‘When will water crises end?’ South Jackson residents want to know

Ward 6 City Councilman Aaron Banks asked his constituent Ed Coles to stand at a town hall meeting last week at Glory Empowerment Center on Maddox Road.

Jackson water crisis flows from a century of poverty, neglect and racism

More than a century before failing infrastructure left Jackson, Mississippi, without running water this summer, thousands of the capital city's residents gathered in a park downtown to celebrate the new water filtration plant that promised to turn the muddy liquid flowing into people’s taps into “clean, pure water.”

With long-term Jackson water fix in mind, leaders ask the mayor: Where’s your plan?

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Tuesday that the city has had “many, many plans” to fund repairs for its beleaguered drinking water system.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellSeptember 8, 2022Jackson's water system, Tainted, water outage, tap water, infrastructure, city of Jackson, water filtration, Mississippi water, boil water notice, water crisis, water pressure, Mayor Lumumba, no water, plan to fix water, funding

If Jackson’s water system collapsed, residents might have had to wait two years to get clean drinking water.

If the city of Jackson’s main water treatment plant had failed Monday — as it nearly did — residents would have had to wait 18 to 24 months to restore service, state Sen. John Horhn said public works officials told him.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellAugust 31, 2022Jackson's water system, Tainted, water outage, tap water, infrastructure, city of Jackson, water filtration, Mississippi water, water crisis, water pressure, Pearl River flooding, OB Curtis water treatment plant

Mayor Lumumba says water connections being restored, welcomes state to the table

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Tuesday the city’s water pressure is seeing improvements thanks to efforts to restore pressure in the system overnight, and that more residents are with water now than yesterday.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellAugust 30, 2022Jackson's water system, Tainted, water outage, tap water, infrastructure, city of Jackson, water filtration, Mississippi water, boil water notice, water crisis, water pressure, Pearl River flooding, Jackson Fire department

MAE calls Jackson’s water crisis a major education issue

In what some may have thought an unusual move, the Mississippi Association of Educators convened a news conference this week to disseminate its recently completed research study and position paper, “Solving the Jackson Water Crisis.”

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellAugust 17, 2022Jackson's water system, Tainted, water outage, tap water, repairs, Mississippi water and sewage, infrastructure, city of Jackson, water filtration, Mississippi water, boil water notice, MAE, Mississippi educators, water crisis, education

Treatment causing boil water notices will continue being used for a year, mayor says

The treatment chemicals that have been causing repeated boil water notices will continue to be necessary for about a year, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Monday at a news conference at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellAugust 9, 2022Jackson's water system, Tainted, water outage, tap water, repairs, Mississippi water and sewage, infrastructure, OB Curtis water treatment plant, Health Department, city of Jackson, weatherization, water filtration, Mississippi water, boil water notice, lime slurry

‘Model Inmate’: Father Finally Has Crack Sentence Reduced As U.S. Senate Shelves Reform Bill

JACKSON, Miss.—Maurice Clifton Jr. complained of chest pain in November 2019. His symptoms progressed until he later died at an Indiana hospital.

His father, Mound Bayou, Miss., native Maurice Clifton Sr., then 54 years old, heard the news about his son’s death while serving his 22nd year of a 33-year sentence in federal prison..

Report ranks Mississippi last in the nation for health system performance during pandemic

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund ranked Mississippi last in the nation for health system performance.

States Extend Medicaid for New Mothers — Even as They Reject Broader Expansion

Until last year, Georgia’s Medicaid coverage for new moms with low incomes lasted 60 days.

Mississippi officials did what South Dakota leaders couldn’t — block Medicaid expansion

The South Dakota Republican leadership, like many of their counterparts in Mississippi, oppose accepting federal funds to provide health insurance for primarily the working poor.

'A long time in the making': New water pipe to improve water service in South Jackson

Five miles of water pipes will be built in South Jackson by the fall and the new pipes are expected to improve water service by increasing flow and pressure, city officials said.

News, Mississippi Spotlight, Mississippi NewsKatherine MitchellMay 19, 2022Tainted, Tap water, Mississippi Spotlight, Water pipes, South Jackson, Mayor Lumumba, J.H. Fewell, McDowell Road, High Street, Pearl street, I-55, water pressure