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Finding Foul Play

The Mississippi NAACP isn't using the "L-word," yet, but the civil-rights group has its doubts about the Dec. 2, 2010, hanging death of a Greenwood man.

AG Hood Passes on ‘Mud Fight' with Simpson

Republican Attorney General candidate Steve Simpson's attempts to spar with his opponent, Democratic incumbent Jim Hood, went mostly uncontested during a debate at a John C. Stennis Institute of Government luncheon in Jackson yesterday.

‘Always a Coach'

It's not hard to tell that Brent Southern is a coach. Peppering his conversation with phrases like "when the whistle blows" and "read all the angles," the attorney describes the Hinds County Court position he is seeking as a coaching job—rewarding but with long hours.

Amid Tears, McCoy Keeps Seat

Democratic Rep. Billy McCoy reclaimed his seat as House speaker by only two votes Tuesday. House members, including new members Kimberly Campbell and Adrienne Wooten—both of Jackson—approved McCoy by a 62-to-60 vote, handing Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Columbus, a very narrow loss this year.

Stepping Stones

"I never thought I'd be going to a community college," Josh Raila laments. "I imagined that I would immediately get a bachelor's and a master's and a Ph.D."

[Talk] eVoting Next for State

Hurry, you only have until Monday, July 28, to get in your two-cents about Mississippi's voting upgrades.

Henry Clay

Henry C. Clay III has been a part-time judge for a long time. Clay, 52, has served as a Jackson municipal court judge for the past 16 years, while simultaneously running a solo general litigation practice in Ridgeland. Clay is one of two challengers for the Hinds County Court seat currently occupied by Judge Houston Patton.

Duling Moving Along

Development in Jackson's Fondren district is zipping along at a sizable pace, with Fondren Place scheduled to feature retailers such as BankPlus and others as early as this fall. BankPlus will occupy about half the ground floor.

Girlfriends

Dorothy Triplett and Shirley Tucker became friends as they began navigating through small, intertwining circles in Jackson. Finding they had similar passions for several things—the city of Jackson, empowerment of young people and leadership in the community—the two women have maintained contact over the years.

STEPS: Barbour's Good Idea?

A new Mississippi program that will use federal welfare funds to help hire new employees has many policy analysts excited. The Subsidized Transitional Employment Program and Services, or STEPS Program, which Gov. Haley Barbour announced Sept. 15, uses the state's $43 million share of the welfare funds in the stimulus package to subsidize the cost of hiring 3,500 new full-time employees for private businesses across the state. The state will cover the full cost of hiring a new employee for the first two months of employment and then gradually decrease its contribution over six months.

Earmark ‘Kings' Pledge Ban

Mississippi's two U.S. senators signed onto a pledge last week by fellow Republicans to refrain from requesting earmark funds for their home state during the upcoming 112th Congress. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker--ranked as the No. 1 and No. 3 "earmark kings" in the U.S. Senate--announced they would go along with the Senate Republican Conference's call to temporarily halt federal "pork-barrel" spending, which is the long-time practice of sending congressionally budgeted funds to specific local projects from highway construction in the Delta to Hurricane Katrina restoration projects. Pork accounts for about 1 percent of the federal budget.

Teachers Fire Back at Film

In "Waiting for 'Superman,'" the provocative new documentary on America's education system, the trick is that the titular superhero doesn't exist. It argues that no single force will rescue the children who public schools, in their current state, are largely failing. But the film offers a clear Lex Luthor-esque villain in the form of teachers' unions.

Facing ‘Generation Debt'

About two and a half years ago--a few months before I graduated college--my grandmother said something I'll never forget: "Just wait; after college, that's when your standard of living really goes down."

[Hutchinson] Naked And Shameful

President Bush and the three top Democrats that want to replace him couldn't get to New Orleans fast enough last week for the second anniversary of the Katrina debacle. As he's done in his 12 previous treks to the Gulf since Katrina, Bush publicly boasted that he's done everything humanly possible to get the region back on its feet. He also insisted that much more still must be done, and his administration will do it.

Why today?

Coincidentally, by the way, Mayor Frank Melton was seen leaving Judge Yerger's chambers this week.

This is a serious question. Why did Supreme Court Chief Justice James Smith Jr. today appoint a special judge, directly by Judge Swan Yerger, to help the D.A.'s office prosecute more cases—to clear the "backlog"? Why not six months ago? A year ago? Two years ago? Seven years ago when the backlog was much worse?

two interesting stories

The NYTimes has two really interesting stories today.

In one, Diamonds are for Never , Ophrah/that new movie "Blood Diamonds" are convincing many women into giving up diamonds:

JFP Top 25: Week 9

Last week, two previously undefeated teams went down. Wisconsin was at the wrong end of a 44-yard Hail Mary completion in a loss to Michigan State. Replay helped get the call right and gave an upset to the Spartans.

High-Stakes Trial Begins Over 2010 Gulf Oil Spill

BP put profits ahead of safety and bears most of the blame for the disastrous 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Justice Department attorney charged Monday at the opening of a trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages.

Are we getting the boot camp thing yet?

I found this article concerning the death of a Florida boy at one of the state's boot camps. Surveillance cameras show the boy was beaten to death by staff at the camp. The original autopsy found the boy died of a rare blood disorder. The family petitioned renowned pathologist Dr. Baden to review the case. He found the boy's death to be caused by the beating. This is the follow up article.

Tailgating: My Favorite Sport

Attending a football game is complete torture for me. But while I can't appreciate the ins and outs that go into making a good game, I do enjoy tailgating. I enjoy the sights, sounds, good food and camaraderie and partaking in an adult beverage (or two).

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