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I hear, “I sure wish my grandkids lived in Mississippi,” a lot.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Brain Drain appeared first on Mississippi Today.

On Monday, around 20 bus drivers in Greenville Public School District went on strike to protest reduced hours, low pay and what they say is poor treatment by the district.

The move left school children standing on corners with no transportation Monday and Tuesday morning, and the district’s board of trustees and superintendent scrambled to fix the issue at a board meeting Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, the bus drivers were back at work after their concerns were addressed.

The Greenville bus drivers took the rare measure despite the existence of state laws that explicitly prohibit public employees from striking, which comes with threats of jail time and fines. And State Auditor Shad White, citing those state laws, recently investigated and punished a University of Mississippi professor for a work stoppage.

Bus drivers in the Greenville district work either 5, 6 or 7-hour routes. But at the beginning of the current school year, all drivers were cut down to 5-hour routes as a result of the school district’s virtual-only instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Debra Dace said they were also offered a voluntary furlough so they could collect unemployment but keep their jobs, though none opted to take it.

Yolanda Lewis, a 19-year veteran bus driver with the district, said she and others met with Dace on the issue in November, but were given no relief. They asked to meet with the school board, but Dace told them the school board “didn’t want to meet with them.”

Then, last month, the board voted to reduce the number of days of work for bus drivers and custodial employees by from 187 to 182 days in the 2021-2022 school year. Dace said she made the recommendation for the reduction of days to the board because she and the director of transportation determined there were “idle days” when students weren’t in school and didn’t need to be transported.

Drivers received the letter informing them of the cut on Friday, and, as one school board member described it, it was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” The letter also stated drivers would only be paid for days worked, which raised fears about the loss of paid holidays.

Following the bus drivers’ strike, however, the board on Tuesday reversed that decision.

Edwin Young, who has driven for the district for two years, told board members on Tuesday that he made $16,000 last year.

“We’re not making anything … We are certified drivers, we got CDLs and we’re living at the poverty level,” he said, noting the additional lack of hazard pay amid the pandemic.

And there are other issues in addition to the low pay, he and other drivers said. He still hasn’t been paid for hours he worked in October of last year despite repeatedly requesting the payment from the district.

Lewis said she was exposed to COVID-19 earlier this month by a student on her bus. She had to quarantine for 10 days with no pay, and when she went to human resources, they said she wouldn’t receive pay, she said.

She was already living on a smaller paycheck after having her hours reduced from 7 to 5. She had to give up her dental, vision and other supplemental insurance after she was no longer able to afford it working the 5-hour route.

After the strike, however, she received a call Wednesday letting her know she would receive pay for those days.

The district did not immediately respond to questions about these allegations. Dace is set to meet with the drivers on Friday.

Mississippi law prohibits public employees from striking. The law defines a strike as “a concerted failure to report for duty, a willful absence from one’s position, the stoppage of work, a deliberate slowing down of work, or the withholding, in whole or in part, of the full, faithful and proper performance of the duties of employment, for the purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing a change in the conditions, compensation, rights, privileges or obligations of public employment.”

READ MORE: Background of Mississippi’s strict law that forbids educators from striking.

The post Here’s why Greenville school bus drivers went on strike appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi resumed the use of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, ending a temporary pause that began on April 13.

Around 40,000 of the 90,000 Johnson & Johnson doses the state has received sat unused during the pause, according to State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs.

MSDH has updated its recommendations for healthcare providers administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. These recommendations include measures such as informing vaccine recipients of the risk of developing the rare blood clots that prompted the pause, and having an alternative COVID-19 vaccine available for patients who request it. 

Federal health agencies ended their recommendation for a temporary pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Friday, and since then a majority of states have resumed its administration. The pause recommendation was ended after an extensive safety review by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. 

Acting out of an abundance of caution, federal health agencies issued the pause recommendation after six people were discovered to have developed a rare blood clot, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. A subsequent safety review found that 15 of the nearly 8 million people that have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. developed the rare blood clot.

MAP: Where Mississippians can get the COVID-19 vaccine

Less than 5% of Mississippians who have received a COVID-19 vaccine received Johnson & Johnson, so the pause has had little impact on the state’s overall vaccine supply-chain. The number of COVID-19 vaccines being administered in Mississippi has decreased 35% over the last two weeks, marking a growing rift between the state’s supply of vaccines and the population’s demand for them.

In an attempt to curtail existing barriers to vaccine access, MSDH and its community health partners have begun administering at-home vaccinations for Mississippians that cannot access traditional vaccination sites. Those interested in setting up a vaccination appointment this way should reach out to MSDH by email at COVIDhomebound@msdh.ms.gov.

“We have recognized that this is the stage of the response where we need to bring vaccines to where people live,” Dobbs said.

The post Mississippi resumes Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinations appeared first on Mississippi Today.

House Judiciary B Chair Nick Bain, R-Corinth, questions the logic of why at least some of the people convicted of felonies permanently lose their voting rights unless they are restored by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature.

“People convicted for bad checks – why do they have to jump through hoops to get their rights back?” Bain asked.

Bain hopes to explore that question and others during hearings of his Judiciary B Committee before the Legislature convenes in January for the 2022 session.

READ MORE: Mississippi Senate killed 19 House bills to restore voting rights

Bain said he is not sure how he feels about the provision in the state constitution that permanently disenfranchises people convicted of some felonies, but not those convicted of some other crimes. But he said people convicted of at least some of the lesser crimes should not face lifetime disenfranchisement.

Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, agrees.

“A person can lose his voting rights at 18 for stealing a lawnmower and not have that right back at 81 unless it is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature,” said Reynolds, who nearly every year files legislation to end the lifetime disfranchisement for many convicted of felonies.

While that 18-year-old would lose his voting-rights forever, under the Mississippi Constitition people convicted of some other crimes, such as being a major drug dealer, could continue to vote even while incarcerated.

Bain said he hopes to have hearings to explore various issues related to the felony voting rights provision of the Mississippi Constitution. One question that most likely will be explored is whether the Legislature could change the process by passing a bill instead of going through the more arduous process of amending the constitution.

Reynolds said he believes changes could be made without having to amend the constitution, which would require putting the issue on the ballot.

By the same token, Reynolds said, “I believe the people would vote to restore the voting rights of nonviolent offenders. I think it would pass.”

But Reynolds also pointed out that former Gov. William Winter, while serving in the Mississippi Legislature in the 1940s, authored a bill that became law to restore voting rights to military veterans at the time who had been convicted of felonies.

Reynolds has filed similar legislation to restore the rights of veterans who are alive now. The legislation has not been successful.

“I think in a matter of time time, it might be 20 years or it might happen quickly, this is going to be thrown out for either an equal protection or due process argument to the U.S. Constitition,” Reynolds said. “A person can be convicted of murder under federal law and not lose his rights, but be convicted of felony shoplifting in state court and lose his rights.”

Reynolds surmised the framers of the state’s 1890s state constitition did not include federal crimes as disenfranchising because that could have impacted veterans who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

“This is a relic of the past whose time has come,” said Reynolds, age 66. “It will be repealed one day. It might not be in my lifetime, but it will happen.”

Mississippi is in the minority of states — less than 10 — where voting rights are not automatically restored for people convicted of felonies either after they complete their sentence or at some point after completing parole or probation.

The state now denies a higher percentage of its residents the right to vote because of felony convictions than any other, according to a recent study. In Mississippi, 235,150 people — or 10.6% of the state’s voting age population — have lost their right to vote, according to a recent study by The Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit that advocates for voting and criminal justice issues. Since 2016, Mississippi has moved from second to first highest percentage in the nation.

The prohibition on voting is part of the 1890 Mississippi Constitution — added as one of several attempts to prevent Black Mississippians from voting. A 2018 analysis by Mississippi Today found that 61% of the Mississippians who have lost their rights to vote are African American, despite the fact that African Americans represent 36% of the state’s total voting-age population.

Disenfranchising crimes consist of: arson, armed robbery, bigamy, bribery, embezzlement, extortion, felony bad check, felony shoplifting, forgery, larceny, murder, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, rape, receiving stolen property, robbery, theft, timber larceny, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, statutory rape, carjacking and larceny under lease or rental agreement.

The post ‘Relic from the past’: Lawmakers examine Mississippi felony voting prohibitions appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with businessman, philanthropist and former politician Dick Molpus. Molpus, born and raised in Philadelphia, Mississippi, was the first person Governor William Winter hired for his staff. As one of the “Boys of Spring,” Molpus helped push through education reform which became a signature piece of legislation during the Winter administration. After working for Winter, Molpus successfully ran for Secretary of State and held the office from 1984 to 1996. Molpus unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1995 and after losing the election, pivoted by founding the successful Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC. It was during that time that he and his wife Sally found Parents for Public Schools, which now has chapters across the nation. Molpus has received numerous awards for his efforts to promote both eduction and racial equity. He also is a member of the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame and the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame. Ramsey and Molpus discuss his long career, what he hopes for his beloved Mississippi and even the time Jon Stewart had to apologize to him on air on The Daily Show. 

The post Mississippi Stories: Dick Molpus appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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The post Marshall Ramsey: One Mississippi appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi will not lose a congressional seat even though it was one of only three states to lose population during the past decade, according to early U.S. census data released this week.

State leaders had said for some time they did not believe the census would result in a loss of a congressional seat for Mississippi.

“We have a cushion, but if the trend (population loss) continues, it does not look good for the future” in terms of not losing a seat, said Mississippi House Apportionment and Elections Chair Jim Beckett, R-Bruce.

While the state will not lose a congressional seat, the Mississippi Legislature will have little time to redraw the state’s four congressional districts before the 2022 mid-term elections to match population shifts found during the 2020 Census.

The goal, both Beckett and Senate Apportionment Committee Chair Dean Kirby said, is to present a plan to redraw the four U.S. House districts to their legislative colleagues early in the 2022 session, which starts in January.

“We have to be ready to go when we first get there” to start the session, Kirby said. “That will be one of the first things we have to do.”

The reason for the need for swift action on congressional redistricting is because the deadline for candidates to qualify to run for the congressional seats is March 1. The primary election will be held June 7.

Both Kirby and Beckett said they do not anticipate trying to convince Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session to redraw the four congressional districts late this year before the 2022 session begins.

The intent, Beckett said, is to have nine public hearings across the state, most likely beginning in October, and later develop a redistricting plan to present in the 2022 session for approval.

While the preliminary census numbers were released this week, the final numbers that include the precinct-level data needed to redraw political districts, is not expected to be available to the states until September.

After both the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the Legislature was unable to agree on a plan to redraw the congressional districts. In 2000, the state lost a seat, making redistricting particularly contentious. In both 2000 and 2010, the federal courts ended up redrawing the districts.

READ MORE: Mississippi one of just three states to lose population since 2010

“Our intent is for the Legislature to draw the districts this time and not the courts,” Kirby said. “It is going to be an experience.”

Kirby said the most difficult part of the effort will be dealing with the loss of population in the 2nd Congressional District that encompasses much of western Mississippi, including the Delta. The 2nd is the state’s only African American majority district, represented by Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton.

Based on existing federal law, the state will have to maintain a Black-majority district, especially since the state’s African American population increased slightly, based on the census data.

While legislators will face a tight time frame on congressional redistricting, Sen. Angela Turner Ford, D-West Point, said, it is important to make sure “the districts are reflective of our population.” Turner Ford, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, said she would be willing to spend the time needed to ensure that goal is met.

To deal with the population loss in the Delta, the Legislature may have to expand the 2nd District into fast-growing DeSoto County in northwest Mississippi or into the Natchez area in southwest Mississippi.

Overall, Beckett said, a few areas of the state — the Gulf Coast, an area stretching from DeSoto County east into Lafayette County and into the Tupelo area, and suburban Jackson — gained population, while the vast majority of counties lost people during the past decade.

The number of congressional seats also determines a state’s influence in electing the president. The number of electors a state has is equal to a state’s total number of senators and U.S. House members, meaning Mississippi has six electors to cast in presidential elections.

While the Legislature will need to pass a congressional redistricting plan early in the 2022 session, later in the year legislators will need to redraw the 122 House districts and 52 Senate district to match population shifts.

But legislators will have more time to complete that task since legislative elections will not be held until 2023. But since legislators will be redrawing their own districts, that process is likely to be more time consuming and potentially more contentious.

The post Mississippi loses population, not expected to lose House seat appeared first on Mississippi Today.

At least 32 states have resumed the use of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine, but Mississippi is not one of them. 

“As of now, the Mississippi State Department of Health continues to pause Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The agency will review additional information and will advise the media and public if and when Mississippi resumes administration of the vaccine,” Liz Sharlot, director of communications at the Mississippi Department of Health, told Mississippi Today in a statement on Tuesday. 

Less than 5% of Mississippians who have received a COVID-19 vaccine received Johnson & Johnson, so the pause has had little impact on the state’s overall vaccine supply-chain. Still, the effects of its absence will likely be more pronounced in rural areas, where the shot’s more lax storage requirements and singular dose requirement have helped ease logistical issues in vaccine distribution. 

It is still unclear how the pause will affect Mississippi’s already high rate of vaccine hesitancy. The number of COVID-19 vaccines being administered in Mississippi has decreased 35% over the last two weeks, marking a growing rift between the state’s supply of vaccines and the population’s demand for them.

READ MORE: Mississippi vaccination rate craters as Johnson & Johnson pause continues

Federal health agencies ended their recommendation for a temporary pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Friday, and since then a majority of states have resumed its administration. The pause recommendation only lasted 10 days, and was changed after an extensive safety review by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. 

Acting out of an abundance of caution, federal health agencies issued the pause recommendation after six people were discovered to have developed a rare blood clot, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. A subsequent safety review found that 15 of the nearly 8 million people that have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. developed the rare blood clot.

A new warning will now be placed on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine label, and health care providers administering the shot have been instructed to inform patients of the associated risks.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner said in a press release: “We have concluded that the known and potential benefits of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older. We are confident that this vaccine continues to meet our standards for safety, effectiveness and quality. We recommend people with questions about which vaccine is right for them have those discussions with their health care provider.”

The post Mississippi continues pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine as most states resume use appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi saw its first population decrease in 60 years, according to preliminary 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data released this week.

The data reported Mississippi’s resident population as 2,961,279 million people, marking a decrease of 6,018 since 2010. This is only the third time a population decrease in Mississippi has been recorded. The first was a decrease of 6,496 recorded in 1920, and the second was a decline of 773 recorded in 1960.

Mississippi was one of only three states to see a population decline in the 2020 census, though its decline was the smallest among them. Illinois’ population decreased by 18,124 and the state lost one of its 18 congressional seats as a result. West Virginia saw the greatest population decline, losing 59,278 residents. 

Though 47 states increased their population over the last decade, the national rate of population growth has slowed. A declining birthrate and lower immigration numbers caused the U.S. population to grow at the second slowest rate recorded since the first census was conducted in 1790. The national population increased by 7.4%, just above the lowest ever increase of 7.3% recorded in 1940.

The release of redistricting data from the 2020 census has been delayed due to many logistical challenges the COVID-19 pandemic posed for collecting accurate counts. The U.S. Census Bureau originally planned to have all redistricting data to states by March 31, but pushed that back to Sept. 30 in February.

The bureau announced today that it will deliver the Public Law 94-171 redistricting data to all states by Sept. 30, 2021. COVID-related delays and prioritizing the delivery of the apportionment results delayed the Census Bureau’s original plan to deliver the redistricting data to the states by March 31, 2021.

The release of the redistricting data will offer insight into the demographic changes Mississippi has seen over the last decade and allow the state’s legislative boundaries to be redrawn ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

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