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Superintendent Responds to Education Cuts

(verbatim statement) State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tom Burnham regarding the additional cuts to the K-12 education budget by Governor Haley Barbour:

Convention Center a Boon for Jackson

Nearly a year after opening, the Jackson Convention Complex has brought in more than $21 million and stimulated the city's economy by providing jobs and tax revenue, according to a report issued by the Capital City Convention Center Commission this week.

Barbour Vows More Cuts, Private Prisons

Unhappy that the Mississippi House of Representatives turned back his move for more budget power, Gov. Haley Barbour today promised to slash most of the state budgets more than 8 percent. The House refused to follow the Senate's lead and grant him power to discriminately cut 10 percent of the budget.

Weekend Happenings

Tonight head on out to the Trunk Show at Dream Beads at 5 p.m. Then you can catch some blues with King Edward at Underground 119 at 9 p.m. If jazz is more your thing, cruise over to Hal & Mal's for Rhonda Richmond, also at 9 p.m.. Pyinfamous, Ulogy, Sycology and DJ Phingaprint will be at Monte's Seafood at 9 p.m., then have breakfast at midnight. None of these grabbing your attention? Check out more on the JFP Events Calendar

Rep. Adrienne Wooten

Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson, is a woman of convictions, and she has no problem letting those convictions loose on the House floor. Wooten, 35, prevented the passage of a House bill yesterday that would allow persons convicted for the first time of illegal drug possession to petition the court to expunge their conviction from all public records.

Jackson Water Update

Parts of the city of Jackson served by its well-water system continue to be subject to a boil-water notice, according to a release issued this morning. Pressure has now risen to a point in that system to allow for testing. City crews are collecting forty samples from the system today to send to the Mississippi Health Department, and the boil-water notice will be lifted after two days of testing come back clear.

Reservoir District Bill Back Door to Flood Control?

Control of the Ross Barnett Reservoir is at stake in a bill proposed this week by Sen. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, that is raising questions over what it really aims to do -- and whether it could be a back-door way to help the Two Lakes river-development plan still see the light of day.

Bounds Predicts Job Losses, Tuition Hikes

State higher education commissioner Hank Bounds said today that Mississippi's public university system will likely shed 1,000 jobs over the next two years due to budget cuts. Speaking today to the state Institutitions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, Bounds delivered dire news about the effects of a more than 8 percent budget cut and recommended that the board approve a series of tuition increases.

Compromise Sex-Ed Bill Moves Ahead

School districts would have to choose between implementing an abstinence-only or an abstinence-plus sex education curriculum by June 2011 under a bill the House Education Committee passed Wednesday.

Phil Reed

Phil Reed, 60, has spent the last 27 years helping people, and in the wake of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Haiti last week, he is spearheading local efforts to provide aid to the country.

Former Melton Bodyguards to Pay $20K Restitution

by Ward Schaefer January 21, 2010 Michael Recio and Marcus Wright, the former police bodyguards for the late Mayor Frank Melton, must pay $10,000 each in restitution for their roles in the 2006 warrantless demolition of a private home on Ridgeway Street, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Eric Stringfellow

As a journalism professor, Eric Stringfellow, 49, is never far away from a newspaper. As he works on his computer, a stack of papers accompanies him.

Where's the Money

The state Legislature is still rumbling over money issues and executive power this week. The Senate passed Senate Bill 2495 last Wednesday, a bill that would grant Gov. Haley Barbour the selective power to cut the budget of some state departments up to 10 percent, without having to cut all departments by 10 percent.

Flaggs Backs Down on Mergers

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, has changed his tune somewhat regarding Gov. Haley Barbour's budget recommendation for merging Mississippi's historically black colleges and universities.

Levee De-certification Not a Corps Decision

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale said yesterday that the Corps will not make the decision to either certify or de-certify local levees that protect the city of Jackson from a Pearl River flood.

Barbour Disavows House Effort to Limit His Power

Gov. Haley Barbour is speaking out against a bill the Mississippi House of Representatives passed yesterday, which exempts budgets of certain state agencies from reduction when state revenues fall below revenue estimates. HB 392 also restricts cuts to agencies beyond projected budget shortfalls.

Eric Stringfellow

As a journalism professor, Eric Stringfellow, 49, is never far away from a newspaper. As he works on his computer, a stack of papers accompanies him.

Single-Minded Purpose

In March 1944, Hannah Senesh, a young Jew from Budapest who had immigrated to Palestine five years earlier, parachuted into Yugoslavia in an effort to make contact with Hungarian Jews, establish resistance movements and carve out routes of escape from eastern Europe. Senesh was single-minded in her purpose, driven by her desperate need to find her mother and spirit her away before the Final Solution would ultimately descend upon the last bastion of Hungarian Jewry.

Ballet Competition Names Mitchell

The USA International Ballet Competition has named Arthur Mitchell as the honorary chairman of the 2010 Jackson competition scheduled for June 12 through June 27, 2010. Mitchell is the founding artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Undisclosed Funders Pay for Consolidation Study

Gov. Haley Barbour's Commission on Education Structure will use funds from an undisclosed private source to pay for a study of school consolidation. At its first meeting yesterday, the Commission agreed to pay a Denver-based consulting firm $72,000 to deliver a report on the potential cost-savings and improvements to educational quality offered by merging some of the state's 152 school districts.

Bad News and Hard Cuts Embody State of State

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's 2010 State of the State address on Monday fell short on good news. The state is facing a revenue shortfall of more than $350 million, and Barbour has recommended cutting 10 percent of the state's budget in nearly every agency, save the Department of Corrections.

Thelman Boyd

Public Works Director Thelman Boyd has been in the infrastructure business a long, long time. Boyd came on as interim Public Works director and then official Public Works director under the administration of former Mayor Frank Melton, after first serving in the department throughout the Johnson administration. He couldn't help picking up a little innate knowledge during all that time.

Pickering in Court Today

Former U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering will appear in Madison Municipal Court this afternoon at 1 p.m., along with youth soccer coach Christopher Hester. Pickering and Hester filed simple assault complaints against each other early last month after the two had a disagreement over a soccer game in Madison in which Pickering's son was a player. The charges carry a maximum fine of six months in jail and a $400 fine.

Franks Responds to Barbour's State of the State

[verbatim] Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Jamie Franks today released the following response to Gov. Barbour¹s State of the State address:

Barbour Delivers State of the State Address

(verbatim statement) Mr. Speaker, Governor Bryant, members of the Legislature, distinguished guests and fellow Mississippians:

Protesters: HBCU Merger Cannot Happen

Alumni, students, and advocates for historically black colleges and universities marched to the state Capitol from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds today to recognize the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and to protest Gov. Haley Barbour's recent proposal to merge Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University with Jackson State University.

Ex-Hinds Official Defends Radio Purchase

Larry Fisher, former emergency operations director for Hinds County, defended the city of Clinton's purchase of 19 emergency radios today, challenging the claim by Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham that the purchase violated county policy. Fisher, who retired from the county's Emergency Operations Center Oct. 31, said that the purchase conformed to a policy approved by the state auditor's office and in place since 2008.

Public Meetings and Community Events

Hinds Community College Extended Registration, at all campuses. The Jackson Campus-Academic/Technical Center on Sunset Drive and the Nursing/Allied Health Center on Chadwick Drive will have registration through Wednesday, Jan. 20. The hours for extended registration at these locations only are 8:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and Wednesday, Jan 20. Students can still register at other locations, including Raymond. Call 1-800-HINDS-CC.

State of the State Tonight

Gov. Haley Barbour will deliver the twice-delayed Mississippi State-of-the-State speech tonight at 6 p.m. The speech, postponed because of water issues in Jackson, will air live on Mississippi Public Broadcasting TV, radio and on the Internet.

Owen Brooks

Few people can honestly say that they have helped to affect a culture like Owen Brooks has. Brooks, 81, born in New York but raised in Boston, participated in the Civil Rights movement that shaped our country's view of racial standing and has worked to further that goal in Mississippi for over 40 years. While participating in the Civil Rights Movement, the Boston native had the honor of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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