Health Care
Data: Mississippi Kids Rely on Medicaid; Many in Rural Areas Supporting Trump
A majority of Mississippi kids rely on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program for health care in the state.
Health Care
State Settles Kids’ Mental Health Litigation
After seven years of litigation, one Mississippi teenager will finally get to move from the East Mississippi State Hospital to a regional center that provides services for those with intellectual …
Business
Expungements: A ‘Fresh Start’
Laura Brown wanted to work at a local daycare and was shocked when her background check brought up two charges from over a decade ago.
Crime
Inmates Graduating and 'Thinking for a Change'
Forty-two men and women from the Hinds County Probation and Parole Office and the Hinds County Restitution Center graduated from the Mississippi Department of Correction's re-vamped recidivism program on June …
City & County
Jacksonians Protest Medicaid Cuts in Congress, March on Senators' Offices
Melissa Cooper, seated in her wheelchair, held a pink sign this morning that read "Healthcare is a Human Right."
Civil Rights
Legal Fight Against HB 1523 Continues
What critics call the nation's "most discriminatory anti-LGBT law" took effect in Mississippi last week after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the lower court's injunction on …
City & County
JPS School Board Approves Tight Budget
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees approved a slim budget for the 2017-2018 school year on Monday night. The budget, which is about a 4.5 percent reduction from last …
Environment
Clearing the Air of Conflicts of Interest
Several conservation groups plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to hold Mississippi and Alabama accountable for violating certain provisions of the Clean Air Act.
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 …
Cover
Still Fighting at Home: Transgender Veterans Caught in the Flux
Some top-down changes coming soon to the VA could help alleviate inadvertent or purposeful discrimination against LGBT veterans. Due to a recent change, all VA medical centers now have the …
City & County
Farish Street Affordable Housing Hits Snags
Not everyone is supportive of expanding the pastel-painted affordable housing units in the Farish Street Historic District.
Health Care
Previously Secret Children's Mental Health Report: State Institutionalizes Too Many Kids
After nearly two years of litigation, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate ordered the State of Mississippi to release a 2015 report on its system of mental-health care for children, referred …
Development
How Affordable is Housing in Mississippi?
Rental housing in Mississippi is not very affordable, the new "Out of Reach 2017" report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows.
City & County
New Mayor-elect Lumumba Will Get to Appoint 3 JPS Board Members
The Jackson Public School District will be down three Board of Trustees members by the end of June, meaning Mayor-elect Chokwe Antar Lumumba will be responsible for filling the board …
Politics
Special Session: Too Little, Too Late?
Gov. Phil Bryant tried to smooth out the state's economic appearance and patch up additional budget holes in the June 5 special session, but Democrats were not too pleased with …
Education
Wrapping Around the Most Vulnerable
Terry Thigpen had been to four residential acute-treatment facilities before he was 10 years old, until his mother, Shavonne, discovered the Wraparound Initiative. It was an alternative to sending Terry …
Civil Rights
Report: Mississippi Kids Still in Last Place; Black Children in Worst Conditions
Mississippi still sits in last place in the Annie E. Casey Foundation annual Kids Count report, which ranks economic and family well-being as well as education and health in each …
Education
JSU Reels After President Search, Budget Cuts
Jackson State University students, faculty and staff members went through a whirlwind of hiring and firing in the last two weeks.
Person of the Day
Black Lawmakers Call for Karl Oliver to Resign in Special Session
Technically, the Mississippi House of Representatives had finished its business, passing the remainder of special-session legislation, but the tension in the chamber reeked of unsettled, unfinished business.
City & County
High School Students 'Upward Bound' to Hinds Community College
Students in certain Jackson high schools and the surrounding areas will receive additional support to graduate and get to college through the Upward Bound program.
Development
Bad Streets Cost Jackson Drivers Over $2,000 a Year in Extra Vehicle Costs
Jacksonians spend an additional $2,046 per year driving on Jackson roads, a new study from the TRIP group shows.
Politics
Koch Brother-Funded Group Launches 'Thank You' Campaign for Lt. Gov. Reeves
Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political-advocacy organization founded by the Koch brothers, will throw Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves a five-figure thank-you campaign, after the Republican repeatedly shot down proposals to …
Education
A Small, But Tangible, Impact on Teacher Shortages
Timothy Leake is a long way from home. He moved to Mississippi right after he graduated from Yale University in 2015. Leake studied math at Yale, but by the end …
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 …
City & County
UPDATED: Hinds DA Out on Bond for Domestic Violence, Stalking, Robbery Charges
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is facing two domestic-violence misdemeanor charges and two felony charges: one for aggravated stalking and another for robbery.
Civil Rights
Rep. Oliver Sued for 'LYNCHED' Post As Calls for His Resignation Increase
The Grenada, Miss.-based attorney who sued Gov. Phil Bryant over the Confederate flag in the canton of the Mississippi state flag is now targeting Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, whose calls …
Civil Rights
Black Leaders Boycott over State Flag, as Outrage at Karl Oliver Lingers
Most Republican leaders have distanced themselves from Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, who made national headlines for a Facebook post that called for the lynching of leaders in Louisiana who support …
Education
Suing for Fully Funded Education
The fight to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program continues in the courtroom, as two Democrats filed a lawsuit against the governor, the state fiscal officer, the Mississippi Department …
Education
When Children Can’t See: Vision Problems Can Lead to Failing
Vision to Learn, a Los Angeles-based foundation that aims to screen all children for eyesight problems, has partnered with Jackson Public Schools to screen nearly 27,000 students in the district.
Civil Rights
Four Black Moms Sue State for Denying 'Uniform System of Free Public Schools'
Four mothers with children in majority-black school districts and schools rated "D" or "F" are accusing the State of Mississippi of violating a law requiring "uniform system of free public …
State
Speaker Strips Karl Oliver of Vice-Chairmanship After ‘Lynched’ Facebook Post
House Speaker Philip Gunn stripped Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, of his vice-chairmanship today after Oliver’s Facebook post Saturday, which said those supporting the removal of Confederate monuments in Louisiana “should …
Politics
UPDATED: State Rep. Karl Oliver Calls for Lynching Over Statues, Later Apologizes
Rep. Karl Oliver posted on Facebook that those taking down Confederate statues "should be LYNCHED!" He later apologized, but many are calling for his resignation.
Education
Former Gov. Musgrove in Court: Law Requires State to Fund MAEP
The fight to fully fund the state's education funding formula had its day in the Mississippi Supreme Court on Wednesday. Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove told the court that the Mississippi …
Health Care
The Battle for Children’s Mental Health in Mississippi
Lisa Fuller, a Mississippi mother of two in Madison, stood up at the Children's Mental Health Summit at the Jackson Hilton on May 12 to explain her laborious journey of …
Jacksonian
Tasha Rollins
I used to think Jackson is boring—and it's not," Tasha Rollins says. She has seen Jackson change as she grew up, but she says that it still has that kind …
City & County
Developer Expanding Farish District Housing
Clusters of affordable housing units line the blocks directly west of Greenwood Cemetery, in the heart of the Farish Street Historic District. Their Easter-egg hues stand out starkly in contrast …
Health Care
AG Office Needs $1.72 Million to Pay for Mental-Health Litigation Next Year
Attorney General Jim Hood asked Gov. Phil Bryant to address his budget bill in the special session, so far scheduled for June 5 with no specifics set, as well as …
Civil Rights
Man Indicted for Teen's Death Cites Self-Defense, Castle Doctrine in Lawsuit Response
Wayne Parish, the man a Hinds County grand jury indicted for the killing of 17-year-old Charles McDonald Jr. last winter, is denying that he shot the teenage.
Health Care
Rep. Bennie Thompson Speaks on 'Trumpcare,' Reasons for Comey Firing
The American Health Care Act is a bad bill for Mississippians, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said at a town hall at Cardozo Middle School in Jackson Thursday night.
City & County
JPS Hires Consultant, Facing Corrective Deadlines
The Jackson Public School District has a lot of work to do ahead of the June 30 deadline set for some improvements outlined in its Corrective Action Plan, which the …
Health Care
How ‘Trumpcare’ Could Hurt Mississippians
The U.S. House of Representatives made good on President Donald Trump's campaign promise of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act last week, but the legislation could have dire impacts …
Civil Rights
A ‘State of Siege’ in Madison County?
Khadafy and Quinnetta Manning are two of the 10 black Madison County residents suing the county and Sheriff Randall Tucker in a federal class-action lawsuit the ACLU of Mississippi filed …
Civil Rights
Study: Mostly African American Inmates Serve Life Sentences in Mississippi
A new study from the Sentencing Project found that inmates serving life or virtual life (50-plus years) sentences in the United States are predominantly and disproportionately African Americans. Mississippi's prison …
Civil Rights
Lawsuit: Madison County Sheriff Targeting Black People with 'Top-Down Program'
Ten black Madison County residents joined the ACLU of Mississippi this morning to announce a new federal class-action lawsuit against Madison County and Sheriff Randall Tucker.
Politics
Special Session Could Consider Road, Bridge Funding, If Speaker Gunn Gets His Way
House Speaker Philip Gunn's staff revealed proposals to get more funding to roads and bridges—which they hope to be included in a special session Gov. Phil Bryant called for June.
State
UPDATED: Solar Power: A Mississippian's Guide
Attorney General Jim Hood is helping Mississippians considering using solar power learn the costs and benefits of choosing the alternative power source.
City & County
‘Victory Is Mine’: Lumumba Landslide Win Defies Conventional Wisdom, Polls
Chokwe Antar Lumumba likely claimed the Jackson mayor’s seat, winning the Democratic primary by a landslide against other candidates, drawing more than twice the votes as the second-place candidate.
Education
Rewarding of the Fittest Schools: #MSLeg Robs Poor Schools to Reward Richer Ones
At the end of a school day and an exhausting period of state testing, four Clinton Public School District teachers looked tired but content as they crowded into a tiny …
Health Care
Mental Illness: Behind Bars and Beyond
Locking up people suffering from mental illnesses is an endless, fruitless cycle—unless a person can access the services and (in some cases) treatment needed to live their lives in the …
City & County
Hosemann: Turnout in Jackson Elections Low, Mayoral Run-off Would Be 'Miracle'
Today is the primary election for Jacksonians to determine who will be the next mayor and council members of the city—or at least decide the top two candidates in each …
