Talk of a state lottery is coming up again. Why? Governor Bryant wants to raise $640-million over 3 years to fix the states roads and bridges, and that’s one of several options being considered. He’s planning to call a special session on the issue for late next week.
Sports betting, recently legalized nationwide by way of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, is spreading across Mississippi. Penn National Gaming expects to launch sports betting at Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast and Boomtown Casino Biloxi beginning today. Hard Rock Biloxi announced via social media that its sports book will also open today. Beau Rivage and IP Casino opened their sport books earlier this month.
A cluster of health care facilities near the Mississippi coast could have a two billion dollar economic impact on the state over the next ten years. A study suggests that the Harrison County development known as the Medical City at Tradition will create as many as 94-hundred jobs that require a highly skilled workforce. The Medical City already includes a new William Carey University pharmacy school, a national diabetes and obesity research institute and soon, a new nursing program being offered by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. And it's working to attract investments from some of the nation's top medical companies.
There are new developments in the case of Carmon Brannan, the nurse convicted recently of manslaughter in the death of an inmate she'd been treating in George County. A judge yesterday denied her requests for dismissal of the verdict and her request for a new trial. However, once the paperwork is completed by her attorney, her bond will be set at 200-thousand-dollars while she appeals her case to a higher court. Brannan was convicted July 30th in the diabetes-related death four years ago of 29-year-old William Joel Dixon and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The number of humans infected with West Nile virus this year is continuing to climb. The Mississippi Department of Health says there are now 23 confirmed cases in the state, one of the latest to be reported is in Calhoun County. The peak season for transmission of the virus transmitted to humans through mosquito bites runs through the end of September. If venturing outdoors, people are advised to protect themselves with repellent containing DEET and to remove any standing water from their property.
The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics is planning to issue a public safety alert involving a dangerous drug this morning. Fentanyl has been blamed for a number of drug overdose deaths in Mississippi. Last fall, a Madison County man died after taking what he thought was the prescription painkiller oxycontin. It turned out to be a counterfeit containing fentanyl which is much more powerful.
A 17 year old was killed in a single-vehicle crash in George County early yesterday, her 11 year old brother was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries. Emma McDaniel of McLain veered off H57 and slammed into a tree near Beatline Road.
People in the U.S. and most other high-income countries aren't living as long. A new study finds life expectancy fell in 14 of 18 high-income nations from 2014 to 2015. In the U.S. the average for women is 81-point-four years and 76-point-four years for men.