Category: In-Depth

In-Depth

With No Burn Center Left In Mississippi, UMMC Faces Questions About Past Efforts

Merit announced in September 2022 that the Joseph M. Still Burn Center would share the same fate as Mississippi’s last dedicated burn center in 2005. It closed in October 2022, and now its predecessor in Georgia is receiving many of the most serious cases that would have otherwise found stellar treatment in their home state. No other facility like JMS exists in Mississippi. 

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In-Depth

‘Canary in the Coal Mine’: Ted Henifin on the Jackson Water Crisis

Ted Henifin’s years of public utilities expertise made him the U.S. DOJ’s pick for leadership as Jackson’s new “interim third party manager,” a role with unique autonomy from both the City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi. He spoke to the Mississippi Free Press just ahead of a windfall of federal funds-and a dangerous winter storm.

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a photo of Brett Favre with Tate Reeves and Phil Bryant
In-Depth

Mississippi Welfare Scandal Timeline: Brett Favre and the Volleyball Stadium

Between 2016 and 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services and nonprofits associated with it allegedly misspent more than tens of millions of dollars in federal Temporary Assistance For Needy Families funds that should have gone to the poorest families in the poorest state. More than $5 million of those funds went toward a volleyball-stadium project at the University of Southern Mississippi favored by retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre and $1.1 million went to Favre himself.

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