News

‘It Can Be in Ward 3'

Jackson needs more investment in businesses and needs it quick. That's how Albert Wilson, who is running for the Ward 3 City Council seat, thinks the city can boost both its tax base and the number of opportunities for its citizens.

Welcome to the Terrordome

Just before the Senate convened on Monday, a young lawmaker tried to jam a fistful of blue and white pieces of paper into an already overstuffed bill box.

deborah Rae Wright

deborah Rae Wright, who doesn't capitalize her first name, has lived in an early 20th-century home on west Jackson's Grand Avenue for 11 years. The 59-year-old lives with her current companion, a well-behaved cairn terrier (think Toto) named Zach, whom she rescued a few years ago.

MDOC Handbook: No Killers in Guv's Mansion

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood will ask a circuit court judge on Jan. 23 to invalidate the pardons of at least 10 felons whom ex-Gov. Haley Barbour granted clemency before leaving office.

Elections Flap Results in New Voting Machines

Jimmie Lewis got fired today. About 20 minutes later, the Hinds County emergency operations director got his job back.

Lowest Tax Burden

Mississippi residents have the lowest tax burden in the nation. Mississippi Development Authority was quick to spread this news.

Shirley Williams

Shirley Williams, executive director of the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, is preparing her organization to face a 31 percent funding reduction in 2012 after Congress recently voted to reduce funding to legal-aid programs.

Criminalizing Kids for Being Kids

Just as I'm finishing a story on the harm zero-tolerance policies have done to school children, I hear that Sen. Sampson Jackson II has introduced a bill in the Legislature that would require certain appropriate conduct from public school students.

Dems React to Pardongate

Haley Barbour's granting clemency to more than 200 people precipitated so much fallout that there's now fallout to the fallout.

Growing MLK's Community

In an empty lot next to a BP gas station on Northside Drive, Erika Roberts pointed to a few tall twigs poking out of the muddy ground, almost indistinguishable from surrounding grass. They don't look much like an orchard, but soon they will be blackberry bushes, blueberry bushes and muscadine vines.

John W. Franklin

For 24 years, John W. Franklin has worked to preserve African American history at the Smithsonian Institution. Last week, Jackson State University's Margaret Walker Center honored John W. Franklin with one of its annual For My People Awards.

Community Events and Public Meetings

7 p.m., Eat Jackson's Bread Pudding Throwdown, at Old Capitol Inn (226 N. State St.). The event includes a bread pudding contest, a gourmet coffee tasting, a bourbon tasting and door prizes. Raphael Semmes performs. Proceeds benefit the Proceeds benefit the Craig Noone "Rock It Out" Memorial Scholarship Fund. $40; visit eatjackson.com.

Dems Call for Bi-partisan Pardon Reform, Attack Barbour Apologists

This came last night, verbatim:

JACKSON-Rickey Cole, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party, praised Democrats in the legislature for their leadership in working to reform Mississippi's pardon process.Cole said, "Long before this media circus began, Democrats in the Mississippi House and Senate have been working to protect Mississippi families and improve our system of justice. This will mark the fourth straight year that Democrats have worked to bring openness and fairness to the pardon process. Republicans have killed these bills in the past. I hope they're finally ready to join together in a bipartisan consensus to do what is right and what the people demand."

Barbour Releases Long Statement: ‘I'm Not Infallable'

Gov. Haley Barbour's office just sent this statement in response to the state and national outcry over his pardons and grants of clemency. It is reprinted here verbatim:

BREAKING: AG Hood Announces Pardon Findings, Serves Notice

Barbour Watch Archive

Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers

Lumumba: Jackson Needs a New Culture

Jackson has an opportunity to form a new culture--the sum total of its people's lives--that covers not just music and history, but economic development and political goals, Ward 2 City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba said this morning at Koinonia Coffee House's Friday Forum. Lumumba said Jackson is undergoing a cultural change driven by changing demographics, as the city gains a higher percentage of black, progressive white, Hispanic and Indian residents.

Animal Planet to Feature Local Pets

Animal Planet's new show "Confessions: Animal Hoarding" will feature a local Mississippian tonight who had taken in numerous dogs, cats and even 12 pet rats.

Stalking: It's No Joke

The night I finished the story of Adrienne Klasky's murder, I felt as if my safe, stable life had disappeared. Klasky's killer, Michael Graham, had stalked Adrienne for about three years prior to murdering her in cold blood. Haley Barbour suspended Graham's sentence in 2008. He was out. Would he come gunning for me?

Hosemann Releases Barbour's Pardon Orders

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office released the full pack of executive orders former Gov. Haley Barbour issued to pardon or suspend the sentences of more than 200 people in the state. The documents provide some insight into Barbour's rationale for making each. Follow the Jackson Free Press' coverage of Pardongate here.

Green Stops Pardons; Barbour Explains, Sort of

Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers

Mississippi: Not That Bad

Despite its persistent reputation as first-in-everything-worst, Mississippi isn't nearly as hopeless as it thinks it is, a new report finds. Compared to other states with similar economies, Mississippi ranks high in entrepreneurial activity, personal-income growth and the least violent crime.

Why Not the Scott Sisters?

After former Gov. Haley Barbour pardoned more than 200 people at the end of his term earlier this week, supporters of Jamie and Gladys Scott say they don't know why the sisters weren't also given full pardons.

Noise Pollutes Downtown Residences

Joanie Thompson, a longtime resident of 736 S. President St., can't sleep at night from a throbbing loud bass that rattles her windows. It starts about 10 p.m. most nights and can go until 3 a.m. She knows exactly where the noise is coming from: Club Magoo's, 824 S. State St.

Personhood Heads to the Capitol

Just over a week into the legislative session, we're already seeing some movement on "personhood" bills, to define when human life and legal protections begin, similar to Initiative 26, which voters turned down in November.

Anthony Dixon

A large portion of Mississippi will root for the New Orleans Saints this Saturday. Certainly, the residents of the capital city will hope that Drew Brees and company win the franchise first road playoff game.

Barbour Finally Addresses Pardons; Insults Mississippians

Statement from the Office of Former Gov. Haley Barbour

Lobbyist and former Gov. Haley Barbour finally addressed the firestorm around his 200+ pardons last night in an email statement. Here it is, verbatim; please read my comments below it:

Capturing the Magic: Brice Media

When Charles Brice was overseas in 2008, he and his wife, Talamieka, joked on the phone one day. He was toying with the idea of quitting the Army after five years working as a photojournalist and starting a company to focus on photography and graphic design. He didn't know it, but Talamieka was writing everything down.

AG: Barbour ‘Abused' Office With Pardons

Update 8:26 p.m.: Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green has granted Attorney General Hood's injunction, saying, "There is a substantial likelihood of success ..." in the case of Hood's challenges to the constitutionality of some of former Governor Barbour's pardons. Download the fax from the AG's office (PDF, 37k).

City to Settle Willis Case

The City of Jackson is closer to settling the Cedric Willis case. The City Council could vote as soon as Jan. 24 to give Willis $195,000 for his wrongful arrest for murder and rape.

First Week Light on Substance

On a mild but drizzly afternoon that forced planned inauguration ceremonies indoors, Phil Bryant took the reins of Mississippi government.

Ellington