Last year, Gov. Phil Bryant announced his plans for education reform at Northwest Rankin High School. One year later, he returned to the Rankin County School to sign "Education Works" legislation into law.

The legislation included four bills that will create charter schools, give incentives to Mississippi students who pledge to teach in state, target the literacy of third-graders and help struggling school districts find new solutions.

"The changes enacted by this legislation will help the state create and retain the best teachers, create public charter schools of excellence that will help give students in failing schools access to higher quality education, and create reading practices that will stop the exercise of social promotion," Gov. Phil Bryant said. "Today's restructuring of the education system will help Mississippi move forward for many generations to come."

Myrlie Evers, chair of the Board of Directors of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, has announced plans for a national commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of her late husband Medgar Evers, Mississippi civil rights pioneer.

Events sponsored by the Institute will begin Wednesday, June 5, 2013, in Washington, D. C., and culminate with a community celebration and tribute gala in Jackson, on Wednesday, June 12. Joining Mrs. Evers in the announcement were representatives of community organizations helping to sponsor the activities and hosting their own events.

Reena Evers-Everette, daughter of Medgar and Myrlie Evers and executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, announced that a memorial service will be held at her father's gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery on June 5 at noon.

She added that on the evening of June 5 a symposium entitled "The Legacy of Medgar Evers" will be held at the Newseum in the nation's capital. Myrlie Evers, noted civil rights activist Julian Bond and award-winning investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell will participate in a discussion moderated by national public broadcasting's Gwen Ifill, host of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent on "PBS NewsHour."

Other Evers Institute-sponsored events will include guided and self-guided civil rights tours and a showcase of civil rights films on Monday and Tuesday, June 10 and 11 in Jackson.  

For more go to: www.eversinstitute.org

"Today is an exciting day for Ellisville, Jones County and the entire state as GE Aviation opens the doors to its second Mississippi facility," Governor Bryant said. "I appreciate the contributions this exemplary corporate citizen has made to our state, and I thank GE Aviation officials for continuing to invest in Mississippi." 

Nissan Americas Manufacturing operations announced management changes at the company's Canton facility. David Aldana, currently director at Aguascalientes, Mexico, will be promoted to vice president, Manufacturing, Canton Assembly Plant, replacing Dan Bednarzyk, who has been named to the newly created position of vice president, Total Delivered Cost-Nissan America's. The changes are effective May 13. Nissan is a member of MEC. 

Bednarzyk will lead the region's efforts to maximize our total delivered cost efficiency across all model lines produced here in the Americas. Bednarzyk will bring his extensive Monozukuri experience to this important new role, which has the capability to drive improved profitability across our vehicle programs and manufacturing operations.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced that over the last fiscal year the company game more than $1 billion in cash and in-kin contributions, making it the first time any U.S. retailer has achieved that level of giving.

In Mississippi, MEC-member Walmart gave $12,085,260.84 in cash and in-kind. An additional $1,675,851.30 was raised by customers and associates. Furthermore, as part of the company's commitment to hunger relief organizations in the U.S., Walmart donated 5,385,464 pounds of food to local Mississippi food banks -- nearly 4,487,887 meals in the last fiscal year.

One year after winning recognition as one of the best government websites in the nation, Mississippi's official website, ms.gov, has launched a new mobile-focused design. Mobile visitors to ms.gov have nearly doubled since the site's initial redesign in 2012.

The functionality of the new site accommodates users across multiple platforms and devices, from traditional PCs and laptops to tablets and smartphones. The redesigned site is touch-enabled for all mobile devices and automatically responds to fit the user's screen.

"Technology shapes the way we interact with the world and use information," Gov. Phil Bryant said. "The user-friendly redesign of Mississippi's official website helps ensure that government information and services are open and accessible, even from mobile devices."

Governor Phil Bryant and officials from Crown Health Care Laundry Services Inc. have announced that the company is locating laundry processing operations in the Marion County Industrial Building in Columbia, Miss. The project represents a company investment of $6 million and will create 150 jobs.

"This is an exciting day for Columbia and Marion County as we welcome Crown Health Care Laundry Services as Mississippi's newest business partner," Governor Bryant said. "I am grateful to the company for selecting Columbia as the home of its newest operation and creating so many jobs for the area's residents. I know our dedicated workforce will work hard to ensure the company's success here in Marion County."

"This marks another strategic milestone in the continued growth and expansion of Crown Health Care Laundry Services in the Southeast," said company President Don Haferkamp.  "We are excited about the opportunity to locate our next plant in Marion County and look forward to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals who would like to join the Crown team."

Governor Phil Bryant, local officials and officials from American Railcar Industries have announced the company is expanding its presence in southwest Mississippi by locating a railcar maintenance facility in Brookhaven in Lincoln County. The company has had operations in Bude since 1974.

The new Brookhaven facility, which will complement the activities of the Bude location, represents a company investment of $7 million and will create 30 new jobs.

The Brookhaven facility will provide light maintenance activities, cleaning and simple repair for up to 100 railcars at a time and is designed to provide 'quick turn' light repair capabilities geared towards expediting railcars back into service.  Activities at the Bude facility include wreck repair, wheel and axle repair, cleaning, interior lining and painting, and it has the capacity to house 250 railcars at a time. The Bude facility currently employs approximately 100 workers.

Considering its age, Entergy is looking pretty spry. During 2013, Entergy Mississippi, Inc. celebrates its 90^th anniversary, while Entergy Corporation marks a century of serving customers. MEC-member Entergy Mississippi officially began operations in April, 1923.

Not too shabby for a company that started with a simple handshake over a pile of sawdust in 1913. Back in the day, Arkansas industrialist Harvey C. Couch cut a deal with H.H. Foster, president of the Arkansas Land and Lumber Company. Foster had a lumber plant that produced excess sawdust. Couch offered to buy that sawdust, burning it to power two 550-kilowatt generators. Within 10 years, Couch's Arkansas Power Company expanded its operations across the state line, and Mississippi Power and Light Company was born. Ever since, the company has played a major role in Mississippi's economic growth and development.

"During the past 90 years, Entergy Mississippi has made history, again and again, in helping to build this state," said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi, Inc. president and CEO. "From attracting industry to recovering after catastrophic events like the 1979 flood, the people of this company have played a key role in moving our state forward."