Mississippi News
Reeves signs bill creating Mississippi broadband office, appoints Sally Doty to run it
Reeves signs bill creating Mississippi broadband office, appoints Sally Doty to run it
Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday signed into law the “Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi Act” and appointed former state senator and current Public Utilities Staff Director Sally Doty to run the new BEAM office.
The new office will direct hundreds of millions in federal dollars to expand broadband internet access across Mississippi, where some have estimated 40% of the state lacks access. The effort has been likened to providing electricity to rural Mississippi in the 1930s.
“It is my strong belief that one's zip code should not limit access to these technologies,” Reeves said as he signed House Bill 1029 into law and announced Doty's appointment. “… Mississippi needs someone who gets up every single day and asks, ‘What can we do to improve and increase access to broadband for our entire state.”
The new BEAM office, under the state Department of Finance and Administration, will take applications from internet providers and dole out $162 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money earmarked for broadband expansion projects. Mississippi also is expected to receive from $500 million to $1.1 billion for broadband expansion from the infrastructure bill Congress passed late last year.
Doty, as public utilities staff director appointed by Reeves in 2020, has already been helping oversee broadband expansion work in Mississippi. The state has received hundreds of millions of federal dollars for broadband expansion in recent years. It received $495 million from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and lawmakers earmarked another $75 million from the first round of pandemic relief the state received. Most of this money went to rural electric cooperatives.
READ MORE: Cable giants, Mississippi electric cooperatives battle over federal broadband dollars
Doty said electric co-ops and small rural phone companies that received the earlier round of funds have laid thousands of miles of fiber optics and hooked up thousands of households.
“We want to allow all Mississippians to participate in the digital economy we are all part of now,” Doty said. She said Mississippians need access to telehealth, higher education, remote working and other online opportunities to compete and “all of these opportunities depend on connectivity in today's world.”
House Public Utilities Chairman Scott Bounds, R-Philadelphia, author of the act, said 40 other states have such an office overseeing broadband expansion as the federal government pumps billions of dollars into the efforts nationwide. He said the new office and legislation will be invaluable for future state and federal efforts.
Reeves said the new office will help with “accountability and transparency” of Mississippi's deployment of hundreds of millions of federal dollars for broadband. But he was also questioned at a press conference after signing the bill about exemptions in the new law for BEAM from public records and open meetings laws. The new law says BEAM records are “confidential, proprietary, and subject to exemption from disclosure.”
Reeves said there are “accountability measures in place,” for the new office and that it will be accountable to him and thus taxpayers. He said the public disclosure shield measures are needed so that internet providers will be candid about their work and service area maps. Nationwide, there is a problem coming up with accurate internet service maps.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Nettleton hires Houston DC Kyle Bond as next head football coach
SUMMARY: Nettleton High School has hired Kyle Bond as its new head football coach. With over a decade of coaching experience, Bond started at Kossuth High School in 2012 and has since worked at Tupelo and Booneville, where he led the team to an undefeated regular season and division championship in 2018. Bond spent the last four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Houston. He takes over from John Ketih, who left to become an assistant principal at New Albany Middle School. Bond's coaching experience and success at Houston make him a promising addition to the Nettleton football program.
The post Nettleton hires Houston DC Kyle Bond as next head football coach appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
Aberdeen mayoral election: Incumbent Charles Scott
SUMMARY: Voters in Aberdeen, Mississippi, will head to the polls for municipal elections, with Mayor Charles Scott running for reelection against challenger Dwight Stevens. In an interview, Mayor Scott discussed his goals for a second term, highlighting his focus on city improvements, youth leadership, and community involvement. He emphasized his experience in the military as preparation for the mayoral role and mentioned his pride in securing grant money for the Aberdeen Port. Scott also outlined plans for Aberdeen Vision 2030, a roadmap for future development. The election will take place on Tuesday, with no Republican challenger, meaning the winner will become the next mayor.
The post Aberdeen mayoral election: Incumbent Charles Scott appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
Mostly clear through Easter weekend – Home – WCBI TV
SUMMARY: Clear conditions are expected to continue through the end of the week in Columbus, Mississippi. Temperatures will drop into the 30s on Thursday night with possible patchy frost. Friday will bring more sunshine with high temperatures in the low to middle 70s. The weekend will see temperatures pushing towards 80 degrees with no rain expected. Next week, warm and humid air will flow into the Deep South, with a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday. It is still uncertain if these storms will be severe, but it is being monitored closely.
The post Mostly clear through Easter weekend – Home – WCBI TV appeared first on www.wcbi.com
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