http://www.meridianstar.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:49:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004912.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004912.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:49:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004935.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004935.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004847.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004847.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004741.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_324004741.html JACKSON (AP) — Gov. Haley Barbour’s plan to merge Mississippi’s three historically black universities has created a tense atmosphere in a state saddled with a violent civil rights past and a decades-long legal battle over the historic underfunding of those schools. At Jackson State University, students have turned to Twitter and Facebook to gather signatures on a petition to block the move proposed by the Republican governor. A half-dozen students attended a state College Board meeting Thursday expecting some discussion about the proposal, but there was none. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:27:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_322003325.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_322003325.html JACKSON (AP) — Some Mississippi House members say Republican Gov. Haley Barbour’s most politically sensitive budget proposals are likely to be dead on arrival — including a recommendation to merge eight universities into five. Rep. Cecil Brown of Jackson, a Democrat on the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, said Tuesday he opposes Barbour’s idea of merging Mississippi University for Women into Mississippi State and combining the three historically black universities into one. Barbour proposes merging Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State into Jackson State. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:34:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320224355.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320224355.html JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Monday the state should consider merging some of its universities to save money. Barbour, in announcing his budget recommendations, said Mississippi University for Women should merge with nearby Mississippi State University and that Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University be merged into Jackson State University. Barbour said none of the campuses would close but the proposed mergers would save money by reducing the number of administrative jobs. The proposed change would leave Mississippi with five public universities rather than the current eight. Barbour’s consolidation proposal would have to be approved by lawmakers. It is part of his suggested budget for the fiscal year that begins next July 1. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:44:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320004427.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320004427.html STARKVILLE (AP) — The growing season may have come to a close, but the knowledge gained by a new crop of very young hands-on enthusiasts could last a lifetime. A Mississippi State University program is educating young children about healthy living, aiming to stop obesity before it starts. The Garden-Based Learning Program for Preschoolers first began in January at Emerson Family School in Starkville. It is a pilot project developed by Chiquita Briley, Mike Hall, Diane Tidwell and Brian Trader in MSU’s departments of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and Plant and Soil Sciences to teach preschoolers ages 3 to 5 about nutrition, health, gardening and physical activity. The goal is to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity by introducing children, parents and educators to healthy food options and physical activity. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:43:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320004403.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_320004403.html JACKSON(AP) — Teenagers make up almost 40 percent of those diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases in Mississippi. The Clarion-Ledger reports that there has been a 25 percent jump in chlamydia within the last five years. Figures from the state Department of Health show that number of HIV/AIDs cases among Mississippi’s 15- to 24-year-olds went from 131 in 2007 to 160 in 2008. The number of syphilis cases among 15- to 19-year-olds also rose from 52 to 63. ‘‘It’s not infrequent to get STDs weekly, and we’re there three days a week,’’ said Kanisha Meaders, a nurse practitioner at Jim Hill High School. At school clinics in the city of Jackson and Hinds County, nurses perform wellness exams that include blood work on students. They do so with parents’ permission. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:42:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004244.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004244.html JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi Medicaid officials should have asked the Legislature for approval before tinkering with a law that would change reimbursements for pharmacists, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a chancery judge’s ruling that the Division of Medicaid had no authority to change how pharmacists were paid to fill prescriptions for people enrolled in the program. Medicaid is a federal-state health insurance program for the needy, aged, blind and disabled and for low-income families with children. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:41:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004138.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004138.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:41:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004204.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_317004204.html JACKSON (AP) — A settlement has been reached in a long-running fraud lawsuit filed against Richard ‘‘Dickie’’ Scruggs, the once powerful anti-tobacco litigator who is now behind bars, an attorney says. William Roberts Wilson, Jr., of Tuscaloosa, Ala., first sued Scruggs in 1994, accusing the Mississippi attorney of cheating him out of millions of dollars in fees from asbestos lawsuits the two worked on together. Wilson claimed Scruggs used the money to fund the landmark anti-tobacco litigation of the 1990s, from which Scruggs reportedly earned as much as $848 million. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:10:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_316001031.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_316001031.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:09:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_316000949.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_316000949.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:37:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_313121115.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_313121115.html 8 arrested in prescription ring Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:23:00 +0000 http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_312002323.html http://www.meridianstar.com/StateNews/local_story_312002323.html HATTIESBURG (AP) — South Mississippi school officials say their districts have played a vital part in the state’s efforts to stop selling fatty foods and beverages to students. According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those efforts have ranked Mississippi among the top 10 states selling healthier items in vending machines and school stores. ‘‘I’m pleased with the strides our state is making,’’ said Stephanie Hoze, executive director of child nutrition for Hattiesburg public schools. ‘‘There’s no doubt it’s taking a lot of work.’’ According to the CDC, the percentage of Mississippi’s middle and high schools not selling sodas or sugary fruit drinks increased from 22 percent in 2006 to 75 percent in 2008.