YP Daily Roundup 3/30/20

YP – Reeves leads Sunday morning devotion, talks with Dobbs on slowing coronavirus spread

Governor Tate Reeves took to Facebook Live this weekend to update the public on the coronavirus response.  Reeves was joined by Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the head of the Mississippi Department of Health.

The two recapped their Friday press conference where it was announced that the state was moving from defense to offense…

…“If we depend upon a shelter in place to be a solution, we’re going to be sorely disappointed,” Dobbs said.  “It’s a great intervention to slow things down but if you’re not coupling it with something else it seems like you’re setting yourself up for failure and frustration because when does it end?”

MSDH: 758 coronavirus cases in state with 14 deaths

This morning MSDH is reporting 95 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, with one new death. Mississippi's total of coronavirus cases is now 758, with 14 deaths. More details and important preventive steps at https://t.co/QP8mlJ41AN pic.twitter.com/SWbyRJnDzk

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) March 29, 2020

WJTV – Gov. Reeves signs memorandum of understanding for unemployment aid

YP – Timeline for MDOC Commissioner search pushed back

The search committee to help find the next Commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Corrections is pushing back their timeline.

The goal was to have the top three candidates submitted to Governor Tate Reeves for his consideration by next week but the statewide response to the coronavirus and the suspension of the legislative session have shifted that farther out.

“We are approaching the interview process but moved it back one week,” Mayor George Flaggs told Y’all Politics on Thursday. “I see no reason why we can’t have the names to the Governor by when the Legislature returns to session.”

WASHINGTON EXAMINER – ‘Increases in cases every single day’: Mississippi governor details strategy to mitigate coronavirus pandemic

Last week, there was some confusion after Reeves appeared to override local officials in Mississippi who were moving aggressively to blunt the coronavirus outbreak with shelter-in-place orders and mandatory business closures. But in a telephone interview Saturday evening with Behind Closed Doors, a Washington Examiner podcast, the first-term Republican explained his administration’s policy,

Contrary to some earlier reporting, Reeves said, the stringent rules in place in states with significant urban populations, such as California, Illinois, Maryland, and New York, is similar to what life is like in Mississippi right now for “95%” of the state’s nearly 3 million people. “We’re certainly doing everything we can to prepare for the worst and pray for the best and expect, probably, somewhere in between,” he said.

MS Democrats join push for federal action on election amid coronavirus

Thank you @BobbyMoakMSDem for signing this call to action lifting the voices of #elections admins nationwide, #Republicans and #Democrats, who are asking for federal government assistance during this unprecedented public #HealthCrisis. #COVID19#DemocratsLeadTheWay pic.twitter.com/iAS72krYEX

— MS Democratic Party (@msdemocrats) March 28, 2020

Lt. Gov. Hosemann: MDES hiring 70 employees to handle unemployment filings

The @MDESMS has hired an additional 70 employees (120 total) to answer requests for unemployment benefits for individuals laid off because of COVID-19. Call volume has exploded from 600 calls per week to 6,000 calls per week. Delays persist. pic.twitter.com/SmrayXZxRk

— Delbert Hosemann (@DelbertHosemann) March 27, 2020

Speaker Gunn provides coronavirus update 

CLARION LEDGER – Mississippi Capitol Police officer tests positive for coronavirus

Speaker Philip Gunn notified members of the Mississippi House on Friday that a Capitol Police officer has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Less than two weeks have passed since the Mississippi Legislature suspended its session on the recommendation of the state’s top health official.

Gunn told the Clarion Ledger Friday that was informed about the positive test by the office of Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate.

YP – Mississippi’s large employers balance work, safety following Gov. Reeves’ insistence to stay home

Mississippi’s large employers balance work, safety following Gov. @tatereeves’ insistence to “stay home”.

It's often said, “As goes Jackson County, so goes Mississippi and so goes America.” @HIIndustries, @Chevron, @mySingingRiver during #coronavirus. https://t.co/cqzLP8wlJL

— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) March 27, 2020

Reeves tours bases with National Guard

We are planning for all scenarios. We will not be caught with our guard down. On the ground in Gulfport this morning and Hattiesburg right now working on potential hospital expansion sites with the National Guard. We cannot allow our health care system to be overwhelmed. pic.twitter.com/CGiNw5RhbB

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 27, 2020

Congressman Thompson talks with MSNBC on Gov. Reeves’ handling of coronavirus

CLARION LEDGER – Ethics group questions how Rep. Steven Palazzo spent $188,000 in campaign cash

An elections watchdog group is asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to look into how Rep. Steven Palazzo used campaign funds over past decade, alleging that he may have improperly benefited from political spending.

The Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., reviewed public campaign finance documents and raised questions about $188,000 in spending on a farm and an accounting firm.

Paul Breazeale, the campaign’s treasurer, denied any campaign expenditures were improper.

“These unsubstantiated allegations first came up in dirty attacks by desperate political opponents during Congressman Palazzo’s most recent campaign, which he won with 67% of the vote,” Breazeale said in a statement.

MBJ – BILL CRAWFORD — Virus deaths should weigh heavily on political leaders

The notion that Mississippians can return to normal life and work by Easter Sunday is poppycock.