EDITORIAL: Not Addressing Statewide Health Is Short-SightedWorkforce development, continuing education and job training are all important but really quite futile without a long-term plan for the Mississippians to take those jobs. People must be healthy in order to go to school, find work and stay in …
EDITORIAL: Legislature Needs to Address Teacher ShortagesTechnically, if districts on probation due to a lack of licensed staff can't come up with certified staff by next July, they could be in danger of losing their accreditation, and they means a state takeover. It is time to …
EDITORIAL: Trump Should Not Speak at Museums’ OpeningTrump, who waffled and botched a "many sides" response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this year, could speak at the opening of a museum he arguably knows nothing about.
EDITORIAL: No More Secrecy in Mental Health CareAll good research shows that locking people away in hospitals is not how to treat mental illness, and while hospitals are needed in some cases for stabilizing people, by and large, people need treatment in their own communities.
EDITORIAL: State, City Must Not Hinder Access to Public InfoMississippi legislators are arguing with a straight face that they should not have to turn over documents about a 2016 vote to shift control of Jackson's airports to an outside board because of "legislative privilege."
EDITORIAL: State Lawmakers Must Support Abuse VictimsDomestic and interpersonal abuse, especially violence against women, are systemic and national in scope, but some clear policy and program solutions would make Mississippi safer and better for women.
Mississippi: Listen to the ‘Me, Too’ ChorusWomen should not have to post on social media to bring awareness to the harassment, assault and abuse that half of the world's population endures daily.
Mississippi Lawmakers, Lead on Health CareCongress let the Children's Health Insurance Program, which insures kids who come from low-income families but are not eligible for Medicaid, expire last week. Now lawmakers are scrambling to renew the program, established in 1997 with bi-partisan support.
Jackson Developers: Involve Locals in Decisions EarlyAs long as developers are following zoning and city codes, it's within their right to build. Just because you can do something, however, does not mean you should.
Editorial: A State Takeover is Not the Solution for JPSThe looming state takeover of Jackson Public Schools is full of myriad problems, from the State' of Mississippi's less-than-stellar track record of previous takeovers to a lack of transparency and collaboration on the part of Mississippi Department of Education officials.
Prison Beds Not Based on Reading Scores, But ...Educational deficiencies, especially when coupled with poverty or trauma, do increase the risk of crime later. It's important, though, to break down the various pieces of the puzzle to find solutions and not put all effort, and blame, into the …
Address Poverty With Understanding, CompassionFor low-income families, Internet access and a stable living environment—let alone an address—to keep things like birth certificates safe aren't a given; they're a privilege that many families in poverty cannot afford.
We Must Treat All Addiction, Addicts the SameIf addiction truly is an illness, like so many lawmakers are now saying, it is time to take a look at how we're treating potential addicts serving decades-long sentences behind bars right here within our state lines.
Cheers to Bipartisan Common SenseBoth in Congress and on a state level, bipartisanship is critical to ensure that all Americans and Mississippians have access to affordable health care regardless of their ZIP code, income, race or family status.
Learning from Henley-Young’s ProgressYears after litigation and cutting way down on the number of kids behind bars, Jackson faces an interesting crossroads: Our juvenile-justice center might be the leader for rehabilitative treatment for youth in the city.
Patching Potholes: A Metaphor for JacksonRunning a city for a four-year (or sometimes shorter) term is an admittedly daunting task, with the transfer of political strategies, staff and power.
Address Racial Inequity in Education NowEducation was supposed to be the great "equalizer" back when police officers had to escort a few brave black children past screaming white children and adults to integrate white public schools operating on a "separate but equal" theory.
Mississippi Congressmen Must Fight for MedicaidIt's no secret that Republicans in Washington, D.C., want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the proposed changes will hurt Mississippians on Medicaid.
Jackson, It’s Time to Go to WorkWe're excited to see the work, progress, ideas, energy and journey of the Lumumba administration unfold, and we plan to hold them accountable and suggest solutions every step of the way.
Democracy Only Works in Public ViewThe Mississippi attorney general's office releasing the TAC report, which details how the state should work to fix its children's mental- and behavioral-health care system, this week is just one in a line of recent examples where transparency could have …
Long-game Economics Requires Investing in KidsThe typical economic-development strategy for Mississippi Republicans in recent years has been a game of tax cuts, supposedly so that corporations and companies will relocate and set up shop here in the state.
Legislature Can’t Dress Up Damage Doing to StateThe special session on Monday presented lawmakers the chance to potentially clean up some unfinished business from the 2017 legislative session as well as messes by particular members (looking at you, Rep. Karl Oliver). Lawmakers failed on both fronts.
New City Administration Must Be Smart on CrimeInterpersonal violence, much like the shooting spree allegedly spurred from domestic violence that left eight people dead in Lincoln County last weekend, is responsible for a huge amount of violent crime that police cannot stop.
Time to End Free Passes for Racist LawmakersLeaders can feign disgust at Rep. Karl Oliver's words, but their cozy relationship with racial rhetoric and symbols emboldened him and may lead to the violence he encouraged. It is time to stop this game now.
Pointing Fingers Won’t Help Mental Health CrisisMississippi's mental-health care problems are not secrets, and yet only when the DOJ sues the state and after speaking with some community advocates does the governor start talking about community-based services.
Workforce development, continuing education and job training are all important but really quite futile without a long-term plan for the Mississippians to take those jobs. People must be healthy in order to go to school, find work and stay in …
Technically, if districts on probation due to a lack of licensed staff can't come up with certified staff by next July, they could be in danger of losing their accreditation, and they means a state takeover. It is time to …
Trump, who waffled and botched a "many sides" response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this year, could speak at the opening of a museum he arguably knows nothing about.
It is time to start talking about how policies affect people on a literal, physical, visceral level.
All good research shows that locking people away in hospitals is not how to treat mental illness, and while hospitals are needed in some cases for stabilizing people, by and large, people need treatment in their own communities.
A dog fell into a sinkhole this weekend, and that could have just as easily been a child.
Mississippi legislators are arguing with a straight face that they should not have to turn over documents about a 2016 vote to shift control of Jackson's airports to an outside board because of "legislative privilege."
While the new administration's leadership on JPS has been noteworthy, communication on other changes in the city has been slow to take root.
Domestic and interpersonal abuse, especially violence against women, are systemic and national in scope, but some clear policy and program solutions would make Mississippi safer and better for women.
Women should not have to post on social media to bring awareness to the harassment, assault and abuse that half of the world's population endures daily.
Congress let the Children's Health Insurance Program, which insures kids who come from low-income families but are not eligible for Medicaid, expire last week. Now lawmakers are scrambling to renew the program, established in 1997 with bi-partisan support.
As long as developers are following zoning and city codes, it's within their right to build. Just because you can do something, however, does not mean you should.
The looming state takeover of Jackson Public Schools is full of myriad problems, from the State' of Mississippi's less-than-stellar track record of previous takeovers to a lack of transparency and collaboration on the part of Mississippi Department of Education officials.
We understand the need to increase revenue, but everyone must have a chance to be heard in the process.
You can't have your cake and eat it, too, as the old proverb goes. Similarly, you can't cut taxes and increase them, too.
Educational deficiencies, especially when coupled with poverty or trauma, do increase the risk of crime later. It's important, though, to break down the various pieces of the puzzle to find solutions and not put all effort, and blame, into the …
For low-income families, Internet access and a stable living environment—let alone an address—to keep things like birth certificates safe aren't a given; they're a privilege that many families in poverty cannot afford.
If addiction truly is an illness, like so many lawmakers are now saying, it is time to take a look at how we're treating potential addicts serving decades-long sentences behind bars right here within our state lines.
Both in Congress and on a state level, bipartisanship is critical to ensure that all Americans and Mississippians have access to affordable health care regardless of their ZIP code, income, race or family status.
Years after litigation and cutting way down on the number of kids behind bars, Jackson faces an interesting crossroads: Our juvenile-justice center might be the leader for rehabilitative treatment for youth in the city.
Running a city for a four-year (or sometimes shorter) term is an admittedly daunting task, with the transfer of political strategies, staff and power.
Education was supposed to be the great "equalizer" back when police officers had to escort a few brave black children past screaming white children and adults to integrate white public schools operating on a "separate but equal" theory.
It's no secret that Republicans in Washington, D.C., want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the proposed changes will hurt Mississippians on Medicaid.
We're excited to see the work, progress, ideas, energy and journey of the Lumumba administration unfold, and we plan to hold them accountable and suggest solutions every step of the way.
The Mississippi attorney general's office releasing the TAC report, which details how the state should work to fix its children's mental- and behavioral-health care system, this week is just one in a line of recent examples where transparency could have …
The typical economic-development strategy for Mississippi Republicans in recent years has been a game of tax cuts, supposedly so that corporations and companies will relocate and set up shop here in the state.
The special session on Monday presented lawmakers the chance to potentially clean up some unfinished business from the 2017 legislative session as well as messes by particular members (looking at you, Rep. Karl Oliver). Lawmakers failed on both fronts.
Interpersonal violence, much like the shooting spree allegedly spurred from domestic violence that left eight people dead in Lincoln County last weekend, is responsible for a huge amount of violent crime that police cannot stop.
Leaders can feign disgust at Rep. Karl Oliver's words, but their cozy relationship with racial rhetoric and symbols emboldened him and may lead to the violence he encouraged. It is time to stop this game now.
Mississippi's mental-health care problems are not secrets, and yet only when the DOJ sues the state and after speaking with some community advocates does the governor start talking about community-based services.