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Articles by Jack Ryan
Dwayne Johnson & Jack Ryan Boss’ New TV Show Gives Off Strong James Cameron Vibes
is developing a new show with ‘s production company and ‘s showrunner. The crime drama will be set in New Orleans, a city surrounded by water, and is set to deliver a -esque deep-sea adventure. According to Deadline, Jack Ryan’s showrunner Steven Kane is currently working on Dive. Reportedly, 20th Television and Johnson’s production studio, Seven Bucks, are also attached to the project. The production company’s credits include Red One, Black Adam, Jumanji, Ballers, Young Rock, and The Titan Games.
Vote NO on Articles 3 and 4 May 20th
I am a member of the Lincoln-Sudbury school committee, but the views expressed herein are my personal views and not those of the Lincoln-Sudbury school committee. I am writing in opposition to Articles 3 and 4 at the Special Town Meeting on May 20th in the gymnasium at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. I am writing with a unique perspective.
Jack Ryan | The Grenada Star
Photo by Jack Ryan. Copyright 2026, Emmerich Newspapers, Inc. Todd Jackson, left, of the Hattiesburg-based Area Development Partnership, is pictured with Pike County Economic Development District executive director Jill Busby, McComb Rotary Club member Charlie Lewis and Rotary president Becky Buie.
Cryptocurrency: Buyers beware
Aside from the surprising results of last week’s midterm elections, the most interesting story from the last few days involves the massive evaporation of wealth from a financial asset that few people understand. This is in reference to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. In the space of a week it went from one of the largest “crypto” exchanges to a bankrupt shell. Its founder, a young guy with a shock of black hair, was supposedly worth $16 billion at the start of November.
Lakewood League Of Women Voters Mary Warren Impact Scholarship Winner, Jack Ryan - The Lakewood Observer
Why is voting important to a democracy? Why is water important to fish or why is air important humans? The answer is the latter of each scenario does not function without the first part. Voting is the life blood of a democracy. Without voting pluralist and elite democracies start forming then they lead to oligarchies and authoritarian rule. The significance of voting is lost on most people because when everyone is participating a single vote has extraordinarily little power.
A look at Pike County’s future
Listening to Robert Accardo on Wednesday, it struck me that Pike County, like most local governments, has a pretty long wish list that may not fit into the available kettle of revenue. Accardo is the president of the Pike County Board of Supervisors, and he spoke to the McComb Rotary Club about any number of things going on in the county. He had an excellent observation about Sheriff James Brumfield’s request for a budget increase that would allow the hiring of two more deputies.
Mayor: It’s showtime
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley, saying McComb has had to rebrand itself several times over the decades, believes it’s time to do it again. “It is my vision that the city of McComb will become the arts and entertainment center of Southwest Mississippi,” he told the McComb Rotary Club on Wednesday. Lockley said he has learned at economic development workshops that cities need three things to be successful: a brand, a healthy downtown and a pleasant appearance.
Measuring public salaries
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has produced a “Fat Cat Report” of the 50 highest-paid public officials in the state. While the report clearly includes some valuable information about high salaries, a press release promoting the report also features some deeply flawed logic. The most glaring example is the insistence to compare school superintendents’ pay with the governor’s $122,160 annual salary.
Alderman questions unfinished compress project
Alderman questions unfinished compress project Alderman Sir Johnathan Rucker said the city council needs to pay closer attention to the details with contractors who are hired to do specific projects. Referring to the recent contractor hired to address the former Federal Compress property, he said he feels the city was taken advantage of.
Supporting the Skipworth Performing Arts Center: Myriad ways to give to this community effort with donations large and small
Supporting the Skipworth Performing Arts Center: Myriad ways to give to this community effort with donations large and small The Kosciusko Foundation for Excellence in Education is currently raising money for the rehabilitation and creation of the Skipworth Performing Arts Center. According to Dr. Tim Alford, there are several ways to give to this project. “The new chairs will be much nicer than the old ones, larger with nice cushions.
Mims: Federal windfall fills state coffers
State Rep. Sam Mims was optimistic about Mississippi’s future in remarks to the McComb Rotary Club on Wednesday, saying the Legislature will figure out how to use wisely an unexpected windfall of money. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, the state has received about $3 billion in aid from the federal government. But the bigger surprise is a more than $1 billion increase in tax revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Museum director Price lauded for community service
While the McComb Rotary Club presents its annual Service Above Self Award to someone who is not a member of the group, this year’s recipient was well known. Ralph Price, who received the award Tuesday night at the club’s annual banquet, was a Rotary member for 35 years before resigning in 2020 to devote more time to his volunteer job as director of the McComb Railroad Depot Museum.
City schools accept tech grants
The McComb School District has received two grants that will use “hot spots” to improve internet service for students whose homes have a poor connection. One grant, from the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, will provide home internet service for 242 McComb High School students and 157 Denman Junior High students at no charge. It includes a monthly 30GB data plan that can last up to four years. The other grant is for up to 650 hot spots from the T-Mobile Project 10 Million program.
City school board sets officers
Kizzy Coney will be president of the McComb school board for a second year, winning a 4-1 vote Tuesday that included a lobbying handout from trustee Lynn Martin, who also sought the post. Under the board’s prior system of rotating its officers, Martin was the current vice president and in line to become president next month. But in May trustees changed their method of selecting officers.
Trustee protests officer shakeup on school board
Lynn Martin, scheduled to become president of the McComb school board in July, said Tuesday a change in the board’s method of choosing its officers appears to be aimed at preventing her from being in charge of the board. Since 2008 the school board has used a rotating schedule. After being on the board for at least a year, a trustee first served one year as secretary, then as vice president and finally as president.
The state we should envy
The 2020 U.S. census numbers came out this week, and Mississippi was one of just three states that lost population during the past decade. The entire country’s population growth during the 2010s was a low 7%, just above the rate recorded during the Great Depression in the 1930s. So we should keep that in mind when grumbling about the Mississippi numbers. But we do need to grumble. Every other state in the South added population during the past decade.
Next initiative is on Medicaid
There must be a discount on the cost of filing ballot initiative paperwork at the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, because another one is lining up behind a recent proposal to expand early voting. The newest one would enshrine Medicaid expansion in the state Constitution, forcing state officials to accept a generous federal offer to provide medical care for lower-income workers who cannot afford health insurance.
Jeanson retiring as athletic director for McComb schools
The McComb school board welcomed back a trustee for a second term Tuesday but learned that the district’s athletic director is retiring. At the beginning of the meeting, trustee Betsy Murrell was sworn in for another five-year term. She was reappointed last week in a 4-3 vote by the McComb city board, with Mayor Quordiniah Lockley breaking the tie in Murrell’s favor.
How Inequities In Homeownership Drive Up the Race Wealth Gap
Calls for social and economic change gripping America have shed new light on the racial wealth gap. The statistics are as stunning as they are troubling: retirement-age black families typically hold less than 10 percent of the wealth of their white counterparts. But closing this gap means addressing persistent discrimination in markets that have gone unchecked for decades. We should start with homeownership.
Information on Ellis vote sought
A member of a McComb School District advisory council asked trustees Tuesday for information it used in approving a contract extension for the superintendent, but the board attorney said the data is not public.
Online alert system coming to city schools
McComb School District students soon will have access to an online alert system that will let them anonymously report concerns about safety or misconduct. The StopIt program will have an app, website and telephone hotline to receive information. The company, StopIt Solutions, based in New Jersey, will have an incident management center staffed 24 hours a day. When a report comes in, StopIt will contact school officials along with other help if needed, such as law enforcement.
School district renews Ellis’ contract for 3 years
The McComb school board on Tuesday extended the contract of its superintendent for three years. Dr. Cederick Ellis, who has been with McComb since the summer of 2013, is signed up to lead the district until August 2025. His contract was set to expire in 2022. The vote was 4-1, with trustee Lynn Martin opposing. Board chairman Kizzy Coney and trustees Angela Bates, Betsy Murrell and Eliece Rayborn were in favor. “I think we have done well getting the kids educated during the pandemic,” Coney said.
Absences increase in higher grades, Ellis says
Too many students at McComb High School and Denman Junior High School are not following their hybrid education schedule, administrators told the school board Tuesday. “We’re experiencing hybrid students not coming to school on their classroom days but instead wanting to check in virtually,” superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis said during the board’s work session.
Clarksdale raises bad for PERS, too
premium content for subscribers Clarksdale raises bad for PERS, too The audacity of the city leaders in Clarksdale to give themselves unprecedentedly large raises has received attention across Mississippi. After receiving a 42% pay hike, that city’s mayor, Chuck Espy, has a higher salary than Gov. Tate Reeves. The 75% jump for the city’s commissioners makes them reportedly the highest-paid part-time elected officials in the state. The numbers are ga...
Mississippi Covid-19 Update : July 30, 2021
Listed below is the daily COVID-19 update for the state of Mississippi. New cases of COVID-19: 1,643 Positive test results reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. yesterday. Tests may have been made during the past week, and represent individuals who became ill a week ago or more. Repeated tests for the same individual are counted only once. New COVID-19 related deaths: 10 Six deaths occurred between July 28 and July 29.
Editorial: Making the Old New Again
If only every main road could be a downtown. The ones we know and love, the ones with walkable streets, sights to see, unique restaurants to eat at, a feeling that life is being lived there at every level. Though of course anything is better than driving down the highway and passing by the umpteenth empty strip mall, with enough “for rent” signs to recreate a new mall entirely.
Bates takes oath for school board
Angela Bates, a 1984 McComb High School graduate, began a five-year term on the city school board at the end of Tuesday’s meeting. With her daughter and granddaughter standing next to her, Bates took the oath of office from school board attorney KaShonda Day. Bates succeeds trustee Lorraine Gayden, who is retiring after 51⁄2 years on the board. She represents residents of the school district who live outside the McComb city limits, and won an election for the seat in November.
School’s daycare closing
An auditor’s observance that the McComb School District is running a day-care operation below cost will end services for children 2 years old and younger in two weeks. There are 21 children in the program, superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis told the school board at its work session Tuesday. Families pay monthly prices based on whether or not a parent works for the district, but the cost of the program is significantly higher than the money it brings in.
Teachers getting bonuses for improvement
Teachers at Denman Junior High School and Summit Elementary School will split $50,000 in bonuses for academic improvements during the 2018-19 year. The McComb school board approved the payments on Tuesday, with the money coming from a state fund that rewards teachers at schools that increase their grades in the education accountability program. Both Denman and Summit jumped two letter grades in 2018-19. Denman went from an F to a C rating, while Summit went from a D to a B.
Facebook post causes dust-up on school board
Tuesday’s meeting of the McComb school board began with an item described on the agenda as “Discussion of board member conduct,” which was prompted by a recent Facebook post from trustee Lynn Martin. The post was not on Martin’s Facebook page this week, but board chairman Kizzy Coney provided a copy of it. The post said, “Please be informed that Tommy McKenzie and Whitney Rawlings are now responsible for having appointed/endorsed four of the five members of the (McComb) school board.
Audit flags school on nine issues
An audit of the McComb School District has found nine cases of failure to comply with state or federal laws. They were the district’s first audit exceptions in more than 10 years, school officials said. Superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis said he was surprised by the findings, but added that the district is correcting the errors.
McComb schools digitizing bus routes
The McComb School District’s bus routing and scheduling is being switched to a computer program, and the assistant transportation director promised it will provide good management. BusRight LLC of Boston is providing the software for $50 per month per bus, starting Nov. 1. With 21 buses, the district will pay $1,050 per month, or a total of $18,900 over the 18-month contract. At the Oct. 13 school board meeting, trustee Lynn Gilmore asked if other school districts are using this system.
McComb students return to campus next week
Nearly 75% of 2,028 parents surveyed by the McComb School District said they were ready to return their children to classrooms, and the school board voted Tuesday for a hybrid format that will include both in-person and online instruction. As trustees discussed last week, the student body at each school will be split in half when the second nine weeks begins this coming Monday. One group will be in class on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
McComb students to return to campus
McComb’s school superintendent is recommending that students get the option to return to classroom instruction when the second nine weeks begins later this month, and a poll says up to 70% of parents like the idea. “Everyone at school is anxious to have kids before them,” Dr. Cederick Ellis told the school board Tuesday.
A Pike County tax review
Property owners in Pike County will write larger tax checks next year, as county supervisors, the city of McComb and all three school districts raised taxes. There is one curiosity about the McComb school millage. The school district’s tax rate has been the same for years. But it has increased for 2021. City officials, who set the school’s millage rate, are checking this.
City schools see uptick in online class participation
It took a week for participation to increase, but the McComb School District’s online-only program is now delivering instruction to more than 2,000 students. The school board spent a lot of its Tuesday work session discussing online classes, which began Aug. 17. Student attendance, which is recorded when kids log in for a class, was low for the first couple of days because a technology glitch prevented a number of families from connecting to McComb’s system.
McComb schools seeking $8.36M in property taxes
The McComb school board will ask the city board to set a millage rate to provide the district with $8.36 million in property taxes for the coming year. That’s about $70,000 less than it sought a year ago. School district millage is likely to remain unchanged at 62.75 mills. It has been at that rate for several years. More than 90 percent of the local funding, $7.75 million, is for general operations.
City schools split on corporal punishment
The McComb school board had split opinions Tuesday in approving a student discipline policy that includes corporal punishment. Trustees also were divided about adding student attendance and teacher retention to its list of goals for 2020-21, but agreed unanimously to install cameras that will allow livestream broadcasts of home football and basketball games. Trustee Lynn Gilmore has been vocal for several years in her opposition to spanking students.
MSD class plans revealed
The McComb school board approved a two-day-per week instructional program for the coming year, with students participating in online lessons during two other days when they are not in class. Fridays will be reserved for in-class remedial instruction. Masks will be required unless a student has a medical condition such as asthma. Trustees voted 5-0 for the plan during a Thursday telephone conference. They also approved a new schedule that delays the start of school by nearly two weeks, to Aug. 17.
McComb school board adopts $28.4M budget
The McComb school board approved a 2020-21 budget of $28.4 million Tuesday. That’s up about $400,000 from the current year, but two things are almost certain to change the numbers. For starters, the Legislature has not set its education budget because its session got delayed by the coronavirus shutdown. Also school officials don’t know how any virus-related operations changes will affect spending. The largest share of revenue is coming from the state: $12.0 million.
Panel to give quarterly updates to school board
An advisory group being set up for the McComb School District will be invited to report to the school board once a quarter, not every month as originally suggested. The school board on Tuesday approved the quarterly visit by members of the P-16 Council by a 3-1 vote. Trustee Lynn Gilmore opposed, as she wanted to approve the group’s request to meet with the board for 10 minutes at each monthly work session.
Lambert sues city, blames dismissal on race
Chuck Lambert, who did not retain his employment with the city of McComb after its 2018 elections, has filed suit in federal court alleging the black-majority board removed him because he was white. Lambert was the city’s director of public works and the director of zoning and planning. He held those posts from May 2017 to August 2018 while serving at the same time as a Pike County supervisor. He did not seek re-election as supervisor last year.
Zoning, taxing, hoarding: Housing policies for the middle class
Twitter Join the conversation on Twitter using #HousingRegs Over the past decade, housing costs in the United States have risen faster than incomes. While housing affordability has long been a problem for low-income families, middle-income families are increasingly facing affordability challenges, especially in urban areas with strong labor markets. How do current housing policies help – or harm – the well-being of middle-class families?
OPINION: On 9/11, ‘The World Hears You’ once again
Amid the hate, division and anger that plagues the country, the memory of 9/11 and of those who died still manages to unite and inspire New Yorkers. Seventeen years have passed, but for millions of Americans it is still like yesterday. Millions of New Yorkers remember getting a call from a friend asking, “Did you hear what happened?” and then turning on their televisions to watch an unspeakable tragedy unfold. The twin towers, the icon of American greatness, were reduced to burning rubble.
Sparticipation 2018 brings hundreds of student groups to Cherry Lane Field
As if leaving home for the first time isn’t hard enough, coming to college without a set group of friends can be a daunting task. Sparticipation, an event set up on MSU's campus, helps bring student organizations into one area so that students can find the right fit. When faced with the immediate challenge of making friends, a great way to go about it is to join a student-run club or organization.
OPINION: Stop the deportation madness, this time with Edisson Barros
Time is running out for a judge to block the deportation, set for Friday, of Edisson Barros, an undocumented immigrant and father of two who has lived in Maspeth, Queens, for 25 years. Once again, we see the tragic consequences of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
OPINION: Why is city honoring Haiti’s blood-stained emperor?
With a notable lack of thought and discussion, the New York City Council voted on Wednesday to co-name a Brooklyn street in honor of Jean Jacques Dessalines, a controversial Haitian hero. Dessalines became emperor of Haiti after the successful war for independence against the French Army in 1804. He is also credited with the massacre of thousands of French men, women and children in an act of bloodthirsty revenge.
OPINION: School-zone speed camera fight isn’t over
The battle to get the state to reauthorize the use of speed cameras in school zones for the upcoming school year isn’t over. Not by a long shot. As readers know, the New York State senators ended their session and went on vacation two weeks ago without voting on legislation that would have reauthorized the use of existing cameras. This had already been approved by the state Assembly in March and Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it clear that he was ready to sign the bill as soon as it got to his desk.
OPINION: Voter registration for inmates is a step in the right direction
With the primary elections looming, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that the city will launch a voter registration drive to help incarcerated individuals exercise their right to vote. The city will facilitate direct pick-up and delivery of voter registration forms and absentee ballots, bypassing the jail mailing system to ensure timely delivery of paperwork. “Voting access must be expanded and protected in our city.
OPINION: Too late to fix a 50-year-old bureaucratic oops with Watchtower sign
The City Buildings Department has issued a stunning assertion that the iconic Watchtower sign that stood atop the Jehovah Witness headquarters in Brooklyn Heights has been illegal since it was first installed in 1970.
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