“It will expire automatically in 120 days, but we’re going to make it a permanent rule during that 120-day period, open up the public comment, and what this will allow is for Mississippians who want to buy local beef or pork, farm-raised livestock, they can buy a share in that animal, whatever the farmer wants to sell,” said Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson.
NEWSMS – Secretary Watson Election Contingency Op-Ed
Our team is consulting with Election Commissioners and Circuit Clerks across the state as we continue to develop a plan that maintains the integrity of our elections, focuses on the wellbeing of our citizens, and upholds Mississippi’s steadfast conservative values.
Prior to Election Day, we will implement additional poll worker training regarding proper sanitation and social distancing, and we will work to offer the full training course online. Due to the expected need for more poll workers, we are asking Election Commissioners to fully utilize the current student internship program, and we are looking into potential partnerships with colleges and universities to incentivize students to work on Election Day.
A key component of our plan is urging the legislature to adopt an additional absentee excuse to allow Mississippians to absentee vote in person when they are subject to a state of emergency declared by the Governor or President. Authorizing voters to vote in-person absentee when under a state of emergency will lead to our office partnering even closer with Circuit Clerks to possibly expand curbside absentee voting to help limit the spread of COVID-19 on Election Day. Additionally, counties will be able to hire temporary staff to meet the increased demand by using funds from the CARES Act. The supplemental federal funding supports state and local election officials by offsetting some of the increased costs of administering elections during the pandemic.
#MSSen: Espy seeks large black voter turnout
As we move ahead to the November election, we intend to build the largest, strongest, and most strategic Black voter turnout operation in Mississippi history. #MSSen
— Mike Espy (@MikeEspyMS) May 15, 2020
WLBT – Analysis: Five Jackson metro cities see sales tax revenue drops in April
Of seven metro area cities 3 On Your Side analyzed, five had dips in revenue compared with the same month last year — Brandon, Flowood, Jackson, Madison and Ridgeland.
The Capital City saw the single biggest drop: $431,849, a 16.9 percent decrease over 2019.
Flowood had the second-highest decrease of $202,352, which represents a 18.7 percent decrease over last year, followed by Ridgeland ($117,363), Brandon ($40,314) and Madison ($3,440).
Two cities had increases — Richland with $19,458 and Pearl with $21,960 — which may seem surprising to some.
