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State Slow to Spend STEPS Hiring Funds

Philadelphia, Miss., business owner William Hegman says the Workforce Investment Network of Mississippi is not properly monitoring its spending of $52 million in federal job placement money.

Mississippi Eligible for Education Funds From Feds

Mississippi is eligible for additional education and Medicaid funds after the U.S. House passed a $26 billion state aid bill yesterday.

[Kamikaze] When Will They Learn?

It's another "biting-off-our-nose-to-spite-our-face" episode in the city of Jackson. I just read that rapper-turned-author C-Miller (formerly C-Murder)—brother of the "great opportunist" Master P—was in town to promote a new work of fiction. However, a teacher pulled up some of Miller's lyrics and decided to halt his appearance, thus thwarting yet another opportunity for kids to hear from someone well qualified to school them on the ills of going down the wrong path.

*Artist In Residence: Rebekah Potter

In the most fortuitous of natural developments, Rebekah Potter's height sealed her fate as an artist. "I wanted to be a horsejockey," the 31-year-old woman says. "But I grew too tall."

Young People Want to Be Own Boss

Justin Reed gets it. He can see why African-American junior high and high school kids said in the Interprise Poll, Junior Achievement's 2003 nationwide survey, that they wanted to become entrepreneurs more than they wanted to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. "You can be your own boss," said the 10th grade Calloway High School student. "You can make a lot of money."

[The JFP Interview] Rep. Chip Pickering

Rep. Chip Pickering has big, conservative shoes to fill. His father, Charles Pickering, is a conservative and a judge—respected by many, scorned by others. The father headed the campaign of the first President Bush in Mississippi, and was, later, the second President Bush's controversial choice for a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals seat. The son has spent much time defending his father's honor and arguing that he has changed with the times since his past connections with segregationists. "I grew up in a political family, and all of that contributed to what I am doing today," he says.

Mississippi Reacts to 'Obamacare' Ruling

Mississippians reacted promptly to the Supreme Court's ruling on "Obamacare." Some weren't pleased.

Where the 'Southern Strategy' Belongs

You have to watch closely, or you might not pay any mind to earth-shattering statements heard these days in Mississippi. For instance: "Mississippi will not take a back seat to anyone. We've made progress, and we're going to show it to the world."

[Gregory] Dreamin' Ain't Doin'

For the past six months, I've been working in Hattiesburg, mainly because the job offer included enough money to allow me to embroider gold dollar signs on my socks right alongside my initials—righteous money. Following this money soon led me to understand that working in Hattiesburg actually meant commuting to Hattiesburg for the duration of the employment.

My Statement About Mike Lacey's Use of Racial Slur

April 18, 2008—When I first heard that one of AAN's highest ranking executives had used the n-word to jokingly refer to a deceased friend of his, I assumed his friend was black and was shocked. When I learned that the friend was white, I was just as appalled. The issue, to me, is not who he was talking about; it was about his use of the most notorious white supremacy label as a flippant term of endearment. Even more puzzling to me is why Mr. Lacey, or other white men, would even consider doing such a thing considering the baggage that word continues to carry for so many Americans, black and white.

David Irving: 'Nothing Short of Monstrous'

David Irving is guaranteed to cause a rumble wherever he goesas he did in Jackson earlier this month after white supremacist Richard Barrett promoted his Oct. 21 presentation at City Hall.

Legislative Update—Week 5: Medicaid, Jobs, Land

Legislative committees worked furiously this week during the run-up to the Feb. 19 deadline for House and Senate committees to act on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their own chamber. Committees are also entertaining briefings regarding state issues.

The War on Math, Part 2: Is the GOP Out of Step with America?

In the continuing GOP/Tea Party "War On Math," the insistence on balancing the budget by cutting spending may be doing serious damage to the Republican Party's credibility -- so says Professor Lawrence Jacobs writing for CNN, who finds that polling is going against the GOP in a big way.

Told You: Ledger Doesn't Endorse; ‘Unendorses' Melton Four Years Late

Turns out we were right: The Clarion-Ledger today did not endorse a candidate for Jackson mayor in Tuesday's primary—but finally came out and said that it was wrong about Frank Melton four years ago. The editorial was careful to lay equal blame on "an overwhelming majority of Jackson voters"—oddly admitting that as the area's daily newspaper, it still didn't know better than the average citizen or have any information that could have have educated voters before electing a very unfortunate mayor. (They did have information right in their own archives, and in front of their noses, that they ignored in their rush to replace Johnson with Melton.) The editorial today:

Casey's NY Times Blog FREE

My blog for the New York Times is free this week if anyone wants to read it:

Quentin Whitwell

Quentin Whitwell, 37, is a local political advisor and the go-to guy for many campaigns in the state. He co-founded the largely Republican government-relations firm The Talon Group in 2004, along with political strategist and former Jackson City Councilman Chip Reno. Jackson law firm Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes acquired The Talon Group last year, and Whitwell is now a senior government-relations advisor at the law firm.

Legislative Agenda

With coastal construction driving healthy tax revenues, you might expect smooth sailing for this year's legislative session. After all, tight budgets mean tough choices, and tough choices mean bare-knuckle fights among legislators. However, the House remains at odds with Gov. Haley Barbour and the Senate, and 2007 is a statewide election year. In other words, even though they have more money to distribute than in years past, we can expect some scrapping among legislators as they position themselves for the elections.

Berwood: Left Behind and Unified

As you drive down Northside Drive on the north end of town, you pass a recently renovated McDonald's, a Taco Bell that has been remodeled to add a Long John Silvers, and a New Deal grocery store that once was a Jitney Jungle and before that a Kroger. But tucked away in a maze of different neighborhoods bordered by Watkins Drive and Azalea Drive is Berwood—a neighborhood that, despite all of the changes around it, primarily has had the same occupants since the early 1970s. Like many areas in the South and Mississippi in particular, Berwood's membership was shaped by white flight.

Learn to Be Inspired

We live in a world where kids who can't sit still in class are labeled troublemakers or low-performers or even ADD. But maybe they're just kinesthetic learners: that is, they need to move around in order to soak up the information.

Dems Bolster Power in Legislature

Photos by Adam Lynch

The Mississippi Legislature moved into Nov. 7 looking on the surface much as it did prior to the elections, party-wise. But education proponents say the new Legislature will likely be more friendly to issues such as full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and an increased tobacco tax, and the new House line-up may mean trouble ahead for Republican districts.

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