Notes from June 3, 2013 Forum Featuring Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley

Below are links to press coverage of the forum featuring Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley.  The next forum will be held on Monday, July 1, when State Auditor Stacey Pickering will be the guest speaker.

(Clarion-Ledger)  Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley on Monday blasted Mississippi Power’s embattled and over-budget Kemper County coal plant, but noted the $4.3 billion project is “past the point of no return” and “too big to fail.” More… 

(Reasonable Right/B. Perry) Speaking at the Stennis Institute & Capitol Press Corps luncheon this week, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said he doesn’t care for labels like “pro-business and anti-business” that get thrown around. He argues keeping rates low for small businesses is pro-business, even if it comes at the detriment of publicly regulated utilities and their economic development projects, actions others may term anti-business. More…

(Columbus Dispatch/Opinion/W. Emmerich) – Speaking to the Stennis-Capitol Press Forum this week PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley, who has fought Kemper from day one, said, “Not one dollar of the Kemper plant has been deemed prudent.” … Commissioner Presley said Kemper will eventually mean 40 percent electricity cost increases for a third of Mississippi. “This is the greatest transfer of wealth from customers to a monopoly in the history of the state.” More … 

(Mississippi Public Broadcasting) – The northern district Public Service Commissioner is continuing his opposition to a power plant under construction in Kemper County, and the law that allowed it to be built.  Speaking at a press forum in Jackson today Commissioner Brandon Presley re-iterated his opposition to the Kemper County power plant which is being built with funds from power rate increasing on its costumers. More … 

Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen to address May 6 Forum

Ben Allen, President of Downtown Jackson Partners (DJP), will be the featured speaker at the Monday, May 6, 2013 Stennis-Capitol Press Forum.  He will discuss current projects, the history of DJP, public policy issues and future plans for the capital city’s downtown. Allen is a former business owner, Jackson (MS) City Council Member and  radio talk show host.

The Downtown Jackson Business Improvement District (BID) hosts a third of the Jackson metro area’s office market, most of the area’s government facilities, and a wealth of cultural amenities. This 61-block area is in the heart of Downtown Jackson. The organization is funded through self-assessment by the property owners of the Downtown Jackson Business Improvement District to provide economic development, marketing, and clean and safe services beyond those provided by the City of Jackson

 

Notes from April Forum with Sen. David Blount and Rep. Andy Gipson

A sample of the media coverage of Monday’s Stennis-Capitol Press Forum appears below.  Our next forum will be held on Monday, May 6, 2013 at The Capital Club.  Check the forum website –
http://stenniscapitolpress.wordpress.com
– for updated information.

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(AP)  Two lawmakers who spoke at a press luncheon yesterday disagreed about whether Mississippi should expand Medicaid, reflecting the partisan split that left the health program in limbo when the House and Senate ended their three-month session last week.  More…

(Clarion-Ledger)  During a Stennis Center/Capitol Press Corp luncheon Monday, Sen. David Blount made an off-hand comment about the state providing $25 million in tax incentives for “an outlet mall in Rankin County.”  More…

(Clarion-Ledger Blog Daily Ledes – Sam Hall) Here’s a few additional tidbits from the Stennis Institute/Capitol Press Corp luncheon featuring Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, and Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Magee.  On conceal carry law … On controversial appointments … On consolidating state offices … More…

(MPB Online)  … While speaking at a press forum Monday, Representative Andy Gipson of Braxton expressed skepticism that the state could afford to put more people on Medicaid…. Speaking at the same event, Democratic Senator David Blount of Jackson supported expansion saying state lawmakers could find the $50 million dollars a year in order to provide health care to 300,000 thousand more residents. … More…

(Magnolia Marketplace Blog – Clay Chandler)  Sen. David Blount and Rep. Andy Gipson agree it’s a matter of time before they join their colleagues in a special session to hash out funding for the state’s Medicaid program. Blount, a Jackson Democrat, and Gipson, a Simpson County Republican, recapped the just-ended legislative session Monday at the lunch meeting of the Stennis Capitol Press Corps. Lawmakers left Jackson last week with no funding for Medicaid.  More…

(Madison County Journal – Brian Perry)  In the Legislature, the divide between Republicans and Democrats is one major hurdle for any piece of legislation to cross. Other major divides include rural and urban areas and the House and Senate as institutions. This week the Stennis-Capitol Press Forum featured legislators from those divisions to discuss the recently concluded legislative session. Sen. David Blount (D-Jackson) and Rep. Andy Gipson (R-Simpson County) talked taxes, Medicaid and committee issues. They both used tax policy as arguments on the Affordable Care Act’s (Obamacare) Medicaid expansion. More …

Notes from March 4 Forum With House Transportation Chairman Robert Johnson

Representative Robert Johnson of Natchez, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, was the featured speaker at the Monday, March 4, 2013 Stennis-Capitol Press Forum.  Below are links to a sample of the press coverage of the event.

(AP) (Hattiesburg American) – A top lawmaker says Mississippi needs to increase its gasoline tax to pay for highway and bridge maintenance, but he concedes that’s not likely to happen this year.House Transportation Chairman Robert Johnson says 40 percent of Mississippi’s major roads and 28 percent of its highways are in poor or mediocre condition. He also says 25 percent of bridges are deficient or obsolete. ..  He spoke Monday at a forum sponsored by the Stennis Institute of Government and the Capitol press corps.  More …

(Clarion-Ledger) – House Transportation Chairman Robert. L Johnson, D-Natchez, says an increase in fuel taxes to cover road building and mantenance in Mississippi is justified, but not likely to fly in the Legislature, at least for now.  “We haven’t done anything in 20 years,” Johnson said. “How do you justify that?”  Johnson spoke to the Stennis Institute of Government’s Capitol press corps luncheon today. More…

(Mississippi Public Broadcasting) – Transportation Officials Want to Increase Mississippi’s Gas Tax to Pay for Infrastructure Needs.  Top transportation officials say Mississippi’s major roadways, highways and bridges are ailing and in desperate need of repair. And as MPB’s Lawayne Childrey reports experts are looking closely at ways to fix the problem… House transportation Chairman Robert Johnson of Natchez filed a bill this year to increase the tax  to address infrastructure needs.  He conceded to members of the Stennis Institute of Government’s Press Luncheon in Jackson yesterday that the increase … More…

Notes from Jan. 7, 2013 Forum with Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

Lt. Governor Tate Reeves addressed the January 7, 2013 Stennis-Capitol Press Forum.  Below are links to a sample of the media coverage of the event.

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(AP) Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday that while charter schools won’t solve all of Mississippi’s education problems, they would be “an additional tool in the toolbox.”

Speaking during a forum sponsored by the Capitol press corps and Mississippi State University’s Stennis Institute of Government, Reeves also said he believes charter schools should be allowed anywhere communities want them. Some education officials have said charters should be allowed only in areas where schools are struggling.

“That is a decision parents should make,” Reeves said.  More…

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(Clarion-Ledger)  Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday announced a hard-line stance on charter schools, saying he wants to see them allowed in all districts, not just failing ones.“There are those in our state claiming to support charter schools, but only in, quote, ‘places where they are really needed,’ ” Reeves told a crowd at the Stennis Institute of Government’s press luncheon.  More…

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(Mississippi Business Journal – Clay Chandler blog)

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will support a bond bill that addresses long-term capital needs, charter schools should be allowed to locate wherever parents want them, and the Mississippi Development Authority needs more legislative supervision over how it spends money out of its revolving loan fund.  Reeves touched on those topics and a few others Monday during the Stennis Capitol Press Corps luncheon in Jackson.  More …

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(NE Miss. Daily Journal)  On the eve of the session’s start today, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, speaking to the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government/Capitol press corps luncheon, said he doesn’t think the Legislature will take up the issue of state participation in Medicaid expansion offered under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Read more: djournal.com – Medicaid charter debates under way

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(Madison County Journal – Brian Perry)  Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves told the Stennis Capitol Press Corps luncheon his focus this legislative session would be a cautious and conservative budget, eliminating the accelerated tax on small businesses and education reform.  “Our number one priority in Mississippi has to be job creation. But I have a political philosophy that says government doesn’t create jobs, it creates an environment for the private sector to create jobs,” Reeves told the group at the Capital Club in Jackson on Monday.  More …

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(Y’all Politics)  Tate Reeves spoke today at the Stennis Press luncheon. Reporters covering the Capitol were there (both of them) along with 80 or so from the government and business sectors. Reeves underlined one thing at the event. Namely, he now supported charter schools wherever there was public sentiment for them. In other words, charter schools should be able to locate wherever they are wanted by the people and that legislation shouldn’t arbitrarily restrict where that should be.  More…

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(Jackson Free Press)  “Unfortunately for the good guys, none of those three things happened. And because of that, whether we like it or not, Obamacare is the law of the land in the United States of America,” Reeves said yesterday at a luncheon put on by the Stennis Institute for Government.  Reeves’ swallowing of what he considers a bitter pill could be construed as surprising considering the adversarial approach some of his fellow Republicans–most notably Gov. Phil Bryant–have taken toward implementing President Obama’s health law.  More…

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NEXT FORUM:  Monday, February 4, 2013

Political Prognosticators Nash and Taggart make predictions at November 5 Forum

Jere Nash and Andy Taggart, who are seen weekly on WLBT‘s Red/Blue Review and have written books on Mississippi politics, were the featured presenters on the Monday before election day.  Well-known for their political insights,  Nash, the Democrat, offered that perspective and Taggart, the Republican, countered with his observations.  Here are links to sample media coverage of the event:

(Geoff Pender Blog, Clarion-Ledger) – Each predicted a win for their candidate — no surprise.  But each questioned the veracity of recent polling.  Nash said one question Tuesday’s election will answer is  whether (New York times FiveThirtyEight statistician and blogger) Nate Silver is “a genius or a charlatan.”  Taggart said he’s not ruling out a Romney win in Ohio — although he said Romney can win without it — and that could result in a Romney landslide. He said polls showing majorities believe the country is headed in the wrong direction are most telling.  Nash listed a top-10 reasons Romney will lose, with No. 1 being, “Mitt Romney,” and said Obama has controlled the campaign dialogue. More…

(Mississippi Business Journal, Business Blog) – Political analysts Andy Taggart and Jere Nash comment at the Stennis Capitol Press luncheon about Tuesday’s 2011 Mississippi primary elections. Watch the video… 

(Capitol Blog with Bobby Harrison) – Republican political strategist Andy Taggart predicted at Monday’s Mississippi State University  Stennis Institute of Government/capitol press corps luncheon that for the first time since the 1800s more people would vote Tuesday in the Republican primary than in the Democratic primary. If that occurs... More…

(Mississippi Business Journal, Magnolia Marketplace blog) –   Political analysts Andy Taggart and Jere Nash did not agree on many things at Monday’s Stennis Capitol Press Corps luncheon.  More…

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Notes from October 22 Forum

 The following is a sampling of media reports from the October 22, 2012 Forum featuring Dr. Alton Cobb and Dr. Phil Pepper:

(AP – as published by CBS News) Expanding Medicaid would bring Mississippi more federal money from 2014 through 2016 but could cost the state millions of dollars from 2017 through 2025, according to a study released Monday by the state’s University Research Center… ”So, we’re looking at something that would generate as many jobs as Nissan and Toyota combined,” Pepper said at a forum sponsored by the Capitol press corps and Mississippi State University’s Stennis Institute of Government.  More…

(NE MS Daily Journal)  The Medicaid expansion that is part of the politically charged federal health care law would create 9,000 jobs in Mississippi, according to the University Research Center.  “That is as many new jobs as Nissan and Toyota combined,” former state Economist Phil Pepper said.  The study concluded more than 4,100 jobs would be generated in 2014 should state leaders opt to participate in the expansion, which is not required.

Pepper and former state Health Officer Alton Cobb discussed the proposed Medicaid expansion Monday at a luncheon meeting of the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute/Capitol press corps. Later on Monday, the Institutions of Higher Learning released the study.  Complete article…