News

LeGrand: Mental Health Cuts ‘Devastating'

Read the Letter (PDF)

Development Roundup: JRA Eyes Farish, Delays on Arena

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority's Oct. 27 board meeting saw few major steps forward but many hints at future projects.

PEER Questions Funding

The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review is warning against the likelihood of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board funding a lake or similar impoundment for flood control in the Pearl River.

Lessons From Texas?

The Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District can take a lesson from Fort Worth, Texas, Waggoner Engineering owner Joe Waggoner said at the Oct. 27 Levee Board meeting.

Convention Hotel Waits on Financing

It's been a little over a month since the Jackson Redevelopment Authority passed a resolution to issue up to $95 million in bonds for the proposed convention center hotel complex, but the project's developers are still trying to get a financial structure in place for the development to move forward.

The Tragic Case of the Scott Sisters

Jamie and Gladys Scott arrived at the Mini Mart gas station on Highway 35 in Forest, Miss., sometime between 10:30 and 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve 1993. It was just after Johnny Ray Hayes and Mitchell Duckworth had stopped in to purchase beer and gas after getting off work at McCarty Farms.

Entergy: Global Warming Threatens Coast

Entergy Corp. says the Mississippi Gulf Coast will suffer $370 billion in losses to global warming if power companies do not offset the amount of carbon they are putting into the environment.

Stopping the Swap

Hinds County's interest-rate swap won't always be the gift that keeps on giving. The fancy financial derivative deal has brought the county $4.4 million over four years thanks to historically low interest rates, county financial adviser Porter Bingham says. With the national economy on a glacially slow but eventual rise, though, the county may have the opportunity to end its swap with a profit, before interest rates begin climbing again in earnest.

Dr. Shirley Schlessinger

When Dr. Shirley Schlessinger was a young medical student at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, an encounter with a patient who desperately needed a transplant became the catalyst for devoting her career to organ recovery.

Mississippi Republicans Make Gains in Congress

Two Mississippi Blue Dog Democrats lost their seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in yesterday's midterm elections.

Design Competition; New Jobs; Biz Workshops

Mississippi State University's Jackson Community Design Center hosts "FORMcities: Urban/Divide Design Competition and Symposium" Nov. 4 through Nov. 6 in downtown Jackson. During the design competition, participants will select a site in Jackson and create a model of what that site could look like in 2100 using drawings, text and a plan for implementation. While the deadline has already passed to participate in the design competition, the public can register for the three-day event online.

Harvey Walden IV

Wearing military fatigues and shouting into his megaphone, Harvey Walden IV isn't afraid to push Hollywood celebrities to the limit. As the trainer on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," Walden uses his 23 years of experience as a Marine to help celebrities get in shape.

Henry Clay

Henry C. Clay III has been a part-time judge for a long time. Clay, 52, has served as a Jackson municipal court judge for the past 16 years, while simultaneously running a solo general litigation practice in Ridgeland. Clay is one of two challengers for the Hinds County Court seat currently occupied by Judge Houston Patton.

Get Your Vote On: Open Election Thread

Area polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight for voters to elect county and circuit court judges and send their candidates to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mississippi Pols Predict Blue Dog Defeat

Mississippi politicos today predicted big election wins for Republican candidates running against Mississippi conservative Democrats in the congressional elections, but expected few gains from Congress if Republicans took control.

Hinds Election Feud Heats Up

A spat between Hinds County Election Commissioners spilled over into a county Board of Supervisors meeting today, with suggestions of voting machine tampering and possibly compromised elections. With elections scheduled for tomorrow, District 2 Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves told the board that a conflict between her and the commission's chief machine technician made it impossible for her to be certain that the elections would proceed fairly.

Council to Push for Permanent Tourism Bureau

The Jackson City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a resolution asking the state Legislature to support a law that would make future re-authorizations of the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau unnecessary.

Sean Sullivan

Sean Sullivan hopes to change federal border and trade policies by organizing a photography exhibit on the harmful environmental affects and habit disruptions from a newly constructed U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Community Events and Public Meetings

6 p.m., Jackson Touchdown Club Meeting at River Hills Country Club (3600 Ridgewood Road). Members of the athletic organization meet weekly during the football season and have access to meals, fellowship and the chance to listen to speakers from around the country. This week's speaker is Dan Mullen, head football coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. $280 individual membership, $1200 corporate membership; call 601-955-5293 or 601-506-3186.

Barbour Advocates Cutting U.S. Budget Despite Aid

Despite the federal government's role in helping Mississippi shore up the state budget, Gov. Haley Barbour touted the GOP's promise to cut $100 billion out of the federal budget on the "Early Show" this morning.

Polling Numbers for Thompson-Marcy Race Skewed?

Read the poll

Thompson Retains Advantage in Second District

Second Congressional District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson has the financial edge on campaign contributions and political action committee money this year as he cruises into the November elections against his Republican candidate and Tea Party member Bill Marcy.

Court Overturns Fulgham Death Sentence

The Mississippi Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for Kristi Fulgham and ordered a new sentencing hearing for her 2003 murder conviction. The court issued a decision yesterday finding that the trial court erred by preventing a social worker from testifying about Fulgham's background as mitigation evidence.

Chad King

Standing on stage wearing a sparkly corset, a pearl necklace and glossy red lipstick, Chad King is the quintessential Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Fondren Theater Workshop's "The Rocky Horror Show."

It's the Weekend: Boo!

Halloween weekend is packed full of festive events, costume contests and parties. Tonight, join the Jackson Bike Advocates for the second-annual Halloween Community Bike Ride. Meet for the eight-mile ride at 6 p.m. in the Rainbow Grocery parking lot. Costumes, helmets and bike lights are encouraged. Tonight also marks the inaugural Mississippi International Film Festival at the Russell C. Davis Planetarium (201 E. Pascagoula St.). The festival includes international film screenings, and live music. Tonight's films feature a tribute to India and the blues. Tickets range from $5 to $20. Call 601-665-7737 for information or visit http://www.mississippifilmfest.com for a complete schedule and to purchase tickets. To support a worthy cause, head to Pink Friday at Suite 106 (106 Wilmington St.), at 9 p.m. for free food and live entertainment and. All proceeds from the door and a percentage of sold bottles of wine go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research; a $10 donation is suggested. For more events this weekend, check out the JFP Events Calendar for all the weekend happenings.

Officials Aware of Cement Flaws Before Spill

The cement fixture Halliburton officials used to seal the bottom of a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico did not meet industry standards, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Service Cuts Worry Disabled

Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities representatives are concerned that a private company's reduction of vehicles means fewer options for disabled citizens who need transportation to doctor's appointments, grocery stores and other daily errands in the Jackson metro.

Hosemann, Hood Push Pre-K Education

Early childhood education is central to safeguarding Mississippi's economic future agreed Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood in separate speeches today. The two officials' comments, coming during the Mississippi Economic Council's annual Hob Nob event, are indicative of growing, bipartisan support for pre-kindergarten.

Andy Muchin

Andy Muchin didn't expect to spend his life researching and writing about his Jewish heritage, but his experiences working at a Jewish community newspaper in Wisconsin became the catalyst for a life-long passion.

Smoking Ban Decreases Heart Attacks

The city of Hattiesburg decreased heart attacks by 13 percent since passing a city-wide smoking ban in 2007, a Mississippi State University study released yesterday found.

Ellington