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Reeves signs bill creating Mississippi broadband office, appoints Sally Doty to run it

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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

Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: December 20-22

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-20 12:03:00

SUMMARY: This weekend (December 20-22), Mississippi offers a variety of festive events. In Jackson, enjoy Food Truck Friday, candlelight concerts, a Grinch movie screening, and Journey to the North Pole. In Ridgeland, experience Merry Bingo, Christmas on the Green, and Fleet Feet Coffee Run. Vicksburg hosts Rock the Halls, while Natchez offers a European Christmas Shopping Village. Other activities include Santa scuba diving at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, and Magic of Lights in Brandon. Hattiesburg features Lights of the Wild and Teddy Bear Tea with Santa. Numerous holiday events are available across the state.

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Mississippi News

Attorneys seek protective order in Jackson bribery case

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-19 14:36:00

SUMMARY: Prosecutors in Jackson are seeking a protective order to prevent the release of sensitive information in a bribery case involving Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and City Councilman Aaron Banks. The motion aims to protect personal, financial, and grand jury information, fearing it could impair investigations and fair trial rights. The three officials face charges related to a bribery scheme involving $80,000 in bribes for approving a real estate development project. Other individuals, including former City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Sherik Marve Smith, are also implicated, with Smith pleading guilty to conspiracy.

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Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse

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www.wjtv.com – MICHAEL R. SISAK and MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press – 2024-12-10 14:27:00

SUMMARY: Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione, who expressed disdain for corporate greed and the health insurance industry, was found with a gun matching the murder weapon and fraudulent IDs. He initially gave false identification but was recognized at a McDonald’s. Mangione, who wrote a three-page document expressing anti-corporate sentiments, is being extradited to New York. His family, shocked by his arrest, expressed condolences to Thompson’s family. Mangione had no prior criminal complaints but had a history of severe back pain.

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