A COVID-19 relief program highlights a major concern: Many businesses don’t pay taxes, and the Department of Revenue lacks the manpower to audit and collect.
Government
Workforce leaders spin key report, overstate Mississippi’s role as leader in growing jobs for workers without college degrees
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Mississippi officials have widely touted a study from Georgetown University researchers they argue proves that Mississippi is a national leader in growing blue-collar jobs. However, the report’s authors and an independent analysis find some of those statements are inaccurate
Equity
A Jackson group formed to get black mothers out of jail. Now, they want to abolish cash bail
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Mississippi Bail Out Collective, the state’s first bail fund, is modeled after a national effort to establish bail funds across the country — predicated on the notion that a person’s freedom should not be contingent on whether they can afford a cash bail.
NSPARC, a taxpayer-funded data center, charged $27,750 for public records request
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A top public records expert called the fee estimate ridiculous
Equity
Waging a living: How Mississippi’s abundant low-wage workers earn less today than 50 years ago
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Since the last federal minimum wage hike in 2009, the cost of living has increased while the value of a dollar has gone down. The state minimum wage of $7.25 today is worth $6.07 in 2009 dollars.
Mississippi Culture
Clarksdale’s new 20-room artist-run hotel hopes to spark a downtown economic boom
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Travelers Hotel brings in artists to run the operations while giving a chance to become part owner. Newest attraction geared toward the arts and community development.
Money
Cleveland hoteliers moving forward without Trump, keeping $6 million in tax breaks
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The project developers say the company is on solid financial footing and the hotel will open this fall
Government
‘If the government shuts down, we’ll do it again’: Vicksburg military park kept open, and 19,000 visitors showed up
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Vicksburg National Military Park, maintained through the National Park Service, would have closed its gates during the federal impasse without the support of a nonprofit and the city.
Equity
Clarksdale ‘brought home the bacon,’ and landed a new grocer seen as vital to the Delta town’s economy
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As national chain grocers move out of rural communities, the addition could be a boon for an area with one of the highest food insecurity rates in the state
How Mississippi’s financial aid programs reached a ‘tipping point’
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‘Unfortunately there’s been no overall strategy for the creation of state aid programs,’ director says
Mississippi Culture
‘This is our moment’: Tech firm’s Delta move lifts hopes of economic revival in region
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Silicon Valley firm promises up to 200 jobs at facility that will also honor memory of Emmett Till
Gloster’s first grocery store in decades highlights statewide food insecurity
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Mississippi has the fourth highest rate of food insecurity in the country; some look to the Legislature while others see public-private partnerships as the answer
Cigarette tax hike again eyed for 2019 session
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A key Senate committee chairman supports legislation to up the per-pack tax
Money
Federal indictment: Contractor gave bribes to former Jackson mayor, other city officials
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Federal prosecutors allege that Atlanta political power player Mitzi Bickers made purchases totaling at least $5,000, to influence and reward an agent of the City of Jackson
Chawla Hotels, Coahoma Community College alliance envisions a workforce training center based in the Delta
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Of the Chawla hotels operating, only five are managed by African-Americans, but Suresh Chawla, president of the hotel chain, says this isn’t a good reflection on the industry and they want to increase that number.
As payday loans thrive in Mississippi, neighboring states move to cap high interest rates
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Stores a lifeline for some but with yearly interest rates as high as 300 percent, some say they’re “sucking the life out of people.”