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Bianca Jones is fired up about voting.

She attended a mayoral candidate forum hosted by League of Women Voters at Millsaps College Tuesday night. As a senior at the college, she organized a week-long voter drive coordinated by One Vote and Mississippi Votes. 

“Voting is extremely, extremely important because it represents our voice and our autonomy as people and as citizens,” Jones said. “We need to make use of our voice and we need to make use of the rights that we’re given before anyone tries to infringe upon them or take them away.”

Jones took a seat near the front of the nearly half-full auditorium. It was a formal event, with each candidate’s speech punctuated by the ring of a bell. The crowd itself seemed mostly attentive, though a couple of heads had started to nod off by the halfway point. 

The candidates had good ideas, Jones said, but she was left with more questions. 

“What I really look for in a candidate is concrete and focused plans, not like the generalized, ‘Oh, well, we’ll do this.’ Well, yeah, but give me more. I don’t want to settle for anything,” she said.

Thirteen of the 19 mayoral candidates participated in the event Tuesday night, laying out their platform and fielding questions on the Jackson Zoo and affordable early-childhood programs. 

Most laid out crime as one of the first items they would tackle in their first 100 days if elected as mayor. Others pinpointed the need for accountability within the local government. 

But a big campaign issue for Jones is accessibility of Jackson’s streets. She walks everywhere, she said, and crumbling streets and a lack of dedicated walking paths don’t make her journey easy. None of the candidates spoke about walkable streets.

“I think about everyone who doesn’t have a car, who doesn’t have certain privileges in Jackson, and they’re not even being considered,” she said. “I came here, tried to use the public transportation system. It wasn’t nothing. I had to walk at least an hour to get to where I was going from the bus.”

Jones said she’s looking for a risk taker, a candidate running to get things done for the people with a touch of empathy, not to line their own pockets.

“I think I respect politicians more if they go out and do right and earn nothing from it,” she said. “What does Jackson look like in comparison to your paycheck?” 

While Jones pondered about sidewalks, candidates tallied off ideas for how to fix Jackson’s Zoo. 

“Zoo’s gone. We’re not going to be wasting money on that,” said Kim Wade, a local radio host running as an independent. “No matter how emotionally you’re attached to it. If we wanted to have the zoo, we would have taken better care of it.”

Another independent candidate that stood out to Jones, child development director Lillie Stewart-Robinson, said that she would relocate the zoo northeast to Lefluer’s Bluff Complex, home to the Mississippi Children’s Museum and Museum of Natural Science. 

“The land that the zoo is now occupying, I would set up a theme park,” she said. “This would create jobs for our youth, and it will bring the community together. 

Businessman and Democratic candidate Socrates Garrett said that he wants to create an entertainment district anchored at the zoo. He also points to establishing educational programs so that Jacksonians can care for the animals. 

“I want Jackson State University to have a veterinarian program where we’re training veterinarians, not only at Mississippi State University, but we have all of these animals there at the zoo,” said Garrett. 

Jones said she appreciated Stewart-Robinson’s idea about creating a children’s entertainment plaza, moving the zoo to a space where kids are already gathering.

“That’s really important to me, because my first time going to the Jackson zoo, I remember being kind of, for lack of a better term, underwhelmed,” said Jones. “It was in a bad state.” 

Because Jones walks to work at the Children’s Museum, the idea of having more attractions within a stone’s throw appeals to her. 

“I appreciate candidates who think that way, who think about what resources we don’t have in Jackson,” said Jones. “It’s easy to be like ‘Oh, you can drive there.’ But what if you can’t, or what if you don’t have transportation? How can we best support the people of Jackson within their accessibility to resources instead of having to go out to the city next to us?”

The post ‘Give me more’: One voter seeks more than ideas from mayoral candidates appeared first on Mississippi Today.

For the last 10 years, north Fondren resident Patricia Ice has called private investment advisor Ashby Foote, the lone Republican on the Jackson City Council, her councilman.

But after the city redrew its ward maps last year due to population declines, the shape of the voting district Ice used to live in, Ward 1, shifted east, meaning she now lives in Ward 3. 

With that came a new city representative, and from appearances, a polar opposite one: Democrat Kenny Stokes, a 33-year veteran on the council known for eccentric quotes delivered in a thick Southern accent. “The mayor must stop smoking that dope,” he said to the local TV station in 2022.

But because of an error that was later corrected, Ice and dozens of her neighbor’s addresses were initially left out of the move, resulting in Ice casting an invalid Ward 1 ballot in this year’s municipal primary election.

For some, the snafu has caused anxiety surrounding an election that, with 19 candidates in the mayoral race alone, has already proven difficult for residents to navigate. 

“So when we vote, will our votes count or matter, since the ballots will be erroneous? Sounds like it could turn into a mess,” one of Ice’s neighbors wrote in a group messaging app.

In February, the Jackson City Clerk’s Office sent out some 6,000 letters to people who, like Ice, experienced a ward change, notifying them ahead of the April 1 primary Election Day which council race they would be voting in.

Ice’s neighbors on bordering streets received the mail confirming they’d been switched to Ward 3. They discussed it in the group chat. But Ice’s letter never came.

Ice called the city clerk, Angela Harris, and the Hinds County Circuit Clerk, Zack Wallace. She recited to them her Kings Highway address and they told her she still lived in Ward 1 – disregarding the published maps that showed her house inside Ward 3. Since Ice is over 65 years old, she had the opportunity to cast an absentee vote.

“That’s when I went to vote early because I said, ‘I’m going to see what’s on my ballot,’” Ice said.

On Mar. 7, Ice cast her vote in the Democratic primary election for Ward 1. Her preferred Ward 1 council candidate is an independent, so on the Democratic ballot, she wrote in her own name for that race. Harris told Mississippi Today Wednesday that Ice was the only person from the impacted section of Kings Highway to vote absentee.

The Secretary of State, which oversees elections, directed questions about this story to the local clerk, but told Mississippi Today that “any errors in redistricting that allow a voter to vote in the wrong district may result in an elections challenge.”

The 2020 U.S. Census found Jackson’s population fell by about 20,000 since 2010, with the decline especially affecting Ward 5 and 3, WLBT reported. The 1964 Voting Rights Act requires that the city’s population be evenly distributed among the districts, with no ward deviating in size by more than 10%, and requires governments to reevaluate every 10 years after the census.

The city commissioned the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District to help it redraw the lines and held public hearings to discuss the changes, which were adopted last August. Part of the hope was that in redrawing cleaner lines, the city could cut down on the number of split precincts, that is, the polling places that serve people of different wards and must manage handing out different ballots on Election Day.

Harris told Mississippi Today that she gave the new maps to the city’s GIS department, which culled the list of addresses that changed wards. Harris gave that list to Wallace, who was responsible for updating the voter registration database and pulling the names of residents who would need to be notified. But Wallace said the two-block section of Kings Highway from Meadowbrook to Northside Drive was left out of the spreadsheet of addresses he received.

“So those 50 something people are still right now in Ward 1,” Harris told Mississippi Today last week, not indicating a change would be made before the election.

If true, those Kings Highway residences would represent an island of Ward 1 voters inside Ward 3. Legally, wards must be contiguous, City Attorney Drew Martin said at a hearing last year.

“They cannot have islands or donuts within them,” Gray Ouzts, Principal Planner for the local planning and development district, told Mississippi Today.

After Mississippi Today spoke to Foote about the error last week, he added an agenda item to discuss the issue at the council’s Tuesday meeting. Then Harris took action, sending Wallace a list Monday of the Kings Highway addresses that had been left out. Wallace quickly updated the voter registration database to reflect their correct ward and letters went out to those residents the same day.

Another impacted Kings Highway resident, Jennifer Baughn, spoke to Mississippi Today before the correction was made. It may not have made a difference on the outcome of the race, but to Baughn, the error threatened to lock her out of the democratic process. Baughn concluded that if she’d received a Ward 1 ballot, she’d have voted for someone who wouldn’t actually represent her. 

“That’s the essence of disenfranchised. And yet, there’s no acknowledgement from the city clerk … It’s ridiculous,” Baughn said before her voter registration was corrected. “I wasn’t super happy about being moved, but now I’m feeling like we won’t be getting representation from either (council member), because the Ward 1 candidate is going to know that we’re not going to be voters the next time, so why put the effort into our street? And we have major issues.”

Baughn said a new nightclub opened up within a block of her house, and the music and traffic have kept her awake into the wee hours of the night.

She said she’s also run into similar ambiguity about which of the separate police forces in Jackson are there to serve her. Take a noise complaint, for example. She said when she calls Jackson Police Department, an employee has told them she is in the jurisdiction of Capitol Police, and when she’s called Capitol Police, they’ve told her they don’t deal in city ordinance enforcement.

“We have no one to call. We call the police and they say, ‘Oh you need to talk to your council person,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay who is our council person?’” Baughn said.

Though he hasn’t made contact with his new constituents yet, Stokes is apparently up to speed on the issues residents in that area are facing, bringing up nightclubs unprompted. “I ride, I ride my whole ward,” Stokes said. “I ride, I look, I observe, and I pay attention to the different patterns that’s taking place.”

Abigail Hartman, president of the Fondren North neighborhood association, said her community was generally pleased when they learned they would be represented by Stokes, who they feel is more responsive to constituents, rather than Foote. 

While Foote tinkers away in his office on maps he had made of all state-owned tax forfeited property in Jackson, a driver of blight across the city, Stokes appears at community events he’s organized, shaking hands and wearing his signature black hat with white serif font reading, “STOKES”.

Ironically, despite their quite different tacks, constituents of Stokes and Foote currently receive very similar representation on the council since the two men nearly always vote together, particularly on items where they have a chance to oppose Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. 

“Politics makes for strange bedfellows,” Foote said. “We’ve both had differences with the mayor.”

In 2022, during a spat over selecting a new garbage contractor, Lumumba accused both Foote and Stokes of taking bribes from one of the vendors, which they both denied. (Hence, Stokes’ “smoking dope” quote).

Later, at the end of Foote’s term as council president, the Ward 1 councilman had replica black and white ball caps made for himself and all the other council members spelling their own names in “the Stokes lettering,” Foote said.

From hurling taunts like “Yo mama” or suggesting Black leadership “throw rocks and bricks and bottles” at suburb police to calling out Lumumba, who was eventually indicted by federal prosecutors, “Stokes has evolved a lot over the last eight years,” Foote said.

“I think he’s seen more as a voice of common sense now,” Foote said.

There are a total of 52 candidates running for either mayor or council this year, including Lumumba and 11 challengers in the Democratic primary for mayor April 1. Foote chose to run as an independent as a way to encourage his supporters to participate in the Democratic primary, which commonly determines the winner for mayor. Foote, who represents a whiter, wealthier part of the city in northeast Jackson, will face two challengers in the general election – the Democratic nominee and one independent. Four are running for Ward 1 in the Democratic primary.

So the north Fondren residents who moved from Ward 1 to Ward 3 have a little easier decision this election. Stokes does not face a challenger until the General Election in June, when he runs against one independent. 

But once Hartman learned some residents in her association were told they’d still be voting in Ward 1, “We’re having to research double the amount of candidates,” she said.

“I’ve never had to work so hard in an election season,” Hartman said.

Adding to the confusion, campaign signs and mailers for Ward 1 candidates began popping up in Hartman’s neighborhood, causing residents to wonder who exactly was mistaken.

“If anything, it should have been caught. It’s sad that it took some of the individuals in the neighborhood to dig into this and find the information for themselves,” Hartman said.

Ice received a letter Tuesday notifying that her vote had been voided and she’d have to go back to City Hall to cast a new absentee ballot for Ward 3. But unlike some of her neighbors, she wasn’t too bothered. “I don’t mind going down there to vote again,” she said.

“I was never that worried about it,” Ice said. The only thing she’s sought from the council was, years ago, for them to add some speed bumps to her street, which never materialized.

The longtime immigrant rights attorney is much more concerned about what’s happening on a national level, the new Trump administration’s dismantling of federal programs and threats towards democracy, which she described as a coup d’état.

The local election ordeal did, however, remind Ice of the impression she had when she moved to Mississippi from her hometown of Detroit in 1998. She’d heard of Mississippi’s notorious history of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement, a legacy still visible today through the state’s attachment to some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation. When Ice registered to vote in Mississippi for the first time, she said she was required to get the signature of a sponsor in her area. 

“This is really true,” she remembered thinking, “they really do have a hard time voting here.”

The post A Jackson resident of Ward 3, due to city error, votes in Ward 1 primary  appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on has ruled that it would not change its prior decree that Mississippi cannot count mail-in absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day.  

The order means that Mississippi’s law allowing election workers to process mail-in ballots for up to five business days after the election will be suspended for all federal elections. The law only allowed the workers to count ballots postmarked by Election Day.

The ruling does not impact state or local races, including Mississippi’s upcoming municipal elections. Mississippi’s next federal election will be the 2026 midterm, where all four of Mississippi’s U.S. House members are up for reelection, as well as U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. 

The recent order affirms an October ruling from a three-judge court that sided with the Republican National Committee and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, who sued Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office because he administers the state’s elections.

The order stated that Judges Jennifer Elrod, Edith Jones, Jerry Smith, Priscilla Richman, Catharina Haynes, Don Willet, James Ho, Stuart Duncan, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham voted for denying the rehearing.

Judges Carl Stewart, James Graves, Stephen Higginson, Dana Douglas and Carrillo Ramirez dissented with the majority and voted in favor of a rehearing. Judges Leslie Southwick and Cory Wilson did not participate in the rehearing consideration. 

Judge Oldham, writing for the majority, said the law that the Legislature enacted in 2020 to allow election workers to count mail-in ballots that arrived up to five days after the election conflicts with federal law because Congress had not explicitly granted states the authority to process ballots after Election Day. 

“The question presented to the panel was whether, in the absence of any federal statute authorizing any deviation from the uniform Election Day requirement, States nonetheless have freedom to accept ballots for as long as they would like,” Oldham wrote. “The panel held no.”

It’s unclear if Secretary Watson’s office will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Both Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office told Mississippi Today they are reviewing the court’s decision. 

In a dissent, Judge Graves, a former Mississippi Supreme Court judge, wrote that the overwhelming majority of existing case law grants states the ability to regulate the finite details of federal elections. 

“Simply stated, federal law does not mandate that ballots be received by state officials before Election Day’s conclusion, and the panel’s contrary holding is erroneous,” Graves wrote. 

The ruling also comes during the dwindling days of the 2025 legislative session, where lawmakers could try to address the issue. If legislators pass a measure that removes the five-day timeframe, the litigation would be moot. 

Senate Elections Chairman Jeremy England said he doubts the Legislature will address the issue this session, meaning the only way for the state to address the ruling is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

The post Federal appeals court affirms Mississippi can’t count late mail-in absentee ballots for federal elections appeared first on Mississippi Today.

We cover a busy Mississippi scene in both hoops and hardball with a little Jaxson Dart to the Saints projection thrown in for good measure.

Stream all episodes here.

The post Podcast: At the intersection of basketball and baseball… appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Jake Mangum, the all-time Southeastern Conference hits leader,, turned 29 earlier this month. He’s a young man, unless we’re talking about his baseball age. Baseball-wise, to use a golf analogy, he’s making the turn and heading to the back nine.

Mangum, perhaps the most popular player in Mississippi State history, now has played five seasons in the minor leagues for three different Major League franchises without getting a chance to play in a big league regular season game. The Tampa Bay Rays last November placed Mangum on their 40-man Major League roster, but they can only keep 26 to begin the regular season. Every projection I’ve seen does not include Mangum in that number. And, frankly, this long-time baseball observer does not understand why.

A switch-hitter, Mangum has hit at every level. He runs the bases exceedingly well. He is an outstanding fielder, who can play any of the three outfield positions with remarkable range and a strong, accurate arm. From all accounts, he is a team player, indeed a leader.

But Mangum is also walking, talking, line drive-hitting proof of how Big League baseball has morphed over the years. It is now all about power, all about the long ball. 

When I talked to Mangum Tuesday, he was enjoying only his second day off this spring training at the Tampa Bay Rays facility in downtown St. Petersburg. Ten days away from the Rays’ season opener, Mangum does not know whether he would begin the regular season with the Major League club – or back in Class AAA with the Durham Bulls.

“Obviously, I really hope to be in the Major Leagues on opening day,” he said. “But I don’t control that. If I’m back in Triple A, I’ll keep working, keep hitting and believing that good things will happen.” 

Know this: Mangum  has done everything within his power to make his Major League dream come true. Look at the numbers.

Yes, look at the numbers. As this is written, Mangum has hit .429, having played in 15 of the Rays’ 20 spring training games. He has hit safely in 12 of 28 at bats, with three doubles and two home runs. He leads the Rays in runs batted in with nine. And, yes, that’s a small sample size, but Mangum’s stats are far better than any of the projected Rays’ outfield starters. Center fielder Jonny DeLuca has hit .188 with no extra base hits. (DeLuca hit .217 with the Rays last season.) Mangum would hit better than .188 cross-handed.

Again, the knock on Mangum has always been that he doesn’t hit for power. (He has hit 24 home runs, 101 doubles and 21 triples over five minor league seasons.) But he has worked his tail off to build muscle and add pop. This past Sunday, Mangum smashed two home runs and drove in four runs in a victory over the Washington Nationals.

“First time I’ve homered twice in one game in my life, all the way back to little league,” Mangum said. “Best thing about it, I hit one to the pull side and the other to the opposite field.”

Mangum, dating back to his days at Jackson Prep and then Mississippi State, always has used the whole field from both sides of the plate. Pitch him inside, and he’ll pull it down the line for extra bases. Pitch him away, he’ll go to the opposite field. That hasn’t changed, except for the fact that he is added muscle and therefore bat speed.

“Every year, you get a little stronger,” Mangum said. “I’ve been training hard, working on my body. Look, baseball is hard, hitting a baseball against Major League pitching is really, really difficult.

“It’s such a challenging game, but I feel really good at the plate right now,” Mangum said. “I am not trying to hit home runs. I am just trying to hit the ball hard on a line as many times as I can. If I get under it a little and it goes out, that’s great, too.”

Mangum says he has a good relationship with Rays manager Kevin Cash, who he calls “a winner.”

And Cash has had good things to say about Mangum, praising his defense, his ntensity, his hitting and his persistence. “Those guys that stick at it, trying to get that opportunity to make their mark in the big leagues, it’s easy to root for them. It’s easy to pull for them,” Cash told Adam Berry, who covers the Rays for mlb.com. 

Said Mangum, “I’m doing what I love and I’ll do it as long as they’ll let me. I love baseball.”

Surely, someday, hopefully soon, baseball will love him back.

Updated 3/19/24: Shortly after this column published Wednesday morning, the Tampa Bay Rays optioned Jake Mangum to the club’s Class AAA team, the Durham Bulls.

The post What does Jake Mangum have to do to make the Major Leagues? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The GOP-controlled House and Senate passed competing “compromise” plans on Tuesday to eliminate the state income tax and raise gasoline taxes — but the Senate only narrowly passed its plan with the help of four Democrats. 

The proposals advanced by each chamber continue a debate over the potential risks and rewards of drastically altering the tax structure in the poorest state in the country as federal spending cuts loom. 

Tuesday’s Senate vote raises the question of whether that chamber could pass a more aggressive income tax elimination proposal even if the Republican Senate leadership reaches an agreement with House leaders.

The legislative dynamics 

The state Constitution requires a three-fifths majority of lawmakers to approve tax bills, so if Democrats Sarita Simmons of Cleveland, Juan Barnett of Heidelberg, Gary Brumfield of Magnolia and Angela Turner Ford of West Point had not joined the Republican majority to support the measure, it would have failed. 

“You know what they call a medical school student who finished last in his class? A doctor,” Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins told reporters after the close vote. 

Only a couple of votes could have derailed the bill in the Senate because four Republican senators voted against the measure, and four Republicans voted “present.”

Harkins said the razor-thin margin shows how fragile the coalition of support is in the 51-member chamber and how there isn’t an enormous appetite to accelerate the income tax elimination rapidly as the House proposes. 

Some Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, appeared frustrated that four of their colleagues broke from them to ensure the measure’s passage.

“Time and time again, I’ve seen where (Democrats) have had the ability to exert our power, yet we have fallen short by not voting in solidarity with the working people of Mississippi,” Simmons told Mississippi Today. 

Ahead of a Tuesday evening deadline, the House also passed an updated version of its original tax reform package in a 91-27 vote, with 11 Democrats crossing party lines in the Republican-controlled chamber to support the bill. Unlike the Senate, every Republican in the House chamber has voted to eliminate the income tax. 

Debate centers on slashing state budget as federal cuts loom

Republican House Ways and Means Trey Lamar said the House proposal slashes state revenues to give working people tax cuts. 

“This bill is the most substantial tax cut for Mississippians that this state has ever known or seen,” Lamar said.  

House Democratic Leader Robert Johnson called the bill “grossly irresponsible” and “dangerous,” arguing it would hollow out the state’s budget at a time when the federal government is considering vast spending cuts to programs Mississippi relies on. 

“We are the poorest state in the union, the lowest per capita income in the country … They are getting ready to put you in a situation where it doesn’t matter how much money they put back in your pockets,” Johnson said. “Be cognizant of the fact that you elected people to come in here and gut your public services, gut your public education, gut your public safety and gut your public health.” 

Experts have told Mississippi Today that deep federal spending cuts, along with the elimination of the state income tax, could reduce Mississippi’s ability to fund services. Some also warn the shift to a more regressive form of taxation would hit poor and low-income Mississippians hardest.

Mississippi is perennially among the most federally dependent states, receiving nearly a 3-1 return for every dollar in federal taxes it pays. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed fear of the economic impact of federal cuts.

The focus of future negotiations 

Now that the two chambers have passed alternative tax cut plans, six lawmakers will likely try to work out a final agreement in a conference committee. 

Going forward, the Senate is unlikely to accept a deal that increases the state sales tax and does not change the structure of the Public Employees Retirement System. The Senate is pushing a “hybrid” retirement plan to shore up the system financially by cutting benefits for future employees.

House Speaker Jason White said he plans to press the Senate to move off its “hard condition” of overhauling PERS. His caucus wants a dedicated stream of revenue for the retirement system. The House has proposed diverting most of the state’s lottery proceeds to PERS, or he suggested for the first time Tuesday that revenue from legalizing online sports betting could also help the system.

“The spot we’ve identified for additional revenue is mobile sports betting, where we’re losing to illegal gambling now,” White said. If (the Senate) wants to keep the amount of either gas tax or sales that has to be raised to offset this income tax (cut), then we should look at that as a valid place to look.” 

Legalizing mobile sports betting has been another wedge between the chambers. The House has passed legislation this session to legalize the practice but the measure faces opposition in the Senate.

A look at the latest tax proposals  

The new House Plan would:

• Fully eliminate the state income tax by 2037. The elimination would begin phasing in after the state next year finishes implementing another income tax cut it approved in 2022. The phase-in period would take a decade, beginning with a reduction from 4% to 3.5% and then lowering further from there.
• Cut about $2.2 billion from the state’s current $7 billion general fund. The state would also raise about $750 million through tax increases. But much of collected through tax increases would go to the general fund.
• Increase the state’s net sales tax from 7% to 8%. The revenue from this tax increase would provide $48 million annually to pay for infrastructure improvements via the State Aid Road Fund. The remaining money would go into the state’s general fund.
• Add a new 15-cents-a-gallon excise tax on gasoline. The tax increase would be phased in at 5 cents a year over three years. This would be added to the current 18.4-cents-a-gallon excise Mississippi motorists currently pay.
• Cut the sales tax on groceries from 7% to 5%.
• Increase the state’s “use yax,” which is imposed on goods purchased outside the state or online, from 7% to 8%.
• Create a new fund that gives those over the age of 65 property tax credits of $200 a year. The fund would be paid for by revenue from the use tax increase referenced above.
• Transfer $100 million per year from the state lottery system into the public employee retirement system. 

The new Senate plan would: 

• Decrease the 4% income tax rate by .25% each year from 2027 to 2030 and leave it at 3% in 2030.
• After it reaches 3%, the income tax would be reduced with “growth triggers” or at a proportional rate depending on the difference between the state’s revenue and spending plans that year. 
• Reduce the sales tax on groceries from 7% to 5%.
• Increase the 18.4-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax by 9 cents over three years, for a total of 27.4 cents, then this would increase automatically based on the cost of road construction.
• Change benefits for government employees hired after March 2026 to a “hybrid” retirement that includes part-defined benefit and part-defined contribution.

The post Senate and House pass revised plans to eliminate income tax, increase gasoline tax appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Dozens of advocates, doctors and spiritual leaders gathered outside the Capitol Tuesday to call for the “defense and expansion of Medicaid.” 

“Medicaid is not just an insurance program – it is a lifeline for 707,000 Mississippians,” said Sonya Williams Barnes, the state policy director for Southern Poverty Law Center. “Medicaid ensures that 315,000 children receive the health care they need … Make no mistakes: A cut to Medicaid directly harms our most vulnerable.”

Despite having some of the strictest eligibility requirements for the program, Mississippi has one of the largest Medicaid populations in the country as a result of the state’s poverty. 

With federal changes threatening already-existing health care programs, defending Medicaid for vulnerable groups such as those who are pregnant, elderly or disabled has become the new goal  for Mississippi advocates. Expanding Medicaid – arguably the biggest issue of the historic 2024 legislative session – has taken a backseat. 

But some urge it’s as important as ever. 

“In this moment we cannot shift gears, after all these years, and only beg our elected officials to save Medicaid,” the Rev. Jason Coker said. “We can’t give up that ground at a moment when we need to be gaining ground. We’ve got to keep pushing for Medicaid expansion, while we demand and pray for Medicaid to continue uncut.” 

Key lawmakers have said expanding Medicaid in Mississippi is all but dead this year – though a vehicle for expansion is still alive in the Legislature. 

“In a most practical sense, I’d say we probably won’t be doing anything this year,” Senate Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell told Mississippi Today.

Mississippi is one of 10 states not to expand Medicaid, which would give health insurance to hundreds of thousands of low-income working Mississippians who can’t afford private health insurance and don’t qualify for subsidies that make marketplace insurance affordable.

“What kind of society are we to compound suffering with catastrophic costs to those in our congregations and so many across our state who fall within that coverage gap?” Coker asked. 

Dr. Randy Easterling, former president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, recounted a story of an uninsured patient who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a kind of cancer, around the same time that Easterling’s insured relative was also diagnosed with the disease. The uninsured patient, Jimmy, died, while Easterling’s relative is now in remission. 

“Is this what we boil down to?” Easterling asked. “If you have insurance, you live, if you don’t, you die? Let me tell you something, folks: That’s not what I signed up for when I went to medical school.”

The post Doctors, advocates rally at Capitol: ‘Defend and expand Medicaid’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: Errick Simmons is the third-term mayor of Greenville. This article is part of an ongoing Mississippi Today Ideas series showcasing perspectives of mayors across the state.

As mayor of Greenville, it’s my honor to share our city’s journey of growth and transformation. Greenville isn’t just a point on a map — it’s a vibrant community with a rich history, culture and shared vision for the future.

With billions of dollars in investments flowing into Greenville, including the recent $1.2 billion Entergy project, we’re witnessing the dawn of a new era. These milestones are creating opportunities across education, healthcare, infrastructure and economic development, fueling a Greenville that’s resilient, inclusive and built to last.

Historic investments reshaping Greenville

Greenville is seeing an unprecedented wave of investment that touches every corner of our community. In addition to a new federal courthouse positioning Greenville as a judicial hub, we’ve launched the Greenville Kearns Aerospace Maintenance (GKAM) program. In partnership with Mississippi Delta Community College, this initiative provides local students with hands-on aviation training, opening pathways to high-paying, skilled careers right here at home.

Through Mississippi’s first formalized college network — the Greenville College Access and Attainment Network (GCAAN) — we’re helping students move from high school to college with the support, resources and mentorship they need.

This past fall, we celebrated the groundbreaking $1.2 billion Entergy investment, which will transform Greenville, Washington County and the greater Delta region. Entergy’s new combined-cycle combustion turbine facility will use dual-fuel technology, primarily natural gas with hydrogen blending capability, enhancing energy reliability while moving toward cleaner power. Scheduled for completion in 2028, this plant will be Entergy’s first newly built natural gas station in 50 years and is expected to bring valuable jobs to our residents.

To add another billion-dollar icing on the cake, the Kinder Morgan Mississippi Crossing Project, a $1.4 billion natural gas project, is designed to transport 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Greenville to Butler, Alabama, with a planned operation date of November 2028. This project will create 700 temporary construction jobs.

Health and food access for a thriving community

Beyond economic development, we’re prioritizing health and food security, recognizing that wellness is foundational to a thriving community. Through partnerships with Mars Food, Molina Healthcare and Kroger, we’re expanding access to nutritious foods, addressing food deserts, and ensuring every Greenville resident has healthy options.

In healthcare, Delta Health System’s Mississippi Delta Family Residency Program and Delta Health Center’s new clinic are not only providing much-needed medical services but also training future medical providers who are passionate about serving right here in the Delta. This work is about more than access; it’s about building equity in the health of our community.

A resilient infrastructure for Greenville’s future

Our infrastructure investments are reshaping Greenville. With $260 million invested in the Greenville Freight Corridor, we’re creating new efficiencies for local businesses and industries. We’ve committed $92 million for essential road, bridge and wastewater repairs, and an additional $50 million in funding is supporting flood recovery and building resilience against future disasters. These projects go beyond routine repairs; they’re about Greenville’s long-term sustainability and strength.

Delta culture shines in the “City of Festivals”

Greenville’s heritage is a source of pride, celebrated through an array of festivals that showcase the best of Delta culture. Newly dubbed the “City of Festivals,” Greenville is home to the Delta Hot Tamale Festival, (2024 USA Today No. 1 Specialty Food Festival); the Mississippi Delta Blues & Heritage Festival (world’s longest running blues festival), and a host of newer festivals and events. These gatherings draw thousands of national and international visitors and embody the unique community spirit that makes Greenville special. Our partnership with Viking River Cruises is another significant achievement, bringing tourists annually to experience our history, music and culinary traditions.

Business boom and community recognition

Our city’s economic resurgence extends to our business community. Greenville has seen record-breaking business openings, including national brands like NuFarm, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A and Tru by Hilton, along with a boom in small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses. This growth reflects Greenville’s welcoming climate for entrepreneurs and business leaders who are breathing new life into our local economy.

Greenville’s commitment to creating a livable, family-friendly city has gained national recognition. We were honored with the City Livability Achievement Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors for our “Worship on the Water” initiative, which fosters community connections, and the National Child Well-Being Champion Award from FoodCorps, highlighting our commitment to food education in schools. As chair of the Southern Municipal Conference, I am privileged to help lead conversations around solutions to shared challenges across Southern cities, driving positive change for the Delta and beyond.

Greenville’s global advocacy for the Mississippi River

As mayor of Greenville, I have the privilege of placing our city on the global stage, advocating for the Mississippi River’s significance to global food security, trade and climate resilience. Recently, I delivered a “TED Talk” style presentation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the Building Resilience Conference in Washington, D.C. I addressed executives from Fortune 500 companies and federal agency representatives about the resilience-at-scale work cities are undertaking along the Mississippi River.

Together with 104 bipartisan mayors, we are collaborating with Ducks Unlimited to deploy 100,000 acres of nature-based infrastructure. This advocacy continues at international forums, such as COP26 in Glasgow, COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in Dubai, where I represented Greenville alongside mayors from around the globe, urging global investment in the Mississippi River Basin, which spans 10 states.

This collaborative work with local and international partners is essential for both food security and water quality. By highlighting the importance of the Mississippi River, we are not only advocating for our community but also positioning Greenville as a key player in the global conversation around sustainable development and climate resilience.

Greenville: A community that moves forward together

I invite you to see the progress happening in Greenville — a city bridging its rich past with a promising future. From our investments in cleaner energy and resilient infrastructure to the growth of new businesses and cultural festivals, Greenville embodies the spirit that is our Delta heritage. This is a community where opportunity meets ambition, and where every project, partnership and celebration is part of a larger story — a story of a Delta city with a legacy as rich as its future is bright.

Our journey is ongoing, but every day, I see Greenville becoming a place of hope and opportunity. We’re not just building for today; we’re building for generations to come, with Greenville as a model of what a city can achieve with vision, determination and the strength of its people.

The post Mayor Simmons: Greenville aims to be city of hope and opportunity appeared first on Mississippi Today.

A baby cried as Gwendolyn Chapman wrote down a question in precise pencil script. 

A former mayoral hopeful, Chapman was just another voter Monday night. She’d gone to the candidate forum at the Afrikan Art Gallery, a space for Jackson’s activist community and one of the few surviving businesses on historic Farish Street, historically the center of Black business in the city. 

Chapman, 70, wanted to know how the nine candidates who’d shown up would work together after the election to better the city she’s called home for most of her life, even if they didn’t win, she told Mississippi Today. The primary — a faceoff between 12 democratic candidates — will be on April 1.

But nearly two hours in, Chapman hadn’t gotten much of an answer. Some candidates sounded more invested in the loss of one of their opponents than in their own victory. Even though one of the forum’s organizers, Asinia Lukata Chikuyu, said he’d tried to get the candidates to focus on policies, some kept lobbing insinuations and outright attacks at the others in front of the 50 or so attendees. 

Chapman hoped to help bring some clarity. But she couldn’t get the moderator’s attention. Every time she stood up, Eldridge Henderson, a local radio host, would call on someone else. A pole in front of Chapman’s chair blocked her from view. 

Finally, she spoke up — loudly. “I have a question,” she announced. 

Henderson pointed at a woman to his left. “She’s next and then you,” he said. 

The woman mainly directed her question to Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the current mayor whose federal indictment for bribery has left many Jacksonians wondering if he will be able to win a third term. She asked if Lumumba could speak to the city’s broken relationship with the state, which she said has “closed its pockets.” 

“Absolutely,” he began. “First of all, if you think that the issue with the state of Mississippi has anything to do with the mayor, not only have you not been following history, you’re falling right into the trap, right?” 

No one in the state had an issue with him, Lumumba continued, until he refused to give up the airport and until the city’s gun violence increased, something he said he predicted would happen after the pandemic, which is why he tried to ban open carry via executive order. 

“You have to understand there’s a difference between being friendly and being a friend,” he added. “A friend funds things not in campaign season, but for 30 years. Friends support you in that way, right? So that’s a misnomer. And we have to understand that there’s a difference between being a diplomat and a doorman.” 

Next to respond was state Sen. John Horhn, a four-time candidate for mayor who some view as Lumumba’s most formidable challenger.

“Our city is broken,” Horhn began. “Just about every department doesn’t function. The police? Maybe. The fire department? Maybe. I don’t like how they did the contract, but the garbage is being picked up. Everything else is dysfunctional. We don’t even have a bond rating, right, because audits haven’t been submitted the way they’re supposed to be submitted—”

Lumumba muttered something about “the council.” 

“Can I get 5 seconds back from that interruption?” Horhn asked. He went on to say that he believes that no one trusts the city — not the residents, the county, the state or the federal government, which he claimed took $800 million in funds from the city and gave it to JXN Water, the third-party administrator overseeing the city’s water system, precisely due to a lack of trust.

“That, that’s something I have to directly respond to,” Lumumba said, rising from his chair. “Because that’s not true.” 

Henderson and Lukata rushed toward the moderator’s podium, their hands outstretched. “Not right now,” Lukata said. Lumumba sat back down. 

It seemed like Chapman’s time. But more candidates kept standing up to answer. The baby babbled.

Socrates Garrett, a local businessman and city contractor, called on divided Jacksonians to come together and march on the state Capitol to expose the state government’s racism. In a response to Horhn, James Hopkins, a community activist who works in retail management, said the city’s current administration is not the reason that Jackson can’t get the state and federal funds it needs. 

“When Jackson went Black, the state held back,” Hopkins said. “That’s what we’re dealing with. It has nothing to do with this administration, absolutely nothing.”

Then candidate David Archie, a former Hinds County supervisor, stood up. 

“I have to answer this,” he said. 

“No, no, gentleman, no,” Henderson pleaded. He pointed at Chapman. It was finally her turn. She stood.

“I’ve really enjoyed this forum,” Chapman said. “This is what I would like to know: The person who do become mayor, of all the candidates that’s sitting there, about how many percent would come together to express their ideas, express their problems, express what’s going on, to support the mayor? 

“We need some unity in this community, especially among our nation of people,” she added. 

The first to answer, Lumumba rephrased her question.

“The question — hopefully this doesn’t count against my time — the question is, would you be willing to work with everyone else, essentially, right, if you are elected mayor or if you are not elected mayor,” he said. 

He went on to name former Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber, who defeated Lumumba in the 2014 special election held to replace Lumumba’s father after he died eight months into his first term. When he lost, Lumumba said he didn’t sulk, instead he stood with Yarber to defend the city’s ownership of the airport. But when Lumumba finally won election in 2017, beating Horhn, Lumumba said the state senator called Jackson voters “fickle” and “uneducated.” 

“Clarion Ledger, May 3, 2017,” Lumumba said, urging voters to look up the article that contained those quotes from Horhn. 

“Hmm, okay,” Chapman said. “May 3. Alright, May 3.” 

Next, candidate and local personal injury attorney Delano Funches said that if he didn’t win, he would continue doing what he’s been doing for the last 10 years — working with Jackson’s youth and trying to reduce crime. 

This answer did not satisfy Chapman. 

“That wasn’t my question but go ahead,” she said. 

Archie said he got his start as a community activist. 

“That didn’t answer my question either,” Chapman said. “Just one person answered so far.” 

A woman in a floral dress leaned over her chair and whispered to Chapman, “you ain’t gonna get no answer.”

Candidate Albert Wilson, a nonprofit founder and former geometry teacher, went next. In a seeming answer to the question before Chapman’s, he said Thalia Mara Hall wouldn’t be closed for as long as it has been if Jackson were able to adequately maintain its facilities. 

“Well, just one person answered my question,” Chapman stated, seeming to no longer care to listen to Wilson, who was still talking. “Nobody answered it yet but one person. So it is egotistical narcissism. No unity in the community. This is a grand example.” 

The baby started crying again. More candidates got up. 

Garrett said he would be willing to work with everybody, win, lose or draw, because he was an elder with gray hair who could help guide young leaders. Horhn said that over the past 32 years, he has delivered construction projects for every administration, from the Civil Rights Museum to the convention center and the parkway by Jackson State University, but that some of the other candidates have not been as proactive.

“These folks have left the nose of the camel under the tent and now the whole body of the camel is under the tent,” Horhn said.

In response to Lumumba’s shot at him, Horhn said that Jackson voters are “sweet and innocent” but “fickle sometimes in terms of how we pick our folks. And when we hear somebody say ‘free the land, power to the people. When I’m the mayor, you’re the mayor’” — Horhn said, repeating common Lumumba phrases — “do you feel like you’re the mayor? After eight years, is life better for you in Jackson?”

Candidate and construction company owner Marcus Wallace said he thought Chapman’s question was a good one, but he did not directly answer it, instead speaking about times he had worked with past administrations.

The baby wailed even louder. Lumumba and Archie looked at their phones. 

Then candidate and retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Tim Henderson, who had introduced himself as “Tim Henderson, the military guy,” stood up. 

He spoke somewhat quietly. The easy answer, he said, was yes, but he had learned a lot since announcing his candidacy. 

“The elephant in the room on that question is there are cliques in the city,” he said. “There are groups of people in different parts of this city that are making decisions for everybody else in the city and don’t even consult the folks that it affects the most.” 

“True,” Wallace said.

“You’ve got to have a leader that recognizes this is the challenge,” Henderson continued. “It’s not going to be easy because there are folks that are dug in in this city.” 

That was it. As another voter asked a question, Chapman and her cousin who she’d attended the forum with got up and left. 

Outside in the parking lot, Chapman said she thought Lumumba was the only candidate who answered her question. The only reason any of the others were on topic, she said, was because they saw she was applauding Lumumba’s answer. 

But the city’s future is more important than any one person, she said. 

“They have to see that if the winner, which is the mayor, wins, and the other candidates come together in terms of support, that would bring a lot together,” she said. “It really will.” 

The post ‘That wasn’t my question:’ Jackson voters seeking answers contend with candidate ‘ego’ at forums appeared first on Mississippi Today.

A Mississippi State University staff physician who had an inappropriate relationship with a graduate student who was also his patient remained employed at the student health center for a year after a nurse reported concerns to the Title IX office. 

That physician, Cliff Story, had served as executive director of university health services since 2013. Story would go on to have his medical license suspended last year for his sexual misconduct toward the graduate student. 

In January 2021, the student was contacted by the Title IX office about an anonymous report regarding her relationship with Story, according to public records obtained by Mississippi Today and reported here for the first time. 

But after the student said Story instructed her to keep their relationship a secret, she did not tell the Title IX office about his treatment of her. 

“He told me not to discuss anything that could indicate he engaged in sexual misconduct, or I was ‘special’ to him because he would lose his job and financial support for his [redacted],” the victim told the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure. 

Story remained at the university’s Longest Student Health Center as a staff physician for another year and continued to initiate sex with the student, public records show. He left in January 2022 of his own volition and joined North Mississippi Health Services.

In a statement, the university’s spokesperson, Sid Salter, wrote that while “the university does not discuss the contents of sexual misconduct investigations,” no Title IX complaint or criminal charge was filed against Story during his employment at Mississippi State. 

Story continued to treat patients at the student health center.

“But MSU Title IX officials did interview the woman and Dr. Story after hearing rumors and having a Health Center colleague nurse report concerns to the Title IX office,” Salter wrote. “Both individuals denied that any improper relationship had occurred or was ongoing. Without a Title IX complaint or criminal charges, such allegations are very difficult to substantiate.”

In 2021, the Title IX office received 21 complaints that were usually resolved within 60 days, Salter wrote. 

At a hearing before the medical board in November, Story said that he had never taken a break or been suspended from the practice of medicine during his relationship with the victim, which began in mid-2020 and ended in 2023. He also denied that he instructed the victim to lie or conceal their relationship.

Story’s victim filed a complaint in March 2024 with the State Board of Medical Licensure, which opened an investigation and ultimately found Story guilty of unprofessional conduct, including sexual misconduct, after that November hearing. His license was suspended for a year. 

Despite multiple attempts, neither Story nor his attorney, Matthew Thompson, could be reached before press time. 

During the board hearing, Thompson argued that his client was aware he had committed an ethical violation but thought he had a “mutual” relationship with the victim, to whom he also believed he provided adequate care. 

Thompson further noted a professional acumen test found that Story’s conduct could be improved through an intensive treatment program focused on medical ethics. The test also concluded that Story did groom the victim, whom he first met when she was a freshman in 2013, but that it was likely he had not had sexual contact with any other current or former patients. 

“Dr. Story is a good doctor,” Thompson told the medical board. 

But some of Story’s testimony raised more questions than answers about evidence the board obtained in its investigation. 

The victim testified to the board’s investigator that Story had told her in January 2021 he was involved with human resources and someone from Title IX might contact her. Her therapist submitted a timeline to the board that stated Story was contacted by the Title IX office in December 2020.  Salter also said Title IX contacted Story.

When the board’s attorney, Paul Barnes, asked Story if anyone from MSU had asked him about his relationship with the victim, Story responded “yes” before Thompson objected, forcing Barnes to change tack. 

Barnes then asked if Story knew of any complaints that were made to MSU about him and his relationship to the victim, in an apparent attempt to put more information about Title IX onto the record.

Story responded with confusion. 

“I don’t know of anybody complaining to me, to them,” Story said. “I don’t know what anybody — nobody tells me that ‘John’ has complained about this. I don’t know what people have complained about.”

“So, no one ever contacted you and said ‘there’s been a complaint about you’?” Barnes asked. 

“Well, again, not about any complaint,” Story said. “People might say something about rumors, but, I mean.” He trailed off.  

Barnes was not permitted to ask Story what he meant by “rumors” after the board sustained another objection from Thompson.  

In another instance, a board member asked Story about a screenshot the victim saved of a text on Signal, a messaging app that allows users to automatically delete messages. This was important because the victim told the board that Story used the app to communicate with her “very secretly.” 

The screenshot shows that “Doc MSU set disappearing message time to 1 day.”

“Do you remember when that might’ve been?” the board member asked. The screenshot is undated but appears, based on the phrasing of Story’s text to the victim, to be from near the end of their relationship.

Story seemed to respond with more confusion. 

“I would think she put that, I don’t know, because even now I don’t have disappearing texts, and I don’t know how to do it on my phone, so if that was done,” Story said before pausing. “First, I don’t recall it. Second, I don’t even do it now, and I don’t know that I could fumble through it and guess — I don’t know why that was done. That’s not something even I would do.” 

There were more reasons the victim thought Story was working to keep their relationship under wraps, according to evidence submitted to the medical board. 

Story had worked as a physician at MSU since 2008, and the student first met him in 2013, the same year he was promoted to executive director. Through medical records, the board determined that Story treated the student until January 2021. 

In late 2019 or early 2020, Story began frequently texting the victim, according to a timeline the victim’s therapist constructed. During office visits, Story would compliment and hug her. Then in the summer of 2020, “the first sexual abuse incident” occurred at the student health center, according to the therapist. 

In one text message, the date of which is unclear, the victim wondered if people would think her presence at the health center was “weird,” so Story offered to meet her in the stairwell or talk by the cars. 

In September 2020, the victim had a medical incident that resulted in Story giving her a ride from the health center, bringing her medication and having sex with her in her home over the course of multiple visits, according to the therapist’s timeline. 

“He later told her she couldn’t come to the clinic any longer because people didn’t understand their connection and made her feel like he was the only person she could trust to help her,” the therapist wrote. “He frequently talked to her about their ‘special connection’ because of how long he’s helped her, all they have been through, and that no one else but himself had witnessed all she had been through.” 

By early 2021, the university’s Title IX office started asking questions. The victim said Story told her “to keep everything they had been through a secret because he believed others were out to get him,” the therapist wrote. 

On Jan. 19, the victim said she was approached by a Title IX coordinator, who requested to meet with her virtually. 

“At the time, she was afraid and said, ‘No,’” when the coordinator asked if Story had mistreated her, the victim’s therapist wrote. “They continued talking and sexual assault continued to occur.”

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