NEWSMS – Sports betting regulations take effect, casinos not ready
Today is the day that Mississippi casinos can officially begin to offer sports betting, but none have it up and running quite yet.
The regulations for sports betting in the state were approved 30 days ago, and Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission Allen Godfrey said that they’ve received around 14 applications from casinos across the state, but none are offering betting as of today. However, it won’t be long until it is available, as Godfrey said that sports betting will make its way to Mississippi casinos by the end of the month.
When sports betting becomes available, he noted that he doesn’t believe that there will be much of a learning curve for Mississippi bettors.
ICYMI – Q2 reports for #MSSen candidates Hyde-Smith, McDaniel, Espy, Bartee
The #mssen special election Q2 reports are in. Here’s the cash on hand (COH) scorecard.@SenHydeSmith – $1.39 million@senatormcdaniel $156K (with a $55K personal loan)@espyforsenate – $281K (with a $111K personal loan)
Tobey Bartee – $0Read more https://t.co/kIv9S4THMo pic.twitter.com/u4j7iZzWsE
— Yall Politics (@MSyallpolitics) July 21, 2018
#MSSen: Hyde-Smith promotes 100% record of supporting POTUS Trump
I’m the ONLY Member of the U.S. Senate with a 100% record supporting @realDonaldTrump. As Senator, I’ll always put America First—that means rebuilding our military, stopping illegal immigration, and ending taxpayer-funded abortion! pic.twitter.com/iw7RteK4Je
— Cindy Hyde-Smith (@cindyhydesmith) July 20, 2018
#MSSen: Soros maxes out donation to Espy campaign
Shock contribution – @georgesoros maxes out to Mike Espy campaign.
That won’t play well. It’s likely something you’ll see on a runoff campaign commercial in Mississippi #mssen @espyforsenate pic.twitter.com/Aku705T1mt
— Yall Politics (@MSyallpolitics) July 21, 2018
CLARION LEDGER – New Jersey Sen. Booker stumps for fellow Dem Espy in Mississippi
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey campaigned Friday for fellow Democrat Mike Espy in a U.S. Senate race in Mississippi, saying Espy might go against him and many other Democrats in Washington.
Booker — who introduced himself as a descendant of slaves and a Confederate soldier — said it’s not unusual for Southern Democrats, including Alabama’s Doug Jones and Florida’s Bill Nelson, to disagree with other Democrats in the Senate.
“They put people first, before party,” Booker said. “And so I know that that’s what Mike Espy is going to do.”
Honored to hear these kind words from @SenBooker #RiseAbove https://t.co/LQvwVFrSUv
— Mike Espy (@espyforsenate) July 20, 2018
DAILY JOURNAL – Wicker to skip Neshoba County Fair speeches
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, facing re-election this November, will be visiting the Neshoba County Fair later this month in Philadelphia, but he is not scheduled to speak.
Wicker, a Tupelo Republican, is slated to be at the fair the weekend before the political speeches, when he will be shaking hands and likely going door-to-door to meet with the fairgoers who reside in the cabins that dot the fairgrounds.
Rick VanMeter, Wicker’s communications director, said “between votes (in Washington, D.C.,) and his committee obligations, it did not work for his schedule to speak this year.”
#MS04: Democrat Anderson proposed higher minimum wage in Mississippi
Here in Mississippi I’ve proposed legislation to simply establish a minimum wage law in the state—but no traction. Mississippi’s minimum wage is the federal wage of $7.25 by default. That’s unacceptable and we need to change it! #JustWantALivableWage https://t.co/bqYZClwWR3
— Rep. Jeramey Anderson (@jerameyanderson) July 22, 2018
MBJ – Bill Crawford: Mississippi morality yielding to anger and hatred?
In February, WalletHub.com ranked Mississippi as the 5th angriest and most hateful state behind Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Alaska. And the Clarion-Ledger reported “Mississippi has the third most hate groups in the country” per capita behind Idaho and Tennessee.
This comes amidst reports of increases in hate and hate crimes across America.
“Hate in America is on the rise” headlined a Washington Post editorial last November. “A new FBI report on hate crimes tells a sobering story. For the second year in a row, police departments across the country reported a rise in the number of crimes motivated by bias.”…
…How is it that a state that reveres the Bible can have so many hearts infested with the bitter roots of hatred and anger?
A growing number of distinguished Mississippians say we’ve allowed the politics of hate and anger spewing forth from media, tweets, and politicians to blind us to Scripture and deafen us to moral teachings.
DAILY JOURNAL – Analysis: Gambling not a clear-cut state budget booster
A new study from a nonprofit group, The Pew Charitable Trusts, examines “sin taxes” on alcohol, tobacco and gambling, including lotteries and sports betting. It says the taxes are a “tempting but unreliable source of revenue” for states.
“Any of these new, or even existing, sin taxes are unlikely to be a silver bullet for larger budget issues – certainly, when attempting to resolve some of the larger structural budget challenges that many states are facing,” Mary Murphy, Pew’s project director for state and local fiscal health, said Wednesday during a conference call about the study.
Mississippi is one of six states without a lottery, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The others are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
WTVA – Lynn Spruill confirmed mayor of Starkville
In a packed Circuit Court Friday morning, the final ruling was in favor of Spruill over Johnny Moore.
Last year, Spruill was elected mayor of the city, but Moore challenged the results. The year-long contest involved the topic of possible wrongdoing or fraud by election commissioners.
According to the Starkville Daily News, presiding Judge Barry Ford stated there was no wrongdoing or fraud by the commissioners.
VICKSBURG POST – Mississippi town rejects move to abolish police force
Scooba Mayor Marion Smoot tells local news outlets that aldermen on Tuesday rejected a move to close the 700-resident town’s police department and instead rely on Kemper County sheriff’s deputies for protection.
Smoot says Alderman Chris Collins had sought the department’s closure as a cost-saving measure. Smoot, however, says she supported keeping the police force. The department currently has 11 officers, all of whom work part-time.
WTOK – Mississippi jobless rate near historic low
Mississippi’s unemployment rate in June 2018 was 4.7%, the third lowest level of unemployment ever recorded in the state.
The June rate is the same as a month earlier in May 2018 and five-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year ago in June 2017, when the rate was 5.2%.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security says the number of non-farm jobs in the state rose by 2,800 in June to 1,168,300, which are the most jobs ever recorded here.
Magnolia Tribune
