The Buzz

The Gulfport City Council will consider a new police chief come Tuesday night.
Last week, Mayor Billy Hewes announced that he had chosen Adam Cooper as the city’s new police chief, following the upcoming retirement of Chief Chris Ryle.
Cooper, who has served as the Gulfport Police Department’s Chief of Operations since 2018, has been with the department for 27 years.
“After a thorough nationwide search with highly-qualified internal and external candidates, I am proud to announce Adam as our next Chief of Police,” Hewes said. “He has committed his professional career to public safety and serving this city. His dedication, internal knowledge, and integrity make him the perfect fit to lead our police force moving forward.”
If ratified by the City Council, Cooper’s official start date as chief will be May 1, 2022.
Gulfport is Mississippi’s second-largest city with a population of 72,926. […]

It’s simply rough right now for Ole Miss baseball following another series loss, this time to South Carolina. What’s going wrong and can it be fixed? […]

Southern Miss baseball has earned itself the highest ranking in program history.
The Golden Eagles (27-8, 13-2 Conference USA), who are on a nine-game winning streak, came in at No. 6 in the latest D1Baseball rankings. The last time they were ranked in D1Baseball’s top 10 was on May 29, 2017.
As for Ole Miss (21-14, 5-10 SEC), the Rebels dropped out of the rankings for the first time this season after losing two of three to South Carolina. While Mississippi State (21-16, 6-9 SEC) was not able to climb back into the rankings, the Bulldogs had a bounce-back weekend, taking two of three from Auburn.
Find the full D1Baseball rankings below:

Tennessee
Oregon State
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Miami
Southern Miss*
Stanford
Virginia Tech
Texas Tech
Texas
Virginia
Gonzaga
UCLA
Georgia
Connecticut
Louisville
Texas State
Notre Dame
Auburn
Oregon
TCU
LSU
Dallas Baptist
Maryland
Georgia Southern

*Southern Miss was also ranked No. 5 by Perfect Game and No. 7 by BaseballAmerica. SuperTalk Mississippi generally refers to D1Baseball as its primary poll.  […]

Over the last few months since the signing of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act of 2022, multiple cities and counties across the state have chosen to opt out of the new medical marijuana program.
The bill was signed into law on February 2 and allows cities and counties three months to make a decision on if they want to partake in the program.
Here is the current list of Mississippi cities and counties that have chosen to opt out:

Pass Christian
Ridgeland
Brandon
Gluckstadt
Flora
Pontotoc
Madison
Clinton
Horn Lake
George County

If citizens of the above cities and counties wish to overrule the decision, they can petition for an election to have it reversed. The petition must include signatures of either 20% of the population or 1,500 people, whichever is less depending on the city or county.
For more information about what the medical marijuana program entails, read more here:
The wait is over: Gov. Reeves signs medical marijuana bill […]

Mississippi State’s path to the postseason is pretty clear, win, win, and keep winning. Can the Bulldogs get that started against Auburn? Brian Hadad and Robbie Faulk discuss this huge series and how little room for error the Diamond Dawgs have if they want a chance to defend their national championship. […]

Broadband in Mississippi has been the recipient of some massive grants funding further expansion across the state this year, with Governor Tate Reeves supporting the continued development through the creation of House Bill 1029.
On Wednesday afternoon, Reeves signed a bill that would create an office for the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Act within the Department of Finance and Administration.
Before the signing of the bill, Mississippi was the only state in the nation that did not have an office over broadband.
Now, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility will oversee “applications for projects to provide broadband service in unserved or underserved areas using the BEAM Fund.”
Reeves detailed that the new office is needed to reach every unreached corner of Mississippi, saying:
“This new office will give us a centralized, coordinated, and streamlined approach to bringing a variety of programs and efforts together under one roof.”
BEAM’s office is also expected to handle the distribution of federal and state funding given to expand broadband in Mississippi.
“There’s been a vast amount of money set aside towards broadband across our country. We’ve seen dollars moved quickly into this issue and we’ve seen dollars moved quickly into our state. Being a good steward of taxpayer dollars will always be one of our top priorities,” Reeves explained.
In addition to the creation of the office, Reeves appointed Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff Sally Doty to be the new director.
Doty thanked Reeves for the position and stated that her team is ready to bring high-speed broadband coverage to unreached areas in the state.
“To me, broadband expansion is opportunity,” Doty explained. “It’s opportunity for Mississippians to have better health outcomes through telehealth visits and monitoring. It is opportunities for higher educational attainment for our students… All of these opportunities are dependent on connectivity in today’s world and my team is ready to get to work.”
The bill goes into effect immediately as Doty takes steps into her new position as director. […]