Privatized Meters Forgoing Long-term ProfitThe 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. …
Lawmakers Address Blight, Praise GodThe 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 PuckettWhen Leslie Puckett began her business, BearCreek Herbals, in 2000, she was at a crossroads in her life.
JPS Students Avoid Conflict with Peer MediationEarly 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 …
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 …
Vicki MooreheadMadison 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.
Stamps: Transition to Trump a Time of Opportunity for JacksonJackson 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 …
Debate Over Neighborhood Gates ContinuesCarl 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 …
Early Years Network Set to Close by Year’s EndMeghan 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 2017If 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 CoileWarren 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 …
Fighting Homelessness, Helping ParentsBilal 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 YarberTony 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 …
Steven CooperSteven 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.
Helping Mississippians Get Degrees Goal of New InitiativeAlmost 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 …
Shrouded in Secrecy, EdBuild CEO Gets Feedback from the Public on MAEPFor 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.
JPS Hosts Career Expo for Students, CommunityThe 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.
Michael ThomasNew 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 WinThe 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 MississippiLower- 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.