to get up to speed and jump from that mound or ramp, and then soar for as long as gravity allows.
I’d also prefer to land safely, so I could go back and do it again.
Of course, you’re right: My age matters, along with years of accumulated lethargy. Even though I seriously want to take the bike for a ride, I’m not sure what good it would do.
That is to say, I might not be able to soar, and without the soaring, what’s the point of putting my freedom in the hands of a First Amendment attorney?
The bike remains, calling me, stirring memories, pointing toward the old days, when pedal power was the only power.
I’m thinking about the times when I could pop a wheelie – Do kids still say that? – and go a little too far and end up with my noggin on the pavement and the bicycle on top of me. Oh, don’t forget the bloody, greasy spot on my leg from where the chain bit into it.
Good times.
Because I always got up from those spills. I’ve known of people who didn’t. I did a story once on a kid who got hit by a car. He spent months with too many occupational and physical therapists.
I survived those pre-helmet, BMX days.
To be fair, so did he, but his experience was far more expensive than mine. I wonder if he’d care to ride the green Chaos FS20 sitting near the front steps.
Then again, who cares? I want the bike to stay exactly where it is for now and for all time.
I probably won’t succumb to the raging temptation. It’s doubtful I’ll ever take a wild adventure across dirt trails behind the Journal.
But while the bike’s there, the walk into work crackles with possibility.
I could hop on that bike and go. You don’t know.
M. Scott Morris is a Daily Journal feature writer. Contact him at (662) 678-1589 or scott.morris@journalinc.com. | http://djournal.com/opinion/m-scott-morris-everyday-temptation-work/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/28cdecf02b91e1cf51c727151bfb7179eda8d9144c7b17b2850ef22bd2e5d58c.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T06:46:59 | null | 2016-08-27T01:14:48 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fjuanita-floyd-live-moment-know%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/Floyd-Juanita-Color-83x130.jpg | en | null | JUANITA FLOYD: Live in the only moment you know you have | null | null | djournal.com | For whatever reason, this summer was very chaotic and stressful. I began to complain within myself about having to take care of everything for my children for college and for my household. The air conditioner messed up and water ran all over my floor. Tyler hit a deer, and as the policyholder, I had to really negotiate with the insurance company to fix his car.
I had to complete the necessary paperwork for Taylor at Mississippi State and Tyra at Jackson State for the fall semester. Then I got an email from the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid stating that the eligibility requirements had changed beginning with the fall 2016 term – undergraduate students must enroll in and complete 15 credit hours per semester in order to receive MTAG. Tyra said, “No problem, I am already taking 18 hours.” Taylor questioned me as if I had something to do with the change. Stress. Stress. Then Taylor said, “By the way, I won’t be able to work this summer, I have to take classes – both sessions.”
What?
Tyra said, “The bedding ensemble and decorations that I had for my dorm room my freshman and sophomore years will not work anymore. As a junior, Mama, I need something different.” I said, “What? I went to college for 5 years and kept the same ensemble.” In her sassy voice, “Mama, times have changed.” Needless to say, we traipsed all over Tupelo and Memphis trying to find the perfect colors, Aztec prints, pillows, pictures, etc. and even new clothes.
Taylor said, “I can’t use the XL twin bedding set anymore. I need a full size ensemble, as well as a new shower curtain.” While Tyra sat in the car on her phone, I ran into the store and picked up a shower curtain on our way to Starkville. We put the bedding on and the shower curtain up. Tyra said, “This curtain looks girlie!” The roommates said, “Ms. Floyd, I probably would have gotten a solid navy color.” Really?
Tyra and I left Starkville to go on a mother/daughter mini-vacation before moving into her dorm. She slept all the way. No conversation. We met my niece, Allison, in Atlanta, and she drove us to Savannah where we had a wonderful time. While there, a conversation ensued about dreams.
Tyra said, “Mama, that might be your dream for me – but that’s not my dream!” I was just offering a suggestion.
I thought, “Here I am sacrificing all I can for you and your brothers, and this is the thanks I get as your mother.”
Then, the unthinkable happened and it changed my perspective very quickly. We were in the hotel room on Sunday, when friends on Facebook started talking about the terrible tragedy that happened to the residents in Oxford. I was so saddened for the families.
Immediately, it was as if a movie played in my head about my life – how it could have turned out differently. My dad died when I was 9, and my mother who lived to be 88, became my friend and mentor, and did all she could to prepare me for life. As a teenager, I nearly drowned and should have died or had brain damage. I was involved in three serious car accidents and lived. I nearly died each time I gave birth to my children. As a single parent by divorce, the Lord has blessed and sustained me to raise my children to adulthood. Tyler is working and my grandson, Drew, is healthy. Taylor and Tyra are in college defying the odds. I have the support of family, church and friends.
Oprah Winfrey said, “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” I thought that in the blink of an eye, my life or their lives could change instantly and life will be no more!
In the scheme of life – do stresses even matter? Should we enjoy and treasure every moment we have? You be the judge.
Juanita Floyd is an officer of CREATE Foundation. Contact her at juanita@createfoundation.com. | http://djournal.com/opinion/juanita-floyd-live-moment-know/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/e186800dfa6e575a128641a2d975c942037c853f186b564a54be65fb09e02490.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T06:47:20 | null | 2016-08-27T01:17:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fopinion-daily-question-leads-life-faith%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2015/04/dj_favicon.png | en | null | OUR OPINION: The daily question leads a life of faith | null | null | djournal.com | Ninety-one-year-old former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter, 89, laced up their work boots this week to take part in a Habitat for Humanity build in Memphis. They weren’t doing light work; the couple pried nails and raised walls and generally showed they still know their way around a hammer.
The couple has volunteered with the organization since 1983, and the USA Today reports that in that time they’ve helped build almost 4,000 houses. In Memphis, the efforts of the build will benefit residents of the Bearwater neighborhood. The home worked on by the Carters in particular will go to Deven Rucker, a day-care teacher, along with her husband and their two children.
It’s been reported that, as a boy, Carter heard a sermon that asked, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It’s a question he seems certainly to have taken to heart. This is evidenced not by the size of his legacy as president, but as the multitude of legacies he and his wife will leave when they leave this world.
While many will always see him first and foremost as a president, members of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, will remember him as a devoted leader and Sunday school teacher. Those affected by cancer may remember him as a beacon of hope, after he was diagnosed with melanoma in August of 2015, only to be completely clear of the disease four months later.
Aside from these larger legacies, imagine the thousands of infinitesimal, individual legacies and impressions left on folks who have worked alongside the Carters, even if only for a week on a Habitat build.
Perhaps too often, Christians may see the “tasks” of their faith as a mountain to climb, a thing to be conquered, a job to be done. This isn’t untrue, but it isn’t the whole truth. There will be suffering in this world to the end, and there are plenty of platitudes dealing with this. The inward journey, though, has less to do with quantity. Faith is not a challenge administered by God. It is an invitation to openness. Carter’s faith is a way of life, a daily question of “Lord, what will we do today?” accompanied, of course, with the willingness to simply follow, one step at a time. May we all be so unanimously convicted of being Christians. | http://djournal.com/opinion/opinion-daily-question-leads-life-faith/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/126ced3525f85b94b6e49bde86dc4724ac89bc3d9750d73e84c7fe164e2f0b10.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T14:50:59 | null | 2016-08-30T09:45:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fprosecutor-mull-death-penalty-opposition-nuns-slaying%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Rodney-Sanders-1-300x209-1.jpg | en | null | Prosecutor to mull death penalty opposition in nuns’ slaying | null | null | djournal.com | By Emily Wagster Pettus
Associated Press
DURANT – A Mississippi prosecutor said she hasn’t decided whether to seek the death penalty for a man charged with killing two nuns who dedicated their lives to helping people in one of the poorest counties in the nation.
Relatives and colleagues of Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill have publicly expressed their opposition to execution. A judge denied bond Monday to Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, who is charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny.
Capital murder under Mississippi law is a killing committed along with another felony. It is punishable by execution by lethal injection or by life in prison.
Held and Merrill, both 68, were found stabbed to death in their home in Durant after they failed to show up to work last Thursday at a medical clinic in nearby Lexington, where they were nurse practitioners.
“We are going to consider the heinous nature of the crime and their wishes,” District Attorney Akillie Malone-Oliver said Monday, referring to the death penalty opposition by families of the sisters and their religious orders.
Sanders has been held in an undisclosed jail since his arrest late Friday. Accompanied by at least seven law-enforcement officers, he made a brief court appearance Monday before Durant City Judge Jim Arnold, who denied bond and said the state will appoint an attorney after Sanders indicated he could not afford one.
Sanders – who had been living about 15 miles east of the sisters’ Durant home – confessed to the killings but gave no reason, said Holmes County Sheriff Willie March, who was briefed by Durant police and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation officials who took part in Sanders’ interrogation.
Warren Strain, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, which includes the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, said the organization would neither confirm nor deny that Sanders confessed.
Sanders’ wife attended the hearing and broke down afterward when addressing the family and friends of the nuns.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say to y’all. I’m so sorry. … I’m so sorry. I can’t take this. Oh, my God,” Marie Sanders said, sobbing.
At Lexington Medical Clinic, about 10 miles west of Durant, Held and Merrill often treated poor and uninsured patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. The clinic and the nuns’ home in Durant are in Holmes County, population 18,000. With 44 percent of its residents living in poverty, Holmes is the seventh-poorest county in America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Hours before Sanders’ court appearance, Bishop Joseph Kopacz and more than 20 priests from the Diocese of Jackson celebrated a memorial Mass at the small but ornate Cathedral of St. Peter in downtown Jackson, about an hour’s drive south of Durant. Hundreds of people attended, and the front pews were filled by family members and sisters from Held’s and Merrill’s religious orders, the Kentucky-based Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the School Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee.
Punishment, not revenge
The Rev. Greg Plata, who ministers at the church in Lexington, where Held and Merrill led Bible study, praised them for their lives of service. Plata also noted the joint statement against the death penalty released Sunday by the sisters’ orders.
“Justice for a heinous crime demands punishment, but it does not demand revenge,” Plata said.
Records from the Iowa Department of Corrections show Sanders was in prison from June 2004 to February 2011 on a conviction of second-degree robbery. Records show he also was in prison in Iowa from August 1999 to August 2002 on a conviction of theft, and from April to October 1996 for two counts of third-offense drunken driving.
Sanders was on probation after a prison term for a felony drunken-driving conviction in Mississippi last year, said Grace Simmons Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He was also convicted of armed robbery in Holmes County, sentenced in 1986 and served six years. | http://djournal.com/news/prosecutor-mull-death-penalty-opposition-nuns-slaying/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/652487fcaf2cd0a520f3e5d7b02aa0d2dca152c1050df17d81c9e2d5e4f82423.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T12:52:00 | null | 2016-08-30T06:06:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fcapitol-view-webcast-medicaid-question%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/djournal-green-logo.png | en | null | Capitol View webcast: The Medicaid question | null | null | djournal.com | The legislative “working groups” formed to look at the state’s spending and tax policies had their first meetings last week. Bobby Harrison recaps those meetings, which included plenty of talk about the state’s Medicaid problem. Bobby has two stories this week dealing with Medicaid growth and costs associated with expanding the program in Mississippi. | http://djournal.com/news/capitol-view-webcast-medicaid-question/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/62af3f39e10cfd5b7480a977b05cf70ef08c895bbc5ddf06d9b480eb35ac8462.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T08:47:20 | null | 2016-08-27T02:43:12 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Ftoppers-defense-delivers%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/football_icon_green-130x130.png | en | null | Toppers' defense delivers | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in High School Sports
By Ethan Turner
Chickasaw Journal
HOUSTON – Defense was the name of the game Friday.
In a matchup that pitted the Houston Hilltoppers against the Calhoun City Wildcats, it was Houston and its defense that pulled out the win, 21-7.
Bobby Townsend scored first for the Hilltoppers as he rushed in from three yards out to give Houston a 7-0 lead.
Calhoun City (1-1), the Journal’s No. 3-ranked small school, responded as Jessie Nabors scored for the Wildcats on a 17-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
After the score by the Wildcats, the Hilltoppers (1-1) defense stepped up. The Wildcats would not score again as the Houston defense pressured and confused them.
“We’ve got to block people up front, or we can’t run any offense,” Calhoun City head coach Perry Liles said. “I was proud of our defense. Offensively, we couldn’t get anything done.”
The Houston defense also provided its offense fantastic field position by forcing numerous turnovers.
With the defense stalling Calhoun City, it was the Houston offense that found success. After a Calhoun City fumble, the Toppers capped the drive with a touchdown run by quarterback Urriah Shephard.
Houston’s final TD came on a 31-yard pass to Zykiel Virges from Shephard.
“We finally played Topper football,” Houston head coach Ty Hardin said. “We did what we’re known to do. My guys deserve all the credit.”
Extra Points
Turning Point: Late in the third quarter, a Calhoun City would fumble would give Houston the ball, and a few plays later the Hilltoppers would take the lead 21-7.
Point Man: Houston’s Shephard passed for 131 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 58 yards and a score
Talking Point: “Last week we didn’t do the right things at practice to prepare,” Hardin said. “This week we did.”
Notes
• This is the second win in a row for Houston over Calhoun City
• This was Ty Hardin’s first win as Houston’s head coach
• In his first game at running back, Houston freshman Bobby Townsend rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown.
ethan.turner@journalinc.com
Twitter: @Ethan_H_Turner | http://djournal.com/sports/toppers-defense-delivers/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/7c649274dcf4eecc9cf049fb0af899ed50cdd3fedd4d367f5662ba1763250514.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-28T14:51:56 | null | 2016-08-28T08:33:41 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fparrish-alford-secs-best-qb-ample-cause-optimism%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/03/Alford-Parrish-new-e1459426593855-94x130.jpg | en | null | PARRISH ALFORD: With SEC's best QB, ample cause for optimism | null | null | djournal.com | OXFORD
The preseason vibe for Ole Miss – the one for on the field, not for the NCAA investigation – has been generally upbeat.
A lot of talent is gone, but there’s not been a total talent drain.
The Rebels have been steady in most folks’ early rankings and are just outside the top 10 at No. 11 in The AP Top 25.
No one is saying this team wins the SEC West, nor is anyone saying the 2015 Sugar Bowl-winning season with a 5-1 Western Division record was only lightning in a bottle.
The optimism is rooted in the fact that the Rebels return the SEC’s best quarterback while many others around the conference will be new at the position. When you have a guy like Chad Kelly taking snaps, you have a chance.
Ole Miss has recruited well in recent seasons. The Rebels have exciting potential at wide receiver and running back. Because you don’t know the names of playmakers right now doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
The two biggest areas of concern going into the season opener are at left offensive tackle and in the secondary.
There is no shortage of athletic big men in the quest to replace Laremy Tunsil on the offensive line, but each has his own story that makes them less of a slam dunk in the job.
Jeremy Liggins, listed first on the preseason depth chart, is back at practice but will miss the Florida State game.
Five-star signee Greg Little is running second team, as he should be while he makes the high school to SEC jump. Any freshman needs time to adjust.
Junior Rod Taylor, a guard his first two seasons, is running first team. Since his arrival coaches have raved about his athleticism, but Taylor’s locker room boxing accident a year ago led to shoulder surgery, and he was arrested in the spring on suspicion of shoplifting.
There’s enough in his body of work to question maturity as he tries to win a starting job.
Secondary rebuilds
The secondary was just OK last year. The Rebels had 15 interceptions but were next to last in the SEC in passing yards allowed.
That said, safeties Trae Elston and Mike Hilton were big hitters and sure tacklers. There’s a lot of youth and inexperience – including two true freshmen – being pressed into big roles back there.
If you can put aside those investigation thoughts, there are reasons to really like this team.
And there are areas the Rebels need to fine-tune to reach their potential.
Parrish Alford (parrish.alford@journalinc.com) covers Ole Miss for the Journal. He blogs daily at Djournal.com. | http://djournal.com/sports/parrish-alford-secs-best-qb-ample-cause-optimism/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2660cd801cf6fcc894a4f935bccf6cb7a50ea294f7f3a3520ad187156e3d578b.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-30T12:48:35 | null | 2016-08-30T07:02:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fvideo-newsbreak-aug-30-2016%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/newsbreak-logo_condensed-1_REV.jpg | en | null | VIDEO: Newsbreak, Aug. 30, 2016 | null | null | djournal.com | Wake up and get ready for your day with the Daily Journal’s Newsbreak – a quick summary of news, sports, weather and everything else Northeast Mississippi to keep you informed and updated on the latest happenings in your community.
Browse by Date: Select month August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998 January 1998 December 1997 November 1997 October 1997 September 1997 August 1997 July 1997 June 1997 May 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 November 1996 October 1996 September 1996 August 1996 July 1996 June 1996 May 1996 April 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996
Newsmax
Polls Have you or anyone in your family benfited from the services of the North Mississippi Medcial Center's Women's Hospital in the last 30 years? Yes
No View Results Loading ... Loading ... | http://djournal.com/news/video-newsbreak-aug-30-2016/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/55cc28fdb2aa37228f4365d7acf532dc5caeec5968fa0dd7da0c527491ada285.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-30T14:51:19 | null | 2016-08-30T08:27:36 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Ffreeze-no-added-pressure-win-big-2016-kelly-senior%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/07/K1F3_Ole_Miss_logo-130x118.jpeg | en | null | Freeze: No added pressure to win big in 2016 because Kelly is a senior | null | null | djournal.com | By Parrish Alford
Daily Journal
OXFORD – Hugh Freeze was asked yesterday if he felt pressure to win because Chad Kelly is a senior this season.
Well, it’s nice if you can have a big year when a guy like Kelly is on the roster, but pressure to win suggests that you’ve got to get it done now, or it’s not going to happen.
No coach is going to admit to that.
“No, I don’t put any pressure on myself,” Freeze said. “We had a chance the last two years to get there (to SEC championship game). Here is what we have started talking about around here. We don’t talk about goals to be in Atlanta or to win the SEC West. We talk about commitments you will make that happen on a daily basis that will enable us to get to whatever the goals are.
“So we don’t talk about goals, we talk about commitments. Everybody had made certain ones to each other, and I think if the ball bounces our way – it didn’t last year in a couple of games – maybe this is the year it does, and we get there.”
It’s less likely Ole Miss gets to Atlanta next year than this year based on the experience level at quarterback then and now.
However, recruiting has been strong enough at all positions – including quarterback with last year’s top-rated player at the position in Shea Patterson – that Ole Miss should not fall dramatically after Kelly is gone.
Freeze may one day get Ole Miss to Atlanta and win the championship. If that happens, it won’t be based on one single player, even at quarterback.
It will be based on recruiting and building a consistent talent level as he’s done so far. He will have to navigate scholarship cuts in seasons ahead. Regardless of what modifications the NCAA makes, Ole Miss has self-imposed cuts that are already in play.
The SEC is constantly changing. Teams don’t stand still.
Kelly will be a great advantage for Ole Miss this season, and his production likely will be magnified because of the weapons around him.
During his time, Freeze has accumulated the best talent at Ole Miss in modern history. With the loss of three first-round draft picks it’s still at an impressive level, much of that with an exciting class of newcomers.
Still, there’s no more pressure to get to Atlanta than there was last year. Right now there’s enough talent to give the Rebels a say in who gets to Atlanta and perhaps get there themselves if things break right.
parrish.alford@journalinc.com
Twitter: @parrishalford | http://djournal.com/sports/freeze-no-added-pressure-win-big-2016-kelly-senior/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/2777dfc0978f85981c48f4dea9ebc35674953effd9a0c4fc1f130782a34e85fe.json |
[
"Daily Journal",
"Vardaman Willis",
"Lydia Koltai",
"Blake Feldman"
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:09 | null | 2016-08-25T11:23:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fblake-feldman-black-lives-matter-aspiration-reality%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/mn-0825-feldman.kmug_-e1472142176336-93x130.jpg | en | null | BLAKE FELDMAN: Black lives matter: aspiration or reality? | null | null | djournal.com | This summer has demonstrated both the failure of Mississippi’s legal system to hold police accountable and local communities’ understandable mistrust of that system. This has never been unique to Mississippi. Black men and women have been fighting against this system for generations. In the summer of 1967, there were riots in Florida after police killed a black teenager by shooting him in the back. In August 1965, there were riots in Los Angeles over police brutality against two black men. The August before that, there were riots over police brutality against black residents in New Jersey.
In recent years, Americans have again taken to the streets to demand change – to demand our local and state leaders do something about police killing an average of three people per day. Because those who are shot, choked, beaten and broken to death are disproportionately black, and because these homicides are almost always met with impunity, there is a nationwide movement calling for a meaningful and diligent public policy response. While the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have been printed, spoken and shouted across the country, we cannot ignore the urgency of the same crisis in Mississippi.
On July 4, 2016 – the day we celebrate our country and her greatest tenants of democracy and liberty – the print edition of the New York Times included a story with the headline: “Black Man’s Shooting Recalls Southern Wounds.” The story was about Antwun “Ronnie” Shumpert, a 37-year-old black man who was shot and killed by a Tupelo police officer after fleeing a traffic stop on June 18. On August 1, the district attorney presented the case to a secret grand jury, and the officer was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Those “Southern wounds” were ripped open this summer, but in many ways they were never healed. Rather, we were forced to acknowledge an unspeakable truth – police in American can still kill civilians for no good reason, and sometimes they do.
As has happened before and will happen again, a civilian pulled out his phone and showed the country what it didn’t want to see. A thirty second video of Baton Rouge police officers tackling Alton Sterling, pinning his arms to the ground, and then shooting him in the chest several times shook the nation to its core.
The following evening, millions were watching a livestream video from St. Paul, Minnesota. We witnessed Philando Castile taking his last breath in front of his fiancée, Diamond, and her four-year-old daughter after a police officer shot him during a traffic stop.
Anyone unshaken by Castile dying before their eyes must have empathized with Diamond during her video. Surely after that, we couldn’t ignore the cries for action to address the systemic use of force – particularly excessive and lethal use of force and the grossly disproportionate rate at which black bodies are on the receiving end of government-wielded guns, Tasers, nightsticks and boots.
Americans felt varying degrees of heartbreak and outrage, but beyond that, something so many desperately want to be false was again revealed as true. The phrase “black lives matter” – much like the American exceptionalism in political speeches, the words “Equal Justice Under Law” etched above our nation’s highest court, and the final clause of our Pledge of Allegiance – is still an aspiration.
For how many generations can that aspiration be systemically neglected before it becomes a lie?
Blake Feldman is the criminal justice advocacy coordinator for the ACLU of Mississippi. Contact the ACLU of Mississippi at P.O. Box 2242, Jackson, MS 39225, or call the office at (601) 354-3408. | http://djournal.com/opinion/blake-feldman-black-lives-matter-aspiration-reality/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | djournal.com/17d4e6cde54974a76c9d70227be4c483959e4810d1b6c9fcfa6abbd3170c0c9d.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:25 | null | 2016-08-25T06:22:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fregion-battles-mental-health-problems%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/news_medical_green-130x130.png | en | null | Region battles mental health problems | null | null | djournal.com | By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today
CORINTH – Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, health officials in Corinth and Alcorn County say.
“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t want to get mental health treatment because people think I’m crazy,”’ said Theresa Parsons, with Region IV Mental Health in Alcorn County. “I wish that the stigma was not there.”
People with mental health issues also do not need to feel alone in Alcorn County. Last fiscal year, the Region IV crisis center in Corinth had 584 admissions.
People are often in a mental health crisis for months before they finally call for help, she added.
“It’s hard to ask for help,” Parsons said.
Parsons said it is also important for employers to notice warning signs of mental illness in employees and encourage them to get help if needed. Seeking assistance from a therapist could improve the employee’s quality of life, as well as job effectiveness.
“People don’t see mental illness,” Parsons said. “It’s invisible. People may not talk about it, but it’s there.”
Underlying problems
Many people who abuse drugs or alcohol have an underlying mental health problem, said Kassandra Decker, residential treatment director at Region IV’s chemical dependency complex in Corinth.
Someone who gets high to feel comfortable around others may have an anxiety disorder. Others might use drugs to lift themselves out of depression.
“You can’t treat addiction without treating the underlying issue,” Decker said.
The chemical dependency complex in Corinth has about 650 inpatient clients annually. Methamphetamine is a major problem in the region, officials say.
“The majority of people who come in here are beat down and they’re broken and they’ve probably been treated poorly by a lot of people who think that they’re just an addict,” Decker said.
Addicts impact their families by being absent parents, always wanting money and needing a place to stay. Moreover, the addict puts stress on family members who worry about them. That’s why Region IV offers family counseling to help the addict’s loved ones.
Drug and alcohol addiction is an “astronomical” problem in Alcorn County, and a new program aims to help those who are struggling, said Phillip Barry with Region IV. The Intensive Outpatient Program in Corinth is a middle ground between residential treatment and regular outpatient treatment.
“There’s a drug epidemic, and I think anything we can throw at it to be supportive is going to help heal the people, the community,” Barry said. “It is a disease. You wouldn’t shame someone for having diabetes or asthma. You would help them get treatment. You would help them get their insulin or their inhaler.”
Crisis center
The Region IV crises center in Corinth is a place adults with mental illness can go to get stabilized. The staff is equipped to handle the hundreds of patients it sees each year. Often, those who go to the center may be a danger to themselves or others.
The crisis center tries to keep them from going to the state hospital, said Director Helen Rider.
“The goal is to keep them from getting to that point,” Rider said. “A lot of people have told us that we have helped a lot.”
The center is usually successful at keeping the patients out of the state hospital. For instance, out of 414 discharges last fiscal year, 306 were referred to outpatient community mental health centers instead of the state hospital, Rider said.
“Every individual we discharge we refer to some type of followup outpatient treatment,” Rider said. “They leave here, and we immediately have them set up to start services outpatient.”
The crisis center has 16 beds, and often they are full. Typically, patients stay for seven to 14 days, but it could be longer.
Mental health crisis
Guilt and shame often eat away at people who have mental health problems, said David Carpenter, a counselor in Tupelo and Corinth. Some people hide these negative thoughts and think they are a bad person, he said.
In counseling, guilt and shame can be reduced by exposing the problem in a confidential setting where there is trust and empathy, he added.
A spiritual approach to counseling can be very effective, Carpenter said. For instance, if God says a person has value, it does not matter if that person was devalued as a child, he said.
“I believe a lot of our thoughts and beliefs as adults come from childhood,” Carpenter said.
Counseling can help replace irrational thoughts, which can come from misinformation or traumatic life experiences, Carpenter said.
People self-medicate for anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. They think it is a “quick and easy” way to deal with the problem when in fact it just makes it worse, he said.
Carpenter does not treat people who simply have an addiction problem. There is always some “core” issue such as trauma, depression or anxiety.
“Certainly I believe this region is in a mental health crisis, yes,” Carpenter said. “Look at the rates of addiction.”
Carpenter is not opposed to medication but said he doesn’t believe it cures the mental illness. In some cases, medication has a purpose and can work well in combination with counseling, he said.
Adolescent crisis center
It would be great if Alcorn County had a center to put youth going through a mental health crisis, Parsons said.
“We would love to start an adolescent crisis center, which would help stabilize youth without them having to leave their communities,” Parsons said.
It would also be helpful to have a sober living house in Corinth where people could get back on their feet, Barry said. More 12-step meetings would also benefit the area.
Schools in the region have therapists employed by Region IV. In addition, there is day treatment available at schools to help with emotional, behavioral and adjustment issues.
Children cutting themselves is an issue in Alcorn County, Parsons said.
Children may cut themselves because they do not know how to feel their emotions. “To feel pain they cause it physically,” Parsons noted.
Some parents say they don’t want to talk about suicide for fear of putting the idea into the child’s head, Parsons said. But children are already talking about it at school, she added.
Children struggling with substance abuse and other problems have turned their lives around with the help of a program in Tishomingo County.
Alcorn County had a similar program for about 10 years, but it ended last month.
“Hopefully we can get it back over there,” said Xavier Neal, who runs the Region IV Teen Initiative Program (TIP) in Tishomingo County. “Corinth needs it. The more resources you can provide in a county the more chances the children have to be able to prosper and reach their goals.”
The youth court orders juveniles to the program to receive individual, group and family therapy. The parents and children are held accountable. About 90 percent of the children who go through the program in Tishomingo County graduate high school, Neal said.
Children in TIP are drug tested at least once a month, and those with severe substance abuse issues are tested weekly.
Success stories
The mental health counselors like sharing their clients’ success stories. Decker recalled a woman who went through the program at the chemical dependency complex. Now the woman is in a transition house in Columbus with about 10 other women in recovery and doing well, Decker said. She called the other day and said she had a job, was volunteering and going back to school.
“She’s making a real difference with her life,” Decker said.
However, Decker said not as many addicts change their lives as she would like.
“You get a lot of clients in here that are here because they have to be, not because they want to be,” Decker said.
josh.mitchell@journalinc.com | http://djournal.com/news/region-battles-mental-health-problems/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | djournal.com/c03e525b28520d294e91ebb0889b302288d57de659b144500e906e1b9e15f961.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T14:46:47 | null | 2016-08-26T07:58:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Flions-keep-control-win%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/football_icon_green-130x130.png | en | null | Lions keep control in win | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in High School Sports
By Blake Morgan
Daily Journal
BIGGERSVILLE – The Biggersville Lions kept the keys to victory simple against New Site.
Run the ball and control the clock.
“Our running back gave 110 percent tonight and the line gave him some holes,” Biggersville head coach Stan Platt said following his team’s 26-12 win on Thursday.
Laquonn Mayes got the ball early and often for the Lions. He rushed for 8- and 5-yard touchdowns in the first half to help Biggersville to a 20-6 halftime lead.
The sophomore finished with 158 rushing yards. John Spencer added a rushing and passing touchdown as well.
Biggersville never trailed in the game. The Lions kept New Site from effectively moving the ball most of the night.
“We were a little hurt on the line,” New Site head coach Matt Stacy said. “They were blitzing up the middle and overloading the gaps.”
Ramsey Ivy threw for a touchdown. Christian Stacy rushed for New Site’s only touchdowns. | http://djournal.com/sports/lions-keep-control-win/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/27b71241f43092079370b438fcb471175373cc061acbc19dba6b947d18264404.json |
[
"Michaela Morris"
] | 2016-08-27T06:48:21 | null | 2016-08-27T01:01:16 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fepipen-cost-increases-sting-local-families%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/news_inthenews_green1-130x130.png | en | null | EpiPen cost increases sting local families | null | null | djournal.com | By Michaela Gibson Morris
Daily Journal
TUPELO – North Mississippi advocates say they see the rapidly escalating prices of EpiPens putting more people at risk of life-threatening allergic reactions.
“We have families relying on expired or compromised EpiPens because of financial restraints,” said Amelia Murphree of Guntown, who is an attorney, advocate and mother of a 8-year-old with severe food allergies.
Since 2007, the list price of EpiPens have increased from $93.88 to $608, according to the Associated Press. In Tupelo, the cash price listed for EpiPens on prescriptions filled in the past week ranged from $600 to $800, advocates say.
Tupelo allergist Dr. Karen Maltby said she has watched patients struggle with rising prices of the life-saving devices. In the practice she shares with Dr. Matt Oswalt, they make sure patients have coupons to reduce the price of the EpiPens and save samples to assist uninsured patients.
“It has been increasingly more difficult,” especially for elderly patients on fixed incomes and those, without adequate insurance, Maltby said. “It’s been a real issue.”
Following a national firestorm this week, Mylan Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday it would increase the discount offered to many patients with insurance from $100 to $300 and increase the income limits for its patient assistance program for those without insurance. It declined to lower the price.
EpiPens are an important safety net for people who have experienced serious allergic reactions. Anaphylaxis can happen in response to certain foods, medicines, insect stings and latex. Symptoms can include wheezing, throat tightness, swelling, hives, vomiting, anxiety, low blood pressure and loss of consciousness.
The EpiPen delivers a dose of epinephrine, a form of adrenaline, that halts the immune system’s reaction, giving people time to get to emergency care.
“It’s a life-saving device,” Maltby said.
Not every reaction is fatal, and the reactions are often unpredictable.
“Every reaction increases the chance of having a more severe reaction later,” Murphree said.
Crystal Heatherly, whose 14-year-old son has severe food allergies, said she sees many people just relying on avoidance alone, in large part because of the expense of EpiPens, which typically expire after a year.
“You never know when something is cross-contaminated,” Heatherly said.
Parents of children who are highly sensitive to allergens usually have multiple sets for home, school, church, grandparents’ homes, or day care. Murphree and Heatherly say they are thankful for insurance that allows them to purchase EpiPens monthly to rotate their stocks so they have pens wherever they may need them.
Mylan has come in for the lion’s share of the criticism for the dramatic jump in EpiPen’s prices, but it’s not just the manufacturer that needs to answer for out-of-control prices.
“It’s a systemic problem,” said Murphree, who is founder of the local allergy group FACE IT and a past vice president of the national Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team.
The main competitor to EpiPen was pulled off the market after a recall. Another alternative, Adrenaclick, is not considered as user-friendly and at a $461 list price is still out of reach for many.
The FAACT group has posted a national survey to try to gauge the true impact of the high costs and how people use them.
“We’re trying to get a broad picture of what we’re dealing with,” said Murphree, who continues to serve as a consultant for the group.
michalea.morris@journalinc.com | http://djournal.com/news/epipen-cost-increases-sting-local-families/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/cd780b2315b39ec74d49bf68fe09ea042af9df93ad349f2246229372d75011bf.json |
[
"Dennis Seid"
] | 2016-08-28T12:49:34 | null | 2016-08-28T06:35:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fdennis-seid-free-trade-not-always-free-not-always-easy%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2013/08/Seid-Dennis-color-e1431840743371-106x130.jpg | en | null | DENNIS SEID: Free trade not always free, not always easy | null | null | djournal.com | Republicans are well-known to be free-trade advocates, but many, including GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, have said they are against a trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
And Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has said she’s against it as well, even though she favored the proposal as U.S. Secretary of State before her run for the Oval Office.
The TPP is a trade agreement between the U.S. and 11 trading partners – Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The 12 countries account for 40 percent of the world’s GDP, more than a quarter of the world’s trade and some 800 million consumers.
Why wouldn’t the U.S. want greater access to those markets?
Critics say the talks have been done in secret and that “nobody knows” what the agreement says. But the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has provided the full negotiating texts to all members of Congress since 2012. TPP has been in the works for nearly a decade, with the U.S. joining in 2008.
There are worries that foreign governments could sue the U.S. and/or U.S. companies if they believe trade deals work against them.
Foreign governments can’t change U.S. law –only Congress can do that, so they must abide by U.S. law if they’re going to do business here.
Free trade, in theory, reduces prices for consumers because of imports. It also opens up new markets for U.S. companies and helps the U.S. economy be more efficient.
But, as the Associated Press points out, “China overwhelmed the world with hundreds of millions of low-paid factory workers who could crank out products for less than just about anybody else. And critics charge that China doesn’t play by the rules – unfairly subsidizing exporters, manipulating its currency to give them a competitive edge and condoning the theft of U.S. trade secrets. Whatever the reasons, the United States last year ran a $334 billion trade deficit with China – a big chunk of America’s $500 billion total trade deficit.”
And foreign competition is one reason – but not the only reason – the U.S. has lost some 3.4 million jobs since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Foreign competition also has caused American workers’ wages to remain stagnant.
However, technology also can be blamed for some of those job losses, as it has allowed manufacturers to cut jobs even as it’s helped them become more productive.
And, the AP notes, “Trade deals have far less impact on jobs than forces such as automation and wage differences between countries. The controversial Pacific deal, for instance, probably would have a negligible impact on American employment, the International Trade Commission concluded.
“Trump’s plans to impose punitive tariffs would risk setting off a trade war and driving up prices for American consumers. Pulling back from trade agreements could also reduce America’s diplomatic influence. The Pacific agreement, for instance, is aimed partly at countering China’s clout in Asia.”
No trade deal is perfect. To maintain is position as the world’s top economic power, it’s in the best interest of the U.S. to push the TPP deal, or risk ceding the title to China.
We live an operate in a global economy, like it or not. Withdrawing is not an option.
Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1578 or dennis.seid@journalinc.com. | http://djournal.com/news/dennis-seid-free-trade-not-always-free-not-always-easy/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/1c20b551c19243e9899fc1cef2473448eb39014c75c22940d0c87081a01b8967.json |
[
"Gene Phelps"
] | 2016-08-31T12:52:35 | null | 2016-08-31T07:05:37 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fstill-time-sign-tupelo-marathon%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/tupelo-marathon-logo.jpeg | en | null | Still time to sign up for Tupelo Marathon | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in Sports
By Gene Phelps
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Sunday’s 35th annual Tupelo Marathon will be Mike Lail’s last as the race’s director.
“There’s so much worked involved and I don’t have the time I need to do the job,” he said.
Lail’s first year as the local marathon’s director was 1997. He later took two years off, but came back in recent years to take the reins again. All together, he’s been involved the with 26.2-mile race for 29 years.
The marathon and half marathon are scheduled to step off at 5 a.m. Sunday from the BancorpSouth Arena. Both races finish inside the arena.
Lail says the numbers are down again this year.
“We didn’t have 200 signed up six weeks ago,” he said. “We usually have 750 registered by July 1. We’re losing people. They’re not running distances anymore.”
For the second straight year there will be race day registration. In many of the previous years, registration was closed long before race day.
The registration fee is $85 for the marathon and $65 for the half marathon. Interested runners can register on-line at runsignup.com.
“I think procrastination is one of the reasons for the low numbers,” Lail said. “All the years we capped the registration, we knew the number. Now we don’t know how many we’ll have.”
Lail thinks seeking sponsorship would give the race some security.
“The beauty of it is that’s it’s always been a small-town race,” he said. “The T-shirt (with a skull logo) always sold the race.”
Last year’s male open winner was Jackson’s Jason Wheat, who covered the course in 3 hours, 12 minutes. Mary Carleton Johnston of Birmingham was the female open winner in 3:22.
The half-marathon winners were Eric Knight, Memphis (1:31) and Elizabeth Randall, Oxford (1:40).
gene.phelps@journalinc.com
Twitter: @genephelps | http://djournal.com/sports/still-time-sign-tupelo-marathon/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/9bcd85f9b23dc465b3268ca4998427a6fe74335ca4d8a87e6ac6c76f587813ec.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T14:47:43 | null | 2016-08-29T09:40:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fsid-salter-nuns-slaying-underscores-christianity%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2013/12/Salter-Sid-100x130.jpg | en | null | SID SALTER: Nuns' slaying underscores Christianity | null | null | djournal.com | Like most Mississippians, I absorbed the brutal news of the murders of two Catholic nuns in their Durant home Thursday with a mixture of incredible sadness and no small amount of anger.
Sister Paula Merrill of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky and Sister Margaret Held of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Wisconsin were in Mississippi to provide hope and help for some of the poorest people in this nation by serving as nurse practitioners at the Lexington Medical Clinic.
But press accounts have revealed that their service to their fellow man went far beyond health care. Truly, these women were doing the work of God in a place where the need could not have been greater and among people who had few other places or people to whom they could turn.
The more I learned of their service and charity, the sadder the news of their murders became. And out of those thoughts came another emotion – anger. Who in the world could ever justify killing a nun? These women shared or gave away virtually everything they had in service to others.
My thoughts returned to the reliable kindnesses of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, whose compassion and grace has long marked their service at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson. During my late wife’s long illness and during some prior health issues of my own, we came to greatly admire and appreciate those relationships that went far beyond health care.
I thought of the ministries of so many nuns among the immigrant communities in the state. Then my thoughts raced back to TV coverage of the crime scene in Durant. And in those dark thoughts of swift retribution and hard punishment for whoever committed these murders, I thought back to executions I covered at Parchman – and I caught myself.
One of the most vivid memories I have of those experiences are the roles the nuns played in protesting the execution of Death Row inmates. Whether in the stifling Delta heat outside the prison gates at Parchman or on Capitol Street outside the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, the nuns courageously stood for their faith and their beliefs.
I watched the protesting nuns at Parchman while covering the 2002 lethal injection execution of Florida career criminal Tracy Alan Hansen for the August 10, 1987 slaying of state Trooper David Bruce Ladner, which marked the first time since 1989 that Mississippi had actually enforced the death penalty and the first since the state stopped using the gas chamber.
The murder of Ladner was particularly heinous. Trooper Ladner was shot twice – once in the back – by Hansen, who had pulled Hansen’s Lincoln Continental over for a traffic violation on Interstate 10 west of Gulfport.
But the protesting nuns that day never wavered, continuing their peaceful death penalty protest even after Hansen received the lethal injection and died about ten minutes later following a rambling final speech in which he confessed to the crime: “I’m guilty. I shot the guy. I panicked. I was running from the law. I shouldn’t have had a gun.”
It came to me through those memories that despite the outpouring of sadness, grief and, yes, anger by most Mississippians over the senseless murders of Sisters Paula and Margaret, the victims of this crime would not seek retribution. Like their sisters, they would advocate forgiveness and peace, not the death penalty.
It is that irony that leaves so many struggling to make sense of what transpired on Castalian Springs Road in Durant. Why? Robbery? Again, they shared or gave away most everything they had as a matter of course on a daily basis.
Another of the many ironies of this awful crime is that it robs one of Mississippi’s poorest communities of vital health care opportunities. The role these sisters played in the lives of the poor and the sick in Holmes County will be assumed by . . . whom? When the faith-based ministries that politicians like to talk about are targeted, just who takes up that slack?
Because remarkable souls like these innocent, dedicated women don’t choose to come to rural Mississippi every day. Unfortunately, that hard truth will resonate in Holmes County in the days to come.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com. | http://djournal.com/opinion/sid-salter-nuns-slaying-underscores-christianity/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/30dd81049773f59720def03add1cecf337db55576c13bcc8c981dd99426aa2f3.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T16:48:21 | null | 2016-08-26T10:57:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fone-injured-shooting-nemcc-campus%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/Northeast-logo-130x97.jpg | en | null | One injured in shooting on NEMCC campus | null | null | djournal.com | Daily Journal
BOONEVILLE – One man was injured in a shooting on the campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College, the school confirmed.
The incident happened Thursday night on the southern edge of campus. College police chief Randy Baxter said shots were fired in the direction of two male joggers who were heading north on Jefferson Street around 11 p.m.
One of the men was struck in the back of the leg. He was treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville and released.
The Booneville Police Department and the Prentiss County Sheriff’s Department were called in to assist campus police.
No information has been given on the suspect.
“When something like this occurs, our top priority is and will always be the safety of our students and our entire campus community,” Northeast president Ricky G. Ford said. “Our campus police officers responded with urgency and continue to work to determine who and what initiated this incident.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the young man who was hurt,” Ford continued, “and at the same time we are relieved no one was more seriously injured.”
The school will have no further comment as law enforcement continues to investigate the shooting. | http://djournal.com/news/one-injured-shooting-nemcc-campus/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/23af61da4de26bdaed4a28f04ff65809357e24f49afea39398d223bea9381705.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:52:24 | null | 2016-08-30T06:24:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Flate-revenue-report-follows-declining-collection-trends%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/03/Bryant-Phil-92x130.jpg | en | null | Late revenue report follows declining collection trends | null | null | djournal.com | By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – The trend of declining state revenue collections continued during July – the first month of the new fiscal year.
Mississippi’s July revenue report, released on Monday during the final days of August, reveals the state collected $11.5 million or 3.9 percent less than it did during July 2015.
The staff of the Legislative Budget Committee normally has the monthly report finished within a week of the end of the month. Legislative staff said the delay in the July report resulted from having to deal with legislative changes made during the 2016 session in how revenue is collected and with end-of-fiscal-year closeout issues.
At any rate, the report continued the string of bad news confronting legislators and Gov. Phil Bryant in regards to the budget and revenue collections.
During the previous fiscal year, revenue collections were less than the prior year for only the fourth time since 1970 and for the first time when the nation as a whole was not in a recession. The decline forced Bryant to make two rounds of budget cuts and to dip into the state’s rainy day fund three times.
And to start the current fiscal year, numerous agencies announced they were being forced to make cuts because of legislative appropriations.
In addition, by some estimates the Legislature appropriated as much as $130 million more than it will receive in revenue even if tax collections meet the official projections.
But for at least the first month of the fiscal year, revenue collections are not meeting projections. If the trend continues, Bryant could be forced to make another round of cuts later this year.
Nearly all categories of tax collections were down from the previous July. The two largest sources of revenue – sales taxes and personal income taxes – were down $1.8 million or 2.4 percent and $4.2 million or 3.9 percent respectively.
The one bright spot was corporate income tax collections, which were up $2.3 million or 14.5 percent from July 2015.
Gaming tax revenue was down $2.4 million or 17.9 percent.
The ongoing budget woes have prompted two credit rating agencies – Fitch and Moody’s – to downgrade the states credit rating in recent months.
bobby.harrison@journalinc.com
Twitter: @BobbyHarrison9 | http://djournal.com/news/late-revenue-report-follows-declining-collection-trends/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/1217c8f2e7e7716f7bdfc311efd147ff09fcc2baa81ff5fd11c3ff37ed286d77.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T16:47:35 | null | 2016-08-26T10:34:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fphil-hardwick-associations-make-exceptional%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/9JBJ_Phil_Hardwick_photo-e1448119993490-94x130.jpg | en | null | PHIL HARDWICK: Some associations make themselves exceptional | null | null | djournal.com | Why do some organizations thrive and really make a difference when others seem to be just hanging on? One thorough research project revealed that there are several things that make a significant difference in the success of associations. This research, which was conducted by the American Association of Society Executives, was presented in a book entitled “7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t.” If you manage an association, serve in a leadership role in an association or are a member of an association this book is worth reading.
The 7 Measures Project, as it was called, began in 2002 and resulted in publication of the book in 2006. An updated version was published in 2012. It presents as checkup on the associations that were mentioned in the first edition. The research used the matched-pair methodology, which was also used by Jim Collins and colleagues and resulted in the classic business management book, “Good to Great.”
Listed below are the seven measures, or factors, that were discovered. along with some comments by this writer.
• A Customer Service Culture – The remarkable associations built their organizations by serving members and providing value to their members. They actively sought ways to continuously improve services to their members.
Some organizations make the mistake of forgetting that they are membership organizations.
• Alignment of Products and Services with Mission – The associations were driven by mission, not money. Everyone knew the mission of the organization and whom they served. The mission was central, regardless of the external environment.
Some organizations that are really good get lured into doing other things by funders who are in search of effective organizations. For example, an organization good at building houses may not be so good at job creation. But because of their success and opportunity to expand they refocused their mission, which led to a crisis when the funding dried up.
• Data-Driven Strategies – Surveys of members, analysis of the environment in which they operated and continuous analysis of information resulted in accumulation of data that was acted upon. The remarkable associations were good at gathering and sharing information.
• Dialogue and Engagement – The staff and volunteers listened to each other and talked to each other. There were cross-functional teams, and no so-called silos. There was constant communication. By the way, the typical level of member non-involvement is 69.9 percent.
• CEO as a Broker of Ideas – The CEO facilitated “visionary thinking” throughout the organization and developed a strong staff and volunteer partnership. The CEO was not necessarily the idea generator, but was the person who connected ideas with people and action.
Organizations should beware of charismatic leaders who have followers.
• Organizational Adaptability – When remarkable organizations face a crisis they learn from it and change accordingly. Nevertheless, they know when not to change. The key is to know when to change. Sometimes that means abandoning a project or idea; sometimes it means refocusing.
This is why regular strategic planning is so important. Planning is about looking ahead, but it is also learning from the past, e.g. what worked and did not work.
• Alliance Building – These associations were very good at finding and forming alliances and partnerships that complemented their mission and purpose. They also were good at communicating clear expectations about the partnerships.
Finally, just in case you are wondering, here are the nine organizations listed as “remarkable” in the book:
• AARP
• American College of Cardiology
• American Dental Association
• Associated General Contractors of America
• Girl Scouts of the USA
• National Associations of Counties
• Ohio Society of CPAs
• Radiological Society of North America
• Society for Human Resource Management
Phil Hardwick is owner of Hardwick & Associates LLC, a team that helps people and Organizations reach their potential through strategic planning/goal setting, team building, personal coaching and accountability. He received his undergraduate degree from Belhaven College and his MBA from Millsaps College. Contact him at phil@philhardwick.com. | http://djournal.com/opinion/phil-hardwick-associations-make-exceptional/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/14d4bbb4166abda216997197a38cbe4b4236e849882d2abc2415503518cb4c09.json |
[
"Logan Lowery"
] | 2016-08-31T12:49:47 | null | 2016-08-31T07:07:30 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Flogan-lowery-bulldogs-just-may-surprise%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/05/04261658-Logan-Lowery-e1462367607700-95x130.jpg | en | null | LOGAN LOWERY: Bulldogs just may surprise | null | null | djournal.com | STARKVILLE
All summer long – and especially over the last few weeks – I’ve been bombarded with variations of the same question.
Everyone wants to know how Mississippi State is going to do this year.
Having covered the Bulldogs exclusively for the past nine years, that question is pretty standard this time of year. But I cannot remember a season in which people are so genuinely curious what type of product MSU will put on the field.
Perhaps it’s the entirely new defensive staff and scheme or maybe it’s just that Dak Prescott is gone, but people seem puzzled.
My answer has been the same every single time people have asked that question to me. I simply say “about like last year.”
There are usually some strange looks after I give my response.
With all those changes, how can the Bulldogs possibly bounce back with a 9-4 year like they did in 2015?
I’ll admit that I am a lot more optimistic about State’s chances this season than many of my media colleagues on the national level. Most have the Bulldogs hovering around the 6-6 range.
I myself cautiously put Mississippi State at 7-5 in my regular-season schedule analysis that was published this past Sunday, but it wouldn’t take too much arm twisting to convince me the Bulldogs can beat both BYU and Texas A&M this year.
To me, there are four swing games on MSU’s schedule that will ultimately decide if this season is a success – Auburn, BYU, Texas A&M and Arkansas. All three of those SEC games will be played in Starkville, where the Bulldogs are 11-3 over the last two seasons.
If Mississippi State can somehow win all four of those toss-up games, then I can see it with as many as nine regular-season victories.
Underrated?
Auburn, Texas A&M and Arkansas were all picked to finish ahead of State by the media, who yet again predicted the Bulldogs to finish in last place in the SEC West. They have only finished at the bottom of the division once under Dan Mullen and that was in his initial season, 2009.
I agree that this might not be the most talented or experienced team Mullen has put on the field during his tenure but there are enough of those aspects to maneuver through a manageable schedule and find their share of success.
The best news about this whole scenario is that the season will soon be here and there will finally be some new questions for me to answer.
Logan Lowery (logan.lowery@journalinc.com) covers Mississippi State for the Daily Journal. He blogs daily at DJournal.com | http://djournal.com/sports/logan-lowery-bulldogs-just-may-surprise/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/e8c488aa9712983389b53b9031a35a53282f118eab96a473c32c5b8d4f7d13a5.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T08:49:42 | null | 2016-08-27T02:51:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fred-raiders-use-balanced-attack-rout-tigers%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Carter-Daryl-e1472284271293-96x130.jpg | en | null | Red Raiders use balanced attack to rout Tigers | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in High School Sports
By David Wheeler
Special to the Journal
NETTLETON – The Shannon Red Raiders did not let the potential emotion of the situation keep them from taking care of business in Week 2 of the Mississippi high school football season.
And business was good Friday versus neighbor and rival the Nettleton Tigers.
All the numbers were in favor of the Raiders, including the final score of 35-0, as Shannon improved to 2-0 on the young season.
“I thought we played sloppy on offense,” said Shannon head coach Darryl Carter, keeping it real for his Red Raiders. “Sure we did a couple of things well, but we had dropped balls and missed blocks.
“Our defense is a veteran squad and did a good job. But we’re still a work in progress and have a lot of things to clean up.”
Balanced numbers highlighted the positives of the Shannon offensive effort.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Gilleylen threw for 236 yards. And the duel-headed backfield threat of Keegan Huddleston and Thailon Whitfield rushed for 119 and 137 yards, respectively.
Throw in the shutout pitched by the Shannon defense, and the Raiders currently have tons of positive momentum.
Jerry Marion (15 yards) and Erick Rogers (54 yards) caught touchdown passes in the first quarter, and Whitfield (3 yards) added a scoring run in the second period. In the third quarter, Whitfield (11 yards) added a second TD, and Augusta Cox (11 yards) a scoring catch.
Extra Points
Turning Point: Shannon sophomore quarterback Jordan Gilleylen completed his first 10 passes, helping Shannon race to a 14-0 first quarter lead.
Point Man: Shannon running back Thailon Whitfield rushed for two touchdowns, while Gilleylen passed for three scores.
Talking Point: “This week I was trying to teach the guys to treat every game the same. Shannon just outplayed us tonight.” – Nettleton head coach Ken Topps, a former Shannon standout at quarterback.
Notes
• Gilleylen threw for 236 yards, completing 16 passes.
• Huddleston rushed for 119 yards through three quarters.
• Whitfield rushed for 137 yards, also through three quarters. | http://djournal.com/sports/red-raiders-use-balanced-attack-rout-tigers/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/0169032d4a7fa93c8c6edcaed78f53148183a30417323386f1ba47eae92527ed.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T14:49:36 | null | 2016-08-26T07:55:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fwilkinson-leads-urchins-romp%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/05/05.17.E.Union_.Loyd_.Star_.0999-e1471696339365-93x130.jpg | en | null | Wilkinson leads Urchins' romp | null | null | djournal.com | Posted on by in High School Sports
By Dennis Clayton
New Albany Gazette
ELLISTOWN – East Union utilized its rushing attack and a newly functional passing game and rolled to a 48-0 win over Hamilton on Thursday.
The East Union line opened huge holes for leading rusher Joel Wilkinson as the sophomore ran for 184 yards on eight carries and one touchdown.
Zach Penny opened the scoring with his touchdown on a 2-yard quarterback keeper and Wilkinson scored on a 36-yard run.
Cage West scored on a 2-yard run and Chandler Bobo dove in from the one to score late in the first half to give the Urchins a 28-0 halftime lead.
The Urchins went to the air for two scores in the third quarter as Cade Bell hit Dallas Wooten on a 20-yard TD and Bell later hooked up with DeJuan Hubbard for a 28-yard score to put the Urchins up 28-0.
Jessie Crump scored the final Urchin touchdown on a 7-yard run.
East Union improves to 2-0 while Hamilton drops to 0-2. | http://djournal.com/sports/wilkinson-leads-urchins-romp/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | djournal.com/60101b2128880caf0e51a218ded7d3459dda73b637580b9fc1da3cefb214fe5f.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-28T00:46:48 | null | 2016-08-27T18:54:20 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fstarkville-superintendent-convicted-assault-charges%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/news_court_green1-130x130.png | en | null | Starkville superintendent convicted on assault charges | null | null | djournal.com | STARKVILLE (AP) – A Mississippi school superintendent has been found guilty of misdemeanor assault charges after admitting he fired a handgun into the air during a confrontation with a neighbor last year.
Justice Court Judge C. Martin Haug found Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Lewis Holloway found guilty Friday of two counts of simple assault. The Commercial Dispatch reports Haug heard from five witnesses and reviewed video interviews recorded by a sheriff’s deputy after the Aug. 9, 2015, incident.
Holloway was fined $500 on each count.
Attorney Roy Carpenter says he will appeal the conviction in circuit court and Holloway, who has been superintendent in Starkville since 2012, declined comment.
After the charges against Holloway were filed last year, the school board members suspended Holloway for two weeks. Friday, board President Jenny Turner declined to comment on the conviction.
Holloway filed charges against neighbor Roy Couvion after his arrest, alleging Couvion hit him and threw him to the ground in May 2015. Couvion’s case was scheduled to be heard Friday, but was delated.
Couvion testified in Holloway’s case Friday that he and his 16-year-old step-daughter were on their property, when he noticed Holloway standing by his truck with one hand behind his back, starting at them. Couvion estimated that Holloway was about 60 yards away and said neither man left their own property during the incident. The neighbor testified that Holloway was slurring his words and told Couvion, “I’ve got a 9MM (handgun) with your name on it.”
Couvion said he and Holloway began to argue before Holloway raised the gun and fired a single shot into the air.
Holloway testified Couvion yelled at him first.
“He had assaulted me before, so I felt like I needed protection,” Holloway said. “So I got my gun out of the truck.”
Holloway said his actions were justified under the Castle Doctrine, which allows people to defend themselves as necessary if they are threatened by an intruder while on their own property. He admitted to drinking alcohol that day.
On cross examination, Brown asked Holloway if he had a concealed carry permit and Holloway said he did.
“During that training, were you ever told anything about drinking alcohol while handling a firearm?” Brown asked.
“Yes,” Holloway said. “They said they don’t mix.”
After Holloway testified, Brown asked that the Deputy John Rice’s video be entered as rebuttal evidence. Haug and the lawyers watched it in Haug’s office, and then the judge returned to pronounce the guilty verdicts.
“I think it sealed the case,” Brown said of the video. “It corroborated the testimony, and it also provided some statements that had been forgotten.” | http://djournal.com/news/starkville-superintendent-convicted-assault-charges/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/13fd566b0c28156fb1fedbf687d045f490f24f662152fd5fbd925c1f9546089d.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T14:50:26 | null | 2016-08-29T08:21:42 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fplaying-pain-woodruff-working-brothers-death%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/woodruff-main-300x238-1.jpeg.jpg | en | null | Playing in pain: Woodruff working through his brother’s death | null | null | djournal.com | By Patrick Magee
(Biloxi) Sun Herald
BILOXI – Each member of the Biloxi Shuckers has to deal with matters away from the field, but right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff’s burden has been heavier than most this year.
His older brother, Blake, died at the age of 28 on July 16 after an ATV accident in his hometown of Wheeler, about 25 miles north of Tupelo.
The loss of a brother is the type of tragedy that can stop a man in his tracks, but Woodruff has continued to thrive in what has been a breakout season for the former Mississippi State hurler.
“I think about him every day, every time I go out to the field,” Woodruff said. “You don’t take this game for granted. You never know when you’ll get another day so I just go out and compete as hard as I can because you never know when it’s going to be over. He’s right there with me, with every pitch.”
Woodruff, 23, left the team to spend time with his family after his brother’s death and returned July 24 for the final contest of a five-game series against the Blue Wahoos in Pensacola.
The game began just as it had for many of Woodruff’s starts this season, retiring the first six batters he faced, striking out four. When he stepped into the batter’s box in the third inning, neither team had a hit.
What happened next lit up the dugout.
Woodruff, batting from the left side, ripped a 1-2 fastball over the right-field fence for his first home run as a professional.
“Lo and behold, it was the only run of the game,” Woodruff said. “It was pretty special.”
The Shuckers won 1-0 that night, with Woodruff giving up just one hit in six innings. He struck out nine and walked none.
Biloxi pitching coach Chris Hook remembered seeing a different approach that day from Woodruff’s teammates.
“They wanted to get it done for him,” Hook said. “I could see it in their eyes. It wasn’t just for us. It was for him. There is a tight bond in the pitching group and the whole club.”
Learning to cope
The team has served as a support group in the weeks following Woodruff’s family tragedy.
“The biggest thing for me was to get back here and just be with the guys,” he said. “When I’m here, it seems normal. You have the everyday routine. The organization has been awesome. They’ve helped me anyway that they could and just being here around the guys, just going out and competing being with everybody, it’s helped out a ton. It makes things seem a little back to normal.”
Like his brother, Blake Woodruff was a standout baseball player for Wheeler High School. He continued his baseball career at Northeast Mississippi Community College, but gave up his bat and glove when he chose to attend Mississippi State.
He was working for Steel Dynamics Inc. in Columbus at the time of his death.
Blake had the joy of watching his younger brother play baseball for his alma mater, MSU, and as a professional in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.
“He was probably my No. 1 fan,” Brandon Woodruff said. “That’s who I learned the game from, just being around him and traveling and watching him go to high school practice. He played junior college ball and had a tremendous influence on my life as far as the baseball side.
“His dream was to play professional baseball and I’m kind of living out the dream for him.”
Woodruff has emerged as one of the better pitching prospects in the Brewers’ organization this season, after being somewhat of an afterthought a year ago when he went 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 21 appearances at Class A Brevard County in Florida.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Woodruff again began the 2015 season at Brevard County, but there was clear improvement in his second full season as a pro. He started the year 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA in eight starts for the Manatees.
He struck out 49 batters in 441⁄3 innings to earn a May 17 promotion to Biloxi.
There were bumpy outings early on at the Double-A level, but Woodruff has become increasingly dominant on the mound for the Shuckers.
Woodruff lasted eight innings – tying the season high for Biloxi – in a 5-0 win over the Mississippi Braves on Wednesday night at MGM Park. He struck out seven and walked two, allowing only two hits.
Double-A success
With a fastball in the mid-90s, Woodruff is 8-8 with a 3.34 ERA in 18 starts at Biloxi. He has 105 strikeouts with just 27 walks in 992⁄3 innings. In his last 10 starts, Woodruff is 6-3 with a 1.90 ERA.
Woodruff credits Hook for helping him make a quick turnaround at Double-A after a slow start.
“We just talked about a few things that he was able to implement fairly quickly,” Hook said. “The biggest thing was to plug into his athleticism. He was too slow, trying to be perfect and all that.
“When you’re athletic, you don’t need to think through the delivery. You trust yourself. That’s kind of where he’s taken off with a little bit of tempo. I think the tempo allows him to attack. He’s a Mississippian, laid back and nothing seems to bother him. The tempo gave him a little bit of an edge.”
Woodruff has proven to be one those pitchers who respond better to the pro game than the college level. His best season at MSU was in his freshman year when he went 1-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 12 appearances. He had a 4.34 ERA as sophomore and 6.75 as a junior.
Following his junior season, he was picked in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Brewers.
Woodruff showed some promise in his first two seasons as a pro, but a better approach at conditioning has helped the upbeat right-hander take off in his third year.
“This year, I kind of figured out my body,” he said. “I’m starting to know myself a lot more. Working with the coach at Brevard helped me a lot. I got here and Hook kept it going. I’ve been in a good rhythm the last month and a half.”
Close to home
Woodruff has enjoyed the chance of pitching in his home state, which has also given him more opportunities to go home and visit family in the last month. His parents and wife, Jonie, have made it to MGM Park to watch him pitch multiple times since he was promoted to the Shuckers.
“It’s been awesome,” Woodruff said. “Being in pro ball, you never know where you’re going to be. When I heard the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate was coming to Biloxi, I thought that was awesome. All the fans here in general have been so nice and so welcoming.”
Plenty of Mississippi State fans have also made the way to MGM Park to watch the only Magnolia State native to play for the Shuckers.
“Sometimes when I warm up, you see them down in the bullpen taking pictures,” Woodruff said. “They’ll give you a little ‘Hail State’ and you yell back to acknowledge them.” | http://djournal.com/sports/playing-pain-woodruff-working-brothers-death/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/76218894670398de56b84e8c49be2f0abc951fb2319c16e840f858746417c007.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-29T18:47:47 | null | 2016-08-29T12:07:55 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fstarkville-police-make-four-felony-arrests%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/Jesse-A.-Black-96x130.jpg | en | null | Starkville Police make four felony arrests | null | null | djournal.com | Daily Journal
STARKVILLE – Just two traffic stops netted the Starkville Police four arrests on weapons and drug charges.
During the “Stop the Knock” enforcement campaign on Aug. 25, one stop resulted in the arrests of Robert S. Conwill, 24, of Hamilton; Travis C. Carother, 33, of Prairie; and Jesse A. Black, 22, of Steens.
Conwill was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, DUI, and possession of paraphernalia. Conwill was transported to the Oktibbeha County Jail with a bond of $6,555.25.
Carother was charged with felony possession of controlled substance and resisting arrest. His bond was set at $10,444.25.
Black was charged with felony possession of controlled substance. Bond was set at $5,000.
All three men are schedule to appear in municipal court for their initial appearance today.
In a separate stop, Lavon L. Edmonds, 30, of Starkville, was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon. Edmonds was carried to jail and later released on a $5,000 bond. His initial appearance is scheduled in Municipal Court on Oct. 3. | http://djournal.com/news/starkville-police-make-four-felony-arrests/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/f6b4c4112f57096c64075d063d5c94f5e656c865ef503143cd176517b5c1a564.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-27T06:50:03 | null | 2016-08-27T00:43:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Ffda-expands-zika-screening-u-s-blood-centers%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/02/news_medical_green-130x130.png | en | null | FDA expands Zika screening to all U.S. blood centers | null | null | djournal.com | By Matthew Perrone
AP Health Writer
WASHINGTON – The government told all U.S. blood banks Friday to start screening for Zika, a major expansion intended to protect the nation’s blood supply from the mosquito-borne virus.
Previously, blood testing was mostly limited to parts of Florida and Puerto Rico, where Zika is spreading. Screening will initially extend to states along the Gulf Coast and a few others.
“There is still much uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of Zika virus transmission,” Dr. Peter Marks said in a Food and Drug Administration release. “At this time, the recommendation for testing the entire blood supply will help ensure that safe blood is available for all individuals who might need transfusion.”
Blood banks already test donations for HIV, hepatitis, West Nile and other blood-borne viruses. The Zika virus stays in the blood for about one week, but is thought to remain in other bodily fluids longer.
While Zika is primarily spread through mosquito bites, there have been reports in Brazil of Zika transmission through transfusion. No such cases have been reported in the United States. One Zika-positive blood donation, though, was recently intercepted in Florida, Marks said Friday.
“The donation was identified while the blood bag was still in quarantine, before it was released,” Marks told reporters on a media call. “The system worked correctly.”
Zika can also be spread through sex, and Marks said that played into the decision to expand testing. Current evidence suggests that infected men can spread the virus for several months through sex, and women can transmit it for several weeks.
Adding to the challenge is that 4 out of 5 people infected never develop symptoms, such as fever, joint pain and rash.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the first U.S. case of a man spreading Zika through sex even though he never had any symptoms. The Maryland man had traveled to the Dominican Republic, one of the many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America hit with a Zika outbreak.
There have been nearly 2,500 cases of Zika in the U.S. linked to travel to outbreak areas. Since February, blood banks have turned away people who had recently visited those regions, under a previous FDA directive.
While the virus causes only a mild illness in most people, infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects.
Blood testing began last month in parts of Florida after the first cases of homegrown Zika occurred in Miami. So far, there have been about 40 cases of Zika caused by mosquito bites in Florida. Health officials, however, don’t expect widespread outbreaks to occur in the U.S.
The FDA has authorized use of two experimental blood screening tests for Zika, one made by Roche and another from Hologic Inc. and Grifols. Several testing sites are already voluntarily using the technology, including blood centers in Texas. The cost of adding Zika testing to the screening process is less than $10 per blood donation, according to officials at South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.
FDA officials said they do not anticipate any problems supplying the tests throughout the U.S.
The tropical mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses is found along the southern U.S. Friday’s directive lists 11 states that will need to begin screening blood in the next month because of their location or because of the influx of travelers from Zika outbreak countries.
On the list: Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina and Texas.
All other U.S. states and territories will have three months to comply.
An executive for America’s Blood Centers, which has more than 600 locations in the U.S. and Canada, warned that the amount of work needed to comply with the FDA’s timeline is “titanic.”
“Testing labs and the test vendors are working feverishly to allow testing to start on time in the areas subject to the 12 week timeline,” said Dr. Louis Katz, in an email.
The FDA works with other federal agencies to set standards for screening, testing and handling blood donations. Blood banks and donation centers adhere to those guidelines.
Friday’s announcement follows recent pressure from members of Congress to expand Zika screening. The move is “a strong step forward in protecting our nation’s blood supply,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement. | http://djournal.com/news/fda-expands-zika-screening-u-s-blood-centers/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | djournal.com/c6561027aadeed1dbe1ab31cb0941a9dab089dd88d3602cb733b29df9b691b7a.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-29T18:47:27 | null | 2016-08-29T12:49:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fole-miss-qb-chad-kelly-talks-florida-state%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/0-13.jpg | en | null | Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly talks Florida State and more | null | null | djournal.com | Browse by Date: Select month August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998 January 1998 December 1997 November 1997 October 1997 September 1997 August 1997 July 1997 June 1997 May 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 November 1996 October 1996 September 1996 August 1996 July 1996 June 1996 May 1996 April 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996
Sports Polls What’s the most likely record for Ole Miss after the first month of the season? 4-0
3-1
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Featured Jobs | http://djournal.com/sports/ole-miss-qb-chad-kelly-talks-florida-state/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | djournal.com/615f7f36d5b40834c7a04f0195ba3b4db7db5f2deb3b80154682922d55d87f0e.json |
[
"Adam Robison"
] | 2016-08-30T12:54:01 | null | 2016-08-30T06:29:57 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Fphoto-gallery-library-hosts-book-fair%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/08291650-Book-Fair.jpg | en | null | PHOTO GALLERY: Library hosts book fair | null | null | djournal.com | Browse by Date: Select month August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999 February 1999 January 1999 December 1998 November 1998 October 1998 September 1998 August 1998 July 1998 June 1998 May 1998 April 1998 March 1998 February 1998 January 1998 December 1997 November 1997 October 1997 September 1997 August 1997 July 1997 June 1997 May 1997 April 1997 March 1997 February 1997 January 1997 December 1996 November 1996 October 1996 September 1996 August 1996 July 1996 June 1996 May 1996 April 1996 March 1996 February 1996 January 1996
Newsmax
Polls Have you or anyone in your family benfited from the services of the North Mississippi Medcial Center's Women's Hospital in the last 30 years? Yes
No View Results Loading ... Loading ... | http://djournal.com/news/photo-gallery-library-hosts-book-fair/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | djournal.com/9f82b3f82a911f7d6a1c4487d25531abd9683b4e2a23a3371cead78f9482ea38.json |
[
"Daily Journal"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:36 | null | 2016-08-18T10:39:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fopinion%2Fbill-minor-kennedys-visit-raised-states-hunger-profile%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/01/Minor-Bill-86x130.jpg | en | null | BILL MINOR: Kennedy's visit raised state's hunger profile | null | null | djournal.com | During Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty” in the latter 1960s Mississippi’s Delta region where thousands of displaced cotton plantation workers lived on the fringe of hunger became a national target.
Even New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, brother of slain President John F. Kennedy came down to personally see if LBJ’s program was reaching the gut poor in the nation’s poorest state. As part of my news reporting job, I accompanied RFK on his historic Delta tour and became an eyewitness to what he found in that poverty-stricken region.
At the same time Mississippi was being made a test case of Johnson’s reform programs, some medical professionals in the state were vainly trying to root out indigenous Jim Crowism in the state’s medical system.
A soon-to-be published book edited by well-known Dr. Rick deShazo, professor of medicine at University of Mississippi Medical Center, captures the state’s struggle to deal with the broad spectrum of hunger and health issues faced in those years by its African-American citizenry.
Among others, you meet in deShazo’s text such courageous figures as Dr. Robert Marston, a pioneer Director of UMMC who faced constant harassment from segregationist legislators to disobey federal mandates to make his institution more racially inclusive, and Jackson’s Dr. Robert Smith, a black family physician who for decades saved (and is still saving) the lives of thousands of people in the black community and treated civil rights volunteers of both races who swarmed into the state during the 1960s “freedom summer.” Then there’s the late Dr. Aaron Shirley who gave up his Vicksburg practice to become the black resident professor at UMMC after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act mandated racial integration in public medical institutions.
The medical center became innocently involved in the nationally covered kidnap-murder story of three young civil rights workers in Neshoba County after their bodies were removed from an earthen dam outside the city of Philadelphia. A state judge ordered an autopsy to be done at UMMC since no local hospital would do it because one of the three (James Chaney) was black. Pathologists from UMMC found all three had been shot with a .45 cal pistol, but Chaney had also been severely beaten with a blunt instrument. (A rumor that Chaney had also been castrated was not true.) A national civil rights organization sent in a pathologist to confirm the UMMC report.
In Jackson a day before coming to the Delta, Kennedy, along with a bipartisan senatorial subcommittee, had heard blacks (and some white farmers) testify.
Kennedy had no advance plan to fly up to the Delta, but after hearing such heart-wrenching accounts of hunger and malnutrition, he chartered a 16 passenger airplane and invited me to join him and his staff for the trip.
We toured five small towns and their rural area. Kennedy several weeks later told a committee his Mississippi visit left him in doubt whether the state meant to “either drive the Negro poor out of the state or starve them to death.” How would we answer him today, 50 years later?
Syndicated columnist Bill Minor has covered Mississippi politics since 1947. Contact him through Ed Inman at edinman@earthlink.net. | http://djournal.com/opinion/bill-minor-kennedys-visit-raised-states-hunger-profile/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | djournal.com/eed11848592949078d436302357e8ff262dad74d21e117fa64a98f6451330f46.json |
[
"Parrish Alford"
] | 2016-08-31T14:49:28 | null | 2016-08-31T07:55:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fsports%2Fcorner-men-rebels-count-veteran-cornerbacks-deliver%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2016/08/webster-192x300.jpg | en | null | Corner men: Rebels count on veteran cornerbacks to deliver | null | null | djournal.com | By Parrish Alford
Daily Journal
OXFORD – Two Ole Miss returning starters have made strides at cornerback, their coach says.
That could lead to improved play in the secondary in spite of two new starters at the safety spots.
While Tony Conner is back from knee surgery at nickel back, the Rebels will start a freshman and sophomore on the back end when they open the season Monday night against No. 4 Florida State in Orlando.
Ole Miss players picked off 15 passes last year but were prone to give up big plays too, ranking No. 13 in the SEC in passing yards allowed.
Renewed focus by Kendarius Webster and a greater comfort level by Tony Bridges could change things. They combined for 24 starts last season, 11 by Bridges, who had just transferred from Gulf Coast Community College.
“Ken has had an incredible off-season,” cornerbacks coach Jason Jones said. “He went back and watched tape from last season and saw the areas he needed to improve. That’s been his main focus.”
That and the weight room – where Webster says he’s added between 10-15 pounds.
“Now when receivers want to get a push off I’m able to maintain my leverage and stay where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
From a technique standpoint Webster, a 5-foot-11 junior from Decatur, Georgia, has worked on planting his foot and driving to his left. He did a lot of summer work to flip his hips and enhance his ball skills.
Bridges had three interceptions last year, one of them a memorable pick-six late in the first quarter that put the Rebels firmly in command at rival Mississippi State.
He still had a lot of ground to cover with his confidence in knowing schemes and play calls. Jones says he’s shown a lot improvement there.
“He’s more mature, more focused. You hear him talking with the safeties. You can tell he’s more comfortable with the defense,” Jones said.
Jones says he’ll have five cornerbacks ready to play against Florida State.
The first off the bench will be senior Carlos Davis. He appeared in 13 games last year – mostly on special teams where he’ll help again this season – and finished with 21 tackles.
Redshirt freshman Jalen Julius and true freshman Jaylon Jones round out the five.
Webster and Bridges have been around the block a few times. They’re not relying on new safeties to get them lined up as less experienced corners might.
“It’s pretty much they’re just looking back at the safeties and confirming the coverage we’re going to run,” Jones said.
parrish.alford@journalinc.com
Twitter: @parrishalford | http://djournal.com/sports/corner-men-rebels-count-veteran-cornerbacks-deliver/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | djournal.com/9f319e71afaa4eda35f54064743fced5e16b7955c30b8b11a57d778d763f244b.json |
[
"Leslie Criss"
] | 2016-08-28T14:49:55 | null | 2016-08-28T09:19:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Flifestyle%2Fleslie-criss-daily-mississippian-editorial-suggests-wisdom-enlightenment%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/06/06051420-Leslie-Criss-93x130.jpg | en | null | LESLIE CRISS: Daily Mississippian editorial suggests of wisdom, enlightenment | null | null | djournal.com | “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
“Come Sept. 26, we will show this nation and the world the real Mississippi, not the Mississippi burning of the past, but rather the Mississippi rising into the future – a future in which your bigoted ideology has no place.” – The Daily Mississippian Editorial Board in an open letter to the KKK
–––––
In 2008, just before the September 26 presidential debate at Ole Miss between John McCain and now-President Barack Obama, there were all manner of rumors and rumblings that something might happen to the Democratic candidate while he was in Mississippi.
Most forward-thinking people were worried sick about the possibility something could happen to move our beloved state in the wrong direction once again – backward. And with the whole world watching.
Among the forward-thinkers were staff members and members of the Daily Mississippian Editorial Board who penned an amazingly courageous open letter to the Ku Klux Klan.
Whether their words did anything to change the minds and hearts of those in need of transformation, I haven’t a clue. One can only hope.
But those young people’s standing up for their university and their state, and making it clear they’d bear no bigoted bullies or their beliefs on campus, made me breathe easier, about the debate and the future of our state.
Last Monday, I received a link to the morning’s editorial in the Daily Mississippian, and once again I am blown away by the wisdom of a group of young people matriculating at the University of Mississippi.
Their words a week ago were in response to some folks’ anger in the aftermath of AD Ross Bjork’s request that the band come up with a more inclusive pregame show that does not include “Dixie.”
Before you throw down your paper and fire off an email labeling me anti-Mississippi, let me say the first time I heard Mary Donnelly Haskell sing “Dixie,” well, it was heavenly. Though it was supposedly written by an Ohio native living in New York City, the song somehow was adopted as the anthem of the Confederacy.
When I hear “Dixie,” I do not think of the War Between the States or slavery. But many people do. And for those people, the song is a painful reminder of a painful past.
In their editorial, the DM writers/editors do not try to negate anyone’s opinion, but they eloquently offer their own, which is both simple and extremely profound.
The students who are now at Ole Miss say it best: “The oldest natural seniors on campus were young when Colonel Reb walked off the field. We were not here when ‘From Dixie with Love’ was played for the last time in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. We never saw Confederate flags waving in the hands of thousands of fans from the student section. These traditions are not our own; they are a relic of an older time … We came to make history, not to relive it.”
I love Ole Miss. My father and two of his three brothers attended. I spent nearly two years there in graduate school.
This is not the first time a group of people have fought to be on the right side of history – and I’m certain it won’t be the last.
Enlightened, forward-thinking men of every color took blows during those riots as they stood up for what was right. Will Campbell and the Right Rev. Duncan Gray Jr., both now gone, are two of many heroes from that tumultuous time.
Today, there are new heroes. Like members of The Daily Mississippian Editorial Board at Ole Miss.
We should heed their wise words.
leslie.criss@journalinc.com
–––––
To read the full text of the DM editorial, visit http://thedmonline.com/dm-staff-editorial/ | http://djournal.com/lifestyle/leslie-criss-daily-mississippian-editorial-suggests-wisdom-enlightenment/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/25144108ee0985607144b7c9cd0f11c1bb3e2eeec0c461fd80da65bee22d2d00.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:50:15 | null | 2016-08-28T07:00:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fdjournal.com%2Fnews%2Ffinding-ways-curb-medicaid-growth-may-toughest-task%2F.json | http://djournal.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/42/files/2014/12/news_djournal_green-130x130.png | en | null | Finding ways to curb Medicaid growth may be toughest task | null | null | djournal.com | By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – Perhaps no task is more daunting for legislators looking for ways to rein in state spending than the budget for the Division of Medicaid.
The “working groups” formed by Lt. Gov. and House Speaker Philip Gunn to look at state spending issues recently took the first step in dealing with the federal-state Medicaid program.
“How do we reduce the size of the dollars” going to Medicaid, Gunn asked the agency’s executive director, David Dzielak, at a recent hearing of the working group.
“We’re starting in a pretty big hole,” Dzielak replied. “We are 50th in every (health care) category,” meaning Mississippi has a lot of unhealthy people who are placing a drain on the state’s revenue.
That drain has been apparent for a number of years. For more than a decade, legislators and multiple governors have struggled to fund the budget for the Division of Medicaid, a federal-state program that provides health care in Mississippi for the disabled, poor pregnant women, poor children and certain segments of the elderly.
According to a graph presented by Gunn and Reeves, state-support funding for the Division of Medicaid has increased 61 percent since fiscal 2012, from $588.2 million to $948.6 million.
Those numbers, though, appear not to tell the entire picture. According to the fiscal year 2013 budget book published by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee, total state-support funding for the Division of Medicaid in fiscal year 2012 was $763 million or $174.8 million more than represented by Gunn and Reeves, meaning the 61 percent rate of growth is misleading. Still, no one is disputing the fact state spending on Medicaid is one of the fastest-growing areas of state government.
Dzielak said two factors are driving the increase in Medicaid spending. The largest, he said, is simple health care inflation – resulting in 11.6 percent of the 24.1 increase in expenditures Dzielak said has occurred since 2012.
The bulk of the rest of the increase, 9.6 percent, is attributable to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, Dzielak said.
That increase occurred primarily because the method of determining eligibility was changed by the ACA, making more people eligible for Medicaid.
Dzielak said the biggest expenditures for the Division of Medicaid in order are:
• In-patient hospital care
• Long-term care, such as nursing home care, including for the elderly
• Drugs
• Physician reimbursements
Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, said in looking to reduce costs in the program, the Legislature should re-examine which programs the states must offer if they participate in the federal Medicaid program and which are optional. Dzielak said that would be fine, but pointed out providing drugs is an optional service that he said would be a mistake to eliminate.
Bomgar also suggested appropriating a set amount of revenue for the program and, when the funds run out, not provide the deficit appropriation the Legislature normally provides. It is not clear, though, how that would impact the elderly living in nursing homes or the disabled on life-saving treatments.
Rep. Omeria Scott, D-Laurel, suggested changing the law to make it more difficult for people, particularly the elderly, to divest of their property such as homes, by giving them to relatives and then being admitted to a nursing home where all the costs are paid by the Division of Medicaid. The homes could be used to pay part of the costs of the nursing home care, she said.
Dzielak said, in general, it will be difficult too curb costs in the program.
“We need to start educating people about healthy lifestyles and let it be their choice,” he said.
Dzielak said he is hopeful the managed care model the Division of Medicaid is now using helps curb the costs. Under the program, managed care companies are paid a set amount of money to provide all the health care services for Medicaid recipients instead of the agency paying health care providers individually for each service rendered to the recipient.
He said about 65 percent of the recipients are in the managed care program. Dzielak said the recent expansion of the program to in-patient hospital care could have a big impact. The program does not encompass nursing homes at the current time.
The goal is for managed care providers to stress preventive care that is less expensive than providing treatment only when someone gets sick.
“We are looking for them (managed care companies) to be not just case managers, but care mangers,” he said.
Currently, about 772,300 Mississippians are enrolled in the Medicaid program, including 50,000 in the Children’s Health Insurance Program for the children of the working poor. Currently, the federal government pays 74.1 percent of the cost of providing care to Medicaid recipients – the highest match rate in the country – and 100 percent of the costs for CHIP enrollees.
bobby.harrison@journalinc.com
Twitter: @BobbyHarrison9 | http://djournal.com/news/finding-ways-curb-medicaid-growth-may-toughest-task/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | djournal.com/f6565855025e583d82d58c4b003a2660956af5dd1169c868228bbee261e6fad3.json |
[
"Monica Chen",
"Taipei",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Thursday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:37 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825PD205.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PD205.html | en | null | Taiwan PCB production value to rise 8.8% in 3Q16, says IEK | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Taiwan PCB production value to rise 8.8% in 3Q16, says IEK
Monica Chen, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2016]
The production value of PCB products rolled out by Taiwan-based makers in China and Taiwan is expected to grow 8.8% sequentially to NT$144.2 billion (US$4.54 billion) in the third quarter of 2016, according to the Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) of Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
New models released by smartphone vendors including Apple, Huawei, Samsung and Xiaomi will lead to the sequential increase in production value of PCBs produced by Taiwan-based companies in China and Taiwan during the third quarter, said IEK. The production value for third-quarter 2016 will fall 2.9% on year, however.
Production value for the second quarter came to NT$132.5 billion, up 4.2% on quarter. IEK credited the sequential growth to seasonal factors, as well as several firms' focus on non-handset applications.
For all of 2016, the production value of PCBs produced by Taiwan-based companies in China and Taiwan will decline 3.6% on year, due to unfavorable economic conditions and generally weak end-market demand, IEK said.
Many Taiwan-based PCB firms engaged in the supply chain of Apple have experienced on-year revenue decreases since 2016, according to market observers. Zhen Ding Technology Holding and Flexium Interconnect, for example, have both reported lower profits for the first half of 2016 compared to a year ago. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PD205.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/4967d9fa0e355dc3ea524822c5d129d6b970007b3e15f189c1df9c40d0765c43.json |
[
"Edn",
"August",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Thursday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:04:09 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825PB200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PB200.html | en | null | Taiwan supply chain makers to benefit from release of PS4 Neo, PS4 Slim, says paper | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Taiwan supply chain makers to benefit from release of PS4 Neo, PS4 Slim, says paper
EDN, August 25; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2016]
Taiwan-based makers in Sony's PlayStation supply chain, particularly lens maker Kinko Optical and ODMs Foxconn Electronics and Pegatron, will benefit significantly from the planned debut of PS4 Neo and PS4 Slim scheduled on September 7 in New York.
Demand for camera lenses from Kinko, the sole lens supplier for PS4 consoles, is expected to triple in 2016 as it needs more lenses to enable VR (virtual reality) games on PS4 devices, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.
Chicony Power Technology, a major supplier of power supply devices for the new PS4 consoles, is expected to see its revenues grow by a double-digit rate in the third quarter on increasing shipments to Sony, the paper added.
Foxconn and Pegatron, the two ODMs responsible for assembly of the consoles, will also see their revenues moving upward in the second half of 2016, noted the paper.
Shipments of PS4 consoles are expected to reach 22.5 million units in 2016 and further increase to 27.7 million units in 2016, EDN said, citing sources from securities investment houses.
The paper also estimated Sony to ship about 10 million units of PS VR within one year through the fourth quarter of 2017. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PB200.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/04005410d386a3185108f3ad4918e7bfd96fbf99b79b79af9759f55ac8c2a942.json |
[
"Chau-Chin Chang",
"Taipei",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:27 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160828PD204.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160828PD204.html | en | null | Former Simpal executives probed over alleged trade secrets theft | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Former Simpal executives probed over alleged trade secrets theft
Chau-Chin Chang, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
Prosecutors on August 26 raided former Simpal Electronics' offices in Kaohsiung and two former Simpal executives' homes in a probe into suspected theft of business secrets.
According to the Kaohsiung Prosecutors Office, Chipbond Technology initiated the litigation against two former executives of Simpal, now a unit of Chipbond. The two former Simpal employees are being accused of stealing secret information related to Simpal's COF and other new etching-related processes and passing the information to their current employer.
The suspects have been released on bail of NT$1 million (US$31,440) after being questioned by the prosecutors.
A number of executives from Simpal resigned in November 2013 and joined rivals, following Chipbond's acquisition of the company. Chipbond indicated its internal auditing found that several of them intended to collect confidential company information and bring them to their current employers.
Chipbond in late 2013 bought out Simpal for a steady supply of COF substrates that are used to make driver ICs for large-size LCD panels. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160828PD204.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/b8d8d6ca25a9f2b37e23cd759b066363a47edbe7a70696e83a3ad4ef49b13a4e.json |
[
"Irene Chen",
"Las Vegas",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:13 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD206.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD206.html | en | null | Enterprise private, public cloud use on the rise, says VMware CEO | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Enterprise private, public cloud use on the rise, says VMware CEO
Irene Chen, Las Vegas; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
Enterprises' internally operated IT workloads are decreasing due to increasing use of private and public cloud computing services, and the proportion of IT workloads for internal operation will drop from 75% in 2016 to 50% in 2021 and to 19% in 2030, while private clouds will rise to 20% in 2021 and 29% in 2030, and public clouds to 30% and 52% respectively, said VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger at VMworld 2016 taking place in Las Vegas during August 29- September 1.
The number of data centers established by cloud computing service providers in 2016 will for the first time exceed that of datacenters set up by enterprises for own use, reflecting increasing use of public cloud computing services.
Continued maturity of cloud computing environment has led to increasing reliance on cloud computing environment for operating IT workloads. In this respect, public clouds will become mainstream of cloud computing environment. In the past, enterprises set up own-use datacenters to build private clouds possibly in consideration of manageability, controllability and information security. Along with continued development of technology and application, public clouds now have high cost-effective ratios enough to attract enterprise users.
In related news, VMware, at VMworld 2016, unveiled Cross-Cloud Architecture to help make private clouds easy, give customers cloud freedom and control by providing a common operating environment for all clouds, enable customers to manage, govern and secure applications running across public clouds including AWS, Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud. VMware also unveiled Cloud Foundation, a unified SDDC (software-defined data center) platform that makes it easy for customers to manage and run their SDDC clouds. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD206.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/0b970884654a01cf948ed8efa9b3a75155f94268f15a420d672700b50f5c30bc.json |
[
"Aaron Lee",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:50 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160824PD203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PD203.html | en | null | More notebook vendors adopt on-board memory for Apollo Lake-based models | null | null | www.digitimes.com | More notebook vendors adopt on-board memory for Apollo Lake-based models
Aaron Lee, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 24 August 2016]
Notebook vendors have mostly adopted on-board memory designs in place of DIMMs to make their Intel Apollo Lake-based notebooks as slim as possible, according to sources from Taiwan's notebook supply chain.
Meanwhile, the ratio of new notebooks using LPDDR4 has also increased as vendors have continued to make efforts to minimize power consumption, improve performance, while prolonging battery life, said the sources.
Acer has two new ultra-thin notebooks, the Aspire S 15 and S 17, both featuring a thickness of less than 17mm, which it will showcase at September's IFA show, indicated the sources.
Other vendors, including Lenovo, Asustek Computer, HP and Dell are also expected to focus on ultra-thin notebooks and 2-in-1 models for the second half of 2016, added the sources.
Shipments of Intel's 14nm Apollo Lake CPUs, which feature low-power consumption, high performance and reduced sizes, will gain more momentum in the fourth quarter of 2016 as demand from notebook vendors has been picking up, said the sources. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PD203.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/f37293a0ac8f32c6f968c35d398b4f334b7e44bd73160af330f3fe8957f3d4e3.json |
[
"Cage Chao",
"Taipei",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T08:48:54 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PD206.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD206.html | en | null | Demand set to boom for iris- and face-recognition chips for smartphones | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Demand set to boom for iris- and face-recognition chips for smartphones
Cage Chao, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Demand for iris- and face- recognition chips for smartphones is expected to surge encouraging more China- and Taiwan-based fabless firms to step into the field, according to industry sources.
Fujitsu and Samsung Electronics have both introduced their flagship smartphones with embedded iris scanners for 2016, while smartphone and other mobile-device vendors are looking to bring facial recognition technology to their devices. The integration of biometric sensors into smartphones and other consumer technology devices has become a trend.
China- and Taiwan-based IC design houses have expanded their presence in the fingerprint sensor sector, and are eyeing the huge potential of other biometric sensor segments, the sources indicated. Anticipating booming demand particularly for iris- and face-recognition chips, they are looking to catch the upcoming wave.
Pixart Imaging is expected to be among the first China- and Taiwan-based players capable of rolling out related solutions. Pixart has already submitted applications for technology patents related to iris recognition and eye tracking control in the US, said the sources, adding that the Taiwan-based IC design house is set to launch related solutions as early as 2017. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD206.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/b7db120193fe706149f477a82c713b5fd195b9cc3da79e8951f19e1ca8a1eb7c.json |
[
"Mops",
"August",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:36 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PM200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PM200.html | en | null | LandMark Optoelectronics expects sequential fall in 3Q16 revenues | null | null | www.digitimes.com | LandMark Optoelectronics expects sequential fall in 3Q16 revenues
MOPS, August 26; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Laser diode and photo detector epitaxial wafer maker LandMark Optoelectronics, in view of clients' adjusting inventories, expects consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2016 to slip 10-20% on quarter, the company said at an August 25 investors conference.
LandMark posted consolidated revenues of NT$644 million (US$20.1 million), gross margin 63.35%, operating profit NT$361 million, net profit NT$290 million and net EPS NT$4.15 for the second quarter of 2016, leading to consolidated revenues of NT$1.269 billion, gross margin 65.64%, operating profit NT$732 million, net profit NT$601 million and net EPS NT$8.60 for the first half of the year. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PM200.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/080fb6a78d150fafd59a4c01ed846fd554184c27fef2cfb16c9720775cc3d58c.json |
[
"Hsiao Ching-Ching",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T08:48:44 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD200.html | en | null | Coolpad looks to make a turnaround, says paper | null | null | www.digitimes.com | China market: Coolpad looks to make a turnaround, says paper
Hsiao Ching-ching, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
China-based smartphone vendor Coolpad has recently launched a new model, the Coolpad Cool 1, aiming to ship a total of 50-60 million smartphones in 2016 and over 100 million units in 2017, according to a Chinese-language China Business News (CBN) report.
The Cool 1 is the first model launched after TV vendor LeEco became Coolpad's largest shareholder with a controlling stake of 28.9% in June, said the paper.
The Coolpad Cool 1 features a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, dual 13-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel front camera with 3GB or 4GB RAM.
The Cool 1 is also the first Coolpad smartphone to run LeEco's EUI 5.6 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Coolpad and LeEco will integrate deeply and also cooperate mutually on R&D efforts, intellectual proprietary property and supply chains, as well as using online and retail chains to promote sales, said the paper, citing Coolpad's president Li Bin.
But, judging from Coolpad's recent performance, it will be difficult for the vendor to reach its goal, CBN commented.
Coolpad announced in July that it expects to post a net loss of HK$2.05 billion (US$264.31 million) for the first half of 2016. Furthermore, its smartphone sales dropped 41.1% in 2015 and declined another 40% on year in the first half of 2016.
Coolpad currently ranks as the tenth largest smartphone vendor with a 2.6% share in the China market, according to China-based Sino Market Research. In 2015, Coolpad was the number one 4G smartphone vendor with a 23.1% share. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD200.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/78950963f59b265d53fb851f4a219c618aa66264d93c2589937e5c04b87b4569.json |
[
"Rebecca Kuo",
"Taipei",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:14 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825PD201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PD201.html | en | null | OLED unlikely to replace LCD, says Innolux chairman | null | null | www.digitimes.com | OLED unlikely to replace LCD, says Innolux chairman
Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
While there is short global supply of OLED panels for smartphones and Samsung Display is expanding production capacity for such panels, TFT-LCD panel maker Innolux is skeptical of the possibility that OLED will replace LCD to become mainstream display panels, according to Innolux chairman and CEO Wang Jyh-chau.
OLED cannot replace LCD in terms of performance-cost ratio and reliability, Wang explained. In addition, other new display technologies, such as Micro LED, are being developed, Wang said.
In response to market speculation that Apple will adopt OLED for its new iPhone to be launched in 2017, Innolux vice president and mobile product general manager Yang Hung-wen indicated that in order for product differentiation, Apple is likely to do so but it is uncertain whether it will be on a long-term basis, especially when Apple is developing Micro LED on its own.
There is market niches for OLED, particularly for use in smartphones, smart wearable and VR (virtual reality) devices, due to lower production cost than that for LTPS TFT-LCD panels, according to AU Optronics (AUO)chairman and CEO Paul Peng.
For TV applications, however, it is difficult for OLED to compete with LCD because production cost is much higher and performance is roughly equal, Peng explained.
As for Micro LED, Peng indicated it entails less capital investment than LCD but involves difficulties in manufacturing process. Therefore, it is too early to determine the prospect of Micro LED, Peng said. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PD201.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/134c104b30673b7583c3069e4940bde1fd19458250ea30888b68f20cc76f9110.json |
[
"Press Release",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:03 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD207.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD207.html | en | null | NVM IP provider eMemory unveils new MTP solution for RFID and NFC chips | null | null | www.digitimes.com | NVM IP provider eMemory unveils new MTP solution for RFID and NFC chips
Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
Embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) IP provider eMemory Technology has unveiled an ultra-low power embedded logic multiple-times programmable (MTP) solution, EcoBit technology. The EcoBit IP is ideal for RFID or NFC IC designs operating under strict power constraints, the company said.
Because contactless ICs source far less power from electromagnetic carrier waves, power consumption is undoubtedly a key concern for eNVM, eMemory indicated. EcoBit boasts a first-class design for operating current management and can carry out on-chip or in-system writing with a low power consumption that is measured in micro-Watts (uW). EcoBit fully meets the low-power requirements of passive RFID and NFC ICs operating on limited power supplies, the company said.
In addition, design flexibility is enhanced by enabling eMemory's EcoBit IP to work across a wide voltage domain in order to achieve low operation voltage for both read and write operations, the company noted. Besides, EcoBit technology is implemented in logic compatible process without additional mask or process changes, which lowers barriers to adoption by IC design teams, the company said.
The eMemory EcoBit IP has been verified in 0.11-micron logic and low-power process platforms, the company indicated. The EcoBit IP is available in both platforms to be embedded in customer products, the company said. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD207.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/3cfdb46b4365dd4d34c553ab7a06aad0967a6ed65bfa038872e563bb48f74500.json |
[
"Alexandria Chou",
"Taipei",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:01:37 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160824PD204.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PD204.html | en | null | Taiwan FTC approves acquisition of HMI by ASML | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Taiwan FTC approves acquisition of HMI by ASML
Alexandria Chou, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 24 August 2016]
Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the planned acquisition of Taiwan-based Hermes Microvision (HMI) by Netherlands-based ASML, stating the deal complies with fair trade rules and regulations set by the government.
ASML's semiconductor lithography equipment and HMI's electron beam (e-beam) inspection tools are applied to different stages of manufacturing, and therefore cannot be substituted for each other, the FTC said. The motive of the merger is diversification, it concluded.
ASML has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of HMI for about NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion). The transaction will entitle each HMI shareholder to receive NT$1,410 per share in cash.
Also as part of the deal reached between ASML and HMI, Hermes-Epitek (HEC), HMI's largest shareholder, and certain HMI officers will use part of the proceeds from the sale of their HMI shares to subscribe to 5.9 million new ASML shares at NT$3,106 per share via private placement.
ASML's HMI acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PD204.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/b8dd175e6ab15fb6b6f5d8ebf5dc3f3539212bb57ebb8189249743013d93a9d2.json |
[
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:56 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PB201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PB201.html | en | null | Quartz, SAW filter maker Tai-Saw to see revenues grow by double-digit rate in 2016 | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Quartz, SAW filter maker Tai-Saw to see revenues grow by double-digit rate in 2016
Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Friday 26 August 2016]
Quartz component and SAW (surface-acoustic-wave) filter maker Tai-Saw Technology expects its revenues to post single-digit growth in the third quarter of 2016 and a double-digit growth for the year, according to chairman Huang Yu-tong.
Demand for smartphone-use SAW filters will drive revenue growth in the second half of the year, Huang said.
Tai-Saw and its Korea-based strategic partner Sawnics will have combined capacity of 80 million SAW filters by the end of 2016, Huang indicated.
The company's stock price gained NT$0.30 to close at NT$27.35 on the Taiwan's OTC securities market during the August 26 session. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PB201.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/ff8606c5b17e0a413858ace075e73c946c644474e4be1fde2461df33835b274b.json |
[
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T04:48:51 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160829VL201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829VL201.html | en | null | Kingston becomes largest shareholder of OSE | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Kingston becomes largest shareholder of OSE
Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Memory module vendor Kingston Technology has obtained additional shares of Orient Semiconductor Electronics (OSE) transferred from OSE founder and chairman Eugene CY Duh and his wife Mei-Shou Yang, and become the largest shareholder of the Taiwan-based packaging and testing company.
Kingston's stake in OSE climbed to 14.98% from 8.22%, after acquiring the additional 54,405,813 OSE shares for NT$15 (US$0.47) each, according to a report by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA).
OSE has responded saying Kingston has been its key customer and strategic shareholder. Kingston has promised not to be involved in OSE's operations after taking over the shares held by Duh and Yang, and will support OSE's management team, OSE said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).
Duh has also resigned as OSE's chairman and president immediately after the share disposal, OSE said.
OSE closed at NT$13.95 on the TSE on August 29, up NT$0.25 or 2%. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829VL201.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/65c742b27c94bd74a782d632ab580f504e4d8fb72e1ef937f2468be0272d8716.json |
[
"Press Release",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:08:17 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160824PR202.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PR202.html | en | null | TowerJazz and SMIC sales to surge in 2016, says IC Insights | null | null | www.digitimes.com | TowerJazz and SMIC sales to surge in 2016, says IC Insights
Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 24 August 2016]
Israel-based TowerJazz and China-based SMIC among the world's top-10 pure-play foundries are forecast to display the highest sales growth in 2016, IC Insights said in a new report.
In 2014, the pure-play IC foundry market registered a strong 17% increase, the largest increase since 2010 and 8pp greater than the 9% increase in the worldwide IC market, IC Insights said. In 2015, the pure-play foundry market showed a 6% increase, about one-third the rate of growth in the previous year, but 7pp higher than the total IC market growth rate of negative 1%.
For 2016, the pure-play foundry market is expected to increase by 9% and greatly outperform the growth rate of total IC market, which is forecast to drop by 2%, IC Insights indicated.
The world's top-10 pure-play foundries are expected to hold 95% of the total pure-play foundry market in 2016, IC Insights said. The "Big 4" pure-play foundries (i.e., TSMC, Globalfoundries, UMC and SMIC) are forecast to hold an imposing 84% share of the total worldwide pure-play IC foundry market in 2016.
TSMC is expected to hold a 58% market share in 2016, down 1pp from 2015, when its sales are forecast to increase by US$2.1 billion on year, IC Insights said. Globalfoundries, UMC and SMIC's combined share is expected to be 26% this year, the same as in 2015.
The two top-10 pure-play foundry companies that are forecast to display the highest growth rates in 2016 are Israel-based TowerJazz and China-based SMIC, with 30% and 27% sales increases, respectively, IC Insights said. TowerJazz is expected to grow from US$505 million in sales in 2013 to US$1,245 million in 2016 (a 35% CAGR) while SMIC is forecast to more than double its revenues from 2011 (US$1,220 million) to 2016 (US$2,850 million) and register a 19% CAGR over this five-year time period.
Eight of the top-10 pure-play foundries are based in the Asia-Pacific region. Israel-based TowerJazz, and U.S.-headquartered Globalfoundries are the only non-Asia-Pacific companies in the top-10 group. While LFoundry is currently headquartered in Avezzano, Italy, China-based SMIC agreed in second-quarter 2016 to purchase 70% of the company for approximately US$55 million. Since LFoundry has an installed capacity of 40,000 200mm wafers/month, the acquisition of a controlling interest in the company essentially serves to immediately expand SMIC's capacity by 13% in 2016.
Although SMIC is forecast to register strong sales growth of 27% in 2016, China-based foundries, in total, are expected to hold only 8.2% of the pure-play foundry market in 2016, down 5.1pp from the peak share of 13.3% reached in 2006 and 2007. IC Insights believes that the total China-based company share of the pure-play foundry market will increase through 2020, as the China-based foundries take advantage of the huge amount of government and private investment that will be flowing into China's semiconductor market infrastructure over the next five years. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PR202.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/39099d46db9dade4dd25510195daab0fb085c649d26b348cddc9dadcc79c3052.json |
[
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:21 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160824PB201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PB201.html | en | null | HTC to take part in TGS 2016 | null | null | www.digitimes.com | HTC to take part in TGS 2016
Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Wednesday 24 August 2016]
HTC will participate in Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2016 for the first time to showcase its Vive head-mounted VR device. The four-day game show will start on September 15.
In addition to allowing show visitors to try on the Vive, HTC will also highlight VR content products from its partners, including Valve, Square Enix, Bandai Namco and Colopl Next during the exhibition, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN).
Meanwhile, HTC has begun selling the Vive in a total of 36 retail shops operated by game operators, including Dospara, Tsukumo and Unitcom, respectively, in Japan. The number of retail shops will increase to 45 by the end of 2016, said the paper. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PB201.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/f08ebb3344f87bcb0fc210cdd006ca5e135276adeac9ef12b908807415ef80b7.json |
[
"Jim Hsiao",
"Digitimes Research",
"Taipei",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T08:48:46 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD205.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD205.html | en | null | Worldwide tablet shipments drop to 40 million units in 2Q16 | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Digitimes Research: Worldwide tablet shipments drop to 40 million units in 2Q16
Jim Hsiao, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Worldwide tablet shipments dropped 9.4% sequentially and 13.2% on year to reach only around 40 million units in the second quarter of 2016. This was due to overall weak demand for tablets; seasonality; dropping sales of Wi-Fi-only tablets, tablets with phone functionality and 2-in-1 devices; and shortages for key components such as panels.
Digitimes Research originally expected the release of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro to raise Apple's tablet shipments sequentially in the second quarter, but the volume turned out to drop 4% sequentially and reached only 9.6 million units in the quarter because the 9.7-inch iPad Pro took a lot more demand from its 12.85-inch counterpart than expected, while Apple also stopped producing the iPad Air in the quarter.
Among the three major camps, white-box players performed the weakest in the second quarter. With more large-size independent design houses (IDH) quitting the market plus shortages of components including panels, memory and processors, white-box players saw their combined shipments drop to a new low at 13.8 million units in the second quarter.
Non-Apple first-tier vendors' inexpensive tablets were mostly released in the second quarter, but combined shipments were down 7.1% sequentially to reach only 16.98 million units as product differentiation, number of models, and price competitiveness were all inferior to in 2015.
Samsung Electronics was the largest vendor in the camp in the second quarter, but its new tablets launched in the quarter did not help its shipments grow from the first. Amazon maintained strong shipment performance in the second quarter slightly surpassing Lenovo to rank second. Lenovo and Huawei ranked three and four.
As for Taiwan-based ODMs, combined shipments also reached to a new low at 13.52 million units in the second quarter since orders for iPads and Microsoft Surface products were down from a quarter ago. Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Compal Electronics were the largest and the second largest tablet ODMs in the quarter, with shipment shares both up from a quarter ago thanks stable orders from US-based clients. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD205.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/79d589e8390defdb267c47d1627a100e50274423d3806e210d57dfc695bc5d19.json |
[
"Siu Han",
"Taipei",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:07 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD208.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD208.html | en | null | Smartphone vendors likely to follow Samsung to adopt IR LED-based iris recognition | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Smartphone vendors likely to follow Samsung to adopt IR LED-based iris recognition
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Samsung Electronics took the initiative to adopt iris recognition based on infrared LEDs for its flagship Galaxy Note 7 and other smartphone vendors, especially China-based ones, are watching the market response with an eye to following suit, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.
While Germany-based Osram Licht AG currently dominates global supply of IR LED chips used in iris recognition, China- and Taiwan-based LED chip makers are poised to have products in certification as soon as the fourth quarter of 2016, the sources said.
In addition to iris recognition, IR LED chips can be used for facial recognition and biometric sensing such as physiological measurement functions in smart wearables, the sources indicated, therefore, China- and Taiwan-based LED chip makers expect demand for IR chips to take off in 2017.
IR LED chips are produced using MOCVD sets to produce AlGaInP LED chips, the sources said. Currently, prices for IR LED chips are about five times those of blue-light LEDs, the sources noted.
Taiwan-based LED chip maker Epistar has AlGaInP MOCVD sets taking up one-sixth of all MOCVD sets and a revenue proportion of 25-30% currently, the company indicated. Epistar has cooperated with Taiwan-based IC design houses to offer iris-recognition sensor modules, with shipments to begin in the second half of 2016, the company noted. IR LED chips account for about 10% of AlGaInP LED chips at present and the proportion is expected to rise to 30% in 2018, Epistar indicated. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD208.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/f4f03002746f78c0b247ec87608fb979142b1ac1cafaf3da07ee126db00e800c.json |
[
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:12 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160819VL202.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160819VL202.html | en | null | TV panels shipments up in July, says WitsView | null | null | www.digitimes.com | TV panels shipments up in July, says WitsView
Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Monday 29 August 2016]
Global LCD TV panels reached 22.80 million units in July, increasing 5% sequentially and 2.2% on year, according to WitsView.
Samsung Display will shut down its L7-1 fab at the end of this year, but before that the fab's capacity will be fully loaded, with its 40-inch panel output expected to reach 1.5-1.6 million units monthly from July to November. WitsView expects Samsung Display's supply of 40-inch TV panels for next year will be almost 70% lower than that of this year due to the closing of L7-1.
Global LCD TV panel shipments in the third quarter are expected to increase 8-9% sequentially, WitsView noted.
WitsView: Major makers' LCD TV panel shipments, Jul 2016 (m units) Company Shipments M/M LG Display 4.485 5.7% Samsung Display 4.46 11.5% BOE 4.00 (1.0%) Innolux 3.49 1.8% CSOT 2.856 9.1% AUO 2.26 0.8%
Source: WitsView, compiled by Digitimes, August 2016 | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160819VL202.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/93a12008d600ac52bb9c1a4622aa00483e698a5a3f3eae1397cbbc2be6d31844.json |
[
"Julian Ho",
"Tokyo",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:01 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PD204.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/20160826PD204_files/1_r.jpg | en | null | SPIL chairman calls for more open government policy | null | null | www.digitimes.com | SPIL chairman calls for more open government policy
Julian Ho, Tokyo; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Packaging and testing company Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) chairman Bough Lin has urged Taiwan's government to create a more open investment environment for China-based IC companies since China will play a critical role in the world's IC manufacturing business over the next 10 years.
Taiwan should allow its IC industry to build a closer tie with its China-based counterpart by easing restrictions on investment from China in order to move forward, Lin indicated.
In addition to being a major market for semiconductors, China will also become the world's IC-making hub, Lin said. Though Taiwan remains ahead of China in terms of IC manufacturing, China-based players are aggressively enhancing their technological capability and expanding, Lin warned.
China's fabless IC sector has already surpassed Taiwan's in output value, and will continue to expand, Lin noted. Meanwhile, China-based system vendors have grown their brand awareness worldwide, Lin said.
Lin also commented that Taiwan-based chip firms are expected to work more closely with their Japan-based materials partners. For SPIL, though revenues generated from the Japan market account for only 1-2% of its total revenues, Japan is SPIL's important source of chipmaking materials, Lin said.
In response to recent rumors indicating China-based Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics (NFME) is mulling a takeover of Amkor Technology, Lin said the China market is big enough to accommodate 3-4 major backend service providers. With its huge domestic market and government being very supportive of local industries, it is logical to expect China-based players would intend to invest in its larger rivals, Lin indicated.
For SPIL, the company has entered into a merger agreement with Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE). The pair has submitted applications with anti-trust authorities in China, Taiwan, the US and others seeking approval for their proposed merger slated for completion by the fourth quarter of 2017.
SPIL chairman Bough Lin
Photo: Julian Ho, Digitimes, August 2016 | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD204.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/0c589f23518412c7166c05d0c429157a8a3e3dedff40324ed0d4ab54f962deb7.json |
[
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:09 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PM201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PM201.html | en | null | Mirle develops forming equipment for 3D curved glass chassis, says report | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Mirle develops forming equipment for 3D curved glass chassis, says report
Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
Mirle Automation has developed forming equipment for 3D curved glass chassis, and reportedly entered the supply chain for the 2017 iPhone series, according to a recent Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
Mirle has obtained orders for the newly-developed equipment from Foxconn Technology and Lens Technology with shipments scheduled to kick off in the fourth quarter of 2016, the report indicated, without citing its source.
Mirle has issued a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) saying it was not the source of the report.
Foxconn Technology's glass chassis has recently gone through verification by Apple, and the Taiwan-based firm is expected to join Bern Optics and Lens Technology in supplying 3D curved glass chassis for the 2017 series of iPhone, according to the report. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PM201.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/f1127f2304a8d9b4a3a1ddbfbf5ee625452c57495f657ca60e14b31ec627b4fc.json |
[
"Sammi Huang",
"Taipei",
"Joseph Tsai",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T04:48:35 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160829PD203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829PD203.html | en | null | Vendors to shift away more orders from BYD | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Vendors to shift away more orders from BYD
Sammi Huang, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Asustek Computer and Huawei are expected to shift more of their existing orders for notebooks and smartphones away from China-based BYD, which is having a difficult time fulfilling its promises in product quality and shipment schedule to the clients, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
The sources added that these orders are expected to be shifted to Taiwan-based ODMs including Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Pegatron Technology and Quanta Computer.
However, these companies declined to comment on their orders.
The sources pointed out that Foxconn has been aggressively looking to further tighten its partnership with Huawei and the China-based vendor is likely to outsource more orders to Foxconn due to BYD's issues.
Although China-based makers have advantages in costs, issues over quality and delivery schedules are starting to prompt clients to resume their partnerships with Taiwan-based makers.
Asustek is planning to shift its notebook orders back to Taiwan ODMs, but some of its smartphone orders are expected to stay with China-based makers since the company's smartphones are mainly targeting the entry-level market and cutting costs is still the priority, the sources added. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829PD203.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/2de7d55ecd38181df6f21424bd9f1fbd07736d5368cf7a293bc69c91d848bb95.json |
[
"Nuying Huang",
"Taipei",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:22 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160827PD200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160827PD200.html | en | null | Formosa Sun Energy wins EPC contract for setting up 4MWp rooftop PV systems in southern Taiwan | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Formosa Sun Energy wins EPC contract for setting up 4MWp rooftop PV systems in southern Taiwan
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
Formosa Sun Energy has won an open-bid project from the government of Chiayi City, southern Taiwan, to set up rooftop PV systems with total installation capacity of 4MWp in the city, according to the company.
The rooftop PV systems will be established on 38 buildings in 19 municipal organizations as well as public elementary and junior high schools. Completion and on-grid connection is scheduled for mid-2017, Formosa Sun Energy said.
Formosa Sun Energy focuses on PV systems established on roofs belonging to local governments and public schools around Taiwan, with total installation capacity expected to reach 15MWp at the end of 2016 and 20MWp in the second quarter of 2017. In line with the Taiwan government's plans to boost PV power generation, Formosa Sun Energy will step into PV power-generating stations. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160827PD200.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/a4aa8e9096e3d565b92606d606645548006668109789609cc5fb2956af42df87.json |
[
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T04:48:38 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160829VL200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829VL200.html | en | null | SSD adoption in notebooks to top 50% in 2018, says DRAMeXchange | null | null | www.digitimes.com | SSD adoption in notebooks to top 50% in 2018, says DRAMeXchange
Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
DRAMeXchange has maintained its estimate given earlier in 2016 that the adoption of SSDs in notebooks would exceed 30% in 2016. The proportion is forecast to reach 56% in 2018, according to the research firm.
Prices for client-grade SSDs in the PC-OEM market have stabilized for the first time in a year during the third quarter of 2016, said DRAMeXchange, adding that the average contract prices of MLC- and TLC-based products respectively rose 0-0.5% and 0-1% compared with the prior quarter.
In the second quarter, notebook shipments worldwide registered an 8.2% sequential increase, while SSD shipments for notebooks grew 24% on quarter, DRAMeXchange indicated. The adoption of SSDs in notebooks reached 32-33% in the second quarter, when shipments of client-grade SSDs arrived at 28.3% million units representing sequential growth of 15-20%.
SSD shipments to the channel market also enjoyed sequential growth of 12% in the second quarter, though prices for TLC flash memory rose substantially on tight chip supply, DRAMeXchange said.
Looking into the third quarter, the overall supply of NAND flash memory will fall short of demand, while prices for TLC flash chips will stay high. DRAMeXchange forecast the total client-grade SSD shipments for the quarter will increase only 2-3% sequentially.
In addition, 3D-NAND flash for mainstream client-grade SSDs will be based on the TLC architecture. "3D-NAND flash based on the MLC architecture is not as competitive in terms of production cost, so its market share in the overall 3D-NAND flash market will be small," said Alan Chen, senior manager of DRAMeXchange. "Its application will also be limited to high-end storage products."
In the SSD interface market, major PC OEMs has just started to adopt PCIe in the second half of 2016. Meanwhile, most demand coming from the channel market is still for SATA3, DRAMeXchange indicated. SATA3 will remain as the popular interface type for client-grade SSDs in 2016, when PCIe accounts for only 20% of the client-grade SSD market, DRAMeXchange said. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829VL200.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/9c71ab9724386785ce44f08530c43404dbc21a11a6cf98848c237aa766ec8795.json |
[
"Rebecca Kuo",
"Taipei",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Thursday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:58 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825PD202.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/20160825PD202_files/1_r.jpg | en | null | Innolux, AUO chairmen urge government to financially support panel makers | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Innolux, AUO chairmen urge government to financially support panel makers
Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2016]
Innolux chairman Wang Jyh-chau and AU Optronics (AUO) chairman Paul Peng, on the occasion of Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen's visit to Touch Taiwan 2016 on August 24, called for government help for local LCD panel makers to raise funds needed to maintain international competitiveness.
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Tsai said that the flat display panel industry is a pillar of Taiwan's economy, for it creates large production value and a large number of jobs. Taiwan's panel industry ranks second in production value among all countries' and therefore deserves continued investment, Tsai added.
China-based panel makers, Korea's Samsung Display and LG Display as well as Japan Display have been financially assisted by their governments, but Taiwan-based makers and have not enjoyed similar support, Wang said urging the government to provide financial backing.
Mainly because of the restriction that a single bank's loans offered to panel makers cannot exceed 15% of its net asset value, Taiwan-based panel makers feel it quite difficult to secure lending from banks, Peng said. AUO hopes the government can remove the restriction, Peng noted.
President Tsai Ing-wen (center) and AUO chairman Paul Peng (right)
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, August 2016 | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PD202.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/9b1c069d449820f2230e1e5b6c8be6d92550dd7836ba33625bc0bce54a4d5673.json |
[
"Monica Chen",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:59:50 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PD207.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD207.html | en | null | Asustek to struggle to reach 2016 smartphone shipment target | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Asustek to struggle to reach 2016 smartphone shipment target
Monica Chen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Asustek Computer will struggle to attain its revised goal of shipping 25 million smartphones in 2016 due to strong competition it faces from local vendors in China, as well as from China- and India-based vendors in India, according to industry sources.
The company lowered its 2016 shipment target from 30 million units to 25 million units in February due to a delay in launch of new models.
Having just begun ramping up shipments of its new ZenFone 3 series products in August, the primary goal of Asustek's smartphone business units is now to pursue profits rather than to achieve its shipment target, company CEO Jerry Shen said at its latest investors conference held recently.
Judging from lower than expected performance in the China and India markets, and having shipped only eight million smartphones in the first half of 2016, Asustek is expected to be able to ship up to or slightly over 20 million smartphones in the year, the sources estimated.
Along with Samsung Electronics and Apple, Asustek has seen its share in the China market continue to decline due to keen competition from local vendors including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi Technology and Lenovo, indicated the sources.
While Asustek has been able to ramp up its shipments in India since the beginning of 2016, shipments from local and China-based brands however have been growing at a pace faster than Asustek's, commented the sources.
Asustek shipped two million smartphones in India in 2015 and aims to ramp up shipments to three million in 2016. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD207.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/254d5cd0fbdc418cff7a012286bec701fca84b283eb0d06b058dae7d757124ed.json |
[
"Max Wang",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T08:48:52 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD202.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD202.html | en | null | Former HTC CEO to attend Tokyo Game Show | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Former HTC CEO to attend Tokyo Game Show
Max Wang, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
Peter Chou, former CEO of HTC and currently chairman of Taiwan-based VR (virtual reality) game developer Futuretown, will preside over a product presentation to be held at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2016.
Futuretown plans to unveil several VR games during the presentation, said the company. The TGS 2016 runs from September 15-18.
Two VR games developed by Futuretown - Cloudlands: VR Minigolf and Jeeboman - were selected by Valve as main titles previously. Futuretown also was chosen by Valve as on the top-10 VR developers at GDC in March.
Futuretown has rolled out a number of VR games exclusively for the HTC Vive, according to industry sources. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD202.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/60a7e43691fc839fbc514bd5b8f239f1336d768bc26153cdad90cbd7051e5dcd.json |
[
"Press Release",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:20 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PR201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PR201.html | en | null | MCU market to reach record high revenues through 2020, says IC Insights | null | null | www.digitimes.com | MCU market to reach record high revenues through 2020, says IC Insights
Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
The IC industry's original system-on-chip (SoC) product category - microcontrollers (MCU) - is expected to steadily reach record-high annual revenues through the second half of this decade despite an overall slowdown in unit growth during the next five years, according to IC Insights.
MCU sales barely increased in 2015, rising less than a half percent, to set a new record high of slightly more than US$15.9 billion, thanks to a 15% increase in MCU shipments that lifted worldwide unit volumes to an all-time peak of 22.1 billion last year, said IC Insights. Strong unit growth driven by smartcard MCUs and 32-bit designs enabled the MCU market to overcome a 13% drop in the average selling price (ASP) of MCU to a record-low US$0.72 in 2015.
Price erosion - especially in 32-bit MCUs - has weighed down MCU sales growth in three of the last four years, but ASPs are now expected to stabilize and increase slightly in the 2015-2020 forecast period, rising by a CAGR of 1.6% compared to a 7.7% decline between 2010 and 2015.
While ASP erosion is expected to end, MCU unit shipments are forecast to rise at a much lower rate than in the first half of this decade, primarily because of a slowdown in the growth of smartcard MCU and tighter reins on IC inventories for the "next big thing" - the Internet of Things (IoT). IC Insights forecast MCU sales will rise in 2016 to nearly US$16.6 billion, which is a 4% increase from US$15.9 billion in 2015. MCU unit volumes are expected to grow by 2% in 2016 to 22.4 billion, and the ASP for total MCU is forecast to rise 2% this year to US$0.74.
Between 2015 and 2020, MCU sales are projected to grow by a CAGR of 5.5% to nearly US$20.9 billion in the final year of the forecast, IC Insights said. Since the middle 1990s, worldwide MCU sales have grown by a CAGR of 2.9%.
No downturns are anticipated in MCU sales through 2020, IC Insights noted. Total MCU revenue growth is expected to gradually strengthen between 2016 and 2019 before easing back to a 4% increase in 2020. MCU unit shipments are now projected to grow by a CAGR of 3.9%.
A major factor in slower MCU unit growth through 2020 is the maturing of the smartcard market, which in recent years has accounted for nearly half of MCU shipments and about 15-16% of total revenues, IC Insights said. By 2020, smartcard MCUs are expected to represent 38% of total microcontroller unit shipments and about 12% of sales. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PR201.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/92760d163ade4f2df28fb51952657d4b134939af0b30eed7c20851d431886d37.json |
[
"Julian Ho",
"Taipei",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:16 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160829PD200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/20160829PD200_files/1_r.jpg | en | null | ASE chairman spends NT$1.3 billion to buy company shares | null | null | www.digitimes.com | ASE chairman spends NT$1.3 billion to buy company shares
Julian Ho, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
Jason Chang, chairman for Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), spent a total of about NT$1.3 billion (US$40.9 million) of his own money to buy ASE shares from August 17 to 26.
ASE has responded saying the stake purchase should be considered as purely the behavior of an individual investor.
ASE's SEC filings disclosed that Chang used his own money to acquire 34.3 million ASE shares in the open market during the 10-day period. Chang is already the largest shareholder of ASE.
ASE added Chang is optimistic about ASE's operations in the future and therefore intended to raise its holding in the company.
ASE has entered into a merger agreement with Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL), under which a new company will be established to own both ASE and SPIL. ASE and SPIL will become parallel sibling companies under the new entity, which will trade its shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of ASE and SPIL will all be delisted. The pair has submitted applications with anti-trust authorities in China, Taiwan, the US and others seeking approval for their proposed merger slated for completion by the fourth quarter of 2017.
The proposed merger of ASE and SPIL will create the world's largest IC backend house with a nearly 30% market share, widening the market gap against rival companies including Amkor Technology, and China-based Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), according to Digitimes Research.
ASE Jason Chang has increased his stake in the company
Digitimes file photo | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829PD200.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/09e2c62f02dd9dfcd9a524ad7a0020acc9b2902e1a04d3246ca3f9092da34eba.json |
[
"Yolanda Chuang",
"Taipei",
"Adam Hwang",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:13 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PD203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD203.html | en | null | Google to use renewable energy in Taiwan datacenter | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Google to use renewable energy in Taiwan datacenter
Yolanda Chuang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Google will use renewable energy to power a datacenter in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, central Taiwan, the company's global energy policy and strategy director Marsden Hanna said a forum in Taipei recently.
Google plans to procure renewable energy from new generators instead of existing ones in an attempt to boost development of renewable energy, Hanna said at the New Energy Leadership Forum.
However, because Taiwan's law requires electricity generated by private renewable energy generators be sold to state-run Taiwan Power Company for distribution and not be directly sold to users, Google has been unable to procure the energy yet.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has recommended that Google invest in Taiwan Cement's project to set up a PV power station in the Changhua industrial park and receive direct supply from it. But Google has declined the recommendation because it plans to purely procure rather than invest in generation of renewable energy.
MOEA said it is mulling other ways to help Google.
The Taiwan government aims to hike the proportion of renewable energy to 20% in 2025 and sets 2025 target installation capacities of 20.0GWp for PV power, 1.2GW for terrestrial wind farms, 3.0GW for offshore wind power, 2.15GW for hydraulic power, 813MW for biomass power, and 200MW for geothermal power. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD203.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/b8eef558c1f2837e569c57bf5d1838d933a37ff1232bcba8fa9374864d0c0254.json |
[
"Edn",
"August",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Thursday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:50 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825PB201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PB201.html | en | null | Semi, LCD equipment maker Gallant to see EPS double in 2016, says paper | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Semi, LCD equipment maker Gallant to see EPS double in 2016, says paper
EDN, August 25; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2016]
Semiconductor and LCD equipment supplier Gallant Precision Machining is expected to see its EPS more than double on year to reach NT$3 in 2016, buoyed by improved order visibility, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.
Gallant has seen its order visibility extend to the first half of 2017 as China-based flat panel makers have continued to expand their 8.5G production lines, EDN said.
The company posted an EPS of NT$1.27 in the second quarter of 2016, ramping the EPS of the first half of the year to NT$1.48, compared to NT$1.2 for all of 2015.
Gross margin for the January-June period of 2016 reached 32.14%, a significant improvement from 25.54% of a year earlier.
Accumulated 2016 revenues through July totaled NT$2.357 billion (US$74.196 million), increasing 18.9% from a year ago.
The company's stock price rose NT$1.15 to close at NT$23.70 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) during the August 25 session. The August 25 closing price represented an increase of 73% from the NT$13.70 recorded in mid-May. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825PB201.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/47f9c5a3cefdd89e35f950245bcd44b506895a8cb093f74c007398b0e912597b.json |
[
"Aaron Lee",
"Berlin",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T08:49:05 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160831PD203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PD203.html | en | null | Acer invests in 2 startups to expand cloud-based service business | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Acer invests in 2 startups to expand cloud-based service business
Aaron Lee, Berlin; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
Acer has made investments in two startups as it strives to continue expanding its cloud service business.
Acer has invested in Wi-Fi pet camera maker Pawbo. The interactive wireless pet cameras rolled by Pawbo allow users to monitor, interact with and feed their pets remotely through Acer's cloud-based services.
Acer also committed equity investment in a parking application developer. The application helps drivers to find the nearest parking space available, as well as listing parking rates and business hours.
Acer is expected to showcase applications developed by Pawbo and the parking lot application startups during IFA 2016.
The new investments were implemented by Acer's newly established investment holding company. The holding company has also invested in IT solution and service provider grandPad and announced plans to set up a joint venture with game developer Starbreeze. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PD203.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/ae22b5546c99d7b8003acfc6fd2d0a2454b24e5f7c5d5ceb4e84057d8242cfc0.json |
[
"Max Wang",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Tuesday August"
] | 2016-08-30T08:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160830PD201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD201.html | en | null | HTC speeding up development of Viveport app store | null | null | www.digitimes.com | HTC speeding up development of Viveport app store
Max Wang, Taipei, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 30 August 2016]
HTC has said that it will continue to strengthen the development of its virtual reality app store, Viveport, as a means to foster the HTC Vive ecosystem and to ramp up sales of the Vive.
More than 500 applications are available currently on the Viveport app store, largely hosting non-gaming verticals including education, design, art, social, video, music, sports, health, fashion, travel and shopping, HTC said.
The number of applications is expected to increase to more than 1,000 by the end of 2016 and hopefully to over 10,000 by 2017, HTC added.
Meanwhile, HTC has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China-based Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun) to jointly develop VR content and related VR solutions, while also reducing VR operating costs.
For the promotion of the Vive, HTC will participate in the 4-day Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2016 for the first time to showcase the head-mounted VR device. TGS 2016 starts on September 15. The Vive is currently available at a total of 36 retail shops operated by game operators in Japan.
Shipments of the Vive are expected to reach 500,000-700,000 in 2016, according to an estimate by market watchers. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160830PD201.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/fff166cb939f24fc5d96c4ac50c79e6145c74ed13da854887bfb740afd5b9ea9.json |
[
"Press Release",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:32 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160825VL201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825VL201.html | en | null | Dialog enters GaN market with integrated devices targeting fast charging power adapters | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Dialog enters GaN market with integrated devices targeting fast charging power adapters
Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Dialog Semiconductor has announced its first gallium nitride (GaN) power IC product offering, using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 650-volt GaN-on-Silicon process technology.
The DA8801 together with Dialog's patented digital Rapid Charge power conversion controllers will enable more efficient, smaller and higher power density adapters compared to traditional Silicon field-effect transistor (FET) based designs. Dialog is initially targeting the fast charging smartphone and computing adapter segment with its GaN solutions, where it already enjoys more than 70% market share with its power conversion controllers, the company noted.
Dialog's DA8801 half-bridge integrates building blocks, such as gate drives and level shifting circuits, with 650V power switches to deliver an optimized solution that reduces power losses by up to 50%, with up to 94% power efficiency. The product allows for a seamless implementation of GaN, avoiding complex circuitry, needed to drive discrete GaN power switches.
Dialog's use of GaN technology on its DA8801 half-bridge also allows a reduction in the size of power electronics by up to 50%, enabling a typical 45-watt adapter design to fit into a 25-watt or smaller form factor. This reduction in size will enable true universal chargers for mobile devices.
"The exceptional performance of GaN transistors allows customers to deliver more efficient and compact power adapter designs that meet today's market demands," said Mark Tyndall, SVP corporate development and strategy for Dialog. "Following our success in BCD-based power management ICs (PMICs), as an early GaN innovator, Dialog once again leads the commercialization of a new power technology into high-volume consumer applications."
"As Dialog's strategic foundry partner for power management ICs for many years, we are delighted to have expanded our relationship to collaborate closely in bringing our GaN process to the mainstream consumer market for high volume applications," said Maria Marced, president of TSMC Europe. "Dialog's first GaN product delivers on the promise of GaN while bringing the integration to a higher level."
The DA8801 will be available in sample quantities in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to Dialog. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160825VL201.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/af5a44fb7d33a91476def9ab4886f9bab22eeb93526881a77b737273ba53bcbc.json |
[
"Youlanda Chuang",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T04:49:22 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160831PD201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PD201.html | en | null | HTC to unveil HTC One A9s at IFA 2016, says report | null | null | www.digitimes.com | HTC to unveil HTC One A9s at IFA 2016, says report
Youlanda Chuang, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
HTC is expected to unveil a number of new smartphones at the upcoming IFA 2016, which may include the HTC One A9s, Desire 10 Pro, Desire 10 Lifestyle and two models of Nexus phones, according to a Chinese-language Central News Agency (CNA) report.
The One A9s will come with a 5-inch display as its predecessor the A9 fixed in a metal unibody, and also with upgraded lenses, sensors and flash light. The A9s will also sport a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-end camera.
The Desire 10 Pro will come with high hardware specifications similar to those fixed on flagship models, said the report. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PD201.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/b77b17ba709f9d6b2f584aa58a5dbd5baf172dc83d00bc80a76db8ecfaf25dbf.json |
[
"Edn",
"August",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-29T08:48:18 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160829PB200.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829PB200.html | en | null | Richwave to see revenues up over 10% in 3Q16, says paper | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Richwave to see revenues up over 10% in 3Q16, says paper
EDN, August 29; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
RF component specialist Richwave Technology is expected to see its revenues reach NT$580 million (US$18.29 million) in the third quarter of 2016 compared to NT$523 million recorded in the previous quarter, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.
Increasing demand for Wi-Fi used power amplifiers triggered by rising penetration of 802.11ac will serve as a growth driver for 2016, said the paper, citing company chairman Ma Dai-jun.
Richwave's total shipments of RF components, including Wi-Fi PAs, LTE switches, AAV/DAV devices will total over 800 million units in 2016 compared to 660 million units shipped a year earlier, Ma noted.
Business prospects for 2016 and beyond are also promising as the company's products have entered the supply chain for Japan-based Murata recently, added the paper.
Additionally, the company's EPS is expected to reach NT$1.12 in the third quarter compared to NT$0.82 a quarter earlier.
Richwave posted revenues of NT$1.182 billion in the first seven months of 2016, increasing 25.2% from a year earlier.
The company's stock price edged up NT$0.10 to close at NT$61.70 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) during the August 29 session. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160829PB200.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/c6129af9ff55c3fc5a85ebe4edf090ad400581df072a5af9b0613bbdc34f7c92.json |
[
"Max Wang",
"Taipei",
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Friday August"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:34 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160826PD208.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/20160826PD208_files/1_r.jpg | en | null | Sharp launches Aquos Z2 smartphone | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Taiwan market: Sharp launches Aquos Z2 smartphone
Max Wang, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 26 August 2016]
Sharp has launched its latest smartphone, the Aquos Z2, in the Taiwan market. The device will be available in early September, priced at NT$8,990 (US$284) unlocked.
The Aquos sports a metal-body with 2.5D glass laid on the front. It also features a MediaTek Helio X20 10-core processor, 5.5-inch Full HD touchscreen, 4GB RAM and 32GB ROM, 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. It supports dual-SIM, dual-standby and offers 4G LTE on only one SIM.
It is backed by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery that supports fast charging with MediaTek's Pump Express technology. The 16-megapixel rear camera comes with PDAF and dual-tone LED flash, while the 8-megapixel selfie camera features with f/1.8 aperture and 82-degree wide angle lens.
The Taiwan market is the first leg for Sharp to rekindle sales of its smartphones outside Japan, and the company will use its expertise gained in Taiwan to expand sales in other markets in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, India and Indonesia, according to Steven Yeh, president of Commtiva Technology, Sharp's sales agent in Taiwan.
Sharp launches Aquos Z2 in Taiwan
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, August 2016 | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160826PD208.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/5568ca1977d6a0035c6594cbb820942005b86772d62dcc67b4b3d26692b656a9.json |
[
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-31T08:49:03 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160831PB201.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PB201.html | en | null | Connector maker Alltop posts EPS NT$2.55 for January-July period | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Connector maker Alltop posts EPS NT$2.55 for January-July period
Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Wednesday 31 August 2016]
Connector maker Alltop Technology has reported net profits of NT$44 million (US$1.387 million) for July, expanding earnings for the first seven months of 2016 to NT$167 million, or NT$2.55 per share.
Alltop also reported revenues of NT$173 million for July, increasing 4.21% on month and 41.08% on year. Accumulated 2016 revenues through July totaled NT$1.077 billion, up 18.14% on year.
Increasing connector shipments for server and automobile applications helped ramp up revenues and profits in 2016, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
Non-notebook products are expected to account for 40% of Alltop's total sales in 2016 compared to 30% a year earlier.
The company's stock price climbed NT$7.40 to close at NT$86.20 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) during the August 31 session. Alltop's stock price has rallied almost 300% since the beginning of 2016 when it hovered around NT$21.85. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160831PB201.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/02c6958641e0e5a95519f4061d2282cc379b0fd3a822a7ed95e2b3713e3defb9.json |
[
"Steve Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Taipei",
"Wednesday August"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:05 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160824PB203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PB203.html | en | null | Smartphone sales up slightly in July | null | null | www.digitimes.com | Taiwan market: Smartphone sales up slightly in July
Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Wednesday 24 August 2016]
Sales of smartphones in the Taiwan market totaled 619,000 units in July, increasing 1.9% from the previous month, according to data compiled by local retail channels.
Samsung Electronics ranked the top vendor in terms of sales volume with a 25% share, followed by Asustek Computer 15.8%, HTC 15%, Apple 14.2% and Sony Mobile Communications 8.9%.
In terms of sales value, Apple took the number one title with a 36.8% share, followed by Samsung 23.2%, HTC 11.9%, Sony Mobile 11.4%, and Asustek 7.4%.
Samsung's Galaxy J7 2016 was the top-selling model for the month. The rest of the top-10 best-selling models were the iPhone 6s 64GB, iPhone 6s Plus 64GB, Galaxy J7, Galaxy S7 edge, Amazing X3s (marketed by Taiwan Mobile), HTC Desire 530, Galaxy J5, ZenFone Go TV, and Oppo F1. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160824PB203.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/8235013a6882a268b0707957a64e9f8160c668f3ccb11a77f3cf309675280755.json |
[
"Julian Ho",
"Tokyo",
"Jessie Shen",
"Digitimes",
"Monday August"
] | 2016-08-30T04:48:53 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitimes.com%2Fnews%2Fa20160828PD203.html.json | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160828PD203.html | en | null | TOK steps up investment in Taiwan | null | null | www.digitimes.com | TOK steps up investment in Taiwan
Julian Ho, Tokyo; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Monday 29 August 2016]
Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) is looking to expand its investment in Taiwan, which will become the Japan-based vendor's production hub for the East Asia market, according to the manufacturer of semiconductor and LCD materials and equipment.
TOK's Taiwan branch office was set up in 1998. Headquartered in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, TOK Taiwan became a joint venture between TOK and Chang Chun Petrochemical with the latter company acquiring a 30% stake in the JV.
TOK now has two factories in Miaoli, northern Taiwan. One of the factories located in Tongluo, Miaoli County, started its operation at the end of 2015, the company disclosed.
Taiwan is among TOK's important production sites engaged in mainly providing local IC foundries and backend houses customized solutions, the company said. TOK also has operations in Singapore, Shanghai and Changshu. | http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160828PD203.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.digitimes.com/062ff0ace3c591d64b39795c2ea2118787260ab3e46ae2852e2ba3a125fd5911.json |
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