Mississippi Today’s Adam Ganucheau and Geoff Pender analyze Speaker of the House Philip Gunn’s decision to step down and not seek reelection to the House. Among topics they discuss: What will this decision mean for the 2023 legislative session, what is Gunn’s legacy, who may replace him, and what will he do next?
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Since the United States Supreme Court in a Mississippi case stripped away a national right to an abortion, citizens in six states, including five earlier this month, have voted to either preserve or expand abortion rights.
In no state have voters opted to restrict or to take away abortion rights since the Mississippi case – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – was decided in late June by the nation’s highest court.
An argument can be made that Mississippians, like voters in conservative states such as Kansas and Kentucky and liberal states like California and Vermont, should be allowed to vote on whether they support or oppose restricting abortion rights.
After all, Mississippi is an unmitigated mess when it comes to the issue of abortion even though it is the state that successfully brought the lawsuit that led to the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that guaranteed a national right to an abortion. It is true that there are no abortion clinics in Mississippi, but it reasonably could be argued that abortion is indeed legal in the Magnolia State.
The state has two abortion laws on the books. They are:
But the Mississippi Supreme Court – in Pro Choice Mississippi v. Fordice – ruled in 1998 that the state constitution provides a right to an abortion.
“We find that the state constitutional right to privacy includes an implied right to choose whether or not to have an abortion,” the late Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Michael Sullivan wrote for the majority.
That ruling has never been overturned.
In the normal judicial process, the laws passed by the Legislature imposing the abortion bans would not trump the ruling of the Supreme Court. What appears to have occurred is that the Supreme Court ruling has been rendered moot since the only abortion provider moved out of the state – fearing its employees could face punishment (possible prison time) in conservative Mississippi even though the state’s highest court said that a right to an abortion exists. In other words, there is no abortion provider in the state to challenge the constitutionality of the two laws banning abortion.
Recognizing the state’s conundrum, the conservative Mississippi Justice Institute, which is the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, recently filed a lawsuit, hoping to get the state Supreme Court to overturn its 1998 ruling.
At the very least, the issue of abortion is still murky in Mississippi. The Mississippi Justice Institute recognizes this.
“In the Dobbs case, Mississippi secured a major victory for human rights and the rule of law,” said Aaron Rice, director of the Mississippi Justice Institute “Now it’s time to finish the job and protect the right to life in the state that took Roe down.”
The lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Justice Institute is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the 1998 ruling in Fordice v. Planned Parenthood just as the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade decision.
The Justice Institute filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. According to the lawsuit, the Michigan-based group has more than 6,000 members nationwide, including 35 in Mississippi. The lawsuit said its members are being placed in legal jeopardy because abortion has been banned under the two aforementioned laws. But based on the 1998 state Supreme Court ruling, doctors could be placed in legal jeopardy if they refuse to refer a woman to an abortion provider, the lawsuit alleges.
Whether that circuitous argument is enough to give the Michigan group “standing” to pursue such a case in Mississippi remains to be seen. The lawsuit is filed in Hinds County Chancery Court.
No doubt, abortion providers would have “standing” to bring the case and in fact did this past summer. But the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which originally filed a lawsuit, opted to move out of state and drop the case when the state Supreme Court refused to hear the issue in an expedited manner. The decision not to pursue the case meant the Supreme Court was never given a chance to reverse its 1998 ruling. It is likely the current justices would reverse the ruling if given the opportunity.
Thus far no abortion provider has sought to intervene in the case brought by the anti-abortion group.
The Mississippi Legislature could settle this complex issue easily by voting early in the 2023 session to place on the ballot as soon as possible a proposal to reverse the state Supreme Court decision granting the right to an abortion.
Then the citizens could decide just as they have in six other states.
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Ole Miss has reportedly offered Lane Kiffin more than nine million bucks a year to remain at the school and coach its football team.
My question: Why?
Kiffin’s team just finished its regular season Thanksgiving night, losing four of its last five games, including a 24-22 defeat to Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
In three seasons at Oxford, Kiffin now has a a 23-12 record overall. His teams have won 14, lost 11 SEC games.
For that, Ole Miss wants to reward Kiffin with $9 million-plus per annum, nearly $40 million over the next four years to keep him from taking the Auburn job. What’s more, Ole Miss has raised in excess of $10 million for Kiffin – or the next Rebel coach – to buy players in the transfer portal. Like the old saying goes, pretty soon we are going to be talking about some real money.
Which brings to mind: What would John Vaught, winner of six Southeastern Conference championships at Ole Miss, be worth on today’s market? Is there that much money in Mississippi?
Interestingly, Kiffin has never stayed at a job – any job – for four seasons. If he were to coach half of the 2023 season at Ole Miss, that would be the longest tenure of his career. The Oakland Raiders fired him in his second season after he won 25 percent of his games. Then, after one season, he left Tennessee in the middle of the night, amid something close to a riot, after losing the Chick-fil-A Bowl and finishing one game above .500. Next, Southern Cal fired him on an airport tarmac, returning from a road trip after the fifth game of his fourth season. He spent three seasons as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama, successfully revamping the Crimson Tide offense before taking head coach’s job at Florida Atlantic. He was supposed to coach the Bama offense through the national championship game that third season, but Saban decided, “Thanks, but no thanks. See ya.”
He spent three seasons at FAU before taking the Ole Miss job. At Ole Miss, he has gone 5-5, 10-3 and 8-4, while flirting with other jobs all the while. You could make the case – and many have – Kiffin’s current Rebels’ late season demise was at least partly caused by the distraction of Kiffin’s dalliance with Auburn.
One guy could have stopped that. Lane Kiffin. He did not. He could have signed the papers on the $9 million Ole Miss offer. He could have said, “I am going to finish the job at Ole Miss. I am going to be the first coach to take Ole Miss to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. We are going to compete for the national championship.”
Instead, he left his employer and his players on the hook.
Here’s my take: Kiffin is a remarkable offensive football mind. He can take his offensive O’s and most times beat your defensive X’s. But as a head coach, his record is far from remarkable. Indeed, it is spotty and hardly worthy of him becoming one of the three or four highest paid coaches in the country.
When he took the job at Ole Miss, Kiffin said he had learned from his previous jobs. He projected himself as a more mature, more stable, more complete coach.
Has he been that?
No. At 47, Kiffin appears the same guy, the same coach, he has always been. If he stays at Ole Miss, it’s likely the Rebels will endure the same situation next November.
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The head of the Ole Miss-affiliated NIL collective says the organization has topped the $10 million mark — among the highest reported levels of “name, image and likeness” funding in the nation.
The update from the Grove Collective, the organization collecting funds to distribute to Ole Miss athletes, comes as Rebels head football coach Lane Kiffin decides whether he’ll stay at Ole Miss or leave for SEC divisional rival Auburn, as has been reported in recent days.
Availability of NIL funds has emerged as perhaps the most important factor to college athletes and coaches since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that players could be compensated for their likenesses. These funds are raised by collectives and used to pay college athletes for corporate sponsorships.
“We set a goal to reach the $10 million mark by the end of 2023. We reached it this week,” Grove Collective executive director Walker Jones told Mississippi Today on Wednesday. “I think that stacks up head-to-head with most of the other schools in our conference and most in the nation.”
The NIL news could become a major factor in the days ahead in Oxford, where major donors are preparing for a potential national coaching search.
Supertalk’s Richard Cross reported last week that Ole Miss had offered Kiffin an extension to stay in Oxford to the tune of $9 million per year — a figure that would make Ole Miss’ third-year head coach one of the nation’s 10 highest-paid.
But a Monday report indicated Kiffin will soon leave Ole Miss to become the next head football coach at SEC divisional rival Auburn. Kiffin has denied that report, but other reports reveal that Kiffin is Auburn’s top target and will be offered a large contract imminently — even higher than the Ole Miss extension offer.
READ MORE: Bottom line on NIL issue? Players are about to share NCAA’s bounty
A higher annual salary would, of course, be a draw to any college coach. But according to Kiffin himself, available NIL funds have become the top consideration for coaches when deciding where to land or build a program.
“It used to be the stadium, conference, assistant pool, your salary … nope. First question should be, ‘What is your NIL structure?’” Kiffin told Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated in October.
Dellenger reported on Oct. 31 that Auburn announced more than $12 million in NIL pledges — still more than the $10 million Jones and the Grove Collective have recently reached. Other reports have suggested Auburn’s NIL figure is closer to $13 million.
But leaders at most NIL organizations have been purposefully vague about how much cash they’ve raised, couching publicly cited figures with vague language and accounting for long-term commitments in their totals.
“Some are putting out numbers, and it’s hard to know if those are projections or what,” Jones told Mississippi Today. “To be clear, this $10 million is all either current cash on hand, annual and monthly membership cash flow, and major gift pledges we’ll collect between now and Dec. 31. It’s what we can show for right now.”
Jones said the Grove Collective has partnered with more than 35 corporations at the national, regional and local levels. Those include companies like Realtree, Dunkin Donuts, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Wheels Up, and Blue Delta Jeans.
Meanwhile, football fans in Oxford will be closely watching what moves Kiffin makes in the coming hours.
“Regardless of what happens in the next few days, Ole Miss fans should take comfort knowing they have an extremely competitive, well-funded and organized collective platform that will compete with anyone in the SEC and around the country,” Jones said. “Our loyal fanbase has stepped up and answered the call, and we’re still working hard to raise even more.”
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Blake Pennock was the offensive coordinator at Clinton when Cam Akers played there. He is now the head coach at Ocean Springs with Bray Hubbard as his quarterback. This Friday, Pennock, Hubbard and the Greyhounds take on Brandon for the South State 6A championship. Pennock discusses Akers, Hubbard and the task at hand. The Clevelands also talk Egg Bowl, Lane Kiffin’s future, Southern Miss bowl chances and much, much more.
Stream all episodes here.
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Gov. Tate Reeves has officially ended the Aug. 30 state of emergency surrounding a water crisis that left Jackson and surrounding areas of Hinds County under a weeks-long boil water notice and poor to no water pressure.
He issued the executive order ending the emergency order on Tuesday.
Reeves had issued the emergency after the two primary raw water pumps at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant in Ridgeland had been removed for repairs and the collapse of Jackson’s water system was imminent.
The Environmental Protection Agency determined on Oct. 31 that the water from both the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant and the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant was safe to drink.
On Nov. 17, the Jackson City Council voted to enter into a year-long federal “interim stipulated order” through the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the city’s drinking water violations that involves having.a third-party administrator to oversee the system.
The interim order heads to a federal judge to officially take effect.
In addition, the city council on Nov. 10 voted to approve an emergency agreement with WaterTalent LLC to provide temporary water operators for both water treatment plants. The contract is not to exceed $720,000 and will run through Feb. 28, 2023.
In his news release announcing the end of the state of emergency, Reeves continued his attack on the city’s administration for the system’s problems.
“The only remaining imminent challenge is the city’s refusal to hire routine maintenance staff, and that cannot constitute a state emergency. We need new leadership at the helm so that this crisis of incompetence cannot continue,” he said.
“It is also clear that the federal government is working to ensure that Jackson political leadership does not have the authority to mismanage the water system any further. That process needs to be completed, and it needs to be completed quickly. … I am hopeful that the federal government’s efforts to take control away from incompetent hands will wrap up swiftly.”
Meanwhile, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General is continuing its investigation that began in September. It is evaluating the EPA’s response to Jackson’s drinking water violations, as well as conducting an audit to see how spending decisions at the state and local levels impacted the recent water crisis.
Reeves’ executive order can be read in full here.
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Imagine the proverbial 90-pound weakling whipping up on Mike Tyson. Imagine a Chihuahua making short work of a German shepherd. Imagine a rabbit chasing a lion instead of vice versa.
What? You just can’t imagine all that? Ok then, take a not-so-deep dive into college basketball this young season, the SWAC and the Pac-12 leagues in particular. SWAC schools, which long have served themselves up as early season cannon fodder for Power Five schools, have turned the tables. Check out these three scores in particular:
Grambling 83, Colorado 74.
Texas Southern 67, Arizona State 66.
Prairie View 70, Washington State 59.
If you follow college basketball any at all, you know how strange those scores look. After all, this is November when the SWAC basketball teams annually take one (or several) for the team, traveling sometimes great distances to collect a big check and a lopsided loss. Some coaches call them “buy” games. Some others call them “prostitution” games. Historically, the SWAC rarely wins one.
Not this year.
Why the sudden change? Number one, the SWAC teams are playing some of these games at home for a change. All three of the above scores were in games played at SWAC sites. The Pac 12 agreed to a four-year deal to play a SWAC-Pac 12 Legacy Series. Over the first two seasons, this season and next, six teams from the SWAC will play six teams from the Pac-12 on a home and home basis. This year, they play at SWAC sites, next year at Pac-12 sites. In 2024-25, the other six SWAC schools, including Jackson State, Alcorn and Mississippi Valley State, will play the six other Pac-12 schools on a home and home basis.
“We don’t know who we’ll be matched up against,” Jackson State Coach Mo Williams, the former NBA star said. “But we can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Obviously, the SWAC teams love it. You can rest assured Pac-12 coaches hate it. Pac-12 power ratings have dipped like the stock market during a depression. A loss in this series easily could cost a Pac-12 school an NCAA bid at season’s end, which in turn could cost a coach his job.
Still, from this viewpoint, it’s nice to see the tables turned for once. Here’s hoping the tradition-rich UCLA will come to one of the three Mississippi SWAC schools in 2024.
“We don’t get the respect we deserve,” Williams said. “Through the years, SWAC teams have always played these type games on the road. That’s tough.”
And those days aren’t over. SWAC schools still need the big pay days. This week, Jackson State will play Big 10 blueblood Michigan at Michigan on Wednesday night and then the nationally ranked Indiana Hoosiers at Indiana on Friday. The results are predictable. Still, says Williams, “I want to see how we respond on the road against these teams. Hopefully, we’ll be better for it.”
They will be a good bit richer.
There are signs all around that SWAC basketball is taking a step forward – and I am not just referring to the games against Pac-12 teams. Already this season, Alcorn has gone on the road for nine-point victories over traditionally strong Wichita State and Stephen F. Austin. On Nov. 7, the Braves played Ole Miss tough at Oxford before succumbing down the stretch.
If you’re wondering why SWAC teams have suddenly become more competitive, look no further than the NCAA portal. Much like Deion Sanders has done in football, SWAC basketball teams have bolstered their rosters with transfers, often from larger schools.
“You can turn you roster over in a year,” Williams said. “Lots of teams are taking transfers and getting better. It may be hard to keep them, but it’s easier to replace them.”
Prevailing wisdom had it that the transfer portal would only help the rich get richer. Now it seems maybe that’s not always the case. The proof in this case is not in the pudding. It is on the scoreboard.
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Amtrak, freight rail companies and the Port of Mobile have struck a deal that will bring back passenger trains to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, connecting Mobile to New Orleans.
A joint statement from all parties – Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway Company and the Port of Mobile – says they “collectively reached an agreement” that supports both freight trains and passenger trains running in the Gulf Coast Corridor.
“This is going to happen,” said Southern Rail Commissioner Knox Ross. “Everybody has to do what they said they’d do, but this will be a tremendous boost for the Gulf Coast.”
The settlement agreement was filed Monday. The federal board tasked with deciding the route’s future was scheduled to vote on the years-long dispute in December. The board had asked the parties to first attempt mediation.
The proposed route would run two trains daily with stops in Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Gulfport and Biloxi. Amtrak hasn’t run a Gulf Coast route since Hurricane Katrina.
Ross said the details of the agreement are confidential and he doesn’t have a timeline of what to expect. A copy of the settlement agreement filed with the Surface Transportation Board had specifics redacted but stated the settlement terms will “completely resolve the dispute” after “several conditions are met in the coming weeks and months.”
Amtrak first filed its complaint with the Surface Transportation Board over a year ago, asking the body to step in to settle the dispute over access to the freight-owned tracks.
In the joint statement, the parties ask the board to pause the case as they work through the agreement.
Board members have sat through days worth of testimonies about the track’s ability to support both passengers and freight trains over the last several months. Had the parties not settled, the board’s Dec. 7 vote would have determined the route’s future.
Amtrak had always maintained the route could handle the added passenger train traffic, freight companies and the Port of Mobile worried it could negatively affect business.
The debate largely pitted Alabama officials against Mississippi leaders who have long championed the return of a passenger route to the Gulf Coast as an economic boon.
“Since Katrina, these downtowns have been rebuilt and become very attractive,” Ross said, referring to the Mississippi cities on the proposed route. “And this will bring people right to their front door.”
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The State Board of Education has named a North Carolina educator and Mississippi native as the next state superintendent.
In a press release, the department announced Robert Taylor as the new leader of Mississippi’s 140 public school districts. His appointment ends a monthslong search after former State Superintendent Carey Wright stepped down from the position in June.
Taylor was most recently a deputy state superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Originally a native of Laurel, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and has worked in North Carolina schools since 1992. He has served as a teacher’s assistant, classroom teacher, school administrator, and in various district leadership positions before becoming the superintendent of Bladen County Schools in 2011. He served in this role until 2021 when he became a deputy state superintendent.
During his time in North Carolina, Taylor also helped to draft legislation restructuring state testing in public schools and served on multiple public education advisory boards, according to the release.
“The opportunity to return home to Mississippi and work hand in hand with all stakeholders to improve education is perhaps the pinnacle of one’s career,” Taylor said in the MDE statement. “This opportunity has been afforded to my family and I and we look forward to our homecoming.”
He will start the position in late January 2023, according to the Department of Education release. Until then, Interim State Superintendent Kim Benton will continue to serve.
Taylor is the state’s second Black superintendent; the first was Henry L. Johnson, who also came to Mississippi from North Carolina in 2002.
The Mississippi Department of Education told Mississippi Today Taylor will be paid $300,000 annually, the same amount his predecessor, Wright, was paid.
The state board selected McPherson and Jacobson, a national superintendent search firm based in Nebraska, to conduct the search. The firm received $51,200 for its services.
“Dr. Taylor possesses all the qualities the Board sought for the next state superintendent of education,” Rosemary Aultman, chair of the State Board of Education, said in a statement. “Mississippi has become a national leader for improving student outcomes. The Board is confident we selected the right person to lead our state to achieve at even higher levels.”
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The bleak outlook for hospitals across the state, especially those in rural areas, was highlighted Monday during a hearing of the Senate Public Health Committee.
While possible solutions were discussed, senators indicated that long-term fixes might not be coming during the upcoming 2023 session.
State Health Officer Daniel Edney told committee members that 38 rural hospitals across the state “are in danger of immediate closure or closure in the near term.” Some of those hospitals are larger regional care centers, such as Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
Edney said nearly all of 111 hospitals across the state are facing financial difficulties with many areas – particularly in the Delta and some parts of southwest Mississippi – becoming “health care deserts.” Edney, representatives with the Mississippi Hospital Association and others have been warning of the crisis facing health care in Mississippi for some time caused in part by rising costs and changes in the structure of health care in the nation – all of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Public Health Committee met Monday to be updated on the crisis and to hear possible solutions.
The Hospital Association offered six possible steps that could be taken to help the hospitals survive – ranging from increasing the state-federal Medicaid supplemental payments to hospitals, to eliminating the taxes hospitals pay to expanding Medicaid. Of those steps, the one that would not require legislative action and is most likely to occur would be the state Division of Medicaid seeking federal approval to increase payments to hospitals.
Tim Moore, chief executive officer of the Hospital Association, said all of those steps are needed to increase the financial viability of the state’s hospitals. But according to a Hospital Association chart handed out to senators, expanding Medicaid is the options that would provide the most benefit. Medicaid expansion would provide a financial boost to the hospitals, while improving the state economy, based on multiple studies. It also would benefit Mississippi citizens by providing health care to primarily the working poor.
During the committee hearing, Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said Medicaid expansion would not solely fix the problem facing the hospitals. Richard Roberson, vice president for policy with the Mississippi Hospital Association said, “it might not solely fix it, but I would argue it would go a long way.”
Wiggins replied, “It would go a long way because it would provide a revenue stream for hospitals, but 10 years down the road could be another situation.”
But Roberson said in the meantime, people, primarily the working poor, would have access to health care other than a hospital emergency room. Under current law, hospitals are mandated to provide emergency services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
Medicaid expansion would cut down on more expensive emergency room care while providing Medicaid expansion beneficiaries the opportunity for preventive care from primary care physicians, Roberson said. In addition, Medicaid expansion would substantially cut down on the amount of uncompensated care – about $600 million a year and increasing – that hospitals currently incur because there would be fewer uninsured patients being treated.
After the meeting, Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, when asked about the possibility of expanding Medicaid in the upcoming 2023 session, responded, “Why are you asking me about that?” DeBar then added it might be pointless for the Senate to try to take up the issue while the House leadership and Gov. Tate Reeves are entrenched in their opposition to Medicaid expansion.
Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, who chairs the Senate Medicaid Committee, said after Monday’s Public Health Committee hearing that he remains opposed to Medicaid expansion. He said Medicaid provides less money to medical providers for the services rendered than private insurance. He said he would prefer other options, such as helping poor people purchase private insurance.
The federal government pays 90% of the health care costs for those covered by Medicaid expansion – those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level or about $19,000 annually for an individual. Whether the state could develop a Medicaid expansion substitute where the federal government pays the bulk of the cost for private insurance is not known.
At any rate, Blackwell said it probably would be the 2024 session – after 2023 statewide elections – before such options are considered.
In the meantime, Edney pointed out there is a growing area in the state where there is no hospital to deliver babies. He said that only worsens Mississippi’s position as the state with the nation’s highest infant mortality rate.
Edney said the state Department of Health would try to step in as a last resort “safety net” in those areas lacking adequate health care.
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