The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $7.2 billion for broadband development in underserved, rural communities. A fair portion of this funding (over 50%) is made available to a grant program through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for unserved and underserved communities. Will Mississippi take advantage of this funding?
Smoking bans in public places may be becoming less controversial as the studies about secondhand smoke come in. CBS News reported today on a study regarding a workplace ban on smoking in Pueblo, Colorado. Reportedly, there was a 41 percent reduction in heart attack hospitalizations three years after a workplace ban went into effect.
I’ve concluded that anyone who smokes is either stupid or addicted to tobacco - and for the record I was stupid for about 15 years of my life. The reason that I say that is that no (non-stupid) person would choose to smoke given the overwhelming evidence of its harmful effects. The only other reason for smoking is that the person is addicted. I know that sounds harsh, but can anyone give a sound reason for smoking? Having said that, as long as smoking is legal and does not harm others, who can argue with another’s “right” to smoke? Certainly not me.
Here’s a list of cities in Mississippi and their smoking ban status:
E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century, The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture, was authored by Robert Putnam, Harvard University professor and author of Bowling Alone (plus six other books). The paper is very lengthy, but a summary and link to the article appears below. For those who work in community development it is must reading.
The more diverse the community, he finds, the less its members trust each other or the government, and the less they participate in collective life or believe in their own power to change their communities and politics. He notes that there are exceptions, but ultimately, more diverse communities are less trusting, less cohesive and less participatory places to live as people tend to “hunker down” and withdraw. More…
Oliver Diaz and Randy ‘Bubba’ Pierce, Mississippi Supreme Court candidates from the Southern District, will speak to the Stennis-Capitol Press Luncheon on Monday, October 6, 2008. The event is open to the public, however registration is required. Registration details are on the luncheon’s Web site.
Lots of states and cities have enacted laws in the past few years to bring in more movie and television film crews to their localities. Most have been successful, but I wonder if there is a point where so many incentives are offered by so many states and cities that we in effect go back to square one. At any rate, New York has done just fine this year.
According to a New York Times article, “The tax incentives have also been a financial boon to the city: the mayor’s office estimated that city-based shoots contributed $957 million in spending between April 23 and Sept. 23 of this year, an increase from $452 million during the same period last year.”
Also, the local film office expects 19 prime-time shows to be filmed in the Big Apple this year, versus 12 last year.
Mary Troupe, Executive Director of the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, on Tuesday, September, 9, 2008, presented “Champion of The People” awards to Senators Hillman Frazier of Jackson, and Senate President Pro Tempore Billy Hewes of Gulfport, for their efforts at bringing about equality for disabled persons.
Frazier is Chairman of the Senate Housing Committee, which is looking for ways to ensure that the state’s housing market continues to address the concerns of disabled persons, especially as the Gulf Coast rebuilds communities that were destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.
Hewes is Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and a member of the Housing Committee.
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