Influential Delta business group calls for Medicaid expansion

A major economic development organization that represents the 19 Mississippi Delta counties on Monday called for lawmakers to expand Medicaid.

Will proposed income tax cuts hijack Mississippi’s high-tech future?

Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Phillip Gunn have pushed to increase broadband access and add computer science classes in public schools.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellMarch 25, 2022Jackson's water system, Jackson Mississippi, infrastructure, Jackson Public Schools, JPS, income tax cut, Mississippi broadband, computer science class, Mississippi students, brain drain, Kansas income tax cut, Mississippi public schools, tech work force, leaving Mississippi

‘It makes it hard to work’: The real cost of not expanding Medicaid in Mississippi

Briana Wright has worked all her adult life. The 27-year-old Kosciusko resident has been a crew member at McDonald’s for three years. Wright is stuck in what is commonly referred to as the healthcare coverage gap.

Republican legislators oppose Medicaid expansion, but want federal dollars to pay for prisoner healthcare

State Republicans have balked at expanding Medicaid, but are embracing legislation that would take advantage of the federal program to pay for healthcare for very sick incarcerated people — and likely create a money-making opportunity for nursing homes.

Medicaid expansion would boost economy significantly more than Gunn income tax cut, studies show

Expanding Medicaid would provide a significantly bigger boost to the Mississippi economy than the far-reaching tax cut proposed by House Speaker Philip Gunn, according to studies from the nonpartisan state economist’s office.

Jackson water crisis again impacts schools

As cold temperatures repeatedly dipped below freezing this month, several public schools in Jackson switched to virtual instruction because of little or no water pressure on campus.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellJanuary 28, 2022Tainted, Jackson's water system, Jackson Mississippi, water outage, tap water, Jackson water crisis, infrastructure, water pipes, Jackson Public Schools, School closures, water pressure loss, virtual instruction, boil-water notice, pipes burst, JPS

Fixing Jackson's infrastructure a matter of politics, access to resources for beleaguered city

The 1990s saw a dramatic change in Jackson's racial makeup. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly 35,000 white residents fled the city from 1990 to 2000. The white population dropped dramatically while the Black population continued to rise.

Jackson's water system marked by a century of struggles

Nearly a hundred years ago, Jackson's leaders were just as concerned about its water infrastructure as they are today, but for different reasons.

With Jackson's water and sewer struggling, the metro's suburbs are jumping ship

Sometime around 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 5, the mayor of Byram got a phone call.

It was Public Works Director Bill Miley, calling to tell him a water main had burst. Again. Some people would be without water, and those that had water would need to boil it before drinking, an all too common event.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightJerry MitchellJanuary 3, 2022Tainted, Jackson's water system, Jackson Mississippi, water outage, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, drinking water, tap water, Jackson water crisis, sewage, water system, Byram, Bill Miley, Mayor Richard White, Rankin sewer plant

How processed and preserved foods have changed our tastes and waists over time

For years, retired pharmacist Judy Wolverton Palmer was addicted to peanut butter, digging into any jar she could find.

She battled both weight and health issues, including chronic pain, skin issues, prediabetes, asthma and gastrointestinal problems.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi Spotlight, Public HealthKatherine MitchellNovember 15, 2021Mississippi, food pantry, Mississippi delta, Lexington food pantry, Processed foods, weight gain, diabetes, food addiction, food industry, added sugar, sodium, obesity, brain, poverty

Lexington Pantry seeks to end hunger and give hope

Harvest time in the Mississippi Delta, a rolling emerald expanse of crops. The romantic vision is like a mirage against the glaring light of the nutritional disparity borne by residents here – many for generations.

News, Mississippi News, Mississippi SpotlightKatherine MitchellNovember 9, 2021Lexington, Mississippi, food pantry, Mississippi delta, Lexington food pantry, Saints College, Johnny Black, W. Ralph Eubanks

Mississippi physicians’ group lobbies for options to expand Medicaid

The largest physician group in Mississippi will pursue options to expand Medicaid in the state despite opposition from two statewide top political leaders.