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‘Take The Fight To The People'

Jackson County Chancery Court Judge Jaye Bradley reversed her own December 2000 decision earmarking $20 million to The Partnership For a Healthy Mississippi, possibly jeopardizing the program's smoking-cessation programs.

Stiffing the Help

The Hattiesburg American reported last week that the Department of Labor is investigating a Jackson business owned by Rosemary Barbour, wife of Hinds County Supervisor Charles Barbour, a nephew of Gov. Haley Barbour.

Court Re-hears Seale Appeal

On May 21, the 17-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of James Ford Seale.

Gunning For Guns

In a new war on guns in Jackson, Mayor Frank Melton said Sunday that he is preparing an executive order outlawing gun shows in the city limits of Jackson.

Verbatim: James Meredith Policy On Interviews

I will grant an interview only to people who agree to the following five stipulations.

See what rules James Meredith makes all mediaexcept the Jackson Free Pressagree to before granting an interview.

Council Delays $75 Million Project

In a startling development, four council members voted to withhold a decision approving a $75 million construction project in Ward 3, even though the delay could put the project at risk.

2009 Chick Ball Auction Guide

With the 5th Annual Chick Ball just days away, we are excited to celebrate the triumphs of domestic violence survivors, as well as the creative talents of women artists and musicians. The evening will also include a silent auction of art and gifts.

Children of the Storm

Last Monday, the Children's Defense Fund dedicated the first of 14 Freedom Schools in New Orleans—taking the name from schools set up to help educate African Americans during Freedom Summer 1964. CDF founder Marian Wright Edlema; Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, national director of the Freedom Schools; other CDF staff and a delegation from CDF turned out for the dedication. The delegation is comprised of women who are prominent figures in Hollywood and Washington, D.C., like CDF board members Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, Cicely Tyson, Regina King, Holly Robinson-Peete and Deborah Santana.

The Coast's Forgotten Poor

"It was already hard to find an apartment even before the storm," Karen Peyton of Biloxi said. "Now it's almost impossible, and the rents are skyrocketing."

Next Stop, Tyler?

Despite promises to the contrary, Jackson Mayor Frank Melton still has not filed for homestead exemption status in the city he governs, according to information obtained from the Hinds County Tax Assessor. Melton filed for homestead exemption on the house where his wife lives in Tyler, Texas, in 1997, and still has not filed elsewhere since.

Council May Investigate Melton

In front of a packed City Council chamber, with citizens spilling into the hallway, Council President Ben Allen announced that he will now support an investigation of Mayor Frank Melton's alleged illegal actions, if by 4:30 p.m. this Friday, professional investigators have not "wrapped up" their probes. If that is case, Allen said, he would call for a Council-led investigation of Melton that would begin the following Monday. Melton's alleged rampage through a Ridgeway Street duplex was first reported by the JFP on Sept. 1.

House Dems Cave, Then Flee

House Democrats caved in to pressure the first day of the special session, passing a bill to temporarily reauthorize the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

The Session and 71

The House will decide the outcome of a December re-vote when it convenes in January. Both Republican incumbent John Reeves and Democratic challenger Adrienne Wooten filed petitions in the House to contest the November election, and the matter will be waiting for House members when they arrive Jan. 8.

Legislature: Subtle Casualities

Deadlines both made and spayed bills last week. Many bills passed in the two chambers of the Mississippi Legislature, but now face conference committee to bang out their differences.

Immigration Bill a Reality

Well, he signed it. Gov. Haley Barbour caved in to the screaming fury of conservative talk radio and the raging rant of phone calls and signed into law SB 2988, which makes an undocumented immigrant with a job in Mississippi a potential felon. The bill also makes employees who hire undocumented workers felons, with a punishment of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Myths v. Truth: The Truth Behind HR 3200

With all of the misinformation about health-care reform, how can you tell what's a myth and what's the truth?

Ed Peters Demands Legal Fees from City

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton's assurance that he would be covering court costs in his April 2007 felony trial did not apply to his co-defendants, judging by a Nov. 30 letter submitted to the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office. Melton's old felony indictments resurfaced late November when Former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters submitted a motion for allocation of attorney's fees to the clerk and city attorneys. Peters is demanding payments of $15,000 apiece for attorneys Robert Shuler Smith (Hinds County district attorney-elect) and Winston Thompson for their representation of Melton's bodyguards Michael Recio and Marcus Wright.

McGowan Questions Levee Board's ‘Backbone'

Would-be Two Lakes developer John McGowan reacted strongly this week to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers statement that it was not taking seriously his or any other plan to create lakes around the Pearl River, preferring a comprehensive levees plan to control flooding.

Former Pathologist Sues Innocence Project

Former Mississippi medical examiner Steven Hayne is suing the Innocence Project for defamation. In a suit filed Oct. 28 with the Rankin County Circuit Court, Hayne claimed that the New York-based non-profit organization damaged his reputation and cost him income with press releases and letters calling for the revocation of his medical license.

Market Wars

The new Mississippi Farmers' Market, brainchild of Agricultural Commissioner Lester Spell, opened in February at a cost of $4 million, and first stirred up controversy when it displaced vendors working in the longstanding Jackson Flea Market occupying the same ground.

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