Droid gets a "B" grade from Freep.com

Review: Droid solid, but no iPhone killer | freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "With the release of the Motorola Droid this month, Apple's iPhone has its biggest challenger yet in the arena of do-it-all smartphones. Available on Verizon's 3G wireless network, the Droid is the first smartphone to run on Google's 2.0 Android software. I've been testing the Droid ($199) for a little more than a week and here are my impressions."

City may pick up Frank's legal tab, after all

City Council Could Pay Late Mayor's Legal Fees - Jackson News Story - WAPT Jackson: "Tuesday, The Jackson City Council may vote to pay tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees for the late Mayor Frank Melton and his former bodyguards. City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen and Councilman Kenneth Stokes are pushing the order."

Natchez lawyer takes tort reformers to task

Interesting letter to the Natchez Democrat by attorney Sam Quin, who attempts to counter three arguments in favor of the state's tort reform movement.
The Natchez Democrat - The lawsuit legal system is working

Bryant's move

Reorganization: Plan unveiled today - Jackson Clarion Ledger: "Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and the Commission for a New Mississippi that he organized and led are expected to unveil their blueprint for government reorganization today. Bryant and his colleagues on the commission have said their final report will focus on what Bryant says is a "three-legged stool" approach to reforms that centers on strategic planning, performance-based budgeting and the creation of a performance review agency from existing legislative resources"

Gallup: congressional HC reform still a tough sell

Americans Still Leaning Against Healthcare Legislation: "Americans currently tilt against Congress' passing healthcare legislation, with 49% saying they would advise their member to vote against a bill (or they lean that way) and 44% saying they would advocate a vote in favor of the bill (or lean toward advising a yes vote)."

Meantime here's a write with local perspectives on the state of play this week:
NEMS360.com - News, Business, Classifieds, and Events in Northeast Mississippi: "It’s hard to get clear prognosis when it comes to health care reform, Northeast Mississippi doctors say.... Right now, the whole thing is about posturing, not about health care,” said Tupelo Family Physician Dr. Edward Hill and former president of the American Medical Association. “It will be more about health care when we get to a conference committee.” The U.S. House has passed a health care reform bill. The Senate is due to take up debate on its own version this week. If the Senate approves a bill, leaders from both chambers will have to hammer out compromise legislation for a vote before the end of the year."

Brown, Burton say university mergers a no-go

Officials: Merging schools won't fly | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger: "Two influential lawmakers say the most controversial parts of Gov. Haley Barbour's budget recommendations are not likely to make it through the upcoming legislative session. 'Some of the things just don't work,' Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said in a meeting with Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, at The Clarion-Ledger's editorial board.  Responding to Mississippi's continued decline in revenues, Barbour has recommended merging the state's eight public universities into five, consolidating public school districts, closing mental health facilities and looking for savings in other areas."

what's next

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee is to release its recommendations for the state's fiscal 2011 budget by Dec. 15.

The 2010 legislative session is scheduled to run from Jan. 5 to April 3.

Lawmakers have until June 30 to craft a budget that will go into effect July 1.

"A game plan for survival?"

NewsLab: "Everybody’s looking for the magic formula. What, pray tell, is the business model that will keep independent journalism alive? A new report to be unveiled tomorrow at a Yale University conference has some suggestions, along with a fair amount of scary data about the current state of the news business. “The News Landscape in 2014: Transformed or Diminished? Formulating a Game Plan for Survival in the Digital Age” is co-authored by Penelope Muse Abernathy of UNC’s J-school and Richard Foster of Yale’s School of Management. They look at what’s happened to media companies since the rise of the Web in the mid-1990s, and the picture isn’t pretty."

Switzerland: tolerance finds its limit

Exit polls show Swiss will accept minaret ban: TV - Yahoo! News: "Exit polls show that Switzerland will accept a far-right call for a blanket ban on the construction of minarets, Swiss public television reported Sunday, describing the result as a 'great surprise.'"

TV managers suspended over Twitter billboard "snafu"

Lagniappe: WPMI GM, ND Suspended Over Billboard: "WPMI-TV insiders have confirmed what has been a swirling rumor for the past day — that the station’s general manager and news director were suspended for a week because of an embarrassing billboard. General Manager Shea Grandquest and News Director Wes Finley have been suspended, allegedly because of a “snafu” with one of the electronic billboards in town that showed a picture of anchors Greg Peterson and Kym Thurman and Chief Meteorologist Derek Beasley alongside the headline “3 Accused of Gang Rape in Monroeville.” The headline was under the header “Right Now on Twitter,” and clearly was aimed at promoting the station’s breaking news, but a photo of it has made its way to e-mails all over town and brought plenty of laughs."

Dawgs win!

(Alternate slug: "Apparently there was a big football game in Starkville today...")

Bulldogs bury Rebels, 41-27 | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger: "Quarterback Chris Relf threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Mississippi State to a resounding 41-27 upset victory over No. 20 Ole Miss in today’s Egg Bowl game at Scott Field. In front of an announced 55,365, the fourth-largest crowd in Scott Field history, the Bulldogs took over in the third quarter with Relf, who has played mostly as a backup this season, at quarterback. Mississippi State entered as a touchdown underdog, but was able to win the 106th meeting between the two rivals by confusing the Rebels’ defense with the running of Relf, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore, and tailback Anthony Dixon, a 235-pound senior who is the school’s career rushing leader."

The Twitter on Tiger

This Is Why The Internet (And Twitter) Wins - washingtonpost.com: "Undoubtedly by now you've heard about Tiger Woods' car crash.... as I'm watching this unfold infront of my eyes on the Internet, I'm reminded that this type of story is exactly why the web is destroying newspapers, and should eventually even take down television and the main source of news for most people. I first heard the news via a BNOnews bulletin sent via push notification to my iPhone. I immediately pulled up Twitter and already some 10-15 people had retweeted it and the news was appearing in my stream. The message read, 'BULLETIN REPORT: FAMED GOLFER TIGER WOODS SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER CRASH NEAR FLORIDA HOME.' Sure, not a lot of information there, but it's clearly labeled as a report, and yes, it did turn out to be correct. And thanks to Twitter, thousands of people had access to this information about 45 minutes before it appeared on CNN or ESPN, the 'worldwide leaders' in news in their respective fields." [emph. ed.]

AT&T responds to WH net neutrality talk

White House official's net neutrality comments irk AT&T - washingtonpost.com: "AT&T doesn't like the idea of new regulations mandating unfettered access to the Internet, and recent comments from the Obama administration that connected the issue to censorship in China have really gotten under its skin. The telecom giant responded forcefully this week to remarks by White House deputy chief technology officer Andrew McLaughlin, who said that free speech and network neutrality are 'intrinsically linked.' Net neutrality rules are being crafted by federal regulators that would restrict Internet service providers such as AT&T from blocking or prioritizing content on the Web."