News

BREAKING: Jackson Loses Grant for Fire Truck

The Jackson City Council learned Monday that the city may have dropped the ball for a federal grant worth up to $800,000. The grant, according to Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, was intended to finance a $1 million platform ladder truck for the Jackson Fire Department. The city currently has only one specialty-use ladder truck that is more than 10 years old and requires frequent repairs. The city needs two in order to keep residents' fire insurance rates down to a minimum.

Melton Pulls Reeves' Nomination

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton pulled his nomination Monday of former Rep. John Reeves, a Jackson Republican, for a Municipal Court position. Melton instead asked the council to consider putting Reeves on the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, an unpaid appointment. Melton had nominated Reeves to fill outgoing Judge Melvin Priester's seat after Priester, a long-time friend of Melton and his former private attorney, moved to an appointed position with Hinds County Circuit Court. The Mississippi Supreme Court appointed Priester to fill one of two full-time special judge positions in July.

Commission Scrutinizing Entergy Rate Hikes

Consumer advocates criticized Entergy for not investing in energy conservation this week during a series of Public Service Commission meetings.

Taxpayers $3 Million Short?

State Auditor Stacey Pickering filed an Aug. 5 motion in Hinds County Circuit Court for summary judgment in the 2005 Mississippi WorldCom settlement case that could prove costly.

David Butler

David Butler, a senior at Millsaps College, took an atypical route to his final college decision. However, since his arrival at Millsaps, he has never looked back.

Bell Denies Responsibility

Robbie Bell says she was not home on Trawick Drive when her son, George Bell III, raped and then bludgeoned Mary Heather Spencer with a flashlight the night of Sept. 10, 2007. So says her response to Linda Francomb's lawsuit, filed July 23.

Sweet Alleges Bias Against Hinds Judges

Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet claims Hinds County Senior Judge Swan Yerger violated the U.S. Constitution when he barred the county's black circuit court judges from hearing more serious cases.

Pickering Move to Cost State $3 Million?

State Auditor Stacey Pickering filed an Aug. 5 motion in Hinds County Circuit Court for summary judgment in the 2005 Mississippi WorldCom settlement case that could prove costly. Pickering contends that Joey Langston's law firm attempted to "bypass the laws and legislative safeguards" of the state when they negotiated a $14 million attorney's fee with WorldCom during a $126.2 million tax-fraud settlement with the state in 2005.

State Democrats Slam McCain

Mississippi Democrats used the birthday of the 70-year-old Social Security program to attack presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain last week, accusing the Arizona senator of wanting to privatize the program. "Just one month ago, on July 7, Senator McCain told a town-hall audience that the way Social Security works is a disgrace and told ABC this week that everything will be on the table if he becomes president, including the privatization of Social Security," said Mississippi Democratic Party Vice Chairwoman Barbara Blackmon. "We're here today, exactly one week before the birthday of Social Security, to let the people know that we will not support any effort to privatize the most successful anti-poverty program in our nation."

DOJ Not Pursuing Bribery Charges Against Stevens

An attorney handling the appeal of Paul Minor noted a sharp contrast between how the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted Minor and how it is chasing Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. While the DOJ prosecuted Minor on corruption chargeswithout the necessity of proving quid pro quothey have chosen not to pursue those same charges against Stevens, who is Republican.

Anna Walker Crump

Two days before Anna Walker Crump worked with the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Heather Spencer's boyfriend murdered her on Sept. 11, 2007.

Justice For Sale

Almost immediately after his appointment to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi in late 2001, Dunnica Lampton began to investigate key Mississippi Democrats.

DOJ: No Break For Minor

The U.S. Department of Justice wants Mississippi attorney Paul Minor to stay in jail, despite his wife's imminent death. The DOJ filed a motion last week opposing Minor's motion for release pending appeal in his 2007 corruption conviction.

Where There's Smoke, There's Haley Barbour

During his long tenure in Washington, Haley Barbour was known for his love of Maker's Mark bourbon, good cigars and Republican politics, not necessarily in that order.

UPDATED: Dee-Moore Families Sue County for Colluding with Klan

Read full complaint here. (PDF)

Attorney General Settles With State Farm

Attorney General Jim Hood just sent the following statement, verbatim:

Biloxi, MS-Attorney General Jim Hood announced the settlement of the state's breach of contract suit against State Farm, which was filed after State Farm refused to comply with a January, 2007, Hinds County Chancery Court settlement. Due to the state's suit against several insurance companies, State Farm has paid an additional $74 million and Nationwide has paid an additional $40 million to Coast policyholders. As a result of the settlement, State Farm will send out new notices to the remaining 148 slab and/or pier only policyholders, who have not yet sued, settled or already participated in the reevaluation process.

Moore Demands 'Cover-up' Evidence from DA

In response to several desperate motions filed by Sharrod Moore's defense attorney requesting that the DA provide "any and all evidence in his possession regarding a police cover-up," Hinds County Circuit Judge Swan Yerger is delaying the capital murder trial of the 30-year-old, who has now been indicted twice for allegedly killing Jackson police officer Robert J. Washington in 1995. The original trial date was Sept. 15; Yerger has not yet set a new date.

Greenwood Teen Settles Cop Suit, ‘No Pun Intended'

James Marshall, a Greenwood teenager who scuffled with a police officer in 2006, has settled his lawsuit against Officer Casey Wiggins, the city of Greenwood, Greenwood Public Schools and others for an undisclosed amount, according to his attorney Carlos E. Moore. Matt Saldaña of the Jackson Free Press profiled Marshall in this cover story, "Unholstered: A Greenwood Family Fights For Its Rights". The JFP also sued the district over the release of a video of the incident.

Barbour Gives Relief to 4 ‘Domestic' Killers, of 5 Total

Bobby Hays Clark murdered on-again, off-again girlfriend Veronica Conner in 1996 by shooting her in the neck with a 25-caliber automatic, hitting her carotid artery. Now, his record is clear, thanks to Gov. Haley Barbour, who has helped four "domestic" murderers in recent weeks.

Morgan Freeman Seriously Hurt in Car Accident

From MSNBC:

Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident in Mississippi on Sunday night according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

C-L To Lay Off 20 Staffers

Editor and Publisher magazine is reporting the contents of a memo circulated by the Clarion-Ledger's current publisher, Larry Whitaker, to his staff. The memo was leaked earlier in the day to Romenesko, a media "insider" blog hosted by the Poynter Institute.

Haley Barbour: ‘You Gotta Admire Obama's Nerve'

July 31, 2008 - Following are verbatim remarks by Gov. Haley Barbour at the Neshoba County Fair today in Philadlphia, Miss.:

Getting a Grip on Crime

With his head low and hands clasped together, Larry Nelson Sr. begins to talk about his son, Larry Nelson Jr., who, without his family's knowledge, fell deep into gang activity and drugs.

UPDATED: Barbour Helps Domestic Killers

At least three of six criminals getting relief from Gov. Haley Barbour killed their former or current wife or girlfriend.

Merrill Thomas

As a sixth-grade student, the thought of middle-school science was intimidating. However, when I met my teacher, Mrs. Merrill Thomas, all my inhibitions went away.

Nader 'Spoiling' McCain?

Independent Party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader asked Jackson supporters this weekend to sign a petition to include him on the Mississippi ballot in November. Nader's Independent Party requires at least 1,000 valid signatures in order to be an option in the state.

Developers Announce New Jackson Projects

Developers will complete work on the first block of historic Farish Street in 14 months.

Miracle Buckley

"I would say there is a testimony to my name because somebody in my condition is not supposed to be here," 19-year-old Miracle Buckley says.

Governor Commutes One Killer's Sentence, Not Another

In a move that illustrates the erratic nature of America's justice system, Gov. Haley Barbour commuted the sentence of Michael David Graham last Thursday, July 17. Graham, convicted for shooting his ex-wife, Adrienne Graham, in 1989, received a sentence of life in prison. Reportedly, Adrienne Graham was sitting at a stoplight in Pascagoula when Michael Graham pulled up beside her and shot her to death with a 12-gauge shotgun.

FEMA Wants Immunity for Poison Trailers

The Federal Emergency Management Agency asked U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt for immunity from lawsuits over what plaintiffs' lawyers and the Sierra Club called "hazardous levels" of formaldehyde in government-issued trailers. Engelhardt is presiding over a lawsuit against FEMA. Plaintiffs claim the government knew about the dangerous toxicity of plywood used in trailer construction but continued to allow hurricane victims to inhabit the structures, despite independent toxicology tests revealing five times the tolerable amount of formaldehyde in the structures.

Ellington