Place
Story
Politics
High-Speed Chases, Airport Takeover on Council Agenda Tonight
In the past two weeks, a number of people have made political hay out of Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes' remark about throwing bottles and bricks at suburban cop cars …
Story
Biz Roundup
Seafood, Running, Mixed-Use and More
Mickey Paduda, owner of Jackson Proper LLC, hopes to expand Fondren's business community with the development of The Precinct, a mixed-use building so named because it once housed Jackson's Police …
Entry
Report: Mississippi Foster Care System 'Well Beyond Crisis'
By adreherA report in the Olivia Y case, filed on Jan. 6, found that an infant died within five days after entering the state's foster care system. The report found that the state had not inspected the home where the baby died before the baby was placed there. Judith Meltzer, from the Center for Study of Social Policy, found that the baby's death was a result of poor documentation and failure to "properly collect and document information significant to the licensing process" and "record information in the case record."
Mississippi's foster care system has actually gotten worst, the report found. Only 2 percent of children entering the foster care system received a health exam within 30 days, and 2 percent of foster parents received all the relevant medical information on a foster child within 15 days of placement.
The Olivia Y case has been ongoing since 2004, since the state was sued by A Better Childhood, a national nonprofit advocacy organization, on the state's foster care children's behalf. On Dec. 22, 2015 the federal court issued an order requiring that the state create the Division of Family and Children's Services--separate from the Department of Human Services. Gov. Phil Bryant selected former Mississippi Supreme Court Judge David Chandler to be the executive director of the new division on Dec. 29, 2015.
The court order also requires increased compensation and technology for caseworkers as well as an increase in foster homes in the state. Executive director of A Better Childhood, Marcia Robinson Lowry said there are far too few foster homes and workers in the state, in a press release. "The facts could not be more clear," she said in the release. "The foster care system in Mississippi is well beyond crisis."
Place
River Hills Club
The vision of a tennis and sports facility that would be among the finest in the country became reality in the mid-60's when W.E. "Slew" Hester, a Jackson native and USTA president, became the key founder and charter member of …
Story
Justice
No Charges Against White Officer for Jonathan Sanders' Death
A Clarke County grand jury declined to indict white Stonewall police officer Kevin Herrington for the death of an African American man named Jonathan Sanders in July 2015.
Story
Health Care
Feds Funding Effort to Tie Medical Services to Social Needs
The federal government has announced a $157 million project to help hospitals and doctors link Medicare and Medicaid patients to needed social services that sometimes have a bigger impact on …
Story
City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
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Civil Rights
Mississippi Legislature Honors Klan Victim Vernon Dahmer Sr.
The Mississippi Legislature honored civil-rights activist Vernon Dahmer, who the Klu Klux Klan murdered half a century ago, by declaring Jan. 10, 2016, "Vernon Dahmer Legacy Day."
Story
Person of the Day
Lynda Jungkind
Lynda Jungkind, a native of Little Rock, Ark., started The Premier Bridal Show in 2004. Forty-seven shows later, it has expanded to Jackson, Biloxi and Tupelo.
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Cover
Working for Working Families?
Budgets are often called moral documents. That means that advocates for working families will be watching spending closely to make sure Mississippi's heart, and money, is in the right place.
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Cover
2016 Legislative Preview: Year of the Looming Tax Break(s)?
As legislators return to the capital city and the 2016 session begins, tax cuts are high on the lieutenant governor's—and Mississippi Republicans'—agendas.
Story
The Slate
Is the College Football Playoff Championship Game where the SEC "Empire Strikes Back"? Or will Clemson continue its rise to the top of the sport over Alabama?
Story
Need ‘Good Faith’ Before Regionalization
We are not against smart "regionalization." If done correctly, it would mean more transparency, collaboration and growth for the entire region—whether between businesses or governments in Hinds, Rankin and Madison …
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Health Care
Negotiations Over in Troupe v. Barbour
Mississippi's short-term inpatient care and special-treatment facilities served about 542 adolescents in fiscal-year 2015, Mississippi Department of Mental Health data show.
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City & County
Advocates: Man’s Death Affirms Need for ADA Lawsuit
Around 9 p.m. on Christmas, near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Prentiss Street, a car struck 49-year-old Timothy Ward, who was riding his wheelchair in the street. He later …
Story
Food
Retro Pop Shop
Brick Street Pops, which is at the intersection of Monroe and West Leake streets in Clinton, is reminiscent of an ice cream parlor without ice cream.
Story
Music
Tapping into Indie Music Week
For almost a month, when Garrad Lee, a local deejay, show promoter and co-owner of record labels Elegant Trainwreck and Homework Town, spoke with Brad Franklin, the City of Jackson …
Story
Business
The Battle for the Jackson Airport: Can the State Take It Away?
It's not exactly Tom Cruise's Maverick flipping off a Russian fighter pilot in "Top Gun," but a dogfight is shaping up over control of the Jackson airport.
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Business
Local Wine Sellers Push Back on Chain Effort
Victor Pittman is not pleased with a lobbying effort to lift the restriction on wine and liquor sales in grocery stores in Mississippi's wet counties.
