| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

Recio To Stand Trial Next Week

The civil rights trial of Jackson police officer Michael Recio will proceed next week, despite requests by federal prosecutors for a postponement after the death of Mayor Frank Melton. Prosecutors will formally drop their charges against Melton later this week.

McNair: The Darker Side of the Dream

Former National Football League Most Valuable Player Steve McNair lived what many would see as a dream life. Born in the Mississippi town of Mt. Olive, McNair began his football career on the smallest of small-town teams. Graduating in 1991, he was named SuperPrep All-American quarterback and defensive back at Mt. Olive high school, and went on to be a record-setting QB for Alcorn State, winning the Walter Payton Award at a top player in Division 1-AA in 1994. He was the only player in NCAA history with more than 16,000 yards in career total offense, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Council Must Address Another $3 Million Deficit

The Jackson City Council dropped the bomb at a special meeting that the city of Jackson is still stuck with a $3 million deficit from the 2006-'07 budget, even after the Council approved the 2008 budget last week. "We need to address the issue of the closed-out budget of '06-'07, which by state law, we are required to have balanced by Sept. 30. Right now, that is not the case," said Ward 6 Councilman Marshand Crisler. "I don't think we can over-emphasize the importance of doing that in a timely fashion."

The Tails of Katrina

They may become one of the largest set of casualties, evacuees and victims without family, homes, shelter, food, water and medicine. They are the dogs, cats, birds, pot-bellied pigs, horses, livestock, and other pets and animals left behind as Katrina hurled winds and water on the coasts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

Voter ID: ‘Not About Intimidation'

Despite efforts by the Mississippi Legislature to compromise on voter identification during the regular session, Gov. Haley Barbour held a May 13 press conference to demonstrate that he wants no one exempt from mandatory voter identification requirements. He sent the Legislature into a $34,000-a-day special session to push through his versions of voter identification and tort reform.

The State of a Stalemate

The first week of the special session called by Gov. Haley Barbour to focus on civil justice reform ("tort reform") and voter ID was, at best, cantankerous. At the end of the week, very little had been accomplished, and many legislators expressed a great deal of frustration.

From 2004: Chokwe Lumumba v. Mississippi Bar

Activist attorney Chokwe Lumumba, the founder of the New Afrikan People's Organization, is headed back to court this week to fight for his professional life. Again. The Mississippi Bar is arguing for the disbarment of the attorney, who is known for representing black men accused of violent crimes from 17-year-old South African Azikiwe Kambule to rapper Tupac Shakur to ex-police officer Eddie Myers who was found innocent of murder in October 2002.

They Could Care Less

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, was right. The Mississippi Legislature passed a $3.7 million budget in the nick of time—on Mother's Day as he had predicted. Lawmakers finally agreed at the 11th hour of the 120-day session on the big items they had been stuck on—education and Medicaid—leaving tort reform for a probable special session.

Toward a Peace Culture

Takashi Teramoto was 10 when "Little Boy" dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, killing 140,000 Japanese—half instantly, the other half from radiation poisoning. Teramoto is traveling with Steven Leeper, director of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, who often translates for him. Dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide, the foundation is funding their tour to 101 U.S. cities, which began late in 2007.

Fight or Flight

The 1st Annual Conference of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement takes place March 2-5 at the JSU E Center on Raymond Road. Organized around the theme "The Pursuit of Quality Education in the Ongoing Movement for Human Rights," the conference offers workshops with veterans of the movement with the goal of inspiring a return to work, focused this time on ensuring that every American receives the quality education that is his or her unalienable right. Owen Brooks, 78, who along with Hollis Watkins serves as co-convener of the conference, spoke with me recently about his experiences as a veteran of the civil rights movement in Mississippi.

Republicans Choose Sides In Bailout

The Jackson NAACP, the Mississippi AFL-CIO and supporting organizations protested Mississippi Republican senators' opposition to a bailout bill for General Motors and Chrysler at the State Capitol on Tuesday.

Week 9: Parole, Pontificating and Parenthood

Unpopular parole and pardon decisions drew the ire of senators March 5, as they nearly approved requirements for greater accountability for the state Parole Board and the governor.

Entergy Seeking Friendlier Court

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate said last week that he would rule within three weeks to 30 days on a motion for venue change requested by Entergy Mississippi.

Funny Math At The Fair

The Neshoba County Fair was calm this year. There are no candidates fighting for state-wide races, leaving many politicians free to make jabs at national candidates like presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Mississippi Legislators Respond to Oil Spill

Troubles keep on brewing as a stricken BP oil well continues to daily jet more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. British Petroleum's attempt to stop the spill with a 100-ton steel and cement dome that would have siphoned off the oil failed last week. The company is currently trying to seal the rig's blow out preventer and will drop a second dome to plug a smaller leak.

Target: Dating Violence

When Brittany started dating Jack (not their real names), she was involved in her high school's athletic program, spent time with a large group of male and female friends, and had a personality that radiated happiness.

Murrah Whipping Makes National Headlines

Read the Complaint

Walking for Pierce

Pierce lay motionless in her arms, with his little Mohawk hair, dark brown and full. "I got to see his face," says Leah Helms, 33, about what she remembers most vividly in the final moments of her son's life. "I'm glad that we got to have that moment. ... (My husband, BJ, and I) were both just speechless ... how pretty to see his nose and mouth and face."

Public Meetings and Community Events

Hinds County Community College Registration, at all campuses; extended hours: 8:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:15 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday. Go to http://www.hindscc.edu or call 1-800-HindsCC.

Entergy DOJ Investigation Kept Secret

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said he is frustrated that Entergy Mississippi was slow to reveal a weeks-old U.S. Department of Justice civil investigation into Entergy Corporations' energy-purchasing practices.

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors