Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant Bryant announces run for Miss. governor

Mississippi governors race takes shape (The Ticket)
The open-seat race for Governor of Mississippi is taking shape this week as Candidates release official announcements and begin qualifying for the primary contests. Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant announced his bid Monday to succeed Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, who is term-limited. Bryant has publicized his desire to involve the tea party in his bid and administration. Democrat Bill Luckett, a friend and business partner of actor Morgan Freeman, also filed Monday for the race, as did Republi...

HOPE, pre-k funds face cuts in new legislative session
One sure bet this legislative session: Changes are coming that will affect the bottom line for participants in the popular lottery-funded HOPE and pre-kindergarten programs. Ga. Politics news, helpful links Lawmakers have been warned that the programs -- collectively serving about 200,000 College Students and about 82,000 preschoolers -- have to be scaled back, given forecasts of a $320 million Deficit in lottery money to cover the programs' expenses for Fiscal Year 2012. A variety of potential...

Leaders elected, challenges ahead
Gordon D. Fox fights back tears as he is nominated for Reelection as House Speaker by Rep. Eileen Naughton. The emphasis was on pomp and circumstance, but even amid the speeches and patriotic songs and the Reelection of familiar leaders, the 2011 session of the General Assembly managed to open with some characteristic discord. In the Senate, M. Teresa Paiva Weed was reelected president on a vote of 33 to 5. The Newport Democrat and first woman to serve in the position received glowing comments f...

Mississippi power company sues Norfolk Southern
A Mississippi power company has sued Norfolk Southern Railway Company for millions of dollars, claiming the railroad uses a monopoly over coal deliveries to inflate costs. Hattiesburg-based South Mississippi Electric Power Association said Norfolk Southern is the only railroad company that delivers coal from the Appalachias to Plant Morrow, the utility's main electricity generating station. The power company claims Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern has used that control over coal delivery since 197...

D.C. Needs Real School Choice
Technically, the District of Columbia offers school choice. However, as a Washington Post article pointed out this weekend, there is a difference between school choice and real school choice, the latter available to too few Students in the nation’s capital. D.C. Children who attend an underperforming school are allowed to transfer to other Public Schools—including Charter Schools—of their choice. Yet while D.C. may be seen as “a showcase for school choice”—as its “

School Board's newcomers face baptism by fire
Slacking kids? Not at this main event "I don't know if anyone else is interested, but the fact is, I am the most senior member of the board at this point. We're going to be a very young, new board." Freshman Board Member Lorraine Alderman said Edwards "seems like the most logical choice. She's going to be the Veteran." On the seven-member board, Alderman and Erin Cranor have no experience as elected officials. Chris Garvey, Deanna Wright and Linda Young have two years of experience. The seat lef...

HOPE, pre-k funds face cuts in new legislative session
One sure bet this legislative session: Changes are coming that will affect the bottom line for participants in the popular lottery-funded HOPE and pre-kindergarten programs. Lawmakers have been warned that the programs -- collectively serving about 200,000 College Students and about 82,000 preschoolers -- have to be scaled back, given forecasts of a $320 million Deficit in lottery money to cover the programs' expenses for Fiscal Year 2012. A variety of potential changes have been suggested -- in...

New Jersey's Shame, Last in Some Higher Ed Rankings--Even Behind Mississippi
When measuring progress in education, you usually hear about how states such as Mississippi or Alabama are last in the nation. But a report presented to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had shocking news for the Garden State. When it comes to increased spending on its public universities in recent years, New Jersey came in last. That would be bottom of the barrel. In reality, while every other state was increasing its spending on Higher Education from 2005 to 2008, New Jersey actually cut its ...

Can Small-Business Owners Save Congress?
More than 30 entrepreneurs are headed to Washington as new members of the 112th Congress. A look at their backgrounds -- and where they stand on issues affecting their fellow business owners. On Wednesday, 33 entrepreneurs will descend on Capitol Hill, officially taking their places as new senators and congressmen in the 112th Congress. That's more than three times as many small-business owners who were elected to the Senate and House of Representatives in 2008. So will the common-sense approach...

Gov. Chafee takes oath of office, calls for collaboration and civility
Governor Chafee, center, with Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis and General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo, left, and Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, right, celebrate the inauguration with a lighting of WaterFire in downtown Providence. Also at the ceremony was Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts.. PROVIDENCE — His hand on his father’s Bible as he took the oath of office, his wife and Children at his side, Lincoln Davenport Chafee on Tuesday stepped into the job that his father, the late...

Schwarzenegger's timing for clemency questioned
SAN DIEGO — In the eyes of a slain College Student’s parents, Arnold Schwarzenegger shortened the Prison sentence of a former California Assembly Speaker’s son because of political connections. "They think they can act with impunity, that they are privileged and, of course, Arnold just proved that they are ... that someone can pull strings and make it disappear," said Fred Santos, father of the slain Luis Santos. Not so, says Bradley Patton, Esteban Nunez’s attorney. He c...

Bill Owens' Budget Director to be Hickenlooper's, Too
DENVER - Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 - Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper announced today Henry Sobanet will be Director of the Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Sobanet is now President of Colorado Strategies LLC, a private consulting firm that specializes in economics, Colorado Budget issues, legislative affairs and strategic management. The firm has provided consulting and research services to a wide range of public, private and non-profit groups. Sobanet is a frequent speaker on the ec...

How college students spend winter break
My college winter breaks were spent catching up on sleep and studying for finals: booorring! Students today have many more options than I did. My son, who attended Oberlin College, introduced me to their "Winter Term," where students take a course or volunteer in an organization that has nothing to do with their normal academic pursuits. January, therefore, became a time of growth for him, and not a month of stagnation. Students in all colleges and universities have many more options than I did...

Teacher Charged for Improper Relations
PLANO, Texas - Police in Plano have arrested a Shepton High School Teacher who allegedly had an improper relationship with a Student. According to a release, 57-year-old Michael Adam Zellner of Dallas was arrested Monday afternoon. He faces Felony Charges of indecency with a child and improper relations between an educator and a Student. The Plano Independent School District placed Zellner on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations. No further details about the case w...

The best of 2010 should be a call to action for 2011
The New Year always brings about a plethora of lists. The previous year’s best and worst laid out for all the world to see. Companies vie for top billing in employee satisfaction and profits. Individuals compete head on for product innovation and revenue. Fortune, Forbes, and Fast Company all have a list. They are meant to be recognition for a job well done but they are even more valuable as a glimpse into the future. Yesterday’s success is tomorrows skill set in demand. Inc. Magazine puts...

Report questions spending by former school board chiefs
At a time of a mounting Budget Deficit and dwindling resources for Chicago Public Schools, a scathing report released this week chronicles the questionable spending of two former School Board presidents. An annual report issued by the CPS Inspector General questions more than $800,000 of personal expenditures made by former board presidents Rufus Williams and Michael Scott, donations of CPS money to various charities with ties to board officials or their families, and hundreds of thousands of ...

Chico promises job development, outlines plan to boost business
Gery Chico, Chicago Mayoral Candidate, speaks at a news conference Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. Calling City Hall the “number one impediment to job growth,” mayoral challenger Gery Chico unveiled a comprehensive plan Tuesday to “break down the bureaucratic wall” and attract the businesses and jobs Chicago so desperately needs. The cornerstone of Chico’s plan is the appointment of a deputy mayor for business development and Job Creation who would preside over a “...

Chico promises job development, outlines plan to boost business
Gery Chico, Chicago Mayoral Candidate, speaks at a news conference Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. Calling City Hall the “number one impediment to job growth,” mayoral challenger Gery Chico unveiled a comprehensive plan on Tuesday to “break down the bureaucratic wall” and attract the businesses and jobs Chicago so desperately needs. The cornerstone of Chico’s plan is the appointment of a deputy mayor for business development and Job Creation who would preside over a R...

Chico promises job development, outlines plan to boost business
Gery Chico, Chicago Mayoral Candidate, speaks at a news conference Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. Calling City Hall the “number one impediment to job growth,” mayoral challenger Gery Chico unveiled a comprehensive plan on Tuesday to “break down the bureaucratic wall” and attract the businesses and jobs Chicago so desperately needs. The cornerstone of Chico’s plan is the appointment of a deputy mayor for business development and Job Creation who would preside over a R...

Chico promises job development, outlines plan to boost business
Calling City Hall the “number one impediment to job growth,” mayoral challenger Gery Chico unveiled a comprehensive plan on Tuesday to “break down the bureaucratic wall” and attract the businesses and jobs Chicago so desperately needs. The cornerstone of Chico’s plan is the appointment of a deputy mayor for business development and Job Creation who would preside over a “jobs cabinet” comprised of business, labor and academic leaders. The deputy mayor wo...

Chico promises job development, outlines plan to boost business
Gery Chico, Chicago Mayoral Candidate, speaks at a news conference Jan. 4, 2011, in Chicago. Calling City Hall the “number one impediment to job growth,” mayoral challenger Gery Chico unveiled a comprehensive plan Tuesday to “break down the bureaucratic wall” and attract the businesses and jobs Chicago so desperately needs. The cornerstone of Chico’s plan is the appointment of a deputy mayor for business development and Job Creation who would preside over a “...

PolitiFact Rhode Island: Chafee keeps promise to issue ethics order
By c. eugene emery jr. It’s the conventional Rhode Island wisdom that ours is one of the most corrupt states in the United States, although we’ve never seen any real evidence to show that we’re worse than other states where a similar belief is part of the popular culture. The folk wisdom persists because of all the examples over the years, from Top Officials being convicted of felonies to stories of average people needing to have money or connections (or sometimes both) to get ...

CITY INSIDER / Muni plans to fix budget with more parking tickets
Drivers in San Francisco beware: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs the city's transit and parking operations, is looking to increase the number of parking citations issued, officials announced Monday. The reason? To help close a projected $21 million Deficit in the $775 million operating Budget for the current Fiscal Year that ends June 30. The agency budgeted about $99 million for parking citation revenue this year but projections have been falling short because a...

Immigrant Rights Petition Roundup
Change.org's Immigrant Rights page is a good source of information and a portal for taking action through targeted online petitions. (Disclosure: I used to blog there.) Petitions are no substitute for other types of offline action, but I have seen their effectiveness in leveraging other forms of support in Deportation defense cases. Targeted petitions can bring visibility to individual cases that otherwise would be swept under the rug by the Obama Administration. I speculate that they might al...

Sanford releases proposed budget
COLUMBIA -- State workers would take more unpaid time off, colleges would lose at least $68 million and the state would end funding for its museum and arts programs under the $5 billion Budget proposal outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford released Tuesday, eight days before he leaves office. Sanford took time in his final executive Budget to snipe at the legislators he blames for the more than $800 million shortfall they must deal with when they return next week. That shortfall is a mix of slower state ta...