News

Levee Board Rescinds 2007 Flood Control Approval

The Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District voted to rescind its 2007 approval for a locally preferred flood control plan yesterday, and then voted unanimously to ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to look at all flood control plans available to the Hinds/Rankin area.javascript:void(0);

Jackson Schools Complete Renovations

Nearly three years after the Jackson Public School District passed a $150 million bond issue for a capital improvement program to aid deteriorating infrastructure and overcrowding, renovations are complete at two Jackson elementary schools.

Sallie Eola Reneau

Yesterday, Mississippi University of Women President Claudia A. Limbert honored Sallie Eola Reneau, 131 years after her death. After an exhaustive 22-month search for an appropriate new name for the venerable Mississippi school, Limbert announced that she would be submitting Reneau University to the Board of Trustees for State Institutions of Higher Learning for their approval.

Barbour Defends Town Hall Confrontations

The recent spate of rowdy behavior at health-care town-hall meetings is because Americans don't understand the Obama administration's plan, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters during a conference call Monday organized by the Republican Governors Association.

Court Grants Restraining Order Against JHA

Hinds County Chancery Court opted to grant Mississippi Housing Solutions a temporary restraining order to stop the Jackson Housing Authority from considering other bidders for development of a housing project in Jackson. The order remains in effect until an Aug. 13 preliminary injunction hearing, where the court will hear MHS' argument.

Andre de Gruy

Attorney Andre de Gruy knows that the American justice system isn't perfect. Sometimes circumstances combine to convict people who didn't commit the crimes they're accused of. As director of Mississippi's Office of Capital Defense Counsel, de Gruy and his staff of lawyers represent people whom Mississippi has convicted of the most heinous crimes, mostly murders and rapes.

[Parman] Redefining Service

In the early 1800s, when the United States recognized a need for military leadership, President Thomas Jefferson authorized the creation of West Point, a school uniquely crafted to address these needs with a specially designed curriculum like none other in the country. Two hundred years later, the tradition of military service and leadership still thrives.

Mississippi History Store Closing

The state Department of Archives and History says it will close the doors of the main Mississippi History Store, Sept. 30, due to low sales. The store, located in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building, 200 North Street at Amite Street in downtown Jackson, has put most of its inventory on sale at half price.

Three Mississippi Colleges Named ‘Best Buys'

Mississippi State University, Mississippi College and Millsaps College all made the 2009 Forbes "Best College Buys" list, which divides a school's overall quality score by its average tuition rates for the '03-'04 to '06-'07 years. The quality score is calculated by summing each school's score with respect to "Who's Who in America" citations, salary data from PayScale.com, course evaluations from RateMyProfessor.com, the receipt of student and faculty nationally competitive awards, and the graduation rate variables used in the Best College rankings, according to Forbes.

Working for the Weekend?

It's Friday, and that means it's time to plan your weekend. Today, get a jump on barbecues and picnics by heading to the new farmer's market at the Jackson Medical Mall. Then, stick around for the celebrity roast fundraiser at 6 p.m., honoring the man who came up with the idea of the Medical Mall, Dr. Aaron Shirley. At 8 p.m., join Salsa Mississippi for another rooftop dance party at Fondren Corner. If your party shoes don't do salsa, check the JFP Music Listings to see who's playing at your favorite watering hole. You'll find blues, rock, soul, country and a whole lot more, including karaoke if you're a DIY kind of partier.

JPS Board Seeks Budget Audits

The Jackson Public School Board chose not to approve some aspects of the school budget last night, including money for some new buses, textbooks and school nurses, citing the need for more information from the superintendent's staff. Board member Jonathan Larkin said the board did basically approve the district budget, however, amounting to more than $230 million.

MBN Seeing Spike in Meth Labs

Drug dealers and producers are getting smarter, says the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The agency is seeing a rise lately in methamphetamine labs and in the numbers of cocaine investigations, reports WLBT.

Childers on GOP Hit List

The National Republican Congressional Committee is campaigning early this season. The NRCC identified 70 Democrats to target for the 2010 election, according to an email obtained by Washington political periodical Roll Call.

Myrlie Evers-Williams

Today, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., named Myrlie Evers-Williams, 76, as a 2009 National Freedom Award winner. Widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Evers-Williams became chairwoman of the NAACP in 1995, serving for three years.

Stop! In the Name of Art

The long-anticipated "Stop! In the Name of Art: Motown/Downtown Invitational" will open today at the Arts Center of Mississippi with about 60 works displayed. Pieces vary in media, from photography and painting to mixed-media, and feature iconic subjects such as Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. The exhibit is in conjunction with the fourth annual Storytellers' Ball, which carries the same theme as the invitational, and will be held Thursday, Aug. 13.

[Jordan] New School Year; New Beginnings

Interim State Superintendent of Education

It's that time again. Summer break for our boys and girls is nearing an end. Communities are preparing activities to get everyone excited about the new school year. Parents are shopping for school clothes and supplies. Teachers are readying their classrooms to welcome students, ensuring that their rooms are equipped with all the tools they need to make learning fun.

Chasing Mimsy

Chris Mims, 34, has returned to city government, this time as director of the city's communications department. He worked as a staff member in the department in Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s last administration under former department director Dorothy Triplett, who now manages CONTACT The Crisis Line, a suicide hotline.

Who's Getting Rich off ‘No Child Left Behind'?

In a fenced-in complex of buildings sandwiched between Capitol and Amite streets, a small tutoring business is making big money.

PSC Refuses Bill of Rights Vote

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley lashed out at fellow commissioners Lynn Posey and Leonard Bentz after the two refused to vote on a proposed Mississippi Ratepayers' Bill of Rights at a Tuesday regular public service commission meeting.

Mayor to Study Highway 80 Potential

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. is putting the Highway 80 corridor on his agenda this year. The mayor announced a $500,000 study of MetroCenter Mall and the U.S. Highway 80 corridor at a news conference yesterday, in the company of developers and interim Planning and Development Director Corinne Fox.

Stacey Donaldson

Stacey Donaldson, an English teacher at Murrah High School, is the picture of confidence and calm. Pretty and pulled together, she looks you straight in the eye when she speaks.

AG Sues Barbour Over Veto

Citing case law that restricts the Mississippi governor from selectively vetoing the purpose of an appropriation and redistributing its funds, Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against Gov. Haley Barbour for his partial veto of Senate Bill 2041 during the last legislative session.

From A to C but where is B?

Youth Media Project

Oftentimes children will explain to you that they want to change the world or impact their society without knowing how.

[Balko] The Coroners Revolt

Mississippi coroners attempt to defy a ban on disgraced medical examiner Steven Hayne.

Brad White

As chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, Brad White is on a mission: He's going to put a voter ID initiative on the ballot in November 2010. To accomplish that goal, he needs 100,000 signatures from registered voters by Oct. 1.

Barbour Calls for Prudence Amid Lagging Revenue

State tax collections fell below already lowered expectations in July, Gov. Haley Barbour announced yesterday in a statement urging state agencies to be cautious with their budgets.

West Nile Claims First 2009 Victim

Yesterday, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported the first death of the 2009 season due to West Nile virus. The deceased was from Washington County in the Delta. Three additional cases of the deadly disease were also reported yesterday, bringing the state's total cases to seven this year, including one in Hinds County.

Jim Ingram

Mississippians owe much of the freedoms that we now enjoy, not to a governor or a legislative body, but to a legendary FBI agent named Jim Ingram. Sadly, he passed away Sunday after a long illness.

Public Meetings This Week

Monday, Aug. 3

Jackson Public Schools special meeting, 5:30 p.m. school board meeting room, 621 S. State Street.

Builder Guild Improves Gulf Coast Workforce Housing Standards

Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing in the Mississippi counties hardest hit by 2005's Hurricane Katrina, has revised and improved its standards for affordable housing redevelopment on the Gulf Coast. The organization, founded in 2006 by several south Mississippi business leaders, formed the Renaissance Builder & Development Guild in 2008 "as a means to cultivate the highest level of housing redevelopment during the Gulf Coast's rebuilding process," according to a release.

Ellington