OPINION: Mississippi Lawmakers, Take Down the State FlagMy grandmother, who lived her entire life in Mississippi, made sure I understood what the Confederate symbol stands for, and I know that many of you were told the same stories as I.
'Anti-Gang' Bills: One Alive As Experts Warn About DownsideRep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, did not want to debate the "anti-gang" bill for long this morning, and after about half an hour, he tabled House Bill 541, noting that the Senate had already passed its version of the legislation.
Ed Department Awards 90 Vouchers in a Lottery After Some Went UnusedThe Mississippi Department of Education held a lottery for 90 unused vouchers in the current school year as the Legislature could debate this afternoon whether to expand the program beyond special-education students to all children in the state.
OPINION: Anti-Gang Act Would Be a Disaster for MississippiThe Mississippi Anti-Gang Act flies in the face of recent legislative efforts to reduce our unsustainable prison population—which is currently the fourth highest per capita in the country.
EDITORIAL: Legislators, Kill the Flawed Voucher BillThe notion of "school choice" is deeply embedded in the Capitol this session. Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, wants to expand the state's voucher program drastically, allowing any child in public school to use a voucher next year.
OPINION: Medical Marijuana: Solution to Opioid Crisis?Given the current crisis associated with widespread opioid abuse, dependence and deaths, Mississippi's leaders must find an effective and safer alternative to prescribing narcotics.
Funding the ‘School Choice’ LobbyIn just one year, the Mississippi Legislature has gone from slightly tweaking its voucher program for students with dyslexia to a push to allow any public-school student to apply for a taxpayer-funded voucher to use at a private school.
15-Week Abortion Ban Moves AheadAbortion would be illegal after 15 weeks in Mississippi if a bill the House of Representatives passed late Friday becomes law.
Public Hearing on Pot Decriminalization Ordinance Today at City HallWard 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps proposed a change to Jackson's ordinances last week that would decriminalize possession of user-level amounts of marijuana. The public can attend a hearing at 6 p.m. today at City Hall for citizens to voice their …
EDITORIAL: City Contracting Is a Mess, Must Be RepairedIt didn't take two women who can't get payment for hauling nasty sludge from a wastewater-treatment plant to convince the Jackson Free Press that the City's contracting system is a mess, and ripe for abuse and corruption.
Good Faith, Bad Faith: City Contract Controversies Explode ... AgainArneedra Smith-Gaddis seemed nervous when she stepped to the microphone in City Hall on Jan. 3, but Bridgette Gandy looked more composed. The two women subcontractors were there, separately, to tell the Jackson City Council that a local construction company …