Arielle Dreher

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.

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 and developmental disabilities.

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.

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 29.

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."

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 House Bill 1523, saying plaintiffs had not proved "injury in fact" to give them standing to file a lawsuit in the first place.

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 school year, takes effect July 1.

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.

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 1523 from becoming law last July.

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 ability for the first time to change a part of a veteran's medical record digitally.

Farish Street Affordable Housing Hits Snags

Not everyone is supportive of expanding the pastel-painted affordable housing units in the Farish Street Historic District.

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 to as the TAC report.

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.

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 once he takes office July 3.

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 the way he went about it. Still, at least all state agencies now have a budget for the new fiscal year, which starts in July.

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 away for treatment for his autism as well as sensory motor and mental-health disorders.

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 state.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 divert funds to pay for the state's infrastructure, which he called "unconstitutional."

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 of his time there, he decided he really wanted to learn how to teach. The Mississippi Teacher Corps provided the perfect opportunity.

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 state Legislature cut the Mississippi Forestry Commission budget by almost 16 percent in the past session.

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.

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 for lynching over removal of Confederate statues last week made national headlines.

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 the removal of Confederate monuments, but the fight to change the state flag continues.

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 of Education and the state treasurer.

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.

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 schools."

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 be LYNCHED!”

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.

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 Adequate Education Program must be fully funded in order to follow state law as it is written.

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 finding care and support for her two daughters: one who has high-functioning autism and the other who has anxiety and depression disorders.

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 of small-town vibe that she's grown to love.

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 to a few burnt-out and blighted homes and vacant lots around them.

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 to ask the Legislature to add more funding to litigate the state's mental-health litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Stories by Arielle