by Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
May 9, 2025

A panel of three federal judges has approved a revised legislative redistricting plan from the Mississippi Election Commission, which will allow special elections to move forward this year for 15 legislative seats.

The court in April had ordered state officials to develop yet another legislative map to ensure Black voters in the DeSoto County area have a fair opportunity to elect candidates to the state Senate.

The panel, comprised of U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan, U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden and U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leslie Southwick, previously ruled that when lawmakers redrew their districts in 2022 to account for population shifts, they violated federal civil rights law because the maps diluted Black voting power.

To remedy the violation, the court allowed the Legislature to propose a new House map redrawing House districts in the Chickasaw County area and a new Senate map redrawing districts in the DeSoto County and Hattiesburg areas.

Earlier this year, during the 2025 session, the Legislature attempted to comply with the order and tweaked those districts. However, the plaintiffs still objected to parts of the Legislature’s plan.

The plaintiffs, the state chapter of the NAACP and Black voters from around the state, did not object to the Hattiesburg portion of the Senate plan. But they argued the Chickasaw County portion of the House plan and the DeSoto County portion of the Senate plan did not create a realistic opportunity for Black voters in those areas to elect their preferred candidates. 

The judges accepted the Chickasaw County redistricting portion. Still, they objected to the DeSoto County part because the Legislature’s proposed DeSoto County solution “yokes high-turnout white communities in the Hernando area of DeSoto County to several poorer, predominantly Black towns in the Mississippi Delta,” which would make it hard for Black voters to overcome white voting blocs. 

The panel, comprised of all George W. Bush-appointed judges, ordered state officials to, again, craft a new Senate map for the area in the suburbs of Memphis. The panel has held that none of the state’s prior maps gave Black voters a realistic chance to elect candidates of their choice.

The court in its latest ruling set deadlines and a schedule for special elections for Mississippi legislative seats impacted by the new maps.

The deadline to publicize and share the maps with local election officials is May 12. Candidate qualification to run will run from June 2-9 and the slate of candidates will be submitted by June 13. Absentee voting for the Aug. 5 primaries will begin June 21.

Absentee voting for general elections will begin Sept. 20 and general elections will be Nov. 4.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Federal court approves Mississippi legislative redistricting. Special elections will proceed appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The article maintains a factual and neutral tone, focusing primarily on the legal proceedings and the federal court’s decision regarding Mississippi’s legislative redistricting. While it highlights the concerns raised by plaintiffs (the NAACP and Black voters) regarding the adequacy of the proposed maps, the article does not offer an ideological stance or overtly favor any side. It provides balanced reporting on both the court’s ruling and the objections of the plaintiffs without promoting a specific political viewpoint. The use of straightforward legal and procedural language helps ensure that the report adheres to neutral, factual reporting.

by Sophia Paffenroth, Mississippi Today
May 9, 2025

Mississippi moms will no longer be able to use Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi insurance to cover lactation services after they leave the hospital. 

The Lactation Network, a third-party biller that allows Mississippians with certain insurance to see non-physician lactation consultants, will no longer accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi patients. The network was previously subsidizing the unpaid portion of the claim for these moms’ visits, but it said that it can no longer afford to do so.  

The Lactation Network did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Mississippi Today by the time the story published.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi is the state’s largest private insurer. Lactation consultants and breastfeeding advocates worry the reduced coverage will worsen Mississippi’s breastfeeding rate – already one of the lowest in the country. The loss in coverage could have profound impacts on the health of mothers and children, experts say. 

“It’s such a complex puzzle of how to improve maternal and infant outcomes, but we know that breastfeeding is an integral, foundational part of that,” said Dr. Christina Glick, a retired neonatologist and lactation consultant in the Jackson area. “ … Lack of reimbursement will interfere with delivery of care, which will reduce breastfeeding rates.”

Breastfeeding has been proven to lower the incidence of diseases, infections and depression in both mother and baby. But it’s not always straightforward, and the list of potential challenges is not short: oversupply, undersupply, allergies and sensitivities, problems with pumping upon return to work, milk blisters and a host of other issues. Ninety-two percent of new mothers report having trouble breastfeeding three days postpartum and needing support.

Shay Bequette, a 25-year-old from Hattiesburg with Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, overcame multiple hurdles to breastfeed her baby, born in January.

“I was struggling,” Bequette said. “I’m the first in my family to breastfeed. And my son was really small … I knew something was wrong intuitively, but I just couldn’t understand because I was producing (milk), but he was constantly crying. I was breastfeeding for an hour and a half on each side and he was still crying like he was in pain.”

Emotions and stakes are high for mothers learning to breastfeed. Moms who struggle to breastfeed often report feeling a sense of failure, while also facing intense pressure to make sure their baby is gaining adequate weight. 

Though she didn’t want to, Bequette considered switching to formula – and says she would have if she wasn’t able to access affordable lactation support. 

“I was losing my marbles, I was crying, I was frustrated,” Bequette said. “My whole family was like, ‘you know, you’re just going to have to switch to formula, obviously it’s not working.’”

Instead, Bequette found Maranda Nybo, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) based in Pass Christian who expanded her practice to include a once-weekly trip to Hattiesburg. Bequette credits all of her current breastfeeding success to Nybo.

“She saved my sanity, and she saved his life,” said Bequette.

Now, Bequette will have to discontinue her care – and Nybo worries for the future of her practice, where she estimates between 80 and 90% of her clients use Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance.

“Sunday, Monday and (Tuesday) I’ve had 12 moms schedule appointments with me … every single one of them have been denied as of today,” Nybo told Mississippi Today. “All of them, except one, have canceled their appointments with me.”

The Lactation Network announced April 30 that working with certain insurance companies is no longer affordable.

“Historically, nearly 1 in 4 out-of-network visits that TLN covers go unpaid by health plans,” read an April 30 email from TLN to providers. “For a long time, we’ve subsidized the cost of care, hoping these plans would come around and reimburse us for this vital care. But that’s not sustainable — we can’t continue absorbing the costs that these plans should be covering.”

A spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield Mississippi told Mississippi Today the company wasn’t aware of the changes and has no formal agreement with TLN. 

“Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Members continue to have access to lactation consultation services when they use a Network Provider,” a Blue Cross spokesperson said.

The only in-network lactation consultants currently covered by Blue Cross are physicians, who do not generally operate outpatient clinics focused solely on breastfeeding care.  

While new mothers usually get some form of support while they’re still in the hospital, most breastfeeding problems don’t develop until well after they leave, explained Erin Mattingly, a Jackson-based IBCLC. 

“I hear all the time that parents think breastfeeding is going fairly well in the hospital and then they get home and things fall apart,” she said. “And a lot of that is because during their time in the hospital, for the vast majority of mothers, their mature milk supply has not even arrived yet. So, it’s after the mature milk comes in that they start to have issues.”

After parents leave the hospital, the next appointment is typically scheduled two weeks later with a pediatrician. The majority of mothers who are struggling to breastfeed will give up if they don’t get help in that interim period, Mattingly said. 

Even if moms continue breastfeeding for those two weeks, they don’t always get comprehensive lactation support during the pediatric visit.

Bequette says when she broached the subject with her obstetrician and her pediatrician, each of them referred her to the other for guidance. That’s not unusual, according to Mattingly. 

“Doctors are fantastic at what they do, but they don’t have the same lactation training that lactation consultants have,” Mattingly said. “And in addition to that, they don’t have the time. If they have 10, 15 minutes with a patient, that’s not enough time to observe a feeding, problem solve what could be going on, and create a strategy going forward.”

An average lactation session with Mattingly or Nybo runs between 60 and 90 minutes and costs between $100 and $125 without insurance. 

That may be an affordable out-of-pocket cost to some, but it will put support out of reach for many moms who are already at a disadvantage for breastfeeding. 

“As a private practice, for me this is devastating,” Nybo said. “But it’s also really devastating for the moms.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Blue Cross moms face out of pocket costs for breastfeeding help appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article presents a factual account of changes to insurance coverage for lactation services, focusing on the impact on mothers in Mississippi. It emphasizes the concerns of healthcare professionals and breastfeeding advocates, reflecting a concern for public health and access to necessary services. The use of expert opinions and emotional testimonials from affected individuals conveys a sympathetic view toward those negatively affected by the insurance policy change. While it presents various perspectives, the overall tone and framing lean toward highlighting the societal harm caused by the policy shift, particularly in a state with already low breastfeeding rates.

by Alex Rozier, Mississippi Today
May 9, 2025

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally created utility that sells wholesale power to local providers in the south including Mississippi, is suing the city of Holly Springs for breaching a contract by continuing to mismanage its electric department.

TVA, which has sold power to north Mississippi city since 1935, alleges Holly Springs breached a power contract between the two parties by taking funds from its utility department when it shouldn’t have, as well as by failing to make timely payments, increase its retail rates to customers, and provide regular financial updates to TVA.

That lawsuit, filed May 1 in the United States District Court in Oxford, lists as defendants: Holly Springs Mayor Sharon Gipson, who recently lost her bid for reelection, all five members of the city’s Board of Aldermen, and Wayne Jones, the utility department’s general manager. The suit asks the court to use its authority to enforce the contract.

Years of under-investment and deferred maintenance — as well as destructive weather, including a 2023 ice storm — have debilitated the utility to the point where customers experience unusually frequent and prolonged power outages, local officials, TVA and ratepayers told Mississippi Today. They said while the catastrophe was years in the making, decision-making under the current administration has exacerbated the problem.

In its complaint, TVA says it first warned the city in September 2023 that it lacked “necessary revenue” to run the power department. Last October, TVA again warned city leaders, saying it needed to increase customers’ rates to survive financially. The lawsuit alleges that Holly Springs hasn’t paid a monthly invoice to TVA on time since May of last year, and that it still hasn’t paid what it owes from this past February.

TVA also says Holly Springs leaders took funds from the utility department before ensuring there were sufficient reserve dollars. Under the parties’ contract, the city can take payments in lieu of taxes from the utility after it fulfills certain expenses, including saving enough money in reserves. The lawsuit alleges, though, the city made five such payments in the last year, all while having outstanding debts and thus no reserve funding.

While managed by city officials, the utility has expanded to the point where about two-thirds of its 12,000 customers live outside Holly Springs, meaning most ratepayers have no local voting power in terms of running the department.

Customers and state officials attribute much of the recent power issues to city leadership, especially Gipson, Holly Springs’ mayor since 2021. Just a month ago after severe weather took out power for Holly Springs customers, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown alleged that Gipson refused assistance from crews in New Albany who offered help. Holly Springs officials denied the claim, FOX13 Memphis reported, saying the crews showed up without getting the city’s approval.

The Public Service Commission, which oversees the utility thanks to a bill state lawmakers passed last year, initially scheduled a hearing for city officials to appear in Jackson in January. The city successfully appealed the initial date, arguing one of its attorneys, Sen. Bradford Blackmon, had to appear in the legislative session. The PSC agreed to postpone the hearing until after the session, which ended a month ago.

“We are currently in the final stage of the third party investigation and are awaiting a report from (third party investigator) Silverpoint which will determine the exact scheduling of a hearing,” Richard Stone, a spokesperson from Brown’s office, told Mississippi Today on May 5.

During the 2025 session, Rep. John Faulkner, D-Holly Springs, offered two proposals related to the city’s utility: one requesting $2 million in appropriations, and another establishing a nine-person board — five appointees from Holly Springs and two each from the boards of supervisors for Marshall and Benton counties — to run the department. Both bills died in their House committees.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post TVA suing Holly Springs over power grid failures appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The article presents a detailed account of the legal dispute between the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the city of Holly Springs, focusing on allegations of mismanagement and breaches of contract. The tone is neutral, presenting the facts of the lawsuit and the ongoing issues without promoting a particular ideological perspective. The article includes perspectives from various stakeholders, including TVA, local officials, and residents, allowing for a balanced portrayal of the situation. There is no apparent bias toward one political side or another, as the content primarily reports on the facts and legal proceedings surrounding the case.