Mississippi is the only state without a law requiring equal pay for equal work by women and men, after Alabama enacted one in 2019. Efforts have fallen short in Mississippi in recent years, but Senate Labor Committee Chairman John Hohrn, a Democrat from Jackson, promises to make another push for equal pay legislation in 2022. … Read more
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday he is working with legislative leaders on details about how the state will pay for a proposed medical marijuana program. The Republican governor said he will call lawmakers to the Capitol for a special session “sooner rather than later,” but he has not decided when. House and Senate leaders … Read more
Mississippi wildlife officials said Wednesday they’ve received an increasing number of reports of sick or deceased deer over the past few weeks. Biologists with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks suspect the state may be amid an outbreak of Hemorrhagic Disease also known as blue-tongue. Dr. Bronson Strickland, a wildlife specialist with the … Read more
The Mississippi governor has named a new leader for the agency that helps people search for jobs and administers unemployment benefits. Robin Stewart will become interim executive director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday. He chose Stewart to succeed Jackie Turner, whose last day as executive director is Thursday. … Read more
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says the state has offered $500 million in incentives for the creation of a $5.6 billion campus where Ford Motor Co. plans to build electric F-Series pickup trucks at the Memphis Regional Megasite industrial complex. The Republican governor spoke with reporters after Ford and South Korean battery maker SK Innovation formally … Read more
The Mississippi state health officer said Tuesday that he’s concerned about how the Health Department would receive money for its part in licensing and regulating a proposed medical marijuana program. Dr. Thomas Dobbs said some regulatory programs, such as restaurant inspections, are funded by specific fees, but “there’s no mechanism for funding” for the Health … Read more
Law enforcement officials say the gunman who killed one person and wounded 14 others at a Tennessee supermarket before killing himself had been asked to leave his job at the grocery store earlier that day.In a Monday news release, Collierville police say UK Thang had moved to the upscale suburb 30 miles outside Memphis in … Read more
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday was still not saying whether he will call legislators into special session to enact a medical marijuana program and consider other issues that House and Senate leaders are promoting. “Nothing today,” Reeves spokeswoman Bailey Martin said in response to a question from The Associated Press. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann … Read more
The state of Mississippi intends to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that it come up with a plan detailing how it will work to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of people with mental illness. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves told the state it had 120 days to submit a plan to the U.S. Justice … Read more
A nonprofit organization that documents the history of LGBTQ people in the South has been awarded a $600,000 grant for work in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. The Birmingham-based Invisible Histories Project, established in 2016, said it received the funding through The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The money will help the organization expand … Read more