News

[Tech Talk] Don't Be Evil

There was a time when Google represented that feeling you got watching Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie do battle with The Man in "Hackers" or Ryan Phillippe go toe-to-toe with Tim Robbins' corporate tech mogul in "Antitrust."

Don't Be Evil

There was a time when Google represented that feeling you got watching Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie do battle with The Man in "Hackers" or Ryan Phillippe go toe-to-toe with Tim Robbins' corporate tech mogul in "Antitrust."

App2Love

If you own or manage a small business, chances are you're dreading this week's end-of-January tax filings.

Beneta Burt: Proof in Experience

Beneta Burt stays so busy as executive director of the Jackson Roadmap to Health Equity Project that she didn't think she would have time to run for City Council. After several phone calls from supporters in Ward 3, however, she considered it seriously.

Kristen Ley

Wearing white, paint-splattered pants and a French beret and holding a painting palette, 5-year-old Kristen Ley decided she wanted to be an artist. Her mom had dressed her up as one for career day. "I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't doing art," Ley says.

How much have wages changed for Mississippians in the past decade?

This morning, the Mississippi Economic Policy Center released a report on the State of Working Mississippi in 2012, showing how wages, education levels and other factors have changed in Mississippi's work force over the past decade.

Charter Schools on the Way?

While new legislation is just now beginning to roll out at the state capitol, education advocates and lawmakers are talking about potential bills to lower the requirements for traditional public schools to become charter schools.

Pardongate's Fancy Lawyer Tricks

Much like the Haley Barbour pardons that caused a firestorm in Mississippi and around the country, lawyers for many of those who received clemency deluged the Mississippi attorney general and a judge with last-minute motions days and hours before a Jan. 23 hearing on the constitutionality of the reprieves.

Rep. Moak Responds to Bryant SOTS

Democratic Response to State of the State

State Rep. Bobby Moak, of Bogue Chitto, gave the Democratic response to Gov. Phil Bryant's state-of-the-state speech. Here's the text of Moak's remarks:

Bryant Makes 1st State of State (Full Text)

Governor Phil Bryant

Gov. Phil Bryant delivered his state-of-the-state address this evening at the Captiol. Supporters and admirers heralded the speech as the first in the Mississippi history to take place outdoors.

Don't Fall Off Cliff, House Told

What seemed like a hundred House Appropriations Committee members, their staff members and others crammed into a room built for half that number this morning at the Capitol to sift through a telephone book-size legislative budget report.

Mimi's to Close

After almost two years in Fondren, Mimi's Family and Friends (3139 N. State St.) will close at the end of next month.

Doris Jones

Oral storytelling is the oldest form of media and entertainment in human society. Since the introduction of spoken language, man has entertained, educated and informed with stories told from generation to generation.

Hinds Judge Grants Extension in Pardon Case

This afternoon, Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green postponed a hearing on whether to strike down reprieves former Gov. Haley Barbour granted on his final days in office. On Jan. 12 Green issued a temporary restraining order to stop the more than 200 pardons from moving forward and ordered five former inmates who worked in the governor's mansion to show proof they complied a constitutional requirement to file public notice.

Zero Tolerance for Children

Nsombi Lambright, executive director of ACLU Mississippi, doesn't bother going to her son's school anymore for lunch. She tried it as a way to connect with him, offer support for the school and show other students that adults care. But something wasn't right.

NOAA: 2011 Saw U.S. ‘Climate Extremes'

It was very hot last year. In fact, 2011 broke records for climate extremes, as the U.S. battled historic levels of heat, precipitation, flooding and severe weather, according to scientists from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Community Events and Public Meetings

Free Income Tax Return Preparation Jan. 23-24, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), at the College of Business, rooms 201 and 202. The Center for Business Development and Economic Research, and the Accounting Society offer the service from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Free; call 601-979-2029 or 601-979-2699.

Barbour Pardons Helped Many More White People Than Black Ones

I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but it's official: Haley Barbour's last-minute pardons overwhelmingly benefitted whites. A Reuters team, including stringer and JFP political freelancer Robbie Ward, analyzed the race of the criminals on the list and found that although black peoplerepresent more than two-thirds of MIssissippi's prison population, fewer than a third of Barbour's pardonees were black:

Gunn Pulls Trigger on Committees

Now nearing the end of the third week of the Mississippi legislative session, House Speaker Phillip Gunn, R-Clinton, made his long-awaited announcement this morning of who's going to head up which committees in that chamber.

MSU Seeks Diversity

Mississippi State University wants to increase diversity in its faculty, students and alumni. While the school has added more blacks and more women leaders, at least one administrator recognizes that the university has room for more.

Jarvis Summers

Ole Miss was on a three-game losing streak to Mississippi State at home in C. M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum. The Rebels were on a six-game losing streak overall to their in-state rival Bulldogs.

HOOD: 156 of Barbour's Pardons Did Not Meet Legal Rules

Attorney General Jim Hood this evening released his latest findings about Gov. Haley Barbour's barrage of last-minute pardons. This is verbatim statement from Hood:

Why He Did it: Barbour Gives Rationale in WaPo

In a Washington Post op-ed published today, Haley Barbour defended clemency pleas he granted in the waning hours of his governorship. He said that the ensuing controversy stemmed from people not knowing the difference between clemency and letting people out of jail.

Reeves: No Significant Increase in FY13 Revenue

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves today said state revenue in Fiscal Year 2013 will not increase significantly, reflecting the financial difficulties Mississippi's economy may experience in the next several fiscal years."Economic recovery hasn't hit Main Street, and Mississippi families and businesses continue to struggle," Lt. Gov. Reeves said. "The economic outlook for the state reflects these challenges, and state agencies will have to continue to learn to be more efficient with less money."

House Burglaries Plague South Jackson

Read the full report here. (pdf 553 KB)

Jenirro Bush

Jenirro Bush entered this season as the lone returning senior for the Jackson State Tigers. The young JSU team needed to lean on Bush to help them win basketball games.

Rape Victim: Fix the System

A rape victim asked Gov. Haley Barbour why he was allowing her rapist out on furlough. His answer may surprise you. Or maybe not.

Personhood: No Means No

Lysistrata had a plan to end the 20-year Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. In the year 411 B.C., she gathered women in the warring region together for an important meeting. Then she told them her simple plan for a peace treaty: The women would withhold sex until the men decided to end the war.

Business Bookshelf

If you are considering starting your own business, or have already started one, get yourself a copy of the classic "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael Gerber (HarperCollins, 1995, $18.99) to learn how to sustain it.

Pushing Kids Out

Feeding the 'Cradle-to-Prison' Pipeline

Drodriquez Williams watched the news that night about the twin towers at the World Trade Center collapsing Sept. 11, 2001. It shocked the 9-year-old boy. Every time he saw the footage of the collapsing skyscrapers in New York City, he felt the need to do something grow deeper.

Ellington