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Wingfield's Bounce: A Case Study

Money isn't the only factor in a good education, but $5.2 million doesn't hurt, either.

Fun on the Road

This past weekend, I traveled with my son's Cub Scout troop to Louisiana for a tour of the Honey Island Swamp. As cliché as the phrase is, it doesn't stop kids from asking it. The swamp is 250 square miles (with 70,000 acres of wildlife nature preserve) that got its name from the honeybees found in the area.

Voters to Question Politics Beyond Sound Bites

Jackson residents are trying to bring a Neshoba County Fair-style festival to Jackson this month in hopes of circumventing piecemeal, sound-bite political coverage of upcoming races.

Redevelopment Roadblocks

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to tear down two dilapidated apartment buildings on Jackson West Boulevard near the former Metro Manor apartments.

Pearl River Rising, City in State of Emergency, Shelters Open in Metro

See Weather Service and MEMA warnings about metro here as they come in.

Council Offers Few Changes to Mayor's Budget

Jackson City Council members may have voiced concerns over their role in crafting the city's budget for fiscal year 2012, but yesterday's special meeting to add amendments to the budget was anti-climatic with only two proposed changes passed.

Williams: Politicians Benefit from Contracts

Ron Williams, 52, is a Republican candidate for governor and a vocal critic of what he claims to be state agencies' preferential treatment of contractors who donate to politicians.

Greasing the Wheels

Two Democratic candidates for state office assailed Republicans for their opposition to a popular bill that would cut the grocery tax in half and raise the tax on cigarettes to $1 a pack last Thursday. Gov. Haley Barbour said he would veto the bill if it hit his desk, and Sen. Finance Chairman Tommy Robertson, R-Mosspoint, has promised to kill the bill in committee so that pro-tobacco legislators will not have to cast an unpopular vote during an election year.

Gardens, By and For the People

Serenity Luckett, principal of Brown Elementary, looked down at the dirt of the soon-to-be-garden she was watering to see the water roll into pools on top of the soil. After a few minutes of watering and some tilling, most of the car-sized plot was ready for planting.

Grading the Lawmakers

Political and community activist Rims Barber released a 2010 political report card grading legislators based on their votes for 10 progressive bills that filed through the 2010 legislative session before it temporarily recessed in March.

PSC Refuses Bill of Rights Vote

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley lashed out at fellow commissioners Lynn Posey and Leonard Bentz after the two refused to vote on a proposed Mississippi Ratepayers' Bill of Rights at a Tuesday regular public service commission meeting.

County Supes Want to Dispute Fee

Hinds County is looking to dispute a $237,784 severance fee it owes the Pearl River Basin Development District. The state Legislature rendered the county's participation in the multi-county district optional in 2001, and several counties have since jumped ship, including Attala, Rankin and now Hinds. Supervisors voted 5-to-0 to pull out of the district two weeks ago, and must now face the more than $200,000 fee.

AltWeekly Winners Announced; JFP Walks With Two ‘Firsts'

This Saturday, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and Medill School of Journalism announced the winners of the 2008 AltWeekly Awards at its national convention in Philadelphia, Pa. Top winners were the LA Weekly with three first place awards, and the Texas Observer, also with three. The Jackson Free Press won two first place awards, for Feature Writing ("We Are Family: A Klan Child Fans a Different Flame" by Donna Ladd") and "Public Service" package ("Road to Meadville" by Donna Ladd, Kate Medley and Matt Saldaña).

Little Mister Doe

He was found amid the stench of discarded wet coffee grounds, smushed cereal boxes and blackened banana peels. Ten fingers, 10 toes, a perfect baby. But a dead baby. Little John Paul Doe, as the sheriff's deputy began calling him, was filled with life when he was born, but then life was smothered out of him. He was discarded like yesterday's trash.

Only Children Bleed

The House Juvenile Justice Committee is holding legislative hearings on the training schools at the Capitol on July 19 from 2-5 p.m. and July 20 from 9 a.m. until noon in Room 113. Call Rep. Eric Fleming, D-Hinds, at 925-1740 or 359-3374 for more details.

Fewer Profs, High Tuition

If current state budget cuts stand, Mississippi's eight public universities will have to shed 1,000 jobs and raise tuition over the next two years.

Stokes: City Needs Jail

LaRita Cooper-Stokes is less than two weeks away from her third election for Ward 3 councilwoman in less than six months.

Fisher: Hinds Supes ‘Hiding' In Executive Session

Hinds County Supervisor Phil Fisher accused his fellow supervisors today of evading public scrutiny by relegating two potentially inflammatory decisions to executive session. In a closed session during its meeting this morning, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to fire County Administrator Vern Gavin. Supervisors also rejected a proposal from Fisher to dissolve the county's agreement with the Mississippi Youth Justice Project, a juvenile-justice watchdog group.

Young Mothers Can Be Great Moms

I don't know many 20-year-old girls who would turn down a good party or give up the freedom and spontaneity of youth for days of diaper-changing and Saturday evenings spent at Chuck E. Cheese. My niece, Erica Leach, has done just that without complaint.

JFP Snowman Contest Photos and Winners

Does the creative spirit in Jackson know no limits? Apparently temperature has nothing to do with it. Last Friday, we were thrilled to see the contest entries rolling in on "Snowmaggedon 2010" when people got out and came up with some extremely creative artistic expressions in the snow. As you'll see in the gallery, everyone got an honorific or two, but we've chosen a handful for actual prizes.

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