Volume 100 Issue 54
STATE
Rec sports ‘climbs’ to the top Afnan Beauti Printz Reporter
Southern Miss Recreational Sports officially opened its climbing wall and fitness stations at a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday afternoon in the Payne Center atrium. The Southern Miss Payne Center houses the tallest rock climbing wall in the state. The wall and fitness stations on the trail outside the center were contracted with B.W. Sullivan, Entre Prises and Gym-Worx. Director of Recreational Sports Mark Crager opened the ribbon cutting ceremony with thanks to the contractors and staff that helped make the center’s dream of the wall a reality. The climbing wall inside the Payne Center atrium measures 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide with climbing routes that accommodate beginner to intermediate and more advanced climbers. The fitness stations are located just outside the Payne Center on the Bruce and Virginia Wilgus Fitness and Wellness Trail. The trail includes seven stations that offer a variety of exercise. A representative from Blue Cross & Blue Shield said the ROCK WALL CONT. ON PG. 3
Afnan Beauti/Student Printz Students prepare to climb on the newly opened rock wall in the Payne Center.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
www.studentprintz.com
New bills en route to Bryant’s desk Garrett Minta Printz Reporter
The state legislature recently passed a multitude of bills ranging from issues related to domestic violence all the way to the Protecting Freedom of Conscience From Government Discrimination Act, or HB 1523, which has garnered national attention. The legislative process continues as the Senate gets ready to decide the fate of these pieces of legislation. The Senate has a calendar on its website that shows what legislation is currently being debated or sent to committee. One such bill that has gone through committee and on its way to the governor’s office, is Senate Bill 2169 which is focused on increasing penalties on persons selling or possessing with intent to sell synthetic cannabinoids, or “spice.” The bill proposes stiffer punishments on multiple levels for possession. If someone is caught with less than ten grams, the maximum penalty is three
years in prison, a fine of $3,000, like the Planned Parenthood or both. If caught with possession Center of Hattiesburg for care between ten and twenty grams, that is administered, even if no the penalty is no fewer than five abortions are performed there. years in prison, a $5,000 fine SB 2070 is on its way as well or both. to the governor’s office to be If caught with over twenty decided. This bill is aimed at grams, the penalty is a 10-year supporting breastfeeding mothers sentence, $15,000 fine or both. through new initiatives that would Forty grams in be adopted at possession is hospitals. The twenty years, a hospitals would The legislative $20,000 fine, be required to or both. a written process continues have The bill has not infant feeding as the Senate gets policy, in which yet been signed into law. ready to decide the staff is trained, Another bill including the that has gone to fate of these pieces production of a the governor’s training video on of legislation. office is SB 2238, the matter. which aims to Another bill block Medicaid that has survived from reimbursing any institutions committee but which did not in the state that perform abortions, make its way to the governor’s maintain a facility at which desk is HB 772, which would abortions are performed or are grant impoverished children and affiliated with an entity that does. parents legal rights to counsel in This would prevent Medicaid from cases where the child is the focus. paying reimbursements to centers This is to grant the child and
parents the right to their counsel. Other bills have been killed in committee and will no longer be eligible to become law, some of which are SB 2732 which would increase the penalties for statutory rape and those over the age of 18 and in a position of power over a minor. The penalties would have been 15 years on first offense and 20 years on second offense. Another dead bill is SB 2148, a bill for establishing domestic violence as grounds for divorce. This was part of a national initiative, that was killed in committee. As was the HB 1116, named the HOPE Act, was to reform social safety net programs, like Medicaid and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, through online identity authentication, bringing in eligibility systems to determine who is and is not eligible for benefits, and new penalties for fraud. Information on any of these bills and others that are still being considered by the Senate are available to view on their website.
LOCAL
City Council approves plans for The District Elizabeth Lee Printz Reporter
On April 19, the Hattiesburg City Council unanimously voted to approve requests to progress plans for the District at Midtown, a development set to take over the empty lot on Hardy Street where Elam Arms dormitory stood until 2013. Hattiesburg developer Rob Tatum filed the request, intending to change some of the zoning code and allow plans for building to move forward, according to the City Council. The perimeter of the District at Midtown is defined by Hardy Street, South 31st Avenue, South 30th Avenue and Chevy Chase Drive. “I think it makes major steps in helping us revitalize and regrow Hattiesburg,” said Kim Bradley, Hattiesburg City Council president. Plans for developing the 6.9-acre lot into the District at Midtown include retail stores, restaurants and a Hotel Indigo. Hotel Indigo, an international boutique hotel chain with locations across North America, China, Europe and the United Kingdom, creates each of its
hotels to reflect local culture. The Hattiesburg location will be the first in Mississippi. The hotel will have 100 rooms available and will be located on the corner of Hardy Street and South 31st Avenue. Tatum told WDAM that the mixed-use development will provide a boost for the local economy, creating nearly 300 jobs. “We use all of our local people, local architects, local developers – that was big for us,” Tatum said. The District at Midtown is part of a larger multi-phase project aiming to reinvent Midtown Hattiesburg and “create a walkable, workable, livable mixed-use community in concert with the adjacent neighborhoods,” according to the project’s web page. The Midtown Hattiesburg Master Plan is funded by a sustainable community grant from the federal government combined with matched contributions from Hattiesburg’s major employers, such as Forrest General, Hattiesburg Clinic and Southern Miss. The next steps in the
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development project are to purchase the lot from the university in May and begin construction in June. The retail space, to be located on either side of South 31st, will see completion and open by
early 2017, with the opening of Hotel Indigo to follow. For more information on the project and development plans, visit Midtown in Motion’s website at midtowninmotion.org.