WAPT: Driver’s license offices closing Wednesday in south Mississippi
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Workers in the offices will have annual training to learn about updates to the driver’s license system.
Clarksdale native participates in New York Times photography project
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Clarksdale native and University of Mississippi student, Yasmine Malone, 22, was one of 22 young women photographers across the country to participate in the New York Times “This Is 18” project, which highlight what does being 18 means for young girls in their communities.
Mississippi Roundup
Experts call for an end to online preschool programs
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Especially popular in rural areas, preschool programs may expose kids to ‘new risks,’ experts warn
Listening sessions kick off Alcorn State’s presidential search
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The Mississippi board of trustees want to hear from the campus community what qualities and qualifications they want in the next president of Alcorn State University. The state board of trustees have scheduled listening sessions Tuesday, Oct. 2 on the ASU campus. Former ASU president Al Rankins was appointed to oversee Mississippi’s college board earlier this summer – becoming the first African American to be named Commissioner of Higher Learning for the state. Dr. Donzell Lee is currently serving as the interim president.
Mississippi Roundup
Two police officers killed in the line of duty in Brookhaven
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Two Mississippi police officers were killed Saturday morning in Brookhaven. Officials say James White, 35, and Zach Moak, 31, were killed after answering a call of gunshots fired. They were killed in an exchange of gunfire that also left the suspect wounded. Gov. Phil Bryant later tweeted: “Let us all pray just now for the family and loved ones of these fallen heroes. May the Good Lord hold them in his everlasting arms.”
Read the complete story as reported by the Clarion Ledger here.
Mississippi Roundup
NYT: A new class of voting rights activists picks up the mantle in Mississippi
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More than 50 years later, Freedom Summer 1964 veterans return to the South to help a new generation of leaders register voters.
Mississippi Roundup
Why one Mississippi business is investing in local schools
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New labs prepare students for local shipbuilding careers
Mississippi Roundup
Methodology used for report on Mississippi evictions
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In the reporting of “Fighting to keep my place’: How a housing program to help families out of poverty may trap some in it,” Mississippi Today used the following methodology:
Using Eviction Lab – a Princeton-based research team – data that aggregated every eviction across the nation from 2000 to 2016 and ranked Jackson fifth and Mississippi eighth highest for eviction rates, we analyzed trends and demographic data from the same 17-year window and narrowed our focus to DeSoto and Hinds counties. Tunica had the state’s highest eviction records according to the data, but we excluded it from original analysis due to its small population. We specifically zeroed in on Horn Lake, Southaven and Jackson – all of which consistently ranked highest for mid- to large-size cities for per-capita evictions compared to their county and the state overall, and represent very different parts of the state. In a Mississippi Today analysis of every eviction in DeSoto County from 2006 to July 2018 (more than 17,000 eviction court filings), we found a high rate of repeat evictions in justice court. Repeat evictions differ from estimates of actual removals, calculated by the Eviction Lab.
Education
The Dispatch: Nora Miller appointed president at MUW
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Miller, a MUW alumna who had been serving as acting president since Jim Borsig’s retirement.
Supreme Court upholds governor’s mid-year budget cut authority
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Justices say the Constitution gives the governor “the core power to control the budget of state agencies.”
Mississippi Roundup
Four strategies helping struggling readers in one Mississippi school district
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Heightened focus on literacy instruction, teacher training is having an impact on one of Mississippi’s school districts
Over 200 inmates moved ahead of Gordon’s landfall
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The Mississippi Department of Corrections has evacuated more than 200 people under the agency’s supervision from the Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Gordon approaches. Individuals from the Harrison County Community Work Center, the Pascagoula Restitution Center, and the Harrison County jail were moved to other MDOC facilities, according to a statement released by the department Tuesday afternoon. “All movement was made without incidents,” Commissioner Pelicia E. Hall said in the statement. “I thank all of our dedicated staff for a job well done. The department will continue to monitor the weather and assess any further need for movement or relocation of its population.” The department did not specify which facilities where people were moved, but a department spokeswoman said the prisoners would be out of harm’s way.
Justice
DOC identifies 12th prisoner to die in state custody this month
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Death makes August one of the most fatal months for Mississippi prisoners in recent years.
Mississippi Roundup
Half of all Mississippi college graduates have loan debt
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New report finds the average debt amount has increased for Mississippi grads
Mississippi Roundup
Associated Press: Judge wants new look at prison conditions before ruling
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Earlier this year, Mississippi Today reported on the trial start in a lawsuit over conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility – a privately run prison. The lawsuit alleges that the Mississippi Department of Corrections “has deliberately ignored or failed to remediate the life-threatening conditions that persist” at the prison, which is operated by a Centerville, Utah-based company — Management & Training Corp., Mississippi Today reported. The Associated Press is now reporting that the federal judge overseeing the trial on Friday ordered that the prison be re-examined. According to the AP report, U.S. District Judge William Barbour wants experts from both sides to see whether conditions have improved. He ordered reports filed by December, with a possible hearing in January.