MBJ_Apr05_2019 by Journal Inc

INSIDE — Cal-Maine sees shares fade, places major free-range bet — Page 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

YEARS

1979

www.msbusiness.com

HALF SHELL OYSTER HOUSE PLAN APPROVED FOR MADISON

2019

April 5, 2019 • Vo. 41 No. 14 • 24 pages

PLAY BALL!

— Page 2

MBJ FOCUS

Banking & Finance {Section begins P15}

» Integrated Teller Machine in New Hebron being well received, Peoples says

{The List P18-21} » Largest Banks

MISSISSIPPI {P9}

» Credit-card debt on rise even in strong economy

Braves want to win hearts as 15th anniversary season begins Page 10

A Shuck Nation is born as Biloxi Shuckers embark on 4th year Page 11

http://msbusiness.com/mississippis-top-tech-awards/

2 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Half Shell Oyster House plan approved for downtown Madison By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Cracking the oyster on a long-anticipated arrival of a seafood restaurant in Madison is within reach. The city recently approved a site plan for a Half Shell Oyster House as a key element of an 18-acre mixed-use development. Plans by another developer fell through after the mayor and board of aldermen approved that site in 2017. This time, Main Street Investors plans call for The Village at Madison to be adjacent to the Madison Justice Complex and will be accessed from Main and Crawford streets. Lead developer Mark Castleberry said the project, which will include 50 zerolot-line residences, and other retail space, will cost “conservatively” $35 million. Castleberry, president of Castle Properties in Columbus, said the restaurant will encompass 6,500 square feet. It should be complete in the ﬁrst quarter of 2020, he said. Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler said in

Courtesy of McCrory and Associates

The Half Shell will be accessible from Main and Crawford streets.

Courtesty of WBA Architecture

The restaurant will become the 12th in the Gulfport-based chain.

news release that the development, which will have cobblestone streets, iron railings and gas lighting, “will set the tone for the gateway to our historic district.” Other partners in Main Street Investors are Dr. Michael Manning of Ridgeland and Lee Stafford of West Point. More information can be obtained from Lee Norman or Guy Parker at (601) 420-

8080 or at lee.norman@cbre.com or guy. parker@cbre.com. The Half Shell chain, which is based Gulfport, has 11 restaurants, including one in Flowood; two in Biloxi; one in Destin, Fla.; Covington, La.; Hattiesburg; Lafayette, La.; Mobile; Spanish Fort, Ala., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

AGRIBUSINESS

Cal-Maine sees shares fade, places major free-range bet By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com Cal-Maine Foods Inc. reported on Monday net income of $39.8 million, or 82 cents per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2019. The Jackson-based company’s net sales for the quarter were $384 million, an 11.9 percent decrease from $435.8 million for the year-earlier period, the company said in a release. The fiscal 2018 third quarter saw the company, the nation’s largest producer of shell eggs, record a net income of $96.3 million, or $1.99 per share, thanks to a $35 million, or 72-cent per share benefit from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Cal-Maine shares on the NasdaqGS market fell $1.36 to close at $43.27 even though the company beat the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 50 cents. The 52-week range is $40.63 to $52.30. Cal-Maine is increasingly reliant on specialty eggs, and so its board on Friday voted to invest $148 million in the expansion of two cage-free facilities. “Specialty eggs remain a primary focus of our growth strategy,” Chairman and Chief Executive Dolph Baker in the release. In November, California passed Proposition 12, which provides for minimum space requirements per hen beginning in 2020 and mandates that all eggs and egg products sold in California must be cagefree by 2022. Consequently, Cal-Maine Foods’ Board of Directors approved a major expansion of the cage-free capacity at the company’s Delta, Utah, facility, to include new facilities for 2 million cage-free hens and renovation of an existing cage-free facility for another 1.4 million hens. Other approved expansion projects include adding pullets and cage-free capacity for 1 million hens in Pittsburg, Texas, and building new cage-free pullet housing in Zephyrhills, Fla. The total expenditure for these expansion projects is $148 million, which the Company expects to finance with cash on hand, investments, and operating cash flow. “Specialty eggs, excluding co-pack sales, accounted for 24.7 percent of our sales volumes for the third quarter, compared with 24.3 percent a year ago,” Baker said. “Specialty egg revenue was 35 percent of total shell egg revenue, compared with 30.2 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2018, reflecting slightly higher volumes and a 2.1 cent per dozen increase in average selling price for specialty eggs compared with the prior-year period,” said Baker. For the third quarter of fiscal 2019, Cal-

Maine will pay a cash dividend of approximately27 cents per share to holders of its common and Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on May 16 to holders of record on May 1.

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

4 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Trump and the ‘battle for our better angels’

hat better time than now to discuss, as historian Jon Meacham titles his latest book, “The Soul of America”? After all, we now have the completion of the report from special counsel Robert Meuller on the Trump administration regarding widespread speculation that the president conspired with the Russians to inﬂuence the 2016 election. Meacham’s book, subtitled “The Battle for Our Better Angels,” which was published in 2018, decidedly did not include Trump as one of the presidents, who in the historian’s opinion, listened to the heavenly choir. But what about his foes in the past two years -- the “loyal opposition” and the Fourth Estate? Many Democrats have fallen in love with socialism, an admission that even during the Obama years would have given them the heebie-jeebies – not to mention a cudgel for the GOP to beat them with. But that radical departure from the history of that party gives them the freedom to attribute the worst of all intentions to Trump.

Trump said early in his term that some of illegal aliens crossing the porous U.S. southern border were rapists and murderers – and that the solution was a substantial wall. That was interpreted by political foes as all such people were of that ilk. Conclusion? Trump is against brown people. Rebuttal: “Trump derangement syndrome.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 last June to allow the Trump ban on travel in the United States by citizens of ﬁve majority-Muslim countries, plus North Korea and Venezuela. Timing is everything. Special counsel Mueller’s investigation of Trump and his camp has concluded that the president did not work with the Russian government to affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential. Now what? Assurances by Democratic leaders and virtually all major news organizations that Trump was a scoundrel, if not a traitor, were not proven. So who is seeking “the better angels of our nature,” as Lincoln put it, in this drama

that has consumed the nation’s attention for nearly two years? The New York Times and Washington Post were awarded national reporting Pulitzers in 2018 for their “deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.” Can that be considered a deeper “understanding” in light ot the Mueller report? That may have to await the full report, and that may not happen. Attorney General William Barr has released a summary of the Meuller report. Democrats have urged him to release the whole thing, which could happen with certain redactions to protect the innocent and preserve national security. Even Trump said he would welcome the fuller release. But fearing the worst, the Trump haters (the Democratic Party) preemptively launched their own “truth” campaign that they hope will, at the least, consume the last two years of Trump’s term. Meacham was loaded for bear when he set out to write this book. The author’s note at the end of the story tells the tale. “The roots of this book can be traced to a Sunday afternoon call I received from Nancy Gibbs, then the editor in chief of Time, who reached out to ask me if I had anything to say about the terrible events in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017.”

You recall. The Jack Weatherly march of white supremacists, their clash with protesters. The death. The president, making matters worse, initially did not roundly condemn the supremacists and the violence, though he did shortly thereafter. One thing is known about the impulsive, flawed Trump -- he does not say anything he does not believe. The hard thing is resolving the contradictions in what he says in his continuous addresses, including his 140-word Twitter missives and other brief but often baffling communications to the American people. Yet, his broader decisions have unarguably played a major role in the strengthening of the national economy and kept us free of new military entanglements. A major source of his political conflicts is the fact that he is seeking to protect our southern border from incursions of people who in many cases seemingly have nothing but contempt for the country that has for nearly 250 years been the light of the world. No other president has given his enemies so many chances to take political shots at him. Meacham refrained from cheap shots, yet decided he had ample time to judge Trump as president, after getting an eyeful during the campaign. But let’s not say Meacham was unfair. Just guardedly pessimistic as he refrained from addressing Trump’s record – even though he was the reason for the book in the first place. He doesn’t give the usual list of presidents a free ride. He shows them when they are faced with a soul-wrenching dilemma that will change the course of the ship of state for better or worse. Abraham Lincoln, a prime example, was willing at first to merely limit the spread of slavery rather than abolish it. In his first inaugural address he invoked the “better angels of our nature” a month before the beginning of that terrible war. And Meacham’s book took that as its subtitle. But less than two years later, he issued his Emancipation Proclamation and went “all in,” as they say in poker – when the survival of the nation was at stake. Our better angels can be hard task masters. » Contact Mississippi Business Journal staff writer Jack Weatherly at jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com or (601) 364-1016.

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MBJ PERSPECTIVE April 5, 2019 • www.msbusiness.com • Page 6

» OUTSIDE WORLD

» OTHER VIEWS

Website: www.msbusiness.com April 5, 2019 Volume 41, Number 14

Teacher pay not complete

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 TAMI JONES Associate Publisher tami.jones@msbusiness.com • 364-1011 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

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» INSIDE MISSISSIPPI

BECKY GILLETTE Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018

Issues can be wild cards in competitive governor’s race

NASH NUNNERY Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 LISA MONTI Contributing Writer mbj@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 Subscription Services (601) 364-1000 subscriptions@msbusiness.com Mississippi Business Journal (USPS 000-222) is published weekly with one annual issue by MSBJ 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, MS. Subscription rates: 1 year $109; 2 years $168; and 3 years $214. To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 364-1000, Fax: (601) 364-1007, Email: charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com, Mail: MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal, Circulation Manager, 132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 2132 Riverview Dr., Suite E, Flowood, MS 39232. No material in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent. Editorial and advertising material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities. It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their qualiﬁcations and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap. The Mississippi Business Journal, is an affiliate of Journal Publishing Company (JPC), Inc. Entire contents copyrighted © 2019 by Journal Inc. All rights reserved.

hich of the 13 candidates for governor of Mississippi are you for? Huh? There are 13? Yep, three Republicans, nine Democrats, and one independent. As the Associated Press explained, “The top of the ticket for Mississippi’s 2019 statewide election could feature the most competitive governor’s race since 2003, but a dearth of strong Democratic candidates down the ballot shows the party’s continued weakness in Mississippi. “Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood and Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will be favorites in their respective August 6 primaries, but each will have to get past some serious challengers. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is challenging Hood in the Democratic ﬁeld, along with seven lesser-known candidates (Michael Brown, William Bond Compton Jr., Robert J. Ray, Gregory Wash, Phillip West, Velesha Perkins Williams, and Albert Wilson). On the GOP side, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. and state Rep.

Robert Foster of Hernando will try to upset Reeves.” Giving credence to the AP’s competitiveness assessment, some early polls Bill Crawford showed Hood beating Reeves and more recent ones showed Waller close to Reeves despite his late entry. With just over 120 days left until the ﬁrst August primary, partisan campaigns must determine and kick-off their winning strategies now. What sort of strategies? Well, issues, money, name ID, and turnout determine who wins and who loses. Winning candidates uncover the issues that best resonate with likely voters, align themselves with those issues in voters’ minds, and motivate those voters to turn out on election day. Money plays a key role in candidates’ ability to do these things. It may sound simple, but it’s not. There are thousands of thick books, See CRAWFORD, Page 7

ississippi educators will see higher paychecks next school year. State lawmakers settled one of the biggest questions of the 2019 legislative session on Thursday when they finalized raises for the state’s teachers and assistant teachers. The agreement now awaits the expected signature of Gov. Phil Bryant. The plan will bump Mississippi teacher salaries by $1,500 beginning July 1, with the entry salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree rising from $34,390 to $35,890, although many districts add to that amount with local supplements. Other teachers will earn more based on their number of years of experience and the degrees they hold. For instance, a 12th-year teacher with a master’s degree will earn at least $44,880. Most political watchers believed lawmakers would agree to a teacher pay raise this year, given that it is an election year, but the big question was what that amount would be. The final agreement, estimated to cost $58 million, came after much debate and numerous proposals. In his budget request released in November, Bryant called for the state to spend $25 million on a teacher pay increase. The Senate originally passed a plan that would raise salaries by $1,000, phased-in over two years, while the House approved a $4,000 raise, also phased-in over two years. The final agreement has come under criticism from some teachers and advocates who have said it is not large enough to make a significant impact. Some Democratic lawmakers tried to send it back for more debate in the hopes of increasing it, while Republican leaders said the state couldn’t afford a larger proposal, citing other needs. “It’s not where we want to be,” said Republican House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett of Long Beach. “It’s what we can do.” Meanwhile, the minimum salary for assistant teachers will go from $12,500 to $14,000, although many districts also add to that total with local supplements. It is the first raise for assistant teachers since 2007, and the final proposal was actually larger than the $1,000 raise originally proposed by both the Senate and the House in their initial bills. We welcome the pay raise and appreciate the efforts of lawmakers to elevate the teaching profession. We also agree that more work is needed if Mississippi is going to attract more of its best and brightest citizens to the teaching profession and keep its best teachers from leaving for higher paying jobs in other states. Now that the latest pay raise has been finalized, we call on lawmakers to continue that work. The issue of teacher pay should not merely be placed on a shelf until the next election approaches. This is far too important to our state. We understand lawmakers will have to get creative to find a way to get Mississippi’s teacher salaries equal to and above the Southeastern average. But budgets are about setting priorities, and having the highest quality teachers will make a tremendous impact on Mississippi’s future in so many ways. It must remain at the top of the list in 2020 and beyond. — The Daily Journal

Perspective » RICKY NOBILE

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

CRAWFORD

Continued from, Page 6

complex guides, and YouTube videos on how to win elections. But winning candidates are usually those who pick the best campaign managers, develop the best organizations, pick the right issue messages, and raise enough money, not necessarily the most, to implement campaign strategies. Issues can be unpredictable wild cards even though many key issues are predictable. In the Republican primary you can count on taxes as a top issue, education in the Democratic primary. But, while those are top issues, the differences among party candidates on them may be virtually non-existent. That lets other issues take precedence, issues such as race, character, religion, experience, or speciﬁc programs like mental health care, highways, or school choice. Polls (which cost money) can help candidates select the best issues and guard against risky ones, but can’t predict when a new issue or unanticipated nuance to an old issue will pop up. Opening slogans or statements from candidates can give you a hint on their issue choices (not all are on record yet). Tate Reeves – Spend less, borrow less, tax less, promises kept. Jim Hood – Putting Mississippi families ﬁrst. Bill Waller – Improve infrastructure, health care, workforce training and education. Robert Shuler Smith – Trust, experience, and reliability. Robert Foster – Man of faith, farmer, conservative outsider. Velesha Perkins Williams – Healthcare for all, quality education, economic stability. Robert J. Ray – Fix Mississippi’s many problems with my Professional Development Process. Albert Wilson – Bring 21st Century jobs and salaries to Mississippi while improving quality of living for all Mississippians not just the privileged few. Big Dave Singletary – Bring prosperity and health to Mississippi citizens. What’s your favorite issue? » Bill Crawford (crawfolk@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist from Meridian.

» ANALYSIS

Lawmakers’ decisions affect people’s wallets P

ocketbook issues were an important part of the 2019 Mississippi legislative session. Senators and representatives approved pay raises for teachers and state employees. They voted to expand the availability of home-based health services to help some people stay with their own families and avoid living in nursing homes or state mental hospitals. They gave more money to the Department of Public Safety so it can hire some workers to relieve long lines at driver’s license stations. It was less money than the department requested, but budget writers said they wanted to do something to address the aggravating problem. Legislators also approved a pay raise plan for county employees, including supervisors and tax assessors and collectors. That plan, though, comes with a provision that will dig into the pocketbooks of people who use the court system: The fees for ﬁling documents will increase, in some cases from $25 to $85 and in other cases from $75 to $85. This is an election year, and most legislators are either seeking re-election or running for higher office. Teachers and state employees tend to vote in big numbers, so it’s important for politicians to pay attention to them. Nothing shows that attention quite like a pay raise. State agency employees are in line to receive a 3 percent

pay raise with what lawmakers called a three-year “look back.” That means if an employee received a 1 percent raise in the past three years, she would get no more than an additional 2 percent. University employees are supposed to get raises of up to 2 percent. Teachers in elementary and secondary schools are in line for a $1,500 raise that will take effect in the year that begins July 1. The Senate initially backed a plan to give two $500 raises — one in the coming year and one the following year. The House countered with a signiﬁcantly larger proposal of $2,000 in the coming year and another $2,000 the next year. The more generous House plan never had a realistic chance of becoming the ﬁnal product, given that lawmakers work within a mandate to write a balanced budget and they wanted to spend money on raises for other state employees. Negotiators reached the compromise of $1,500 last week during the closing days of the nearly three-month session. Charleen Sproles, who is a counselor at Northwest Rankin High School outside Brandon, said the initial proposal was too low, given the expectations and responsibilities placed on educators. “You are raising a generation of citizens,” said Sproles,

who has been an educator for 27 years. Sproles said her first job in education paid about $18,000 a year and offered no health insurance. Since then, she has earned a master’s degree, an education specialist degree, and national board certification. Her pay has increased with her years of experience and increase in credentials, and she said she Emily Wagster Pettus has good health insurance coverage. Sproles said she’s happy in her workplace but many Mississippi school districts can’t afford the kind of local financial support that Rankin County provides for its schools. It’s a relatively affluent suburb of Jackson, and it has enjoyed growth and a solid tax base the past three decades. “Rankin County is the best you can get,” Sproles said. She describes her job in education as “a calling” and “an absolute privilege.” Still, she thinks every legislator should spend at least a day working in a classroom. “They need to come and experience what it’s like to mold children’s lives,” Sproles said.

» Emily Wagster Pettus covers Capitol matters for the Mississippi Associated Press in Jackson.

8 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019 GOVERNMENT/POLITICS

A cocktail party guide to Presidential pardons

ur Cocktail Party constitutional law series continues with an overview of presidential pardons. We attempt to introduce a modicum of objectivity into the discussion to temper the propaganda ﬂowing from CNN.

Why the interest? Despite innuendo from the liberal press, President Trump’s use of the pardon pen has been uncharacteristically restrained. After more than two years in office, he has issued pardons to only eight living people – none of whom were friends, family, attorneys, or campaign staff. On March 20, CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers accused Trump of “continuing his pattern of abusing the pardon power.” One week later, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee examined the “Constitutional Role of the Pardon Power.” Much like they fretted that Trump might ﬁre Special Counsel Robert Mueller, left-wing trepidations ﬂow from the possibility that Trump might pardon an undesirable – including himself. What does the Constitution say? The U.S. Constitution’s grant of presidential clemency power for federal crimes remains unchanged since its adoption in 1789. Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 contains the pertinent authority: “The President … shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Notably absent is any input by the other two branches of government, such as the “advice and consent” provision applicable to treaties and appointments of federal judges.

Many forms “Reprieves and Pardons,” like alcoholic drinks, foreign diplomats, and members of Congress, come in many forms - including full pardons, blanket pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentences, conditional commutations of sentences, amnesties, remissions of fines, and respites. The U.S. Supreme Court attempted to explain the full pardon in an 1866 decision: “A pardon reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offence and the guilt of the offender; and when the pardon is full, it releases the punishment and blots out of existence the guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he had never committed the offence.” In 1915, the Court walked back the definition and observed that acceptance of a pardon implied guilt. Regardless, a full pardon overturns a conviction, but it does not expunge the record. Trump’s first exercise of a full pardon, in August 2017, exonerated former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, of criminal contempt of court charges. At the time of the pardon, the unrepentant 85-year old former U.S. Marine and 25-year federal drug enforcement agent was no longer in office.

FORD WILLIAMS

A commutation is more limited, leaving the conviction in place but reducing the sentence. In 2018, Trump granted a reprieve – commuting a life prison sentence to time served - to Memphian Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old African-American first-time, non-violent drug offender, who already served 21 years in prison. She received a standing ovation at the belated 2019 State of the Union. President Obama had denied Johnson’s clemency request. Remissions of fines are less common, with only two having been issued in the last 35 years. President Clinton, in 1999, extinguished the unpaid fines of two Puerto Ricans convicted of robbery conspiracy. Respites are even rarer. This form of clemency merely postpones the effectiveness of a judicial sentence. The only use of a respite since 1980 occurred in 2000 when Clinton temporarily stayed the court-ordered execution of Juan Raul Garza, a murderer and drug dealer, pending a clemency review. Trump could stay a federal judge’s order for Paul Manafort to report to prison. In this article, I follow the common practice of inexactly using the word “pardon” to generally refer to any act of presidential clemency (including commutations).

But can President Trump pardon …. A Family Member? For a pardon of a relative, we need only go back to January 20, 2001. Among the 140 pardonees on Clinton’s last day in office was one half-brother Roger Clinton, a convicted felon (distribution of cocaine). Before sentencing? A pardon before sentencing is hardly unusual. On January 17, 2017, just days before Trump took office, Obama pardoned Marine Corps General James Cartwright, prior to sentencing, for a felony involving leaked classiﬁed information on the U.S.-Israel cyberattack against Iranian

nuclear facilities. Before a trial? In 1992, President George H. W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger mere days before his trial on charges of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair. Before indictment? The U.S. Supreme Court, in Ex parte Garland (1866), explained that a pardon “may be exercised at any time after [a crime’s] commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency or after conviction and judgment.” President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon the day after Nixon resigned and before any charges were filed. All U.S. citizens implicated in the “Russian Collusion”? Presidents Lincoln and Grant issued blanket, conditional pardons to Confederate soldiers. On his second day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned Vietnam War draft dodgers. Prior to review by U.S. Pardon Attorney? Federal regulations delineate procedures to obtain a pardon - but the regs, signed by Clinton, are “advisory only… and do not restrict the authority granted to the President under … the Constitution.” A dead person? The constitution is silent on this issue. The first of three posthumous pardons took place in a 1999 Rose Garden ceremony, when Clinton pardoned Lt. Henry Flipper - the first African-American military graduate of West Point - of a military court martial dating back to 1881. President George W. Bush, in 2008, pardoned a deceased government employee who aided Israel back in 1948. In 2018, Trump exonerated boxer-great Jack Johnson from a 1913 conviction by an all-white jury. Himself? Considerable uncertainty exists as to whether a president can pardon himself (or herself ). On the favorable side of the argument, the Constitution does not prohibit it.

Noteworthy Pardons since JFK. Congress wouldn’t change the mandatory minimum sentences for first time offenders under the Narcotics Control Act of 1956, so President Kennedy Ben Williams essentially nullified the crime through acts of clemency. One-third of Clinton’s acts of clemency occurred on his last day in office. The Who’s Who dirty laundry list included Patty Hearst, Susan McDougal (of Whitewater fame), Marc Rich (the hedge fund fugitive hiding in Switzerland), and two former Democratic Congressmen (one of whom was convicted of soliciting child pornography). The resulting investigation – Pardongate – involved a federal prosecutor named James Comey (yes, that one). Obama issued more pardons than the previous 13 presidents combined. His most sensational pardon benefited transgender former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who had served only 7 years of a 35-year espionage sentence. Obama also set a one-day presidential record (330 commutations) on his last full day in office.

Rhetoric ad nauseam Trump’s ﬁrst pardon galvanized the liberal legal pundits. There were cries of “let justice run its course” as if they had forgotten Obama’s pardon of Cartwright. And that the pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona of criminal contempt of court charges “circumvented” federal regulations, ignoring the merely advisory nature of the provisions. Another lame refrain involves the “rule of law.” There is no law more supreme than the U.S. Constitution, which authorizes presidential clemency. And the law applies even if, as the New York Times described Clinton’s unpardonable pardon of Marc Rich, it constitutes “a shocking abuse of presidential power.” You might wonder about the adage that no man is above the law. That circular statement is occasionally true. But pardons – whether issued by a Republican or Democrat — are part of the legal system. Similarly, we must also contend with other vexing legal concepts: statutes of limitations, double jeopardy, immunity, jury decisions, bankruptcy discharges, probable cause and … well, prosecutorial discretion. And that brings to mind Shakespeare’s memorable line about the ﬁrst thing we should do.

Ben Williams the author, is a Mississippi attorney. Email Ben at MBWJ@aol.com. Ford Williams the artist, is a junior at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)..

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

MISSISSIPPI

Credit-card debt on rise even in strong economy By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com

Credit-card debt is at its highest point in the United States since the severe recession that ended at the end of 2008, according to WalletHub. American consumers started 2018 owing more than $1 trillion in credit-card debt and added another $67 billion, the personal finance website reported, citing data from the Federal Reserve and TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. “It’s not a question of whether consumers are weakening financially. It’s a matter of how long our overdependence on credit card debt will last and just how bad it will get,” wrote report author Alina Comoreanu. The national economy flirted with a 3 percent growth in 2018, the highest since the 2007-’08 recession. The average card debt per household at the end of 2018 was $8,788, up 3 percent over 2017, according to the report. Twenty-five hundred cities were surveyed and ranked from the 99th to the 1st percentile.

Given the trend, “it’s best to be ranked in the 99th percentile, because those are the cities with the biggest credit card debt paydowns,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez wrote in an email in response to a question by the Mississippi Business Journal. “The 99th percentile reﬂects the highest amounts of credit card debt actually paid down per household. “However, the biggest paydown doesn’t necessarily mean the greatest debt burden.

For example, West Lafayette [Ind.] has the biggest paydown, at $3,128, and a credit card debt of $13,200 per household. The highest household credit card debt amount is $30,000 in Ewa Beach, [Hawaii], whose residents recorded an increase of $2,805.” Southaven is the highest-ranked Mississippi city. In the 86th percentile, its average household debt at the end of the year was $10,857, an increase of $678. Jackson ranked in the 51st group, with

average debt load of $10,090, an increase of $195. Madison and Oxford were both in the 39th percentile, with the debt for the former $15,294, up $407 and the latter $12,173, an increase of $409. Ridgeland, neighbor to Madison as in the 10th percentile at $11,927, an increase of $1,271. Greenwood ranked in the 3rd percentile with an average household debt of $9,658, an increase of $1,919. Germantown, Tenn., with whom Madison is often compared, likewise was in the 3rd percentile, with a debt load of $18,584, up $2,036. Here is the list of Mississippi cities ranked by debt load alone. Madison leads the state in average household credit-card debt of $15,294; followed by Hernando, with $12,909; Olive Branch, $12,705; Lucedale, $12,619; Hattiesburg, $12,359; Oxford, $12,173; Ridgeland, $11,927; Tupelo, $11,135; Southaven, $10,857; Corinth, $10,077; Jackson, $10,090; Brookhaven, $10,046; Vicksburg, $9,801; Meridian, $9,639; Laurel, $9,562, and Picayune, $9,556.

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Braves want to win hearts as 15th anniversary season begins By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com A Wikipedia report has it that at least a dozen Jackson Mets players wed young ladies they met while in Jackson. That’s a lot of love. That the game was played on a diamond probably didn’t hurt. And with both love and baseball blooming in the spring, the Mississippi Braves are throwing in a diamond ring of their own. Laven “It is our goal for every fan to leave Trustmark Park with a smile on their face,” new vice president and general manager Pete Laven said in a press release detailing the many promotions the M-Braves will offer fans in 2019. “This season, fans could also leave the stadium with items including a diamond ring, a Disney cruise, a Ronald Acuña Jr. replica jersey... or even a used car,” added the Chicago native and long-time baseball executive with the Arkansas Travelers in Little Rock who is in his inaugural season in Jackson. The Braves are in their 15th year in Jackson, or more specifically, Pearl. They aren’t looking for anniversary well wishes. Fans in the seats is what they want. “My philosophy has always been that the fan experience comes first,” says Laven, who previously served as director of corporate partnerships for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association and before that oversaw independent league franchises in the Chicago region. Now that he’s here, Laven’s Job #1 is getting Central Mississippi to love his Braves. He’s got plenty to work with, starting with on-field excitement and drama for which the Double A Southern League is known. The longtime affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves is providing the atmosphere and fun that comes with the professional baseball fan experience, Laven, a former Texas League Executive of the Year, said in an interview. “It is our goal for every fan to leave Trustmark Park with a smile on their face,” Laven said in a press release detailing the promotions the M-Braves will offer fans in 2019. And to keep the fans smiling as they enter Trustmark Park, Laven and com-

Courtesy of M-Braves

Trustmark Park in Pearl.

TICKETS M BRAVES » Club Level - $25 » Home Plate Level - $16 » Dugout Level - $14 » Field Level - $9 » General Admission/Berm - $6 Prices shown are advanced

pany will fist bump them as they some through the turnstiles on Friday nights. The fist-bump night is an offshoot of a promo Laven did with the Arkansas Travelers at the suggestion of a team intern. He didn’t bite on the idea the first year but gave it shot the following year as a 5/5 Cinco de Mayo promo. “Our staff, along with a few players and a mariachi band, stood at the gates and slapped hands with every fan that entered the stadium.” The whole thing brought a lot of smiles, and also a post-season award from ESPN the Magazine for Best Promotion on a Budget, according to Laven. Of course, he right away heard from the intern whose idea he initially rejected,

Laven says. And to keep adults smiling once inside, the concourse thus year will feature a “Hall-of-Fame-Grab-and-Go” beer stand. There, says Laven, fans will ﬁnd “legendary beers like Schlitz, Hams and Olde Style” and a range of domestics. “We want a lot of variety on the concourse,” he says. Nostalgia will be center stage at the M-Braves’ June 28 game, with the team becoming the Jackson Generals for the evening. The Houston Astros-Affiliated Generals, which had a 15-year life at Smith-Willis Stadium on Lakeland Drive just east of Interstate 55 in northeast Jackson, are the immediate predecessors of the M-Braves. “We’ll wear Jackson Generals uniforms, give away Jackson Generals t-shirts. We’ll sell caps,” Laven says “The Generals are still fresh in a lot of peoples’ minds. They might come out and bring their own kids,” he adds. “It’s going to have a really good nostalgic feel with it.” And not-coincidentally, the M-Braves homestand opponents that night will be the Jackson (Tenn.) Generals, the current incarnation of the former Jackson, Miss., Generals. Each day of the week will feature a special promotional highlight: » Military Mondays: All members and veterans of all branches of the U.S.

military receive free field level or general admission tickets with a valid ID. » Tupelo Tuesday: Fans get two for one hotdgos and 16-ounce sodas. Fans can exchange their Polk’s Meat products label at the Trustmark Park Box Office for 2-for-1 tickets for all Tuesday home games (excludes Suite and Club Level tickets). » “Bark in the Park” Nights every Tuesday. Fans can bring their dogs for free. » 4 for a Jackson. On Tuesdays, fans get four field level tickets and four 16 oz soft drinks for $20, or one “Andrew Jackson.” Additional tickets are $5. » America First Responders Wednesday: All first responders/emergency response personnel receive free field level and general admission tickets with ID. » Thirsty Thursday: 16 oz domestic beer and 16 oz fountain drinks will be $2 each. Also, each Thursday will include competitive cornhole tournaments with prizes. » Fan Fridays: Premium giveaway to first 1,000 fans. Post-game “Dash for Cash” presented by Trustmark. » Post Game Fireworks: Every Saturday will include a specific theme night and live music. Plus, post-fame fireworks. » Sunday Family Fun Days: For $18, fans get a dugout level seat, hot dog, 16-ounce fountain soda, small popcorn, M-Braves cap, and free Fun Zone wristband. Laven, meanwhile, says the M-Braves are working to assist businesses in the region with outings, branding “or just a baseball fix.” “The thing I love most about this industry is that every customer is looking for something different from the next,” he says. “Even if just a little bit… and, in most cases, we can provide what they are seeking.” Asked for the main thing the M-Braves and team staff would like to boast about as the season begins, Laven noted, “We can brag about how great our facility looks as we enter our 15th season at Trustmark Park.” Added Laven, “It is my hope that our fans and the people in our community are the one’s bragging about the M-Braves and what we have to offer area residents.” Meanwhile, he says, there’s a chance of “us welcoming our three millionth fan later this season.” And maybe a wedding at home plate.

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

A Shuck Nation is born as Biloxi Shuckers embark on 4th year By TED CARTER mbj@msbusiness.com A Shucker uprising at the turnstiles requires a Shuck Nation. So goes the thinking from the winter brain storming of the Biloxi Shuckers on strategies for ﬁlling up MGM Park, the baseball venue adjoining MGM’s Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The idea is to make the product stickier. In the Shuckers new world, you make “sticky” Reed by keeping the faithful involved with the Shuckers after the last out in the team’s Southern League schedule. “It gives fans year-round access and experiences like never before at a very affordable rate,” general manager Hunter Reed said in an email. Going into their fourth year, the Shuckers have erased the idea of a ﬂashin-the-pan in a tourist town. Last year they put enough fans in the stands for their 66 home games to occupy a middle ranking with average attendance of 2,430 for the Double A Southern League. They also earned a nod from the league to host its 2019 All Star game on June 18. The Shuckers can draw from a strong visitor base as well as a coastal market spanning 60 miles, though the eastern end of the Mississippi market is likely populated by devotees of the Southern League’s Mobile Bay Bears. This year’s Shuckers offer a truckload of promotions and discounted nights, many of them new, through the season. The walk-up fans drawn for the games and the promos are the very ones GM Reed and his crew want to make part of Shuck Nation. The idea is to get fans attached to the team beyond a season ticket and taking in the MGM Park games of the hometown Double A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Shuck Nation replaces season tickets as a prime offering of the franchise that arrived in Biloxi in summer 2015 from Huntsville, Ala. “I think it’s a win-win,” Reed said, and noted the idea for Shuck Nation came out of conversations with Director of Ticket Operations Allan Lusk. “We were asking ourselves how we can do more to help fans enjoy everything

Courtesy of Shuckers

MGM Park in Biloxi.

TICKETS SHUCKERS » Berm - $7 » Reserved Level - $10 » Dugout Box - $12 » Beer Garden Bullpen Seats - $15 » Home Plate Box - $13 » Dugout Club - $18/$20 » CableOne Club- $22/$24 » The Party Suite - $50/$50 Prices shown are advanced /day of game

the Shuckers have to offer and make it all more accessible and affordable,” he added, referring to weekender memberships that start at $36 a month for six months. Shuck Nation full membership will include the same seat to all 70 home games, while weekend memberships include the same seat for 35 home games for every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus Opening Day, July 3 and Fan Appreciation Day. The team says full Shuck Nation members also get a Southern League pass, good for tickets to Shuckers’ road games,

and a Shuck Nation bus trip to New Orleans to see former Shuckers at the Triple-A level take on the Baby Cakes. The Shuckers describe the Nation as a revamp of the traditional season ticket into a variety of “exclusive experiences” that include “better access to the team.” “The biggest thing we have gone away from is the traditional way people think of season tickets,” Reed said. “That’s where Shuck Nation comes in. Tickets are still there, but it’s only a part of the overall membership experience.” Don’t call it a name change for the sake of changing a name, the Shuckers say. “Call it a membership,” the team said, likening Shuck Nation to a country club or gym membership. “You’re going to get invited to quality events and be part of the team throughout the year,” the Shuckers said on the team home page. Further, Reed and company have tweaked some nightly promotions to improve them or combined them with other offers, the general manager said. “The main thing we want to do though is continue keeping the experience fresh and exciting for the fans,” said Reed, who is heading into his third season with the Shuckers and second as GM. He previously worked 12 seasons for the Appalachian League’s Greeneville Astros, including 10 as assistant general manager. Giveaways, celebrity appearances and

discount nights are all part of the Shucker’s promo plans. Here is a sampling: » Double Play Thursday. Fans get $2 hot dogs, $2 Yuengling beer, $2 sodas and $3 draft beer specials. » Fireworks Friday. The skies light up over MGM Park after the game. » Shuck Yeah Saturday. These include a salute to the 30th anniversary of the movie Field of Dreams followed a week later by a celebration of the former Biloxi Negro League team the Biloxi Dodgers jersey. Special Saturday events will follow throughout the season. » Salute Sunday. Active and retired military can purchase $8 reserved level tickets or $10 dugout box tickets with a valid military ID. Other game nights will include bring your pup to the park with Barks and Brews promotions. “Whether you’re a die-hard baseball fan here for the game, a business leader entertaining clients or you just come out for the social atmosphere with family or friends, we have something for everyone to enjoy,” Reed said. Coast business leaders, including casino resort executives and others in the hospitality industry, helped to get MGM Park built and the Shuckers relocated to Biloxi, viewing the team as an economic driver for the region. Their support has stayed strong throughout, according to Reed. “We’re so proud to have the great partnerships we’ve developed and continue to build upon,” Reed said. “It’s truly a great business community. We couldn’t do this without them, nor would we want to. “I certainly believe their continued support of the Shuckers shows they believe in what we’re doing as well and our presence in the community.” Meanwhile, the Shuckers see the All-Star Game as “a perfect opportunity to showcase not only Biloxi and our beautiful MGM Park but also provides us a chance to put Coastal Mississippi in the regional and MiLB spotlight for a few days,” he said. MiLB is an Internet service that streams league games. “The Shuckers led the league with eight participants in the game last year in Birmingham so hopefully we’ll have a similar showing this year,” Reed said.

LEGAL NOTICE

To merchants who have accepted Visa and Mastercard at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019: Notice of a class action settlement of approximately $5.54-6.24 Billion. Si desea leer este aviso en español, llámenos o visite nuestro sitio web, www.PaymentCardSettlement.com. Notice of a class action settlement authorized by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. This notice is authorized by the Court to inform you about an agreement to settle a class action lawsuit that may affect you. The lawsuit claims that Visa and Mastercard, separately, and together with certain banks, violated antitrust laws and caused merchants to pay excessive fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards, including by: • Agreeing to set, apply, and enforce rules about merchant fees (called default interchange fees); • Limiting what merchants could do to encourage their customers to use other forms of payment; and • Continuing that conduct after Visa and Mastercard changed their corporate structures. The defendants say they have done nothing wrong. They say that their business practices are legal and the result of competition, and have beneﬁtted merchants and consumers. The Court has not decided who is right because the parties agreed to a settlement. The Court has given preliminary approval to this settlement.

THE SETTLEMENT Under the settlement, Visa, Mastercard, and the bank defendants have agreed to provide approximately $6.24 billion in class settlement funds. Those funds are subject to a deduction to account for certain merchants that exclude themselves from the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class, but in no event will the deduction be greater than $700 million. The net class settlement fund will be used to pay valid claims of merchants that accepted Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards at any time between January 1, 2004 and January 25, 2019. This settlement creates the following Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class: All persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted any VisaBranded Cards and/or Mastercard-Branded Cards in the United States at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019, except that the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class shall not include (a) the Dismissed Plaintiffs, (b) the United States government, (c) the named Defendants in this Action or their directors, ofﬁcers, or members of their families, or (d) ﬁnancial institutions that have issued Visa-Branded Cards or Mastercard-Branded Cards or acquired Visa-Branded Card transactions or Mastercard-Branded Card transactions at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019. The Dismissed Plaintiffs are plaintiffs that previously settled and dismissed their own lawsuit against a Defendant, and entities related to those plaintiffs. If you are uncertain about whether you may be a Dismissed Plaintiff, you should call 1-800-625-6440 or visit www.PaymentCardSettlement.com for more information.

WHAT MERCHANTS WILL GET FROM THE SETTLEMENT Every merchant in the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class that does not exclude itself from the class by the deadline described below and ﬁles a valid claim will get money from the class settlement fund. The value of each claim will be based on the actual or estimated interchange fees attributable to the merchant’s Mastercard and Visa payment card transactions from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019. Pro rata

payments to merchants who file valid claims for a portion of the class settlement fund will be based on: • The amount in the class settlement fund after the deductions described below, • The deduction to account for certain merchants who exclude themselves from the class, • Deductions for the cost of settlement administration and notice, applicable taxes on the settlement fund and any other related tax expenses, money awarded to the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for their service on behalf of the Class, and attorneys’ fees and expenses, all as approved by the Court, and • The total dollar value of all valid claims filed. Attorneys’ fees and expenses and service awards for the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs: For work done through final approval of the settlement by the district court, Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees in an amount that is a reasonable proportion of the class settlement fund, not to exceed 10% of the class settlement fund, to compensate all of the lawyers and their law firms that have worked on the class case. For additional work to administer the settlement, distribute the funds, and litigate any appeals, Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel may seek reimbursement at their normal hourly rates. Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel will also request (i) an award of their litigation expenses (not including the administrative costs of settlement or notice), not to exceed $40 million and (ii) up to $250,000 per each of the eight Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs in service awards for their efforts on behalf of the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class.

HOW

TO ASK FOR PAYMENT To receive payment, merchants must ﬁll out a claim form. If the Court ﬁnally approves the settlement, and you do not exclude yourself from the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class, you will receive a claim form in the mail or by email. Or you may ask for one at: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com, or call: 1-800-625-6440.

LEGAL RIGHTS

AND OPTIONS Merchants who are included in this lawsuit have the legal rights and options explained below. You may: • File a claim to ask for payment. Once you receive a claim form, you can submit it via mail or email, or may ﬁle it online at www.PaymentCardSettlement.com. • Exclude yourself from the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you can individually sue the Defendants on your own at your own expense, if you want to. If you exclude yourself, you will not get any money from this settlement. If you are a merchant and wish to exclude yourself, you must make a written request, place it in an envelope, and mail it with postage prepaid and postmarked no later than July 23, 2019, or send it by overnight delivery shown as sent by July 23, 2019, to Class Administrator, Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement, P.O. Box 2530, Portland, OR 97208-2530. Your written request must be signed by a person authorized to do so and provide all of the following information: (1) the words “In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation,” (2) your full name, address, telephone number, and taxpayer identiﬁcation number,

www.PaymentCardSettlement.com

(3) the merchant that wishes to be excluded from the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class, and what position or authority you have to exclude the merchant, and (4) the business names, brand names, “doing business as” names, taxpayer identiﬁcation number(s), and addresses of any stores or sales locations whose sales the merchant desires to be excluded. You also are requested to provide for each such business or brand name, if reasonably available: the legal name of any parent (if applicable), dates Visa or Mastercard card acceptance began (if after January 1, 2004) and ended (if prior to January 25, 2019), names of all banks that acquired the Visa or Mastercard card transactions, and acquiring merchant ID(s). • Object to the settlement. The deadline to object is July 23, 2019. To learn how to object, visit www.PaymentCardSettlement.com or call 1-800-625-6440. Note: If you exclude yourself from the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class you cannot object to the settlement. For more information about these rights and options, visit: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com.

COURT APPROVES FINAL SETTLEMENT

THE

Members of the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class who do not exclude themselves by the deadline will be bound by the terms of this settlement, including the release of claims against the released parties provided in the settlement agreement, whether or not the members file a claim for payment. The settlement will resolve and release claims by class members for monetary compensation or injunctive relief against Visa, Mastercard, or other defendants. The release bars the following claims: • Claims based on conduct and rules that were alleged or raised in the litigation, or that could have been alleged or raised in the litigation relating to its subject matter. This includes any claims based on interchange fees, network fees, merchant discount fees, no-surcharge rules, no-discounting rules, honor-all-cards rules, and certain other conduct and rules. These claims are released if they already have accrued or accrue in the future up to five years following the court’s approval of the settlement and the resolution of all appeals. • Claims based on rules in the future that are substantially similar to – i.e., do not change substantively the nature of – the abovementioned rules as they existed as of preliminary approval of the settlement. These claims based on future substantially similar rules are released if they accrue up to five years following the court’s approval of the settlement and the resolution of all appeals. The settlement’s resolution and release of these claims is intended to be consistent with and no broader than federal law on the identical factual predicate doctrine. The release does not extinguish the following claims: • Claims based on conduct or rules that could not have been alleged or raised in the litigation. • Claims based on future rules that are not substantially similar to rules that were or could have been alleged or raised in the litigation. • Any claims that accrue more than five years after the court’s approval of the settlement and the resolution of any appeals. The release also will have the effect of extinguishing all similar or overlapping claims in any other actions, including but not limited to the claims asserted in a California state court class action brought on behalf of California citizen merchants and captioned Nuts for Candy v. Visa, Inc., et al., No. 17-01482 (San Mateo County Superior Court). Pursuant to an agreement between the parties in Nuts for Candy, subject to and upon final approval of the settlement of the Rule 23(b) (3) Settlement Class, the plaintiff in Nuts for Candy will request that

the California state court dismiss the Nuts for Candy action. Plaintiff’s counsel in Nuts for Candy may seek an award in Nuts for Candy of attorneys’ fees not to exceed $6,226,640.00 and expenses not to exceed $493,697.56. Any fees or expenses awarded in Nuts for Candy will be separately funded and will not reduce the settlement funds available to members of the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class. The release does not bar the injunctive relief claims or the declaratory relief claims that are a predicate for the injunctive relief claims asserted in the pending proposed Rule 23(b)(2) class action captioned Barry’s Cut Rate Stores, Inc., et. al. v. Visa, Inc., et al., MDL No. 1720, Docket No. 05-md-01720-MKB-JO (“Barry’s”). Injunctive relief claims are claims to prohibit or require certain conduct. They do not include claims for payment of money, such as damages, restitution, or disgorgement. As to all such claims for declaratory or injunctive relief in Barry’s, merchants will retain all rights pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which they have as a named representative plaintiff or absent class member in Barry’s, except that merchants remaining in the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class will release their right to initiate a new and separate action for the period up to ﬁve (5) years following the court’s approval of the settlement and the exhaustion of appeals. The release also does not bar certain claims asserted in the class action captioned B&R Supermarket, Inc., et al. v. Visa, Inc., et al., No. 17CV-02738 (E.D.N.Y.), or claims based on certain standard commercial disputes arising in the ordinary course of business. For more information on the release, see the full mailed Notice to Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class Members and the settlement agreement at: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com.

THE COURT HEARING ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT On November 7, 2019, there will be a Court hearing to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement. The hearing also will address the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel’s requests for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and awards for the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Plaintiffs for their representation of merchants in MDL 1720, which culminated in the settlement agreement. The hearing will take place at: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 225 Cadman Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201 You do not have to go to the Court hearing or hire an attorney. But you can if you want to, at your own cost. The Court has appointed the law ﬁrms of Robins Kaplan LLP, Berger Montague PC, and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP as Rule 23(b)(3) Class Counsel to represent the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class.

QUESTIONS? For more information about this case (In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1720), you may: Call toll-free: 1-800-625-6440 Visit: www.PaymentCardSettlement.com Write to the Class Administrator: Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement P.O. Box 2530 Portland, OR 97208-2530 Email: info@PaymentCardSettlement.com Please check www.PaymentCardSettlement.com for any updates relating to the settlement or the settlement approval process.

1-800-625-6440 • info@PaymentCardSettlement.com

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April 5, 2019 • MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL • www.msbusiness.com

AN MBJ FOCUS: Banking & Finance

Integrated Teller Machine in New Hebron well received, Peoples says By BECKY GILLETTE mbj@msbusiness.com

Peoples Bank, a small community bank that is based in Mendenhall, prides itself on having personal relationships with its customers. Often tellers know the names of customers, and might even ask about their family. So, at ﬁrst glance, it might appear that a “video teller” installed in New Hebron would be more impersonal than a traditional bank branch where tellers interact Jones face-to-face with customers. But, in fact, the Peoples Bank employees manning the video teller have gotten to know customers in New Hebron. And the interactions aren’t a whole lot different with the video teller than in person. “We typically have two to three different employees who are serving that role as a live teller,” said Ashley M. Jones, vice president of marketing. “They take shifts to handle it for a whole day. They are typically sitting at a desk with the headset and can handle everything from there. The tellers on our end are enjoying the relationship that they have established in that community. And for our customers, it is always nice to see a familiar face on the other end. It is comforting. It makes you feel good that the teller knows who you are. That is just another part of being a small community bank. We enjoy getting to know our customers.” Peoples Bank opened the video teller, known formally as an Integrated Teller Machine, in 2018, less than year ago, at 306 Franklin St. It is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Customers can drive through or walk up. It is basically just like walking up to a teller. That is why we advertised it as a live teller. You don’t even need to have a debit card from the bank. You press the live teller button and she appears. We like to say our live teller can do everything a regular teller can do except hand out lollipops. She can check balances, handle deposits

and withdrawals, or anything else you can do at a teller window.” New Hebron is a small community. Jones said when the community lost the bank it had there, Peoples Bank wanted to reach out and try to give that community a bank they could get their hands on. “A lot of people in this region live in rural areas and many of our customers were having to drive a long way to simply get cash or deposit their checks,” Jones said. “This is simply a way to reach a community in need. When we were looking for ways to help them, we felt this was a great option for an unbanked community like New Hebron. Honestly, probably this is the only way we could serve this community without putting an actual branch there. We thought this would be a great option to take advantage of some of the new technology and serve a community that was unbanked at the time. It really is fun technology.” In addition to being available normal banking hours, the machine has a dual purpose also functioning as an ATM 24 See TELLER, Page 16

Courtesy of Peoples Bank

The Peoples Bank employees manning the video teller have gotten to know customers in New Hebron.

BANKING MADE PERSONAL

OPENING DOORS TO NEW ADVENTURES. W h e n y o u s t e p i n t o y o u r l o c a l B a n k o f C o m m e rc e , y o u ’ re n o t j u s t o p e n i n g t h e d o o r t o a n o t h e r b a n k . Yo u ’ re o p e n i n g d o o r s t o n e w a d v e n t u re s p u r s u e d . A t B a n k o f C o m m e rc e , w e ’ re i n t h e b u s i n e s s o f o p e n i n g d o o r s t o w h e re v e r y o u w a n t t o g o . We ’ re p ro u d t o o ff e r 6 l o c a t i o n s a c ro s s M i s s i s s i p p i , s o s t o p b y a n d s e e u s t o d a y ! Vi s i t u s o n l i n e a t b a n k c o m . c o m .

GREENWOOD • OXFORD • STARKVILLE • COLUMBUS • CHARLESTON

BANKCOM.COM

Banking & Finance

16 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019

Mississippi Young Bankers elect officers Mississippi Young Bankers selected new leadership, with Marc Petro, of Community Bank of Mississippi, Ridgeland, elected president, Zach Luke, of Bank of Commerce, Greenwood, elected vice president, and Rebecca Barrentine, of Copiah Bank, Hazlehurst, elected treasurer. Since 1950, Mississippi Young Petro Bankers has provided leadership development activities and support for ﬁnancial literacy programs of the MBA and its member banks. Petro is president of the Hinds/Madison County division of Community Bank of Mississippi, where he has worked for 17 years. Petro earned his bachelor’s Luke degree in business administration from Mississippi State University. He is also a graduate of the MBA sponsored Mississippi School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Petro will be a trustee for the Mississippi School of Banking, as well as on the MBA Education Foundation Board. He will also serve a one-year term as Barrentine ex-officio member on the MBA Board. Petro has served the MYB as vice president, treasurer, county chairman, group 6 councilman, and councilman at large. He is a past president of the Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce.

TELLER Continued from, Page 15

hours a day. Jones said they have been pleased with how well the community has received the

Petro and his wife, Jamie, reside in Madison. Luke is chief financial officer of the Bank of Commerce, where he has been for over eight years. Luke previously was a bank examiner with the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance for over five years. Luke earned his bachelor degree in business administration, managerial finance, and real estate from the University of Mississippi. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Luke will be a trustee for the Mississippi School of Banking, as well as on the MBA Education Foundation Board. Luke has served as the Leflore county chairman, was elected to the Council in 2014, and previously served as at-large councilman and treasurer. Luke is also active in his community and has served as a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Leflore County and the past treasurer of the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta. He is the treasurer for First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood, and is co-chair of the Annual ‘Que on the Yazoo festival in Greenwood. Luke and his wife, Lindsey, have two children, Sanders and Grady. Barrentine is senior vice president and chief information officer of Copiah Bank, where she has been for 17 years. Barrentine earned her bachelor of art degree in business administration from Belhaven University. She is also a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Barrentine will serve on the MBA Education Foundation Board. She has previously served the MYB as a member of the council. She was chairman of the MBA Information Security Officer/IT committee, and she served on the MBA Women in Banking Committee. She is past president of the Hazlehurst Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs. Barrentine and her husband, Chris, have two daughters, Madelyn and Ellie.

5 elected to Mississippi Young Bankers Executive Council

ITM. “I think for the most part the community has shown a lot of support and appreciates us putting a machine there,” Jones said. “We would love to see so much

support that we would need a branch there. But this is a great way to fulﬁll that need in the interim.” Jones said they take great pride in having at ITM that is a safe and secure

The Mississippi Young Bankers Association, a section of the Mississippi Bankers Association, elected five to its Executive Council: Lucius Brock of Oxford, Chris Estrade of Gulfport, Chase Frazure of Columbus, Mackenzie Parker of Anguilla, and Chris Roberts of Ridgeland. Brock is division president for Renasant Bank in Oxford. He began his career as a bank examiner with the Mississippi Department of Banking, then moved to First Commercial Bank for two years, Oxford University Bank for three years, and has been with Renasant Bank for nine years. Brock earned his bachelor in business administration in banking and finance from Mississippi State University and his master of business administration from the University of Mississippi. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Estrade is vice president and financial center manager for the Gulfport Main Financial Center of Hancock Whitney Bank. He has been with Hancock Whitney for 13 years, and has served as a retail area manager, branch manager, financial services associate and direct banking sales associate. Estrade earned his bachelor in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2004 and his master of business administration from William Carey University in 2007. He is a graduate of the Hancock Bank Commercial Credit School and the Mississippi School of Banking. Frazure is senior vice president and business banker for BankFirst Financial Services in Columbus. He has been with BankFirst for four years, and prior to that, he was a senior vice president senior relationship banker at Citizens National Bank from 2010-2015, and served in various roles at M&F Bank from 2001 to 2010. Frazure earned his associate of arts degree in business administration from Holmes Community College in 1999, and his bachelor of business administration from Mississippi State University in 2001. He is a graduate

HFC Funding has joined Dougherty Mortgage LLC The Ridgeland, Mississippi office of Dougherty Mortgage is proud to have provided the financing for the refinancing of The Plantation Apartment Homes in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Dougherty Mortgage’s Les Hardin, a senior vice president of production, arranged the financing. Les is the former owner and president of HFC Funding, which joined Dougherty Mortgage during 2018. Dougherty Mortgage's banking professionals analyze and develop financing alternatives to help make our clients’ projects successful. We understand the complex requirements involved with integrating multiple sources of funding. Our sophisticated banking team can coordinate the process and ensure agency requirements are met when government programs are involved. Approved FHA MAP and LEAN lender Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) Lender Designated Lender/Partner with the USDA under the Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan Program For more information contact Les Hardin at the Ridgeland, MS office - Ph: 601.898.0103 | Email: lhardin@doughertymarkets.com Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN - Ph: 612.317.2100 | www.doughertymarkets.com

The Plantation Apartment Homes Market Rate Multifamily Housing 336 units | Olive Branch, MS $20,700,000 Fannie Mae

of the Mississippi School of Banking, the Southeastern School of Commercial Lending at Vanderbilt, and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Parker is assistant vice president for the Bank of Anguilla. He has almost seven years of banking experience, three years with the Bank of Anguilla, and three years in consumer lending. Parker earned his bachelor’s in ﬁnance from Mississippi State University in 2011. He is also a graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking, Class of 2017, and is currently attending the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Ridgeland banker Chris Roberts has been elected to the Executive Council of the Mississippi Young Bankers, a section of the Mississippi Bankers Association. Roberts is vice president for BankPlus in Ridgeland. He started his career at M&F Bank (now Renasant Bank) in Canton in 2005, and held various positions in customer service, credit underwriting, branch management, consumer, commercial, and small business lending. He moved to BankPlus in June 2014, and is a production officer focusing on business development in commercial and small business lending. Roberts earned his bachelor in business administration in marketing from Mississippi State University in 2002, and is a 2017 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.

McNeal recognized at Ameriprise Financial Eddie McNeal, CFP, CRPC, a Private Wealth Advisor with Wellspire Financial Group, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Fi-nancial Services, Inc. in Starkville, has qualiﬁed for the company’s Circle of Success annual recognition program and will be honored for this achievement this year. McNeale has 30 years’ experience with Ameriprise Financial.

machine. “This is the very latest technology, so it has lots of safeguards,” she said. “There are deﬁnitely talks of expanding the use of ITM in others areas. We are in South Central rural Mississippi where there are a lot of people who have to drive a great distance to do banking. So, we are always looking for options to help expedite that process. And there really are a lot of technology products people can use now to keep from having to drive. For example, we have remote deposit captures. You send us a picture of the check and can deposit the check straight through your phone. I work upstairs and sometimes I will take a picture of a check instead of taking it downstairs to a teller. It is pretty simple.” The ITM in New Hebron looks more like a bank than most ATM machines. “It is actually very attractive,” Jones said. “We have it bricked and it is a very nice-looking building.” Peoples Bank, which was established in 1908, has two locations in Mendenhall and branch offices in Collins, Magee and Richland. For more information, see the website www.peoplesbank-ms.com.

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Banking & Finance

18 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019

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April 5, 2019

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Banking & Finance

20 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019

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Banking & Finance

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

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22 Q Mississippi Business Journal Q April 5, 2019 FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

Help us spread the good news about Mississippi’s great people, businesses, and institutions A

frequent complaint that most media people hear is “you only publish bad news.” It’s certainly true that not all news is good news, and covering important issues and topics is one our our key jobs. With that said, we’d like to talk about some of the good news that we regularly publish for our readers and viewers. The Mississippi Business Journal is Mississippi’s Number One producer of recognition-and-awards Alan Turner events. This year, we’ll produce more than a dozen great events that honor hundreds of Mississippi business people, government leaders, health care and legal professionals, non-profits, and great companies that provide so many vital jobs for our people. For those who may not be familiar with our events, we’d like to provide some insight on this important part of what we do. Most of our events are dedicated to honoring great people, and others recognize companies for their achievements in a variety of fields. In a typical event…….let’s say our Top 50 Under 40 event…...we seek nominations from many sources for high-achieving professionals who are under 40 years of age. We collect information of various kinds which is submitted to a committee of judges for review. The judges then sift the data and information and select the Top 50 nominees for recognition. That’s basically Phase One of an event. Next, we’ll notify the honorees of their selection, and invite them to attend a special luncheon, breakfast, or dinner, along with those they might like to include, such as co-workers, friends, family, or associates. At the event, we recognize each honoree individually, present a brief profile of the person and their achievements, and present them with their award. That’s Phase Two of an event. Finally, we’ll then prepare a special publication, such as a magazine or a pullout section of the Business Journal, with profiles and photos of all honorees, for distribution through all of our channels, including the print version of the MBJ, on our website (MSBusiness.com), on our Daily Alert, social media, and so on. This information can typically be seen by upwards of 100,000 readers and viewers throughout Mississippi and beyond, so it delivers outstanding recognition of the great people we honor. That’s Phase Three. There is a Phase Four. Often, our honorees make new and lasting friend-

FILE/MBJ

MBJ Leadership in Law dinner December 2018 at Old Capitol Inn.

ANNUAL MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENTS CEO Awards Dinner JANUARY

Best Places to Work Luncheon JUNE

Health Care Heroes Breakfast SEPTEMBER

Business Woman of Year Luncheon FEBRUARY

Healthiest Workplaces Luncheon JULY

Leaders in Finance Luncheon OCTOBER

50 Leading Business Women AUGUST

MIssissippi Nonproﬁts NOVEMBER

Best of Mississippi Reception SEPTEMBER

Leaders in Law Reception DECEMBER

Top Entreprenuers Breakfast MARCH Top 50 Under 40 Luncheon APRIL Top in Tech Luncheon MAY ships and acquaintances, keeping in touch for years to come. Also, many people keep the publication we issue for the event and refer to it in years to come. You might also see many of our awards in offices around your community. Thus, there is a lasting effect from our events. This is one of the most rewarding and gratifying of the many jobs we do at the Mississippi Business Journal, and we absolutely love being able to honor great people and businesses throughout Mississippi. It’s hard to imagine better “news” than this, and we are always gratiﬁed that thousands of people attend our events each year. Now, our goal with this column is

to acquaint you with how our recognition-and-awards events work, and more importantly, to ask you to join us in this great program. How can you get involved? Very simply, we invite you to nominate a great person or company for any and all events you choose. We get many nominations in the course of a given year, but we want to make absolutely certain that worthwhile nominees from all parts of Mississippi are not left out of the process. So, please, take a few moments to reﬂect on those you know who are worthy of recognition, and submit a nomination. The process is fairly simple. You can go to our website, www.msbusiness.com,

and select the “Events” tab. You’ll see a list of our annual events, and you may then utilize our nomination form to nominate anyone or any business you choose. In this way, you’ll be helping to get the “good news” out to Mississippi’s business community, and to many many others outside Mississippi who regularly view our website and content. If you would like further information on this, please feel free to call us at (601) 364-1000. Contact Mississippi Business Journal publisher Alan Turner at alan.turner@msbusiness.com or (601) 364-1021.

April 5, 2019

Mississippi Business Journal

THE SPIN CYCLE

Digital local news is increasingly desired by audiences

olks prefer to catch the news via digital media, according to new research into audience habits in the digital age. Nearly as many Americans today prefer to get their local news online as they do so through TV, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 34,897 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 15-Nov. 8, 2018, on the Center’s American Trends Panel and Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel. The 41 percent of Americans who say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37 percent who prefer it online signiﬁcantly outnumber those who prefer a printed newspaper or the radio (13 percent and 8 percent, respectively). Even as the preference for digital delivery ticks up, news via TV, local television stations retain a strong hold in the local news community. They top the list of nine types of local news providers, with 38 percent of U.S. adults saying they often get news from a local television station. That is followed by 20 percent who often turn to local radio stations and 17 percent who rely on local daily newspapers. Next are a range of less traditional sources such as online forums or discussion groups (12 percent), local organizations such as school groups or churches (8 percent), and community newsletters or listservs (8 percent). While individually these less traditional sources garner far smaller audiences than the big three (local TV, daily papers and radio stations), together they add up: 28 percent of the public often gets news from at least one of the six less traditional providers asked about. The degree to which the public accesses each type of provider digitally versus non-digitally varies a great deal. First, the overwhelming majority of Americans who get news from local TV stations primarily do so decidedly old school: from TV (76 percent), not from the stations’ websites or social media accounts (22 percent). Radio is similarly tied to its traditional form. But most other providers have a substantial share of online audience. For example, 43 percent of daily newspaper consumers tend to get that news digitally, as do 49 percent of those who rely on community newsletters or listservs. This nationally representative study also shows that many Americans are not getting local news that is mostly about their own area – a concern raised by many journalism watchers following newsroom

cutbacks and media consolidation. About half of U.S. adults (47 percent) say the local news they get mostly covers an area other than where they live such as a nearby city, while the rest (51 percent) say it mostly covers their living area. Google launches data product for journalists A little more than a year ago Google announced its $300 million News Initiative, which included funding for independent journalism efforts along with its products. One of those services was News Consumer Insights, which has been used by publishers like Business Insider, BuzzFeed and Conde Nast. NCI takes data already collected through Google Analytics and makes it more useful for publishers, particularly when it comes to understanding different audience segments and whether the are likely to move to paying subscribers. Now Google is building on NCI with a new tool called Real-time Content Insights, according to TechCrunch. RCI is focused on telling publishers what’s happening on their site in real time, and helping them identify trending news stories that could attract more readers. The initial NCI data is more useful for the publisher’s business or audience development teams, according to experts. RCI features a robust dashboard that indicates how many readers are looking at a story currently, and how many views the story had in the past 30 minutes. Consumers can compare the today’s stats to daily averages, even segment by geography and referral sources. The dashboard also shows trending topics on Google and Twitter. At ﬁrst glance, RCI doesn’t seem to tie directly into the bigger goals of helping publishers building sustainable, diversiﬁed business models. However, Chopped Down Mic | Cherry trees nearly crash Nashville’s NFL draft party Call it Cherrygate! Or a modern day George Washington tale. A group of more than 20 cherry blossom trees in downtown Nashville recently found its majestic canopies in the center of a Super Bowl-sized con-

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troversy as Music City finalizes logistics to host the NFL draft later this month. Plans called for organizers to construct a mammoth stage for some of country music’s biggest acts in the midst of all the NFL festivities. The problem: the trees were in the way, and they were about to be removed. The public outcry was deafening. Throngs signed a Change.org petition as the cherry controversy blossomed into a mini-crisis. A couple of days after the story bloomed, city leaders and the NFL sprung to action. Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation – the local organizing body for this year’s NFL Draft – apologized to the community for considering cutting down the trees. “To the citizens of Nashville, to Mayor (David) Briley and to the Metro Council,” Spyridon said in a hastily called presser. “The NFL and our organization heard the public outcry loud and clear. We thought we would be helpful in removing the trees and replacing them. We were wrong and we apologize.” During the press conference, Spyridon offered insight into the decision-making process behind the future of the trees and clarified how many will be relocated. He said the number of trees that need to be moved to make way for what is “likely the largest stage ever constructed in the state” will now be just 10. All of the impacted trees sit back along the circle drive at Riverfront Park. “None of those beautiful, blooming cherry trees lining 1st Avenue North will be touched,” Spyridon said. There are now plans to hire the best horticulturists it can find to help move the trees as safely as possible. The NFL Draft has become one of the biggest stages in pro football, along with the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl and other annual rights of pigskin passage. For years, it was a two-day event broadcast over cable television from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Five years ago, the NFL began hosting the event in other cities, including Chicago and Philadelphia. The draft draws about 45 million television and online viewers on all networks. The impact on a city’s brand is undeniable. The 2018 NFL draft, hosted by Dallas, generated $125 million, a record that bodes strong returns for Nash-

ville this year. News coverage reached Todd Smith more than 1 billion media impressions, according to officials. Nashville will no doubt roll out a Music City-sized red carpet for the event April 25-27 for what could be the biggest media event in the city’s history. “We got to this level of success by being mindful of who we are and reaching for the stars a little bit and taking Nashville to a new level,” Spyridon said. “Sometimes we got ahead of ourselves, admittedly, but I think you are either growing or dying as a city, and I believe our day job is to showcase the city for the great city that it is. “In our own brand promise, we talk about protecting the authenticity of the city,” he said. “I think it’s a balance. I think this is a good reminder of that balance. Lesson learned. Hard lesson learned.” One of the ﬁrst rules of crisis communications is to get out ahead of controversy with clarity of message, honesty, authenticity and empathy. It is imperative to react quickly and decisively. If you make a mistake, own up to it and apologize. Talk about how you are going to remedy the situation. Seek forgiveness. Your audience – most often – will reciprocate in a spirit of understanding. We all make mistakes. It’s human nature. Although Nashville officials perhaps waited a bit too long, they responded in a true spirit of repentance, with a remedy for the misstep. The football gods will no doubt smile on the shindig, and the majestic city that hopes to take the event to exciting new levels. Folks, this is a fumble in the ﬁrst quarter, and there’s a whole lot of game left. The Spin Cycle knows this will be a huge win for the sports loving world!

Todd Smith is president and chief communications officer of Deane, Smith & Partners, a full-service branding, PR, marketing and advertising ﬁrm with offices in Jackson. The ﬁrm — based in Nashville, Tenn. — is also affiliated with Mad Genius. Contact him at todd@deanesmithpartners.com, and follow him @spinsurgeon.

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