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Bashing Sodas and Saving Schools

The 90-day legislative session will creep past the halfway mark this week, and the clock ticks on plenty of legislative efforts, including the deadline to except or trash fiscal-year 2011 appropriation and revenue bills.

Recycling Crime

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has put the clamps on an effort to change a new state law regulating the metal-recycling industry. The law specifically demands scrap buyers keep all scrap purchases on their property for three days, so authorities can check it as potentially stolen merchandise.

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.

AG Can Sue BP without OK

British Petroleum announced that Mississippi will receive a total of $65 million to fight oil coming onto the beaches and for tourist advertising, but Attorney General Jim Hood says he requires none of those funds to pursue a suit against the oil giant, should one become necessary.

Not So Fast, Suburbs

Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. says he doesn't believe the city should have to lose ownership of its wastewater treatment plant in order to fix it.

Rev. Olivier Returns to South Africa

Rev. Ross Olivier, "Reverend Ross" to his Galloway Methodist Church parishioners, will return to his native South Africa in January after serving the Jackson church since July 2004. In recent years, Olivier (pronounced Ollie-FEE) has become a Jackson staple at social justice and racial reconciliation events, drawing from his work and experience during the apartheid era in South Africa, where he was a vigorous opponent of the brutal oppression he found there. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked Olivier to establish a council of churches during that time, and in 1994, the year of South Africa's first democratic elections, he facilitated the Methodist Church's re-visioning for the new, emerging democracy, chronicled in the book "Journey Begun," which he co-authored.

GOP Rift Hurts Hinds Primaries

Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry said a rift between his administration and that of his predecessor, Ken Avery, complicated the Aug. 7 primary with staff shortages, long waits and some crossover voting.

City Shaken By Departures

Last week saw a flurry of resignations from Mayor Frank Melton's administration, starting with City Administration Director Peyton Prospere, whose resignation became public Wednesday. On Friday, Deputy City Attorney Herb Irvin and grant writer Lisa Lucas also resigned. These resignations came only days after Melton vowed to WAPT that he would fire some members of city government.

Police Union: No Agreement

The city of Jackson has not reached an agreement with the Jackson Police Officers Association regarding limiting the number of officers allowed to complete the sergeant's exam processcontrary to what Interim Police Chief Tyrone Lewis said at a June 11 Civil Service Commission meeting. Union president Juan Cloy denied Lewis' statement before the Commission last week, saying that the chief was mistaken.

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.

House Votes to Accept Senate's Tort Reform Bill

After a long floor debate today, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted 76-38 to concur with the Senate strike-all version of HB 13 — a bill that institutes $1 million damage caps on general business liability and removes the exemption for disfigurement. Rep Ed Blackmon—who had previously said he would not support any non-economic damage caps—made the motion to concur with the bill (which means it will go straight for the governor's signature). The measure passed 76-38 at 2:19 this afternoon.

Another Dirty Trick: Fake Johnson Flyers Distributed to Churches

Church-goers in Jackson found a fake flyer on their windshields after church Sunday, pretending to be from former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., who is in a runoff with Councilman Marshand Crisler for re-election Tuesday. The flyer asks, "Am I the Right Man for the Job?" and then makes several promises, clearly designed to discredit the former mayor.

EEOC Finds Racial Discrimination at MDPS

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found evidence that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety engaged in discriminatory practices against black state troopers. In a June 1 letter, EEOC acting Area Director Willie Schaffer wrote, "there is reasonable cause to believe" that MDPS "engaged, and is engaging in, unlawful employment practices in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The documentary, statistical and testimonial evidence disclosed (MDPS) discriminated against blacks as a class because of their race with respect to assignments, demotions, discharges, discipline, harassment, hiring, intimidation, hostile work environment, promotion and the overall terms and conditions of their employment.

Clueless in Condi-land? U.S. Endgame in Lebanon?

Here's more food for discussion on Lebanon, from Michael Young at Reason mag, who is also the opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon:

Commission Scrutinizing Entergy Rate Hikes

Consumer advocates criticized Entergy for not investing in energy conservation this week during a series of Public Service Commission meetings.

My House Is Greener Than Yours

Mississippi 2020 and Habitat for Humanity are seeking groups and individual volunteers to work Saturdays starting June 21 (skipping the July 4 weekend) throughout the summer. Volunteers must be fairly able-bodied, but no particular construction skills are required. Call Laura at Jackson Habitat, 353-6060.

Injustice Everywhere

The meeting, at Freelon's Restaurant on Mill Street, was called to organize support for controversial African-American attorney Chokwe Lumumba, who may be disbarred by the Mississippi State Bar. Lumumba, founder of the New Afrikan People's Organization, is a nationally known attorney who has vigorously represented African Americans, ranging from the late rapper Tupac Shakur to the exonerated defendants in the New York Brinks armored-car robbery case.

Mississippi Defenseless in Federal Suit

Three-year-old Olivia Y. weighed only 22 pounds—less than half what she should have weighed—when the Mississippi courts took her from her abusive mother and turned her over to the foster-care system. Her caseworker described the severely traumatized toddler as "petite" and "quiet," and failed to provide the mental and physical care she needed while moving her repeatedly—once into a home with a convicted rapist.

Candidate Knocks Election Poll

Jackson Democratic Mayoral candidate Robert Johnson attacked two recent polls from Washington, D.C.-based polling company Zata|3.

JRA Seeking $61K Delinquent Rent

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to clear up a $61,253 bill lingering from Watkins and Young PLLC for office space in the renovated Union Station.

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