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Politics
Special Session Could Consider Road, Bridge Funding, If Speaker Gunn Gets His Way
House Speaker Philip Gunn's staff revealed proposals to get more funding to roads and bridges—which they hope to be included in a special session Gov. Phil Bryant called for June.
LGBT
Pickering: Did Not Have 'Anything to Do With' LGBT Robo-calls
Stacey Pickering, the incumbent Republican candidate for state auditor, said Wednesday that he had nothing to do with the automated calls that called his Democrat challenger, Joce Pritchett, an "LGBT …
Politics
Foster Care Legislation: ‘The Beginning to an End of Madness’
The state's foster-care system, now housed under MDHS as the Division of Family and Children's Services, must comply with a court order in the Olivia Y lawsuit to avoid federal …
Development
Infrastructure: Can the State Afford to Wait on Trump?
Some Mississippi Republican leaders invoked President-elect Donald Trump's expensive infrastructure plan last week when discussing Mississippi's crumbling roads and bridges, seeming to believe it will solve the state's urgent issues …
Civil Rights
'Big, Black or Boy' Preschoolers Face Higher Expulsions and Suspensions
Implicit bias starts early in education—really early. New research shows that boys, black children and especially black boys are more likely to be expelled or suspended from early education program …
Economy
The State of Mississippi’s Debt, Finances
The State of Mississippi is in an $8.4-billion financial hole, a new report based on the State's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, shows.
Politics
Budget, Tax and Infrastructure Woes
Despite Republican supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, there seems to be little agreement across the chambers on tax legislation and budget proposals this year.
State
Understanding Trauma Key to Fixing State's Foster Care System
Like Michigan, Mississippi is under a consent decree to fix its foster-care system—and the State must fulfill several promises by year's end.
Politics
More Budget Cuts Hitting State Services
The "efficiencies" buzzword rang across the Mississippi Capitol last summer as lawmakers met the people who provide services from maintaining the state's roads to administering the state's federal child-care funds …
State
A Teenager, a Gun and a Chance for Innocence
The Remington 700 Model is the subject of several class-action lawsuits against the firearms manufacturer due to a faulty trigger, which can discharge on its own.
Crime
State’s Longest-Sitting Death Row Inmate Challenges Death Penalty Drug
The Mississippi Supreme Court has sentenced Richard Jordan to death four times, but with the help of his lawyers, he continues to challenge the state's death penalty method.
Education
Cristen Hemmins: Education, Equal Pay and Taking On Tollison
Jackson native Cristen Hemmins decided to run for the District 9 Senate seat (which includes Oxford and most of Lafayette County) when her opponent, Gray Tollison, introduced Initiative 42A to …
Crime
As DA's Trial Begins, Key Player Sentenced 30 Years for Pot Found in MBN Raid
As the second trial against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith begins today, Christopher Butler, 40, is headed to prison for 30 years without parole after a Hinds County …
Business
Sanderson Farms, IBM: HB 1523 Hurts Businesses, Economic Growth
Mississippi business leaders, corporations, lawyers and locals denounced House Bill 1523 in eight legal briefs filed just before Christmas, supporting plaintiffs that want the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals …
Economy
‘Fairer, Flatter’: State GOP Craves New Tax Code
A "fairer, flatter tax code" is the goal for Republicans who are leading the tax-policy panel, made up of the most powerful politicians in the statehouse. The group has started …
Jacksonian
Katherine Day
Katherine Day came home to Jackson on a train last fall; it had been six years since she had last lived in the city. Day grew up in Jackson, but …
Economy
State Revenues 'Have Disappointed,' Trump Effect on Mississippi Uncertain
The U.S. economy may be growing, but Mississippi's revenue is lagging, and the state faces uncertainty over the effect of the Trump administration's policies, especially on trade.
Health Care
Mississippi’s Mental-Health Conundrum
The mood shift in the old Mississippi Supreme Court room was palpable last week when the Department of Mental Health faced a group of legislators tasked with evaluating the agency's …
Economy
State Leaders Promise Budget, Tax Reform
State leaders made good on their promise to form working groups to study not only the state's tax structure but also investigate state-agency spending last week.
Economy
State Economic Growth Lags, As Agencies Request More Funding
From public safety to education, several large state agencies asked top lawmakers for more funding last week. Based on the State of Mississippi's economic outlook, however, more funding does not …
