WASHINGTON – Mississippi small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses, and private nonprofit organizations affected by the Jackson Water Crisis that began Aug. 30, may apply for low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced today.

Administrator Guzman made the loans available in response to a letter from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on Sept. 12, requesting a disaster declaration by the SBA. Eligible applicants in the declared area can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the SBA. The declaration covers Hinds County and the adjacent counties of Claiborne, Copiah, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, Warren and Yazoo in Mississippi.

“SBA’s mission-driven team stands ready to help small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in Hinds County impacted by the Jackson Water Crisis,” said Administrator Guzman. “We’re committed to providing federal disaster loans swiftly and efficiently, with a customer-centric approach to help businesses and communities recover and rebuild.”

“Needless to say, safe drinking water is a necessity, and the loss of this essential resource has resulted in devasting economic impacts on the people and businesses of Jackson and surrounding communities,” said Francisco Sanchez, Jr., Associate Administrator, Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration. “Those that have suffered economic losses should find comfort that the SBA is now ready to move rapidly to provide federal disaster assistance.”

To assist businesses affected by the disaster, the SBA will open a Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Jackson, Miss., at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17:

SBA Business Recovery Center (BRC)

Hinds County

Chamber of Commerce Building 201 South President Street Jackson, MS 39201

Opening: Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Open: Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Closed: Sundays

Closes Permanently: Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.

Customer Service Representatives will be available at the BRC to answer questions about the disaster loan program and help business owners complete their applications. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the SBA has established protocols to help protect the health and safety of the public. All visitors to the BRC are encouraged to wear a face mask.

“For eligible applicants, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster,” said SBA’s Mississippi District Director Janita R. Stewart.
Interest rates are 3.04 percent for businesses and 1.875 percent for nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s and should apply under SBA declaration # 17621, not for the COVID-19 incident.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or emailing [email protected]. Loan applications may be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to return economic injury applications is June 14, 2023.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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“Multiple prosecutors” are still examining the facts and making decisions about criminal charges in Mississippi’s sprawling welfare scandal that saw millions in funds meant for poor families go instead to wealthy celebrities, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White said on Thursday, Sept. 15.

The auditor made that remark on CNN after court documents revealed on Monday, Sept. 12, revealed dozens of text messages showing how retired-NFL star Brett Favre, former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and nonprofit leader Nancy New coordinated on procuring welfare funds to finance an $8-million volleyball stadium.

New ran the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center when it directed $5 million in Temporary Assistance For Needy Families to The University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation, whose board she sat on, to fund the stadium on the Hattiesburg campus. Her nonprofit also directed $1.1 million to Favre for motivational speeches he never delivered. 

She and her son, Zach New, have pled guilty to multiple state charges, including bribery and wire fraud as part of a plea agreement. The newly revealed text messages, revealed publicly in a court filing in a separate civil suit this week, shed light on how $6.1 million meant for the poorest families in the poorest state wound up going to Favre and a pet project at his alma mater instead.

The civil suit is part of the State of Mississippi’s efforts to recover tens of millions in misspent funds from dozens of players, including Favre, New and MCEC, her nonprofit.

A ‘Very Big Deal’

In a filing seeking to compel ex-Gov. Bryant to turn over information about the volleyball stadium scheme that went public on Monday, Sept. 12, MCEC noted that the State’s lawsuit claims the organization “paid Favre $1,100,000 simply for the ‘purpose of enriching’ him.”

“The evidence, however, shows that MCEC paid Favre $1,100,000 expressly to provide Favre with additional funds to use for construction of the Volleyball Facility,” the New-founded nonprofit group’s filing says. 

Non-profit founder Nancy New pleaded guilty in April 2022 to charges related to the largest welfare scandal in Mississippi history. Court filings say she helped direct $5 million in

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Something absolutely can be done to permanently fix the devastating water problem in Jackson, Miss. 

Like many poor communities across the nation, Jackson’s water system has suffered from decades of neglect and low maintenance. Roughly 150,000 residents were under a boil-water notice for more than a month before heavy rainfall and river flooding overwhelmed the pumping system on Aug. 29, 2022. Now, on an urgent basis, the system needs $1 billion to fully repair the water-treatment plant and another $1 billion to bring the rest of the water-distribution system up to a state of good repair. 

Unfortunately, no current government program is up to the task of correcting Jackson’s water problem. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in Congress last year will provide the entire state with only $429 million to fix all of its drinking and wastewater systems. That’s far below the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2020 Report estimating the state needs of at least $6.8 billion over 20 years for those systems. 

Adding to that, President Biden’s order to send emergency assistance through FEMA might provide bottled and non-potable water for some time, but few funds for permanent capital improvements.

Congress Should Pass National Infrastructure Bank Act 

Fortunately, a bill in Congress, HR 3339, would create a $5-trillion National Infrastructure Bank, or NIB, to finance projects that federal, state and local governments cannot afford. Mississippi could receive up to $47 billion over 10 years to cover all of the state’s backlog in infrastructure improvements, including for roads (40% of which are in poor condition), bridges (with a $1.6-billion funding gap), levees and dams (14 and 130, respectively, rated in unacceptable condition), affordable housing, public transport and more. 

The massive investment would improve Mississippi’s economy—currently the lowest per capita in the country—as well as create up to 235,000 family sustaining jobs and improve state and local government finances. The National Infrastructure Bank would immediately invest $2 billion to repair and replace the entire water system of Jackson, as a priority. 

The model for the NIB has been successfully done four times in our nation’s history thus far. The last one helped

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Amy Divine, a Madison, Miss., resident, opened a mail envelope on July 1, 2022, and discovered an official-looking ticket from the Ocean Springs Police Department claiming she owned a vehicle that passed through the city on March 22, 2022, “without vehicle insurance.”

The letter, dated April 4, 2022, indicated that it was a “Final Notice Before Court Appearance” and included Ocean Springs Police Chief Mark Dunston’s signature. It indicated that Divine could pay $300 to avoid a driver’s license suspension. She paid the money.

Divine’s attorneys, Brian K. Herrington and Rogen K. Chhabra, from Chhabra Gibbs & Herrington PLLC,are disputing the practice’s legitimacy. In a court filing in the U.S. Southern District of Mississippi on Sept. 1, 2022, they argue that the ticket did not come from the City but from a business named Securix, “pretending to be law enforcement” and using cameras “to enforce traffic laws.” The plaintiff alleges that Mississippi Statute prohibits using cameras in traffic law enforcement.

American Digital Security, LLC, finalized a deal to acquire Securix companies in December 2021. Securix has continued to operate by that name, the lawsuit says. Both companies are defendants in the case. American Digital Security, LLC, did not respond to an email request on Sept. 12, 2022, for comment.

Technology Use Started in 2019

This reporter called Securix on Sept. 12, 2022, and the receptionist linked him with Jonathan Miller. “He is the manager, the owner,” the receptionist said.

In the Monday interview, Miller told the Mississippi Free Press, “I am just one of the officers of the company,” while explaining that “there is no basis for the lawsuit whatsoever.”

Documents on the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website show Miller as the registered agent and partner with Michael E. McGrey of Securix LLP, which registered in Mississippi in September 2021. The company was formed in 2018 and incorporated in Delaware, with a principal office address in Atlanta, Ga., the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website shows. The plaintiff is also suing Missouri-based Securix LLC.

A 2019 press release announcing Securix’s adoption of new technology in its operation described Miller as the

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Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital may begin negotiations with the University of Mississippi Medical Center over a potential lease of the rural, 29-bed hospital and all of its operations, including its nursing home, clinics, emergency department and ambulance services for the two counties.

After seeking out potential buyers earlier this year, the community hospital received lease proposals from UMMC and Delta Health System. The committee that evaluated the proposals, which included representatives from both counties and the community hospital, chose the Medical Center over Delta Health System, which has its own financial problems and recently closed the only neonatal intensive care unit in the Mississippi Delta.

“Due to the economics of the hospital, particularly during COVID, they sought a partner that would strengthen their ability to serve the community,” said Charles Weissinger, attorney for the Issaquena County Board of Supervisors and one of the Issaquena County representatives on the committee that evaluated the lease proposals. “They went through a request for proposal process and the University of Mississippi Medical Center provided the best hope for results going forward.”

UMMC declined to comment for the story.

Details of the proposal submitted by the Medical Center are not publicly available due a provision in state law that exempts “records directly relating to prospective strategic business decisions of a public hospital.”

UMMC is also working to finalize a lease of Greenwood Leflore Hospital. 

Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital, like many rural hospitals across the country, has struggled to stay afloat for years due to low patient volumes. The two counties have a collective population of fewer than 6,000 people.

To cut costs, the community hospital, which has 125 full-time employees, has been pooling its resources with small hospitals across the state over the last few months to buy supplies at a discounted wholesale rate. Though the arrangement is beneficial for all the involved hospitals, it’s not enough for Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital to remain viable in its current state, Weissinger said.

The community hospital is jointly owned by Sharkey County, which owns two-thirds of the hospital, and Issaquena County, which owns the remaining one-third. The board of supervisors of both counties have greenlit entering into negotiations with the Medical Center to finalize a deal, but the hospital’s board of trustees must also sign off on the plan for negotiations to begin. Their next meeting will be Sept. 29. 

UMMC’s efforts to expand have played out amidst its public and contentious fallout with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, the state’s largest private insurer. 

Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital, like UMMC, has its own history of legal battles with Blue Cross. In 2017, the insurer sued the community hospital over an alleged lab testing scheme that cost the insurer nearly $10 million.

Under the alleged scheme, two Texas-based lab testing companies ordered lab tests for Blue Cross customers in other states and were allowed to submit reimbursement claims to the insurer for the tests by using the hospital’s name and billing information, though the tests were not performed by the hospital’s own laboratory.

The community hospital allegedly received kickbacks from the two Texas companies as part of the deal, which Blue Cross claimed was used to take advantage of the favorable reimbursement rate the hospital received from the insurer for lab tests due to it being small and rural..

Ultimately, nearly $34 million in misrepresented claims were submitted to Blue Cross, according to court filings, though the insurer only paid for $9.8 million of them before discovering the arrangement.

The two parties reached a settlement in 2018.

The post UMMC seeks to lease struggling Delta hospital appeared first on Mississippi Today.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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