Mississippi
Sojourner reflects on last legislative session – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper
![Sojourner reflects on last legislative session – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper Sojourner reflects on last legislative session – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper](https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/09/WEB-090422.Sojourner.jpg)
Sojourner displays on final legislative session
Printed 5:00 am Monday, September 5, 2022
NATCHEZ — Because the keynote speaker of Thursday’s Kiwanis assembly on the Natchez Grand Resort, Melanie Sojourner, District 37 senator and a Natchez native, mirrored on what she fears might be her final legislative session following the state’s redistricting plan.
Sojourner stated she publicly “butted heads” with the Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann over the brand new legislative districts, which mix many of the district now represented by Sojourner, a Republican, with that of Sen. Albert Butler of Port Gibson, a Democrat, to create a single majority-Black district.
Sojourner, who for 2 years has been awarded by the American Conservative Union for upholding conservative guarantees to voters, stated the brand new Mississippi legislative strains appear to assist Butler.
“I simply noticed it as an actual slap within the face to the voters of Southwest Mississippi,” she stated. “… We had been the primary Republican elected to get elected in Southwest Mississippi for the reason that mid-1800s, and it’s very possible we’ll be the final.”
Many gadgets handed this session that Sojourner stated she is personally happy with, together with a historic pay elevate for lecturers, a ban on instructing vital race idea in Mississippi’s public colleges and record-level funding of statewide restore for street, water and sewer infrastructure.
Sojourner stated she can also be proud to have been capable of codify a voter referendum that helps shield personal property homeowners’ rights in issues of public curiosity, akin to constructing tasks.
“We now have had some management previously in Mississippi who thought that simply since you personal a bit of personal property in case your neighbor can flip it right into a higher tax base worth then they need to have the ability to take it from you. I’m passionately in opposition to that,” Sojourner stated. “Thrice this session we had payments come ahead to permit the personal sector imminent area energy in Mississippi and thrice we needed to battle actually laborious to get these payments killed. … On the finish of the session when there was a variety of negotiation over a few big-ticket points, we had been lastly capable of move a invoice that codified a referendum the folks handed about 10 years in the past once we put into our structure the safety of personal property rights. That was a giant deal.”
Sojourner stated she isn’t so happy with different gadgets.
Throughout this session, legislators adopted a state earnings tax reformation that started as a repeal of the state earnings tax. Sojourner stated repealing the tax would enhance native economies, however not each legislator supported it.
“That concern took up many of the session,” she stated. “We lowered the tax burden however didn’t repeal it.”
Together with raises for Mississippi lecturers, a lot of different raises that Sojourner didn’t assist had been handed this 12 months.
“We truly in Jackson this 12 months gave pay raises to lots of people and to be upfront I didn’t assist most of them. I solely supported two: instructor pay raises and pay raises for legislation enforcement officers.
“We’re a time in our nation when a variety of issues are occurring and lots of people are struggling within the personal sector. I simply didn’t assume it was truthful to be giving public sector pay raises, particularly when management in Jackson introduced ahead pay will increase for each elected official within the state.”
Sojourner stated she was outspoken in her opposition to a invoice that the lieutenant governor’s workplace introduced ahead to lift legislators’ salaries.
“I believed that was loopy considering at the moment when so many households had come by way of the pandemic and companies had been struggling, how dare the officers give themselves a pay elevate? Thank goodness we had been capable of kill that one.”
Nonetheless, the Legislature did give a hefty wage improve to native elected officers state-wide, together with supervisors, she stated.
“Quite a lot of the native leaders, to their credit score, reached out and stated, ‘Hey, should you don’t need to vote for it, I don’t blame you,’” Sojourner stated.
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Mississippi
MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota
![MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/02/0564de83-90fa-4d81-9619-84022c30819e/thumbnail/1200x630/e98078edb78f4dec2ccc9e494c22c33c/4p-pkg-river-testing-wcco61yp.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. —It winds 650 miles, rushing past the cities, industries and landscapes that make up Minnesota.
However, the Mississippi River has never gotten this type of attention from water quality professionals.
For the first time ever, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is testing the entirety of the river, from Itasca to Iowa, in a single year.
The governor’s office wants the river to be swimmable and fishable, but right now, parts of the river are polluted.
The MPCA says the upper Mississippi is largely healthy up north, but quality drops south of St. Cloud where metro development and tributaries from agriculture muddy the waters. The National Park Service says stretches of the river exceed water quality standards for things like mercury, bacteria and sediment.
Think of the testing like a checkup for one of our state’s most valuable and powerful resources. Researchers will check temperature, transparency and levels of pollutants like phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia.
Crews also check fish for those contaminants and collect insects to test in a lab to identify any concerning trends.
“If we find the fish community is suffering — maybe the water is too warm and maybe there’s a thermal pollution source upstream or maybe it’s too much runoff — that sort of stuff. Temperature is an important indicator especially for sensitive species,” Isaac Martin with the MPCA said.
Also for the first time, the agency is looking for PFAS contamination with money from an Environmental Protection Agency grant to identify and stop the forever chemicals from streaming into the Mississippi.
PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals for industry and consumer products that don’t break down in the environment. While research is ongoing, the EPA says exposure to the chemicals can cause human health issues. It’s why the federal agency just lowered the amount allowed in drinking water.
“They go to parts per trillion, which is incredibly sensitive. You get that low, you’re talking drops in an Olympic swimming pool,” Martin said. “Part of the reason why it was chosen is because it’s a primary drinking source or potentially could be a primary drinking source. We’re just finding them in places we never expected to find them. We’re finding them almost everywhere and being that it is new, there’s just a lot of ‘I don’t know’ that goes with it.”
It’s too early to know what this complete snapshot will reveal, but we know this powerful river is part of our community, economy and health.
“Maybe you don’t use the resource yourself, but maybe you know someone who does or future generations of your own will,” Martin said. “In Minnesota, we’re just trying to be the best stewards we can be.”
The data from this testing will be available early next year. Researchers will use that data and compare it to 10-year pollution averages to determine which parts of the river are improved or impaired.
A full report will be released in 2026.
Mississippi
Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)
![Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31) Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1280,h_720,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/high_school/01j5m63arexrvt6r9tmr.jpg)
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for August25-31. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. The poll will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email Tyler@scorebooklive.com. For questions/issues with he poll, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Kohl Bradley, DB, George County: Racked up 17 tackles and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a 33-7 win over East Central.
DaJuan Colbert, DB, Natchez: Recorded 15 tackles, forced one fumble and returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown in a 58-50 win over Hancock.
Garrison Davis, QB, Holmes County Central: Completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-6 win over Vicksburg.
Xzavion Gainwell, DB, Yazoo County: Recorded nine tackles, an interception and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 20-16 win over South Delta.
Elijah Jones, RB, West Jones: Had 24 carries 226 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-6 win over Laurel.
Kingi McNair, WR, Pearl: Caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 win over Neshoba Central.
Ashton Nichols, DB, Clinton: Recorded six tackles to go with two big pass breakups, a blocked punt and a return for a touchdown in a 26-20 win over Warren Central.
Ethan Prater, RB, Pisgah: Rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries with three scores and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 33-32 win over North Forrest.
Glen Singleton, RB, Madison Central: Rushed for 174 yards on 18 carries with all four touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Ocean Springs.
Damarius Yates, RB, Kemper County: Rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in a 38-15 win over Kosciusko.
Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
![‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations ‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations](https://gray-wlbt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3KMJQZPKGBHNRCT7NENQ3O72YY.png?auth=8e7e3183f489f41a63616389bdae4dd45efc187856d208138265c67183c736b4&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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