[Balko] Progress and Challenges in MississippiLast week Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed House Bill 1456, which would require anyone conducting autopsies in the state to be certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology. The bill was a response to an effort last …
House Votes to Expand Unemployment BenefitsMore Mississippians could qualify for unemployment insurance under a bill the Mississippi House of Representatives passed Saturday. The Senate adjourned hours before the vote, meaning the Legislature will not bring up H. B. 1755 and 1756 until the Senate returns …
Mimi's Brings Breakfast to FondrenThe growing Fondren restaurant scene has a new option for breakfast: Mimi's Family and Friends. Jackson natives Linda and Jim Burwell opened Mimi's last Friday. The Burwells live next door to the location, and Linda had eyed the former service …
Barbour Rips Media over Health CareIt's the "liberal media elite" that is to blame for passage of the health-care bill, according to Gov. Haley Barbour. Speaking on ABC's "This Week" yesterday, Barbour insinuated that media coverage has been uncritical and biased, reports The Hill.
Jeremiah Wright: Prejudice Evident In Health Care DebateProtesters shouting racial epithets at black lawmakers illustrates that prejudice against African Americans and the poor persist in the United States, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Barack Obama's former pastor, said in an appearance at Jackson State University yesterday.
JPD Receives New Cars, Battles BurglariesThe Jackson Police Department will be distributing 53 new marked patrol vehicles to precincts beginning next week, Assistant Chief Lee Vance announced at a command staff meeting this morning, the largest single purchase of new vehicles he can remember. Vance …
Breast is BestBecoming a mother was quite different from what I expected. I anticipated a long labor with special breathing, baths, books, walks, games, massages and music as distractions. Instead, I had a short, intense labor.
What Should I Be Taking?We all could use a little boost of nutrition in our lives. Between balancing a hectic schedule of work, family and community responsibilities, nutrition is often left to the local fast-food restaurant, leaving us deficient in vital nutrients.
Present to My Presence"It's a lot easier to ride a horse in the direction that it's going," I said to the seven people sitting across from me. It was my regular Wednesday night gig at Butterfly Yoga on State Street, and all eight …
The High Cost of CaloriesA state tax on sodas, sponsored by Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, was effectively dead on arrival at the state Legislature this year, given the difficulty of passing any revenue measure during an economic recession.
Young Gun: Toby BarkerAt 28, Toby Barker first-term representative, looks closer in age to the blue-blazered pages ferrying bills across the House floor than he to some of the more grizzled legislators around him.
Bonds, Boards and the School for the BlindAh, spring—the season when a state lawmaker's mind turns to money. The Mississippi Legislature spent most of last week considering appropriations bills; lawmakers had until Friday to concur or invite conference on appropriations or revenue measures for the upcoming 2011 …
Bluster Isn't Enough, GovernorEarlier this week, Gov. Haley Barbour announced that he would sue the federal government over the new health-care law the U.S. Congress passed March 21. In his usual windy style of political rhetoric, his press release was full of statements …
[Hutchinson] An Ugly GlareThe throng of angry whites jeered, catcalled and spat out borderline racial insults at the small group of mostly black protesters. The charged racial confrontation happened March 14, 2010, in the self-billed all-American, mostly white Los Angeles suburban bedroom city …
‘Killing Ourselves with Convenience'On a Sunday afternoon at Lumpkin's BBQ on Raymond Road, a predominately African American crowd dressed in formal suits and dresses fill their plates from a buffet line. The restaurant's Sunday dinner features southern staples including fried chicken, beef brisket, …
Health Reform: What's In It?President Barack Obama enjoyed rising approval ratings Tuesday as he signed a historic health-care bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed late Sunday without a single Republican vote--the same health-care bill the Senate approved last December.
School Board Violated Lesbian Student's Rights, Judge SaysA federal judge ruled today that the Itawamba County school board violated Constance McMillen's free speech rights when it canceled a prom after she asked permission to bring her girlfriend as her date. U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson denied …
[Balko] Pre-Crime PolicingTo hear them tell it, the five police agencies who apprehended 39-year-old Oregonian David Pyles early on the morning of March 8 thwarted another lone-wolf mass murderer. The police "were able to successfully take a potentially volatile male subject into …
Legislators Want Session Postponed for Education FundsThe Mississippi Legislature should suspend negotiations on the 2011 budget for three weeks until lawmakers know whether the state will receive an additional $150 million in federal money, Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said today. Speaking at a rally in support …
Jeff Weill Announces Run for Judge SeatWard 1 Councilman Jeff Weill, who turns 53 tomorrow, is announcing this morning that he will run for the seat of Hinds County Circuit Judge Swan Yerger this year. Yerger, 75, announced his retirement last year, and Weill said he …
Barbour to Challenge Health Care ReformGov. Haley Barbour yesterday asked Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood to challenge the constitutionality of the health-care reform legislation passed by the U.S. Congress on Sunday. If Hood refuses to sue, however, Barbour intends to file suit himself, according to …
Lawmakers to Rally for Education Funds TomorrowHouse Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, will lead a rally in support of education funding tomorrow in the rotunda of the state Capitol at 11 a.m. The rally comes in the wake of further budget cuts to K-12 education …
Show to Go On Without Sweet Potato QueensMal's St. Paddy's Parade founder Malcolm White told the Jackson Free Press today that he has not spoken to Sweet Potato Queens founder and author Jill Conner Browne about her plans to move the Queens' part of the annual parade …
Barbour Leads Anti-Health Reform RhetoricGov. Haley Barbour and other opponents of health-care reform are making final efforts to derail an upcoming House vote on the Senate health-care package this Sunday.
St. Paddy's A Boon for the CityThe roughly 70,000 visitors who will descend on Jackson this weekend for Mal's St. Paddy's Parade will bring more with them than green clothing and a strong thirst. The parade, now in its 28th year, has an overall economic impact …
Jackson Police Battling BurglariesJackson police reported 226 crimes last week, up from 177 the previous week, according to crime statistics released at a Jackson Police Department command staff meeting this morning. Officers reported 190 property crimes, up from 144 the previous week, and …
One Lake Instead of Two?The Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board is pressing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take seriously a lake plan to coincide with a Corps-preferred levee expansion the board approved in December.
Strangulation, Security and SuffrageBoth chambers of the state Legislature spent the past week considering bills from the opposite chamber. The House amended Senate Bill 2923—a bill that expands domestic assault to include strangulation and requires a "cooling off" period between parties—to create the …
On a Sunday afternoon at Lumpkin's BBQ on Raymond Road, a predominately African American crowd dressed in formal suits and dresses fill their plates from a buffet line. The restaurant's Sunday dinner features southern staples including fried chicken, beef brisket, …
How do you think we could solve the obesity problem? Here are some ideas that could help with the fight.