News

Privatized Meters Forgoing Long-term Profit

The City of Jackson could lose a chunk of future earnings from parking meters and municipal fines in exchange for a steady, smaller burst of revenue for the next 10 years if it signs a contract with a private St. Louis, Mo., firm to maintain and operate its parking meter and fining operations.

Lawmakers Address Blight, Praise God

The capital city's blight, mainly visible in hundreds of abandoned properties, was a priority for concerned citizens who met with the Hinds County delegation to plan legislation that will address the needs of Jackson last week.

Leslie Puckett

When Leslie Puckett began her business, BearCreek Herbals, in 2000, she was at a crossroads in her life.

JPS Students Avoid Conflict with Peer Mediation

Early in the morning of Oct. 21 at Whitten Preparatory Middle School, students yawned and fidgeted in their stiff, wooden seats, clutching their hoodies and jackets. It was National Day Against Gun Violence, and the students had already sat through an assembly in the auditorium earlier that week on the same topic.

What’s Up with House Bill 1523?

In the language of people who refuse to fight in wars like Vietnam, Mississippians should have "conscientious objector" status if they do not want to recognize LGBT citizens' right to get married, Gov. Phil Bryant is arguing in a federal appeal to help House Bill 1523 become law in the state.

Third-grade Reading Campaign Expanding with Low-income Outreach

For Mississippi's third graders, the stakes for good performance on the reading test that can knock them out of timely promotion to fourth grade are now higher than ever.

Kolb's Grand Cleaners Reopening, Janie Pillow Antiques and Hope Enterprise

A few months ago, Brandon resident Janie Pillow relocated her antique store to a new location inside an old two-story house in Madison called Dorothy House.

Vicki Moorehead

Madison resident Vicki Moorehead, a fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher with St. Anthony Catholic School in Madison, received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching on Sept. 8.

Mississippi's Child Human Trafficking Laws Receive "B" Grade

A Shared Hope International study of states' child human-trafficking laws gives Mississippi a "B" grade for its state laws.

Stamps: Transition to Trump a Time of Opportunity for Jackson

Jackson City Councilman De'Keither Stamps met with members of President-elect Donald Trump's transitional team earlier this month in Washington as a part of a group of leaders of color from across the country. Today he heralded the process as a moment for Jackson to develop relationships.

Debate Over Neighborhood Gates Continues

Carl Menist, a resident of the Woodland Hills neighborhood in Jackson, showed up to a Nov. 14 city-council public hearing to speak out against a plan to gate his community. Menist says both the property value and tone of the charming neighborhood would change with a gate installation.

Early Years Network Set to Close by Year’s End

Meghan Gallagher, a mother of four who lives in Oxford, was disappointed to hear the news that a statewide network of early learning resource centers will close at the end of the year.

Jobs, Budgets and Preparing for 2017

If the Mississippi state budget is a "moral document" or at least one that reveals priorities, the fiscal-year 2018 budget likely faces dramatic tampering in the upcoming legislative session.

Warren Coile

Warren Coile was sitting in a pew during an evening service at Crawford Street Methodist Church in Vicksburg when he got the call. A lay member had just talked about the need for more people in the Methodist Church when a voice told him, "You can do that."

Fighting Homelessness, Helping Parents

Bilal Qizilbash spends most of his hours working for other people. Some of the 43,000 miles on his car come from traveling across Mississippi lecturing on his cancer research.

Digging Up the Roots of Jackson’s ‘Numbing’ Crime with Mayor Tony Yarber

Tony Tarzel Yarber, 16, waved at his best friend, Lakenya Bolden, as he drove past him in Jackson's Subdivision 2 on Aug. 4, 1994. Bolden was driving into the "Sub" on Wiggins Road, Yarber driving out. They blew their horns at each other.

Mississippi Voter Turnout Down Over Last Presidential Election

Mississippi's presidential turnout numbers dropped almost 75,000 over 2012 this year, in one of first elections in recent memory without any federal oversight of polls in the state.

Steven Cooper

Steven Cooper, the first African American elected to serve as student body president at Mississippi State University, died of cancer around midnight on Nov. 1. He was living in Houston, Texas, at the time of his death.

Jax-Zen Float, Aladdin R U Hungry? Event, Canopy Children's Solutions and The Ramey Agency

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill is hosting a one-day charity event benefitting R U Hungry?, a local group that gathers food and items such as blankets to give to homeless individuals in Smith Park in downtown Jackson on Fridays.

Helping Mississippians Get Degrees Goal of New Initiative

Almost 300,000 Mississippians have received some college credit and finished courses from a public university or college without earning a degree in the last 15 years. Mississippi Public Universities is working to bring that number down with the launch of the Complete 2 Compete Initiative.

Protesters March On Wendy's for Workers' Rights

Wendy's on High Street got traffic from more than just the lunch crowd this week.

Precinct 4 Moves to New Headquarters, Responds to Business Break-ins

If you ask some Jackson Police Department officers, the best part about moving to a new location was that now they don't have to take the stairs every day.

Shrouded in Secrecy, EdBuild CEO Gets Feedback from the Public on MAEP

For the first time, Mississippians got an official forum Thursday to sound off to EdBuild, the New Jersey education consulting company the state contracted under opaque circumstances to vet the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula.

Faith Leaders, Black Caucus Members Talk Education, Infrastructure, Health Care

Members of several Mississippi Baptist conventions along with members of the Legislative Black Caucus hosted a public hearing at the Capitol on Nov. 17 to discuss education, infrastructure and health care.

JPS Hosts Career Expo for Students, Community

The Jackson Convention Center was a hive of activity on Nov. 16, with swarms of Jackson Public Schools ninth graders touring multiple kiosks for jobs and educational opportunities in a variety of professional fields.

Former MDOC Officer Pleads Guilty to Covering Up Inmate Assault

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that former Mississippi correctional officer Deonte Pate, 23, pleaded guilty today to helping conceal the beating of an inmate.

Michael Thomas

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas has been another impact rookie. His play has eased the pain of the Saints releasing former No. 1 receiver Marques Colston, who is the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and touchdowns.

On Way Out of Jackson, Siemens Addresses ‘Stranded Bills’

The Jackson City Council expressed concerns about charging those on fixed incomes the larger-than-normal bills that have accumulated over the last six months as the water-billing department and Siemens close down their cooperative effort to alleviate difficulties.

Black, Hispanic Kids React to Trump Win

The electorate of the United States, and the voters who elected Donald Trump, do not resemble the demographics of the country's public schools.

How Trump’s Health Reform Could Affect Mississippi

Lower- and middle-class Mississippians could have the most to lose from Trump's proposed health-care reforms, including those who benefit from insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace as well as those who qualify for Medicaid.

Ellington