News

House Voted to Sell Jet

On the Mississippi House list of ways to deal with the state's budget crunch is selling the state's jet used by Gov. Haley Barbour. Last week, House lawmakers voted to put the Cessna Citation, valued at about $2.7 million, on the auction block, reports Business Week.

Bill Advocates School Bus Ads

In a 94-21 vote last week, Mississippi House members voted to allow advertising on school buses as a measure to offset some of the state's budget belt-tightening, reports The Sun Herald. The bill imposes some restriction on the types of ads that would be allowed. Ads for alcohol, tobacco, junk food, and political and religious causes are banned.

Saints: Do It for Daddy

I hate driving down Woodrow Wilson in Jackson. Eventually, I'll come to the intersection where Veteran's Memorial Stadium stares out at me and forces my right turn signal. My car automatically circles the stadium, and I reminisce of years gone byyears when I was introduced to football.

Tribe Remembers Former Chief Phillip Martin

The following is a verbatim statement from Chief Miko Beasley Denson of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians:

Barbour Announces $21 Million More in Budget Cuts

Gov. Haley Barbour announced another round of state budget cuts totalling $21 million today. Today's cuts, which represent roughly 0.5 percent of the state budget, bring total cuts for the 2010 fiscal year to $458.5 million. The governor warned that this round of reductions was based on the highest of three different estimates of future tax revenues.

Kemper Coal Plant Hearing Draws Protest

A crowd of 100 piled into the chambers of the Mississippi Public Service Commission this morning, offering a variety of opinions in support or opposition to a proposed $2.4 billion coal gasification plant in Kemper County.

Jackson Businesses Ready For Super Bowl

What better way to spend Super Bowl Sunday than with an abundance of beer, bar food and emotionally charged football fanatics?

Lester Raymond Jones Jr.

Family and friends are searching for Lester Raymond Jones Jr., a Mississippi State University student with a promising future.

Barbour Delays Further Budget Cuts

Gov. Haley Barbour canceled a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. this morning at which he was expected to announce additional state budget cuts for this fiscal year. A press release confirming the cancellation said that Barbour "continues to analyze budget options."

Family of Man Killed In Fire Wants Answers

Nearly two weeks after a fire destroyed a West Jackson warehouse, the Jackson Fire Department recovered the body of a homeless man in the collapsed structure. Now family members of the man, Jeremy Smith, want to know why it took investigators until Jan. 28 to discover that Smith died in the Jan. 17 fire. They say that Smith, 20, was apparently sleeping in the building at the corner of Capitol and Lemon streets.

New Bank Focuses on Local Economy

An African American-owned bank will open a new branch on Livingston Road today with plans to invest in the future of Jackson.

JFP Person of Day: Jesse O'Quinn

On a recent Sunday morning, Jesse O'Quinn woke up thinking about plans for his upcoming 23rd birthday. He couldn't shake recent images he'd seen of the devastation in Haiti, and instead of getting presents on his birthday, he wanted to give back.

Coal Plant on Public Hot Seat This Week

The Mississippi Public Service Commission began the second phase of hearings this week to determine the need for a proposed $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County.

Sex Ed Advocates Attack ‘Just Wait'

National and state sex-education advocates are rallying in support of comprehensive sex education, citing a report released last week showing the failure of abstinence-only-until-marriage education in Mississippi.

State Arts School in Jeopardy?

With proposals for the merger of universities and public-school districts attracting substantial public outcry and debate, Gov. Haley Barbour's call for merging two statewide magnet high schools has drawn less vocal opposition at the state capitol. Educators, city leaders and legislators from Brookhaven, where the Mississippi School of the Arts is located, worry that higher-profile battles and a drastically smaller state budget may thwart their defense of the fledgling arts magnet school.

The War on ‘Sudafed' Grows

The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Tuesday requiring drugs containing pseudoephedrine be sold by prescription only. The bill is a sister bill to House Bill 512, a constitutional amendment authored by Rep. Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, which also targets a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine.

Legislature Week 4: Money and Meth

The House and Senate were up against deadline yesterday for committees to either approve or reject proposed bills. The next deadline is a Feb. 11 end-date for the House and Senate to act on bills that survived committees. But the approaching deadlines took a back seat to the House and Gov. Haley Barbour's budget priorities.

No Lottery This Year

A bill paving the way for a state-run lottery to support education died in committee this week, despite growing popularity. House Gaming Committee Chairman Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, held the last Gaming Committee meeting on Monday without taking up House Bill 337, and scheduled no Tuesday committee meeting.

Former Choctaw Chief Hospitalized

Phillip Martin, the former chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, has been hospitalized at St. Dominic's Hospital in Jackson. Martin, 84, held the democratically elected post of the group's chief for 32 years, with his tenure ending in 2007. His condition is unavailable at this time.

Bryan Eubank

Most guys love sports. No big surprise there. But only a few find a way to take that passion and turn it into a livelihood. Bryan Eubank is someone who has done just that.

Husband Speaks About Wife Shot at JSU

The husband of a woman shot at Jackson State University last night is asking for authorities to help find the suspect who is still at large.

Today is D-Day for Controversial Bills

The Mississippi Legislature has one of its busiest days today as committees scramble to pass most general bills. State lawmakers have until midnight tonight to get committee approval for any non-revenue bills originating in their own chamber. That means that many contentious measures may die tonight for lack of progress.

Senate Joins House in Passing ‘Sudafed' Bill; Barbour Supports

The Mississippi Senate today passed a bill requiring that pseudoephedrine be sold by prescription only in the state. The drug is a key ingredient in both cold medicines and methamphetamine, or meth. The House passed the bill last week. Minutes ago, Gov. Haley Barbour released a statement in support of the bill:

Dorothy Stewart

Dorothy Stewart is putting the issues on the air. Education, health care, job opportunities, the proposed consolidation of historically black colleges and universities, the role churches play in African American communities and the Farish Street development project are all issues "that need to be addressed and understood" by the people of Jackson, Stewart says.

Phil Speaks: Six More Weeks of Winter

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil of weather-prediction fame came out of his Pennsylvania hole this morning to give the world bad news: we're in for six more weeks of winter. Phil, who traditionally peeks out Feb. 2 every year, saw his shadow, reports the Hattiesburg American.

Gaming Chairman: Lottery Effort ‘Swimming Upstream'

House Gaming Committee Chairman Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, had a difficult time making a decision on a bill paving the way for a state-run lottery to support education. House Bill 337 would create a statewide special election for the purpose of allowing the electorate to vote on establishing a state lottery as a form of legalized gaming.

PSC Attorney Withdraws from Coal Plant Hearing

A Mississippi Public Service Commission attorney gathering information for a second-phase hearing on the workability of a proposed $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County withdrew her participation from the issue this morning.

Domestic Abuse Bills Near Deadline

With an early deadline for bills bearing down Tuesday at midnight, state legislators have only two days to act on a number of bills that would stiffen the penalties for abusive behavior.

Kaye Carr

Selflessness is not a common quality, but it is embedded deeply in Kaye Carr. Carr, 37, serves on the board of directors at Hope Hollow Ministries, a Canton-based non-profit that provides opportunities for children and adults with disabilities to go to summer camp. Born and raised in Ridgeland, Carr now lives in Canton and got involved with Hope Hollow nearly a year ago through her 5-year-old son Sam, who has sensory issues similar to autism.

A Lottery for Mississippi?

State Rep. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, has introduced a bill allowing voters to decide whether the Magnolia state will institute a lottery to help pay for college scholarships, reports WAPT. The House Gaming Committee will debate the bill, HR 337, today.

Ellington