Robert F. Smith is a billionaire hedge fund operator whom few Americans had heard of before this week. That is changing, as his surprising pledge at Sunday’s Morehouse College commencement ceremony in Atlanta is making national news and virtually guarantees he’ll be in high demand as a future graduation speaker.
Reporters in this state can testify it’s nearly impossible to get information about an arrest made by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and other state investigative bodies.
From the bagpipes to the presentation of flags and roses, Thursday’s Fallen Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony was a touching tribute to the eight men who have died in the line of duty in Marion County.
As an increasing number of lower courts rule against election lines drawn for partisan purposes, the situation begs for the U.S. Supreme Court to provide guidance as to what’s legal and what’s not.
Monday’s vote in Columbia was as much of a referendum on whether the city is willing to try new things to offset its decline in population as it was on a tourism.
And the voters spoke clearly with 76 percent in favor of the 3 percent levy on sales at restaurants and hotels.
No one likes to pay taxes, but as a society they’re necessary for meeting public needs. The question, therefore, becomes, “Does a tax address a public need in an efficient way?”
Mississippi education officials are predicting that, even with the state’s intense focus on improving reading skills in the lower elementary grades, about 20 percent of third-graders will receive a failing score on the proficiency test they recently took.
There is a tendency, when talking about Mississippi, to focus heavily on the areas where the state doesn’t do well. Given its low ranking in desirable categories, such as income and education, and its high ranking in undesirable ones, such as incarceration and obesity, there’s a lot to talk about when discussing our state’s failings.
Columbia has the 61st largest population among Mississippi cities yet the 44th largest economy as measured in retail sales. So far in the fiscal year that began July 1, there have been more than $184 million in sales, according to the latest numbers from the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
A new environmental court in Madison could provide a template for other cities like Columbia to address their longstanding blight problems.
