Convention Center a Boon for JacksonNearly a year after opening, the Jackson Convention Complex has brought in more than $21 million and stimulated the city's economy by providing jobs and tax revenue, according to a report issued by the Capital City Convention Center Commission this …
Barbour Vows More Cuts, Private PrisonsUnhappy that the Mississippi House of Representatives turned back his move for more budget power, Gov. Haley Barbour today promised to slash most of the state budgets more than 8 percent. The House refused to follow the Senate's lead and …
Rep. Adrienne WootenRep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson, is a woman of convictions, and she has no problem letting those convictions loose on the House floor. Wooten, 35, prevented the passage of a House bill yesterday that would allow persons convicted for the first …
Reservoir District Bill Back Door to Flood Control?Control of the Ross Barnett Reservoir is at stake in a bill proposed this week by Sen. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, that is raising questions over what it really aims to do -- and whether it could be a back-door way …
Bounds Predicts Job Losses, Tuition HikesState higher education commissioner Hank Bounds said today that Mississippi's public university system will likely shed 1,000 jobs over the next two years due to budget cuts. Speaking today to the state Institutitions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, Bounds …
Compromise Sex-Ed Bill Moves AheadSchool districts would have to choose between implementing an abstinence-only or an abstinence-plus sex education curriculum by June 2011 under a bill the House Education Committee passed Wednesday.
[Stauffer] Facts, Damn Facts and OpinionsThe Jackson Free Press publisher explains why the newspaper does not support Two Lakes or the 1996 Levee Plan. Instead, we need to put politics aside and seek a basin-wide solution.
Where's the MoneyThe state Legislature is still rumbling over money issues and executive power this week. The Senate passed Senate Bill 2495 last Wednesday, a bill that would grant Gov. Haley Barbour the selective power to cut the budget of some state …
Flaggs Backs Down on MergersRep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, has changed his tune somewhat regarding Gov. Haley Barbour's budget recommendation for merging Mississippi's historically black colleges and universities.
Levee De-certification Not a Corps DecisionU.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale said yesterday that the Corps will not make the decision to either certify or de-certify local levees that protect the city of Jackson from a Pearl River flood.
Barbour Disavows House Effort to Limit His PowerGov. Haley Barbour is speaking out against a bill the Mississippi House of Representatives passed yesterday, which exempts budgets of certain state agencies from reduction when state revenues fall below revenue estimates. HB 392 also restricts cuts to agencies beyond …
Undisclosed Funders Pay for Consolidation StudyGov. Haley Barbour's Commission on Education Structure will use funds from an undisclosed private source to pay for a study of school consolidation. At its first meeting yesterday, the Commission agreed to pay a Denver-based consulting firm $72,000 to deliver …
Bad News and Hard Cuts Embody State of StateMississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's 2010 State of the State address on Monday fell short on good news. The state is facing a revenue shortfall of more than $350 million, and Barbour has recommended cutting 10 percent of the state's budget …
[Balko] That Other WarDrug War deaths show that the Verndun mentality continues to thrive in America's effort to protect its citizens from themselves. Law enforcement officials shrug off the deaths of innocents and use paramilitary-style units to bear on suspects in volatile and …
Franks Responds to Barbour's State of the State[verbatim] Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Franks today released the following response to Gov. Barbour¹s State of the State address:
Protesters: HBCU Merger Cannot HappenAlumni, students, and advocates for historically black colleges and universities marched to the state Capitol from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds today to recognize the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and to protest Gov. Haley Barbour's recent proposal to …
State of the State TonightGov. Haley Barbour will deliver the twice-delayed Mississippi State-of-the-State speech tonight at 6 p.m. The speech, postponed because of water issues in Jackson, will air live on Mississippi Public Broadcasting TV, radio and on the Internet.
Owen BrooksFew people can honestly say that they have helped to affect a culture like Owen Brooks has. Brooks, 81, born in New York but raised in Boston, participated in the Civil Rights movement that shaped our country's view of racial …
Barbour Expands State of Emergency to 10 Counties[verbatim statement] Governor Haley Barbour today expanded the State of Emergency include Carroll, Claiborne, Hinds, Lauderdale, Panola, Quitman, Tippah, Tunica, Warren and Wayne counties. The recent winter weather system has caused parts of the state to experience substantial damage to …
Currier Named Top Health OfficerThe state Board of Health named Dr. Mary Currier as Mississippi's state health officer on Wednesday. Currier has been fulfilling the role for the Department of Health since her predecessor, Dr. Ed Thompson, died Dec. 1, 2009.
Who's Open for Business (or Closed) in Jackson?This is an open thread for postings about who is open for business and who is closed in Jackson. Feel free to give us updates as things change. Good luck out there.
Mayor: Most Residents Have WaterMayor Harvey Johnson Jr. reported at a late-afternoon press conference that the city's water supply is now up to a sufficient level to supply every resident with water.
Stringer Says Toyota is ‘New Beef Plant'House Appropriations Committee Chairman Johnny Stringer, D-Montrose, compared the state's potential loss in the delayed Toyota plant, near Tupelo, to the failed Mississippi Beef Processors LLC plant, today.
Barbour Again Reschedules SpeechGov. Haley Barbour has rescheduled the annual state-of-the-state speech, originally scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12, for Monday, Jan. 18. The governor postponed the speech last Monday for tonight due to the capital city's water situation, making this the second postponement. …
[McLaughlin] A Woman's RoleOver the weekend, I ended up at the last place I would have thought I'd spend a Sunday afternoon: the Premier Bridal Show at Jackson Convention Center. I filled in as a writer, and accompanied freelance photographer Meredith Norwood for …
Entergy Misses Audit DeadlineMississippi Public Service Commissioners predicted last week that they may have difficulty approving an audit of Entergy's fuel purchases prices.
Bills That Ain't About MoneyAll eyes at the state Legislature are on how politicians will handle the state's nearly $400 million revenue deficit, but other bills outside of money issues are creeping their way into committees.
Council Mulling Budget ConsultantThe Jackson City Council is looking into the idea of hiring a year-round budget inspector to act as a liaison between the city council and the administrative branch.
[Balko] ‘Sugar Daddy' ShakedownIn May the FBI arrested cardiologist Roger Weiner at a Mississippi gas station for violating the Mann Act, a century-old law prohibiting the transport of women across state lines for "immoral purposes."
Gloria WilliamsonA former Democratic state senator from Philadelphia, Miss., Gloria Williamson has devoted countless hours over the last 10 years to improving the status of women in Mississippi.