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[Public Eye] Sunshine in the 2010 Forecast?

Although we're still mired in winter, the new year has brought a couple rays of sunshine: some promising developments in government transparency.

[Mott] Pulling Hard for Our Future

Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Prize-winner from Kenya, planted seven trees in 1977 in honor of seven women environmentalists. Jailed and reviled for her own environmental activism, Maathai's seven trees became 40 million over the course of two decades, planted by village women in her honor. When she received the call about the Nobel Prize, her first reaction was: "I didn't know anyone was listening." Maathai's story demonstrates power. Her actions generated far-reaching results, even when they were mostly invisible to her.

[Mott] Bearing Witness

I inherited my love of history from my dad, who had a passion for it. A genuine scholar, the true stories he told around the dinner table were more engaging than anything in school textbooks.

Young Gun: Toby Barker

At 28, Toby Barker first-term representative, looks closer in age to the blue-blazered pages ferrying bills across the House floor than he to some of the more grizzled legislators around him.

Fourth Man Exonerated, Registers to Vote

Arthur Johnson, 48, registered to vote this month, after nearly 16 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, and another eight months waiting for Mississippi to officially exonerate him.

[City Buzz] no. 15 December 27 - Janurary 3, 2007

Grant Writers Suing City

Former city employees LaSeine Hunter Hilliard, Meisha Jones and Stanley Murray are bringing a civil action against the city of Jackson for termination against Civil Service rules and state law.

Meet the Valentines

Chrissy Vessell received the best Valentine ever Feb. 14, 2008, when Billy Valentine became her husband.

Oral arguments in City of Jackson v. Byram Incorporators Today

[Verbatim announcement] At 10 a.m. on Monday, January 12, 2009, the Mississippi Supreme Court will sit en banc to hear oral arguments in the case of the City of Jackson v. Byram Incorporators. The City of Jackson has appealed the chancellor's ruling in favor of Byram's incorporation, arguing that the Byram incorporators did not obtain the signatures of two thirds of the qualified electors, which is necessary for an incorporation petition to be filed. The City also appealed the denial of its petition to annex the Byram territory, arguing that the area is within its path of growth. This case is widely thought to be the one of the most significant case before the new Supreme Court (now led by Chief Justice Waller and presiding Justice Graves) and the outcome may have a profound impact on the future growth of the City of Jackson.

Annual 'Taste of Mississippi' Benefits Stewpot

This year's "Taste of Mississippi: Homegrown Hunger Relief" is scheduled for Monday, March 30, beginning at 7 p.m. at Highland Village in Jackson. More than 40 area restaurants and beverage vendors have confirmed that they'll be dishing up tasty treats and pouring libations this year, all to benefit Stewpot Community Services.

UPDATED: Elected Judges: Battered, Bought ... But Still Better

Pointing out that Gov. Haley Barbour has not appointed one black judge out of 18 judicial appointments to date, two attorneys and a Supreme Court justice agreed at a Saturday meeting that Mississippi's electoral process for deciding state and local judges was superior to a system of appointing judges.

State Budget in Limbo

Mississippi lawmakers are still deadlocked on a budget agreement for the upcoming fiscal year after spending last week in fruitless negotiations. With state revenues down $350 million to $400 million for the year, House and Senate negotiators remain about $37 million apart in their proposals for the roughly $5 billion 2010 budget.

Urban Myth 101

Last week, the Jackson Free Press received several e-mails proclaiming "Jackson Crime Alert" in the subject line. Obviously having been forwarded through dozens, maybe hundreds of prior e-mail addresses, the story the e-mails tell is about a man named Hong Kong, who peddles his hip-hop CDs in neighborhood parking lots and gas stations in Jackson.

City Council Tables Additional Funds for Attorneys

This morning, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes pulled a resolution he submitted along with Jackson City Council President Frank Bluntson encouraging the city to approve up to $240,000 in extra payments to city and contract attorneysincluding former City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evansfor legal fees related to bond work. The fees are connected with work regarding a swap for water and sewer system revenue and revenue refunding bonds, which fell through.

PBS Cancels Childrens' Shows

The Public Broadcasting System, PBS, announced Friday that they will stop distribution on two long-running childrens' television programs: "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" and "Reading Rainbow." The programs began airing in 1968 and 1983, respectively.

When Love Hurts

A woman comes home after work, her stomach in knots. She is afraid her husband has been drinking and may be in a bad mood. "I hope I don't say anything to trigger him," she thinks to herself. Her husband, a man who would never be considered abusive in the outside world, is different behind closed doors.

Don't Drink the Water

A month ago, Martin and a handful of neighbors in rural Sunflower County made national news, when ABC Nightly News devoted two minutes to their six-year fight for what many would consider a basic resource and right.

Last Balloon Out of Canton

When I arrive at the Canton Equine Center early July 3, I'm sleepy. But I slowly awake as I watch hot-air balloons aficionados staring up at the rich, orange sky.

'Dereliction of Duty'

Having re-opened the sluice gates of executions with Earl Berry in May, the state of Mississippi could put a second man to death later this month. Dale Leo Bishop, convicted in 2000 in the 1998 murder of Marcus Gentry, has a date with lethal injection July 23.

The Lawyers and the Statistician

Day three of the Michael Ellis termination hearing resumed on Wednesday, Feb. 14, with Ellis' attorney Lisa Ross concluding her cross-examination of Charlie Bonds, Jackson Public Schools executive director of internal audits. Ellis, Chastain Middle School's principal until Dec. 18 of last year, was fired from his position for failure "to achieve significant progress" in Chastain's performance, among other allegations. Ellis claims that JPS fired him in retribution for charging JPS School Superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins with sexual harassment. He and his wife filed a Title VII lawsuit against Watkins and JPS on Jan. 18, 2007.

The Saga of the Convention Center Hotel

The city council met behind closed doors Tuesday evening to discuss a possible cost-sharing agreement with developers of a $200 million mixed-used development along four blocks of Pascagoula street that would include a convention center hotel. The JFP Daily reported online Tuesday that TCI-MS, the LLC that owns the property, has not paid property taxes for 2009, and is linked to a controversial developer.

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