Beau Phillips
A former Tupelo police officer, Beau Phillips knows how difficult it can be to support a family. After working a 12-hour night shift, he would often change his uniform and go straight to his second job as school security officer.
Hood Warns of IRS E-mail Scams
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood issued a consumer alert yesterday warning taxpayers of an e-mail scam where the perpetrators pose as official Internal Revenue Service e-mailers to obtain personal and financial information. Hood said that the IRS does not send e-mails to taxpayers to inform them of refunds or to request financial information.
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
Mississippians will vote next fall on a constitutional amendment to require photo identification at the polls. In a press conference this afternoon, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann accepted petitions for a ballot initiative on voter ID for the Nov. 2011 statewide general election. Voter ID proponents collected approximately 131,000 signatures in support of the initiative, Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, told the Jackson Free Press today. State law requires at least 89,285 signatures to place an initiative on the ballot.
Court to Review Panel Decision on Global Warming Suit
A recent U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision could undermine Gulf Coast resident's efforts to hold oil companies responsible for causing global warming and contributing to Hurricane Katrina's damage.
Daniel Fuller
Forest Hill High School teacher Daniel Fuller was teaching Advanced Placement literature last week, when Jackson Public Schools District Superintendent Lonnie Edwards, faculty members and several TV camera crews entered his classroom to deliver some unexpected news: The district named Fuller, 34, JPS teacher of the year.
Community Events and Public Meetings
8:30 a.m., MINCAP Business Session, at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.). The group will meet in the Community Meeting Room. Open to the public. Call 601-982-8467.
Lawmakers Debate Alternate Education Track
General classroom goals for high-school students, in Mississippi and elsewhere, emphasize pushing kids toward four-year college degrees. Some Magnolia state lawmakers are now looking at introducing a career-track curriculum for the many teens who may not be college bound, reports The Sun Herald.
White Sorority Wins Step-Off
This year, Zeta Tau Alpha won a step-off that was sponsored by Sprite. The footage was taken by an audience member, so the camera angle is a little off, but take a look at the video (almost 10 minutes):
Open Meetings Law Facing Death
Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, said he is disappointed with House members for weakening his open meetings act this week. In its original form, Senate Bill 2373 would have increased fines for violations of public-meetings laws up to $1,000 and placed the fines on individual violators. Currently, state law places a $500 fine on governing bodies for open-meetings law violations.
Heather Henson
When Heather Henson was a young girl, she would spend her time creating art projects inspired by her father Jim Henson's magical creatures and movie sets.
Neighborhood Grill to Replace Tye's
For the past two years, Tye's Restaurant and Bar in the Plaza Building on Congress street served as an after-work meeting place for professionals and fine-dining favorite among locals.
Help Youth Media Project! Here's PayPal link for Friendship Ball!
It's time for another huge party in downtown Jackson. And this time, you can help the Youth Media Project grow and bring kids from throughout the metro together in a positive way. Just click here to buy your ticket(s) for the Jackson 2000 Friendship Ball Saturday night, and every dime you pay goes to help the young people have a room to work in, get supplies, buy videotapes and other equipment, and even buy snacks for their after-school and Saturday meetings. Jackson 2000 chose the Youth Media Project one of three Friendship Ball receipt recipients this year, and they work in an office (previously donated) connected to the JFP. This is an incredible group of young people, and you can read more about them and their goals on their Web site here. The group is sponsored by the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, the Mississippi Youth Justice Project, the Jackson State Mass Communications Department and the Jackson Free Press.
Jackson Kicks Off the Great American Cleanup
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., and representatives from Keep Jackson Beautiful and Transformation Jackson kick off a campaign to beautify the city this morning. Great American Cleanup volunteers will meet tomorrow at Jackson State University to participate in day one of the three-month event.
Social Media Mayhem
As a 38-year-old, I am fairly new to this social media craze. MySpace was first and that was ok, but I still didn't understand what was so addictive about social media. Then I was introduced to FaceBook while, of all things, I was on vacation. You know, at the beach, clearing my head, getting away from it all. Well, the friend I was on vacation with introduced me to the Facebook game that is a takeoff (cheap word for copyright infringement) of Scrabble®. The exact name escapes me because of my age. This is where my fascination, errr, addiction began. If we weren't lying out on the beach, we were waiting on the next move from each other. I was hooked.
Fondren Crime Meeting Turns to ‘Healing'
A standing-room-only crowd gathered at Sneaky Beans coffee shop on Tuesday evening to voice concerns about crime in the Fondren neighborhood and to hear crime-prevention tips from law enforcement officials. The community meeting, sparked by fears of crime, has morphed into an effort to organize the surrounding community.
Wins, Losses for School Appropriations
The House and Senate agreed to restore about $37 million to K-12 education in a this week following Gov. Haley Barbour's veto of a budget reconciliation bill that would have restored $79 million in cuts to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and district attorney's offices.
Mary Hill
When Mary Hill found out first lady Michelle Obama was coming to Jackson, she rolled up her sleeves and started getting ready.
Lawmakers Attempt to Restore $82 Million to 2010 Budget
The Mississippi Legislature has sent a second budget reconciliation compromise to Gov. Haley Barbour, this time restoring $82 million of the cuts the governor has made this fiscal year. Barbour vetoed a previous attempt to reconcile $79 million, saying the proposal took too much from the state's savings and restored too little to the Department of Corrections.
Anita's 2010 Oscar Picks
The red carpet rolls out on Sunday, which happens to land smack dab in the middle of the International Documentary Challenge (www.docchallenge.org). For me, that means it will be a weekend of multi-tasking like a champ, and for most women, particularly those with a brood of kids, we do this with relative ease. (That's my mantra and I'm sticking to it.) If the editing system breaks down or there are other snafus on the doc front, I know I can kick back on Sunday and enjoy Oscar time.
Obama Energizes Students
For several hours the students at Brinkley Middle School waited anxiously inside their school's auditorium for First Lady Michelle Obama to enter the building this afternoon. When Obama arrived, along with Gov. Haley Barbour and his wife Marsha, the students--many waving handmade signs--cheered widely.