Southern Miss athletics

Will Hall addressed media and fans at a press conference at Reed Green Coliseum Monday.

Will Hall aced his introductory press conference at Southern Miss Monday morning, his first appearance as the 22nd head football coach in the school’s history.

Hall exuded enthusiasm and optimism, saying he wanted to make Southern Miss the premier Group of Five football school in the nation — and he did it with a decidedly Mississippi twang.

“We were Boise State before Boise State — we’re fixin’ to get it done,” the 40-year-old Hall said at one point.

He said a lot more, but perhaps just as importantly was something that wasn’t said. After the press conference, Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain confirmed that Hall’s contract calls for a salary of $800,000 and an assistants’ salary pool of $2.1 million. That represents an upgrade of nearly $1 million in football salaries and will put Southern Miss in the upper half of Conference USA.

Rick Cleveland

That’s a huge deal, especially when one considers the increased financial commitment comes during this COVID-19 period when universities across the country are cutting back athletic resources.

“There are no excuses,” Hall said. “We have the resources here to be special. We’ve got to band together because we’re a little frayed right now. I’ve got a vision. I’ve got a detailed plan. We’ve got to grab this rope and pull together.”

Southern Miss athletics

Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain presents Will Hall a personalized jersey

Presently, “frayed” is an understatement where Southern Miss football is concerned. The Golden Eagles limp into Thursday night’s season finale against Florida Atlantic with a 2-7 record. Incredibly, the team has been through three head coaches, three starting quarterbacks, several player defections, and umpteen schedule changes in three months time. Albert Einstein once said that adversity introduces a man to himself. This Southern Miss football team is ready to meet someone else.

Will Hall appears more than willing to fill that void. Of the many subjects Hall broached Monday morning, one of the most interesting was that he had had an extended conversation with former Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower the night before. Hall talked about getting back to the blueprint that led to the Golden Eagles’ success when Bower was dominating Conference USA and his teams were winning while playing, as the adage went, “anyone, anywhere, any time.”

He talked about meeting Bower at age 15 when he accompanied his father, high school coaching legend Bobby Hall, to dinner with Bower at Tico’s.

“I was in hog heaven, listening to Coach Bower and my dad talk football for hours. We shut the place down that night, it was unbelievable. I ate it up,” Will Hall said.

Bower’s USM blueprint for success included an emphasis on recruiting high school players from south Mississippi, southern Louisiana, lower Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Bower seldom got the five-star and four-star recruits, but he and his staff proved expert at projecting what lightly recruited 17-year-old boys might look like and play like as 20-year-old men after two or three years in the weight room and at the training table. Bower could look at a two-star running back like Michael Boley or a high school basketball star like Adalius Thomas and see future NFL linebacking stars.

Hall said he intends for Southern Miss to get back to that. “There are too many good football players right here,” he said. In recent seasons, Hall has poached many of those Mississippi boys for both Memphis and Tulane.

For his part, Bower Monday afternoon said he was mightily impressed with Hall from what he has seen from afar and from their in-person conversation Sunday night.

Jeff Bower

“I like his resume. I like what he’s done and that he’s won wherever he’s been,” Bower said. “I like his offensive and defensive philosophies. I like his pedigree. His dad was a helluva coach, a winner. I like that he’s a coach’s son. He’s been around the game all his life. He understands it, knows what it takes. I am really impressed with him. I’ve got to hand it to Jeremy. I think he did a helluva job with this hire.”

Again, all this comes at a most unusual time. Hall was speaking Monday, three days before the team he inherits plays its final game of the season. Yes, Hall said, he will be in Hattiesburg for practices and the game this week. He said he intends to stay out of the way, but does plan to watch and get a firsthand look at what he has coming back. Meanwhile, he’s hiring a staff, recruiting (on the phone), shaking hands, meeting folks, enlisting support. In these strange times, he even has to recruit the players he already has.

Indeed, Hall has his hands full, but it surely seemed Monday he would not have it any other way.

The post Will Hall, new head coach at Southern Miss: ‘We’re fixin’ to get it done’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Read the story behind this cartoon here.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Party on, Third Ghost appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Gov. Tate Reeves has planned several Christmas parties at the Governor’s Mansion, despite warnings from state health experts against such gatherings amid the pandemic, and the governor’s own orders limiting the number of people allowed at such events in Hinds County.

This follows a fundraiser held by a hospital executive on the Coast last week for Reeves for more than 20 people, despite Reeves’ orders limiting gatherings in Harrison County because of record COVID-19 outbreaks.

Statewide and districtwide elected officials received an invite for a governor’s Christmas party for Wednesday evening, several officials told Mississippi Today. The governor has also invited lawmakers to separate parties for the House and Senate next week, several lawmakers said.

As COVID-19 statistics continue to set new records almost by the day, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and the health department have warned Mississippians to avoid holiday gatherings beyond closest family and to avoid any groups beyond school, work or “essential gatherings.” Dobbs called the holidays a “perfect storm” for “explosive outbreaks” of COVID-19 and warned, “We will see deaths, absolutely, around holiday gatherings.” Health officials warn that Mississippi hospitals are overloaded with patients as pandemic cases spike to record levels.

READ MORE: CEO of major Mississippi hospital hosts in-person fundraiser for Gov. Tate Reeves.

Reeves has in recent weeks issued executive orders for 54 of Mississippi’s 82 counties that require wearing of masks in public and limiting gatherings to no more than 10 indoors and no more than 50 outdoors where social distancing is not possible.

It is unclear how many people were invited to each party, but it would appear each would be more than 10 people. There are 122 members of the state House and 52 senators. It is also unclear whether the governor’s party plans at the Governor’s Mansion would allow for proper social distancing.

Reeves’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Christmas parties on Monday. If he plans to cancel them, several officials invited had not heard about cancellations.

On Monday afternoon, Reeves tweeted, “Christmas at the Governor’s Mansion is very different this year,” noting that large crowds would not be touring the mansion as is customary each year to see the first lady’s Christmas decorations.

House Speaker Philip Gunn on Monday said House members were invited to a Christmas party at the mansion next week, but he said he had a conflict and would not be attending. Other lawmakers declined comment on the parties.

At last week’s fundraiser, Memorial Hospital at Gulfport CEO Kent Nicaud, who hosted the event at his home, said that while there were more than 20 people there, his home is large and guests practiced social distancing and wore masks.

Reeves over the summer faced some criticism after he was photographed not wearing a mask in crowds at Republican events in Washington, D.C., and North Carolina while Mississippi was under mask-wearing and crowd limit mandates per his executive orders.

Mississippi Today reporter Bobby Harrison contributed to this report.

The post Gov. Tate Reeves plans Christmas parties despite his own orders and record COVID-19 numbers appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

Mississippi House speaker Philip Gunn, left, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann speak after Gov. Tate Reeves press conference in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 7, 2020.

Despite the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a teacher pay raise and a tax cut will be on the table during the 2021 legislative session that starts Jan. 5, the two presiding officers said Monday.

Neither the tax cut nor the teacher pay raise were reflected in the budget proposal House Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and the other 12 members of the Legislative Budget Committee approved Monday. That recommendation is 3.1%, or $197.4 million less than the budget legislators approved for the current year.

But the proposal of the legislative leaders is only a starting point, and if revenue remains strong despite the pandemic through the first quarter of the calendar year, Hosemann said there is a possibility that the final budget, which is expected to be approved in late March, will include a teacher pay raise.

“I am going to propose a teacher pay raise,” said Hosemann, who presides over the Senate. Hosemann said he would propose the same plan that passed the Senate in the 2020 session.

That plan, about $1,000 per year, costing about $76 million, died in the House last session because of fears of how the coronavirus would impact the economy and thus state tax collections. But in recent months tax collections for the state have remained strong. But Gunn said part of that strength might be because of the massive stimulus package that the federal government provided last summer to combat the pandemic. There is currently an ongoing debate in Washington about whether to provide additional stimulus monies.

Both Hosemann and Gov. Tate Reeves promised significant teacher pay raises during their successful 2019 campaigns. The budget proposal released last month by Reeves did not list a teacher pay raise among his many priorities. When asked about a teacher pay raise later, a Reeves spokesperson said the governor still believes one can be accomplished during the 2021 session.

Reeves did list as a priority phasing out the state’s income tax over a multi-year period.

On Monday, Gunn said he has been a long-time supporter of eliminating the income tax and said that effort will be looked at during the 2021 session.

“We have been trying to find ways to develop a more solid, fairer tax structure,” he said.

Others question the wisdom of cutting taxes while the state still faces multiple needs in terms of health care, education and public safety. Some also point out that if the income tax is phased out the state will rely even more on its 7% sales tax on food and other retail items that many claim is a tax that unfairly burdens the poor.

“With no income tax, the state’s policymakers would face two unattractive options: sharply cut funding for schools and other services or raise other revenue significantly,” said Michael Leachman, vice president of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

The income tax provides about one-third of the state’s general fund revenue or about $1.9 billion annually. Reeves maintains it can be phased out without raising other taxes or without large cuts to state services.

“Everything is on the table for us,” said Hosemann when asked about a possible tax cut.

The budget recommendation approved Monday by legislative leaders, like the budget proposed by Reeves, leaves local school districts about $250 million short of full funding. The budget also does not provide the state Department of Health its requested increase for COVID-19-related expenditures, such as money possibly needed to distribute a vaccine.

Overall, most agencies receive small cuts in the budget committee’s recommendation. The recommendation eliminates 4,119 vacant positions in state government.

The budget leaves $877 million in reserve funds.

“It is a solid budget,” Gunn said. “It is responsible…I think it provides a good starting point.”

The new budget year begins July 1.

The post Legislative leaders say teacher pay hike, tax cut remain on table despite COVID-19 uncertainties appeared first on Mississippi Today.

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,263 new cases

By Alex Rozier and Erica Hensley | December 7, 2020

We are bringing you the latest COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs.

This page was last updated Monday, December 7:

New cases: 1,263| New Deaths: 0

Total Hospitalizations: 1,157

Total cases: 166,194| Total Deaths: 3,961

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 54 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Weekly update: Wednesday, December 2

After a record reporting of 2,457 new cases on Wednesday, the current seven-day average of 1,605 is now far past Mississippi’s summer peak. 

During a news conference yesterday, Gov. Tate Reeves denied that Mississippi had hit a new record for case spread, even though the rolling average had already surpassed the previous high of 1,381 in the summer. 

On Wednesday, the state health department issued new guidelines on distancing, recommending that people avoid all social gatherings with people outside of their home or nuclear family.

Mississippi also hit a new high for confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations on both Sunday and Monday, with the rolling average having increased 68% since the start of November. The rolling averages for ICU patients and people on ventilators are up 45% and 88%, respectively, in that time. Total hospitalizations, which includes suspected and confirmed cases, are still below the record set in August. 

Thirteen major hospitals are without ICU capacity, according to this week’s health department numbers. Currently, 86% of the state’s ICU beds are full — including 96% capacity among the highest level COVID-care centers — and COVID-19 patients are filling 30% of those spots.

On the county level, Choctaw (17% increase in the last week), Kemper (15%), Rankin (14%), Jefferson (12%) and Stone (12%) counties saw the sharpest rise in cases this last week. 

The Delta continues to accumulate the most cases per capita out of anywhere in the state. Of the 15 counties with the highest rates, 11 are in the Delta. 

The state health department reported 128,746 people have recovered. 

Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,263 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Morgan Kelly (left) and her brother John Forrest Kelly change the epaulets on the uniform of their father, Major General Trent Kelly to reflect his promotion from Brigadier General to Major General during a ceremony held Saturday at the Mississippi National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Jackson.

The Mississippi National Guard on Saturday promoted U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly to the rank of major general and designated him as the assistant adjutant general of the Mississippi Army National Guard, making him the highest ranking military official currently serving in Congress.

Kelly, a Republican from Saltillo who represents Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and formerly served as a district attorney in Northeast Mississippi, has more than 35 years of military experience.

“Trent Kelly is no stranger to service,” Gov. Tate Reeves said at the ceremony. “It’s been his life. That’s right, his life has been about service to others.”

A native of Union County, Kelly enlisted in the National Guard at the age of 19 in 1985. He mobilized for Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2009.

While seeming to hold back tears at times, Kelly thanked his family for their support during his military service and said, even though his career in public life is important to him, he would never have run for Congress if he could not serve simultaneously in the National Guard.

“This means more to me,” Kelly said of his military service. “Serving this great state, serving this great nation in uniform means more to me than what I can do as a civilian.”

The third-term congressman has now reached the same military rank as G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, who represented Mississippi in the House from 1967 to 1997 and retired from the National Guard in 1980 with the rank of major general.

Kelly said he did not know Montgomery well, but he has long viewed him as one of his role models because of his simultaneous service to the National Guard and public life.

Saturday’s promotion ceremony marks the second time Kelly has received a promotion while serving in the House. In 2018, Kelly was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

“In honor of you, congratulations,” said Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard. “And from all of us who wear the uniform with you, we are so honored to be here for this moment in your career.”

Kelly’s educational background includes an associate’s degree from East Central Community College, a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Mississippi, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Kelly’s family includes his wife of 30 years, Sheila Kelly, and children John Forrest, Morgan and Jackson.

Following the death of former U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, Kelly won the 1st Congressional District seat in a 2015 special election and has served in Congress since. This past November, he was re-elected to the first congressional seat. He will be sworn into office in January to serve his fourth term in the House, where he is expected to sit on the armed service, agriculture and small business committees.

Editor’s note: This article was reported by Taylor Vance, a staff reporter at the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo.

The post National Guard promotes Rep. Trent Kelly, making him highest ranking military official in U.S. Congress appeared first on Mississippi Today.

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,473 new cases

By Alex Rozier and Erica Hensley | December 6, 2020

We are bringing you the latest COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs.

This page was last updated Sunday, December 6:

New cases: 1,473| New Deaths: 12

Total Hospitalizations: 1,157

Total cases: 164,931| Total Deaths: 3,961

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 54 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Weekly update: Wednesday, December 2

After a record reporting of 2,457 new cases on Wednesday, the current seven-day average of 1,605 is now far past Mississippi’s summer peak. 

During a news conference yesterday, Gov. Tate Reeves denied that Mississippi had hit a new record for case spread, even though the rolling average had already surpassed the previous high of 1,381 in the summer. 

On Wednesday, the state health department issued new guidelines on distancing, recommending that people avoid all social gatherings with people outside of their home or nuclear family.

Mississippi also hit a new high for confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations on both Sunday and Monday, with the rolling average having increased 68% since the start of November. The rolling averages for ICU patients and people on ventilators are up 45% and 88%, respectively, in that time. Total hospitalizations, which includes suspected and confirmed cases, are still below the record set in August. 

Thirteen major hospitals are without ICU capacity, according to this week’s health department numbers. Currently, 86% of the state’s ICU beds are full — including 96% capacity among the highest level COVID-care centers — and COVID-19 patients are filling 30% of those spots.

On the county level, Choctaw (17% increase in the last week), Kemper (15%), Rankin (14%), Jefferson (12%) and Stone (12%) counties saw the sharpest rise in cases this last week. 

The Delta continues to accumulate the most cases per capita out of anywhere in the state. Of the 15 counties with the highest rates, 11 are in the Delta. 

The state health department reported 128,746 people have recovered. 

Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,473 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

The Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

“No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” – Gideon J. Tucker.

If it seems on Jan. 5, when the 2021 session of the Mississippi Legislature is convened, that it was not too long ago the 2020 session was adjourned, that’s because it’s true.

The 2020 session of the Mississippi Legislature that was slated to end in early May did not officially conclude until Oct. 10 in large part due to COVID-19 concerns, making it the longest legislative session in Mississippi history, at least in modern history.

So many issues, such as the coronavirus and the vote to retire the Jim Crow-era state flag, made the 2020 session unique and unprecedented — and long.

“It was truly a historic session,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said back in October.

As a new year approaches, a pertinent question remains: How long will legislators be in session in 2021? There are already discussions of convening on Jan. 5, as constitutionally mandated, and recessing until later in the year. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging. In addition, Gov. Tate Reeves has proposed eliminating roughly a third of the state’s revenue stream, the personal income tax. It is a proposal that could be contentious and time consuming for legislators.

Perhaps the Legislature stayed in session longer than it did in 2020 during the Civil War or during other crises in the distant past. But it has been the general consensus among veteran observers of the Mississippi Legislature that the longest session before 2020 occurred in 1968.

In 1968, legislators met from Jan. 2 until Aug. 9. In 2020, the Legislature was in session from Jan. 7 until Oct. 10. Now there is a strong likelihood that in 1968, like 2020, the Legislature was not meeting every day during that period. A matter of fact, for much of 2020 the Legislature was not at the Capitol in Jackson meeting, but was still technically in session where they could convene at the behest of House Speaker Philip Gunn and Hosemann, who presides over the Senate. The key is that when the Legislature adjourns sine die (for the year), it cannot under any circumstance come back until the next year unless summoned into special session by the governor. The Legislature just did not sine die in 2020 until October — meeting sporadically throughout the year.

The 1968 marathon session was preceded by unusually long sessions in 1966 and 1964. In 1966, the Legislature was in session from Jan. 4 until June 17, and from Jan. 7 until June 12 in 1964.

And to top it off, the Legislature was in special session from July 22 to Oct. 11 in 1969, when the state finally opted into the federal Medicaid program, becoming the next to last state to do so.

In more recent times, the longest session before the 2020 bonanza occurred in 2009, when legislators were in session from Jan. 6 until June 3.

The long sessions in the 1960s occurred at a time when the Legislature met every other year. After the two long sessions in 1964 and 1966, and in the midst of the 1968 session, legislators voted to put on the ballot a proposal to amend the Mississippi Constitution so that they would meet every year.

It seemed that Mississippi voters were not of one mind on the issue of the Legislature being in session annually. The resolution passed by the narrow margin of 51.3% to 48.7% in June of 1970, thus paving the way for the annual, regularly scheduled gathering of the Mississippi Legislature.

Perhaps as a form of compromise, the constitutional resolutions that legislators presented to voters limited the number of days legislators could be in session each year. The resolution, which is still in effect today, limits lawmakers to a 125-day session during the first year of a new four-year term for legislators. The following three years legislators are limited to 90-day sessions.

But leave it to those tricky legislators to add a loophole — there always seems to be a loophole — allowing them to extend the session in 30-day increments by a two-thirds vote of each chamber. Presumably, legislators could keep extending the session for the entire year until the Legislature convenes the following year for a new term. Remember that legislators came close to being in session for all of 2020.

Before the 1970 change to the state Constitution, there was no limits on how long a session could be. Legislators apparently just met until they believed their business was completed, and they decided they could do no more good — or harm, depending on one’s perspective.

The post Yikes, with barely a break, legislators set to return in less than a month appeared first on Mississippi Today.