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Sheriff McMillin Hefting Heavy Load
A former city police chief said he fears Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin may be taking on an impossible burden in adopting the role of Jackson police chief while retaining his position of sheriff. "McMillin is a good friend, a pretty good administrator, one heck of a cop, first rate politician and a brilliant PR person. He offers 'comfort' and a sense of stability in the turbulent, roiled up waters that is the wake of Melton's march through the Jackson Police Department. That said, he cannot do both jobs effectively," former Jackson Police Chief Robert Johnson said.
Two Districts Competitive in 2008?
Both U.S. House District 1 and former Sen. Trent Lott's seats could prove competitive this year, despite a decades-long trend of Republican domination in Mississippi.
District 71 Winner Fights Re-Vote
House District 71 winner Adrienne Wooten asked the Hinds County Circuit Court to order the Hinds County Election Commission to reverse its decision to hold a revote, and to certify her as the winner of the Nov. 6 election.
City's First Female Police Chief Fired ... Again
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton decided Wednesday to remove Shirlene Anderson from her post as police chief of Jackson for what WAPT 16 News calls the second time. Following rumors posted on the JFP Web site mid-day, Melton announced a new decision to remove her from her post in a press release late Wednesday. Melton said he plans to retain Anderson as a special assistant to the mayor to coordinate the city's emergency services.
AG: Hands Off the Judges
Mayor Frank Melton called a March 10 press conference to announce the arrest of two municipal court clerks charged with conspiracy to destroy criminal records. At the same conference, Melton declared that corruption in the Jackson municipal court system was so bad that he intended to put court services under the direct supervision of the Jackson Police Department.
Will You Bother to Vote?
There's no argument that the right to vote has been hard won in Mississippi, but this election year only a fragment of the state's citizens, black or white, is likely to bother to lock down a decision at the polls. You'd think after all the work that went into ensuring the right to vote here that it would be something to savor, if but for the sole excuse of slipping away from the workplace for an hour or just for the sake of democracy.
McMillin's Moonlighting Means Merger?
Photos by Adam Lynch
Could 13 be the city's lucky number? Jackson Mayor Frank Melton named Sheriff Malcolm McMillin as the city's chief of police—the 13th chief to hold the seat since 1988. McMillin said he will assume the role immediately, but added that he will also retain his job as sheriff of Hinds County.
ACLU Worker Arrested For Observing Police
Police arrested ACLU Field Coordinator Brent Cox for surveying a police interdiction last month, though Cox said he was fulfilling his constitutional duty in observing the activity.
McMillin Says Resignation Was Political
Despite contradicting claims from Mayor Frank Melton, former Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin said he resigned his position today for purely political reasons rather than tension between Melton and himself. "I couldn't stay as chief in this administration while I was not supporting the mayor's bid for re-election," McMillin said. "I thought it would say a lot about me and my integrity and honesty in taking that salary without supporting the mayor."
The 2009 JFP Interview with Rick Whitlow
Former Houston Rocket Rick Whitlow has had his fingers in a little bit of everything. Whitlow made a name for himself as a TV and radio news and sports personality in Jackson. These days the insurance agent maintains a presence in the community, and has worked as executive director of the SafeCity Watch.
JPD Blasts ‘Negative Crime Story'
Using FBI statistics that the agency warns not to take out of context, The Clarion-Ledger reported a 9.3 increase in violent crime for the Jackson area this morning.
Speaker McCoy Fires Back
Republicans had predicted House Speaker Billy McCoy's vengeance after his close re-election to the leadership post, and McCoy did not disappoint. The speaker assigned no chairmanships this session to Republicans, and removed other Republicans from last year's committee chairmanships.
The Politics of Voter ID
Photos by Adam Lynch and Kate Medley
Candidates tend to look for issues to separate themselves from their opponents. It's a tough order in conservative Mississippi, where many nominees on both sides of the political spectrum agree on many of the same issues.
Council Calls For Independent Attorney
Members of City Council say they are still stinging from being duped by their own attorney into paying her thousands of extra dollars.
Major University for Arts Proposed for Jackson
Jackson Developer David Watkins wants to transform the James Eastland Post Office and U.S. Courthouse on Capitol Street into an institute for the arts.
Civil Rights Museum to Tougaloo?
Jackson hip-hop artist Kamikaze is organizing community feedback regarding a consulting group's recent recommendation to place the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum north of County Line Road in Ridgeland. Museum consulting firm LaPaglia & Associates recommended Tougaloo College as the site of the museum on Feb. 11, even though it received a No. 10 ranking on a site list (PDF, 177 KB) as recently as November when the top spot under consideration was the site of Smith Wills Stadium on Lakeland Drive.
Meeting Addresses Crime, Calls for Tax Increase
Straight talk was the theme at a March 27 town hall meeting on Jackson crime at the Board of Education auditorium in downtown Jackson. The meeting, hosted by the Jackson Police Officers Association and the Jackson Free Press, featured Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin, Assistant Chief Lee Vance, former Assistant Chief Edna Drake, Rev. Hosea Hines, and Det. Juan Cloy and David Domino of the police union. Hinds County DA Robert Smith was also slated to be on the panel, but his assistant called just before the event to say he wouldn't attend. City Councilman Margaret Barrett-Simon canceled earlier the day of the event.
NAACP Asks Barbour to Condemn Klan Plate
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson is asking Gov. Haley Barbour to condemn the Mississippi Sons of Confederate Veterans' push to create a commemorative license plate for Confederate General and the Ku Klux Klan's first Grand Wizard, Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Bills That Ain't About Money
All eyes at the state Legislature are on how politicians will handle the state's nearly $400 million revenue deficit, but other bills outside of money issues are creeping their way into committees.
Legislature 2006: A House United?
Last year, in the days before the new legislative session, lawmakers were ready to walk into the state capitol with their guns out. Mississippi was, and remains, a state where financial ends are never comfortably met, and legislators with a passion to meet federal requirements for education or health-care funding rarely sleep well at night. The state has routinely delivered shortfalls in Mississippi Adequate Education Program requirements, and meeting the one-third match for the federal funding of Medicaid was a battle last year and the year before.