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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.

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Charging for Inexperience

As a dozen experienced journalists at The Clarion-Ledger weigh the pros and cons of taking an early retirement, the daily newspaper's parent company wants to start charging for online content.

Senate Passes Sunshine Act

The Senate has just voted to pass the Sunshine Act, SB 2084. If it becomes law, the act would allow state agencies to bypass the attorney general's office and choose their own attorneys.

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.

Santorum Wins Miss. Primary

Rick Santorum won a close race in yesterday's primary, with the other two Republican presidential candidates falling behind him by only a few thousand votes.

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Old Capitol Green to Break Ground in June

Full Spectrum NY plans to break ground by the end of June of this year on a mixed-used development at the location of the Old Capitol Green (119 N. State Street).

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Biz Roundup: Wireless Gets Faster

C Spire Wireless, a Ridgeland-based cell-phone service provider, plans to offer the latest generation of broadband service, dubbed, 4G LTE mobile broadband services, starting in September.

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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.

Voter ID: What's All the Fuss About?

The voter identification amendment that Mississippians voted in last fall has been generating some discussion on our site the past couple of days. Specifically the debate has centered around comments from Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson, who said recently that voter ID will disenfranchise college students, seniors and blue-collar workers in rural areas.

Primary Polls Open Today

Both Democratic and Republican candidates are hoping for decisive wins in today's primary elections.

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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.

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‘They Do Not Speak for Me'

When she was 18 years old, Ashley Sigrest was raped and got an abortion. Now a mother of three, Sigrest volunteers with Personhood Mississippi and hopes to outlaw abortion in Mississippi.

Kendra Preer

Living three states away from Jackson didn't stop Kendra Preer from getting a doctoral degree from a Jackson university. Preer commuted from Ohio to Jackson State University once a month to earn an executive Ph.D. in urban higher education.

Personhood Mississippi to Push for Amendment Again

Personhood Mississippi president Les Riley announced yesterday that the group will begin another petition drive to put a personhood initiative back on the ballot.

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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.

Free Document Shredding Available

Mississippians will get a free chance to protect themselves from identity theft today and tomorrow when the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Better Business Bureau, BancorpSouth and CredAbility host their Sixth Annual Shred Days.

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City Breaks Ground on Upgrade to Water System

The city broke ground Wednesday on a new water-storage tank to replace Jackson's only well system still in use. Once the project is finished, southwest Jackson residents will join the rest of the city in using a surface water system.

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Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis was named Parade Magazine Player of the Year in 2005, his senior year at Lanier High School. Named to nearly every all-star squad and given nearly every award possible, Ellis was one of Mississippi's most celebrated basketball stars ever.

GOP Candidates Make Stops in Jackson

With less than a week left before next Tuesday's primary election, several Republican candidates are making stops in Mississippi while on the campaign trail.

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.

New School Planned for West Jackson

Plans for a new elementary school in west Jackson are nearing completion. The new school, which will be built at 1520 W. Capitol St., will replace Barr and Poindexter elementary schools.

Reforms Coming to Henley-Young

Children entering Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center will now get a mental-health evaluation and counseling at the beginning of their stay, a significant change from recent practices. Youth incarcerated at the Hinds County detention facility will also have better rehabilitation options, input from family and advocates, and more time outside their cells.

[Tech Talk] Hacking Education

Let's take a little diversion from talking about hardware, software and tech companies this week. All the recent discussion about charter schools and virtual charter schools got me thinking about the role technology does and should play in education of our children.

Hacking Education

Let's take a little diversion from talking about hardware, software and tech companies this week. All the recent discussion about charter schools and virtual charter schools got me thinking about the role technology does and should play in education of our children.

On the Primary Ballots

Born in Hawaii, Barack Obama attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School and worked as community organizer, constitutional lawyer and professor. He served three terms in the Illinois Senate and one term in the U.S. Senate where he served from 2005 to 2008. He became the 44th U.S. president in 2008. He is unopposed for the Democratic nomination for president in Mississippi.

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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.

Cooper-Stokes Making Waves

Newly minted Ward 3 Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes walked into the City Council chambers at City Hall on Friday ready to make changes. The first thing she noticed was that council members' chairs had been rearranged since her last visit.

Duckworth Finalizes Bid for Eastover ‘District'

A deal to redevelop the old Mississippi School for the Blind site is finally coming to fruition.

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