Year 2: ‘Being the Media'!The Jackson Free Press is thrilled to host the second summer of a joint youth media effort by public and private school teens in Jackson. last year, they critiqued the media. This year they are stepping up and being the …
Utility Watchdog Employees FurloughedAmong the budget bills that failed to get to the governor's desk earlier this week were appropriations to fund the Public Service Commission and the Public Utilities agency. Without funding, the two state organizations are sending most of their employees …
Governor Vetoes AppropriationsGov. Haley Barbour has vetoed a number of appropriation bills and parts of bills, leaving some doubt as to what the next steps will beor even whether there are next stepsfor completing the state's $6 billion budget for the 2010 …
Medicaid Deal Just In TimeState legislators were poised to pass a Medicaid agreement Tuesday evening, ending a months-long impasse over funding and removing the last major obstacle to a state budget, one day before a new fiscal year began.
Diaz Calls on D.C.Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz outlined allegations of political persecution last week at a Washington, D.C., forum. The Sarah McClendon Group, a government and media watchdog association, held a forum on alleged selective prosecutions by the U.S. Department …
Closing the Clean-Up DealThe city may have brought to a close the troubled business relationship between local debris-removal contractor Garrett Construction Company and Pearl River, Miss.-based Nungesser Industries.
Medicaid Agreement ReachedAround 11 p.m. last night, House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, announced from the House floor that the special budget committee has reached an agreement with Gov. Haley Barbour on the final sticking point holding up passage of the 2010 Mississippi …
Legislative Special Session UnderwayThe Mississippi House and Senate are desperately hammering out an agreement on a state appropriation bill one day after Gov. Haley Barbour finally called a special session. Barbour had initially fought the idea of a special session, after disagreeing with …
Governor Chides Lawmakers for Unfinished BusinessGov. Haley Barbour took time off from nationwide GOP fundraising efforts to announce that he has no plan to call a special session to address the state's non-existent budget just yet. Barbour, who is not a legislator, told the Senate …
Unemployment Rate Jumps AgainThe unemployment rate in Mississippi increased a full percentage point from April to May, inching toward 10 percent once again, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. That one point, from 8.6 percent to 9.6 percent, represents an additional …
Barbour Takes Top RGA SpotIn the wake of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's untimely departure from the Republican Governors Association, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is taking over the organization's leadership. Barbour had already accepted the organization's chairmanship for next year, but when Sanford admitted …
The Tangled Web of HateThe Southern Poverty Law Center counts the Council of Conservative Citizens as a "Neo-Confederate" hate group, which, like the more radical League of the South, fights for the rights of "the Confederacy." The CofCC stops short of calling for a …
Uptown HateWhen the 2000 election devolved into chad-counting in South Florida, I headed down from New York City to cover the mess for the Village Voice. And with all the talk in the media of how there couldn't possibly be any …
Protesting PovertyAs the sun beams above her, Wilma Irving, a resident of Kenner, La., fans herself and begins to tell me the purpose of her journey to Jackson.
Banking on PRIYDESixteen-year-old Laurin Paris is using her fashion sense to get her to college.
[Kamikaze] Jackson's Savior ComplexEveryone seems to be an expert on crime these days. Sit around any barbershop or bar, and you'll hear all the "pundits" explain how they would handle crime.
Guess Who's Coming To JacksonGordon Baum, the chief executive officer of the Council of Conservative Citizens, can tell a good story.
Muscle Meets BivalveJohn McGowan and McGowan Working Partners laud the city of Jackson's economic benefit of the Two Lakes plan, a proposed project that would dam the Pearl River and create a series of islands between Hinds and Rankin counties.
Unsealed Suit Reveals Diaz Suing LamptonU.S. District Court Magistrate Judge James C. Sumner signed a June 22 order denying a motion to seal a suit against former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz and his wife Jennifer, bringing to light the continuing saga of a federal …
Gambling Revenue Up AgainThe Mississippi State Tax Commission says that winnings in the state's 30 casinos was up in May by $19.2 million more than in April, according to Forbes, but revenues are still below the May 2008 earnings. The casinos took in …
Barbour Refuses Special Session, Vows Fight[Verbatim from Gov. Haley Barbour] Yesterday an "agreement in principle" on Medicaid issues was announced by Medicaid negotiators, but this so-called "solution" has a huge, fundamental flaw: It would give Medicaid a blank check and expose Mississippi taxpayers to the …
Guv Candidate Looking Across Aisle?Not surprisingly in a state where innuendo can be more common than facts, rumors are swirling around connections that a Democratic contender for the governor's mansions might have. This time, though, the rumors are about probable candidate Bill Luckett and …
2009 Gulf Dead Zone May Hit Record SizeImagine an area the size of Hinds County with virtually no life: you can't drink the water; seeds rot in the soil; and only cockroaches can breathe the air. It's as if a nuclear reactor exploded and nothing survived.
This Weekend: Mississippi Civil Rights Martyrs' MemorialThe 45th Annual Mississippi Martyrs' Memorial Service and Conference takes place this Saturday and Sunday in Neshoba County. A one-mile "March for Justice" kicks off the event, in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King's 1966 march in Philadelphia. The march …
Cold Case Advocate to Meet with HolderAlvin Sykes, longtime advocate for the victims of civil rights era cold cases, will meet with the nation's "top cop," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, to discuss the Department of Justice mandate to solve those cases and bring the killers …
Council Votes No to Raises; Yes to Legal FeesMembers of the Jackson City Council reversed themselves on a number of decisions during Tuesday's council meeting, June 16. The council agreed to pay the legal fees of the city's former mayor and voted down an employee pay raise, though …
Boon For The budget?State Auditor Stacey Pickering could complicate the state's recent $100 million settlement with Microsoft Corp.
[Royals] God And AbstinenceAt the Mississippi Department of Human Services' May 16 summit entitled "Abstinence Works: Let's Talk About It," we didn't talk about abstinence. But we sure did chant, cheer, dance, pray and sing about it. Here are a few (of the …