Mayor Hypes Restarted Housing ProjectTucked into Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s July 7 State of the City address was the news that a 26.7-acre housing development previously held up by a lawsuit is now back on track. Johnson's speech highlighted a number of well-known economic-development …
Council Re-Elects Prez and Targets ProfilingThe Jackson City Council voted to retain current council President Frank Bluntson and Vice President Charles Tillman after a lightning-fast roll call during Tuesday's council meeting.
Find Another WayLt. Gov. Phil Bryant is no stranger to right-wing nuttery, but he offered a prime example of conservative hysteria in comments in a July 12 article in The Clarion-Ledger. Suggesting children of undocumented immigrants are burdening Mississippi's hospitals, Bryant told …
[Beety] The Cost of DeathOn July 21, the state of Mississippi is scheduled to put Joseph Daniel Burns Mississippian, murderer and father of three—to death. Our state has executed only 10 men over the past 30 years; yet, if all goes as planned, Burns …
Council To Vote on Bigger JPS BoardThe City Council is set to vote tomorrow on an expansion of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees from five to seven members. Proponents of the move argue that it will make the school board more accurately represent the …
Johnson Champions Developments Despite Budget ShortfallsIn his State of the City address yesterday, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. pointed out that selecting the MetroCenter Mall as the event's location bears significance for Jackson. Despite the city's budget challenges, revitalization of MetroCenter and the Highway 80 corridor …
JPD Combats House BurglariesThis morning, the Jackson Police Department reported 95 house burglaries for the week of June 28 through July 4--an increase from 79 in the prior week. Overall, major crimes decreased from 268 to 260, citywide.
‘Fidelity to the Law'Frank Farmer prides himself on his evenhandedness. Farmer, 34, a candidate for Hinds County Court Judge in District 1, grew up in Hattiesburg, the son of a veterinarian and a physical therapist. He studied biology briefly at Rhodes College in …
Supremes' Decision Could Affect MinorThe U.S. Supreme Court's June 29 decision to vacate the 2006 fraud conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and remand that case back to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals could mean good news for convicted Mississippi attorney …
Hinds Seeking Fed Money for Byram-Clinton CorridorThe Hinds County Board of Supervisors took another small step forward today on its long-delayed Byram-Clinton corridor road-building project. The board voted unanimously to earmark $2 million for the project out of the $14 million remaining from a 2007 bond …
Health Coverage Available for High-Risk PatientsMississippi residents can apply for a new federally financed and operated high-risk health insurance pool this month as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama signed in March.
South Jackson Mall Seeks Community InputThe Jackson Square shopping center that has struggled with crime and vacancy for years is showing signs of life. The South Jackson retail mall at Terry Road and Interstate 55, renamed the Jackson Square Outlet Mall, is getting a facelift …
New Mississippi Laws in EffectA host of new laws, and modifications to existing laws signed by Gov. Haley Barbour in the 2010 Legislative session go into effect today.
'A Safer, Better Hinds County'Michael Williams believes a good judge should possess empathy. A partner at Davis, Goss & Williams, the Clinton resident is running for Hinds County Court judge for District 3 in the hopes of improving the county he's lived in almost …
The Convention Hotel ConundrumThe JFP warned when taxpayers were voting on funding for the Jackson Convention Complex that powers-that-be would be back asking for a hotel in the future. Now that's happening, in the disconcerting form of a "public-private" partnership.
The JFP Interview With Alan NunneleeRepublican Mississippi Sen. Alan Nunnelee is looking to follow after Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker—again. In 1994, Nunnelee gained Wicker's state Senate seat after Wicker won election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
JPS Approves 12 Percent Smaller BudgetThe Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees approved a budget yesterday that cuts staff work days and eliminates 125 unfilled teaching positions. The $270.7 million budget for the upcoming school year is 12 percent smaller than last year's, reflecting drops …
City to Vote on Funds For Fondren Street ImprovementsThe Jackson City Council will vote at Tuesday's council meeting on whether to approve a $2 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to install new sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and street-construction for the area starting at the fork at …
Doing Good: A ‘New Focus' for At-Risk YouthSince Virgie Peterson, 12, joined the New Focus For Youth Intervention program at the Jackson Medical Mall last fall, she went from being a C student to becoming a straight-A student.
New McDonald's Compromises AppearanceNeighbors of a proposed McDonald's restaurant at the corner of Lakeland Drive and Ridgewood Road succeeded in changing the businesses hours of operation and the color of the building, even though they weren't successful in stopping the development during a …
Most Businesses Prepared for Water IssuesMost Jackson businesses are well-prepared for low or nonexistent water pressure, having weathered a nearly week-long crisis in January. Most restaurants are open and hospitals are maintaining regular operations with a few adjustments.
Commissioners Deny Barbour's InfluenceMississippi Sierra Club Director Louie Miller says that a letter from Gov. Haley Barbour to the Public Service Commission asking it to approve an experimental coal plant in Kemper County may have had an unseemly impact on Public Service Commissioners …
JPS Facing $9M Budget HoleThe Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees met yesterday to address a possible $9 million budget shortfall for the upcoming school year. With lower tax collections, rising debt-service obligations and reduced state funding, the district may need to request a …
MDE Submits Proposal to Makeover State SchoolsOn June 1, the Mississippi Department of Education sent a 500-page Race To The Top proposal to radically transform the state's educational system to Washington, D.C. Mississippi's entry in the federal grant program proposes performance pay for teachers, a state …
[Balko] 'I Find that Inexcusable'At a stoplight just a few miles from his home, Nicholas Beltrante, 82, puts on his flashers, opens the driver's side door to his car, gets out, and approaches my car. I roll down my window.
IHL Report Predicts Moderate RecoveryThe Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning released a report today indicating that another downturn in the national economic recession is unlikely, and that Mississippi's recovery is showing a slight improvement.
Doing Good: Health Help for KidsThe Mississippi Health Advocacy Program estimates that 120,000 Mississippi children have no health insurance, even though three-quarters qualify for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. A new outreach project aims to remedy the state's low enrollment in those federal …
Republican Mississippi Sen. Alan Nunnelee is looking to follow after Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker—again. In 1994, Nunnelee gained Wicker's state Senate seat after Wicker won election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
See the presentation to city council members (PDF, 1.5 MB)