22 Feb Merchant named to school board

Posted at February 22, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in the Delta Democrat Times Sarah Kramer GREENVILLE — The Greenville City Council appointed Kimberly Merchant to the five-member Greenville Public School District Board of Trustees during their meeting Tuesday. Members voted 4-2, with Ward 3 Councilwoman Carolyn Weathers and Ward 5 Councilwoman Ann Hollowell voting to...

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04 Feb Expanding Medicaid would improve state’s health, economy

Posted at February 04, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in the Clarion Ledger Linda Rigsby We have reached a policy crossroads and can opt for one of two paths: We can deny working families access to the care they need, or we can extend Medicaid benefits to newly-eligible residents to spur job growth and ensure...

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30 Jan Sandy spurs talk of legal assistance disaster fund

Posted at January 30, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

New Orleans City Business Maria Clark, staff writer Martha Bergmark, founding president of the Mississippi Center for Justice, is on a mission. She’s currently trying to raise awareness that money should be in place at the national level for legal services in the aftermath of a natural...

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28 Jan Center for Justice: Bryant lacks real awareness of health care needs

Posted at January 28, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in the Mississippi Business Journal Gov. Phil Bryant’s pronouncement last week that hospital emergency room access ensures that all Mississippians have health care reflects a poor understanding of how healthcare works for many of the state’s families, the Mississippi Center for Justice says Replying to Bryant’s...

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17 Jan South Mississippi nonprofits help break the cycle of debt

Posted at January 17, 2013 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Sun Herald Priscilla Loebenberg GULFPORT -- Local nonprofits and volunteers got a preview Wednesday at the Knight Nonprofit Center of a new campaign to help educate those in financial difficulty on the pitfalls of payday loans and predatory lenders. The campaign began with a $50,000 grant from the...

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26 Dec BankPlus takes on Mississippi payday lenders

Posted at December 26, 2012 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in American Banker Magazine Laura Thompson Osuri As the operators of a community bank in the state with the most payday lenders per capita (32 for every 100,000 people), executives at BankPlus in Belzoni, Miss., are characteristically appalled at the exorbitant rates that payday lenders charge. But...

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05 Dec Mortgage help brings holiday hope in DeSoto

Posted at December 05, 2012 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in The Commercial Appeal Henry Bailey Mississippi Special Assistant Attorney General Bridgette Wiggins was in Hernando Tuesday morning to address and meet with citizens at a mortgage-assistance session for distressed homeowners in DeSoto County. Wiggins (left) is seen conferring with Foreclosure Staff Attorney Charles Lee, of...

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04 Dec Social change promoted through film and television at USM Gulf Park festival

Posted at December 04, 2012 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in the Sun Herald Prisclila Loebenberg LONG BEACH -- Television producers led off the Social Change Film Festival and Institute on Monday at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus with a workshop designed to teach participants how to use video in support of social...

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16 Nov Portion of $4.5 billion criminal fine will benefit Mississippi

Posted at November 16, 2012 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

Published in the Sun Herald A day of reckoning arrived for BP on Thursday as the oil company agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay a record $4.5 billion in a settlement with the government over the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the...

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02 Nov Biloxi Blues: Legal-cost fears have victims of the oil spill sliding out of the middle class

Posted at November 02, 2012 in In the News by Mississippi Center for Justice

American Bar Association Journal Rachel M. Zahorsky That was it. Nothing more could be done. Two years after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, Tina Copeland’s American dream was over. Her Mississippi Gulf Coast business was hemorrhaging funds, her marriage torn apart. Though billions were offered to settle...

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