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Melton's First Year: Sex, Lies and Videotape
Visit the JFP's MeltonBlog/Archive here.
BREAKING: Mayor Agrees to Confirmation Hearings
After many months of stalling, Mayor Frank Melton has finally agreed to put department heads and other appointments in front of the City Council for confirmation. Councilman Ben Allen told the Jackson Free Press today that Melton sent him an e-mail requesting that Allen move ahead with setting up confirmation hearings for the following positions: Rick Hill of the Department of Finance; Fire Chief Todd Chandler; Charles Melvin of Parks and Recreation; Jackson Redevelopment Authority board member Ted Duckworth; Jackson Public Schools Board member Ivory Phillips; Municipal Court Judge Ali ShamsidDeen, and Planning and Development consultant Leland Speed.
Do Lake Plans Endanger Indian Mounds?
Pre-historic Native American settlements are among the obstacles faced by any plan to inundate the wetlands along the Pearl River, including the already-controversial "Two Lakes" project. Pam Lieb, chief archeologist for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, told the Jackson Free Press that any project to flood the Pearl River between Rankin and Hinds counties could inundate 19 sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Propertyincluding Choctaw settlement and burial grounds.
D.A. to Mayor: ‘Bring It On'
Click here for a podcast of Attorney General Jim Hood's press conference about the D.A.-Mayor conflict.
State Democrats Slam McCain
Mississippi Democrats used the birthday of the 70-year-old Social Security program to attack presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain last week, accusing the Arizona senator of wanting to privatize the program. "Just one month ago, on July 7, Senator McCain told a town-hall audience that the way Social Security works is a disgrace and told ABC this week that everything will be on the table if he becomes president, including the privatization of Social Security," said Mississippi Democratic Party Vice Chairwoman Barbara Blackmon. "We're here today, exactly one week before the birthday of Social Security, to let the people know that we will not support any effort to privatize the most successful anti-poverty program in our nation."
Byram: ‘Worth Fighting For?'
The city of Jackson sallied forth with plans to creep its southern border a little further south June 13 when city attorneys pled a case for annexation before a Hinds County judge. The city had withdrawn its appeal of a Hinds County ruling that threw out the annexation bid, but then City Council members passed an ordinance putting new gusto behind the move to annex.
Take That, O Disloyal Ones!
Immediately following a Jackson City Council work session in January, Mississippi Link publisher/owner Socrates Garrett was all smiles. Council President Marshand Crisler had informed him that it was looking like the council was going to vote to award him the city's legal ads. The Link bid $5 for a 100-word ad published three times—the lowest-cost bid submitted this year.
The Naked Truth
We could hardly look at how we love in Mississippi without a tour of our own red-light district. Despite the conservative religious climate of our state, we have no shortage of exotic dance clubs and business is brisk.
Crisler Would Expand Highway 61
Former Jackson City Councilman Marshand Crisler thinks he will have an advantage as a Mississippi Department of Transportation Commissioner for the Central District. Crisler, who is a district director for Hinds Community College's adult education program, said the priorities of the commission become obvious when viewed from the vantage point of a city leader.
Court Showdown: Chamber v. Plaintiffs
The Mississippi Supreme Court races are a step apart from the other campaign fights this November. Unlike the contentious elections between Senate nominees Roger Wicker and Ronnie Musgrove or the campaigns of presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain, the Supreme Court races revolve around one single power struggle: the battle between plaintiffs and defendants.
Civil Rights Museum in Trouble?
Rumors are circulating that Tougaloo College may have to abandon site development of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum near the college's campus because of funding issues.
Council Refuses To Foot Melton's Legal Bill
The Jackson City Council voted down this morning an order authorizing payment of Mayor Frank Melton's attorney fees incurred in his recent defense of federal charges stemming from the 2006 Ridgeway Street demolition. In a 3-3 vote, council members Charles Tillman, Frank Bluntson and Kenneth Stokes voted in favor of the order, while council members Marshand Crisler, Jeff Weill and Council President Leslie McLemore opposed. Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon was absent.
Melton Blazes Into Week 1
Mayor Frank Melton's campaign pivoted on the promise of a safer, crime-free Jackson in the months leading up to his recent election to the office of Jackson mayor. That same promise was the gist of his message to the more than 500-member audience attending his July 4 inaugural celebration behind City Hall.
Old Wound Still Bleeds On Farish
Money, by far, is the most daunting of the countless little plagues haunting the development of the Farish Street Entertainment District.
The ‘Bedroom-Police' of Pearl
Read the Ordinance (PDF, 604 KB)
Gas Price Hell: Is the End Drawing Nigh?
Janice Taylor fills up the gas tank of her Ford Navigator once a week. The Navigator's tank is capable of holding well over 40 gallons, and with gas at even the cheaper outlets running more than $2 a gallon, Taylor kisses a whopping pile of cash goodbye almost every time she visits the pump.
2007 JFP Voter's Guide: Fighting for a Secretary
Photos by Adam Lynch & Darren Schwindaman
Secretary of State Eric Clark is shipping out this year after more than 10 years in office. His departure opens a rift in what might have otherwise been one of the few safe seats in statewide elections, so it's not surprising that seven candidates are jumping at the chance to grab it.
UPDATED: Melton Blames Council for ‘Oversight' Woes
The Jackson City Council learned during a Tuesday budget meeting that the city has "no supervisory oversight" on numerous municipal transactions, which is costing the city revenue and could ultimately jeopardize some federal grants. The internal audit, which led to Mayor Frank Melton walking out of the meeting, also revealed that some checks issued by the city are not clearing one year after issuance, and that the city is not accounting for its fixed assets.
The Blind Giant: Insurance Companies Play By Their Own Rules
Hurricane Katrina was a nasty surprise for Mississippi Gulf Coast resident Mike Perronne when it slammed into Mississippi Aug. 29, 2005. Perronne left his Diamondhead, Miss., home that Sunday before the storm expecting the same serious but relatively moderate storm that had rattled Florida. His wife, Barbara, packed their photographs into their car while Mike stowed his valuable carpentry tools in the home elevator and sent it up to the second floor to protect them from water damage. Their $632,000 home got more than wet, however.