All results / Stories / Arielle Dreher
City & County
Welty Library Closes Due to Fire Violations
The Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson closed this evening after a state fire marshal inspection on Wednesday, Oct. 4, revealed several violations of fire and life safety standards.
LGBT
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 …
Civil Rights
The Racist Roots of Disenfranchising Voters
Mississippi is one of 12 states with disenfranchisement laws that can affect people for life. The list of 22 disenfranchising crimes means an estimated 218,181 people in the state are …
Politics
Mississippi, Your ALEC is Showing
From laws that allow tax breaks for out-of-state businesses to the state's special-education voucher program, the Mississippi state Legislature has picked up and written into law model policy language from …
Education
Special Ed Groups on the Fence about Initiative 42
Initiative 42, the citizen-supported ballot measure to fully fund Mississippi's public-school system, boasts of having a broad coalition of support. However, a vocal and influential bloc aren't fully convinced that …
Crime
State Auditor Recovers $1.9 Million, But Not Epps Scandal Cash
State Auditor Stacey Pickering and his office has recovered $1.93 million in fiscal-year 2016, a higher number than the State recouped in fiscal-years 2014 and 2015. The new exceptions report …
City & County
JSU Scrambles for Housing with High Enrollment Numbers
Jackson State University's growth is taking place so rapidly that the school was caught off guard this year by the number of students wanting to study there.
LGBT
Governor Will Join Multi-State Transgender Bathroom Lawsuit Even If State Won't
Attorney General Jim Hood said he will not add the State of Mississippi to the Texas lawsuit against the federal government over President Barack Obama's directive to public schools, telling …
Health Care
Mississippi Ranks 50th in Overall Health, New Report Shows
Mississippi ranks 50th for the second year in a row in the United Health Foundation's health rankings. The foundation specializes in clinical expertise and health data, focused on making the …
Cover
MAEP: The Formula and How Politics Got in the Way
The state Legislature established the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, or MAEP, in 1997 to avoid equity lawsuits being filed across the country.
City & County
Jackson Schools Can Start Clearing Accreditation Standards in the New Year
Jackson Public Schools can start clearing accreditation standard violations as early as January. William Merritt, the executive director of school improvement, told the school board at its last December meeting …
City & County
JPS: School Bond Issue to Go Before Jackson Voters this Summer
District leaders and school board members are preparing to bring a bond issue to Jackson voters, likely in June, to keep Jackson Public Schools' current millage rate—and tax rate for …
Crime
AG Hood Settles $2.5 Million Epps Scandal Claim
Attorney General Jim Hood settled his office's claims against Global Tel*Link Corp. for $2.5 million today. The corporation is one of 12 that Hood has pursued legally in connection to …
State
Mississippians Give $12.3 Million to GoFundMe Campaigns
Scrolling through Facebook, it's almost impossible not to see a GoFundMe campaign these days. The Internet age has made generosity simple: the click of a button and a few online …
Health Care
Inside the Closed Mental Health Meetings
While Attorney General Jim Hood has not yet opened mental-health task force meetings to public and media scrutiny, members of the group are talking about how they are trying to …
Politics
Medicaid Funding in Flux as Lawmakers Work on $6 Billion Budget
Over the weekend, lawmakers worked to pass a roughly $6-billion budget to fund state agencies beginning in July. They have until Monday night to complete passing the state budget, with …
City & County
Local DACA Immigrants: We Still Have a Dream
The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security show that more than 3,000 Mississippians have applied for DACA approval, with 2,700 applications approved as of March 31.
Education
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 …
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.
Politics
Narrowing the Private vs. Public Prison Debate
In May 2012, a correctional officer at the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez died in a 250-inmate riot at the facility. Prisoners at the facility were upset with the …
