Magnolia Tribune

Great City Foundation Summit considers how to amplify the good in Jackson’s future

Published

2 years ago

April 14, 2023

Leaders of the Foundation seek to unify and energize Mississippi’s capital city for the benefit of all.

On Thursday, the Great City Mississippi Foundation hosted the Great City Summit. The event brought together leaders from across the capital city, state and nation to develop new ideas to accomplish shared goals, energize projects, and amplify efforts of good work in Jackson.

The Foundation believes Jackson, Mississippi sits at the center of the South and is working to become one of the nation’s great cities through trust and collaboration. The Great City Foundation says it is committed to Jackson’s future.

The Foundation’s vision for a Great City prioritizes the growth of the Jackson metro area’s economy by building a trail system, improving education and tourism resources, and implementing new infrastructure projects.

“Building a better foundation will pave the way for economic and workforce development as well as training opportunities to keep young professionals engaged and active in our state,” the Foundation outlined. “Great City Mississippi Foundation connects the metro area’s community-led efforts to better utilize resources and make a difference.”

Four panels were highlighted on the event’s schedule: Believing in Jackson, Building a Future for Jackson’s Youth, Building a Beautiful City, and Brain Gain for Mississippi’s Future. Speakers at the event included:

Stephen Moret, President & CEO of Strada Education Network
Ryan Gravel, Founder of Atlanta Beltline
Dr. Jerry Young, Senior Pastor of New Hope Baptist Chruch
Dr. Ligon Duncan, Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary
Dr. Carmen J. Walters, President of Tougaloo College
John M. Allin III, Principal Architect at Wier Boerner Allin
State Representative Ronnie Crudup
Dr. Nashlie Sephus, tech evangelist for Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Taylor Nicholas, Executive Director for Great City Foundation
Susan Garrard, President & CEO of Mississippi Children’s Museum
The Honorable Chip Pickering, President of Incompas
Dr. Elayne Hayes-Anthony, President of Jackson State University
Scott Rodgers, MD, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at University of Mississippi Medical Center

In an opening video, Taylor Nicholas, Executive Director for Great City Foundation, said there’s a common thread that we want our state to be the best state it can possibly be.

“I realized quickly that the state of Mississippi can only reach its level of potential if it has a strong capital city,” Nicholas said, adding that he believes as Mississippians, we want a bright future for children.

The Mississippi Children’s Museum is part of that future. Emily Hoff, its Executive Director, said there have always been challenges in Jackson, just like any other city.

“What I like to focus on is what I can do and what small part I can play in the larger narrative of helping children feel like they have a safe place to come,” Hoff said. “One of the great strengths of the Children’s Museum is that we’ve always been able to be the voice of the child.”

Hoff said one of the most meaningful projects she has been able to be a part of is the building of the new park at Lefleur’s Bluff.

“By gathering resources from both private and public entities, we were able to build a 30,000 square foot playground with state of the art equipment,” Hoff said. “Not only is it an actual, practical place where children and families can gather, but it has really been seen as a beacon of positive momentum in Jackson.”

Monique Ealey, Director of Education and Programs at the Mississippi Children’s Museum, said the facility is so much more than a museum where children go to play. She sees facility as influencers of education and in the field of economic development. Ealey said they are also helping lead the charge for the museum district and what that looks like for the other three museums within their space.

“We are the voice of children, but we also have some very powerful, very intelligent people within our organization that are capable of helping to lead these conversations and be apart of conversations as it relates to what is best for our city,” Ealey said.

Mary Sanders Ferris Caviche, Principal of Ferris Company, focused her remarks on design and helping Jackson tell its story. She said her group can design and brand for any commercial space. Caviche said she could design what she believes to be a beautiful space, but if it doesn’t align with whoever will be running or operating it, it doesn’t work.

“If you were to be asking about Jackson, if the people who were designing all of this for the city are not actually talking to the citizens,” Caviche said. “From a general design perspective, it won’t work.”

State Representative Ronnie Crudup said when he graduated high school, his original plan was to leave the state of Mississippi. However, he said, he started looking at Jackson a different way.

“What are some of the good things in Jackson? What are those things that we can be proud of? Once you start finding out what those things you can be proud of and what you love, you begin to change that attitude for yourself if you want to make a difference,” Rep. Crudup said.

The Great City Mississippi Foundation provided a video outlining projects and goals for the city of Jackson.

“Real progress begins with the end in mind through collaboration and community engagement,” the Foundation relayed to attendees. “Here are a few big, achievable goals from community members. This represents a small fraction of projects and goals for this city. We hope this is the start of a conversation about what Jackson could be!”

The Great City Foundation was formed in 2021 and has a mission to improve the quality of life, the public safety, economic growth and wellbeing of the city. Chip Pickering said the future vision video depicts a realistic, achievable, practical, growth strategy for Jackson.

Pickering, a former Congressman from Mississippi, said even though they have been working very diligently over the last two years putting this vision together, and advocating for it as well as getting feedback on it, the summit is the first public introduction of their work. Pickering said it’s important to not only make an economic case for what they’re proposing, but also a shared value system in faith that unites the Jackson community.

“You cannot be a great state without a great city, and you can’t be a great city without a great state,” Pickering said. “The two are tied together, our future is tied together.”

He explained that 40% of all college students who decide to stay in Mississippi, stayed in Jackson.

“We think that Mississippi’s location, our infrastructure, our supercomputers, our fiber and broadband networks, our leading companies, give us a chance to really leap frog and instead of being last to do something about the future economy, we’ll be the first to do something,” Pickering said.

Prior to the event, Pickering spoke with the Magnolia Tribune about Great City Foundation’s vision. He said the vision for the city of Jackson in the above video was developed through working with Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and other colleges and universities, as well as organizations such as the Trailblazers.

The first part of the vision pertains to parks and interconnecting trails that would make Jackson a place that is both healthier and more beautiful. Pickering said they are working from the reservoir all the way through the museums such as the Children’s Museum, Agriculture Museum, the Civil Rights Museum, and other things downtown.

Pickering said they have plans underway and progress is being made. He explained that the city of Jackson received a huge infusion of federal funds to give the city an opportunity to have a modernized water distribution system that “every city deserves.” He said the Foundation worked with U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker in support of funding for the water. Their foundation also worked in previous legislative sessions on public safety issues to get assistance from the Capitol Police, additional appointed judges, and more. Pickering said this will help address the crime in the short term.

“We were able to do it in a way that the entire bipartisan Hinds County delegation supported, the local DA, our Governor, our Lieutenant Governor, our Speaker, so our state, city leadership, and legislative leadership without any controversy,” Pickering said. “This year, it turned out a little bit differently.”

Pickering said the reason they had such success with it previously was because they went to all of the stakeholders and slowly built a consensus. He explained that the attempt by the Legislature this year to further expand the Capitol Complex Improvement District and add more crime fighting assistance was well intentioned, but because they didn’t do it in a way that brought the stakeholders to the table on the front end it caused concerns.

“The reality is, we don’t think that we’ll have a new corporate 500 company headquartered in Jackson, or a large law firm, or a major bank that will locate and nest in downtown Jackson. We do believe that Jackson State’s roll as a leading HBCU and a national commitment on the bipartisan level to increasing HBCU funding and research, a national commitment by many of leading companies to invest and partner with HBCUs, give us an opportunity to extend and expand Jackson State’s campus into downtown and to a research center,” he noted.

Pickering said using the leadership of Congressman Thompson and Senator Wicker to bring a research center into downtown Jackson is a doable, achievable strategy based on what they know works in places such as Huntsville, the research triangle in North Carolina, and the Texas medical center in Houston.

“We want to follow those models and to take advantage of our congressional leadership,” Pickering said.

Pickering said most people don’t realize that Mississippi is the lead state across the Southeast with supercomputer capabilities. He said the Department of Defense has five supercomputers, two of which are in Mississippi.

“All of the applications in the future economy are going to have some component of AI,” Pickering said. “Mississippi can be the lead research center on computational capability, taking advantage that we’re the lead of supercomputers.”

Pickering said the Foundation has been working with all of the universities and state leaders to get support. He said the Foundation’s vision is to use this moment to go after a lead research center for downtown Jackson, which will revitalize and grow the area.

“If we’re able to build a new stadium for Jackson State, it allows us to move forward with what UMMC is planning now, a comprehensive cancer center designated by NIH making it eligible for very large infusions of federal research funding,” Pickering said.

He said there is a great need that will be met if all concerned are able to work together in this vision for Jackson.

The post Great City Foundation Summit considers how to amplify the good in Jackson’s future appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Anne Summerhays
Title: Great City Foundation Summit considers how to amplify the good in Jackson’s future
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/04/14/great-city-foundation-summit-considers-how-to-amplify-the-good-in-jacksons-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=great-city-foundation-summit-considers-how-to-amplify-the-good-in-jacksons-future
Published Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:30:49 +0000

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Magnolia Tribune

Staring mortality in the face at Christmas

Published

11 months ago

December 16, 2023

Staff Editor

My friend Jarrod is dying after an eight year battle with cancer. He’s lived a life worth celebrating, one that has drawn people to Christ.

I was going about my business this week when I received a text that stopped me in my tracks. A college friend was being moved to hospice care.

Jarrod Egley was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in early 2017. In the fall of 2018, tests revealed the cancer had spread to his lungs and Jarrod’s cancer was classified as Stage IV.

For almost eight years from the date of the original diagnosis, he’s fought. Through surgeries, radiation, endless rounds and cycles of chemotherapy, and experimental immunotherapies, he’s fought.

Last year, I flew out to California and spent some time with Jarrod and his wife, Emily. We sat outside one night. He acknowledged to me that it was not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ the cancer would claim his life. I told him I was sorry, because what else is there to say?

We talked about our faith, about the trials of Job, about Jacob wrestling with God, about Paul’s affliction. But mostly we reflected on our time together in school, on the good things, and the mundane things, that happened since.

Jarrod and I met at Tulane University. One Sunday morning in the Spring of my freshman year, I rose from my dorm room bed, dressed, and began walking down Saint Charles Avenue in New Orleans with no particular agenda. I walked until I came across First Baptist Church and the thought flickered in the vacuous recesses of my brain to enter.

Some would say it was a lark. The Calvinist in me says providence. The walk that morning changed the trajectory of my time at Tulane and my life on the whole. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Baptist Collegiate Ministry became central to my life and put me in regular league with Jarrod. I met him first at the BCM and we ultimately ended up attending church together.

Jarrod was a faithful servant on and off campus. He helped organize a group of us that would weekly make our way down to the Esplanade seawall on the backside of the French Quarter to feed the homeless. On Friday nights, he could be found at chapel with a small cadre of students foregoing Bourbon Street for early 2000s worship music.

Jarrod was a loyal friend in those years. Never rude or biting. Not prone to an insult for an easy laugh. Persistently encouraging. An engineering student, his mind worked linearly and was oriented to problem solving. There were never a lot of wasted words — always a lot of deliberative questions when he disagreed or did not understand a point. He exhibited intelligence, empathy, and the kind of moral conviction that sets someone apart.

He also had a wry and dry sense of humor and a penchant for beating people at Madden football. He was fair-to-midland on the ultimate frisbee pitch. Along the way, there were crawfish boils, Mardi Gras outtings, poorly attended Tulane football games, and more than a decent amount of wing eating.

After college, I lost touch with Jarrod. He moved back to his home state of California. He got married to his college sweetheart, who could not have anticipated her husband’s journey, but has been a steady and constant helpmate throughout. Jarrod became a very successful engineer and a bourbon connoisseur. One of his bucket list trips took him to Kentucky, where he got to meet and became friends with bourbon “Hall of Famer” Freddie Johnson of Buffalo Trace acclaim.

Jarrod at Buffalo Trace Distillery (Spring 2022).

Sitting in his backyard nearly 20 years after graduating from Tulane, I saw many of the same qualities I had grown to admire when we were students together. I saw a husband who doted on and supported Emily’s passions. But I also saw someone whose body had been beaten to hell and back, who was tired, and who, like Jacob, had been wrestling with God. We quickly fell back into friendship, which perhaps is the mark of good friendship.

We all have aspirations in our youth — for the kind of spouse or parent we might be, for what we might accomplish, for what we might experience. Along the way, dreams are satisfied, modified, or they die on the vine. The clock inevitably works against all of us. That night in Oceanside, California, Jarrod, a numbers guy, saw that time was not on his side. He believed, as we all would, that he still had more to give, more impact to be made, and more things to see and experience.

After that trip, Jarrod and I stayed in touch, most frequently triggered by news of his cancer. It has been mostly the bad variety in recent months. Now spread throughout his body, down to his bones, he has lived in constant pain for months. Not even a steady diet of morphine and an implanted pain pump solve for it. Jarrod’s been hospitalized twelve times just in 2023.

But his matter of fact sense of humor and way of seeing the world remains in tact. So too does his faith that despite these trials, he has always been safe in the hands of Christ.

There are people in the world who believe that life is random, disordered, and without reason. I am not among them. I think my friend is staring mortality in the face at Christmas for a reason.

For thousands of years before Christ came, there was darkness and despair. Sin and shame gripped the hearts of men. Until one holy night, God, in His infinite love, mercy and wisdom, sent His son to save. Jesus is the light of the world and the hope of man. He has won victory over death and Jarrod’s will not be the exception. Jesus came for Jarrod, and for you.

For thousands of years since Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, His disciples have been used as divine instruments to point the way to God. Jarrod is among them. If life expectancies were the measure, Jarrod would be at the midway point for most people. He’s made a lifetime of impact for the Kingdom and on other people.

So, to my friend Jarrod, you were placed here with a purpose. You have run your race. You are loved. And when this chapter closes, you will hear “well done, my good and faithful servant.” There is no greater evidence of a life well lived.

While Jarrod and Emily have been fortunate to have health insurance, their portion of the medical bills so far in 2023 have eclipsed $30,000, and Emily is facing additional uncovered expenses during Jarrod’s hospice care, including a night nurse that costs over $400 a night. If you would like to help defray the cost, a contribution can be made at their Go Fund Me page.

The post Staring mortality in the face at Christmas appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Russ Latino
Title: Staring mortality in the face at Christmas
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/12/16/staring-mortality-in-the-face-at-christmas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=staring-mortality-in-the-face-at-christmas
Published Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 15:05:22 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023/

Magnolia Tribune

Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023

Published

11 months ago

December 15, 2023

Staff Editor

Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.

In Mississippi

1. Laurin St. Pe’ named CEO of Singing River Health System

The Board of Trustees of Singing River Health System announced the immediate appointment of Laurin St. Pe’ as the Chief Executive Officer on Thursday.

“We are thrilled to announce Laurin St. Pe as the new CEO of Singing River,” said Steve Ates, Board President in a statement. “His wealth of healthcare experience and proven track record make him the ideal leader to steer our health system toward its next phase of growth and success.”

St. Pe’, who has been serving as Interim CEO since July 2023, said he is honored to assume the role of CEO at Singing River. He has worked at Singing River as Administrator of Singing River Health System’s Pascagoula Hospital and Gulfport Hospital, in addition to overseeing program service lines throughout the entire system to his subsequent appointment as Chief Operating Officer of Singing River.

The health system says St. Pe played a crucial role in the financial revitalization of Singing River Health System while steering the organization toward financial stability.

2. Gulfport-Biloxi airport, Stennis evacuated after threats

The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport was evacuated on Thursday morning “out of an abundance of caution,” airport officials said, after receiving an emailed threat to certain transportation entities across the state.

The airport was thoroughly security swept, cleared and reopened in just over two hours. Gulfport-Biloxi is now operating regularly.

The threat was also sent to Stennis International Airport. Their staff and personnel were also evacuated until the facilities could be swept and cleared.

Any passenger whose travel was affected by the evacuation is encouraged to contact their respective air carrier.

3. Cassidy arrested in Iowa for beheading Satanic Temple statue

Former Mississippi congressional and legislative candidate Michael Cassidy was arrested this week in Iowa for beheading a statue at the state’s Capitol erected by The Satanic Temple.

Cassidy reportedly decapitated the statue and turned himself to police on Thursday. He was charged with fourth degree criminal mischief. He then started an online legal defense fund where he’s raised upwards of $20,000 as of Thursday night, according to his X account.

4. “Serial fraudster” ordered to cease offering investments into companies

According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, on October 26, 2023, Secretary Michael Watson and the Securities Division issued an order against Stephone N. Patton. The SOS says Patton is a serial fraudster with multiple criminal convictions in Mississippi and Florida.

Through business filings with the SEC and Mississippi, Patton has held himself to be the CEO of various companies, including Star Oil and Gas Company, Inc., North Gulf Energy Corporation, Inc., Patton Oilfield Services, Inc., and Patton Farms, LLC.

The SOS says using these business filings and company websites, Patton claimed to have raised hundreds of billions of dollars through investment opportunities. Through investigative efforts and collaboration with the SEC, the SOS discovered none of Patton’s companies are operational, have any assets, or generate any revenues. Account records show Patton spent investors’ funds almost as soon as he received them on personal expenses. The total amount of known investments made to Patton’s fraudulent companies is over $80,000. Further, none of Patton’s investment offerings have been registered or notice filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.

The SOS order requires Patton to cease and desist from offering investments with his companies, requiring Patton to permanently deactivate his companies’ websites to prevent any further dissemination of his false or misleading information. Patton is also ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $25,000 to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office for these violations, in addition to restitution owed to all his Mississippi investors.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Congressional retirements mounting as 2024 election cycle nears

Retirement and departure announcements are piling up ahead of the start to the 2024 election cycle. The New York Times has developed a Retirement Tracker that currently shows 22 Democrats and 11 Republicans who are in Congress now will not be seeking re-election next year.

“Dozens of members of Congress have announced plans to leave their seats in the House of Representatives, setting a rapid pace for congressional departures, with more expected as the 2024 election draws closer,” the NY Times reports. “Given Republicans’ razor-thin House majority, the wave of exits has the potential to lead to a significant shake-up next year.”

You can find the tracker here.

2. Texas, Daily Wire, The Federalist sue U.S. State Department over media censorship

The U.S. State Department’s Global Engagement Center has come under fire as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton along with The Daily Wire and The Federalist have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the department funded technology that could “render disfavored press outlets unprofitable.” They claim that the department has helped social media – Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) – to censor free speech while funding technologies used to censor right-leaning news outlets such as theirs.

New Civil Liberties Alliance is representing The Daily Wire and The Federalist. Paxton and the outlets claim the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a British think tank, received a $100,000 grant from the State Department in 2021, and NewsGuard, which rates the “misinformation” levels of news outlets, received $25,000 from the State Department in 2020, according to the lawsuit.

According to the State Department’s website, the Global Engagement Center’s mission is to direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations.

As reported by Reuters, the lawsuit cited a GDI-produced list from December 2022 that ranked The Daily Wire and The Federalist as among the 10 “riskiest sites” for news while the least-risky included The New York Times, Associated Press and NPR. Reuters notes that the lawsuit alleges such “blacklists” are reducing revenues to The Daily Wire and The Federalist along with their visibility on social media and ranking results from browser searches.

Sports & Entertainment

1. SEC releases 2024 schedules

Wednesday evening, the Southeastern Conference released the 2024 football schedules for its member schools, including of interest in the Magnolia State the schedules for Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

It is the first schedule that includes new conference members University of Oklahoma and University of Texas, bringing the conference to 16 schools. Each SEC team will play eight conference football games plus at least one required opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 or major independent, each team will have two open dates.

The 2024 season will be the first year the SEC will play a schedule without divisional competition since 1991. The top two teams in the league standings based on winning percentage will play in the 33rd SEC Football Championship Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7.

2. White, Jesiolowski, Jones honored by MAIS

The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) in Mississippi, comprised of non-public schools, announced this week that Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s senior quarterback John White was named the 6A Player of the Year while Hartfield’s Reed Jesiolowski and Hartfield Chris Jones were named the MAIS 6A Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.

All three have committed to play college football at the University of Mississippi.

White is Mississippi’s all-time leader in career passing yards with 15,259 yards, a record he broke during the 2023 season.

MAIS, like the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) for public schools, is broken down into classifications, from 1A to 6A. However, MHSAA added a 7A this season.

Markets & Business

1. Consumer retail sales up as energy, gas prices move down

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in November after being unchanged in October. Retail sales rose 0.3% in November after rising 0.2% in October, meaning consumers continue to spend at the start of the holiday season.

The CPI or inflation rate is 3.1%, higher than the Federal Reserve target of 2% but below the 9% peak in 2022 which reached a 40-year high.

As for the energy index, BLS reported that it fell 2.3% in November after decreasing 2.5% in October. The gasoline index decreased 6% in November, following a 5% decrease in the previous month.

The index for fuel oil fell in November, decreasing 2.7%. However, the natural gas index rose 2.8% over the month after rising 1.2% the previous month. The index for electricity also rose 1.4% in November, after increasing 0.3% in October.

The energy index fell 5.4% over the past 12 months. The gasoline index decreased 8.9%, the natural gas index declined 10.4%, and the fuel oil index fell 24.8% over this 12-month span.

2. Week’s market rally continues into Friday

At close of trading on Thursday, the U.S. markets continued the week’s rally, pushing the Dow up 158 points to 37,248 while the Nasdaq and S&P also made gains, 27 points and 12 points, respectively, to close at 14,761 and 4,719.

The record high for the Dow on Thursday moved futures up 102 points.

According to CNBC, the major averages are headed for their seventh straight positive week. As of Thursday, the Dow is higher on the week by 2.8%. The S&P 500 is up by 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.5% this week.

Stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged this week while members look towards cuts in the new year and beyond.

The post Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023 appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Magnolia Tribune
Title: Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/12/15/magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023
Published Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Magnolia Tribune

New water rates expected in Jackson come 2024; those who don’t pay face shut off

Published

11 months ago

December 15, 2023

Staff Editor

Interim Third-Party Director Ted Henifin said this week that only about 59% of the City of Jackson’s water customers are paying their bills.

JXN Water has announced new rates and fees coming in 2024. Those who are not paying will be at risk of shut offs.

The company, which was established by federal appointed interim Third-Party Director Ted Henifin, has been overseeing the city’s water system for the better part of a year.

Officials estimated that the average cost for water in the city was $76 per month for residents. Henifin clarified that JXN water will not attempt to recoup any charges prior to November 29, 2022, and will work with those who have failed to pay since that time.

He said only about 59 percent of the city’s water customers are paying their bills.

“You can’t forgive bills, so we have to be creative in how we part that,” said Henifin in reference to Mississippi’s laws that prevent giving away water.

According to a release by JXN Water announcing the rate changes, residents in single family households with small meters that use up to 748 gallons daily would see a bill increase of roughly .30 cents per day. Research indicates that the average U.S. family uses 300 gallons per day.

SNAP customers will have a new rate tier that could lower their bill by up to .69 cents per day, on average.

“Those who need to save the most benefit from saving money by drinking tap water. This new rate structure makes water affordability possible for 12,500 JXN Water customers who receive SNAP benefits,” said Henifin in the release.