TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalEnd Near for Racist Politics in Mississippi?
JACKSON — When U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith took the microphone on a chilly Nov. 2 in Tupelo, Miss., she could not possibly have known what lay ahead for her campaign. Wearing a long coat, she stood in front of a statue of Elvis Presley when she told the crowd that if her friend Colin Hutchinson "invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row."
The two reporters in the audience—which included Wayne Hereford, an African American broadcast reporter for WTVA—did not seem to think a whole lot of the comment at the time.
Maybe it was a bit crude or "frontier bravado," Tupelo's Daily Journal reporter Caleb Bedillion would later write in a mea culpa column, but "reporting these remarks didn't occur to me."
"More bluntly put, however, I heard what I heard because I am white."
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/nov/28/end-near-racist-politics-mississippi/
Mike Espy Came Closer to Senate Seat Than Any Dem Since 1982
JACKSON — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy did not win his bid for U.S. Senate in Tuesday night's special election, but he came closer than any Mississippi Democrat has in 36 years.
While his Republican opponent, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, succeeded in her bid to become the first duly elected woman to Congress from Mississippi, Espy flipped nine counties from red to blue since the 2014 midterms, and drew the race to a closer margin than any since 1982.
That year, Democratic Sen. John C. Stennis won a landslide re-election campaign against future Republican Gov. Haley Barbour. Since then, only two Democrats have come within single digits of beating a Republican candidate: Wayne Dowdy in 1986 and now Espy in 2018, with Espy marginally outperforming Dowdy.
Hyde-Smith beat Espy 53.9 to 46.1—a 7.8-point margin. After Espy and Dowdy, former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove had the third-best showing in 2008, losing to then-appointed-incumbent Roger Wicker by 10 points, 55 to 45.
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/nov/29/mike-espy-came-closer-senate-seat-any-dem-1982/
Fultondale doctor charged in 103-count indictment alleging healthcare fraud
A Fultondale doctor was charged in a 103-count indictment alleging he prescribed controlled substances and participated in a healthcare fraud conspiracy with a pharmacist and drug sales representative, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Paul Roberts, 46, is charged with multiple counts of conspiring and dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, officials said. Those drugs include Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, Suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction and oxycodone, a powerful opioid, officials said.
The indictment charges Roberts will prescribing oxycodone to a person referred to as C.H. “in exchange for sexual favors performed by C.H. at various locations.”
He is also charged with participating in a healthcare fraud conspiracy and scheme involving having members of his staff such as his x-ray technician and office manager see patients with opioid addictions, but billing Blue Cross Blue Shield as if he saw the patients, officials said.
Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2018/11/fultondale-doctor-charged-in-103-count-indictment-alleging-healthcare-fraud.html
Alabama father, son indicted in investment fraud scheme
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama attorney and his son are accused of defrauding investors and a bank out of millions of dollars.
An indictment was handed down Thursday against Donald V. Watkins Sr., 70, of Atlanta, and Donald V. Watkins Jr., 46, of Birmingham, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Jay Town. Each faces multiple counts of wire and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy.
The indictment alleges that from 2007 until 2014, the pair induced investors to pay millions into an account that was supposed to grow two companies they were associated with. According to the indictment, the money was used for other costs, including alimony and clothing.
Watkins and his son are also charged with conspiring to obtain loans from Alamerica Bank through an allegedly fraudulent scheme involving the use of a third party to take out the loans on their behalf, according to the statement.
Read more: https://www.timesdaily.com/news/state/alabama-father-son-indicted-in-investment-fraud-scheme/article_c96f7928-f389-501c-ac28-a8e13b54bd92.html
Arkansas' capital city could elect its first black mayor
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Six decades after nine black students were escorted past an angry white mob into Little Rock Central High School, the city at the center of the desegregation crisis may be on the verge of electing its first African-American mayor.
But Frank Scott, the 35-year-old banking executive who may break that barrier, says it's not his motivation for running to lead his hometown.
"I'm not running to be the black mayor of Little Rock," Scott said.
Scott could win by bridging some of the biggest rifts in Arkansas' capital: race, income and geography. He's a native of one of Little Rock's poorer areas who has risen in its more affluent part in professions — politics and finance — dominated by white men.
Read more: https://www.cullmantimes.com/cnhi_network/arkansas-capital-city-could-elect-its-first-black-mayor/article_2ddf050c-cf48-5a32-ae83-69f75cc09e1a.html
In nail-biter, PBR avoids alleged possible extinction after last-minute settlement with MillerCoors
The fate of Pabst Blue Ribbon was in the hands of a jury.
The classic lager - the cheap, light beer of choice among many hipsters and baby boomers alike - was at risk of disappearing from the shelves, the jury had been told. Wednesday marked the end of a nine-day trial involving a brewing contract dispute between Pabst and MillerCoors, one beer company versus a much bigger one, both steeped in more than a century of history.
The question was whether MillerCoors, which has been brewing PBR since 1999, would extend its brewing contract with Pabst to 2025. Pabst sued MillerCoors in 2016 after the brewer said it would be cutting ties with Pabst in 2020, the year the contract expires, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. PBR's lawyers argued that MillerCoors's decision not to extend the contract was in bad faith, claiming its reasoning - that it no longer had the capacity to brew PBR into the next decade - was false and flawed. Likewise, MillerCoors claimed that PBR's fear of going out of business was simply exaggerated and not true either.
But just as the jury was busy deliberating Wednesday, the beer companies returned to court: They had reached a settlement agreement, they told the judge. And it involves keeping PBR alive.
Read more: https://www.dothaneagle.com/news/trending/in-nail-biter-pbr-avoids-alleged-possible-extinction-after-last/article_7dd7ddb5-9913-5788-be30-03f8c5896330.html
Jeff Sessions not a lock for old Senate seat, pols say; Who might run?
From the moment he left the Justice Department, talk about former U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions has centered on the possibility of him running for his old seat in the Senate.
That doesn’t mean he’s a lock to win the seat back for Republicans, however, as Politico reported in an examination of the 2020 race.
Sessions’ main liability would be his strained relationship with President Trump, according to political insiders. Once one of the Trump’s key supporters, the two fell out after Sessions became AG and recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. What followed were two years of public criticism directed at Sessions.
Terry Lathan, chair of the Alabama Republican Party, told Politico Sessions is “beloved” in the state but the relationship between him and Trump could create an “unusual circumstance" if he does run.
Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2018/11/jeff-sessions-not-a-lock-for-old-senate-seat-pols-say-who-might-run.html
'Price of human life': Africatown residents blast heavy industry during chemical plant hearing
Kemira Water Solutions is angling for an expansion project that will boost productivity at its chemical plant near Chickasaw by 40 percent, add more than 20 permanent jobs and provide a jolt of construction activity for local labor groups.
The Finland-based company says it intends to “stay within the current emission levels” already present at the plant, which it has operated since 2006. The plant, itself, was built in the late 1930s.
The expansion includes a new Bio-Acrylamide production unit, storage tanks, and loading and unloading stations for railcars and big trucks.
“We’re not asking for additional emission levels,” said plant manager Richard Ryder. The project is tentatively scheduled for completion in late 2020.
Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2018/11/price-of-human-life-africatown-residents-blast-heavy-industry-during-chemical-plant-hearing.html
AG: CBD products illegal in Alabama
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued guidance on the legality of cannabidiol (CBD) last week, though local law enforcement says the products haven’t been a big focus in Mobile.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a derivative of marijuana, though it does not contain the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gives the plant its psychoactive effects. In recent years, Alabama has loosened its laws to allow CBD oils to be used in the treatment of epilepsy and severe seizures.
Carly’s Law and Leni’s Law were passed in 2014 and 2016, respectively, named after patients championing alternative treatments. The laws created a very limited window for a small number of designated patients to treat epilepsy and other specified illnesses with CBD.
In practice, the laws simply created a path to excuse what state law would otherwise consider to be possession of marijuana, and even those patients can only use products containing no more than 3 percent THC.
Read more: https://lagniappemobile.com/ag-cbd-products-illegal-in-alabama/
Bentley to face Collier in unlawful termination trial
Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin has set a March 4, 2019, trial date. Collier will face Bentley in his unlawful termination suit.
The Monday Massacre as it is known was part of Bentley’s scheme to accuse Collier of criminal wrongdoing as a pretense for his firing him a few weeks earlier.
Bentley and his alleged mistress, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, along with others in the administration sought to paint Collier as a crook; however, a Montgomery Grand Jury cleared Collier of all the allegations leveled by Bentley and his cohorts.
Collier’s case against the former governor revolves around a claim of unlawful termination. Collier was fired from his position at ALEA after he refused Bentley’s order to lie in an affidavit to the court in former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s trial. After his firing, Bentley’s paramour, Mason, and Collier’s replacement, Stan Stabler, launched a smear campaign against him.
Read more: http://www.alreporter.com/2018/11/27/bentley-to-face-collier-in-unlawful-termination-trial/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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