In statement, Barbour addresses pardons

January 11th, 2012 Clay Chandler 2 comments

Former Gov. Haley Barbour has just released a statement after a good 24 hours of sound and fury relating to his last-minute pardon/clemency binge.
Here it is, in full:
Some people have misunderstood the clemency process and think that all or most of the individuals who received clemency from former Gov. Haley Barbour were in jail at [...]

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Bryant starts his new job reinforcing familiar themes

January 10th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

Other than anecdotes about his family, there wasn’t much new in Gov. Phil Bryant’s inaugural address.
Like he has for most of the past four years, Bryant used his platform to talk economic issues: job-creation, education, the high cost of teenage pregnancy and his political pet project, performance-based budgeting.
The energy and healthcare industries, Bryant said, are [...]

Bryant mixes old, new in agency appointments

January 9th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

Gov.-elect Phil Bryant filled out his list of agency appointments Monday afternoon, a few days after he named Jim Barksdale as interim head of the Mississippi Development Authority.
New faces include Mark Henry at the Department of Employment Security, Rickey Berry at Human Services and Dr. David Dzielak at Medicaid. Robert Latham will lead MEMA, though he [...]

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Regulatory review legislation tries again

January 8th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

Mississippi has a law on the books that is supposed to educate businesses on the effects of new rules and regulations.
An effort to strengthen that law and to establish a commission whose members would include business owners to review new rules will soon be a part of the 2012 legislative session.
According to the federal Office [...]

Democrats, freshmen dot Reeves’ committee chairs

January 6th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves revealed his committee assignments Friday morning.
There were no major surprises. Democrats will chair 17 of the Senate’s 39 committees. Of those 17, the most powerful are probably Judiciary B, chaired by Hob Bryan; and Highways and Transportation, chaired by Willie Simmons.
Five Senators in their first terms will serve as chairs. Melanie [...]

UMMC lays off 115 employees

January 4th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson has just announced that it will reduce its workforce by 2 percent, by eliminating 90 vacant positions and laying off 115 employees.
That’s bad news for one of the state’s largest employers.
Here’s the full press release:
The University of Mississippi Medical Center is reducing the size of its workforce by [...]

Sources: Schloegel, Barksdale among finalists for MDA post (Updated)

January 4th, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

Gov.-elect Phil Bryant will make what a press release called a “major agency appointment” Wednesday afternoon at a 2 p.m. news conference.
I’ve done some calling around since Tuesday, when the release was sent, and here’s what I’ve learned:
Two sources have said the new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority will be named at the news conference. [...]

Metro Jackson well-repped in key political positions

January 1st, 2012 Clay Chandler No comments

The governor’s office and both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature will have entirely new leadership when the 2012 session starts at noon Jan. 3.
And each of the new faces has roots in the Jackson Metro area.
Gov.-elect Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov.-elect Tate Reeves are from Rankin County. Rep. Phillip Gunn, a Republican whose district includes [...]

Records: DHA paid Delta Council $1M for ‘administrative’ services

December 25th, 2011 Clay Chandler 2 comments

The Delta Health Alliance has paid an average of $272,000 the past four years for an administrative contract with the Delta Council.
Those figures are spelled out in DHA tax returns.
In 2008, DHA paid Delta Council $293,630 for administrative services. In 2009 and 2010, that number dropped to $275,000. For the fiscal year that ended June [...]

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Financial relationship between UMMC, DHA remains in place

December 18th, 2011 Clay Chandler No comments

Mentioned throughout the court file of James Hahn’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the Delta Health Alliance is a possible grant from DHA to University of Mississippi Medical Center to help the hospital pay for implementing electronic health records.
The hospital’s move toward EHRs is part of the mandates spelled out in the Patient Protection and Affordable [...]

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