Crowded Agenda for Special SessionState lawmakers will work fast today in a special session of the Mississippi Legislature. The agenda includes tackling a major economic development project, a ban on synthetic marijuana and approval of a casino project in D'Iberville. Before noon, the House …
Highway 80 Redesign To Spur DevelopmentNina Holbrook, executive director of the Metrocenter Area Coalition, said at a public forum today that the Coalition's plans for the U.S. Highway 80 corridor includes a redesign of the area to spur economic development.
Barbour Gives Details on Bio-Fuels PlantA Houston-based company manufacturing a crude-oil substitute from timber has picked Mississippi to locate its first three production facilities, Gov. Haley Barbour announced at a press conference this afternoon. Barbour has called a special legislative session tomorrow to authorize an …
Downtown Development Features ‘Green' GarageAn automated parking garage with robot valets is one of the features of a $27 million proposed parking structure and communal air-conditioning unit to accommodate the $1.3 billion Old Capitol Green development in downtown Jackson.
JPD Touts Community Policing ProgramThe Jackson Police Department is hailing a northwest Jackson neighborhood-watch program as an exemplary model of community policing. Introducing the Woodhaven Homeowners Association Citizen Patrol at a command staff meeting this morning, JPD Deputy Chief for Community Relations Tyrone Lewis …
Brittany HickmanBrittany Hickman never thought she would be a lobbyist, but when she started speaking out on legislation to advance women's rights, she realized the process was much easier than she thought.
Edwards' Book Sales OK Under State LawThe controversy surrounding Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards, whose former Georgia school district spent $16,169 on copies of his book, isn't relevant under existing state law, Mississippi Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Hood said Monday.
JRA Seeking $61K Delinquent RentThe Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to clear up a $61,253 bill lingering from Watkins and Young PLLC for office space in the renovated Union Station.
City Balances Budget by Refinancing DebtMayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced a 2011 fiscal-year budget containing no layoffs, but promising significantly more long-term debt. The $313.6 million budget, which begins in October, is a $10.6 million decrease over the city's operating budget from the previous year.
Thanks, Jackson, for Setting ExampleSoon, the Jackson City Council Planning Committee is bringing a proposed ordinance before full council to restrict city police from inquiring about citizenship status during interdictions.
[Stiggers] What About the Milk?Dear Diary: I have a serious concern about how I am serving my community. I am ashamed about how I've enabled my financially challenged customers to consume processed foods from my Pork-N-Piggly supermarkets.
Listen Up, HospitalsMary Jo went to the hospital recently and received a bill for more than $15,000. She was uninsured and unable to pay more than about $20 per week. It would take her about 15 years to pay off this debt.
[Hammond] It's a Dry HateAt the end of July, I traveled to Arizona to join with other members of the Unitarian Universalist faith to protest the enactment of SB 1070, the infamous anti-immigration law, in solidarity with Puente, a human-rights organization.
JRA May Help Fund Capitol GreenThe Jackson Redevelopment Authority voted today to work with a developer to form a funding strategy for an automated parking garage and communal air-conditioning unit for the proposed $1.3 billion Old Capitol Green project in downtown Jackson.
Hood To Push ‘Spice' BillMississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is asking Gov. Haley Barbour to include a bill banning synthetic marijuana during Friday's special legislative session.
[Balko] The Government's License To StealIn the February issue of "Reason," I wrote a feature story on civil asset forfeiture, the process by which law enforcement groups can seize property, usually in drug cases, sometimes without ever charging anyone with a crime. In particular, the …
New South Jackson Grocery Store OpeningThe city of Jackson is set to dedicate $50,000 to transforming a former Kroger on Raymond Road into a Vowell's Marketplace. The new grocery store, a franchise of the Mississippi-based Vowell's chain, will bring 50 jobs and $10 million in …
Legislature to Tackle Development ProjectThe Mississippi Legislature will convene Friday for a special session to approve incentives aimed at luring a $500 million economic development project to the state. Gov. Haley Barbour announced the session Aug. 20 but gave few details on the project, …
Barbour Reverses on $98M for SchoolsAfter soundly criticizing the federal Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act earlier this month, Gov. Haley Barbour has apparently reversed his decision, telling lawmakers and school officials yesterday that he will apply for funds to help Mississippi schools.
State Street Repairs; New Farish Hotel AnnouncedTwo development projects announced today will add to Jackson's renaissance. Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced a $586,000 street paving project on State Street between Woodrow Wilson and Seneca avenues, and Watkins Development Vice President Jason Goree announced the national …
Edwards Denies Influence on Book PurchasesJackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards spent nearly an hour at a press conference yesterday sharing the story that inspired him to write a book, but skirted around specific questions on how his former school district purchased and used that …
[Dennis] Not a Guns-and-Gold RepublicanIntervention is never easy. It generally implies that the subject of the intervention has an addiction that they themselves have not yet fully perceived to be a problem.
Wait: I've Heard This BeforeRecently, someone sent me a link to a site set up about the old white-supremacist Citizen's Council (citizenscouncil.com)--a supposedly upstanding racist group that famed newspaper editor Hodding Carter Jr. called the "uptown Klan."
Jackson Singled Out for Bond ‘Lobbying'The Mississippi Legislature singled out Jackson as the only municipality that needed to submit an application to and lobby the state Bond Commission in order to receive a loan that the lawmakers had promised the city.
A System that WorksJudge Houston Patton isn't used to competition. Since first winning election as Hinds County Court judge in 1989, Patton has had no opponents for the District 2 seat. But this year is different; the Jackson native is facing two challengers …
City Fights Wastewater OrderThe City of Jackson has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to stay an Aug. 12 court order requiring it to transfer its wastewater treatment contract to a new provider.
Council Guarded on Care HomesWard 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes was clearly guarded about imposing new regulation for personal-care homes at the Monday Jackson City Council Planning Committee meeting.
State Officials: Respect JacksonJackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. discovered last month that State Treasurer Tate Reeves wants details of every aspect of a $6 million state loan. Without that information, Reeves said that the state Bond Commission staff never put the loan on …
The Jackson Redevelopment Authority voted today to work with a developer to form a funding strategy for an automated parking garage and communal air-conditioning unit for the proposed $1.3 billion Old Capitol Green project in downtown Jackson.