10 Feb Banks, credit unions offering alternatives to payday loans

Posted at February 10, 2014 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Mississippi Public Broadcasting Evelina Burnett Mississippians take out an estimated 4 million pay day loans every year, at effective annual interest rates topping 500 percent. MPB’s Evelina Burnett reports, some nonprofits and banks are working together to offer alternatives to this costly credit. Alisha has worked at this...

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27 Jan When lenders sue – part 4

Posted at January 27, 2014 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Westmoreland Times Story by Paul Kiel, ProPublica. Mayeta Clark, Mike Tigas and Eric Sagara contributed to this report. In Mississippi, the poorest state in the country, the largest installment lender is Tower Loan. Mississippi laws prevent installment lenders from charging the triple-digit rates common in some other states,...

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24 Jan Small loan alternative seminar held in Gulfport

Posted at January 24, 2014 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Sun Herald Cecily Cummings The Gulf Coast Community Foundation held a small loan alternative seminar Friday morning in the conference rooms of Lookout Steakhouse in Gulfport. Participants gathered to talk about what can be done to provide alternative lending opportunities to people who are struggling financially. The meeting...

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16 Jan Director: Port of Gulfport project will create promised jobs

Posted at January 16, 2014 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Sun Herald Anita Lee Port of Gulfport announcement expected GULFPORT -- The state port's executive director, Jonathan Daniels, assured community members Thursday night an expansion and restoration project funded with $570 million from the federal government will create the jobs promised. Daniels said he and the port staff are...

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13 Dec When Lenders Sue, Quick Cash Can Turn Into a Lifetime of Debt

Posted at December 13, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

ProPublica Paul Kiel ProPublica, Dec. 13, 2013, 10:47 a.m. Five years ago, Naya Burks of St. Louis borrowed $1,000 from AmeriCash Loans. The money came at a steep price: She had to pay back $1,737 over six months. “I really needed the cash, and that was the only thing...

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07 Dec Gulfport Branch NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet is Dec. 15

Posted at December 07, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Sun HeraldThe Gulfport Branch NAACP will hold its Freedom Fund Banquet from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Hard Rock resort and Casino, 777 Beach Blvd., Biloxi. During the banquet, the organization will honor former Mississippi Supreme Court Judge Fred L. Banks Jr., one...

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18 Nov Politics & income, not technology, could impede Mississippi’s ACA outreach

Posted at November 18, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

New America Media Khalil Abdullah Jackson, MS – While much of the scrutiny of the Affordable Care Act has been focused on the technical glitches of the October launch of the healthcare.gov website, Cover Mississippi, an amalgam of non-profit and private interests, has been working to reach...

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14 Nov Mississippi Edition

Posted at November 14, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Mississippi Public Broadcasting Since 2009, $83-million of Federal G.I. Bill money has come into Mississippi. 14% of that has gone to for-profit colleges, even though those schools only enroll 7% of the students. That's all according to a new report released by the Mississippi Center for...

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14 Nov For-profit colleges a bad deal for veterans in Mississippi

Posted at November 14, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Non Profit Quarterly Rick Cohen Are nonprofit schools a better deal for returning veterans than for-profit schools? A study by the Mississippi Center for Justice finds that since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 14 percent of $83 million in GI Bill funds spent for education in Mississippi went...

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12 Nov For-profit schools taking advantage of veterans, Mississippi Center for Justice charges

Posted at November 12, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Clarion Ledger Jimmie E. Gates For-profit schools prey on Mississippi veterans by getting their education assistance benefits but providing, in turn, an inferior education, charges the nonprofit Mississippi Center for Justice. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, more than $83 million GI Bill funds went to...

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