News

Politics Plaguing Entergy Audit

Republicans in the Mississippi Senate could kill a House bill that would merge the Public Service Commission, which elected officials run, and the Public Utilities Staff, which is operated by governor-appointed staffers. The House of Representatives Public Utilities Committee passed a bill last week moving the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff back under the supervision of the Public Service Commission. As the Jackson Free Press recently reported, Commissioner Brandon Presley and others complain that the separation has inhibited the Commission's ability to correctly audit power company Entergy Mississippi and how it imposes rates on Mississippi consumers.

JFP ‘Best of Jackson' Challenge: Give Back, and Shop Local!

Now that the 7th annual (really!) Best of Jackson season has ended, and the party a sweet memory, here's what all of us can do next. We need to vow to honor "the best" in our communitythe best local businesses, the best community figures, the best non-profits and charitable activities, and efforts toward progressevery single day. Hundreds of you (we're guessing around 800) turned out Sunday night to celebrate the best at The Auditorium without needing to spend a dime (except on tips), so here's the JFP's challenge of how you can pay us back, so to speak: Take, say, $20 you might have spent on a cover charge and a drink and put it toward something that matters this week. Donate to one of our local non-profits, or go buy some school supplies and drop them off here at the JFP office for high-school journalism teachers (they really need white paper and dry-erase markers and jump-drives, for instance). Or, volunteer your time. Or, go to Jackpedia and post about how other people can get involved in your efforts. And, vitally, vow to shop local first and more often in locally owned businesses. For instance, go to Rainbow and McDade's for groceries and first and fill in items you can't get elsewhere. Go to locally owned restaurants. Shop local boutiques, consignment stores, and thrift shops first. Honor your hard-working local entrepreneurs and unsung heroes. It all matters, and you can make a difference every single day in easy ways.

Teen Summit Tuesday Deals with Teen Pregnancy

[Verbatim statement] Jackson, MS- Centers for Disease Control recently released a report that puts Mississippi as the nation's leader in teen births. Many parents are intimidated to talk with their child about sex and other social issues that most students face everyday. The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation (JMMF) is taking the anxiety out of that discussion. The Mississippi State Health Department and others will join the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation for a news conference on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Center Stage of the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center to announce plans and activities for "Empowering Minds, Saving Lives" Teen Summit 2009. Partners will unveil the agenda that helps high school students develop prevention and intervention skills to deal with issues they face on a daily basis

City Council To Discuss Suing Melton

Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill plans to raise the possibility of suing Mayor Frank Melton to release tax forms at the Council's work session this afternoon. The Council asked Melton on Jan. 5 to provide 1099 tax forms that would reveal how much the city pays contractors and other non-employees.

LoungeList Photos: Best of Jackson 2009

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to the Best of Jackson 2009 party to see the awards given away, experience a wonderful new venue -- the Auditorium -- here in Jackson, and to rub elbows (literally) with the creative class of Jackson, Mississippi. Photos by Kip Caven have been posted to LoungeList.com. (If you got photos from the party, post them over there on LoungeList and I'll add them to this album. Thanks!)

McLemore Not Seeking Reelection

City Council President Leslie McLemore announced today that he is not running for a third term. McLemore said that he plans to support his administrative assistant, Vance Stiggers, for the Ward 2 seat.

Authorities Bust DeSoto Cockfighting Operation

Humane Society agents and DeSoto County police raided a suspected cockfighting training operation at a Byhalia home on Friday. Agents seized hundreds of fighting roosters and breeding hens. The roosters had to be euthanized on site because of their aggression. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that police charged Arnulfo Hernandez with cockfighting, a misdemeanor charge in Mississippi, and fined him $100. Cockfighting is considered a felony in 37 states. State Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, has introduced a bill, currently in the Agriculture Committee, that would raise it to felony status in Mississippi.

House Approves MAEP Funds for Ailing Schools

Responding quickly to dire news about Mississippi's school districts, House lawmakers approved a bill today that would appropriate $68 million for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state's primary funding mechanism for low-revenue districts.

Wicker on Roe v. Wade Anniversary

Sen. Roger Wicker released the following statement today:

WASHINGTON - On the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., reaffirmed his belief that no one should be denied the right to life. Wicker also thanked the participants in today's March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.

Crisler Announces Mayoral Run

Standing in front of a throng of supporters and family at the Alamo Theatre, City Councilman Marshand Crisler formally announced his candidacy for mayor Thursday afternoon. Crisler, who first won the Ward 6 Council seat in 2001, said he would work to improve Jackson's school system, upgrade its city services, reduce crime and impose fiscal discipline on city government. He pledged to work with city, county and state officials in addressing the many issues facing Jackson.

Melton Trial To Proceed As Normal, Judge Says

See JFP's full Melton Blog/Archive here.

Obama Signs Order to Close Gitmo; End Torture

The New York Times is reporting:

In Response to Entergy Matter, Lawmakers Trying to Merge PSC, Public Utilities

In response to a controversy involving Entergy rate hikes, the Mississippi House of Representatives Public Utilities Committee passed a bill this week moving the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff back under the supervision of the Public Service Commission. As reported in the Jackson Free Press last week, Commissioner Brandon Presley and others are complaining that the separation has inhibited the Commission's ability to correctly audit Entergy and how it is imposing rates on MIssissippians.

Best of Jackson Winners Announced; Party Sunday at The Auditorium!

Click here to see the 2009 Best of Jackson Winners

Schools Short on Pay Roll?

The latest round of state budget cuts has many Mississippi school districts facing difficult budgetary decisions. Gov. Haley Barbour announced $85 million in cuts to K-12 education last Wednesday, $76 million of which will come out of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state's supplementary funding mechanism for low-revenue school districts.

Janice Cameron

Downtown lawyers, med students, hipsters and retireescountless Jacksonians of every stripe know Janice Cameron's work, even if they don't know her. With her husband, Dennis, Cameron owns Cups Espresso Café, a Jackson-based coffee-shop chain.

State Casinos Report Revenue Drop In 2008

Numbers released Wednesday by the Mississippi Tax Commission show a 5.9 percent drop in casino gambling revenue from 2007 to 2008. The decline is an expected consequence of the reduced consumer spending that accompanies an economic recession. National figures for the first 11 months of 2008 show a smaller decrease of 3.6 percent from the previous year.

14 or More Schools Will Operate In Red As a Result of Education Budget Cuts

[Verbatim From the Mississippi Department of Education] Jackson, MS – A detailed district-by-district spreadsheet of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was released today to superintendents to review the impact of the recent budget cuts made by Governor Haley Barbour.

Happy Inauguration Day! Share Your Thoughts.

Jan. 20, 2009, is here, and Barack Obama will make history as the next president of the United States. What are your thoughts on this historic occasion? What message do you want to send to Obama? To fellow Americans? Please share your feelings with the JFP nation below.

What to Do in Jackson on Inauguration Day

There are several gathering around Jackson, day and night. Click here for a list on the JFP events calendar (and you can add your own!). Feel free to post about events below as well.

Mayor Melton Back In Town, Back To Work

See full JFP Melton Archive/Blog here.

Tougaloo Students Blogging from Inauguration

A group of students from Tougaloo College are blogging inaugural events on Black College Wire. The group of mass communications students are led by professor Eric Stringfellow and plan to produce a special issue about the trip:

DA Alleges Racism; Former DA Weighs In

Even as Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith is alleging racism in the Hinds County Justice system, his African American predecessor says that it was her job to find a way to work within the parameters set by the judge.

The Meridian Star Apologizes For Civil Rights Coverage

Beginning with a Martin Luther King Jr. quote, The Meridian Star issued an apology yesterday for its neglect of civil rights issues facing Mississippians during the Civil Rights Movement.

Former Rep. Chip Pickering Joins Lobbying Firm

Former U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Mississippi, has joined the lobbyist firm Capital Resources, after opting not to run for re-election last year. Associated Press is reporting that Pickering's former chief of staff Susan Butler and former legislative director Mary Martha Henson are joining him at Capital Resources.

LoungeList Photos: Convention Center Opening

LoungeList.com photographer Kip Caven got some great shots of people -- reportedly tens of thousands -- attending the Jackson Convention Center grand opening in downtown Jackson on Saturday, January 17, 2009. Enjoy!

Man Arraigned in Jackson for Online Obama Threats

Steven Joseph Christopher of Wisconsin was arraigned today in federal court in Jackson for making threats against President-elect Barack Obama on the Internet chat forum on Jan. 11 and 15. "Threats against the president-elect will be taken very seriously. Use of chat rooms to express those threats is as much a crime as uttering the words. Threats of this nature will be pursued swiftly and vigorously," U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton said in the courtroom. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The judge advised Christopher would be held in isolation for his own safety. Christopher was arrested without incident in Lincoln County by sheriffs working with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, thus his appearance in court here.

U.S. Attorney to Reveal Sealed Criminal Complaint at 4 p.m.

Something big is going down today; the U.S. attorney's office just sent out this e-mail to media:

There will be a hearing at 4:00 p.m. today before US Magistrate Judge Sumner on the fifth floor of the federal courthouse. I am not able to tell you what it's about because the criminal complaint is sealed. But I can tell you that it is something you will want to attend. We will issue a press release after the hearing.

House Proposes Voter ID, Early Voting Bill; Hosemann Objects

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a vehement voter ID proponent, opposes the Mississippi House of Representatives' attempt to codify voter ID Thursday saying the ID requirements are "unmanageable." He also objects to language in the bill that would bring early voting to the state.

Medical Mall Teen Summit to Deal with Pregnancy

[Verbatim] Jackson, MS- he Mississippi State Health Department and others will join the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation for a news conference on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Center Stage of the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center to announce plans and activities for "Empowering Minds, Saving Lives" Teen Summit 2009. Partners will unveil the agenda that helps high school students develop prevention and intervention skills to deal with issues they face on a daily basis. A display of competing projects from high school students about their experience with the issues will also be revealed.

Ellington