Department Of Health Opens State-of-the-art Lab

A new 80,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art lab is up and running at the Mississippi Department of Health in Jackson. Officials celebrated the completion of the 36-million-dollar project with a ribbon cutting yesterday. The facility bears the name of the man officials call the face of Mississippi public health -- Doctor Ed Thompson. Thompson worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and served two terms as Mississippi's State Health Officer. He spearheaded the project until his death in 2007. MPB's Desare Frazier spoke with Doctor Mary Currier -- current State Health Officer -- about the lab.

Groups Say Hispanics Are Targets Of Crimes

Immigrant rights groups are speaking out against what they call a rise in the targeting of Hispanics living in Mississippi by criminals. The Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance and the Latin American Business Association in Mississippi say fifteen central Mississippi Hispanics have been the victim of violence in recent weeks -- including murder. L-A-B-A Vice President Israel Martinez says the immigration status of some residents can put them at greater risk.

Book Club

In the hidden world of children's toys, there is an order called the Code of Toys. Existing for centuries, the Code has those who honor it -- and those who break it. This is the world explored by author and illustrator William Joyce in his new children's book -- Ollie's Odyssey. He told us in today's Book Club part of the genesis for the story started when he helped Pixar with a little movie called Toy Story.