JSU Fires Football Coach Bell

From The Clarion-Ledger

James Bell was fired today as the Jackson State University football coach and will not coach the Tigers in the season's final three games.

Quarterbacks coach Daryl Jones will serve as interim head coach for the Tigers, who play at Alabama A&M Saturday. JSU has won two games and lost six this season and compiled an 8-23 record during Bell's tenure.Bell, 47, was in the final year of a three-year contract that pays him $85,000 annually. He will be paid through Dec. 31.Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which had a 1-6 record, beat JSU 64-36 last Saturday at Mississippi Veteran's Memorial Stadium, matching the most points ever allowed by a JSU team. The announced attendance for that game was 2,831, some 13,000 shy of JSU's season average and about 28,000 less than what JSU averaged in 2001.JSU athletic director Roy Culberson said he he had no regrets about about hiring Bell but realized he wasn't a good fit."While Bell has made significant improvement in the overall football program the past two and half years we believe this decisoin in the best interest of Jackson State, its alumni and its fans," said Culberson at a news conference.Hilliard Lackey, president of the JSU Alumni Association, said three consecutive losing seasons has made a big impact on his organization. "It has derailed us," he said.Bell, 47, was hired in December of 2002 to replace Robert Hughes, who was fired after posting three consecutive 7-4 seasons.Bell had 20 years experience as a college assistant coach but his only head coaching experience was at Chavez High in Houston, Texas, where his team went 1-9 in 2002, his only season there.Before he was hired, Bell said in an interview with The Clarion-Ledger that seven wins per season is not enough."You have to win eight, nine, 10 ball games a year," Bell said in an interview in November of 2002. "And at Jackson State, that's the way it should be."JSU went 2-10 in Bell's first season, then 4-7 in 2004. The Tigers split their first four games this fall, but have lost the last four, giving up a total of 180 points in the process.

Texas Pastor Electrocuted During Baptism

This occurred at a church my brother regularly attends in Waco, TX:

From MSNBC.com

Accident occured when 33-year-old priest reached for a microphone

The Associated Press

Updated: 12:34 a.m. ET Oct. 31, 2005

WACO, Texas - A pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his church Sunday morning after adjusting a nearby microphone while standing in water, a church employee said.

The Rev. Kyle Lake, 33, was stepping into the baptistery as he reached out for the microphone, which produced an electric shock, said University Baptist Church community pastor Ben Dudley.

Water in a baptistery usually reaches above the waist, said Byron Weathersbee, interim university chaplain at Baylor University.

Lake was pronounced dead at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, nursing supervisor Pat Mahl said. The woman being baptized apparently had not stepped into the water and was not seriously injured.

Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, said Jamie Dudley, the wife of Ben Dudley and a business administrator at the church.

“He was grabbing the microphone so everyone could hear,” she said. “It’s the only way you can be loud enough.”

About 800 people attended the morning service, which was larger than normal because it was homecoming weekend at nearby Baylor University, Dudley said.

Lake had been at the church for nine years, the last seven as pastor. He had a wife, Jennifer, a 5-year-old daughter and two 3-year-old sons.

At a remembrance attended by about 1,000 people Sunday night at First Baptist Church, Ben Dudley told the UBC congregation that they would move forward as a church.

“I don’t know how, when, why, where or what’s going to happen, but we will continue as a church in the community because that is what Kyle would have wanted,” he said.

Katrina's Wind Integrates 2 Miss. Schools

Many Coast parents, teachers want integrated Catholic school to remain

The Associated Press

Rogelio Solis/The Associated Press Sister Bernadette McNamara, principal of St. Peter the Apostle Elementary School in Pascagoula, stands in the rubble of the former school.

PASCAGOULA — Two Roman Catholic elementary schools have served Pascagoula for nearly 100 years — one opened to teach the children and grandchildren of freed slaves, the other across town educating mostly white children.

But Hurricane Katrina's winds changed the incidental segregation when St. Peter the Apostle, built in 1907 as an African-American mission, was destroyed. Now blown together, 310 elementary students are integrated at Resurrection Catholic School's campus.

"If there is somebody who is now upset because there are more black children, we don't want them," said Laura Murray, a mother at Resurrection, as she helped prepare the water-damaged building for classes. "I don't think there is anybody like that. This community doesn't believe like that."

Given St. Peter's dire situation, school officials made the quick decision to get the students back on a regular schedule as soon as possible. All would attend Resurrection.

"It's a triumph for the biracial South," said Charles Reagan Wilson, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

Many parents and teachers want the integrated school to remain, but Sister Bernadette McNamara, principal at St. Peter, worries about her students retaining their culture and identity. She remains at St. Peter, where all that's left usable are three classrooms, where the school's youngest children arrive wearing neat plaid uniforms.

They stand when she enters each room and in unison say, "Good morning. God bless you."

Putting her hand to her forehead and nodding, she said, "It's always the black children who lose their school. I miss my school. I miss my children."

Father Mike Kelleher, pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which is affiliated with Resurrection, moved to Mississippi from Ireland 40 years ago during the civil rights movement. He talks of the storm as a catalyst for the strong feelings of acceptance that already brewed in the community.

"We do have a terrible name outside the Deep South," Kelleher said of Mississippi. "The hurricane certainly gave new impetus to us working together as an integrated community."

The united school is Kelleher's dream come true. "I would hope that it's going to be permanent," he said.

The Diocese of Biloxi has the final say, and officials are now sorting out insurance policies, what school buildings will stay and which will go.

After the storm, Resurrection was still standing, but flooded 52 inches with $1 million in damage. Classes resumed with donated cafeteria tables and chairs instead of desks. Even with their own homes lost, parents from both schools went to Resurrection to clean up and make the school functional.

Bush Picks Alito for Supreme Court

By RON FOURNIER
From the AP Wire

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, stung by the rejection of his first choice, nominated veteran judge Samuel Alito on Monday in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his conservative allies. Ready-to-rumble Democrats warned that Alito may be an extremist who would curb abortion rights.

"Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years, and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years," Bush said, drawing an unspoken contrast to his first choice, Harriet Miers.

Unlike her nomination, which was derailed Thursday by Bush's conservative allies, Alito faces vocal opposition from Democrats.

"The Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

Alito's nomination is one step in Bush's political recovery plan as he tries to regain his footing after a cascade of troubles rocked his presidency. His approval rating in the polls has tumbled to the lowest point of his presidency and Americans are unhappy about high energy prices, the costly war in Iraq and economic doubts. Bush also has been hit by a criminal investigation that reached into the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and led to the indictment of I. Lewis Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, on perjury and other charges in the CIA leak investigation.

On top of it all, Miers' nomination angered Bush's conservative backers. Most welcomed the Alito pick.

So consistently conservative, Alito has been dubbed "Scalito" or "Scalia-lite" by some lawyers because his judicial philosophy invites comparisons to conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. But while Scalia is outspoken and is known to badger lawyers, Alito is polite, reserved and even-tempered.

"The Supreme Court is an institution I have long held in reverence," said the bespectacled judge, a former prosecutor and government attorney who has argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court. "During my 29 years as a public servant, I've had an opportunity to view the Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives."

Bohannon reports Samuel Alito sits on the Third U-S Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. AP VIDEO Bush to Nominate Alito to Supreme Court Miers Documents Mier's Withdrawal Letter Letter From Sen. Specter to Miers Abortion Questionnaire Financial Disclosure Report Financial Statement Senate Judiciary Questionnaire Dallas Eagle Forum Questionnaire Interactives Potential Supreme Court Nominees Supreme Court Rehnquist Timeline Historical Video: Battle for the Court Supreme Court News Alito strong conservative on liberal court Text of remarks by Bush, Alito Bush picks Alito for Supreme Court Alito would be fifth Catholic on Court Supreme Court to hear student loan case Bush heads to Camp David to ponder nominee Bush stung as Miers withdraws nomination PHOTO GALLERY Supreme Court

From the bench, Alito has staked out positions supporting restrictions on abortion, such as parental and spousal notification. If confirmed by the Senate, Alito would replace retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a decisive swing vote in a host of affirmative action, abortion, campaign finance, discrimination and death penalty cases.

Alito favors more restrictions on abortion rights than either the Supreme Court has allowed or O'Connor has supported, based on a 1992 case in which he supported spousal notification.

Bush said he wanted Alito confirmed by year's end.

Wasting no time, the White House arranged for Alito to go to the Capitol after the announcement.The schedule called for Senate Majority Leader Bill First to greet him and accompany the nominee to the Capitol Rotunda to go to the coffin of the late civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

"The president has made an excellent choice today which reflects his commitment to appoint judges in the mold of Scalia and Thomas," said Kay Daly, president of the conservative Coalition for a Fair Judiciary.

Conservative activist Gary Bauer who had challenged Miers' nomination predicted Democrats will fight Alito. "At least now the president is having a battle with his political opponents and not with his friends," Bauer told CNN. "I will help him any way I can."

Alito signaled his alliance with Daly and other conservatives, speaking of the "limited role the courts play in our constitutional system."

Reid, who had jumped to the support of Miers, promised to give Alito a "hard look."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., pulled no punches. "Rather than selecting a nominee for the good of the nation and the court, President Bush has picked a nominee whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing. This is a nomination based on weakness, not on strength."

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America immediately called on the Senate to reject the nomination. "Judge Alito would undermine basic reproductive rights," said Karen Pearl, interim president. "It is outrageous that President Bush would replace a moderate conservative like Justice O'Connor with a conservative hardliner."

Miers bowed out last Thursday after three weeks of bruising criticism from members of Bush's own party who argued that the Texas lawyer and loyal Bush confidant had thin credentials on constitutional law and no proven record as a judicial conservative.

Senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deliberations, said Alito was virtually certain from the start to get the nod from the moment Miers backed out. The 55-year-old jurist was Bush's favorite choice of the judges in the last set of deliberations but he settled instead on someone outside what he calls the "judicial monastery," the officials said.

Unlike Miers, who has never been a judge, Alito, a jurist from New Jersey, has been a strong conservative voice on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, seated him there in 1990.

Judicial conservatives praise Alito's 15 years on the Philadelphia-based court, a tenure that gives him more appellate experience than almost any previous Supreme Court nominee. They say his record shows a commitment to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, ensuring that the separation of powers and checks and balances are respected and enforced. They also contend that Alito has been a powerful voice for the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and the free exercise of religion.

Liberal groups, on the other hand, note Alito's moniker and say his nomination raises troubling concerns, especially when it comes to his record on civil rights and reproductive rights. Alito is a frequent dissenter on the 3rd Circuit, one of the most liberal federal appellate benches in the nation.

In the early 1990s, Alito was the lone dissenter in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses.

"The Pennsylvania legislature could have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to obtain an abortion without their husbands' knowledge because of perceived problems - such as economic constraints, future plans or the husbands' previously expressed opposition - that may be obviated by discussion prior to the abortion," Alito wrote.

He has not been a down-the-line abortion foe, however. In 2000, Alito joined the majority that found a New Jersey law banning late-term abortions unconstitutional. In his concurring opinion, Alito said the Supreme Court required such a ban to include an exception if the mother's health was endangered.

The case ended up at the Supreme Court where the justices, in a 6-3 decision struck down the spousal notification provision of the law. The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist cited Alito's reasoning in his own dissent.

Alito, an Italian-American who grew up in Trenton, N.J., has a resume filled with stepping stones to the high court. He was educated at Princeton University and earned a law degree from Yale University, the president's alma mater.

New Urbanism, DPZ Coming to Flowood

Flowood's big plan

SmartCode to help ease urban sprawl

By Sylvain Metz
smetz@clarionledger.com

Special to The Clarion-Ledger These renderings depict what the Flowood Town Center could look like, since the DPZ planning and architectural tours have yet to begin.

When the Town of Lost Rabbit was in its planning stages in Madison County, Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads, in Rankin County, already was knocking on the developer's door.

Come build here, he told Richard Ridgeway who, in partnership with Neopolis Development Inc. LLC, introduced the concept of "new urbanism" with the development of Lost Rabbit along the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

Rhodes liked the concept of a traditional neighborhood where residential and commercial ventures blended together as one.

Flowood has been dogged by urban sprawl, traffic gridlock and a rigid zoning code. Plans for Flowood Town Center and a new building could change that — and give the city an area that could be considered its downtown.

Flowood's sprawl prompted city officials to annex an area along a 10-mile stretch of Mississippi 25, where commercial growth is escalating.

Ridgeway is purchasing 259 acres behind Dogwood Festival Market on the southeast corner of Mississippi 25 and Old Fannin Landing.

Plans are almost complete for the project, which is aimed at providing a town-friendly setting found in cities like Charleston, S.C., Vicksburg and Natchez.

The key to the $325 million development lies within a new approach to zoning called the "SmartCode," a zoning code that allows buildings of like-size and density — not use — to be put up in specific zones called "transects."

Flowood officials adopted the SmartCode earlier this month.

Developed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. of Miami, the firm known as DPZ that specializes in new-urbanism developments.

Special to The Clarion-Ledger This is a diagram of the proposed Flowood Town Center. The center will offer three zones — one area for buildings three to four stories, one for dwellings such as condominiums, carriage houses and large homes, and a third designed for mansions.

SmartCode calls for mixed-use development in a setting reminiscent of towns before zoning ordinances segregated uses. The land Ridgeway is purchasing is now zoned commercial.

Under this design, a community is built out from a dense center to outlying areas with minimal density. "It's a planned community even down to the type of landscaping you have," said Kevin Watson, an attorney for the city of Flowood who has closely studied the SmartCode.

DPZ identifies six specific transects. The Flowood project will use three.

Under this code, the highest density will be in the area designated for downtown. Buildings will be grouped according to size, not use.

So a shop owner or professional could actually live above their businesses. Current zoning laws prohibit this type of development without a variance, Watson said.

"It's not urban sprawl anymore," he said.

Flowood Town Center will offer three transects, or zones — the downtown core where buildings will be three to four stories tall, one for dwellings of different sizes ranging from condominiums and town houses, carriage houses and large homes. The third zone, to be located along the periphery of the property, will be designated for mansions.

Ridgeway said he expects to have a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next month for a 28-acre lake.

The lake, which will provide a backdrop for parks, walking and bike trails, is such an integral part of the project, Ridgeway said he would drop it if he doesn't receive the permit.

"It will help Flowood because, right now, Flowood basically is in a lot of ways what I call one-size-fits-all commercial," said Chad Emerson, a law professor at the University of Alabama School of Law in Montgomery. Emerson is a leading legal expert of the SmartCode.

Development in the area around Mississippi 25 and Old Fannin Landing is creating stress on the city's infrastructure, he said.

The increased traffic and growth is a concern for Dogwood resident Anne Veazey

While Veazey, who serves on the board of that subdivision's homeowner's association, said she is impressed with the concept. She worries about traffic. The subdivision is located near the proposed project.

"It's getting pretty congested there right now," she said.

Ridgewood will meet with members of her neighborhood association in two weeks.

The concerns are similar to those expressed over Lost Rabbit.

New urbanism, also referred to as traditional neighborhood development, was initially met with skepticism in the Charlotte, N.C., area.

However, earlier this month, The Village of Baxter in Fort Mill, S.C., south of Charlotte, was featured in a case study presented to 60 architects, planners and engineers from around the country. Construction began at Baxter in 1998.

Baxter Village has more than 700 families with approximately 700 more homesites under development or planned. It also has an on-site YMCA, elementary school, public library and urgent-care center.

Last year residents of Northbay subdivision in Madison, along with county officials, became concerned about zoning, density and traffic as the 259-acre Lost Rabbit was being developed.

One important issue was that apartments were part of the development.

The city of Madison, led by Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler, successfully fended off an attempt by Steve Bryan to build apartments in the city.

That 10-year battle, which began in 1993, went to the state Supreme Court, which sided with the city.

The Madison County Board of Supervisors fought to gain zoning authority for Lost Rabbit. But the property is managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and the district has authority over zoning.

Through negotiations, Ridgeway and Neopolis agreed to cut the apartments and limit the number of other dwellings, and construction began earlier this year.

Tom Low, director of town planning for DPZ who heads the DPZ office in Charlotte, said traffic is shown to decline once these types of developments take root.

Low led the Lost Rabbit charrette, a weeklong planning session, held in July 2003.

"Traditional neighborhood development cuts down on the number of car trips by one-third to two-third once the development matures," Low said.

That's because these residents don't have to get in their vehicles to drive to the grocery for milk or pharmacist for medicines.

These shops are within walking distance of the homes, he said.

As another way to alleviate traffic congestion, Rhoads envisions a trolley that would course its way not only through the development but also over to the shopping centers at the corners of Mississippi 25 and Old Fannin Road.

Such a system would allow shoppers to park their vehicles in one place and have access to the entire area.

Done correctly, Flowood could serve as a model for the state, Low said.

It's already attracted interest from officials in Ocean Springs looking to rebuild following the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, Rhoads said.

DPZ founder Andres Duany led a charrette on the Mississippi Gulf Coast last week to help locals determine how they would rebuild the Coast.

He'll lead a charrette for the proposed Flowood development in January.

New Urbanism Appeals More to Boomers, 'Creative Class'

By Sylvain Metz
smetz@clarionledger

New urbanism, or traditional neighborhood development, isn't right in all situations, but two groups in particular have embraced the concept.

Tom Low, director of town planning for Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. of Miami, said the type of development like The Town of Lost Rabbit and the proposed Flowood Town Center attracts baby boomers and the 25-48 age group known as the "creative class."

Traditional home owners like the quiet life in the suburbs, Low acknowledges. But baby boomers close to retirement are deciding they are tired of that quiet life and want more social interaction.

Pointing to a poll in USA Today, Low said the majority of baby boomers said they "didn't want to live in a retirement community. They don't want to get away from it all. They don't want to be segregated from other age groups or activities," Low said. "These are active extroverts."

By 2008, between 67 million and 68 million baby boomers are set to retire, he said.

The other demographic attracted to new urbanism — the 25- to 48-year-old "creative class" — is "bored" with the suburbs and prefer city life. "They want to hang out," said Low, who heads DPZ's office in Charlotte, N.C.

In this group, particularly on the younger end, are individuals more concerned about where they live. They move to their ideal community first, then find a job, Low said.

"I think baby-boomers only want to live to work and buy stuff," said Low, who is 49 years old. "The other (group) wants to find a cool place to live then find a job where they live."

Marina Khoury, a partner with DPZ, said development is reaching a tipping point, that is, a trend that begins to stick.

"In many cases a conventional builder is now wanting to do something different," Khoury said. "People are wanting to return to a sense of community and see how they can evolve differently within the same community."

Chad Emerson, a law professor at the University of Alabama at Montgomery, said urban sprawl makes for more traffic.

"Now (baby boomers) are looking for corner stores," said Emerson, who specializes in urban growth. "This type of development enables them to do so much more."

Starkville Update

Lucky's returns as addition to Rick's Cafe

by Zach Prichard
October 25, 2005

Come next semester, Rick's Cafe will be getting lucky. After a short stint on Main Street, Lucky's is moving in with the music venue.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Seth Onan, owner of Lucky's, said. "Rick and I were competing with each other when we shouldn't have."

"It started out as a joke," Cafe owner Rick Welch said. "We were beating up on each other. Rick's was getting the Friday and Saturday crowd and Lucky's was getting the Wednesday and Thursday crowd."

Though the two bar owners were competing, they said their rivalry was friendly.

"Rick and I have been friends since I got into the business a couple of years ago, so it just made sense to form an alliance," Onan said.

Those who have driven past Rick's recently may have noticed that big changes are in store.

"We're actually adding two new bars," Welch said. "Outside where all the main construction is visible will be the new outside bar called Tiki. That, of course, will be seasonal."

"Upstairs, above Rick's, will be our new location for Lucky's," Onan said.

Don't expect the exact same Lucky's that was on Main Street. Onan said that the d�cor and overall feel will change.

"Lucky's is going to be a blues/piano/lounge bar," he said. "We want it to be very comfortable: low lighting, very 'loungy.' We're actually adding a bunch of really comfortable couches."

In their efforts to make Lucky's even more upscale than before, Onan will add a women's only lounge next to the restrooms.

Onan said the crowd will likely change as well.

"We're going for a more laid-back atmosphere, so we'll probably attract an older crowd," he said. "We're going to try to get some of the professors and such to come. We also want to be able to offer a place to businesses and professionals in town to be able to come after a hard day's work and get a drink and some food."

Speaking of food, Onan and Welch said they'll have a single menu for Rick's, Lucky's and Tiki.

"We're still working on the menu at this point," Onan said, "but we're going to try to have some specials on the weekend to draw in the older crowd. We'll hopefully have some good seafood and steak, maybe even some pasta."

Even though they're focusing on new clientele, Lucky's will still be very student friendly.

"We had two or three student art shows when Lucky's was on Main Street," Onan said. "I enjoyed every one of them. It was a nice laid-back crowd, and I'd definitely be open to doing something like that again."

"What's so great about the addition of the new bars is the versatility," Welch said. "We can now have several things going on at once. If a campus group or someone else wants to have a private party, we can do that at Lucky's if I have bands booked, or vice versa if Lucky's has someone booked."

Aside from the addition of Lucky's and Tiki, Rick's Cafe is expected to undergo other transformations.

"We'll be making some changes to Rick's," Welch said. "Some of them we've already incorporated."

Welch said that most of the changes to Rick's will be for the comfort of the audience and the bands that visit.

"We're adding 20 more tons of air," he said. "We're tearing out the old bathrooms and redoing those. We're also adding some things for our bands like band showers and a washer and dryer. They usually don't have access to those on the road, so we want to make it a little more comfortable for them."

Other changes include repaving the parking lot and adding a new facade to the front of the building, which is currently being constructed.

"I think we're going to surprise a lot of people," Onan said. "It's going to be very eye-opening."

"It'll be well worth the wait," Welch said. "I really appreciate everyone's patience with the construction. We knew it was going to be nice, but recently we realized it's going to be nicer than we first imagined.

GourMae's Grocery in Starkville to Specialize in Fine Foods

by Kelly Daniels
October 25, 2005

Along with its new restaurants and bars, the Cotton District will soon see another business open, GourMae's Grocery on Maxwell Street.

The modestly sized shop will be a first for Starkville, focusing on gourmet foods not available in major grocery stores.

Owner Tony Thompson has been renovating the inside of the former tanning salon, which was also once a Catholic sanctuary. Under the vaulted ceiling, divided by stained wooden beams, Thompson rubbed his foot over the floor to reveal hardwood that had lain under both carpet and tile for many years.

"We didn't know what we were going to find when we stripped it," Thompson said.

Thompson said that the building has required more labor than he predicted when he began renting the building from owner Dan Camp.

"We had to tear down 10 rooms," Thompson said.

With the white powdery layer over the floor and the paint job one-third of the way finished, it was hard to imagine the building as a special foods store.

Thompson calls it the old sanctuary. When the store opens Nov. 1, he will sell his products out of his office behind the recently opened Middle Eastern restaurant Shaherazad's, also on Maxwell.

Behind the office's antique living room arrangement lay stacks of some products he will sell.

"I get most of these from Atlanta and New York," he said. Business partner Barbara Rhoades accompanies him to food shows and discusses certain products to order.

Among them are triple cream cheeses, which cannot be found anywhere else in Starkville. On display so far are whole vanilla beans, honey jelly and a lemon honey that sweetens any hot tea while also giving it a kick. On top of the shelves are brown weaved baskets that will hold gifts that Thompson said he expects to be wrapping.

Items that hadn't yet arrived were hot tea, fine olive oil and grape seed oil.

Thompson said that he has recently considered selling organic products.

"I've gotten several people asking me if I will have organic shelves," he said. "It's something I've just recently been introduced to, so I'll have to see."

"This is a very fun job," Rhoades said. "I enjoy it because I love food." Her daughter, Amy Rose, attended the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in New York and now works in wine selection.

"This is post-retirement fun," Rhoades said.

"There aren't very many places where this happens," said Thompson, referring to the concentration of quality in his products. He said the store is for people entertaining with parties and dinners and also for those who live in the Cotton District.

Camp said that a neighborhood grocery is the way to go for any student who wants to save money on gas.

"The prices are a little more expensive than other local groceries, but shopping there still is economically safer than driving to a grocery store," Camp said. "I want students to not have to crank their cars until they drive home, and this town could use the ambiance of high quality food items," he added.

"I think Starkville is ready for a specialty foods store," Thompson said.

Report: NFL May Move Saints to L.A.

From :

NEW ORLEANS - The NFL will consider relocating the Saints to Los Angeles if New Orleans is unable to recover from Hurricane Katrina, the Washington Post is reporting Thursday, citing three sources familiar with the league’s deliberation on the matter.

The Saints have been based in San Antonio since they were forced out of the Crescent City by the hurricane in August. But sources have said the NFL has no interest in the Texas city as a permanent home for the club.

L.A. is the second-largest television market in the country and has been without an NFL team since the Raiders moved back to Oakland after the 1994 season.

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On Wednesday, New Orleans' two major league sports teams made moves to calm fears about their future in the city.

Saints owner Tom Benson published a full-page letter in area newspapers and also sent it by e-mail to season-ticket holders on Wednesday, the same day Saints officials announced they would be donating more than $500,000 to New Orleans-area charities.

A day earlier, Hornets owner George Shinn launched a community relations initiative that he said would start the process of returning his team to New Orleans.

The bold-faced introduction to Benson’s letter read: “Tom Benson wants to return to New Orleans.”

“After reviewing the reports about our team and the abundance of wide-sweeping negative media commentary and columns, I offer this: No decision has been made about the future of the team,” the letter said. “We have continued to operate and represent the city and fans of New Orleans. When the time is right and the factors that are yet unresolved are resolved, a decision of the future of the team will be made.”

Meanwhile, Shinn went to Baton Rouge before Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Miami Heat at LSU. Shinn announced the Hornets would be raising money for Habitat for Humanity homebuilding projects in the New Orleans area, an effort that began with a telethon during Tuesday night’s game.

“New Orleans is our home, and we are committed to rebuilding New Orleans brick by brick and house by house,” Shinn said. “The Hoops for Homes initiative is important to us as an organization, and to me personally, because it begins the process for our eventual return to a rebuilt and revitalized New Orleans.”

Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Arena, the homes for the Saints and Hornets. Officials at the Superdome say that facility won’t be available for football until 2006 at the earliest. The arena is expected to be ready for basketball by this spring.

In the meantime, the Saints have been based in San Antonio and the Hornets in Oklahoma City. Politicians and business leaders in both places have seized the opportunity to prove their cities would be suitable long-term homes for the franchises. San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger has even discounted New Orleans’ ability to recover sufficiently from the disaster and stated he will work to keep the Saints in Texas permanently.

Benson, who has a home and business relationships in San Antonio, was silent for days after Hardberger’s comments, then added to speculation about his team’s plans by requesting cancellation of his lease of the Saints’ training headquarters in suburban New Orleans.

Shinn has bought a home in Oklahoma City and been highly complimentary of the support for his team there, pointing to aggressive efforts by the business community to take part in sponsorship deals. The Hornets also took “New Orleans” off their home jerseys, bought the Internet domain name “okchornets.com” and changed the official name of the team to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

All of those developments have made fans nervous in New Orleans. Both teams’ owners addressed the matter this week, with the Hornets being more definitive about returning.

“It’s not a matter of if we return to New Orleans, but when,” Hornets spokesman Michael Thompson said on Wednesday.

Benson has been more noncommittal, saying his business is like many others that have had to re-evaluate their future in a hurricane-ravaged city, much of which was devastated by widespread flooding.

“No one within our organization has offered or made any official comment about what our long-term plans are,” Benson said in his letter. “It is too early to determine, but my desire is to return to New Orleans.”

Benson also shot back at criticism from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. Last week, Nagin said he was appalled by talk of the Saints relocating elsewhere, calling it was an insult to longtime fans who are struggling to rebuild their lives. Nagin also said he would not buy tickets to the four upcoming Saints games in Baton Rouge.

“Comments from our current mayor are made without a single phone call being placed to our team to check on our plans or to get the facts,” Benson’s letter said. “If the Saints and Tom Benson were as important to the city as the mayor of our city has claimed in the recent past, why such harsh comments, when a simple phone call could have saved him from embarrassment?”

Nagin was more conciliatory Wednesday, showing up for a public meeting on hurricane recovery sporting a Saints sweatshirt and cap. He was not apologetic, however.

“I expressed what most New Orleanians expressed: frustration with the fact that, while we’re down on our knees — why is this happening?” he said.

He said he wanted to show his support for the team after seeing Benson’s full page ad expressing a desire to stay in New Orleans.

“So I went scrounging around and found this old T-shirt and I’m putting it on saying, ‘Hey, I’m a Saints fan and I’d like to see them here.”’

Ford Eyeing Bathroom Breaks

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Ford Motor Co. management reportedly is trying to stop the company's financial outlook from going down the toilet.

The Detroit News reported Thursday that management at the company's Michigan Truck plant in Wayne, Mich., issued a memo in which it said too many of the factory's 3,500 hourly workers are spending more than the 48 minutes allotted per shift to use the bathroom.

The extra-long breaks are slowing production of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicles that are built there, the company said.

"In today's competitive environment, it is important that Michigan Truck plant immediately address this concern to avoid the risks associated with safety, quality, delivery, cost and morale," the memo said, according to the paper's report.

The paper reported that the memo also warns that Ford supervisors will begin collecting weekly data on the amount of time workers spend on bathroom breaks and "respond appropriately."

Workers interviewed by the paper said that management is trying to divert attention from broader problems at the nation's No. 2 automaker, including soft sales of the large SUV's made at the plant following this year's run-up on gasoline prices.

"It's an excuse by upper management to gloss over some of the real problems we have out here," Jody Caruana, a worker at the plant and a committee member for United Auto Workers union Local 900, told the paper. "This might be an issue in one zone or another. But is this causing a quality or productivity problem? No."

Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari told the paper the 48-minute bathroom break limit is spelled out in the UAW contract that covers local plant rules.

"We are managing our business according to the local agreement," Gattari said.

Ford reported a third quarter loss of $191 million, or 10 cents a share, a bigger loss than expected by analysts, and it warned that its full-year earnings would be a the low end of its earlier guidance. Despite strong summer sales spurred by "employee pricing" discounts, Ford's U.S. sales are down 1 percent over the first nine months of the year as it continues to lose market share. Sales of the Expedition are down nearly 25 percent year-to-date, while sales of the Navigator fell 21.5 percent.

Some efficiency consultants told the paper that Ford will gain little from monitoring bathroom breaks.

"It's a giant throwback to the bad old days of the '70's and '80's, when you squeezed the guy at the bottom of the heap any way you could," Sandy Munro of Munro & Associates told the News. "That only causes lots of discontent."

Miss. Coast Residents Must Decide to Stay or Leave

By Amanda Creel
The Mississippi Press

PASCAGOULA — For the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the decision to rebuild or to start over elsewhere is one of the first steps to recovery.

In the aftermath of the Aug. 29 Category 4 storm, some have come to the realization that another hurricane would be more than they could bear.

Charles and Mary Hamblin rode out much of Hurricane Katrina on their roof, and predictions that hurricanes will intensify and be more common in the future sealed the deal.

"It doesn't seem like there is anything here for us," Mary Hamblin said. "Everything we have kind of built our lives on is gone."

The couple returned to their shell of a home in Porteaux Bay to salvage what they could and travel to what they hope will be a new home in Texas.

"We went from having 1,700-square-feet of a fully furnished house to a truckload of stuff," Mary Hamblin said.

"It's a small truck at that. It's not even our truck. We borrowed it," Charles Hamblin said.

This is not the first time that a hurricane has chased the couple from a home on the Gulf Coast. The couple relocated from Pensacola to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in June after Hurricane Ivan devastated the Florida Panhandle.

"We love Mississippi. It's beautiful. I love the weather. It's laid back and it's not too fast," Charles Hamblin said. "This was perfect, without the hurricanes."

Although many families are moving to new areas, more than 95 percent of Mississippi families are planning to return or have already returned to their homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, according to a Gallup poll conducted last week," said Pete Smith, a spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour.

The other five percent have either not reached a decision about where they will call home or have already relocated temporarily or permanently, Smith said. For many others, however, moving a few miles from the Coast is all they need to feel more secure.

For John and Angel Fox, the decision to stay on the Coast was an easy one. But the couple decided not to rebuild their waterfront home in Langley Point.

"We are going to stay in the area, but we are not going to stay at 150 feet away from the water," said John Fox. "We are going to build inland, where it is a little higher and drier."

John Fox said moving his family was easier than others because after 26 years in the military he has learned to be mobile. "We like the area, we like the people, and we love being in the South," said John Fox. "We love the climate, too, but don't care to see another storm."

The couple has already made an offer on a home north of Interstate 10 and describe it as the perfect combination of both of their personalities.

"It is kind of scary. Because you are still making house payments on a house that is gone, and you are stepping out and buying another home," John Fox said.

The couple's home was reduced to a slab, leaving little to salvage as they pick up and start over inland. "This will be the easiest move we'll ever make," said Angel Fox, who added that they wouldn't even need a moving truck this time.

For some residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the decision to relocate was a necessary evil to find employment. Scott Barnett was one of the thousands of casino workers who lost a job because of Hurricane Katrina and is moving to other big gaming cities.

Lynn and Scott Barnett have placed their home on the market as they prepared to make the big move to Las Vegas. Lynn Barnett said she can't complain about the move because she still has a house to move. "I hope we like it there, but I don't know," said Lynn Barnett. "But, if I never see another Hurricane again it will be OK with me."

Miers Withdraws Supreme Court Nomination

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Thursday accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, according to a statement from the White House.

In her letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country."

"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said.

"Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers -- and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he respected Miers' decision and looked forward to working with the president to quickly picking a new nominee.

We remain ready to fulfill our duty to provide advice and consent on judicial nominees," the Tennessee Republican said. "And the Supreme Court still awaits its next justice -- a highly qualified nominee who is committed to upholding the Constitution and who believes in the limited role of a judge to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."

Miers, 60, was nominated earlier this month by President Bush to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the high court. (Profile)

Bush's decision to nominate Miers, his White House counsel and a longtime adviser, had divided his supporters, many of whom wanted a nominee with a clear record of opposition to abortion.

On Wednesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan had dismissed the suggestion that senators were reluctant to come out in support of Miers because they are unimpressed with her as a nominee.

"I think you're seeing a lot of members of the Senate saying, 'We want to hear what she has to say in the hearings,' before they make a judgment," he said.

"With Harriet Miers, there are many in the Senate that simply did not know her previously, although she is widely respected within the legal profession."

Senators had hoped to begin confirmation hearings the week of November 7.

Michigan Women Shed Clothes for Hurricane Relief

October 26, 2005

The Associated Press

LUDINGTON, Mich. — After seeing the movie Calendar Girls a few years ago, a group of local women joked about creating a calendar featuring nude photos of themselves as gag gifts for their husbands.

But it took Hurricane Katrina to make them follow through.

Dubbing themselves the Disaster Housewives of Ludington, the 12 women — all in their 50s and 60s — posed sans clothing for a fundraising calendar.

"It went from our husbands to hurricane relief," said Cheryl Noll, one of the group. In the calendar, she's Miss December.

The 2003 film was based on the true story of 11 members of the District Women's Institute in North Yorkshire, England, who posed nude for a calendar to benefit leukemia research.

The Disaster Housewives of Ludington describe their endeavor as "very tasteful." They posed with props, including a beach blanket, a Christmas wreath, an umbrella and a flag.

The Ludington Daily News printed the calendar. Proceeds are being donated to the West Shore Chapter of the American Red Cross for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Unlike in the film, where the women's husbands were none too pleased with their wives' decision to bare all, the Disaster Housewives of Ludington said their husbands were fans of the calendar.

Laurie Willson (Miss August), who took most of the photos, said her husband thought it was "really well done."

Wearing sashes identifying the month they represented, the women signed copies of the calendar during a public reception.

They said the experience has been worth the effort, and they had no regrets. "It was just a ton of fun," Willson said.

Work begins on Harbor Walk

Boat piers, boardwalk to be 1st step

By Nell Luter Floyd
nlfloyd@clarionledger.com

Special to The Clarion-Ledger An artist's rendering of the proposed Main Harbor development at the Ross Barnett Reservoir shows considerable change from what the area currently looks like. The $600 million development will include condominiums, offices, restaurants, shops and a hotel.

Construction on two new houseboat piers and a boardwalk at Main Harbor at Ross Barnett Reservoir is expected to get under way today.

The work will mark the first step in building Harbor Walk, an estimated $600 million development expected to draw tourists with condominiums, offices, a hotel, restaurants and shops.

John Burwell of Jackson, president of Main Harbor Development, bought the property in July 2004 for the development that is expected to take as long as 12 years to complete.

"Everybody has been hearing about it, but nobody has seen anything happening," Burwell said. "We've spent months in planning and getting ready to start."

Malouf Construction Co. of Madison is in charge of relocating houseboat piers from the main harbor to the south side of the development by the existing soccer fields, Burwell said.

Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger "It's time people see this happening," said developer John Burwell of the Harbor Walk development at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. "Trees are being cleared along Harbor Drive for the parking garage."

The two piers will feature slips for 58 houseboats. Each pier will include a community deck that has restrooms, a place for garbage, a storage area and electrical and mechanical equipment.

Some larger boats from the existing A and B piers will move to the new piers. The main harbor's existing piers will be demolished in January, Burwell said.

Plans call for riprap to be removed on the south side of the development by the soccer fields and a boardwalk constructed in its place, Burwell said. A boardwalk eventually will be constructed around the entire harbor.

The new piers and boardwalk on the south side of the development should be in place by the middle of December, he said.

Staff map/The Clarion-Ledger

The city of Ridgeland will close Harbor Drive on Jan. 3, so grading and work on the foundation for condominiums and office buildings can start, Burwell said. By March or April, structural steel for the buildings should be in place, he said.

Construction to relocate Harbor Drive west of its current location and replace it with a lighted, four-lane boulevard similar to Highland Colony Parkway is scheduled March through September, he said.

The first construction phase at Harbor Walk includes 150,000 square feet of office space, 147 condominiums, the 200-room Valencia Hotel and fuel dock. Work should get under way in March and be completed by 2007.

Restaurants and boutiques will occupy the first floor of office buildings and condominiums, lending an urban feel to the development patterned after Santana Row in San Jose, Calif. Jackson developer Mike Peters, who is responsible for renovating Fondren Corner in Jackson, is in charge of retail, restaurant and office space, Burwell said.

Office space could rent for $24-$30 per square foot, he said. Condominiums will range from $250,000 for a 933-square-foot efficiency to $1.3 million for a 3,200-square-foot penthouse, he said.

Charlotte Smith, owner of Charlotte Smith Real Estate in Jackson, said she's had "at least a couple of hundred" condo inquiries.

"It's a unique concept, a condominium overlooking a large body of water," she said. "There's nothing else in this area to compare it to. I would equate it to living in the French Quarter and being able to walk to everything you need."

Burwell said financing for the development is from a $13.1 million tourism grant from the Mississippi Development Authority, tax increment financing from the city of Ridgeland and Madison County, condominium pre-sales, pre-leasing of office space and $15 million in personal equity from himself and George Bishop, a Mississippi native who lives in Houston.

Click here to check out Harborwalk's website.

And I Thought Sororities Were Strict

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) -- A Turkish court has fined 20 people for using the letters Q and W on placards at a Kurdish new year celebration, under a law that bans use of characters not in the Turkish alphabet, rights campaigners said.

The court in the southeastern city of Siirt fined each of the 20 people 100 new lira ($75.53) for holding up the placards, written in Kurdish, at the event last year. The letters Q and W do not exist in the Turkish alphabet.

Under pressure from the European Union, Turkey has improved language and human rights for its Kurdish minority, but the EU says implementation has been patchy and loopholes remain.

The 1928 Law on the Adoption and Application of Turkish Letters changed the Turkish alphabet from the Arabic script to a modified Latin script and required all signs, advertising, newspapers and official documents to only use Turkish letters.

More than 30,000 people have been killed, most of them Kurds, since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels began an armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.

Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Don't Mess With A One-Armed Man With a Bat

From WLBT.com:

Vicksburg 10/23/04
Man Beaten to Death with Baseball Bat

A Vicksburg man, left comatose from a beating Wednesday, died Sunday. Vicksburg Police say 25 year old Derreal Holmes was beaten with a baseball bat during an altercation at the T and S Tunnel car wash on Pemberton Boulevard.

Sergeant Adarryll Dent says charges against 30 year old Benjamin Brooks have been upgraded to murder. Brooks was initially charged with aggravated assault in the attack.

Sources tell WLBT that Holmes went to Brooks' job at the car wash and started the altercation. Witnesses say Brooks, who has one arm, repeatedly beat Holmes with a bat. Brooks is being held at the Warren County Jail.

Bernanke's The Man

From CNNMoney.com:

President Bush's nominee to succeed Greenspan is expected to be chief economic adviser.

Ben Bernanke is expected to be named to succeed Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - President Bush was expected to announce Monday that he has picked top economic adviser Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a person close to the administration said Monday.

An announcement was set for 1 p.m. EDT.

Bush told reporters there would be "an announcement soon" on his choice to replace Greenspan, whose 18-year tenure at the Fed runs out on Jan. 31, Reuters news agency reported.

Bernanke is chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. He served on the Fed's board of governors for nearly three years before moving to the White House in June.

His move to the White House was watched with interest on Wall Street because of the belief that he was on the fast track to replace Greenspan.

Bernanke was considered one of the policy trend setters while at the central bank, espousing the virtues of an inflation target to guide monetary policy.

In addition to Bernanke, other candidates mentioned include Glenn Hubbard, a past adviser to Bush, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein and Fed governor Donald Kohn.

Before Bernanke moved to the White House job, many had thought Bush would nominate Feldstein, a former CEA head under President Ronald Reagan and one of the nation's leading academic economists.

But as Bernanke's odds increased, Feldstein's seemed to diminish.

Bernanke was born on December 13, 1953, in Augusta, Georgia. He received a B.A. in economics in 1975 from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in economics in 1979 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bernanke and his wife, Anna, have two children.

Wilma Hits Florida Early Monday AM

NAPLES, Florida (CNN.com) -- Hurricane Wilma slammed into south Florida on Monday with high winds, driving rains and storm surges, killing one man in Coral Springs before weakening.

Gov. Jeb Bush said at least 2.2 million homes were without electricity and some 4,000 utility workers were on standby to begin repairs after the storm passes.

Bush said there were reports of several tornado touchdowns in central Florida since Sunday night and the threat of tornados on the eastern peninsula continues. (Watch Wilma's damage in Florida -- 1:53)

Significant storm surge flooding also has been reported in the Keys, Bush said.

The storm made landfall as a powerful Category 3 at 6:30 a.m. ET, about 22 miles south of Naples, the National Hurricane Center said. Its top winds were 125 mph.

In Hollywood, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the storm felled trees, and a fire hydrant was ripped out of its position, opening a steady spray of water. (Watch Wilma uproot a tree in Miami -- 1:22)

At 11 a.m. ET, Wilma was a Category 2 storm, located about 15 miles north-northeast of West Palm Beach, moving northeast at 25 mph with winds of about 105 mph.

"The metropolitan areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Dade County are experiencing some of the worst of the weather now," said NHC deputy director Ed Rappaport. "Over the next hour or two conditions will actually get worse. It's important for people to just stay inside." (Watch latest forecast on Wilma -- 2:44)

Just hours after landfall, Wilma was blamed in the death of a man in Coral Springs who was killed by a falling tree, according to the Broward County Emergency Management Agency.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel said she had retreated to a safe room at the police department, and "the wind is blowing very, very strongly."

"The phones have gone down even at our emergency operations center," she said. "As soon as we get any break, we will get teams out to begin assessment while there's a lull, and then we'll get back in and wait on the back end of the storm."

Whitecaps in the pool

CNN's Allan Chernoff watched Wilma tear at his hotel in Hollywood.

"The wind here is absolutely ferocious," he said.

"Sand is just flowing in from the beach, which is just a few hundred yards away. On the first floor of the hotel, one window has already crashed into the restaurant -- glass all over the restaurant.

"The pool immediately below me looks like the ocean. There are whitecaps in the pool right now and the palm trees right in front of me right now are just whipping back and forth. So, it's very intense at the moment."

Wilma is the eighth hurricane to hit the state in 14 months, and officials said they were concerned that thousands of people had ignored a mandatory evacuation order in the Florida Keys.

The NHC is concerned about the low-lying Florida Keys "because of their particular vulnerability."

FEMA: 'We're going to move quickly'

R. David Paulison, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Monday he was most concerned about Floridians who did not choose to evacuate ahead of the storm, especially in the Keys.

"We're going to move as quickly as we can ... to get the roads cleared, and as soon as we can, get helicopters up to start moving our search and rescue teams in," Paulison said. (Watch the FEMA chief on Wilma search and rescue -- 2:37)

On Sunday, "very few" residents of the Florida Keys heeded the evacuation order, said Billy Wagner, manager of the Monroe County Emergency Operations Center.

No shelters were opened in the Keys due to a lack of structures that can withstand hurricane-force winds and rain.

A storm surge of 5 to 8 feet is predicted for the Keys, Wagner said.

"I'm very concerned about those subjected to storm surge," Wagner said.

The Keys, just a quarter-mile wide in many places, are mostly between 4 to 6 feet above sea level.

Havana rocked

Wilma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba, on Monday after its eye wall passed over the island nation.

Most of the downtown and central sections of the capital are under water -- up to six feet deep in some places -- and crews are rescuing people from windows and rooftops. (Full story)

Waves have been crashing over the city's sea wall.

Although nearly 500,000 people were evacuated from the country's western tip, evacuation orders for the capital weren't issued until after midnight while many people were sleeping.

Electricity was cut off in Havana on Sunday in advance of the storm.

Civil defense crews were busy using boats to rescue people, including rowboats from an amusement park that are normally used to ferry children.

The ground in western Cuba was already saturated from days of rain that began when Wilma passed to the south on its way to Mexico, where it pounded the Yucatan Peninsula for two days.

Four deaths were blamed on the storm in Mexico.

University Leadership: How Much Longer for Lee, Khayat?

From the Daily Journal

By ANDY KANENGISER

TUPELO - Two pillars of state universities - Mississippi State's Charles Lee and Ole Miss' Robert Khayat - appear to be closing in on retirement, but they're sidestepping questions about how much longer they will stay at the helm.


They and others running the state's eight universities came into the spotlight last week when the state College Board limited how much private boosters could contribute to the presidents' salaries.


MSU president Lee, 67, is not revealing his plans, saying only what's already known: His contract expires in June 2006.


Supporters are encouraging the North Carolina native to stay as the leader at the Starkville-based university.


Under Lee's tenure, MSU gained national applause for hiring Sylvester Croom as the first black head football coach in the history of the Southeastern Conference.


This fall the university opened its first new residence hall on the Starkville campus in more than 35 years and is more than halfway to reaching a $400 million fundraising goal, the biggest in its history.


At the University of Mississippi, Chancellor Khayat said Friday he expects to fulfill his contract, which extends through June 2007.


"Anybody in his 60s is aware of retirement - the time will come,'' said the 67-year-old Khayat, who's led his alma mater for a little more than a decade.


"I want to leave before I'm asked to leave,'' said the former Ole Miss and NFL football star.


During his tenure, he attracted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter to the Oxford campus and successfully steered a $530 million fund drive, the biggest ever at the school. He upgraded the honors college at Ole Miss and is widely credited with providing the impetus for Oxford's accelerating growth.


Lately, Khayat has received criticism for mishandling an Athletics Department snafu dismissing the school's mascot, Colonel Rebel, and ordering a design change for a proposed civil rights memorial on the Oxford campus after nearly a decade of planning.


Lee and Khayat have both brought national recognition to their schools, and now supporters are wondering what's their next move.


"I'd like to see both stay on,'' First District U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, said Friday. "Both have been tremendous assets to the state and economic development.''


Among Mississippi universities, the biggest pay packages go to Lee and Khayat, each receiving $200,000 in state salary. Lee also receives $200,000 from the MSU Foundation, while Khayat gets $160,000 from the Ole Miss Foundation.


Board members "want to be sure there is no question who we report to,'' Khayat said via phone.


"I'm grateful for what the university foundation does, but I work for the College Board. I'm grateful for the compensation.''


Should Khayat and Lee depart soon, it would require the board to fill key vacancies at the state's three biggest institutions. The board is making plans to search for a successor to outgoing University of Southern Mississippi president Shelby Thames, who is under only a two-year contract.


Lee served one year as MSU's interim president before the board gave him a four-year contract to lead the school. At a news conference the day he was hired, Lee said he planned to stay four years. He said he intended to retire to spend more time with his grandchildren and go fishing.


"We Bulldogs love Charles Lee,'' said Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, who led a petition drive at the Capitol a few years ago to promote Lee to the job. "We respect any decision he would make. We hope he has a much longer tenure.''


Still, Holland said he would understand if Lee retires. " I know the challenges are intense. He's had a spendid career in academia.''


An MSU graduate who will receive a master's in Southern culture from Ole Miss in December, Holland said his comments also apply to Khayat.


"You can't expect the man to work forever,'' Holland said. "He can stay as chancellor as long as he wants to be.''


College Board member Dr. Stacy Davidson Jr. of Cleveland said he hopes the two university leaders stay. "There is no reason to make a change now," he said. "They are in good stead with the board.''


Davidson remembers Lee's initial comments about his plans to stay only four years. "He may still be of that mindset. He's not told the board officially.''


Davidson said the board will know more about Lee's plans in the next three to four months.


Khayat plans to talk to board members next year about his future. "I want to make sure they are comfortable with any transition when the time comes," he said.

MDOT Exec Hall 'Banished' to Parking Lot Trailer

October 23, 2005

By Eric Stringfellow

estringfellow@clarionledger.com

Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall has enjoyed a corner office inside the Mississippi Department of Transportation in downtown Jackson.

That all changed last week.

Eric Stringfellow

Hall, a Republican who has been at odds with the two Democrats on the three-member panel, said he and his staff were evicted from department headquarters. They are operating from a trailer in the parking lot of MDOT's field office in Rankin County across from Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

"I've been banished," Hall said Friday. "It's obviously backlash for exposing their plans to expand. We are in a construction trailer. I never thought they would follow through. It's so juvenile. It's unbelievable."

It is indeed unbelievable, if Hall's ouster is related to his questions a proposed renovation at MDOT headquarters expected to cost millions. One commissioner insisted Hall's relocation was a space issue and not punitive, but the timing is suspect.

Expansion feud

Hall and commissioners Wayne Brown and Bill Minor are feuding over a proposal to renovate and expand MDOT's 10th floor. Minor and Hall believe the space could be better utilized to ease constant overflow in MDOT's 42-seat conference room.

Hall believes the project, expected to cost between $1.4 million and $2.5 million, is poorly timed and may be unnecessary. While attending a meeting in Puerto Rico, Hall said Brown and Minor voted to relocate his office.

Brown could not be reached Friday, but Minor said Hall's staff was moved because of a space problem.

"We decided to move his staff out of the office, but he decided to move. That's his choice," Minor said. "Commissioner Hall has an office down there. He can go there 365 days a year if he wants.

"We want to put more people on the 10th floor. His staff should be out in the field like the other commissioners' staffs are. No one should be there trying to run the office. Our job is that we are policy makers."

That's interesting.

Minor clearly sounded miffed about the attention the renovations plans have attracted.

Suspicious timing

"All we've done is hired an architect to study the building on a 3-0 vote, not a 2-1 vote," Minor said.

The timing of Hall's relocation?

"We talked about doing this four or five weeks before the vote," Minor said.

Hall, in explaining his vote for the study, has said he didn't know the project would be so costly. And he does raise good points. Public servants should always be good stewards, especially during days of strained budgets.

They also should behave like good responsible citizens, something that seems lost on commissioners. In addition to the proposed renovations, commissioners have fought over MDOT's executive director.

Now, the staff needs space and a commissioner has been sent to the boonies. If the move is not punitive, it certainly looks like it.

Hall is right, even if it's just his staff, the relocation sounds juvenile. How can the commissioner function in one place if his staff is in another?

He can't.

Everyone knows that, including Brown and Minor.