Mississippi Today’s political reporters discuss how Gov. Tate Reeves’ heavy-handed leadership style in previous years has led to contentious moments with Republican legislative leaders in 2020.
The post Ep 119: Why do Tate Reeves and lawmakers keep fighting? appeared first on Mississippi Today.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
Lawmakers wear masks during the legislative session at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, May 28, 2020.
The ongoing 2020 session has been like no other — to a large extent because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to a lesser degree because of the ongoing donnybrook between Gov. Tate Reeves and legislative leaders.
But thus far it has not been catastrophic. It could have bordered on catastrophe if the COVID-19 outbreak that besieged the Legislature, beginning in early July, had occurred two weeks earlier.
On July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year, legislators completed their task of approving a $21 billion budget to fund state government — everything from education to transportation to law enforcement. The enactment of a budget by the Legislature is a massive task, entailing the approval of more than 100 bills and the work of a dozen or more staff members.
Normally the budgeting process is completed in March or April or, in some instances, early May. But because of an interruption in the session in March caused by the coronavirus, the Legislature was completing the process just as the new budget year began.
Had the Capitol COVID-19 outbreak occurred a week or two earlier, it would have been difficult — nearly impossible — to complete the budgeting process in a timely fashion, throwing into question the function of various agencies such as whether health care providers could have been paid for treating Medicaid patients, whether Highway Patrol troopers could have patrolled Mississippi roads, and the list goes on.
State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs recently said during a call with the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute and Capitol Press Corps that 49 of the 175 legislators, including the lieutenant governor, contracted the coronavirus — most testing positive almost immediately after the Legislature adjourned on July 1. According to Dobbs, four were hospitalized, including three in intensive care. Tragically, there was one death of a person who presumably contracted the virus from a legislator. Those testing positive included House Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and some key committee chairs.
While the Legislature finished the budget before being overwhelmed by the virus, as it turned out, the governor partially vetoed the $2.5 billion education budget, and the Legislature has not been able to agree on a budget for the Gulf Coast-located Department of Marine Resources. Those issues have created enough chaos. Imagine the chaos if the whole budgeting process had been delayed two weeks or more into the new budget year because of the coronavirus.
Last week a near coronavirus-free and mostly masked-up Legislature returned to Jackson to override Reeves’ veto of the education budget. The veto override itself was historic in that it was the first since 2002 and was the first time at least since the 1800s a Republican governor had been overridden by a Republican-controlled Legislature.
And to add more oddity to an already unusual session, it was revealed just before legislators returned to Jackson that Gunn and House Speaker Pro Tem Jason White are suing fellow Republican Reeves, arguing the governor’s partial veto of a bill disbursing funds to health care providers to fight the coronavirus is unconstitutional. The lawsuit is in addition to the very public spat between legislative leaders and the governor over who had spending authority of $1.25 billion in federal funds disbursed to Mississippi to fight the coronavirus.
The Legislature, which won that fight, was disbursing many of those funds right up to July 1 when members adjourned. It would have been embarrassing if the coronavirus outbreak had prevented legislators from making those disbursements.
But in reality nothing would have prevented legislators from returning after the COVID-19 outbreak had run its course amongst legislators to appropriate the funds. After all, much to the governor’s dismay, legislators have changed rules allowing them to stay in session for almost the full year, though in reality they are in Jackson essentially the same number of days they would be in a normal year. Their days in Jackson are just more spread out.
Despite the pandemic and the ongoing rift with the governor, the Legislature has accomplished some monumental feats during this unusual session. Those feats include:
On a side note, the bill changing the flag also could have been placed in jeopardy if the coronavirus had hit legislators earlier.
For many reasons, the 2020 session is unusual and historic. And it is not over yet.
The post Legislators avoid catastrophe despite large COVID-19 outbreak among their ranks appeared first on Mississippi Today.
Good Monday morning everyone! The front that moved through Sunday brought in some slightly cooler and drier, air overnight. Temperatures are in the upper 60s across the area this morning. It is a great morning to enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the porch! We will see plenty of sunshine today, with a high near 93, but the air wont be as muggy. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be clear, with a low around 68. Rain chances return to the forecast mid-week with afternoon pop up thunderstorms.
Read more about it here.
The post Marshall Ramsey: SHARK WEEK! appeared first on Mississippi Today.
*Warning: Explicit language and content*
In episode 35, We discuss the My Way Killings; a strange phenomenon that took place in the Philippines among other similar cases. Also, April rants about trafficking for the first half of the show (Sorry!)
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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
Gov. Tate Reeves speaks to media about his shelter-in-place order for Lauderdale County during a press conference at the State of Mississippi Woolfolk Building in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
Crowd size at extracurricular school activities will be limited to two spectators per participant through the month of August for both public and private schools, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday.
Reeves stressed Friday during his afternoon news conference that he believes it is important to allow students to participate in extracurricular activities, but said adequate safety precautions must be in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Sports and these other activities are instrumental in the lives of our young Mississippians,” he said in a statement. “They teach discipline and responsibility in a way that can’t be replicated. That said, we are living through a pandemic. One of my greatest concerns heading into this school season has been sports and those other events which cause the community to come out in crowds. Twenty-two players on a field is not going to overwhelm a local hospital. Two thousand people in a small school’s bleachers might.”
Reeves said the limitations will apply to all extracurriculars — not only sports — such as football and volleyball, but also band concerts and other events.
In recent weeks, the most interest has been directed at high school football. The public schools are not starting the season until Sept. 4, though, they are holding scrimmages in late August. Reeves said Friday he did not know if the same crowd limitations will be extended into September, though he said it is possible.
Reeves said he is still studying the issue of crowd size at college football games, which are not slated to start until later in September.
On Friday, Reeves also extended the current executive order until Aug. 31, requiring the wearing of masks statewide in public and the cessation of alcohol sales at bars and restaurants after 11 p.m.
The current order also limits social gatherings to 10 people indoors and 20 people outdoors.
“Our numbers are improving,” Reeves said Friday. He said the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases has declined from 1,358 three weeks ago to less than 800 per day for the most recent seven days.
State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said the number of hospitalizations on average also has decreased, though there are currently 11 hospitals in the state with no intensive care beds available. Though the state has reported lower numbers of daily cases this week, Mississippi’s positivity rate remains one of the highest in the nation.
Dobbs said there are 38 counties in the state with schools where teachers and students have tested positive for COVID-19. He said 109 teachers and 69 students have tested positive. Currently more than 600 students and teachers are in quarantine because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.
“Most students are not catching it at school,” Dobbs said. Instead it is likely the coronavirus is being transmitted to students and faculty in the community and then being brought into schools, he said.
Reeves said at some point, most likely, cases will be reported at schools in all 82 counties.
Earlier, Reeves delayed the start of school for seventh grade and up for schools in eight counties with a high number of cases. That delay will end Monday.
The post Reeves extends mask mandate, limits crowd size at school extracurricular events appeared first on Mississippi Today.
The Mississippi Flag Commission met Friday planning to narrow choices for a new state flag to five, but instead ended up with nine after much debate and tweaking of designs.
Those nine designs are available for public viewing and input on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History website. The commission reviewed nearly 3,000 public submissions for a new state flag design.
Commissioners plan to vote via online meeting Tuesday morning to pick five designs, of which cloth prototypes will be made and flown at the Old Capitol on Aug. 25. Then, commissioners will by Sept. 2 choose one flag to put before voters on Nov. 3.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
Mississippi Highway Patrol officers retire the state flag outside of the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
The Mississippi Legislature, after decades of debate, in June voted to remove the 1894 state flag with its divisive Confederate battle emblem. The legislation it passed created the commission to choose a new flag to put before voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters can either approve or reject the new design. If they reject it, the commission will go back to the drawing board, and present another design to voters next year.
The legislation mandates the new flag include the words “In God We Trust,” and prohibits Confederate battle flag imagery.
Commissioners — who were appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker — on Friday debated intricacies of various designs and looked at multiple variations of numerous proposals.
Last month, the commission heard from a vexillologist, or flag expert, on principles of good flag design. But the commission has appeared to largely veer from his advice.
For instance, the expert recommended very simple design, that a child could draw from memory. Most of the choices by the commission so far are more complex, with intricate details of magnolia flowers and trees or the Mississippi River.
And the expert recommended avoiding vertical stripes, using only horizontal. Of the three remaining designs with stripes, all have vertical ones.
Commissioners also noted that numerous people have said magnolia blossoms or trees evoke the “Old South” the state is trying to shed with its flag change. An MDAH historian noted to commissioners that Mississippi’s first flag when it seceded from the Union had a magnolia tree.
But of the remaining designs, seven have magnolia blossoms or trees.
Commissioners on Friday also met with a lawyer, and approved a copyright and intellectual property agreement that finalists will have to sign before their designs could be chosen for the state flag.
The post State flag commission makes tweaks, narrows choices to nine appeared first on Mississippi Today.
USGA/Steven Gibbons
Not long after sunrise Thursday, Wilson Furr plays his second shot at the first hole at the U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
Jack Nicklaus, the most accomplished champion in golf history, said it best: “Golf is not, and never has been, a fair game.”
Early Thursday afternoon, on Oregon’s wind-swept Pacific coast and on one of the sport’s most beautiful – and most challenging – courses, Jackson’s 22-year-old Wilson Furr might have agreed. Read on. You can’t possibly blame him.
All Furr had done over four days was shoot 19-under par for 69 holes, shatter a course record, shoot the second lowest round in the 125-year history of the tournament, win the U.S. Amateur’s 36-hole qualifier gold medal by two shots, and then rout his opponent in the first round of match play. And then, despite shooting a four-under par 67 in his second match, he lost.
Vanderbilt’s Harrison Ott, a good friend of Furr’s, played flawless golf Wednesday morning, matching Furr’s 67 and then beating him on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. By Wednesday evening, Furr was catching a plane back to Jackson.
Rick Cleveland
Had the first four rounds of the U.S. Amateur been a four-round, medal play event – like most PGA Tour tournaments – Furr would have lapped the field. He would have won by multiple shots. That’s not the case and maybe it doesn’t seem fair – but, as Nicklaus said, golf’s never been fair.
That’s the thing about match play. The best golfer of the week can run into a red-hot golfer in one match – and that’s that. The luck of the draw is very real in match play format. Ott, who played so fabulously against Furr, was four-over par on his first five holes in a later match Wednesday.
“It’s hard,” Furr said by phone before catching his flight. “I played solid golf all week and today might have been my cleanest round of golf of all. I felt good. I felt in control. And yet I am getting on an airplane while other guys are still playing.”
Steve Gibbons/USGA
Wilson Furr is all smiles after shooting a 11-under 132 (70-62) to earn Medalist honors at the end of the second round of stroke play at the 2020 U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
This reporter reminded Furr that he had won the gold medal at the U.S. Amateur for the 36 holes of stroke play. And that he had shot 62 in the second round, eclipsing the course record at Bandon Trails by two shots. And that he had played perhaps the best golf of his life on the biggest stage of his life.
Replied Furr, “Yes, sir, but it’s just kind of hard to look at it that way right now. It’s just hard.”
Golf can be so fickle. After being two down early in the match with Ott, Furr battled back and took a one-up lead going to the 18th hole. Much to his credit, Ott birdied the 18th to force the playoff.
Both clobbered drives right down the middle on the par-four playoff hole. Furr, one of the longest drivers you will ever see, hit his drive eight yards past Ott, another long hitter. Ott hit his 143-yard approach about 30 feet from the hole. Furr had 135 yards to the pin against a slight breeze and up a steep hill that made his a blind shot. “Perfect pitching wedge for me,” he said.
Furr hit that wedge shot “right at it,” he said. “I really thought I was going to have two- or three-footer for birdie to win the match. I hit it that well.”
Not quite well enough as it turns out. Furr’s shot landed just short of the green, spun back and kept rolling down a steep incline to where he had 65 yards left to the pin. He actually faced a more difficult third shot than he had on his second. His third shot left him with a 30-foot putt that he missed. Ott two-putted for par and victory.
“Harrison told me he thought my second shot was perfect, too,” Furr said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just don’t know.”
G-o-l-f, might be the best explanation. Stuff happens. Much of it isn’t fair. As the great Raymond Floyd once said, “They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.”
At 22, Furr is well-versed on the highs and lows of the sport. As a young teen he won the prestigious Future Masters. At 16, he won Mississippi’s State Amateur championship by eight shots, shooting 16-under par for 72 holes. And then, at 18, playing as a freshman at Alabama, he started hitting the ball so far off line, he couldn’t even make the traveling team. “I was just awful,” he said.
In recent months, Furr has worked harder than ever on his game, especially on his wedge game and his putting. These past four days were proof that all that hard work has paid off – if not quite yet been rewarded the way he wants.
“I do feel like I’ve put some pieces together,” Furr said. “I’ve definitely made progress. I feel like these last four days will lead me somewhere.”
The post Furr’s magical U.S. Am week dead-ends, shows that golf often really isn’t fair appeared first on Mississippi Today.
Recently I had the pleasure of staying home with my nineteen-month-old son when our nanny had to take a week off. At first, I was slightly annoyed and super stressed about the change of schedule. I had so many deadlines with my work that I was not sure how I would make it all happen given the circumstances. I sat down and felt my anxiety rise up. All of this to do and not enough hours to do it in. I let a whole day pass with my crippling anxiety and panic attacks before I realized that I was bringing worry on myself that was not even necessary. I had to let it go. I had to let go the control. The panic. The anxiety. The inability to meet deadlines. The feelings of stress. I had to stop. I had to choose a different approach. Here I was, showing up and sharing with you all just last week about how to stop the busy train before you train wrecked, yet here I was watching myself wreck the train.
Catching yourself as you break bad habits is hard enough. Choosing to change those habits is even harder. As I laid down that night and realized I had wasted a whole day with my son worrying about things I could not even control. I woke up the next day and decided no more. I was going to take back the control of my attitude. I was going to enjoy my day with my son. I was going to relish the time I had to spend with him. We slept in. We watched Disney movies on repeat. We played ball. We went outside for a walk. We had a fun mommy and son day. At the end of the day, my work was still there. The deadlines were still there. Things had not fallen apart even if I felt like they were going to do so. They all were still just waiting for me right there as I had left them that morning. As I watched his curly head go to sleep, I reminded myself…this is what is important. This right here. All the other things that seem so important didn’t hold a light to this moment right here and the memories I created with him that day.
You see, I have two older children. Fourteen and thirteen years old. I am no longer cool to hang out with. They no longer want to really be seen in public with me. They think I am old and that I know nothing. I look back and wonder where the time went. It seems just like yesterday that they were toddlers who ached for my time, but I was too busy doing the “important” things like work and deadlines to see that they needed me more. I worked insane hours. I hardly saw them. When I was home I was on the phone with clients or team members. I never took the time to enjoy the kiddos back then. Now, I regret that. I guess hind sight is always 20/20 as they say.
I almost have re-created the person I was back in those days of work pressure driven deadlines and climbing the corporate ladder. I can also assure you that once you make it to the top of the corporate ladder it is not near as fulfilling as you pictured it being. It is a lot more stress than you ever thought and it leaves you feeling empty. It is another reason I left my corporate job to pursue my passion of writing. It all fell back to a conversation I was having with my pre-teen daughter in the car. Being the wise beyond her years child she is, she was thinking about what she wanted to pursue as an occupation and she sought my advice. “Mom, what is your dream job?” she asked as we were driving along. I didn’t hesitate. “Being an author” I said passionately. The words that came back to me still echo in my ears…“Then why aren’t you doing that?” I had no words. Here I was telling my daughter ever since she was little to do whatever her heart desired. She could be anything she wanted to be, yet I was not leading by example. I was following the conditions of society that I needed a certain job, title, office and salary to be considered successful. I looked into her inquiring eyes and told her “You are right. I don’t know why I am not doing that, but I think it is time I start.” That day was a pivoting moment for me. I decided to change my whole career. I went off into a career that I had only done as a hobby before. I plunged into it with everything I had. I didn’t leave a “Plan B” option. I cut all my clients. I cut all my sources of income from my job. I rebranded my business and I went all in.
Now, here I am, a best-selling author of several books. Just this year alone I have helped thirty-three women become best-selling authors as well, my daughter included. I watch as I see her blossom in her own writing and just the other day she told me she wants to be an author as well. My heart beamed with pride, not because she is following in my footsteps, but because I am living proof she can be an author full time.
I have learned that it is easy to get distracted. Even though I own my own business now, I still get side-tracked. Even though I just wrote an article last week reminding you to not let busy run your life. I still allow it sometimes. I am human. The main thing is I try to catch myself. Choose a different choice and create a new pattern for my life. This past week, I have had fun with my little toddler while I could. I enjoyed every minute of it. When the stress of deadlines creeped into my head, I remembered that I would meet them all in due time. I might have to work when he goes to sleep or spend my Sunday afternoon loading our new book to be published next week, but it all will come together. What is important is breaking the cycle and enjoying my moments that will soon pass me by.
You can create your life. Choose wisely and when you choose wrong, choose again.
Have you ever been woken up to a scary thought or feeling and just couldn’t fall asleep again?
Stay Strange.
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