Mississippi

Records show Reeves staff did sparse analysis to draft post-Roe agenda

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2022

Records show Reeves staff did sparse analysis to draft post-Roe agenda

In making ready for the following part of the “pro-life agenda” following the autumn of Roe v. Wade, Gov. Tate Reeves boasted publicly that his workers performed an intensive assessment of Mississippi legislation to search out methods to enhance the present setting for folks anticipating to present delivery.

However there’s no written document of this evaluation, in accordance with paperwork Mississippi In the present day obtained via a public information request.

As an alternative, information present the administration briefly consulted with 4 folks by electronic mail — two anti-abortion advocates of Select Life MS, a pediatrician and an area decide — and gathered template laws written by Washington-based Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America, one of the vital highly effective anti-abortion lobbying teams within the nation.

A Reeves spokesperson stated the “thorough evaluation” the governor has mentioned publicly was a verbal briefing, not a written doc, which is why the workplace didn’t produce extra to the information group.

Final January, Reeves’ coverage advisor Kristen Windham wrote an electronic mail to Janet Thomas, director of Select Life MS, saying, “I loved our assembly final week and respect the willingness to assist Governor Reeves develop a plan going ahead.”

Select Life MS, led by its president and longtime anti-abortion lobbyist Terri Herring, is a non-public advocacy nonprofit that collects and disburses funding to disaster being pregnant facilities — organizations recognized for persuading pregnant girls towards abortion. The Legislature has given Herring’s group energy over which being pregnant facilities will be capable of obtain newly created tax credit by together with in statute that the credit shall be reserved for nonprofits which might be eligible beneath Select Life MS’s grant program.

Windham additionally corresponded with Hattiesburg pediatrician Anita Henderson, president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who had a unique tackle what a “pro-life agenda” would appear like. Henderson advisable the state prolong postpartum Medicaid protection from 60 days to a 12 months — a proposal with bipartisan assist that Republican Home Speaker Philip Gunn killed in 2022.

“Undecided if he (Reeves) can be enthusiastic about assembly along with her,” Windham wrote in an electronic mail, forwarding Henderson’s advice to a different Reeves staffer.

Reeves has but to fulfill with the pediatrician, Henderson advised Mississippi In the present day. Plus, Henderson reached out to the governor’s workplace, not the opposite method round.

“Postpartum care is low-hanging fruit,” Henderson stated. “It’s a very easy possibility to indicate mothers and infants that they’re supported.”

Henderson famous that after making abortion unlawful, Mississippi may see a further 3,500 infants born per 12 months, and with a preterm delivery price of 14%, that would translate to 500 extra infants in neonatal intensive care. Moreover, the variety of youngsters in Mississippi Division of Youngster Safety Companies custody may likewise enhance.

In latest State of the State addresses, Reeves promised to take motion to “make Mississippi the most secure and most supportive state within the nation for moms,” and “make it even simpler to undertake … to make sure that these youngsters usually are not twice-abandoned.” He requested his workers to work on a plan to perform this.

On account of their efforts, the governor’s workplace has drafted a coverage agenda which facilities on directing an unspecified quantity of public funding to disaster being pregnant facilities, reforming the state’s youth court docket system and providing new money incentives to adoptive dad and mom.

The plan doesn’t deal with extending postpartum Medicaid protection — a coverage supported by a number of advocacy teams and plenty of Republican lawmakers — or offering direct help to low-income expectant moms.

“One difficulty that wants fixed consideration, nonetheless, is the sources out there to youngsters of fogeys going through long-term incarceration and even those that are on probation however struggling to supply the care and a spotlight wanted,” Decide Toni Terrett, a circuit court docket decide within the western area of the state, advised a Reeves staffer by electronic mail in January. “The reply might not all the time be adoption in these conditions, however these youngsters might have particular consideration to verify they don’t seem to be misplaced within the shuffle.”

Terrett advised Mississippi In the present day that since providing her preliminary recommendation, she has not had any extra conversations with the workplace.

In recent times, Mississippi has led the nation in decreasing its notoriously backlogged CPS caseload, whereas promising to unify households as a substitute of separating them. However on the identical time, the state has failed to drag down out there federal funding to assist households in poverty care for his or her youngsters via prevention providers, whereas welfare officers misspent thousands and thousands that would have been used for this goal. Specialists say an emphasis on incentivizing adoption and rising CPS intervention may reverse the state’s progress and perpetuate trauma.

“I’m all for it. Give as a lot monetary help as you presumably can. However should you’re stopping at wanting to present it to everybody however the organic household, then you could have a flaw in your logic,” stated legal professional Kimberly Russell, who beforehand led youngster welfare efforts beneath the Youngsters’s Advocacy Facilities of Mississippi and the Mississippi Supreme Court docket.

Additionally absent from the governor’s agenda are any plans to enhance entry to training for younger girls and moms, although Reeves not too long ago stated in an interview that offering instructional alternatives can be “the very best factor we are able to do for them.”

The three-page Reeves administration coverage agenda, drafted earlier than the U.S. Supreme Court docket choice and titled “Attainable actions forward of life-favoring Supreme Court docket ruling within the Dobbs case,” proposes six measures. It’s revealed right here for the primary time:

Enact Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America’s “Assist for Moms and Infants Act”: Create a aggressive grant for disaster being pregnant facilities, which incorporates reporting necessities and auditing procedures
Statewide judicial reform: Create a uniform, state-funded youth court docket and extra fast pathways for everlasting placement; present state funding for father or mother representatives; permit county prosecutors to terminate parental rights
Elevated adoption incentives: Create a multi-year grant award for fogeys who undertake youngsters in CPS custody – $20,000 over 4 years, for instance.
Prolonged “Protected Haven” legislation: Enhance the period of time a mom is allowed to relinquish her youngster after delivery, which is at present 72 hours; the agenda doesn’t present a particular quantity, however cites different states that permit as much as seven days, 30 days, and even so long as a 12 months.
Roundtable discussions: Collect representatives from CPS, facilities for being pregnant selections, being pregnant assist organizations, adoption businesses, hospitals, clinics and Medicaid to speak “concerning the general course of.”
Tackle present CPS case backlog: Fund particular youth court docket judges, prosecutors and caseworkers to cut back adoption and custody circumstances.

Reeves has touted a invoice he signed this 12 months, the Being pregnant Useful resource Act, which supplies $3.5 million in tax credit to donors of eligible being pregnant useful resource facilities and disaster being pregnant facilities. Facilities should meet necessities beneath Select Life MS’s grant program to qualify.

Getty Israel, founding father of neighborhood well being clinic Sisters in Start, which is within the strategy of opening a birthing middle, stated she met a lifeless finish when making an attempt to safe eligibility from Select Life MS.

“You gotta get the blessing of the Mississippi pro-life folks,” Israel stated. “… You gotta be part of this clique, this political clique, this so-called pro-life clique or anti-abortion clique, in an effort to make the most of that tax credit score. That sounds very, very very like discrimination to me.”

Prior to now, Israel turned down a small donation from Select Life MS as a result of she stated the method was too invasive – requiring her so as to add its emblem to her web site, for instance.

Israel additionally met final 12 months with Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America organizers, who represented that they have been keen to supply providers for pregnant girls and requested her for a “want record” of insurance policies she’d prefer to see. Israel despatched the record, however she stated nothing ever got here of it.

This wasn’t a shock to Israel, who stated the Legislature has constantly turned down sources for the tangible providers her group supplies.

“They (Republican management) are simply not severe about enhancing well being outcomes amongst girls who’re gonna develop into pregnant and ensuring these infants are born full time period, however with all their limbs and wholesome, and that they’ll thrive. They only need infants to be born. That’s a political examine,” Israel stated. “I’ve by no means been capable of get Tate Reeves’ workplace to even permit me to fulfill with him or anybody there. I’ve been making an attempt for years.”

As a part of its work with the governor’s workplace, Select Life MS additionally performed a survey of 14 being pregnant assist organizations to gauge their wants and shared the outcomes. A few of the wants the facilities recognized included elevated shelter capability, transportation, fatherhood applications, psychological well being providers, web sites, cell models, a washer and dryer and sonogram providers.

Henderson stated transportation and help in making use of to Medicaid are two wants that being pregnant facilities may think about assembly.

“Over half of the counties in Mississippi do not need an OBGYN. So mothers are touring important distances to see their physician, which prices gasoline cash, time, and lack of work. These are causes that many mothers delay care or miss GYN visits,” she stated. “The opposite factor I see … mothers who discover out that they’re pregnant, once they apply for Medicaid, it might probably take a month for his or her Medicaid software to undergo for them to study that they’re eligible. So that could be a month misplaced, when it comes to prenatal care, prenatal nutritional vitamins, testing and therapy.”

Presently, Select Life MS collects income from the sale of specialty automotive tags and distributes the funding to about 40 of those organizations – that are noticeably sparse within the Delta and southwest Mississippi, areas with increased Black populations. If the tax credit have been evenly distributed, every middle would profit from $87,500 in tax exempt donations.

In 2016, Select Life MS stated it had exceeded $3 million in income from the automotive tags since 2002 and that quantity is now $3.5 million, in accordance with its web site. The nonprofit’s annual income, in accordance with its 990 types, is round slightly below $150,000 a 12 months and has been on the decline.

In some states, governors have chosen to make use of funds from the federal Short-term Help for Needy Households (TANF) program, or welfare, to subsidize being pregnant facilities. With its proposed laws, Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America goals to get extra direct legislative appropriations to those organizations so that they don’t depend on political whims from 12 months to 12 months.

“I’ve watched through the years, and it’s actually not good by any stretch, however since 1973, since Roe, the social providers supply system, the smorgasbord of providers out there to households and kids has grown tremendously,” stated Susan Liebel, director of state affairs for Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America. “… The trick is to get, after all, the precise providers in the precise locations with the precise individuals who want them within the time that they want them. That’s the trick.”

However some public well being professionals, like Israel, are skeptical concerning the mission and capability of the present facilities.

“I made it very clear that I wasn’t impressed with what the being pregnant useful resource facilities have been doing, merely discouraging girls to have an abortion and never serving to pregnant girls,” Israel stated of her conversations with Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America. “They (disaster being pregnant facilities) usually are not keen to refer their purchasers to me and I’m providing all these providers and I’m proper right here within the metropolis of Jackson. And that is my space of experience. However they gained’t refer sufferers to me as a result of I don’t agree with their spiritual and political agenda.”

Herring, who has direct traces with Reeves’ workplace on crafting future plans, didn’t reply to Mississippi In the present day’s requests for an interview for this story.

Herring, a failed Gov. Phil Bryant nominee to the Mississippi State Well being Division board and a part of the “pro-life coalition” Reeves introduced in 2019, seems to be a darling of Republican management.

In 2019, after the Senate handed one other restrictive abortion ban beneath his management, Reeves known as Herring out by title, tweeting, “Thanks to @Terri_Herring and different pro-life Mississippians who labored and prayed for this. Your work will save lives.”

See everything of the governor’s workplace response to Mississippi In the present day’s public information request beneath.

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by Anna Wolfe, Mississippi In the present day
July 11, 2022

<h1>Information present Reeves workers did sparse evaluation to draft post-Roe agenda</h1> by Anna Wolfe, Mississippi In the present day July 11, 2022<div class="mvp-post-ad-wrap">Advertisement<div class="mvp-post-ad"> <div id="M815923ScriptRootC1332091"> </div> <script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.co.uk/n/e/newspub.live.1332091.js" async> </script>  </div></div> In making ready for the following part of the “pro-life agenda” following the autumn of Roe v. Wade, Gov. Tate Reeves boasted publicly that his workers performed an intensive assessment of Mississippi legislation to search out methods to enhance the present setting for folks anticipating to present delivery. However there’s no written document of this evaluation, <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/paperwork/22080200-prr-wolfe-production-7_6_22″ goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>in accordance with paperwork</a> Mississippi In the present day obtained via a public information request. As an alternative, information present the administration briefly consulted with 4 folks by electronic mail — two anti-abortion advocates of Select Life MS, a pediatrician and an area decide — and gathered template laws written by Washington-based Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America, one of the vital highly effective anti-abortion lobbying teams within the nation. A Reeves spokesperson stated the <a href=”https://washingtonstand.com/commentary/reeves-the-new-prolife-agenda” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>“thorough evaluation”</a> the governor has mentioned publicly was a verbal briefing, not a written doc, which is why the workplace didn’t produce extra to the information group. Final January, Reeves’ coverage advisor Kristen Windham wrote an electronic mail to Janet Thomas, director of Select Life MS, saying, “I loved our assembly final week and respect the willingness to assist Governor Reeves develop a plan going ahead.” Select Life MS, led by its president and longtime anti-abortion lobbyist Terri Herring, is a non-public advocacy nonprofit that collects and disburses funding to disaster being pregnant facilities — organizations recognized for persuading pregnant girls towards abortion. The Legislature has given Herring’s group energy over which being pregnant facilities will be capable of obtain newly created tax credit by together with in statute that the credit shall be reserved for nonprofits which might be eligible beneath Select Life MS’s grant program. Windham additionally corresponded with Hattiesburg pediatrician Anita Henderson, president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who had a unique tackle what a “pro-life agenda” would appear like. Henderson advisable the state prolong postpartum Medicaid protection from 60 days to a 12 months — a proposal with bipartisan assist that Republican Home Speaker Philip Gunn killed in 2022. “Undecided if he (Reeves) can be enthusiastic about assembly along with her,” Windham wrote in an electronic mail, forwarding Henderson’s advice to a different Reeves staffer. Reeves has but to fulfill with the pediatrician, Henderson advised Mississippi In the present day. Plus, Henderson reached out to the governor’s workplace, not the opposite method round. “Postpartum care is low-hanging fruit,” Henderson stated. “It’s a very easy possibility to indicate mothers and infants that they are supported.” Henderson famous that after making abortion unlawful, Mississippi may see a further 3,500 infants born per 12 months, and with a preterm delivery price of 14%, that would translate to 500 extra infants in neonatal intensive care. Moreover, the variety of youngsters in Mississippi Division of Youngster Safety Companies custody may likewise enhance. In latest State of the State addresses, Reeves promised to take motion to “make Mississippi the most secure and most supportive state within the nation for moms,” and “make it even simpler to undertake … to make sure that these youngsters usually are not twice-abandoned.” He requested his workers to work on a plan to perform this. On account of their efforts, the governor’s workplace has drafted a coverage agenda which facilities on directing an unspecified quantity of public funding to disaster being pregnant facilities, reforming the state’s youth court docket system and providing new money incentives to adoptive dad and mom. The plan doesn’t deal with extending postpartum Medicaid protection — a coverage supported by a number of advocacy teams and plenty of Republican lawmakers — or offering direct help to low-income expectant moms. “One difficulty that wants fixed consideration, nonetheless, is the sources out there to youngsters of fogeys going through long-term incarceration and even those that are on probation however struggling to supply the care and a spotlight wanted,” Decide Toni Terrett, a circuit court docket decide within the western area of the state, advised a Reeves staffer by electronic mail in January. “The reply might not all the time be adoption in these conditions, however these youngsters might have particular consideration to verify they don’t seem to be misplaced within the shuffle.” Terrett advised Mississippi In the present day that since providing her preliminary recommendation, she has not had any extra conversations with the workplace. In recent times, Mississippi has led the nation in decreasing its notoriously backlogged CPS caseload, whereas promising to unify households as a substitute of separating them. However on the identical time, the state has <a href=”https://www.ncsl.org/analysis/human-services/family-first-prevention-services-act-ffpsa.aspx” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>failed to drag down out there federal funding</a> to assist households in poverty care for his or her youngsters via prevention providers, whereas <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/mississippi-welfare/” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>welfare officers misspent thousands and thousands</a> that would have been used for this goal. Specialists say an emphasis on incentivizing adoption and rising CPS intervention may reverse the state’s progress and perpetuate trauma. “I’m all for it. Give as a lot monetary help as you presumably can. However should you’re stopping at wanting to present it to everybody however the organic household, then you could have a flaw in your logic,” stated legal professional Kimberly Russell, who beforehand led youngster welfare efforts beneath the Youngsters’s Advocacy Facilities of Mississippi and the Mississippi Supreme Court docket. Additionally absent from the governor’s agenda are any plans to enhance entry to training for younger girls and moms, although Reeves not too long ago stated in an interview that offering instructional alternatives can be “the very best factor we are able to do for them.” The three-page Reeves administration coverage agenda, drafted earlier than the U.S. Supreme Court docket choice and titled “Attainable actions forward of life-favoring Supreme Court docket ruling within the Dobbs case,” proposes six measures. It’s revealed <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/paperwork/22080200-prr-wolfe-production-7_6_22″ goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>right here</a> for the primary time: <ul> <li><sturdy>Enact Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America’s “Assist for Moms and Infants Act”:</sturdy> Create a aggressive grant for disaster being pregnant facilities, which incorporates reporting necessities and auditing procedures</li> <li><sturdy>Statewide judicial reform:</sturdy> Create a uniform, state-funded youth court docket and extra fast pathways for everlasting placement; present state funding for father or mother representatives; permit county prosecutors to terminate parental rights</li> <li><sturdy>Elevated adoption incentives:</sturdy> Create a multi-year grant award for fogeys who undertake youngsters in CPS custody – $20,000 over 4 years, for instance.</li> <li><sturdy>Prolonged “Protected Haven” legislation: </sturdy>Enhance the period of time a mom is allowed to relinquish her youngster after delivery, which is at present 72 hours; the agenda doesn’t present a particular quantity, however cites different states that permit as much as seven days, 30 days, and even so long as a 12 months.</li> <li><sturdy>Roundtable discussions:</sturdy> Collect representatives from CPS, facilities for being pregnant selections, being pregnant assist organizations, adoption businesses, hospitals, clinics and Medicaid to speak “concerning the general course of.”</li> <li><sturdy>Tackle present CPS case backlog: </sturdy>Fund particular youth court docket judges, prosecutors and caseworkers to cut back adoption and custody circumstances.</li> </ul> Reeves has touted a invoice he signed this 12 months, the <a href=”http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2022/pdf/historical past/HB/HB1685.xml” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Being pregnant Useful resource Act</a>, which supplies $3.5 million in tax credit to donors of eligible being pregnant useful resource facilities and disaster being pregnant facilities. Facilities should meet necessities beneath Select Life MS’s grant program to qualify. Getty Israel, founding father of neighborhood well being clinic Sisters in Start, which is <a href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/06/06/nonprofit-birth-center/” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>within the strategy of opening a birthing middle</a>, stated she met a lifeless finish when making an attempt to safe eligibility from Select Life MS. “You gotta get the blessing of the Mississippi pro-life folks,” Israel stated. “… You gotta be part of this clique, this political clique, this so-called pro-life clique or anti-abortion clique, in an effort to make the most of that tax credit score. That sounds very, very very like discrimination to me.”  Prior to now, Israel turned down a small donation from Select Life MS as a result of she stated the method was too invasive – requiring her so as to add its emblem to her web site, for instance. Israel additionally met final 12 months with Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America organizers, who represented that they have been keen to supply providers for pregnant girls and requested her for a “want record” of insurance policies she’d prefer to see. Israel despatched the record, however she stated nothing ever got here of it.  This wasn’t a shock to Israel, who stated the Legislature has constantly turned down sources for the tangible providers her group supplies. “They (Republican management) are simply not severe about enhancing well being outcomes amongst girls who’re gonna develop into pregnant and ensuring these infants are born full time period, however with all their limbs and wholesome, and that they’ll thrive. They only need infants to be born. That’s a political examine,” Israel stated. “I’ve by no means been capable of get Tate Reeves’ workplace to even permit me to fulfill with him or anybody there. I have been making an attempt for years.”  As a part of its work with the governor’s workplace, Select Life MS additionally performed a survey of 14 being pregnant assist organizations to gauge their wants and shared the outcomes. A few of the wants the facilities recognized included elevated shelter capability, transportation, fatherhood applications, psychological well being providers, web sites, cell models, a washer and dryer and sonogram providers. Henderson stated transportation and help in making use of to Medicaid are two wants that being pregnant facilities may think about assembly. “Over half of the counties in Mississippi do not need an OBGYN. So mothers are touring important distances to see their physician, which prices gasoline cash, time, and lack of work. These are causes that many mothers delay care or miss GYN visits,” she stated. “The opposite factor I see … mothers who discover out that they’re pregnant, once they apply for Medicaid, it might probably take a month for his or her Medicaid software to undergo for them to study that they’re eligible. So that could be a month misplaced, when it comes to prenatal care, prenatal nutritional vitamins, testing and therapy.” Presently, Select Life MS collects income from the sale of specialty automotive tags and distributes the funding to about 40 of those organizations – that are noticeably sparse within the Delta and southwest Mississippi, areas with increased Black populations. If the tax credit have been evenly distributed, every middle would profit from $87,500 in tax exempt donations. In 2016, Select Life MS <a href=”https://mschristianliving.com/lagniappe-choose-life-ms-tag-sales-reach-3-million-dollar-mark/” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>stated it had exceeded $3 million</a> in income from the automotive tags since 2002 and that quantity is now <a href=”https://www.chooselifems.org/choose-life-ms-tag/” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>$3.5 million</a>, in accordance with its web site. The nonprofit’s annual income, in accordance with its <a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/paperwork/22081816-2020-470859628-18268285-z” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>990 types</a>, is round slightly below $150,000 a 12 months and has been on the decline. In some states, governors have chosen to make use of funds from the federal Short-term Help for Needy Households (TANF) program, or welfare, to <a href=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/04/states-divert-federal-welfare-funding-anti-abortion-clinics” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>subsidize being pregnant facilities</a>. With its proposed laws, Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America goals to get extra direct legislative appropriations to those organizations so that they don’t depend on political whims from 12 months to 12 months. “I’ve watched through the years, and it’s actually not good by any stretch, however since 1973, since Roe, the social providers supply system, the smorgasbord of providers out there to households and kids has grown tremendously,” stated Susan Liebel, director of state affairs for Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America. “… The trick is to get, after all, the precise providers in the precise locations with the precise individuals who want them within the time that they want them. That’s the trick.” However some public well being professionals, like Israel, are skeptical concerning the mission and capability of the present facilities. “I made it very clear that I wasn’t impressed with what the being pregnant useful resource facilities have been doing, merely discouraging girls to have an abortion and never serving to pregnant girls,” Israel stated of her conversations with Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America. “They (disaster being pregnant facilities) usually are not keen to refer their purchasers to me and I’m providing all these providers and I am proper right here within the metropolis of Jackson. And that is my space of experience. However they will not refer sufferers to me as a result of I do not agree with their spiritual and political agenda.” Herring, who has direct traces with Reeves’ workplace on crafting future plans, didn’t reply to Mississippi In the present day’s requests for an interview for this story. Herring, a <a href=”https://www.wapt.com/article/miss-governor-withdraws-board-of-health-nomination/2083345″ goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>failed Gov. Phil Bryant nominee</a> to the Mississippi State Well being Division board and a part of the <a href=”https://www.clarionledger.com/picture-gallery/information/politics/elections/2019/05/22/reeves-pro-life-coalition/3764146002/” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>“pro-life coalition”</a> Reeves introduced in 2019, seems to be a darling of Republican management. In 2019, after the Senate handed one other restrictive abortion ban beneath his management, Reeves known as Herring out by title, tweeting, “Thanks to @Terri_Herring and different pro-life Mississippians who labored and prayed for this. Your work will save lives.” See everything of the governor’s workplace response to Mississippi In the present day’s public information request beneath. This <a goal=”_blank” href=”https://mississippitoday.org/2022/07/11/tate-reeves-pro-life-agenda-records/”>article</a> first appeared on <a goal=”_blank” href=”https://mississippitoday.org”>Mississippi In the present day</a> and is republished right here beneath a Artistic Commons license.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?match=150percent2C150&ssl=1″ model=”width:1em;peak:1em;margin-left:10px;”><img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&put up=1076755&ga=UA-75003810-1″ model=”width:1px;peak:1px;”>

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‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations

Published

2 hours ago

September 2, 2024

Press Room

‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.

Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.

Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.

CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.

“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.

Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.

Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.

“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.

Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.

“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.

Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.

“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”

The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.

“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.

All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.

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Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says

Published

10 hours ago

September 1, 2024

Press Room

Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.

The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.

The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.

Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.

The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.

“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.

7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash

The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.

Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.

Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY

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Mississippi

This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State

Published

20 hours ago

September 1, 2024

Press Room

This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football’s offense had a high-flying Saturday in coach Jeff Lebby’s first game.

It scored touchdowns on six of its first nine drives — one of which was a one-play kneel down to end the first half — leaving Eastern Kentucky buried early and deep at Davis Wade Stadium. It was a 56-7 win for the Bulldogs, with them leading 35-0 at one point in the first half.

Baylor transfer Blake Shapen was superb at quarterback and numerous wide receivers such as Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver Jr. and Creed Whittemore made big plays against EKU (0-1).

Even still, Lebby wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance.

“I think there was a whole lot of good,” Lebby said postgame. “Proud of our guys for their energy and their competitive spirit and toughness they played with, but there’s so many things to clean up. I think that’s the biggest takeaway is that you got a chance to go win the way we won, but we’re going to need to play better, play cleaner and that’s where we’re going to look forward to as we get back into it.”

Take Mississippi State’s third offensive drive as an example of where it can improve.

It was the Bulldogs first drive where they didn’t score points, even though it began at the MSU 46-yard line.

MSU (1-0) was penalized for an illegal formation on the first play of the drive, negating a 47-yard catch-and-run from Craver. Three plays later, after Shapen scrambled 12 yards for a first down, MSU was whistled for another illegal formation. Mississippi State then failed to convert on 4th-and-3 from the EKU 33-yard line.

Those were the only penalties committed by Mississippi State’s offense all night, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard of those types of MSU infractions. In the preseason, following Mississippi State’s first scrimmage that was closed to the public, Lebby noted that “non-playing penalties” were a work in progress.

Players have said that Lebby’s up-tempo pace has been an adjustment. Perhaps it’s one that’s still ongoing.

“Looking back at the game, we did a lot of good things, but there were a couple drives that we killed the drive,” Shapen said. “So, we can keep getting better. I think an emphasis for me is just to let everybody know that we haven’t arrived or anything. We got a lot more to prove, especially going in to play a good Arizona State team next week.”

MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong

Arizona State might be better than anticipated

MSU’s Week 2 game at Arizona State (9:30 p.m., ESPN) was always going to be its most challenging in the nonconference schedule, but it looks even more so now.

Arizona State routed Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils were about a seven-point favorite entering the game in Tempe, and Wyoming, historically, is no cakewalk in the Group of 5. It was an impressive statement from second-year coach Kenny Dillingham after a 4-9 season in 2023.

The Sun Devils (1-0) scored two defensive touchdowns, forced three turnovers and held Wyoming (0-1) to 118 total yards of offense. Sixty-two of those yards came in the fourth quarter with the game already well decided.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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