| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

Seale Granted Hearing

In a rare move Nov. 14, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted federal prosecutors an en banc rehearing on the court's Sept. 9 decision that overturned the conviction of James Ford Seale. In that decision, the court ruled that the statute of limitations had expired on the federal kidnapping charges prosecutors used to convict Seale.

Convention Complex Opens

Twenty thousand visitors filled the Jackson Convention Complex during its official grand opening Saturday, according to preliminary estimates.

Greenwood Officer Resigns

Amid pressures from his department, Greenwood police officer Casey Wiggins resigned from the police department on May 16.

Budget Deadlock Continues

State lawmakers remain deadlocked on a budget for the 2010 fiscal year beginning July 1, raising the possibility of a special session to settle the matter.

Reeves Gives Up Fight and Goes Home

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that John Reeves, the Republican legislator from South Jackson, said today that he is no longer planning to challenge Adrienne Wooten, a Democrat who defeated him in November, in the Legislature.

Campaign Finance Report: John Horhn

According to a campaign finance report (PDF) obtained by the Jackson Free Press, state Sen. John Horhn has $5,620 cash in hand leading up to Tuesday's Democratic primary. Among Horhn's largest campaign contributors are attorney John and Melody Maxey, of Jackson, and Jackson surgeon Dinesh Goel, both of whom donated $10,000. Horhn also received $1,000 each from businessman Leland Speed and fellow state Sen. Cecil Brown, as well as $2,000 from the Home Builders Association of Jackson and $2,500 from the Mississippi Association of Builders and Contractors.

Melton and Recio to be Tried Together

A federal judge has denied the latest attempt to separate the civil rights trial of Mayor Frank Melton and his former bodyguard Michael Recio. In an order (PDF) filed today, Judge Dan Jordan ruled that Recio's attorney Cynthia Stewart has not presented a compelling case for severance.

Mississippi Soldiers Ship Out Today

The U.S. Army Reserve's 296th Transportation Company ships out today for final training in Wisconsin before heading to Iraq. The Mississippi company of 169 men and women, which was last deployed in 2003, will serve overseas for one year beginning in September, according to The Mississippi Press.

Cellular South Expands Mississippi Services

Ridgeland, Miss.-based Cellular South, the largest privately-held wireless carrier in the U.S., has announced expanded third-generation coverage in 78 cities across 26 Mississippi counties this year. The ambitious plan allows the company to "maintain its leadership position as the provider with the most 3G high-speed data coverage in its primary footprint and nationwide," according to a release.

Gov. Barbour 'Pleased' With President-Elect

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour reported today that President-Elect Barack Obama's Tuesday meeting with state governors on addressing the recession was "cordial."

Mississippi Loses Bio Lab to Kansas

The Department of Homeland Security selected Manhattan, Kansas, over Flora, Miss., and four other sites for its proposed $451 million Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The lab, which will focus primarily on communicative animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, often called simply FMD, will replace an outdated 1950s lab currently located on Plum Island, off the coast of New York.

Hob-Gate

Note: As the JFP went to press, the organizers of Hobstock cancelled the event altogether.

[Talk] Home to Roost

The chickens George W. Bush hatched in January 2001 when he signed the No Child Left Behind education bill are starting to come home to roost. Now in the second year of high-stakes federal testing requirements that treat every student just alike—regardless of background, special-ed status or need for remediation—public schools are beginning to feel the pressure of federally required but under-funded tests. The NCLB standards may cause them to shut their doors if they can't figure out how to bring every student up to "proficient" (next to highest out of four levels) with the sole determination being the outcomes of controversial tests.

Workers Rally Against Human Trafficking

A group of about 70 Indian workers marched onto the Mississippi State Capitol Thursday, March 20, protesting treatment by Pascagoula construction company Signal International, LLC.

Dealing Death

The Senate passed a bill that expands the use of the death penalty in the state. Senate Bill 2921 provides that multiple murders in a single incident or a murder committed in conjunction with an attempted murder—a classification that did not exist in Mississippi until the Legislature took up a bill creating the classification this year—shall constitute capital murder, which comes with the possibility of a death sentence.

Coalition Condemns Lewis Demotion

The Mississippi Coalition for Justice condemned Police Chief Malcolm McMillin's decision to demote former Deputy Chief Tyrone Lewis to sergeant on Monday.

Gusher in the Gulf: June 2010

June 1: NOAA Fisheries Service revises the fishery closures to include more than 31 percent of the Gulf of Mexico.

Hood Proposes Traffic Citation Increase to Fund Unit

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wants to strengthen his agency's Vulnerable Adult Unit by raising some traffic citations by $1.

Bill Luckett

Clarksdale attorney Bill Luckett has confirmed that he will run for the Mississippi governor's seat in 2011. Luckett told the Mississippi Business Journal yesterday that he will formally announce his candidacy sometime in the spring, but that he has moved beyond merely considering a run. A staffer at Luckett's political action committee, Progress for Mississippi, confirmed Luckett's candidacy to the Jackson Free Press today.

Mississippi Drop-Out Rate Still Increasing

Jackson Public Schools reported a drop-out rate of 24.3 percent in 2009, up from 17.6 in 2008. Statewide, Mississippi's 2009 graduating class had a drop-out rate of 16.7 percent, up from 16 percent in 2008, the state Department of Education reported yesterday.

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors