All results / Stories / Arielle Dreher
Politics
State Guts Firefighting Forestry Jobs
Fifty foresters with "boots on the ground" to fight wildfires all over Mississippi on almost 19.8 million acres will lose their jobs come July 1. The layoffs come after the …
LGBT
House Bill 1523 Becomes Law after 5th Circuit Overturns Injunction
The controversial "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Religious Discrimination Act" is now state law, after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the 2016 injunction that prevented House Bill …
LGBT
Fear Rules with Kim Davis Laws, Guns at Church
The deepest fears of some members of the Mississippi House of Representatives came out last week, as the chamber passed bills to fight terrorism, protect religious freedom and allow armed …
State
McDaniel: Highway Bill ‘Unfair Tax Policy,’ Would Hurt Poor, Middle Class
Three hours of heated debate, bi-partisan opposition and five failed amendments later, the last finance bill—to ostensibly fix crumbling highways, bridges and roads—passed the Mississippi Senate by four votes Wednesday.
Education
PEER Questions Grading System for Public Schools
A legislative oversight group is questioning the way Mississippi grades its public schools even as the state moves forward with plans to take control of schools considered failing.
Education
How School Districts Try to Make the Grade
The new system for grading Mississippi public schools is under fire in a recent PEER study that has called for changes.
City & County
ICE Plans to Deport Daniela Vargas Without Hearing, Attorney Says
Daniela Vargas, a 22-year-old undocumented immigrant who grew up in Mississippi, is in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody with no bond and will not get a hearing before an immigration …
Education
Moving Beyond Suspension: Changing the Discipline Climate in Jackson Schools
JPS administrators recognize that out-of-school suspension is not the way to change school climates district-wide, and Margrit Wallace, the JPS chief academic officer in the student academic and behavioral support …
Cover
Honey, We Shrunk the General Fund: Medicaid, Education, Gang Debates Loom in 2018
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee, made up of lawmakers, adopted a budget that cuts the State's general fund by $66.1 million or 1.3 percent. The legislators' plan includes small increases …
Cover
‘Everybody Matters, Or Nobody Matters’: The JFP Interview with Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher shared his opinions and ideas about how law enforcement fits into society and government as a whole with the Jackson Free Press recently.
Crime
Sheriffs Decry Cutbacks, Private Prison Contracts
Mississippi sheriffs packed into Room 113 at the Capitol Monday to express frustrations after the Mississippi Department of Corrections announced a reduction in inmates housed at the 15 regional facilities …
LGBT
UPDATED: ADF to Defend Bryant in HB 1523 Appeal, Emails Reveal Outside Groups' Influence
In a court filing Wednesday, Roberta Kaplan, one of the lawyers representing plaintiffs in the case that made the "Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" unconstitutional, revealed numerous emails …
Politics
Politicians for Sale? Mississippi Economic Council Knows How to Throw a Party
Funding for the state's crumbling infrastructure didn't exactly top priorities for legislators on their first round of revenue bill deadlines, and Senate Bill 2921 made it over to the House …
LGBT
Elation, Vows for State’s Same-Sex Couples
The party room in Julep restaurant in northeast Jackson was filled with relief Monday night as a group of about 30 people, new and old friends, gathered to celebrate four …
Cover
‘Empower’ PAC Helps Oust Anti-Charter Republicans
Empower Mississippi, a nonprofit dedicated to school choice, used its political arm, the Empower PAC, to unseat four incumbent Republican candidates for the Mississippi House of Representatives in the DeSoto …
JFP Interviews
Green: Farming an Economic Future
Raised on a farm and the daughter of a sharecropper, Addie Lee Green remembers learning how to chop down trees for firewood as a child. Now she is running to …
Politics
Confederate Flag Divides Mississippi Politicians
In the wake of the Charleston massacre, the nation is questioning South Carolina's Confederate flag, and in turn, looking to Mississippi's state flag that features the symbol.
City & County
Plugging Kids into Mental Health
NFusion Metro is a community-based mental-health-care program primarily for ages 11 to 18 years old in the Jackson area. During the summer, counselors are doing themed weeks for their lesson …
Politics
State to Reauthorize, Monitor Visitors Bureau
Pending Gov. Phil Bryant's signature, the State of Mississippi is reauthorizing the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau for another year, but with added strings attached.
Development
Roadblocks for Road Plans?
The Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature has ignored the state chamber of commerce's calls to increase state funding for roads and bridges for three legislative sessions in a row.
