YP – Absentee voting changes possible amid COVID-19 social distancing
The Senate took up HB 1521 on Monday which addresses absentee voting in the new climate of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill allows for individuals who have been instructed by healthcare professionals to stay home or have severe health risks due to the virus to vote by absentee. It also applies to individuals who have a genuine concern of contracting the virus by leaving their home and going to the polls. The hope is to limit their exposure.
YP – Representative Gary Chism retires from Mississippi Legislature
On Tuesday, longtime House member Representative Gary Chism announced his retirement from the Legislature effective June 30. The leave was attributed to family medical issues.
“My wife has had some health issues and I really felt like I should be with her,” Chism told The Dispatch. He left session on June 3 and said he does not plan to return before his retirement is effective.
Chism said that the decision not to serve out his four year term was a difficult one.
MSDH: Coronavirus cases top 20,000
Today MSDH is reporting 353 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, with 20 new deaths. The total of #coronavirus cases since March 11 is now 20,152, with 915 deaths. See more case details and important preventive steps at https://t.co/QP8mlJ41AN pic.twitter.com/kGFkhXKMp4
— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) June 16, 2020
YP – AG Fitch petitions U.S. Supreme Court to support Mississippi’s Gestational Stage Act
“Yesterday, we filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States asking the Court to review Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, which preserves the right to life after 15 weeks within the womb. The petition asks the Court to clarify its jurisprudence on abortion to allow states like ours to enact laws that further their legitimate interests in protecting maternal health, safeguarding unborn babies, and promoting respect for innocent and vulnerable life. We are hopeful that the Court will accept our case and allow Mississippi to defend innocent life as the Legislature and people of this great State intend.”
Congressman Thompson plans to vote for D.C. as 51st state
Looking forward to voting next week to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. https://t.co/rZnub3i1SH
— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) June 17, 2020
Auditor White talks Education Report
WLOX – Gulfport citizens, leaders react to city’s vote to remove flag
The vote on Tuesday by the Gulfport City Council—to remove the state flag from city property and ask the state legislature to change it— is not a new concept.
The issue has roiled cities and counties across the state for years.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce asked the legislature to change the state flag in 2015. Their position hasn’t changed, and they supported Gulfport’s move Tuesday.
YP – Wicker, Hyde-Smith, others unveil bill to expand national service
Senator @SenatorWicker, @ChrisCoons, Senator @SenHydeSmith, & Colleagues Unveil Bipartisan Bill to Expand National Service #mssen READ MORE>>https://t.co/BDSNLznT8a
— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) June 16, 2020
YP – Guest introduces legislation to support rural hospitals
Congressman @RepMichaelGuest: Legislation to Support Rural Hospitals Introduced in the House #ms03 READ MORE>> https://t.co/ZeMDJvEutc
— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) June 16, 2020
WDAM – Senator: MDOC’s new commissioner “exonerated” in Angola investigations, but La. official disagrees
Fifteen minutes into Tuesday’s committee confirmation hearing for Burl Cain, the former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary whose exit came amid three state investigations, a Mississippi senator asserted that information he had been given on those allegations proved to him that Cain had been “exonerated.”
Cain, tapped by Gov. Tate Reeves to lead Mississippi’s corrections system, agreed with the statement from State Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Jackson County, saying he was indeed exonerated in the cases which revealed misspending of taxpayer dollars and business relationships with alleged ties to inmates Cain himself supervised…
…“To have someone to come in that’s not really concerned about the money, not really concerned about the political backlash that he or she may receive from doing things in a manner in which others may not like, I think that’s what’s needed,” said State Sen. Juan Barnett, who chairs the corrections committee. “[We need] someone with some direction and someone who’s not afraid to make those tough changes.”
Barnett said he was particularly impressed with Cain’s future plans because, for the last five years, Barnett has tried to champion corrections strategies in the Legislature, with limited success.
#MSSen: Espy hosting virtual meet and greet
Hey, Jackson Metro Area! You’re invited to our virtual Meet-and-Greet tomorrow, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. CDT. It’s the first stop in our Mississippi Listening Tour.
RSVP below. I’m looking forward to listening to what you have to say. https://t.co/QZ2LEcWZHQ
— Mike Espy (@MikeEspyMS) June 16, 2020
WLOX – Miss. actress appeals to First Lady Elee Reeves to change state flag
A famous Mississippi actress is joining the chorus denouncing the Confederate emblem on the state flag.
Actress Aunjanue Ellis recently created a video directed to First Lady Elee Reeves to support the cause.
“They say that Southern women are husband-whisperers. Whisper to your husband and say he could be first governor of courage for the state of Mississippi.”
In a video on Facebook that has now gone viral, Ellis could bee seen appealing to First Lady Elee Reeves. She wants her to encourage Governor Tate Reeves to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the Mississippi flag that she believes reflects slavery and division.
WTOK – Tyrone Johnson confirms he’s running for mayor in 2021
Former Ward 2 city councilman Tyrone Johnson confirmed his intentions to run for mayor of the city of Meridian in 2021.
Johnson mentioned the idea a couple of weeks ago and reconfirmed with a post Tuesday on Facebook. Johnson posted an update saying, “The election will get messy next year. We should all get behind a candidate. #mayorTyroneJohnson #Johnson2021.”
Johnson was removed by the city council after the panel determined he no longer lived in Ward 2, the ward which he was elected to represent.
DAILY JOURNAL – Mississippi official: Black people ‘dependent’ since slavery
After the meeting, Sanders, a Republican, was quoted by the Commercial Dispatch as saying that other groups of people who had also been mistreated in the past — he cited Irish, Italian, Polish and Japanese immigrants — were able to successfully “assimilate” afterward.
“The only ones that are having the problems: Guess who? The African Americans,” Sanders said. “You know why? In my opinion, they were slaves. And because of that, they didn’t have to go out and earn any money, they didn’t have to do anything. Whoever owned them took care of them, fed them, clothed them, worked them. They became dependent, and that dependency is still there. The Democrats right here who depend on the black vote to get elected, they make them dependent on them.”
Democratic State Rep. Kabir Karriem of Columbus, who is African American, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Sanders should resign. Karriem called Sanders’ remarks “appalling.”
