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The post Marshall Ramsey: Turbidity appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In college football, they are called guarantee games. One university pays another an exorbitant flat fee to play a football game on the road with no return game.

Normally, the home team draws a crowd large enough to easily cover the one-time fee. In theory, the home team also buys an easy victory to pad its record and help it qualify for a bowl game. 

It does not always work out this way, as we shall see.

These games are most common in September before the major conference teams enter their league schedules. 

Southern Miss played a guarantee game Saturday at Miami. Miami paid Southern Miss $1.5 million to play at Hard Rock Stadium. After trailing for much of the first half, the Hurricanes dominated the second half with superior depth and won 30 to 7. That’s how these things usually work. After expenses, Southern Miss cleared $1.375 million. Miami got its victory.

Again, these games are most common this time of the season. Ole Miss bought a victory from Central Arkansas. LSU bought one from Southern University. Ohio State bought one from Arkansas State. Georgia paid Samford well for its 33-0 drubbing. We could go on and on.

But…

This is rich:

• Texas A&M paid Appalachian State $1.5 million to play at College Station. App State flew out of town with the massive check – and a 17-14 victory.
• Notre Dame forked over $1.25 million to Marshall to play at South Bend. You know what happened. The Thundering Herd took the money and also won the game, 26-21.
• Nebraska, which we once referred to as mighty Nebraska, paid Georgia Southern slightly more than $1.4 million to play at Lincoln. Georgia Southern took the money and ran – and passed – to a 45-42 victory that was the last straw for Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who was fired afterward.

Readers who aren’t familiar with college football and its finances might be surprised to learn the exorbitant amounts paid for these guarantee games. In big-time college athletics, it does seem universities from the power conferences play with Monopoly money.

Let’s take it one step further. Nebraska will have to pay Frost $15 million to buy out the remainder of his contract. That’s a lot of zeroes. If Nebraska had waited until Oct. 1 – not quite three more weeks – the buyout would have dropped to $7.5 million.

I did the math. In effect, Nebraska is paying $375,000 per day to fire Scott Frost 20 days before his buyout would have been reduced by half. Like I said, it’s like Monopoly money.

Yes, Scott Frost had to make a lot of mistakes to win only 16 of 47 games in his four-plus seasons at his alma mater. But somebody else had to make a much bigger mistake to hire a guy that you are now paying $15 million not to coach. And now you’ve got to pay somebody several more million to come be your coach.

Let’s take it another step. Clay Helton, the new Georgia Southern coach, still is being paid not to coach Southern Cal. That’s right, USC fired Helton last September after a lopsided loss to Stanford. Southern Cal owed Helton $10 million over the final two years of his contract.

So a coach Southern Cal pays $10 million not to coach led Georgia Southern to a victory that caused Nebraska to pay $15 million to another guy not to coach. That’s $25 million those two football powers are paying people not to coach.

Meanwhile, Georgia Southern – a Sun Belt Conference team just like Marshall and App State – pays Helton $800,000 to coach. Georgia Southern appears to be getting a lot more for its money that Southern Cal did. Yet, he’s the same guy, the same coach.

The moral of this story? 

Not sure there is one other than this: When scheduling these high-dollar guarantee games, athletic directors might want to look at teams outside the Sun Belt.

The post When ‘guarantee games’ backfire: Flipping the script in college football appeared first on Mississippi Today.

State Rep. Chris Bell, part of Jackson’s legislative delegation, discusses the Jackson water crisis and possible solutions both short and long term. Bell said that to find solutions, leaders at all levels need to “check their egos at the door” and work together.

READ MORE: With long-term Jackson water fix in mind, leaders ask the mayor: Where’s your plan?

The post Podcast: Rep. Chris Bell discusses Jackson water crisis solutions appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with author, reporter and playwright Ellis Nassour. Nassour, a native of Vicksburg has lived a colorful life covering celebrities and the entertainment scene.

Author of the book “Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline,” he talks about writing that book, which has been in print for over 40 years now. Nassour discusses Cline’s colorful but short life and the people he interviewed to write it. He also covers his involvement in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and how he observed first-hand the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Nassour dreamed he would write for the “New York Times” and be involved in the entertainment business, both of which he has accomplished. His is an interesting story about making lucky breaks and how hard work can help you live an interesting life.

The post Mississippi Stories: Ellis Nassour appeared first on Mississippi Today.

A clarion call by Gov. Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn and many other Republicans is that Mississippi should emulate Tennessee and eliminate the income tax.

But for at least a brief time, the Tennessee Legislature, exalted in the past by Reeves and Gunn for its position on taxes, has enacted tax policy that often has been opposed by many Mississippi Republicans.

For the entire month August, Tennessee lawmakers eliminated the state’s 4% tax on groceries. Various groups in Mississippi have advocated unsuccessfully for permanently cutting or eliminating the state’s 7% tax on food, which is the highest statewide tax of its kind in the poorest state in the nation.

Mississippi has its own version a sales tax holiday. Mississippians recently got to experience the so-called 2nd Amendment sales tax holiday enacted in 2014 by the Legislature, where the normally 7% levy on guns and other hunting items is lifted for a weekend.

Just to be clear, the Tennessee Legislature eliminated the sales tax on food for a month while the Mississippi Legislature lifted the tax on guns for a weekend.

There has been no holiday or respite in Mississippi from the 7% tax on groceries.

Mississippi does provide on a weekend in July a sales tax holiday on back-to-school items, including clothing and supplies. The sales tax holiday on back-to-school items was an effort, supporters said when it passed in 2009, to provide financial relief to low-wage earners.

But multiple studies by both liberal and conservative groups have called the so-called sales tax holidays bad tax policy. The conservative Tax Foundation found that sales tax holidays “do not promote economic growth or significantly increase consumer purchases.” And various studies have found the holidays do not help the poor because they generally do not have the financial wherewithal to make larger purchases to take advantage of the time-restricted tax break. They are forced to spread out their purchases over an extended period because of their limited income.

“Low-income consumers may be less able to shift their purchases to coincide with the holiday, and some, such as the elderly, might have needs other than the goods offered. Overall, opponents say, sales tax holidays simply shift the timing of consumer purchases,” according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Tennessee’s month-long sales tax holiday on food purchases is a bit different than the average sales tax holiday because of its unusual length and because it provides tax relief on items that everyone must have. Everybody has to have food.

The exemption of the 4% tax on groceries was the Tennessee Legislature’s effort to provide widespread relief in 2022 to offset high inflation. Many states are taking a portion of what is in many cases unprecedented surpluses to provide some sort of rebate (usually direct cash payments) to residents below a certain income level to offset the high inflation. States as diverse as California, Indiana and New Mexico are among the about 20 states providing rebates.

Tennessee opted to do it by enacting the sales tax holiday on food for a month instead of providing the cash rebate.

The Mississippi Legislature, despite a record surplus and unprecedented tax collections, opted not to provide any rebates or short-term tax relief during calendar year 2022. The Legislature did enact a record $500 million tax cut, but it does not begin until January and will be phased in over multiple years. For many Mississippians, they will not receive the benefit of the tax cut until they file their 2022 state income taxes in 2023.

Multi-year efforts to reduce or eliminate the sales tax on food in Mississippi have been unsuccessful. Multiple studies have found that lower income people in Mississippi pay a larger percentage of their income on taxes than do higher wage earners because of the state’s high sales tax, particularly the tax on food. Poor people have to spend a higher percentage of their income to buy a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread than do the wealthy.

A 2021 study by One Voice and the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that the bottom 80% of Mississippians — earning less than $77,500 annually — pay a greater percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do those in the top 20%.

Mississippi had a low income tax rate even before the Legislature during the 2022 session opted to further cut the income tax. On the other hand, Mississippi has one of the highest statewide sales tax rates in the nation and the highest rate on food.

In addition to the sales tax holiday on food, Tennessee also currently has a year-long sales tax holiday on the purchases of gun safes and other gun safety items. Mississippi’s 2nd Amendment sales tax holiday does not cover such safety items.

The post Tennessee exempted taxes on food. Mississippi exempted taxes on guns. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Jean Carson warmly welcomes customers who stop by the Afrikan Art Gallery at 800 North Farish St., a few blocks north of downtown Jackson, through a haze of scented, burning incense, making sure to mention the gallery’s goods are authentic and handmade.

Many items, such as the clothing, are from Ghana, and the wood carvings are from Kenya. The gallery has backpacks for every age in colorful hues and intricate patterns, such as the popular Kente cloth, and “mud cloth,” a Malian cotton cloth dyed using fermented mud. The colors are striking and bold — “a feast for the eyes and a smile for your soul,” said Carson, the manager here.

Before this location, the Afrikan Art Gallery was located near the intersection at Bailey Avenue and Fortification Street. Owner Nyika Ajanaku once operated five businesses in the metro area. Currently, the one store is located in the Jessie Williams Building, a space that’s not only an art gallery, but also a meeting place for book signings, educational seminars and after-school activities for children.

Ajanaku has imported a variety of artwork, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments and wood carvings from Africa. From dashikis to kaftans and sundresses, he has filled his store with everything a customer needs to complete an ensemble and decorate a dwelling.

“I just love it here,” said long-time customer Ada Miller Robinson. “I’ve been coming and buying here for years,” she says, shortly before darting off to help Clemontine Whitaker, a fellow-customer and friend. Both ladies admire a sun dress Robinson models for Whitaker, while Carson tends to a family browsing the jewelry cases.

Ajanaku has been a mainstay in the area for 49 years. His advertising for the gallery reads: “Where the Afrikan image is everything!”

The post This art gallery brings Africa to the ‘City With Soul’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In the latest Data Dive, we take a look at the risks facing the United States as climate change worsens and which states could see the most danger. SafeHome.org gathered climate data from research group Climate Central to develop the Climate Change Risk Index, which weighs five central effects of climate change — extreme heat, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding and inland flooding — by their likelihood of worsening by state. Higher numbers represent higher risks.

View the data:

Southern states as a region are currently facing the highest likelihood of increasing side-effects of climate change, with Mississippi being one of the top five most at-risk. The average Risk Index of each region of the country is:

• Northeast — 123
• Midwest — 147
• West — 166
• South — 229

These numbers represent the average Climate Change Risk Index of the states in a region, meaning, for example, that a Southern state typically has a score of around 229, higher than the national average of 174.

According to SafeHome.org's data, Mississippi has the highest percentage of its population vulnerable to extreme heat at 4%, and the state could see an increase of dangerously hot days as high as 111 days of the year. And between 2000-2050, Mississippi could also see a 140% increase in summer droughts and a 21-day increase in the number of days with high wildfire potential. Fifty-seven percent of the state's population is at an elevated risk of wildfire.

Floods and droughts are reaching record severity across the country, signaling a future in which the effects of climate change continue to expose glaring infrastructure issues at the cost of the citizens most directly affected by disaster.

READ MORE: ‘The wall people are running into’: For JSU student, city water crisis highlights limitation of government

Jackson's water crisis recently culminated in a city-wide system failure that left thousands with little to no running water, exacerbating an already-present boil water notice that is still currently in effect. After a week of what the Federal Emergency Management Agency officially declared a disaster on August 30, water was eventually restored to all Jackson residents.

The root cause of the water crisis is the result of years of administrative issues, financial issues, maintenance issues and more, but the most immediate problem that created the recent water system failure was the flooding of the Pearl River by heavy rainfall.

Mississippi is also at risk of elevated coastal flooding, with 2.5% of the population affected. Although one of the ten highest percentages, other Southern states like Florida and Louisiana have at-risk population percentages of 16.7% and 20.4%, respectively.

The post Data Dive: Southern states likely to face highest risks of climate change appeared first on Mississippi Today.

For the second time this year, Hinds County officials have asked a federal judge to lessen or end court oversight of the county jail and had their request rejected. 

U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves denied the county’s motion to stay its new injunction order – a scaled back version of the consent decree the county had since 2016, according to documents filed in the Southern District of Mississippi. 

He said violence and constitutional violations are “current and ongoing” at the jail. Reeves also mentioned a recent court monitor report that suggests the county doesn’t intend to comply with the injunction order or the previous consent decree.

“As the United States aptly put it, the court is being ‘gas-lighted,’” Reeves wrote in a Sept. 2 order. “No more.”

Continuing remedial efforts will lead to more confrontations, delays and serious harm to people detained at the jail, he said. 

Reeves put the injunction in place in April in response to the county’s request to modify the consent decree in January and after weeks of hearings in February and March. During the hearings, the county’s attorneys argued the consent decree asked too much and hindered progress. 

But months later, the same attorneys have argued the new injunction “micromanages the day-to-day operations of (the jail), and is cost prohibitive,” according to court documents. 

The county filed a request to stay the injunction in July pending an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Reeves said under the new injunction, the county has greater control of the jail than it did with the previous order. But the county still needs to correct constitutional violations and meet minimum standards, he said. 

In July, Reeves determined federal receivership was the only way to bring the Hinds County jail into compliance and address a number of issues.  

The county pushed back against receivership during the hearings earlier in the year and in recent court filings. 

Reeves is set to appoint a receiver by Nov. 1 and choose from three candidates proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The county and DOJ have each outlined what kind of duties and responsibilities the receiver should have, but they have yet to find a balance between setting limits and giving the receiver room to do their job, according to court documents. 

“The county has shown a clear lack of urgency and competency since this action was initiated over six years ago, and there is no indication that if left to its own devices, the situation will change any time soon,” Reeves wrote in his Sept. 2 order denying a stay of the injunction.

“Detainees, who once again are persons presumed to be innocent, will continue to suffer substantial harm unless the county is held accountable,” he wrote. 

The post Federal judge again rejects Hinds County request to end county jail oversight appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In order to keep his new cafe open, Ezra Brown hauls at least 100 pounds of ice into his boutique tea and coffee spot every day. 

When Brown – the owner of Fondren’s Soulé – hosts special events, his weekly ice total easily hits 1,000 pounds. 

The Iron Horse Grill’s general manager Andy Nesenson estimates the restaurant is spending up to $2,500 a week on bottled water, canned soda, ice and other water-crisis related expenses. 

The Bean, a coffee house and restaurant, invested in specialized coffee filters and bypasses the city waterline altogether. 

“People have been beat to death with national headlines of dirty water,” said The Bean’s owner Kristy Buchanan. “But we businesses do not have dirty water.”

Operators across Jackson say they’re working tirelessly to provide clean water and safe food and drinks to customers during the city’s ongoing water system failures. While their costs to stay open have racked up during the ongoing crisis, the number of customers has plummeted.

“The city and the government are saying to take a shower with your mouth closed,” Nesenson said. “A lot of people are not going to want to go out to eat because they have a negative feeling like it’s not safe.” 

Paper plates and plastic cups have become commonplace in Jackson restaurants because they can be disposed of, rather than cleaned in water that will take extra time to boil. No more fountain drinks, but there is plenty of canned soda. Want a margarita? It will be made with water and ice all secured from outside the city. 

For the last two decades, Jackson businesses have dealt with boil water notices and insecurity from the troubled and aging water system. They have become pros at workarounds and water tanks. But as the crisis reached new heights last week, so have their economic concerns. 

Water pressure was restored city-wide Monday, but businesses say customers have yet to steadily return downtown. After splurging on clean water and ice for weeks, eateries are eager to make up costs. 

READ MORE: Mississippi’s full coverage of the Jackson water crisis

Ahead of the recent holiday weekend, Nesenson said Iron Horse had one of its slowest lunch hours he’s seen in the last decade: fewer than 100 patrons over five hours. It hasn’t gotten better. 

“In our industry, that’s awful,” he said. “Downtown Jackson feels desolate.” 

Six weeks into the boil-water notice, some fear the businesses who have been dealing with Jackson’s water problems for years will finally give up.

“It’s a matter of time before some things start closing down or moving across city lines,” said Tamika E. Jenkins, the executive director of the Hinds County Development Authority.

Martin Clapton, the owner of Barrelhouse, has counted 55 days his business has been with zero water from his own plumbing in the last five years. When he loses water pressure, that means no toilets. The costs of portable toilets are too much. He did that in the winter during a 16-day water outage. It wasn’t cost effective. 

He was closed for three days last week, and opened when water pressure was restored. He closed two more days this week because business was so slow. Now he’s considering closing his doors permanently. 

“The losses restaurants have incurred since COVID, it’s very hard economically to stay open,” Clapton said. “Normally we do $30,000 in sales a week. To do only $4,000 or $5,000 while all those bills are still rolling in? It’s tough.” 

Operators mostly agree people either largely don’t know Jackson is open for business or are skeptical about businesses’ water use. Some also say the extra costs of bottled water and child care while schools were closed has probably left some families without extra spending money.

Brown, a musician-turned-entrepreneur, opened his sleek new cafe in August, amid the latest boil-water notice. Inspectors said he was clear to open as long as he got all his ice from outside the city of Jackson.

That’s a tall order for a shop that serves more than half of its beverages cold. But Brown has persevered. He’s made it work. 

“But we shouldn’t have to make it work,” he said. “We don’t get paid to do that. It’s not my job. It’s my job to want to spend money in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, the right way, and already have clean water.”

His shop serves specialty tea and coffee with fancy swirls and colorful boba balls. He has bright furniture and modern decor. In just a month-and-a-half, he has hosted sold-out events with famed chef Carla Hall and Mississippi drummer Maya Kyles. 

Brown is from South Carolina originally but studied at Jackson State University. He was familiar with the city’s water woes ahead of opening his shop but did not expect the burden to be of this magnitude. 

No new business owner expects a city’s infrastructure to fail so horribly that they need to have a bucket of water next to the toilet so customers can flush. 

“We’ve gotten letters and emails from all over the world,” Brown said. “Things like ‘thank you for letting me know’ to ‘is Jackson a third-world country?’ … We want to change that. I’m here, I’m committed and I’m not going anywhere.” 

He says he wants Jackson to be the capital city Mississippi deserves. 

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced he’d be visiting five Jackson restaurants on Friday evening in hopes it would encourage others to the do the same. His tour will start at Johnny T’s on Farish Street in downtown Jackson and end at Sal & Mookie’s in the District at Eastover.

Visit Jackson, the city’s tourism bureau, recently announced a grant program that will provide $500 to $2,000 grants to reimburse businesses for some of their water expenses. 

Businesses appreciate the gesture, but say the grants cover a small portion of the expenses they’ve had to front to keep their doors open. 

Pat Fontaine, the executive director at Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, said some restaurants have reported $500 to $700 in extra costs per day related to the water crisis.

“They are also still dealing with increased labor costs and inflation’s pressure on their food costs,” Fontaine said. “This has all been diminishing their profit margins.” 

Nesenson, at Iron Horse, says his employees are struggling because fewer customers means fewer tips. 

Clapton worries some of the best parts of living in Jackson could disappear. He’s hoping the U.S. Small Business Administration will offer loans to businesses affected by the crisis – a lifeline he knows many could use right now. 

“It could really knock out some of the mom-and-pops,” he said, referring to the water crisis. “The right steps are being made, but it’s a little too late for some of us.” 

The post As Jackson water crisis persists, restaurateurs worry customers are scared to dine out appeared first on Mississippi Today.