Mississippi Edition

Community leaders urge Governor Reeves to sign a parole eligibility bill that’s been sitting on his desk since the end of the legislative session.Then, while the arguments in the case against Initiative 65 focus on process, under the surface the subject of the matter - medical marijuana - is playing a significant role.Plus, this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition might look different, but the result is familiar.Segment 1:A bill to expand parole eligibility in Mississippi is waiting to be signed into law by the Governor.It's a measure advocates say could reduce prison overcrowding, reduce corrections spending, and help reconnect families.Yet, since being passed with bi-partisan in the legislature weeks ago, the bill has remained in limbo awaiting a signature.Pastor C. J. Rhodes of Mount Helm Baptist Church in Jackson advocates for prison reform in Mississippi. He tells our Kobee Vance the bill provides the opportunity to restore families. Russ Latino, President of Empower Mississippi, says the bill would ease overcrowding, and free up needed resources to focus on those who actually pose a danger to communities.Segment 2:Initiative 65 - the constitutional amendment ballot referendum establishing a medical marijuana program in Mississippi - hangs in the balance following a Supreme Court hearing this month.It is one of many ballot referendums - some successful, some not - that have gone through the same process outlined by the Mississippi Constitution.Mississippi's Voter ID law passed the same way.Others - like the personhood amendment or Initiative 42 to fully fund the MAEP - failed but made it to the ballot in similar fashion.But 65 - with the controversial subject of medical marijuana lying under the surface - drawing the eye of scrutiny over the initiative process.Matt Steffey is a professor of Constitutional Law at the Mississippi College School of Law.In part two of his conversation with our Michael Guidry, Steffey argues once you look past the narrow argument of constructionist interpretation, the underlying factors behind the case rise to the surface.Segment 3:This year's Poetry Out Loud competition had a different feel to it due to the coronavirus pandemic.Contestants, who usually compete together in regional and state finals, presented their recitations alone - in front of cameras.But, rising to the top of a crowded field of 947 students was a familiar name and voice to the Mississippi Poetry Out Loud community - Morgan Love, who you just heard.The senior from the Mississippi School for the Arts followed her 2020 win by capturing this year's title.She shares more on her experience and what lies ahead with our Michael Guidry.

Clinics adjust to the temporary pause in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.We examine how the new CDC guidance could effect the vaccination effort in the Magnolia State.Then, the fate of medical marijuana is in the hands of the Mississippi Supreme Court following yesterday's oral arguments.We break down each side of the debate.Plus, in today's Book Club, a historian lays out the history and motives behind erecting monuments in homage to the Confederacy.Segment 1:Clinics across Mississippi are adjusting their coronavirus vaccination plans as the state puts a temporary pause on the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.Health officials say nearly 42 thousand doses of the single shot JnJ vaccine have been given in Mississippi, - that's around 3 percent of the nearly 1.5 million doses administered in the state.The pause is due to a number of JnJ recipients developing a rare form of blood clots.At the Healthworks Immunization Clinic in Hattiesburg, Dr. Rambod Rouhbakhsh says the clots need to be fully investigated. He tells our Kobee Vance, the pause will effect health providers' vaccination efforts differently, and the CDC's decision is an example of the robust monitoring all the vaccines are receiving.Segment 2:The fate of Initiative 65 - the constitutional amendment ballot referendum establishing a medical marijuana program in Mississippi - rests in the hands of the Mississippi Supreme Court.And while the subject of the widely used plant may be controversial, the debate over 65 boils down to a legal argument over constitutional language. To better understand yesterday's hearing, our Michael Guidry joins Matt Steffey - professor of Constitutional Law at the Mississippi College School of Law.In part one of their two part conversation, they break down the legal arguments presented to court.Segment 3:Before Confederate monuments began coming down in recent years,to the consternation of some and the jubilation of others, the history of when they began to go up is long.In her book, "No Common Ground," Karen L. Cox talks about heritage versus history and how women took the lead to erect the largest number of monuments before the turn of the 20th century.

Health officials call for a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following a change in CDC guidelines.Then, in the third installment of Your Vote, Your Voice, we examine both past and existing barriers to ballot.Plus, the fate of medical marijuana possible hangs in the balance as the Mississippi Supreme Court hears oral arguments challenging the legitimacy of Initiative 65.Segment 1:Mississippi vaccine providers are pausing Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccinations in the state while the CDC investigates siz related cases of blood clots.No cases of the rare blood clot associated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine have been identified in Mississippi. But health officials in say they are erring on the side of caution until the CDC has finished it's investigation. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says the risk of someone getting this type of blood clot from the J&J vaccine is extremely rare. Around 53,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccine are at clinics, pharmacies and hospitals across Mississippi. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says those doses will likely not go to waste in that time.Segment 2:Throughout American history, access to the ballot has been a dynamically controversial issue.When the nation was founded, voting was limited to white landowners.Efforts to expand the right to vote over the centuries were often met with resistance.And even after the 15th, 19th and 26th amendment removed federal restrictions based race, color, previous condition of servitude and sex - and reduced the legal age to 18 - many communities still face barriers to voting.Aside from voting rights secured through constitutional amendments, the federal government currently exhibits little power over elections.The power to manage and administer elections belongs to the states, and it is where some barriers can still be found. We examine the history of voting laws and practices designed to create roadblocks to the ballot with Christy Wheeler, co-President of the Mississippi League of Women Voters and Pauline Rogers of the RECH Foundation.Segment 3:Mississippi Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments today challenging signature collections for Initiative 65.The constitutional amendment - approved by over 70 percent of Mississippi voters last November - makes medical marijuana legal in the state.But the mayor of the City of Madison is challenging the initiative, claiming signature collections for the ballot referendum are unconstitutional. The Mississippi constitution requires an equal number of signatures from five congressional districts.The state lost a seat after the 2000 Census, but the constitution hasn’t been updated to four districts to change the process. Ken Newburger is with the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association.He says signatures gathered during the initiative process were legitimate.

A federal emergency relief program targets those facing rent and utility hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic.Then, understaffing in prisons across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama has been a problem for years. We examine why it's so difficult to find and keep new correctional officers.Plus, in our second installment of Your Vote, Your Voice, we explore the different efforts and perspectives shaping the debate over extended early voting.Segment 1:Tenants in Mississippi who are behind on their rent and utility bills due to the coronavirus pandemic can now apply for emergency rental assistance through a federal relief program.Mississippi Home Corporation is administering the emergency rental assistance program tasked with allocating $186 million in aid to tenants who facing financial hardships brought on by lost income, unemployment or increased expenses because of the pandemic.Executive Director Scott Spivey shares more with our Desare Frazier.Segment 2:Across the Gulf States prisons are understaffed, which can mean dangerous and unstable conditions for prisoners and guards. Mississippi is addressing the issue head-on with a unique approach. From the Gulf States Newsroom, Becca Schimmel takes a look at that recruitment effort and examines why it’s so difficult to retain correctional officers.Segment 3:In the 2020 election, more than one in six of the 1.3 million ballots cast in Mississippi were some form of absentee ballot.This record coincided with a nation-wide trend - due to the coronavirus pandemic - of larger than usual early and absentee voting.Since then, the record use of mail-in and absentee ballots have brought with it unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and insecurity, propagated by many high profile Republicans - including three of Mississippi's House delegation and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.All four voted against the certification of the 2020 election results, and Senator Hyde-Smith received national attention for her comments on Sunday "Souls to the Polls" voting.False allegations of fraud and insecurity aside, the 2020 election did reveal a nation-wide appetite for expansion of early voting options, including mail-in ballots. Your Vote, Your Voice explores the different efforts and perspectives shaping the debate over extended early voting in Mississippi.

Health leaders provide updates on coronavirus vaccinations andtransmission in the state.Then, in the first installment of our Your Vote, Your Voice series, we examine the basic voting requirements in Mississippi.Plus, a coalition including the NAACP is leading the drive to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot.Segment 1:Overall coronavirus transmission in Mississippi is down this spring compared to the surge in cases earlier this year.But the threat of emerging variants in the U.S. has health officials expressing some caution.State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says transmission of those variants - especially the U.K. variant - in other states is starting to have an effect. Reports show the state's vaccination rates lagging behind the national average.State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says there is a perception that Mississippi is struggling more than actually is.Segment 2:Voting is the cornerstone of the United States' representative democracy, and each individual state has incredible power to determine how its residents participate in the voting process.In the first installment of Your Vote, Your Voice, we examine the basic voting requirements in Mississippi.Secretary of State Michael Watson joins our Michael Guidry to examine the year-to-year elections in the Magnolia State, and the procedures for registering for and casting your vote.Segment 3:Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation with the lowest health outcomes.And the state is one of more than a dozen in the nation that has punted on expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act - a move that would provide health coverage for Mississippi's working poor.Now, a coalition is forming to put the decision in the hands of the voters.Healthcare for Mississippi, a non-profit of around 15 advocacy groups - including the NAACP - has filed the preliminary paperwork to put Initiative 76 on the ballot. Corey Wiggins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Chapter of the NAACP. He tells our Desare Frazier advocates have lobbied lawmakers to expand Medicaid, but there isn’t enough legislative support.So he wants to help give residents a voice in the matter.

Overall coronavirus cases are trending down. Vaccine rollout is now in its fifth month. We talk to the State Health Officer about how Mississippi is faring in its year long fight against COVID-19.Plus, migrant workers profoundly affected by the ICE raid of 2019, are calling on action from the Biden Administration.Segment 1:Vaccines for COVID-19 have been available to all Mississippi residents 18 and over for more than three weeks now, but the effort to educate and encourage vaccination has been a five month endeavor for the Department of Health.Still, despite being one of only a few states to offer widen availability, the rate of Mississippians receiving at least one dose is below the national average.About one in every four Mississippi residents have gotten one shot - a rate that falls eight points below the national average of 33 percent.State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says hesitancy and access have been the two most significant challenges in getting the state to the roughly 80 percent rate needed to reach a level of herb immunity.In part one of our conversation, we discuss vaccine hesitancy, access, the question of booster shots.Segment 2:During the winter wave of coronavirus cases and deaths, residents in long term care facilities were especially hard-hit.The number of outbreaks in those facilities reached their highest points in January, right when vaccine distribution began in the state.Now, three months later, outbreaks and deaths within that group has declined significantly.We pick up our conversation with State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs discussing the vaccine effort in long term care facilities, and how a recent health grant from the CDC can help Mississippi continue it's fight against COVID-19.Segment 3:Advocates for immigrant workers in Mississippi are calling on the Biden administration to overturn policies that target undocumented immigrant communities.They say the President can start by protecting those affected by the 2019 ICE raids.Yesterday, those advocates gathered outside the Department of Labor's capital city office to deliver a letter to the Wage and Hour Division, urging the Biden administration to create protections for immigrant workers