Mississippi
Holding unlicensed personal care homes accountable, Disability Rights Mississippi calls for new legislation
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Disability Rights Mississippi is calling for a bill to be passed to crack down on unlawful practices that take advantage of vulnerable people regarding housing.
The group says for far too long, those with disabilities have not been protected under a law when it comes to housing.
Through their investigation, they have gathered evidence of neglect, abuse, and manipulation.
“The longer this is unmitigated, the more vulnerable citizens will suffer and have their safety and well-being threatened,” said Polly Tribble, the Disability Rights Mississippi Director.
Members of Disability Rights Mississippi stood in solidarity on the steps of the State Capitol Thursday voicing their concerns as well as demands.
“We are hopeful that our leaders will take the findings in this report seriously and act with the urgency we believe that this issue requires,” said Tribble.
The agency is funded by the state to provide legal and advocacy services for people with disabilities across the state.
They say over the past decade, DMRS has conducted extensive investigations into unlicensed personal care homes. Those investigations uncovered a crisis of widespread misconduct, unsafe living conditions, and discriminatory practices.
“The conditions outside of the home are often deplorable. The inside is only worse. Inoperable plumbing, improper cooling, and heating. Windows nailed shut and covered with plastic instead of a window,” said Raven LeSure with Disability Rights Mississippi.
The group also provided photos from their findings of homes in harsh conditions.
Some clients were even living in sheds and tents.
Those on hand tell us people with severe mental illness, veterans, and those without family are staying in these facilities.
“It’s a life-or-death issue. We have seen people who have had to go to hospitals because they haven’t been taken care of. So, it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal to us because we want people to be treated with dignity and we want people to be treated humanely,” said Tribble.
Now the organization is demanding that lawmakers establish meaningful penalties for those operating unlawful, unlicensed facilities.
“Close loopholes in occupancy that allow operators to avoid regulation. Next, define personal care homes clearly in our state laws to ensure all facilities fall under regulatory oversight,” said Tribble.
The group has now passed its proposal along to lawmakers in both chambers.
They now hope legislation will get passed on this issue during this year’s legislation.
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Mississippi
Golden Spikes watchlist features players from Mississippi State, Ole Miss – SuperTalk Mississippi
Two pitchers representing Mississippi universities are up for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award.
USA Baseball announced Thursday the 25 semifinalists for the award, which is presented annually to the most prolific college player in the nation. Both Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius and Ole Miss’ Cade Townsend cracked the list. It’s the latest award each was announced to be up for after Valincius and Townsend became Ferris Trophy finalists earlier this week.
Valincius, a left-hander who followed first-year Bulldog head coach Brian O’Connor to Starkville from Virginia has been a star for Mississippi State this season. In 13 starts, the sophomore is 8-2 with a 2.52 ERA and 105 strikeouts, along with just 16 walks across 75 innings of work.
He has effectively limited opposing hitters to a .209 batting average on the year and ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and wins, and is third in innings pitched and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.56) and WHIP (0.99).
Valincius is the 10th Bulldog to earn a semifinalist distinction from the Golden Spikes Award and the first since Dakota Jordan in 2024. Will Clark is the program’s only Golden Spikes Award winner in 1985 while Rafael Palmeiro and Brent Rooker finished as finalists for the honor in 1984 and 2017, respectively.
For Ole Miss, Townsend is the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 and just the seventh ever to be named a semifinalist for the award. He is the first Ole Miss sophomore to ever be named a semifinalist as all six before him were juniors.
The right-hander boasts a 3.25 ERA and has struck out 77 batters while only allowing 20 earned runs in 55.1 innings. Townsend ranks fifth in the SEC in WHIP (1.01), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50), and strikeouts per nine innings (12.52). He leads the Rebels in all three categories as well as batters struck out looking (24) and wins and is second in opponent batting average (.202) and total strikeouts (77).
If Townsend is announced as a finalist, he will join Stephen Head and Drew Pomeranz in earning the honor. No Ole Miss player has ever won the Golden Spikes Award.
The full list of semifinalists can be found here. Finalists will be named on June 10, and this year’s Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced on the MLB Network on June 29. Fans can weigh in on which player is their favorite by clicking here.
One series remains in the regular season and Ole Miss and Mississippi State baseball are in similar situations.
Both are locks for the NCAA Tournament but are on the bubble for hosting a regional.
The Tennessean’s latest bracket projections have both the Rebels and Bulldogs as two of the 16 national seeds, but that is not solidified yet.
Finding wins in the final series, and possibly the SEC Tournament too, are necessary. Both teams close the regular season on the road against ranked teams that are also projected to host regionals.
The No. 12 Bulldogs (38-14, 15-12 SEC) play at No. 10 Texas A&M (37-12, 16-10). The No. 19 Rebels (35-18, 14-13) play at No. 16 Alabama (35-17, 16-11). Both series begin May 14 (6 p.m., SEC Network+).
Here’s a look at the different scenarios for Ole Miss and Mississippi State to host NCAA Tournament regionals.
Mississippi State, Ole Miss hosting scenarios for NCAA Tournament
Ole Miss and Mississippi State getting swept could knock them completely out of the hosting conversation, barring a deep run in the SEC Tournament. However, SEC Tournament wins are not always viewed the same as SEC regular-season wins by the selection committee.
Mississippi State is in a slightly better spot than Ole Miss. The Bulldogs’ RPI is at No. 12, one spot ahead of Ole Miss. They are tied for sixth in the SEC standings, while Ole Miss is ninth.
The Bulldogs also went 4-0 against Ole Miss, which could give them the edge if the final hosting seed came down to those two teams.
The Tennessean projects MSU as the No. 12 national seed and the Rebels as the No. 13 seed. D1Baseball and Baseball America also project MSU to host, however they both have Ole Miss as a No. 2 seed.
That could mean Ole Miss needs two wins against Alabama, while MSU may be fine with just one win at Texas A&M. If Ole Miss wins one game at Alabama, it probably would need multiple wins in the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State winning two games at Texas A&M could keep it in contention for a top eight seed. Ole Miss and Mississippi State sweeping their series obviously would, too.
Getting a top eight seed is advantageous because that means you are guaranteed to host a super regional.
Who Ole Miss, Mississippi State fans should root against
It will help Ole Miss and Mississippi State if teams near them in the projections lose, too. That would be teams like Oregon, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Nebraska, Oregon State and Kansas.
Oregon hosts Southern Cal, Nebraska plays at Minnesota, Kansas plays at BYU, Wake Forest plays at Duke, Oregon State hosts Air Force and West Virgina hosts TCU.
How NCAA Tournament history could be made in Mississippi
If everything falls the right way, there’s a chance Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss all host NCAA Tournament regionals. That’s never happened.
The No. 9 Golden Eagles (37-14, 19-8 Sun Belt) are projected by The Tennessean as the No. 10 national seed, just ahead of MSU and Ole Miss.
Southern Miss plays a home series against Georgia Southern (15-37, 7-20) at Pete Taylor Park beginning May 14 (7 p.m., ESPN+).
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
MUNCIE, IN — A Muncie man accused of shooting two local residents was arrested by U.S. marshals on the early morning of Wednesday, May 13, in Jackson, Mississippi.
De Vonte Marquise Williams, 32, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison, in the April 26 shootings at a home in the 1600 block of East Second Street.
One victim, a man, was shot in the “shoulder/back area,” according to an affidavit.
The other victim, a woman, had a gunshot wound in her buttocks, the document said.
According to Melissa Criswell, deputy chief for the Muncie Police Department, Williams on Wednesday afternoon was being held in Mississippi, awaiting extradition proceedings.
Criswell said the arrest was the result of a joint effort involving the MPD and other agencies, including the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Indiana State Police and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.
According to court records, Williams has been convicted of crimes including possession of cocaine, carrying a handgun without a license and leaving the scene of an accident.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
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