YP – President Biden holds Call with Governors of States Impacted by Severe Winter Weather
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this evening with governors of states impacted by severe winter weather, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. The President and the governors discussed the extreme winter weather situation across the central and southern regions of the country that is impacting tens of millions of Americans and leaving millions of homes without power.
President Biden relayed to the governors that he understood the severity of the conditions being felt across the states, and that he and the First Lady were praying for swift recovery from the effects of the storm.
MSDH daily COVID-19 reporting
Today MSDH is reporting 734 more cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, 37 deaths, and 112 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. The total of #covid19 cases for the year is now 288,714, with 6,501 deaths. Case details and prevention guidance at https://t.co/YCv9xPyJDk pic.twitter.com/HsuGOxFsB0
— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) February 16, 2021
YP – PSC Commissioner Presley talks wintry weather impacts with Y’all Politics
Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley joined Y’all Politics on Tuesday morning to give an update on how the burst of snow, sleet and ice are impacting Mississippi.
YP – PSC Commissioner Maxwell talks winter weather, power outages
YP – Mississippi Congressman Thompson sues former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection
Mississippi Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompsons has filed a federal lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and of conspiring with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and extremist groups such the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election.
Thompson is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
“The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the Save America rally and the storming of the Capitol was no accident or coincidence,” the lawsuit states. “It was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College.”
Thompson appears on CNN
https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1361853546426208257?s=20
YP – Bill of the Day: No more sales tax on groceries
A bill offered by Senator Derrick Simmons would eliminate the sales tax imposed on groceries. This exemption would include all food and beverage sales in super markets, grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers markets and drug stores besides that of wine and beer.
Groceries in Mississippi are currently taxed at 7%. This is the highest level of grocery tax in the country, with only 13 other states having something equal.
SB 2185 was referred to the finance committee where it will have to be decided on before the next February deadline.
YP – Palazzo Joins Lawmakers Urging US Leadership in Space
Congressman Steven Palazzo (MS-4),member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, has joined several of his colleagues urging the Biden administration to prioritize American leadership, exploration, and commerce in the space domain.
Palazzo joined U.S. Representatives James R. Baird, R-Ind., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Jerry L. Carl, R-Ala., and Ronny L. Jackson, R-Texas, in sending the letter which seeks the administration’s support for the United States Space Force and the National Space Council and User’s Advisory Group, and the Artemis program.
YP – Two South Mississippi metro areas among tops in nation for jobs added during COVID pandemic
Two metro areas in Mississippi made the 24/7 Wall St. list for the “American Cities That Added Jobs During the Pandemic” – Hattiesburg and Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the United States. Health authorities reported over 26.7 million cases as of Feb. 4, more than 450,000 of which have proven fatal,” 24/7 Wall St.’s Grant Suneson writes. “The American economy has suffered as well. In February 2020, the month before the pandemic resulted in a nationwide state of emergency, 158.7 million Americans held jobs. In November, that number fell to 149.8 million — a 5.6% decline.”
Yet, as Suneson notes, not every job market in the country suffered…
…Of the 28 areas reported, Hattiesburg was 2nd in the most job growth in the nation, while the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula metro area was 18th.
YP – Wicker, Smith Propose Paycheck Protection Program Fix for Rural Hospitals
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., today announced the introduction of the “PPP Access for Rural Hospitals Act,” (S.310). This legislation would waive the Small Business Administration (SBA) affiliation rules for non-profit critical access hospitals and hospitals that serve rural areas so they may qualify for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
“Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, our nation’s critical access hospitals and rural hospitals have continued to provide care to some of our nation’s most vulnerable populations despite facing substantial increases in operating costs,” Wicker said. “Ensuring these vital facilities are able to apply for financial relief through the PPP will mean they can continue to serve their communities as we work to defeat this virus.”
YP – Snow, sleet grip Mississippi. Images from across the Magnolia State.
Mississippians are not accustomed to sleet and snow, making the last few days nerve-wracking for some and quite fun for others.
Governor Tate Reeves, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and local law enforcement officials have all issued travel warnings as highways and bridges are iced over and filled with accumulations of snow in various parts of the state.
Mississippi Public Service Commissioners, along with power companies, are asking individuals to limit their electricity consumption as power grids are strained. Thousands of Mississippians have lost power as a result of the wintry weather.
COVID-19 vaccination stations have been closed north of the Coast and appointments are being rescheduled.
WLOX – Curfew for minors in Moss Point made permanent
The nightly curfew for minors in Moss Point is now permanent after Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
The board agreed to change the times of the curfew, saying minors are not allowed be out without a parent or guardian between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11:01 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“We were extending the curfew at each meeting as we thought needed,” Alderman Wayne Lennep said. “We discussed among some of us and the mayor that it would be a good idea to go ahead and put that in our ordinance. We can always go revise that if things change.”
The permanent curfew applies to anyone under the age of 18 unless traveling to and from work, coming home from a school event, or are with a parent or legal guardian.
DAILY JOURNAL – Senate bill could politicize Mississippi archives and history board
For more than a century, the board overseeing the Mississippi Department of Archives and History has quietly sought to preserve Mississippi’s past — from prehistoric artifacts, to Civil War documents, to Civil Rights-era exhibits.
Now, the Legislature is considering an overhaul of how that nine-member board of trustees is set up, transforming it into a politician-appointed panel rather than a body that selects its own members.
The proposal has garnered concerns from a prominent Northeast Mississippi lawmaker and others who question why such a change is necessary, and whether it could politicize an agency that should be insulated from such influence.
Magnolia Tribune
