Judges Order Two Off Mississippi Death RowIn separate cases, federal judges have ruled that two Mississippi inmates on death row in Parchman are mentally ill. Both cases stem from 1981 crimes, and the two inmates have each served 27 years.
Consolidation: The Same Old Story?The issue of school consolidation is popping up in anticipation of another cash-strapped legislative session. Calls for merging some of the state's 152 public-school districts aren't new in lean budget years, despite a lack of evidence of its value.
Seeking the AuthenticSince I'm one of those folks who was "brought back" to Mississippi by a native, I sometimes feel like I have a unique vantage point. Mississippi reminds me enough of my boyhood Texas to be a second home to me, …
National HIV/AIDS Town Hall Comes to JacksonThe White House Office of National AIDS Policy selected 14 cities for community discussions to develop and implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy. Among the stops is Jackson on Monday, Nov. 16.
Why Foreign Businesses Dig MississippiThe state of Mississippi currently has 30,231 businesses that count as foreign-owned, or are owned by corporations, LLCs, unlimited liability partners or other business organizations. The list includes companies such as Calgon Carbon from New Zealand, Rolls-Royce and BP America …
Independent WomanPeggy Calhoun's office in the Hinds County Circuit Court building has a big window overlooking Pascagoula Street and Jackson's City Hall. It's a privileged perch. Most of her fellow Hinds County supervisors have offices across the street in the County …
[Balko] Death of a WatchdogIn an age when journalism has been inflicted not only by ballyhooed budget woes and challenges from new media, but also a glut of dubious trend stories, horserace political coverage and endless navel-gazing about the state of the profession, Pete …
PSC Moving to Next Fight on $2.4B Coal PlantThe Public Service Commission announced a unanimous agreement to continue hearings into the need for a new $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County. "The Public Service Commission finds that Mississippi Power Company (MPCO) has demonstrated that public convenience and …
Dem Support for Power Grab Not Likely, Holland SaysJoint Legislative Budget Committee member Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, says House Democrats will not readily agree to hand Gov. Haley Barbour more power to personally cut the state budget. "We're likely to give the governor that kind of authority on the …
Justin VaughnJustin Vaughn, a 26-year-old designer, is the founder of Jackson-area T-shirt screen-printing company, Unik Ink, pronounced "unique" ink. A lifelong resident of Madison, Vaughn graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in art, emphasizing graphic …
Free Flu Meds AvailableThe Mississippi State Department of Health is making antiviral medications available to uninsured and underinsured patients. In an agreement with selected pharmacies, the department is offering Tamiflu and Relenza from state stockpiles to Mississippians who can't afford them.
Hood Fights Cyber Crime, Online PredatorsMississippi Attorney General Jim Hood continued his efforts to combat cyber crime today, unveiling an Internet safety video created in collaboration with Comcast Cable. The video, which will be available to Comcast subscribers and on the attorney general's Web site, …
Protesters Demand Epps Stop Inmate AbuseMembers of the Southeastern Christian Association, Operation Help Civil Rights Group, and Mothers of Inmates protested outside Mississippi Department of Corrections headquarters on President Street in Jackson today, lobbying for fair treatment of sons and husbands who are inmates in …
New Look, New Name for Downtown RestaurantSuniora Page bounced back from bad luck to a new career. After being laid off from her job as a manager at the Nissan plant in Canton in October 2008, Page took a job as a cashier at Miller's Grocery …
GOP Senators Agree to Unemployment ExtensionAfter a days-long stand off, U.S. Senate Republicans agreed to unanimously support extending unemployment and homebuyers' credits yesterday.
Bill ChandlerBill Chandler, executive director and founder of Jackson-based Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, does not let being 68 stop him from doing good. He is an advocate for immigrant rights throughout the state of Mississippi. For this work, he was named …
JFP INDEX: VIP White JacksonThe November 2009 edition of The Clarion-Ledger's now-shrunken VIP Jackson Magazine is a study in how (not) to publish an extremely white publication in a majority-black metroby a company that supposedly prides itself on media diversity.
Going RogueOn his county-provided laptop, Phil Fisher has replaced the standard mouse icon with a sword. A former Marine and a current brigadier general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, Fisher has a bit of the warrior in him, and his …
Johnson FumblesMayor Harvey Jr. Johnson rode back into the mayor's office on a platform of openness to the media and the voting public, but he recently left himself vulnerable to criticism on this very issue.
[Kamikaze] To Our HealthI have to shamefully admit that it's been over a decade since my last trip to a doctor's office. That's any doctor's office, anywhere, for any kind of checkup.
Shades of GrayOn the evening of Oct. 27, the mayor of McComb, Miss., was in the city's board room, arguing with his city attorney about fractions. The mayor wanted to block a vote to fire the city's accountant.
The Path of Least DramaEveryone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
Is Beleaguered Bon Air Back?The city of Jackson announced new funds for the development of the Bon Air Subdivision on West Capitol Street last weeka project with a long trail of controversy behind it.
Green Grads Hit the Ground RunningLaborers' International Union Local 145 President James Anderson said at yesterday's graduation ceremony that he trained his students well before sending them out into the workforce. "We had 14 students. It was a three-week class. They actually built a little …
Burnham Selected as Superintendent of SchoolsThe Mississippi Board of Education announced its unanimous selection for Superintendent of Schools yesterday: Dr. Tom Burnham, 56, who held the position from 1992 to 1997. Burnham replaces Interim Superintendent Dr. John Jordan, who took on the job when former-Superintendent …
[Balko] Bad Prosecutors, Mississippi and BeyondAnthony Caravella walked away from a Florida prison last month. He served 26 years for a rape and murder that DNA testing has shown he didn't commit. Caravella was 15 at the time he was arrested and has an IQ …
Council Renames Northside Library for TisdaleThe Jackson City Council voted 5-to-2 this morning to name the city library on Northside Drive after former Jackson Advocate Publisher Charles Tisdale, who died at age 80 in 2007. The council voted along racial lines, with black members Kenneth …
Supreme Court Refuses to Decide Statute of Limitations in Seale CaseFormer Klansman James Ford Seale will remain in prison, at least for now. The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to address a question from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether too much time had passed for …
Laurence C. JonesA hundred years ago, Laurence Clifton Jones established The Piney Woods School in rural Rankin County with $2 and three students. Jones, born Nov. 21, 1884, in St. Joseph Mo., graduated from the University of Iowa in 1908. He turned …
On the evening of Oct. 27, the mayor of McComb, Miss., was in the city's board room, arguing with his city attorney about fractions. The mayor wanted to block a vote to fire the city's accountant.