Biography of a Bomb
On July 24, 1945, President Harry Truman approached Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and told him the United States had developed a "new and powerful weapon." After years of deceiving their Soviet allies, the Americans confessed that they had successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb the week before.
A Compromise Lake Plan?
Read Mississippi Engineering Group's Report (PDF)
Good Space
Whether it's inside our homes, at our workplaces or where we spend our free time, our environments have a big impact on our quality of life. In order to change and improve our city and all the spaces that we touch and inhabit, it's important to evaluate them and seek out innovative ways to improve them.
Say Cheese … Cake, That Is
Every year as the temperatures rise and the Easter baskets start appearing, I find myself obsessing over cheesecakes.
Coping with a Busted Bracket
In the middle of the most exciting March Madness in recent memory, you tipped over your Abita Turbodog and nacho cheese. Your NCAA bracket, patiently researched and completed, is now covered in a gooey coat of Rotel dip. You lovingly scrape away the damage to find … devastation.
The Best In Sports In 7 Days
Men's college basketball, NIT championship, teams TBD (6 p.m., ESPN): If Ole Miss wins on Tuesday, the Rebels will play North Carolina or Rhode Island in the title game.
Police Foundation Eyeing SafeCity Role
As the watchdog group SafeCity closes today citing financial issues, the police advocacy group Jackson Police Foundation, Inc., is contemplating a more active role in the city.
TALK Dance Goes Global
Eight dancers leap and bound across the floor, hitting the ground lightly before flying up again. A young girl effortlessly launches over the head of her partner.
Phil Reed
The soft-spoken, polite 60-year-old man enjoyed his homemade vanilla ice cream at the Fourth of July picnic in Crystal Springs. With his wry smile and informal stance, it was easy to see him as a former pastor. I had no idea when I met him two years ago that this avid runner is the president and chief executive officer of Voice of Calvary Ministries.
Unemployment Nears 24 Percent in Some Counties
Five Mississippi counties reported jobless rates exceeding 20 percent in February, with Noxubee and Holmes counties edging toward a quarter of their populations collecting unemployment benefits; the counties reported rates of 23.3 and 23.1 percent unemployment, respectively. The other three counties are Winston (22.1 [percent), Clay (21.6 percent) and Tunica (21.1 percent).
2011 Will Bring New Businesses Near King Edward
A sluggish economy has pushed back a completion date on the re-development of buildings across Capitol Street from the King Edward Hotel, developer Jason Goree told the Jackson Free Press yesterday. Goree said that he had hoped to complete renovations and fill the four buildings by December 2010, but those plans have been pushed back for spring 2011.
Lee Unger
When Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. appointed Lee A. Unger to serve as the director of the city's department of administration last week, the mayor told Jackson City Council Finance Committee members that Unger's experience and strong record of financial management impressed him.
JPD Probing Irby Crash Investigation
The Jackson Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of one of its own officers' work in reconstructing a Feb. 11, 2009, car crash that took the lives of two Jackson doctors. Karen Irby, wife of Jackson businessman Stuart Irby, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter Friday for her role in the collision. Irby admitted that she had drunk two glasses of wine that night before speeding in her Mercedes-Benz down Old Canton Road, where it collided with a pickup truck carrying Dr. Mark Pogue and Dr. Lisa Dedousis. Stuart Irby was injured in the crash and did not testify in his wife's trial.
[Balko] Progress and Challenges in Mississippi
Last week Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed House Bill 1456, which would require anyone conducting autopsies in the state to be certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology. The bill was a response to an effort last year by the state's coroners to incorporate themselves into independent districts for the purpose of circumventing existing state law when it comes to death investigations. Specifically, several coroners and district attorneys wanted to bring back disgraced medical examiner Steven Hayne to begin performing autopsies for them again.
Jackson Behind on Census
The city of Jackson is behind the curve in returning 2010 census forms to the Census Bureau. Nationally, 46 percent of households have returned the forms, while Jackson is trailing with only 31 percent returned, one of the lowest rates in the country, according to the bureau.
House Votes to Expand Unemployment Benefits
More Mississippians could qualify for unemployment insurance under a bill the Mississippi House of Representatives passed Saturday. The Senate adjourned hours before the vote, meaning the Legislature will not bring up H. B. 1755 and 1756 until the Senate returns April 20. But the House vote suggests that both Republicans and Democrats may finally be on board with a bill that re-authorizes the Mississippi Department of Employment Security while drawing down more federal stimulus money.
Mimi's Brings Breakfast to Fondren
The growing Fondren restaurant scene has a new option for breakfast: Mimi's Family and Friends. Jackson natives Linda and Jim Burwell opened Mimi's last Friday. The Burwells live next door to the location, and Linda had eyed the former service station at the corner of North State and Hartfield streets for over a year.
Brent Hendrixson
Millsaps biology professor Dr. Brent Hendrixson's fascination with eight-legged crawling creatures started when he was a child and is now taking him to places like Costa Rica for research.
Community Events and Public Meetings
UMC Blood Drive., at University of Mississippi Medical Center (2500 N. State St.). Mississippi Blood Services will take donations. Please bring ID. Call 888-902-5663. Donate at these locations and times:
Barbour Rips Media over Health Care
It's the "liberal media elite" that is to blame for passage of the health-care bill, according to Gov. Haley Barbour. Speaking on ABC's "This Week" yesterday, Barbour insinuated that media coverage has been uncritical and biased, reports The Hill.