News

Hinds Officials Seeking Pay Raises

Two Hinds County officials are requesting salary increases for selected employees, despite a tight county budget. Tax Collector Eddie Fair and County Attorney Sherri Flowers are scheduled to request the raises for their employees at this morning's meeting of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.

ACLU Fights Prom Cancellation

To help protect teen Constance McMillen's decision to bring her girlfriend to the prom, the Mississippi ACLU will file an injunction next week to prevent the Itawamba County School District from canceling the school's prom. The district's school board announced the cancellation of the dance, previously scheduled for April 2, on Wednesday, March 10.

Can Cannon Nissan Revive I-20 Corridor?

Michael Joe Cannon sees opportunity to revive business in the Interstate 20 corridor that parallels Raymond Road in Jackson, recently backing up his beliefs by opening a new Nissan dealership near the former Deuce McAlister Nissan, which closed last year.

Derek Emerson

Of all the dishes that Walker's Drive-In serves to its customers, Chef Derek Emerson says that tuna is his personal favorite. "It has to do with the way I created it," the James Beard Best Chef nominee says. "I like tuna, and I love working with it."

Ceara Sturgis' Mother Speaks Out on Prom Cancellation

Veronica Rodriguez, the outspoken mother of Wesson Attendance Center student Ceara Sturgis, a lesbian, says that the Itawamba School District is mistreating senior Constance McMillen by cancelling the high school prom rather than allowing her to attend with her girlfriend. "They knew what they were doing when they canceled the prom," Rodriguez said Thursday about the Itawamba school district's decision. "They're trying to make that girl some kind of exile. They're trying to turn her whole class against her so they'll pressure her to drop her case."

Luckett to Speak in Jackson Friday

Clarksdale attorney and 2011 candidate for governor Bill Luckett will speak at Koinonia Coffee House in Jackson Friday morning. Luckett, who announced his candidacy in September, is the featured speaker at the 9 a.m. Friday Forum, a weekly series sponsored by west Jackson businessman Bill Cooley.

Clarion-Ledger Drops Stringfellow Column After First Lady Flap

Eric Stringfellow, who has worked with The Clarion-Ledger as a writer or editor since 1982, revealed today that the executive editor of the paper, Ronnie Agnew, has dropped his column. In an e-mail to Agnew, pasted verbatim below, Stringfellow accuses Agnew of dropping his column because he revealed that the paper had killed his column about first lady Michelle Obama's visit to Jackson. Agnew's short e-mail dismissing Stringfellow is also pasted below verbatim.

Gov. and Dems Play Blame Game

Gov. Haley Barbour and House Democrats are blaming each other for the Legislature's failure to re-authorize the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, an agency that provides workforce services and dispenses unemployment benefits.

Major Crimes Down; Up in Some Precincts

Major crimes in Jackson dropped 13.6 percent last week, according to statistics released today at a Jackson Police Department command staff meeting. Officers reported 142 total property crimes, down from 168 the week before, and 29 violent crimes, down from 30 the previous week.

Shahid Buttar

As a college student in Chicago, Shahid Buttar sometimes would fish his next meal out of a trashcan. Often sleeping on the streets or couch surfing, Buttar found solace in the electronic rhythm of house music.

Unemployment Tops 20 Percent in Four Counties

Nearly 155,000 Mississippians received unemployment benefits in January, with the state's unemployment rate for the first month of 2010 exceeding the national average. Four counties reported jobless rates in excess of 20 percent: Holmes and Noxubee counties both reported rates of 23.1 percent unemployment; Clay County reported 21.2 percent and Winston County 20.3 percent. The state's average rate is 12 percent, 1.4 percent higher than the national average of 10.6 percent.

Luckett, Candidate for Gov., to Speak in Jackson Friday

Clarksdale attorney and 2011 candidate for governor Bill Luckett will speak at Koinonia Coffee House in Jackson Friday morning. Luckett, who announced his candidacy in September, is the featured speaker at the 9 a.m. Friday Forum, a weekly series sponsored by west Jackson businessman Bill Cooley.

Appropriations and Pole-Dancing

The House and Senate agreed on a major appropriation bill last week, when negotiators came to terms on appropriations bill SB 2495, which restores $82 million to the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, including $37 million slated for K-12 public education. House and Senate negotiators reached an accord after Gov. Haley Barbour sliced more than $450 million from the 2010 budget.

Public Works, Private Profit

If Mississippi hadn't provided $15 million in bonds and another $20 million in loan guarantees last January to Schulz GMBH to build its pipe factory, some other state would have. In today's economic market, "tax incentives" is the game state and local governments must play to lure big corporate players to put roots down within their borders.

Charters and Quasi-Charters

The Mississippi Legislature's wrangling over charter schools intensified yesterday when the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize "innovative schools" but voted down a provision for actual charter schools.

Banking Locally

Joe Magee, 59, is a third-generation poultry and cattle farmer. His farm, located just outside Mendenhall, produces a little more than half a million chickens and around 100 head of beef cattle a year. Magee operates the farm with the help of his son and one employee.

Colin Blanchard

Colin Blanchard loves cycling so much that despite being hit by a car twice, he rides his bike every morning from his Belhaven home to his job at The Bike Rack on Lakeland Drive where he does bike repair and maintenance. Blanchard, 23, says that cycling is a huge part of his everyday life.

JPD Investigating Officer for Michelle Obama Comments

The Jackson Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of one of its officers for "conduct unbecoming of an officer" during First Lady Michelle Obama's visit last week, according to a department statement released yesterday.

Monsanto Breaks Ground on Corn-Breeding Station

Flora, Miss., was the site yesterday of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Monsanto Company, producer of 90 percent of the world's genetically engineered seeds. The new $2.4 million, 26,000-square-foot facility, a corn-breeding station, will eventually employ 10 full-time and 50 seasonal workers, Monsanto said in a release.

Council Steps Sideways on Civilian Review

The Jackson City Council approved a resolution today that represents an intermediate step toward establishing some form of civilian oversight of the Jackson Police Department. After months of deliberation in committee, the resolution calls for the creation of a "an independent community advocacy review process for police matters."

Entergy Customers Facing Rate Increase

Mississippi Public Utilities Staff Executive Director Bobby Waites says Entergy customers can expect a $10 million to $12 million rate increase this year.

[Balko] 4.5 SWAT Raids Per Day

During the last six months of 2009, police deployed SWAT teams oyed 804 times in the state of Maryland, or about 4.5 times per day. In Prince George's County alone, with its 850,000 residents, a SWAT team deployed about once per day. According to a Baltimore Sun analysis, 94 percent of the state's SWAT deployments to served search or arrest warrants, leaving just 6 percent in response to the kinds of barricades, bank robberies, hostage takings and emergency situations for which SWAT teams were originally intended.

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.

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.

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.

Ellington