News

Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy Arrested For Assault

The Local 12 CBS affiliate in Cincinnati is reporting that police have arrested University of Mississippi head basketball coach Andy Kennedy on assault charges. Kennedy and the Rebels are in Cincinnati for a game with Louisville Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN) in the SEC/Big East Challenge. As of Thursday morning, no decision had been made on whether Kennedy would coach Thursday's game. From Local 12:

New Crime Lab, Please

Attorney General Jim Hood recommended more money for the state crime lab and the Mississippi Medical Examiner's office at a Monday meeting with the House Judiciary Committee.

Baldev "Bob" Patel

Baldev Patel's parents were farmers from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in India. But Patel, who is known by friends and colleagues as "Bob," wanted a different lifestyle.

Seale's Staying In Jail

JFP Dee-Moore Coverage

Southern Republicans Hold Up Bailout

The Jackson NAACP, the Mississippi AFL-CIO and supporting organizations protested Mississippi Republican senators' opposition to a bailout bill for General Motors and Chrysler at the State Capitol Tuesday. U.S. Senate Republicans, including Mississippi Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, helped filibuster and block a compromise for a government bailout of the two car companies last week, despite Vice President Dick Cheney warning them that they would be considered the party of failed President Herbert Hoover if the auto industry collapsed.

UPDATED: Ridgeway Tenant Denies Melton's Claim

Evans Welch disputes Mayor Frank Melton's claims that he asked the mayor for help before the 2006 demolition of the duplex he rented. Melton, who faces three felony charges for his role in the incident, has argued in court hearings and filings that Welch, a diagnosed schizophrenic, contacted him multiple times, requesting help with the drug activity at his home.

‘Fall from Grace': Joey Langston Sentenced to 36 Months

Folo has good updates, including his statement:

Obama Picks Ed. Secretary

So much for Ray Mabus or Ronnie Musgrove. Arne Duncan is the President-elect's pick for Secretary of Education. The choice makes sense, as Obama and Duncan were friends in Chicago. Duncan also played pro basketball in Australia for a bit, so he'll fit in well on Obama's "team of ballers."

Mattel Settles Lawsuit After Pass From Barbour

Mississippi is one of 38 states that reached a settlement with Mattel Inc. and Fisher-Price Inc. over the companies' unhealthy level of lead in children's toys. An agreement filed today in Hinds County Chancery Court is the product of more than a year's worth of investigation and comes within months of Gov. Haley Barbour vetoing a bill that would have made willful contamination of children's toys a felony.

Mississippi Ad a ‘Misstep'?

Calling marketing an art, not a science, an editorial in yesterday's Sun Herald tells the story of an ad run by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitor's Bureau, attempting to attract visitors coming into New Orleans for the upcoming Sugar Bowl.

Barbour Announces New Coast Housing Effort

Under fire for diverting federal funds away from low- and middle-income housing for Katrina survivors, Gov. Haley Barbour today announced a new housing plan for public-sector employees on the Gulf Coast. Per a verbatim statement from his office:

Standard Life Purchase Delayed

Jackson attorney and developer David Watkins told the Jackson Free Press today that the national recession and subsequent credit crunch is hitting home again. Capital One, the loan agency funding the purchase of the city-owned Standard Life Building, is slowing down the paperwork and forcing delays on Watkins and HRI Inc. of New Orleans, who are attempting to buy the building from the city.

Hood Requesting More Funding For Crime Lab

Attorney General Jim Hood is recommending budget increases for the state crime lab and the Mississippi Medical Examiner's Office to the House En Banc Judiciary Committee today. The state currently allots $9.8 million to the state crime lab and the state medical examiner's office, but an attorney general's task force recommends almost doubling that amount, at least in the first year, to finance lab equipment, DNA analysis technology, medical examiners and support staff.

MEMA: Ice Storm Headed to NW Mississippi

See [[Snow & Ice]] on Jackpedia for safety and driving tips.

[Verbatim from MEMA] PEARL – As a blast of Arctic air threatens northwest Mississippi with frigid temperatures and freezing rain, MEMA Executive Director Mike Womack is reminding residents to be prepared for severe winter weather conditions tonight and tomorrow. The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning which is in effect from noon today until 6 a.m. Tuesday for northwest Mississippi counties including DeSoto, Benton, Tate, Tunica and Marshall. The ice storm warning could be extended into the day Tuesday. Up to ½ inch ice accumulation is possible with this storm system. Areas north of Highway 82 may also receive freezing precipitation tonight through tomorrow, according to the weather service.

[Wicker] Domestic Energy Productions Will Grow Economy

Last week, a study was released regarding the economic and financial benefits of developing our country's vast oil and gas reserves that have been kept off limits for decades. The study, released by the American Petroleum Institute (API), stated what many pro-domestic energy members of Congress and people across the country have long believed: producing more of America's energy resources will create tens of thousands of jobs, generate an enormous amount of tax revenue, and help increase our energy independence.

HUD, Barbour Under Fire for Diverting Money from Poor

Mississippi organizations are suing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for allowing Gov. Haley Barbour to divert nearly $600 million in federal funding away from affordable housing recovery after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and into a pet port project that Congress had refused earlier to fund with controversial earmarked money.

[Bounds] Children First Act of 2009 Contains Accountability Measures

State Superintendent of Education

In education, asking even a very simple question leads to a complex answer. For example, if a parent wants to know, "How is my child's school doing?," the principal can pull out reams of data, talk about disaggregation, and describe achievement models until the parent is completely confused and left without any useful information. Parents want to be sure that their children will be prepared for college and the workplace. The typical way to measure school performance is to examine student performance on standardized tests. The theory is that if students can perform well on these tests, the school must have the processes, programs and personnel in place to accelerate student achievement. In other words, the school must be doing something right if they are getting good results.

Detroit and Buggy Whips

Back in the days when personal computers, internet use and e-mail was in the process of becoming ubiquitousnot so very long agoI heard a lot of talk about buggy-whips. In the business I was in at the time, graphic design and typesetting, we had a somewhat haughty opinion about all this new-fangled technology, allowing the untrained and untalented to produce amazingly ungainly advertising and marketing materials.

Miss. Reps. Split on Auto Bailout

Mississippi's congressmen are divided on the prospect of a bailout for the domestic auto industry. Reps. Gene Taylor (D) and Bennie Thompson (D) voted for a $14 billion rescue package for General Motors and Chrysler yesterday, while Reps. Chip Pickering (R) and Travis Childers (D) voted against it. Now the bill travels to the Senate, where its chances look less favorable. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker have already indicated their opposition to a bailout. This morning, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's spoke out against the bill on the Senate floor.

JPS and Hinds Dismissing School Early

Jackpedia.com: How to Drive in Snow and Ice

College Football: Mullen Is MSU's Man

Dan Mullen will be officially introduced as Mississippi State's new football coach on Thursday. Mullen, 36, becomes the SEC's second-youngest head football coach. MSU will introduce him in a series of rallies around the state starting at 10 a.m. in Starkville and concluding in Jackson at 8 p.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

Human Rights Movement ‘Still Taking Off'

Sixty years after the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, advocates such as Father Jerome Tobin say the fight isn't over, not even after more than a half century later.

Beth Kimura

When I arrived at Ballet Magnificat! one afternoon, Beth Kimura and the Omega Company dancers were rehearsing in a back studio lined with mirrors and filled with music.

College Football: A New Top Dog?

An announcement is expected Wednesday.

Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen is expected to be named the new football coach at Mississippi State, ESPN and The Clarion-Ledger is reporting.

Michelle Obama's Slavery Roots

A fascinating story in The Seattle Times starts out:

Former Banker Now VP at Highland Village

[Verbatim from Highland Village] Guy Boyll III has been appointed Vice-President of Operations for Highland Village in an announcement today by the retail center. Mr. Boyll has nine years of banking experience and was previously First Vice-President and Loan Officer of BankPlus. He started his banking career at Trustmark National Bank as a credit analyst and advanced to Vice President in Correspondent/Corporate Services.

Don't Let Holiday Deals Become Holiday Debt

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Jackson cautions consumers to avoid impulse purchases this holiday season. [Verbatim from press release.]

Mississippi Loses Bio Lab to Kansas

The Department of Homeland Security selected Manhattan, Kansas, over Flora, Miss., and four other sites for its proposed $451 million Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The lab, which will focus primarily on communicative animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, often called simply FMD, will replace an outdated 1950s lab currently located on Plum Island, off the coast of New York.

UPDATED: Elected Judges: Battered, Bought ... But Still Better

Pointing out that Gov. Haley Barbour has not appointed one black judge out of 18 judicial appointments to date, two attorneys and a Supreme Court justice agreed at a Saturday meeting that Mississippi's electoral process for deciding state and local judges was superior to a system of appointing judges.

Act Proposes Stimulus for Gulf Coast

Supporters of a large-scale civic works program for the Gulf Coast are calling U.S. Representatives today, asking them to include H.R. 4048, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, in an upcoming economic stimulus package. Mississippi Reps. Bennie Thompson and Gene Taylor are co-sponsors of the bill, which would employ 100,000 people in rebuilding Gulf Coast schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

Ellington