Senate Sets Sights on Gun Laws
Mississippi already exports more firearms than any other state, but some legislators want to relax our gun laws even more.
Quietly, Ds and Rs Kill Workers' Comp Bill
Thanks to a House Democratic caucus that remained unified combined with support from several Republicans, HB 555 died yesterday, and was killed off for good this morning when it came up for reconsideration.
Enviros Challenge MDA on Drilling
Environmental groups want more time to study the effects of opening the Mississippi Sound to oil and gas drilling.
CNN Highlights Perks for Barbour Trustys
CNN is now reporting that in his last days in office, Gov. Haley Barbour's staff helped two mansion inmate workers secure driver's licenses and that those prisoners, David Gatlin and Charles Hooker, had new cars waiting for them when Barbour set the men free with his pardon pen.
Corps: One Lake Plan Seems to Work
Gary Walker, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers' Vicksburg district, told members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District this week that flood reduction appears does possible in a proposed one-lake development along the Pearl River. Walker said he expects the Corps to issue a letter to that effect by the end of the week
Under Darkness, Immigration and Abortion Bills Pass
Lawmakers, reporters, young pages and even a delegation of Jackson County Republican Women burned the midnight oil for a second consecutive night at the Mississippi House yesterday.
Pardongate Draws to a Close
Two months after Haley Barbour's last-minute clemency acts sparked political controversy around Mississippi and the country, the Pardongate episode has came to a close. In a 6-3 vote handed down March 8, the Mississippi Supreme Court declined to overturn Barbour's more than 200 pardons and commutations, even for those who failed to publish notice of their pardon applications as the state Constitution requires.
Wedge Issues Bring Heated Debates
Democrats turned up the heat in debates over abortion, immigration and voter rights last week. Up against deadlines to get bills out of committee and through floor votes, the Mississippi House and Senate dispensed with noncontroversial items to tackle wedge-issue bills.
Beer for Everybody
Mark Henderson, the co-owner of Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co., likes to say they even get to drink their mistakes. Located in the small south Mississippi town of Kiln, Lazy Mag, as Mississippi beer lovers know it, created the world's first beer made with pecans, which inspired about a half-dozen other pecan brews now in production.
Hal White
Harold Taylor White, Jr. is as much a fixture in Hal & Mal's as his 28-year-old restaurant is of downtown Jackson. On most days, patrons will find White perched at the corner of the bar, where he can watch the kitchen, dining room and behind the bar.
Okolo Rashid
Flora native Okolo Rashid didn't set out to start a museum. But when the Majesty of Spain exhibit that came to Jackson in 2001, neglected Muslims' contributions, Rashid created a companion exhibit.
A March of Legislative Madness?
Beating the clock has been the name of the game in the Mississippi Legislature as lawmakers came up against crucial deadlines.
Romney Takes on Obama
Unlike his Republican predecessors who visited Jackson earlier in the week, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney avoided mentioning his Republican presidential rivals by name. Instead, he focused his remarks squarely on President Barack Obama, a Democrat Romney hopes to challenge for the presidency this fall.
State Supreme Court: Barbour Pardons Valid
The roughly 200 acts of clemency Haley Barbour granted in his final days as governor are valid, according a 6-3 Mississippi Supreme Court decision handed down this afternoon.
The Legislature: Week 9
To channel Ivan Drago, the Italian Stallion's Soviet nemesis in Rocky IV: If a bill died this week, it died.
The JFP Interview With Rep. Bennie Thompson
Bennie G. Thompson has worked for the government his whole life. Born and raised in the small town of Bolton, located 20 miles west of Jackson, he worked as a high school civics teacher before becoming the first black mayor of his majority-black hometown where he still lives today.
Arty, Flying Tacos
There's a saying that in the Spanish language, "The sopa isn't soap, the ropa isn't rope and the butter's meant to kill ya." That's because sopa is soup, ropa means clothing and the word for butter is mantequilla. But apparently, the butter-based mantequilla sauce at Jaco's Tacos (318 South State St.; 601-405-0499) is to die for.
Deadline for Committee Action Today
By the end of the today, any bills that don't make it out of committee in the house where they originated die.
GOP Presidential Candidates to Court Mississippians
Newt Gingrich
From now until the Tuesday, March 13 Mississippi statewide primary, expect to see a lot of the Republican presidential candidates in Jackson and other cities around the state. The Mississippi GOP released a schedule this afternoon of campaign stops for several of the hopefuls. Below are the times and dates for each as provided by the state Republican Party:
Groups Seek Mentors, But Not Just Any Mentors
Whenever you think of people who make the best mentors for boys, sports coaches seems to be the default selection.
Dates Set for Two More Executions
The following is a verbatim statement from the Mississippi Department of Corrections:
The Mississippi Supreme Court has set execution dates for Death Row inmates Larry Mathew Puckett, MDOC #65781, and William J. Mitchell, MDOC #31271.
Graham Attorney: No Choice but to Let Jury Decide
As I reported earlier today, the Mississippi auditor and attorney general sued Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham over alleged double-dipping. Graham, they say, was running a private business while on the clock getting paid as the Jackson Police Department's public-information officer. Lisa Ross, his attorney, just returned the call I placed earlier when she was in court and repeated assertions she's made all along -- that the investigation is politically motivated.
Auditor, AG Sue Graham for Funds
The state's top auditor and legal officer want Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham to pay back more than $45,000 for misusing public property and submitting fraudulent time sheets when Graham worked for the city of Jackson.
Pushing the Beer Limit
Asking Craig Hendry to name his favorite beer is like asking him which of his two kids he likes best.
Friendship Ball Honors Brooks and Reed
Owen Brooks and Phil Reed are builders. In addition to the voter registration and education drives he led as director of the Delta Ministry, Brooks oversaw economic development projects, organized Head Start centers and helped start the Mound Bayou Community Hospital and Health Center.
Power to the People
When someone offered Melissa Cooper $700 for some of her prescription pain medication in 2010, she jumped at the opportunity.
The Men AG Hood Wants Executed
Attorney General Jim Hood wants the state of Mississippi to kill two more men next month.
AT&T Seeking Revenge in New Bill?
If telecommunications giant AT&T gets its way, customers will have to call Washington, D.C., regulators to lodge complaints.
Immigration Bill to Come Up in House
The Mississippi House Judiciary B Committee will consider an anti-immigration measure called the Mississippi Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.
Fla. Landlord Owns Seized Hinds Complex
For the second time this week, Hinds County sherriff's deputies locked the offices of a Jackson apartment complex on Wednesday.
Rebels Without a Pause
On the first floor of the Capitol last Wednesday, a handful of Democrats assembled to enjoy a late lunch when a burly assistant sergeant-at-arms burst in to say that Speaker Pro Tem Greg Snowden, who presided that day, wanted all the members to return to the chamber.
Books-a-Zero
You know things are bad when librarians start protesting. In light of Gov. Phil Bryant's executive budget recommendation that calls for a 15 percent funding reduction for the Mississippi Library Commission, bibliophiles are gearing for a battle to keep library cuts on par with those of other state departments.
The JFP Interview with Steve Holland
In a matter of 24 hours, Steve Holland went from seemingly being the director of "Punk'd: Mississippi Edition" to directing funerals.
The JFP Interview with Joey Fillingane
It's Valentine's Day, and everyone seems to be courting Sen. Joey Fillingane. Just two days before Mississippi's Feb. 16 legislation draft deadline, his secretary and gatekeeper has to run interference on an unending parade of lobbyists who all want just a few moments of the state senator's time.
A Win for the State's ‘Power Brokers'
"Power brokers" win out over the voices of individual legislators in a new set of joint rules the Republican-dominated Mississippi Legislature passed last week, Democrats say. The new rules are among the most serious and far-reaching changes in recent memory.
Hip-Hop on ‘The Help'
The film 'The Help' has 99 problems but garnering critical acclaim ain't one. Armfuls of awards and nominations haven't immunized the film based on Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel about African American maids in Jackson from criticism that the film perpetuates the Mammy meme of early cinema.
Pushing Back Against Library Cuts
Gov. Phil Bryant's budget recommendations call for a 15-percent funding reduction for the Mississippi Library Commission. Bibliophiles are gearing to keep the cut from being so steep and, at the least, keep them on par with proposed cuts at other state agencies.
Dems: Ain't No Sunshine in this Bill
This time around, the "sunshine" bill didn't wither. Despite their best efforts to slow down and trip up House Bill 211, which supporters argue adds a layer of transparency to the state's use of hiring outside legal firms when disagreements arise with the attorney general, the state's chief legal officer, the measure passed 59 to 55. After a similar bill failed last week on a technicality, its Republican authors made fixes earlier this week and brought it to the Wednesday morning. Democrats pressed Mark Baker, the chairman of the House Judiciary A Committee, on a range of what they perceived to be shortcomings of the bills. Some clearly just wanted to mess with Republicans.
Pardongate: Continuum
Imagine that every person who received a pardon from Gov. Haley Barbour did exactly what the state constitution says and ran a newspaper ad for 30 days before they received the pardon. Then what?
Bring the Noise
Legislative Republicans are setting 'em and knockin' 'em down. After a clumsy first month when the House didn't even have committee assignments, bills are starting to soar through the committee process and going to the floor.
More than Factories
A member of the Screen Actors' Guild, state Sen. John Horhn has some ideas on keeping the state's economy from sagging.
Of Love and Pardons: How They Met
On the night of Dec. 7, 1992, Joseph Ozment and three friends arrived to rob J & R's Old Store in Hernando and found Ricky A. Montgomery there, working alone. During the robbery, one of Ozment's accomplices shot Montgomery three times, though not fatally. Ozment, fearing Montgomery would be able to identify him, delivered two more bullets to the head of the 40-year-old clerk, who was begging for help.
Drilling the Front Lines
Captain Louis Skrmetta is on the front lines. So far, Skrmetta, whose family has operated tour boats between the mainland and Mississippi's barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico since 1926, is fighting a winning battle to rebuild his business to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels.
Sunshine Act Still Clouds Legislature
Debate over the Sunshine Act, which Speaker Philip Gunn introduced last week and failed on a technicality later in the week, continued to rain down on the Legislature as a House committee returned the issue on Monday.
Memorializing Medgar
It's unlikely that Medgar Evers will be forgotten for a very long time.
Holland's Gulf of America Bill Sweeping the Nation
To understand his bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in state waters off the Mississippi coast, you have to understand that Holland is one of the most progressive and most eccentric members of the House. He's also one of the longest serving and most knowledgeable about the inner-workings of the Legislature. He's not exactly hid his disdain for the fact that Speaker Philip Gunn not only didn't give him a committee chairmanship but left him off the committees he's served on for two decades. In fact, Holland quipped to me yesterday that every member of the Legislature should be arrested for loitering on public property because they aren't doing \"####."
Supreme Court Hears Pardongate
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Fight the Power
When something called the Child Rape Protection Act passes by a margin of 106 votes to 9, you'd think that discussion would be minimal. That wasn't the case last week when House lawmakers spent more than four hours locking horns over the proposal, sponsored by Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, in its first floor debate of the session.
In Their Words: Jason Moffitt
The JFP is featuring the stories of some of the people Gov. Haley Barbour pardoned, in their own words.
Hood Decries "Sunshine Act"
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood cried foul this afternoon on the less-than-sunshiney manner in which the House Sunshine Act was introduced and passed out of committee in less than 18 hours. Hood said he didn't even get a chance to read the bill that would usurp some of his constitutional rights as the state's chief legal officer because he was up until 2 a.m. preparing briefs for the Thursday Supreme Court hearing about Pardongate.