Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
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Oct. 18
The Oxford (Mississippi) Eagle on access to broadband Internet service in state:
Mississippians in eight rural counties soon will have access to broadband service to connect to the Internet.
Connect America is working to provide this service to more than 139,000 homes and businesses in Mississippi over the next six years with help from the Federal Communications Commission.
Mississippi ranks 41 as the most connected state with broadband coverage with 26 percent of our population underserved. Recently, Gov. Phil Bryant announced that $15 million of the funds received from the BP oil spill in 2010 would be used to expand fiber optic along the counties on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In Oxford City Schools, every middle and high school student is issued a MacBook Air laptop through the One to One Initiative implemented by the Oxford School District. The Oxford School District wants students to be prepared for college or career experiences by having access to state-of-the-art resources.
Internet access has never been more important for our local school children. Many students from the middle school go to the Oxford & Lafayette County Library in the afternoon to complete their assignments because some don’t have Internet access at home.
Oxford is one of three Mississippi cities with 100 percent broadband coverage but that doesn’t include all areas of Lafayette County. Gulfport and Ocean Springs are the other two cities in the state that have 100 percent coverage. Oxford has 11 different broadband providers.
In Mississippi, the FCC has released $51.5 million to expand broadband coverage throughout the state. About $41.8 million of these funds will go to AT&T with the remaining funds going to Frontier Communications and Windstream.
AT&T will use its current infrastructure to help with the expansion under Connect America and may add antennas or new cell towers to some areas in Mississippi.
The Internet has become such an important way of life for all of us. Bringing broadband to rural areas is expensive due to high infrastructure costs relative to the low number of customers who will be using the service but necessary for our state to prosper.
Presently, according to Broadbandnow.com, Mississippi has an average speed of 25.8 mega-bits-per-second (Mbps) statewide speed, which isn’t very fast. Most school districts and health care facilities need speeds of close to 175-200 Mbps.
We applaud the FCC’s connect America Fund and for the work they are doing to make sure that all Mississippians have access to broadband coverage.
Online:
https://dwww.oxfordeagle.com
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Oct. 17
The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi, on Initiative 42:
It’s a matter of trust. Mississippi’s Republican leaders say trust them to get Mississippi off the bottom of most education measures. They urge people to vote against Initiative 42 and they’ve done everything in their power to stack the deck against it.
Initiative 42 supporters argue a change in Mississippi’s Constitution would hold the Legislature accountable, in a court if necessary, for providing the education prescribed by its own law, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
It’s clear state officials don’t like the idea of being hauled into court. Initiative 42 supporters say lawmakers won’t land in court if they follow the law.
The fact is, school funding has been to court before, starting in 1819. Since then, according to the Education Law Center, plaintiffs have challenged education funding in 45 states, winning about two-thirds of the cases in the past 22 years.
We hope Mississippians don’t have to resort to litigation to improve our school funding system, but we want our education system off the bottom.
Because when it rises, we all will benefit. Good schools are crucial to a growing economy.
One of the first things prospective businesses and employees want to know is, “How good are the schools?”
Given Mississippi’s abysmal ranking, we have to wonder how many don’t even bother asking.
But if they do, they will be surprised to find out how good schools are on the Coast.
And even on the Coast, school superintendents tell us they are struggling financially.
State leaders ask you to trust them, they will put aside political differences and fix this.
They have had years and years to fix it. They haven’t.
We trust Initiative 42 will ensure public education is adequately funded. We recommend you cut through the noise and confusion and vote for Initiative 42.
Online:
https://www.sunherald.com
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Oct. 16
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Mississippi, on planting cherry trees in city:
Next week, an important step to creating a cultural bridge between Japan and Mississippi will take place with the planting of 100 cherry trees in Ballard Park in Tupelo.
The trees are being planted ahead of the North Mississippi Cherry Blossom Festival, which will be hosted in Tupelo next year when the trees are in full bloom.
The event was created to help mark the special relationship between not only Japan and the United States, but also Japan and Mississippi.
The Japanese population in Mississippi grew 60 percent from 2013-14, due in no small part to the growth of Nissan and Toyota and their suppliers in the state. Other Japanese companies such as Yokohama Tire and Calbee Foods also have a presence here in the Magnolia State.
The impact these industries have had on Tupelo and Mississippi’s economy has been significant, and the festival is a great way of welcoming the culture and tradition that accompanies those industries.
In Japanese culture, the cherry blossoms are an important part of Japanese identity and represent the joy and hope of rebirth, serving as a reminder to treasure each unique moment.
Japan gave cherry trees to the U.S. in 1912 as a symbol of friendship between the countries, and Washington, D.C., is home to the most celebrated cherry blossom festival in the nation.
Tupelo and Lee County officials hosted a dedication ceremony back in March, planting a single Yoshino cherry tree to kick off the efforts. They were joined by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi officials, TMMMS suppliers and members of the Japan-America Society of Mississippi in the ceremony.
Now several months later, 100 Yoshino cherry trees are waiting in the Tupelo Tree Farm ready to be planted Monday around the lake at Ballard Park.
And that’s just the beginning. Public Works, partnering with Tupelo Parks & Recreation, plans to plant 100 trees a year. City leaders plan to keep that up for 10 years, resulting in 1,000 total trees in Tupelo.
Once they’ve planted the trees, Public Works will fertilize them with time-release capsules that will work for two years. Within seven to eight years, depending on the ground, the trees will grow to be fairly thick.
Mississippi State University researchers have been asked to provide recommendations on how to take care of the trees to ensure they blossom for many years to come.
As area business and community leaders learned earlier this year when the Consul-General of Japan visited Tupelo, we need to be taking advantage of opportunities for any and all business and cultural relations with Japan.
Community Development Foundation leaders said at the time that Japanese culture is just as interested in our personal side as they are with our business side.
The planting of these trees and the coordination of the first cherry blossom festival in the state is a great way to show that Tupelo, Northeast Mississippi and Mississippi as a whole is truly interested in building that bridge between Japanese culture and Mississippi culture.
Online:
https://djournal.com
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