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City & County
JPS Gifted Students Teach Classmates About Mardi Gras with a Parade
Decked out in feathers and beads and decorative umbrellas, the sixth-grade Northwest Jackson IB Middle School students hosted a lively parade celebrating the historical and cultural significance of Mardi Gras …
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Person of the Day
Carlos Diaz
If Jackson State wants to make a run at another SWAC title, it will need catcher Carlos Diaz to continue his stellar play.
Entry
JPS: Schools' Water 'Below Regulatory Limit for Lead,' Except for a Water Fountain
By Tim Summers Jr.The Jackson Public School District sent out a release this morning stating that out of a round of tests performed at the area elementary schools, only a water fountain in the dining hall at Lee Elementary School showed levels of lead that "tested above the regulatory limit."
"This drinking water source was taken out of service," the press release stated.
It has been over a month since JPS Board President Beneta Burt announced that the board would begin testing the schools in the area for lead-water contamination. The press release does not include dates of the tests, specific amounts of lead found in the water or locations where the tests were performed in the schools.
A total of 37 tests were performed between eight schools. The press release did list, however, the schools that were tested: Casey Elementary, Lee Elementary, Marshall Elementary, McLeod Elementary, Spann Elementary, Oak Forest Elementary, Timberlawn Elementary, and Woodville Heights Elementary.
"JPS is scheduling drinking water tests at all other schools in the District and will take appropriate action based on the test results," the press release states. "The District continues to offer bottled water as an option and supports the recommendations and guidelines provided by the City of Jackson and Mississippi State Health Department. We will continue to follow the City of Jackson and the Mississippi State Department of Health's recommendation."
The "regulatory limit" referred to is, assumedly, the same as the "action levels" found in the EPA requirements, which would be 0.015 milligrams per liter. This "regulatory limit" is set by the EPA as a "Maximum Contaminant Level," MCL, which they define as "feasible using the best available treatment technology and taking cost into consideration." The MCL is then the "highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water," and is an "enforceable standard," that if exceeded would initiate involvement by other governmental entities such as the EPA, CDC, or the Mississippi Department of Health.
However, there is another measurement, referred to on the EPA's website as the "Maximum Contaminant Level Goal," or MCLG, that the agency defines as "non-enforcable health goals, based solely on possible health risks."
"EPA has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero because lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels," the agency's site on lead states. "Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time."
"Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells."
"EPA estimates that …
Story
Increases Proposed for Mississippi Hunting, Fishing Licenses
The cost of Mississippi residents' hunting and fishing licenses could increase for the first time in a generation to help pay for more state game wardens.
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City & County
JMAA Says Republicans Want to Control Contracts, Rallies Public Against ‘Takeover’ Bill
Warning that the airport “takeover” is about money and control of contracts, members of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority and its supporters gathered today in the echoing rotunda of the …
Place
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Music
Teneia’s Leap of Faith
Pursuing music professionally is a daunting task, but for folk-soul duo Teneia, it's helped that both members are fully committed to the music—and to each other.
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Books
Blind Dates With Books
Little Free Libraries are just what the name says—free book exchanges. Folks build a little house, essentially, in their yard. If you have a book to share, you leave one; …
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Cover
2016 Crossroads Film Festival
Crossroads Film Festival celebrates 17 years this year. The 2016 festival features films from filmmakers right here at home and all the way to Japan and beyond.
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Cover
Breaking in With 'Blue Borsalino'
London-based filmmaker Mark Lobatto has made some impressive strides in his movie career thus far, and not only because he has worked as the personal assistant to major Hollywood directors, …
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Business
Jackson Airport CEO Newman Outlines Plans for Hotel, Low-Cost Carrier
The airport's chief executive officer, during an interview at the airport on March 24 just as the Mississippi House was passing its controversial "takeover" bill of the facility, outlined a …
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City & County
Parents’ Conundrum: Mississippi Charter Schools
Jackson mom and business owner Tracie James was dissatisfied with the lack of one-on-one opportunities at school for her youngest son, formerly a North Jackson Elementary School student in Jackson …
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City & County
The Pain and Danger of Hot Pursuits
When Ward 4 Jackson City Councilman De'Keither Stamps stepped up to the microphone on March 25 at the corner of West Capitol Street and Galvez in west Jackson, he wanted …
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LGBT
Trafficking, Anti-Terrorism Bills Still Alive; LGBT Rights Under Fire, Again
Mississippi has a human-trafficking problem that gets far too little law-enforcement and medical attention, but a bill is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature that would provide more resources to …
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Politics
Politicians for Sale? Mississippi Economic Council Knows How to Throw a Party
Funding for the state's crumbling infrastructure didn't exactly top priorities for legislators on their first round of revenue bill deadlines, and Senate Bill 2921 made it over to the House …
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Food
Much A’brew at the Zoo
Once a year, Jacksonians gather at the Jackson Zoo to socialize and eat—and drink beer—while looking at the animals.
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Cover
The Doo Dah Day Planner: Your Guide to the 2016 Zippity Doo Dah Weekend
With the sheer number of events set for Fondren's Zippity Doo Dah Weekend, which takes place Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2, this year, it's tough to commit it …
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Mississippi House Pushes for a State Lottery, Senate Passage Not Likely
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House voted twice Tuesday to establish a state lottery, but the effort is likely to be squashed in the Senate.
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Woman Pleads Guilty on Federal Charges in Medicaid Fraud
A woman has pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge following accusations she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from senior citizens seeking help to obtain Medicaid or veterans benefits.
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Abortion
In Surprise Move, State's Abortion Clinic Added to Bill Restricting Planned Parenthood Funding
In a surprise move Tuesday, the Mississippi House targeted Medicaid funding for the state’s only abortion clinic in addition to the state’s sole Planned Parenthood clinic. The bill would prohibit …
