Stinker Quote of the Week: 'No Crisis'
Gov. Phil Bryant railed against the media three separate times while speaking at the Mental Health Summit at the Jackson Hilton last week.
Address Racial Bias in Policing Now, Not Later
Discriminatory policing has always been a reality in Mississippi, where too many cops have long enforced deeply held racial stereotypes. The excuse from many people is that, well, more black people commit crime.
It’s Time to Start Talking About Equity in Education
Legislative Republicans gave themselves pats on the back this session for funding the School Recognition Program, which rewards teachers primarily in "A" and "B" schools around the state with salary supplements. The program totals more than $20 million in funds from the Mississippi Department of Education's budget.
Vetoing Criminal Reforms Shortsighted, Dangerous
Whether it was due to a "mistake" or a poison pill inserted at the last hour, Gov. Phil Bryant vetoed House Bill 1033 last week after both houses passed the criminal-justice reform measure unanimously.
Where the City’s Sidewalk Begins: Real Solutions
What does Jackson need? The most often griped-about, joked-about and discussed surface-level fix in this city are potholes.
State Testing Presents Bigger Equity Question
The Third Grade Reading Gate certainly serves a statewide purpose: to weed out and ideally save those kids who never learn how to read. But what if catching them isn't enough?
What We’re Looking for in a Mayor
With the mayoral primary just a few weeks away, we've been discussing our JFP endorsement possibilities; we haven't yet chosen a candidate, but we've been talking about the criteria.
State Budget Cuts Mean Dramatic Job Loss
For the most part, Republicans are not apologizing for their "small government" priorities to legislating, even if it means health needs and equitable education suffer. Shrinking the size of government as a philosophy, however, has another natural outcome: the loss of vital jobs.
Cheers to Bi-partisanship in the Mississippi House
The blame for the budget meltdown belongs to both the House and the Senate, but if you believe that bipartisanship, maintaining the state's infrastructure and compromise are important in how laws are made, give your House members a high-five the next time you see them.
Use the T-word: Trauma Matters, Must Be Treated
Without an understanding of trauma—what often lies beneath the surface of a child who was taken out of an abusive home or a teenager in juvenile detention—the wounds won't heal.
Denying Sanctuary Spreads Fear
In the midst of a souring national climate toward immigration—thanks in large part to President Donald Trump's executive order, which authorizes more detention facilities to hold detained immigrants, among other costly revamping measures—Mississippi's leaders have stubbornly aligned themselves with Trump's fear-mongering, one-dimensional view on immigration.
An Editor and a Gentleman
An odd fluke of fate brought me to the patch of dirt where three civil rights workers were murdered in my home county, holding the hand of James Chaney's daughter 40 years after he died there.
Killing Online Sales Tax Bill Is Hypocrisy
The state's budget is shrinking, and whether a lawmaker blames slow economic development or large tax breaks given to corporations that never came to Mississippi, the budget squeeze is on most legislators' minds this session.
Lawmakers: Stay Off the Trump Immigrant Road
With a president hell-bent on securing borders and going after undocumented immigrants in the name of drug wars and criminal activity, it is a scary time to not technically be legal.
Stop the Mental Health Politicking
Lawmakers should and could have addressed mental health-care reform in previous sessions as well as this session. It turns out that addressing the problem with secrecy and an assumption of a Republican supermajority won't always work.
Trump’s Travel Ban is Also a Mississippi Problem
If you think President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration and refugee programs had no consequences for Mississippians, think again.
The Problem with EdBuild
There has been much hoopla this legislative session over the 80-page proposal from EdBuild suggesting that Mississippi move to weighted student funding to pay for its public-education system.
Legislators, Get the City’s Infrastructure Bill Right
The City of Jackson gets another chance at an infrastructure revitalization bill this session, but the additions that led to the death of last year's Capitol Complex bill hang heavy over new attempts to garner Jackson a little more tax money to repair its crumbling roadways.
These Are the Best of Times
No doubt, we're living through unsettling times. It would be easy to get depressed and angry at everything that lies before us to get done and repair—from a national political divide, to budget problems in the Capitol and City Hall, to local potholes that can eat a Hummer with few efficient and fast solutions for any of them.
It’s Math, Governor. Tax Cuts Hurt Revenue.
One of the key elements missing in discussions of Gov. Phil Bryant's recent budget cuts, the second wave of cuts in the State's current fiscal year, is the 40-plus tax cuts since he became governor.
Leg, No Time to Wait for Trump on Transportation
Most lawmakers know infrastructure is a problem, but many dodge the question of how to fund solutions.
Stop Justifying Execution of Children, Car Thieves
We live in a culture where many say it is appropriate to march a weapon out of your home and office if you suspect someone is trying to steal your stuff—and kill them.
Start Running Government Like a Business
Whether from Donald Trump or the GOP supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature, we hear constantly that Republicans want to "run government like a business." The problem is that many of them don't appear to know how legitimate, forward-looking, smart businesses actually work.
Time to Do Away with the Electoral College
Several protesters stood in a line outside the Mississippi Capitol on Dec. 16 chanting "Brief the electors; send it to the House!" They were primarily protesting the Electoral College, the increasingly problematic way in which the United States has elected its president since it was adopted in 1787.
Data Needed to Change Young People’s Lives
In order to solve a problem, you have to understand it fully. Just ask the state of Georgia, which used data to discover that detention wasn't working for its young people.
Recognizing Racial Injustice in Incarceration
Criminal-justice reforms are not only necessary for cost savings to the state but also a necessity to work toward a more equitable justice system.
Public Streets Must Be Open to All Residents
Crime will not go away if we build gates or walls. It will only fester on the other side until we all start doing our part to actually prevent it.
Keep Fighting for Transparency in Mississippi
While the fight for the Legislature's contract with nonprofit EdBuild dominated headlines this past week, it is important to not get lost in the weeds.
Post-Election Mississippi: Engage, Educate, Vote
If you weren't engaged in the great American democratic process before Nov. 8, we ask that you get engaged now.
Address Trauma to Stop Youth Crime Cycles
Violence can sow seeds of fear in a community, but scientifically speaking, it literally leaves trauma in its wake. The psychological damage of witnessing violence can lead to more severe health consequences, from suicidal behavior to complex mental-health problems.