Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 1

teetr clarionledger.com Mississippi's News Source Tuesday, December 3, 2002 Jackson, Miss. 50C Ymm to sM to foil Hco him SPORTS Sherrill fires 5 MSU assistants will leave for greater salaries in other states. And others could become layoff victims, officials said. Bulldogs' Jackie Sherrill fires Joe Lee Dunn, Sparky Woods and three others after a 3-9 season that included an 0-8 record "What you are seeing is a gradual deterioration of the quality we offer," said Delta University leaders say proposed $48 million cut will hit hard By Andy Kannglr akwwngfearclariontedgtr.com Mississippi university students will face more tuition increases, may see scholarships trimmed and could have problems scheduling classes if a proposed $48 million cut hits the eight institutions next year. That was the warning sounded by Higher Education Commissioner Tom Layzell and university presidents at a news conference Monday.

While state lawmakers faced with dwindling tax collections the last two years found one-time money to avoid even more dramatic cuts, "the Legislature has run out of rabbits to pull out of the hat," Layzell said. Without discussing such specifics as a tax increase, Layzell and others say the Legislature needs to develop a long-range plan to keep funding levels steady for education, from kinder garten through graduate and professional schools. Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck has said the legislative committee's budget recommendation reflects lawmakers' commitment to education by funding scholarships, financial aid and teacher pay.

It includes $8.1 million for a 2 percent pay raise for university employees and $2.3 million for community and junior colleges staff. If no relief occurs for universities already reeling from $98.3 million in cuts since 2000, more professors Mate Univer- p0ttor sity President David Potter, chairman of the University Presidents Council. "We have lost the momentum of our invest-See TUITION, 4A Gftg Jenion The Clarion-ledoer Higher Education Commissioner Tom Layzell (left) and University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat discuss at a Monday news conference a Legislative Budget Committee recommendation to cut $48 million from state universities' budgets. 'No regrets, no apologies' Tuck switch embraced by GOP in the SEC. ID USM at Houston; Rebs still unsure Southern Miss formally accepts the Houston Bowl's invitation, but CHe Miss' Bowl hopes couid still hang in the balance.

1D NATIONWORLD Al-Qaida claims Kenya attacks A statement attributed to the group claims responsibility for last week's bombing and attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner. 8A METROSTATE Execution case appeal rejected The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Ronald Chris Foster's appeal, paving the way for his execution as early as January. 1B SOUTHERN STYLE Take a peek inside a castle Colleges' policies on race face test Supreme Court to rule on admissions favoring minorities From ataff and wire report WASHINGTON The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide if minorities can be given a boost to get into universities, a subject still heatedly contested a yHz 1 ,6 after the justices first addressed affirmative action in college admis 3 Supreme Court to review sodomy laws, 3A For years, the brightly lit McGee's Castle in Rick Guy The Clarion-Ledger Mississippi Lt. Gov.

Amy Tuck, flanked by U.S. Sens, to the Republican Party during a Monday news confer-Thad Cochran (left) and Trent Lott, announces her switch ence at the state Capitol in Jackson. By Julio Goodman (90odmanclarionkdgar.com Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, flanked by a formidable force of Republicans, announced her expected switch to the GOP on Monday amid whoops, hollers and roaring applause.

U.S. Senate Editorial, Majority Marshall Leader Ramsey Trent Lott cartoon, 6A to former Gov. Kirk Fordice, among the Republican heavyweights gathered around her, called the move a political coup. "Yesterday I represented the people of Mississippi as a Democrat, and today I am honored to represent the people of Mississippi as a Republican," she said during a Capitol news conference attended by a few hundred people. "To my friends in the Democratic Party, I say that I am the same person today that I was yesterday with no regrets, no apologies, but a new and an enthusiastic desire to serve my state." Tuck said she switched because she felt like an outsider in the Democratic Party and often found herself working alongside Republicans.

Democrats accused her of exploiting their party and betraying the people who got her elected, warning she risks losing key supporters in the next election, including women, minorities and blue-collar workers. "You can kiss those folks goodbye for sure," said U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows, a Democrat who said he's considering running against Tuck for the lieutenant governor's post next year. Raymond has provided a visual holiday thrill.

Now, you can see the inside. 1E BUSINESS Three days of retail bliss Holiday spending increased 12.4 percent over last year during the three-day period after Thanksgiving. 1C FORECAST Switch irks some Democrats said Tuck has "grossly disappointed people" with her decision. "Over the years, there have been many who rode a donkey to a tree in order to get on an ele- Rain is possible later today as 9u nigns nix me mia-50s and lows stay in the upper 40s. Shows, who was angered by Tuck's decision to support a congressional redistricting map favored by Republicans, recently lost his seat to Republican U.S.

Rep. Chip Pickering. But Tuck says some of her core voters will continue to support her. "Many of them have indicated they understand why I'm making the change that I'm making." She said there was no one event that prompted her decision, but that she had been thinking about the move ever since the general session ended in April. Rumors of a switch have been circulating for more than a year.

Tuck defended her decisions over the last few years, which had some questioning her party allegiance, including her phant," he said. "That is in a way deceitful and it hurts. It was the By Patrice Sawyer paawyerclarionledger.com After learning Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck switched to the Republican Party, many who supported Tuck when she ran as a Democrat in the previous election expressed disappointment but not surprise.

Talk had been circulating for months that a change was imminent. But Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, took no stock in rumors until Monday's announcement confirmed what he had been hearing. Jordan, who said he had campaigned heavily on Tuck's behalf in 1999, donated to Tuck's campaign in 1999. He said he suspected Tuck might switch to the Republican Party based on her decision not to back a Democrat-supported plan to redraw congressional districts.

"I think it's almost something like betraying the trust the people had in her as a supporter of the Democratic philosophy and things we believe in," he said. Tuck didn't disappoint all of her supporters. Pearl resident J.W. Gardner, 70, said Tuck's party change wasn't a major issue for him. See SUPPORT, 4A Wednesday should be similar Weather details, 2A INDEX Jordan Business 1C MetroState 1B Calendar 3E Movies 3E Classified 1F Opinion 6-7A Comics 4-6E People 2A Crosswords 5E.3F Scoreboard 2D DearAbby 4E Southern Style 1E Deaths 48 Sports 1D Jack Sunn 4E Spotlight 6A Jumble 6E TV listings 6E voters who believed in her, who supported her in mountain numbers." Andrew Jenkins of Jackson, president of AJA Management and Technical Services, sions.

The court will tell universities how much weight, if any, they may assign to an applicant's race. At stake are race-conscious admissions policies at many public and private colleges, law schools and medical schools. The only time the Supreme Court considered a college race case, the justices issued a split 1978 ruling that banned racial quotas but gave states little other direction. Both sides of the affirmative action debate wanted the court to try again. Justices will consider whether some white applicants to the University of Michigan and its law school were rejected unconstitutionally because of their race, under the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection for all under the law.

Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman said the outcome "will have a profound impact on our nation's higher education system and on our race relations broadly. Now is not the time to turn back the clock." "The color of your skin determines so many important things about your life experience where you live, where yougo to work and with whom you work. Race still matters in our society. The ideal of colorblindness does not mean we can or should be blind to that reality," she said. "If the Supreme Court rules and throws out affirmative action, it definitely will impact on our admissions," said Samuel Davis, dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law.

The Michigan case would "affect admissions in all areas graduate, professional and undergraduate," he said. The Ole Miss law school enrolls more than 500 students, including 13 to 15 percent African-American. Opponents in the Michigan case say race-conscious policies hurt white college applicants by giving slots to less-qualified minority prospects. Staff writer Andy Kanengiser contributed to this report. WorldCom offers local hangar for sale CORRECTIONS The Clarion-Ledger MmnpXs to report news accurately.

When we publish an error, we will correct it. To report an error, call (60 1 96 1 -7 1 0 1 Corrections on 2C, 3E. Metro Edition Volume 165 No. 291 Copyright 2002 Try cookbooks 3 Hilco Properties, the company selling several of WorldCom's facilities, has a list of properties for sale at www.worldcomre.com as holiday gifts A Looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves the company's senior vice president of global marketing. The company's Ashburn, facility, on the other hand, boasts its top operational officers including newly appointed president, chairman and chief executive officer Michael Capellas who started work on Monday.

Despite those shifts, company officials said WorldCom is still a Mississippi company. "WorldCom's official corporate headquarters remains in Clinton, and we plan to maintain a presence in Mississippi," WorldCom spokeswoman Julie Moore said. See SALE, 4A Move latest sign Clinton losing hub position in company By Robert Schoonborgor rachoenbargerclarlonladger.com In yet another sign that WorldCom is no longer run out of Clinton, the telecommunications giant has offered its hangar at the Jackson International Airport for sale. In an attempt to raise cash, the troubled company has put about two dozen properties up for sale ranging from two mammoth office buildings in Washington to cellular tower sites in Texas. Losing a home for corpo- as the center of WorldCom's world.

Since April, when longtime leader Bernie Ebbers resigned, WorldCom has been moving functions to its larger operations near Washington. In May, company officials said Clinton would be a headquarters in practice, not just name, because top executives would remain in the facility executives such as Scott Sullivan, then the company's chief financial officer, and John Stupka, head of the company's wireless operations. But WorldCom fired Sullivan, saying he masterminded the company's $9 billion in fraudulent accounting. to cook? There's Michael Capellas has first day as WorldCom CEO, 1C rate jets could be a sign that the office and the officers in that office are becoming less important, said Joni Stuart, president of Redmond, Corporate Jet Link, a company that matches companies with corporate aviation specialist workers. "You need a jet for moving the top officers or a corporation.

If they're not (at an office), there's no real reason to have a jet there," Stuart said. The loss of jet service is only the latest sign Clinton is losing its once-vital position a varietv of 1 cookbooks in print for this holiday season. Sullivan has been charged with securities fraud, but he maintains his innocence. The accounting scandal helped push WorldCom into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. Stupka left the company in August during a round of layoffs.

The highest ranking WorldCom official still in Mississippi is Frank Grillo, 0 5 genuine diamond ACCENT BRACELET -e 1.