Mississippi Today
Seven Mississippi appellate judges will run for reelection next year
All Mississippi appellate judges up for reelection in 2024 plan to seek another term on the state's two highest courts.
Four justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court and three judges on the Mississippi Court of Appeals told Mississippi Today they intend to qualify for a new eight-year term in office.
Below are the judges who plan to campaign next year for reelection:
Mississippi Supreme Court
Justice Jim Kitchens (Central District)
Justice Dawn Beam (Southern District)
Justice Robert Chamberlin (Northern District)
Justice James Maxwell (Northern District)
Mississippi Court of Appeals
Judge Latrice Westbrooks (District 2)
Judge Jack Wilson (District 3)
Judge Joel Smith (District 5)
The qualifying period for the appellate offices opens on Jan. 2 and closes at 5 p.m. on Feb. 1, according to the Secretary of State's office. Judicial offices are nonpartisan, so candidates do not participate in a party primary. All candidates will appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot.
To run for either of the two courts, a candidate must be at least 30 years old, a qualified elector in their respective district, a licensed attorney and a state citizen for at least five years, according to the secretary of state's office.
Judges on Mississippi's two highest courts do not run at-large. Instead voters from their respective districts elect them.
The nine members of the Supreme Court are elected from three districts: northern, central and southern. The 10 members of the Court of Appeals are each elected from five districts across the state.
The judges are elected in staggered terms, so not all 19 seats of the two courts are up for election each cycle.
The two courts hear appeals from chancery and circuit courts across the state. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort, meaning its orders cannot be appealed to another state court.
The Supreme Court, in recent years, has issued rulings that invalidated the process for voters to place initiatives on a statewide ballot and gave the governor more power to veto specific items from appropriations bills.
The court next year is expected to rule on a case that questions whether the Legislature can appropriate tax dollars for private schools.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/?p=317996
Mississippi Today
U.S. Colored Cavalry reenactors bring living history to Jackson
Civil War reenactors brought history to life at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson as members of the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry taught attendees how soldiers of that era lived on rations or off the land, the wool uniforms they wore; the armaments they used; how meals were cooked, and how their horses were taken care of and used to transport men and materials.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/?p=366635
Mississippi Today
Latest hospital safety grades show big drop for one Jackson hospital
A large Jackson hospital earned a D in hospital safety from a group that measures how well hospitals protect its patients from harm.
Mississippi Baptist Medical Center fell from an A in 2021 and 2022 to a D in the spring of this year, according to the Leapfrog Group's most recent Hospital Safety Grade ratings.
Baptist scored worse than average in preventing problems like MRSA infections and post-surgery problems like breathing issues, blood leakage and bed sores.
“Providing quality care is our top priority, as is evidenced by our many safety awards and recognitions,” Baptist Public Relations Coordinator Caroline Gillard said in a statement to Mississippi Today. She cited Baptist's U.S. News and World Report ranked as the #1 hospital in Mississippi for five years in a row.
U.S. News and World Report bases its rankings and ratings on how well a hospital performs specific procedures and treats certain conditions.
“We encourage patients to consider all quality standards and measures available to them from publically reported sources along with the services and expertise of each hospital in making decisions about their care,” Gillard said in the statement. “We are proud of the care we provide and our team of caregivers who save countless lives daily.”
The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit that evaluates the safety and quality of general hospitals nationwide. They are most known for their Hospital Safety Grade system, which rates hospitals from A to F. The results come out twice a year.
The Hospital Safety Grade is based on how well the hospital protects patients from errors, accidents, infections, injuries and more. It uses up to thirty performance measures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and additional data.
The spring 2024 hospital ratings came out in May. Mississippi ranked 34th in hospital safety overall.
Of the eight hospitals in the Merit Health system graded, only two made B's. Five earned C's and one, Merit Health Rankin in Brandon, earned a D.
Across all reports, the hospitals “declined to respond” to several categories: pediatric care, complex adult and pediatric surgery, and more. This means they chose not to disclose that information to the public. In a statement to Mississippi Today, Merit Health Biloxi's Marketing Manager Amy Bowman did not answer why it did not submit the data for certain areas.
“We are pleased to see our Leapfrog grade improve (from a D in spring 2023) with this most recent update and it reflects the focused work of our providers,” said Bowman. “Our leadership team and clinicians implement evidence-based best practices to continually strengthen the care we provide.”
Several hospitals improved their grades, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center maintained its B grade from the fall.
Dr. Lisa Didion, physician champion in UMMC's Office of Patient Experience, presented a report about patient quality in this year's May Health Affairs Committee of the Institutions of Higher Learning.
“Clinical quality is absolutely the most important thing we do at the medical center,” she said.
Singing River Gulfport's grade jumped from a C last fall to a B this spring. It has average or better-than-average scores in several areas, including a culture of safety among the staff and preventing safety problems like collapsed lungs and blood clots.
Singing River's Pascagoula and Ocean Springs hospitals both received Cs.
Last fall's report had eight As, 10 Bs, 19 Cs, three D's, and one that was not graded. This spring there are seven As, eight Bs, 19 C's and five Ds.
One hospital, Delta Health Northwest Regional in Clarksdale, did not receive a grade.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Crooked Letter Sports Podcast
Podcast: It’s U.S. Open Week and Mr. Golf Randy Watkins joins to discuss whether anybody can beat Scottie Scheffler right now.
The U.S. Open will be played at Pinehurst No. 2 this week. It's a golf course with which Randy Watkins is extremely familiar. Watkins says it will be a test, even for Scottie Scheffler. Today's discussion also covers the College World Series, the bidding war the L.A. Lakers lost to UConn, and Hurston Waldrep's debut with the Atlanta Braves.
Stream all episodes here.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/?p=366615
-
Mississippi Today6 days ago
New state law allows backup ambulance response in critical times
-
Mississippi Today2 days ago
Key Mississippi leader is open to replacing state’s white supremacist statues in Washington
-
SuperTalk FM2 days ago
Mississippi doctor helps save teen girl’s life after shark attack
-
Our Mississippi Home7 days ago
Picturesque Mississippi Towns You Should Visit This Summer
-
Mississippi News6 days ago
Noxubee, Kemper county schools receive major donation
-
Kaiser Health News7 days ago
Wins at the Ballot Box for Abortion Rights Still Mean Court Battles for Access
-
Mississippi News Video7 days ago
VIDEO: Richland police officer relieved of duty for ‘derogatory slurs’
-
Mississippi Today4 days ago
On this day in 1963