Yall PoliticsYall Politics:Yall Politics - The Definitive Guide to Politics in Mississippi2009-07-02T23:55:54ZCopyright (c) 2009, Staff of Y'all PoliticsExpressionEnginetag:yallpolitics.com,2009:07:02Judge says no questionnaires in Brent Warr’s fraud trial so to avoid more press coveragetag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170532009-07-02T22:53:00Z2009-07-02T23:55:54ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsNo juror questionnaires in mayor's fraud trial
Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr, the highest-ranking public official charged with Hurricane Katrina fraud, won't be allowed to send questionnaires to potential jurors in his federal trial.
Warr and his wife, Laura, have pleaded not guilty to charges in a 16-count federal indictment accusing them of seeking a homeowners assistance grant for a house they owned but did not live in. They're also accused of making false claims to their insurance company.
Brent Warr's lawyer has said the charges arose from a misunderstanding about the Warrs' living arrangements and a beachfront home they were renovating when the storm hit Aug. 29, 2005.
Warr didn't seek re-election this year. George Schloegel takes over Monday as mayor.
Questionnaires are sometimes used to gauge potential jurors' views, but judges don't have to allow them. It's not clear what Brent Warr's attorney, Joe Sam Owen, wanted to ask people in the jury pool. Owen didn't immediately return a phone call Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Walter J. Gex III ruled Wednesday that the questionnaire is unnecessary. Attorneys will be able to question potential jurors in person.
Federal prosecutors had argued against using questionnaires, saying a copy of it could be leaked to the media because Warr's case is so high-profile.
"A juror questionnaire is just one more opportunity for the press to comment and try the issues outside of the courtroom, exactly the thing we hope to avoid," the government said in a motion June 1.
Sun-Herald
7/2/9
]]>Senator Merle Flowers to speak at DeSoto TEA Party on July 4thtag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170522009-07-02T22:09:00Z2009-07-02T23:10:17ZStaff of Y'all Politics
The national grassroots anti-tax organization, Taxed Enough Already (TEA), is having a rally in DeSoto County on Saturday, July 4th. Senator Merle Flowers (R-Olive Branch) will deliver the keynote address at noon .
“Americans are fed up with government at all levels for taxing us too much, spending too much, and placing huge public debt burdens on the backs of our children and grandchildren,” said Flowers.
“The TEA Party movement is made up of citizens from all walks of life who are concerned about our inefficient and bloated government. Government spending has spiraled out of control, and we are on the verge of seeing the largest tax increases in U.S. history. These government actions have harmed small businesses, drastically affected the housing market, hurt charitable giving, and led to higher energy prices. We want our voices to be heard, we are taxed enough already,” said Flowers.
“The TEA Party rally on July 4th is free of charge and open to the public. I hope everyone brings their children to the rally as we celebrate America ’s freedom,” said Flowers.
The event will be held on the courthouse lawn on the square in Hernando. A bluegrass band will perform at 10:30 a.m. The formal program will begin at noon . Speakers include Flowers, Fox News political analyst Angela McGlowan, as well as an open microphone for the public.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission is furloughing most of its 73 employees until the agency has a budget.
Commission chairman Lynn Posey and two commission members told The Associated Press that about a dozen employees will keep working, including six investigators.
Commissioners were interviewed as they were preparing to notify staff members about the furloughs.
"We're now down to protecting rate payers with spit balls," commissioner Brandon Presley said.
Legislators failed to pass a PSC budget before the fiscal year started Wednesday. The agency's funding didn't pass because of a dispute about commissioners' requests for additional staff members. House Democrats supported the request, but Senate Republicans opposed it.
AP
7/2/9
]]>MajorityInMiss - Could PSC Funding Have Passed If It Wasn’t For George Flaggs?tag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170502009-07-02T20:17:00Z2009-07-02T23:05:38ZOutsideStaffMajorityInMiss - Could PSC Funding Have Passed If It Wasn’t For George Flaggs?
The Clarion-Ledger did a good job of slamming Rep. George Flaggs (D-Vicksburg) for what they called his self-serving attempt to delay passage of Medicaid funding. Flaggs held up the process for over two hours by demanding a reading of the 82 page bill. I am not sure what Flaggs was trying to prove, did he want to be known as the man who single handily shut down government?
However, another interesting tidbit has surfaced following the Flaggs publicity stunt, and that is the issue of funding for the Public Service Commission. As you may know, a special session will be needed to fund the department who is operating without a budget. Paul Gallo is reporting that members of the legislature are blaming Flaggs for the failure to fund the PSC. A new special session will cost an estimated $60,000. Can the taxpayers send the bill to Mr. Flaggs?
Majority In Mississippi
7/1/9
]]>YP - Dueling PSC Press Releases: Rates Up or Down?tag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170462009-07-02T18:07:00Z2009-07-02T19:21:16ZOutsideStaff
On Tuesday, June 30, the Mississippi Public Service Commission issued orders regarding Entergy Mississippi, Inc. Commission Chairman Lynn Posey (D-Union Church) from the Central District, and Southern District Commissioner Leonard Bentz (R-Woolmarket) voted for the orders while Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley (D-Nettleton) voted against the order. The dueling press releases make for an interesting study in spin.
Today, Central District Public Service Commissioner Lynn Posey (D-Union Church) announced that the Commission has issued orders to Entergy Mississippi, Inc. which will reduce customer rates by $1.91 per 1000 kilowatt hours for average residential customers.
In addition to this cost savings for the rate payer, Entergy Mississippi, Inc. agreed to pay for fuel audits for fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009 by an independent audit firm which would be hired by the Commission. Another cost saving measure for the rate payer associated with the orders is the agreement that Entergy Mississippi, Inc. withdraw its appeal of the Commission’s denial of the $3.775 million increase pursuant to last year’s formula rate plan evaluation.
Posey states, “By issuing these orders outlining the above referenced cost savings, the Commission has met its statutory requirements to make sure Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides affordable as well as reliable energy for its customers.”
Jackson, Mississippi (June 30, 2009)- Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (D-Nettleton) today cast the sole vote against a $14,500,000.00 rate increase for Entergy Mississippi customers. Presley said due to the rate increase consumers will see their power bills increase during the hottest months of the year.
“This rate increase has come about because of Entergy’s formula rate plan that I have advocated changing since day one because it allows the company to ‘grade its own papers’ when it comes to service quality.” Presley said. “The purpose of this plan is to, in-part, tie rates to service quality, yet that gets very little independent scrutiny under the current set-up.”
Presley noted that none of the complaints from consumers of poor service, etc., that are registered with the PSC against Entergy are taken into account when setting the rates under the current plan. “Entergy could have a valid complaint filed by each and every one of their customers in Mississippi, and it would not decrease their profits one penny under this current plan,” Presley said. “Try explaining a plan like that to your neighbor down the road; it makes no sense at all.”
Presley added that Entergy Mississippi has indicated that today they intend to dismiss their current appeal before the Mississippi Supreme Court involving the Commission’s denial earlier this year of a $3,775,000.00 rate increase.
So Posey voted for lower rates and Presley voted against higher rates, but they voted opposite on the same measure. Who is telling the truth? Posey said rates are going down and Presley said rates are going up.
Presley stuck by his story yesterday on Mississippi Network News when he said, "The proposed rate increase is $14.5 million that comes at a terrible time for Mississippi consumers. So, this rate increase is going into effect during the hottest months of the year, and I felt that it just wasn’t a justified rate increase."
Posey also stuck by his story on Supertalk Mississippi's "On Deadline with Sid Salter" when he said, "The rates aren’t going to be raised. That’s a fuel adjustment money that they receive because statute says they can receive it. Actually, your rates will be going down $1.91 per 1000 kilowatt hours starting July 1."
Finally, one of them came around. WLBT interviewed both commissioners and it turns out, Presley admitted that rates are going to go down. Presley said, “Rates are going to go down but they're not going to go down as much as they would have...They're going to go down about a $1 and 91 cents per month they would have gone down in excess of $3.”
It is not unusual to see a scathing press release issued by Brandon Presley attacking Entergy Mississippi, but it is unusual to have two dueling press releases on a split vote come out apparently contradicting each other. And it is interesting that Presley alleges in his press release that “consumers will see their power bills increase during the hottest months of the year” but finally acknowledge to the press after being contradicted in public by the Posey, the Commission chairman, that actually, “rates are going to go down”.
Looks like Posey won this duel.
]]>NPR - Investigative reporters find new ways to use reportorial skillstag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170452009-07-02T15:16:00Z2009-07-02T16:28:40ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsNPR - Investigative reporters find new ways to use reportorial skills
As some newspapers are going out of business and many more are shedding costs, a lot of investigative journalists who have devoted years to exposing government corruption and corporate scandals are leaving their newsrooms.
While some have been given pink slips, others left on their own steam, bailing out for corporate or political PR jobs, teaching gigs or even new careers as private investigators.
Still others are seeking fulfillment in a different kind of public service. Take, for instance, the paths of Doug Frantz and Joel Sappell, two former journalists for the Los Angeles Times.
"The issue for me has always been ... Can I find a job where I can look myself in the mirror every morning before I go to work and say, 'I'm going to do good?' " says Frantz, a former L.A. Times reporter and managing editor.
Frantz is now chief investigator for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) and four other Democratic lawmakers are under investigation for possibly receiving improper gifts.
Thompson was in Jackson Monday speaking before the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership.
The Committee on Standards of Conduct is looking into whether Thompson's trip to a business conference in the Caribbean last November was paid for by lobbyists.
Thompson says the committee approved the trip before he left, but they received a complaint after he returned home.
"The law requires me to say if I'm invited, to submit the info, and whether or not the trip was approved is subject to the ethics committee," Thompson told WLBT. "I did it, they sent me a letter back in writing saying it's fine. I followed the law absolutely."
"While not all issues are resolved, overall this is a prudent, balanced budget that I believe will serve the state's taxpayers, agencies and their constituents well for the next fiscal year. I am especially pleased the Legislature accepted my proposal to carry forward $60 million from the Health Care Expendable Fund as a cushion against the revenue shortfalls that are expected next year," Governor Barbour said.
"I appreciate the hard work it took to reach a consensus on many issues and want to thank legislators like Senators Alan Nunnelee and Hob Bryan and House members Robert Johnson and Johnny Stringer as well as Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and House Speaker Billy McCoy," he said.
But, sounding a cautionary note, Governor Barbour said this budget contains so much federal stimulus money that "we must learn to wean ourselves from it soon, as it ends after next year." Spending on all three levels of education will be the highest ever, but the federal stimulus funds make that possible.
Clarion-Ledger
7/2/9
]]>New special session could cost $60,000 moretag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170422009-07-02T14:45:00Z2009-07-02T15:53:58ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsNew special session could cost $60,000 more than the $141,000 for 1st session
Disagreement over the size of the Public Service Commission's staff left it as the only state agency unfunded as the fiscal year began Wednesday.
State officials say they expect the issue will be resolved in the coming days, but holding another special session likely will cost Mississippi taxpayers thousands of dollars.
The Legislature ended a three-day special session at midnight Tuesday and completed everything in the $6 billion state budget except the PSC's spending plan.
Gov. Haley Barbour, however, used his partial veto authority to eliminate parts of seven appropriations bills. Among the sections vetoed were a provision to pull $7 million from the state's "rainy day" fund to support the community mental health centers and $100,000 from the fund for the Mississippi Technology Alliance.
Barbour also vetoed a section that took away the Public Safety commissioner's authority to handle overtime pay for troopers.
The special session cost taxpayers about $141,000. A one-day session for the PSC budget could tack on nearly $60,000 more.
Clarion-Ledger
7/2/9
]]>Travis Childers voted with GOP 8 of 15 timestag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170412009-07-02T14:39:00Z2009-07-02T15:43:09ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsTravis Childers voted with GOP 8 of 15 times
The Hill conducted an interesting analysis of how the most vulnerable House Democrats have voted at the beginning of the 111th Congress.
The most likely members to break with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi aren’t too surprising, given that they hail from very conservative districts. Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) voted with Republicans on 13 out of 15 key votes, while Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) voted with the GOP on 10 of 15. Their political futures depend on creating their own identity, separate from the interests of the national Democratic Party.
Reps. Travis Childers (D-Miss.), Parker Griffith (D-Ala.), Frank Kratovil Jr. (D-Md.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) were also notable mavericks, breaking with their party on eight key votes.
A few surprises: Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio), representing a rural eastern Ohio district that gave John McCain 53 percent of the vote, has supported Pelosi’s positions on every major legislative item. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.), another swing-district Democrat, joined with the Democratic leadership on all the key votes.
Politico
7/2/9
See The Hills scorecard here: http://thehill.com/images/stories/news/2009/june/chart_.pdf
]]>WSJ - Congress’s Travel Tab Swells; Bennie Thompson to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Panamatag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170402009-07-02T14:35:00Z2009-07-02T15:39:27ZOutsideStaffWSJ - Congress's Travel Tab Swells; Bennie Thompson to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Panama
Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.
The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.
The cost of so-called congressional delegations, known among lawmakers as "codels," has risen nearly 70% since 2005, when an influence-peddling scandal led to a ban on travel funded by lobbyists, according to the data.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, led a group to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Panama. "This trip further solidified the message that homeland security does not begin or end at our borders," says Mr. Thompson's spokeswoman.
The congressional trips are possible thanks in part to an unlimited fund created by a three-decade old law. Nearly two dozen government officials work full-time organizing the trips. Much of the costs are not made public, including the cost of flying on government jets. The Air Force maintains a fleet of 16 passenger planes for use by lawmakers.
Wall Street Journal
7/2/9
]]>Hill Blog - Cochran’s Pianotag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170392009-07-02T14:22:00Z2009-07-02T15:28:20ZOutsideStaffHill Blog - Cochran's Piano
Sen. Thad Cochran's baby grand piano in his office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building is believed to be the only one in the Senate–and he uses it.
Cochran plays the dark red wood Kurtzmann "occasionally," in his words, sometimes for relaxation on a Friday, for example. The senator has played piano since the fourth grade, after his parents encouraged him and his brother to learn two musical instruments each.
Cochran chose piano and clarinet, while his brother became an athletic star "and got a pass," Cochran said. Cochran's mother also played piano, while his father sang in a church choir.
The Hill Blog
7/2/9
]]>Perry - New mayors take officetag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170372009-07-02T12:59:00Z2009-07-02T14:01:33ZOutsideStaffPerry - New mayors take office
Republicans lead Democrats in mayoral offices in Mississippi's top 15 cities with nine seats to the Democrats six. Gulfport, Biloxi, Meridian, Tupelo, Southaven, Pascagoula, Clinton, Pearl and Olive Branch elected Republican mayors. Jackson, Hattiesburg, Greenville, Vicksburg, Columbus, and Starkville elected Democrats. The partisan breakdown remains unchanged from last cycle except Vicksburg where Democrats defeated an independent for a pick-up.
The Vicksburg win by Paul Winfield with about 60 percent of the vote over two-term incumbent Laurence Leyens was a highlight of the Democrats night. Other big wins include a 96-vote squeaker as incumbent Connie Moran stayed off a challenge by well-funded Republican Scott Walker in Ocean Springs. Doug Lee returned to office in Lucedale by defeating two-term Republican incumbent Dayton Whites, a rematch of their 2001 race when Whites defeated the then incumbent Lee. In Starkville, 28-year-old Parker Wiseman's bested all comers in a well funded, grassroots oriented campaign, keeping Starkville for the Democrats after pushing out incumbent mayor Dan Camp in the Democratic Primary. Democrats describe Wiseman as a rising star in the party.
Republicans earned wins in the open seats for mayor in Tupelo and Meridian. Both were Republican seats but targeted by Democrats with significant resources. Jack Reed, Jr. took close to 70 percent of the vote in Tupelo. Barely had the ballots been counted before Republicans began speculating whether Reed would follow in his father's footsteps and look at a future gubernatorial run.
Cheri Barry became Meridian's first female mayor by defeating Democrat Percy Bland with just fewer than 300 votes. Four-term Republican Mayor John Robert Smith did not seek re-election.
On the Coast, former Democratic Governor William Winter took the stage at swearing-in ceremony and praised new Republican Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel saying, "I'm a George Schloegel Democrat and as far as I'm concerned we're on the same team."
Meanwhile, new Pascagoula Republican Mayor Robbie Maxwell took to heart the political axiom, "you either run scared or you run unopposed." No one qualified against him. After effectively winning the election on the qualifying deadline day, he did still politic and reached out to voters; but his was strictly a positive campaign.
In 2008, Joel Gill campaigned as the Democratic nominee against Republican Gregg Harper for Mississippi's Third Congressional District seat vacated by retiring Congressman Chip Pickering. Gill, an alderman-at-large for the town of Pickens and cattleman by trade in Holmes County (not in the Third District) ran on the slogan, "All Beef, No Bull." Gill did not win his congressional campaign, but this year voters elected him Mayor of Pickens in a nonpartisan election. Three-term mayor Jonathan Moore did not seek reelection.
Voters in Greenwood disappointed Congressman Bennie Thompson by electing independent Carolyn McAdams over incumbent Democrat Sheriel Perkins. Thompson campaigned for Perkins telling voters they needed to reelect the incumbent to set "Greenwood free again" and if they wanted to stop the hospital from continuing to lay off employees and close wards, they needed to keep the same leadership. Trying to sell change and incumbency at the same time reminds me of what Pappy O'Daniel told his son in "O Brother Where Art Thou" when he suggested that maybe they should get some of that "reform": "How we gonna run reform when we're the damn incumbent?"
A third independent candidate in the race, Curressia Brown, was disqualified and removed from the ballot, which Thompson praised while accusing Brown of only being in the race to split the black vote. Perkins and Brown are black; McAdams is white. Thompson said, "There was somebody else in this race, but, you know, God don't like ugly, and with prayer and good lawyers, we can work wonders, and we can even get bad folk off the ballot." McAdams win follows another campaign axiom, "all politics is local."
Race also made the news in the election in Philadelphia, but not in a divisive way. In a town that is 55 percent white, James A. Young, a Pentecostal minister and former county supervisor, defeated incumbent three-term mayor Rayburn Waddell to become the first African-American mayor. The New York Times, CNN, and other national news outlets reported on this story contrasting Young's election against the 1964 "Mississippi Burning" civil rights murders in Neshoba County.
Brian Perry
Madison County Journal
7/2/9
]]>SNOWDEN: Are you a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” person? Special Session thoughtstag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170332009-07-02T04:12:00Z2009-07-02T05:27:59ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsSNOWDEN: Are you a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” kinda person?
For much of the past month, it appeared quite possible (many said “likely”) that the Legislature would fail to adopt a FY ’10 budget in time to greet the new year. Medicaid was the hangup, and seemingly intractable problems pushed all potential solutions just beyond reach.
“We’re close” was the uniform refrain recited by weary negotiators in response to increasingly skeptical inquiries. As each June day passed by, there was little evident movement and less hope. Finally, the Governor, the Senate and the House (not to mention the Mississippi Hospital Association) all gave their joint blessing to a compromise agreement, and Medicaid was reauthorized and reappropriated less than three hours from the program’s scheduled demise.
What, then, to make of the special session? Success or failure? Triumph attained, or disaster averted? It depends, I think, on whether you’re a “glass half empty” or a “glass half full” kinda guy.
HALF EMPTY – Special Session? You gotta be %#@*&+#% kidding me! The Legislature had 90 days in the Regular Session and failed to produce a budget. Then lawmakers twice extended the Regular Session, adding 60 more days, and still got nothing accomplished. The not-so-special session cost taxpayers $141,000 to do something that could, and should, have been accomplished months earlier.
HALF FULL – Forcing an ultimate special session by refusing to extend the Regular Session for a third time was a smart tactic for which House Republicans deserve credit. Strengthened by this defining move, Governor Barbour cleverly declined to call the Legislature back into session at all until an overall budget deal was pretty much in hand. The resulting three-day special session was tightly focused, and lawmakers proved remarkably productive when compelled to work under the gun. The $141,000 actually is a bargain when compared to the still greater cost to taxpayers had the Regular Session otherwise inevitably continued to drag along in aimless spurts throughout June.
HALF EMPTY – Partisan rancor continues to infect the Legislature, especially the House, where implicit and explicit accusations of racism, inhumanity and cruelty routinely have come to characterize any debate touching on Medicaid. A House committee very nearly sabotaged the delicate four-fold Medicaid compromise by offering deal-killer amendments which had no hope of becoming law. One objecting House member single-handedly caused the entire Legislature to waste a precious two and a half hours Tuesday evening by requiring the entire 70-plus pages of the compromise bill to be read aloud prior to a final vote. Had any Senator subsequently been inclined to act so irresponsibly, the wheels would have come off the Medicaid compromise altogether.
HALF FULL – Cooler heads prevailed, and cooperation trumped partisanship in the end. Oft-maligned Medicaid chairman Dirk Dedeaux ably handled the legislation in an even-handed manner on the floor, and Speaker McCoy and Speaker Pro Tempore Compretta adroitly managed the debate so as to diffuse the simmering mini-revolt within the erstwhile House “leadership” team. Ultimately, most rural white Democrats, virtually every Republican, and a few key Black Caucus members all joined together behind Speaker McCoy to muster the four-vote margin necessary for final passage of the Medicaid compromise. Although it is much too early to herald the birth of a new bipartisan governing coalition, the potential for the future clearly is there for anyone to see.
Rep. Greg Snowden's Clarion Ledger Blog
7/1/9
]]>Population growth could add more representation for Desoto, pending 2010 censustag:yallpolitics.com,2009:index.php/yp/post/1.170322009-07-02T03:03:00Z2009-07-02T04:05:19ZStaff of Y'all PoliticsPopulation growth could add more representation for Desoto, pending 2010 census
According to Sen. Merle Flowers, R-Olive Branch, population totals that have risen steadily since the last census in 2000 have the county on track to gain a third Senate seat and two more House seats.
Two senators and five representatives currently serve DeSoto County.
"We are leading the charge," Flowers said about DeSoto County's role in Mississippi adding nearly 94,000 residents between 2000 and a year ago.
Census data released Wednesday placed the state's population at an estimated 2.9 million as of July 1, 2008, with DeSoto County accounting for nearly 155,000 of those residents.
In DeSoto County, the population estimate reflects a growth of 47,549 residents, or 44.4 percent, since 2000.
Southaven grew most, by 15,095 residents, and for the fourth consecutive year was the No. 5 Mississippi city in terms of population.
It was followed locally by Olive Branch with 10,773 new residents, Horn Lake with 4,643 and Hernando with 4,356.