July 2008

Governor Barbour is expected to announce a new plan for cuts to the Medicaid program that will have less impact on the program and it's 600,000 recipients. MPB's Patty Davis reports.

It's summer and with school out of session more teenagers are on the road. According to research from AAA, the American Automobile Association, crash deaths for teen drivers increase by twenty percent during the months of July and August. MPB's Jordan Witt has this story on what parents and community organizations are doing to keep teens safe behind the wheel.

We commonly associate arthritis with older people but that doesn't tell the story for some 50,000 children in this country. In today's Health News, MPB's Karen Brown talks with pediatric Rheumatologist, Dr. Linda Ray about Juvenile Arthritis.

Universities like to be at or near the top of certain lists, but what about the top party school list? For the second year in a row the University of Mississippi has garnered a number two ranking on the Princeton Review's list of 368 best party schools. MPB's Jordan Witt talks with students and administrators about what they think of this distinction.

At the end of 2006, more than 7,400 people in Mississippi were infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. While medications are helping them live longer and lead more productive lives, new cases of HIV are being diagnosed nationwide at an annual rate of over 40,000. The southern states are disproportionately affected. In today's Health News, MPB's Sandra Knispel takes a closer look the Magnolia state.

Mississippi is one of only ten states in the country that does not have an early childhood education program. MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports how some business leaders, parents and educators are discussing the need to change that.

Medicaid in Mississippi is facing more than 350 million dollars in cuts next week. Governor Haley Barbour proposed the cuts after no agreement was reached to fill a 90-million dollar deficit in the program. Mississippi's problem is not unique. As MPB's Stephen Koranda reports, other states are also trying to save money on Medicaid.

Renovations continue at the historic home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Hurricane Katrina damaged but did not destroy the 150-year-old building. And as MPB's Ron Brown tells us, in restoring the landmark, no detail is too small.

Some Mississippians will see a seventy-cent increase in their hourly wage. While this increase might seem small, the new $6.55 minimum wage could have a big impact on workers and businesses around the state. MPB's Jordan Witt files this report.