Editorials

No More Innocents Punished

The news was almost unsurprising: Last week, DNA evidence exonerated three more Mississippi men—one of whom died in 2002—imprisoned for three decades for a rape and murder none of them committed.

Over the last several years, the Jackson Free Press has followed a tradition of celebrating our birthday every September by dedicating the issue to the city's progress. Our birthday cover stories typically explore just how far the city has come over the last year.

Shame on JPD and the Media

In August, a 13-year-old Jacksonian was charged with aggravated assault for shooting a 17-year-old friend in the head. Thankfully, the friend lived.

What's the Real Cost?

Last week, Gov. Haley Barbour called a special legislative session to have Mississippi lawmakers vote on a $45 million incentive package for KiOR, a company that produces a crude-oil substitute.

Thanks, Jackson, for Setting Example

Soon, the Jackson City Council Planning Committee is bringing a proposed ordinance before full council to restrict city police from inquiring about citizenship status during interdictions.

State Officials: Respect Jackson

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. discovered last month that State Treasurer Tate Reeves wants details of every aspect of a $6 million state loan. Without that information, Reeves said that the state Bond Commission staff never put the loan on the agenda for the commission to vote on.

How to Be the Best

Every Mississippian flinches when we hear yet another statistic or superlative that shows how bad we seem to have it: We're the fattest, poorest, most racist, worst educated or such, or we're trading off with Louisiana or Alabama for such honors.

Stop the Immigrant Bashing

A disturbing meeting took place at the Madison County Cultural Center Monday night. It was a tea-party-organized forum to call for the state of Mississippi to adopt an anti-"illegals" law such as the one the state of Arizona recently enacted, and which is now caught up in legal battles over its constitutionality.

Is Suing in Our Best Interest?

Gov. Haley Barbour said he is moving forward with a plan to hire counsel to stop the spread of Choctaw gaming to Jones County, but is the investment in lawyers really worth the trip to court?

Don't Soft-Pedal Domestic Abuse

Under Mississippi state law, it is too easy to get away with abusing animals and spouses. And too often, the same people do both.

Find Another Way

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is no stranger to right-wing nuttery, but he offered a prime example of conservative hysteria in comments in a July 12 article in The Clarion-Ledger. Suggesting children of undocumented immigrants are burdening Mississippi's hospitals, Bryant told The Clarion-Ledger, "You have some that have babies—anchor babies—and don't pay for it."

Start the Apollo Project for Clean Energy

It's time for an "Apollo Project" for clean energy in America.

The Convention Hotel Conundrum

The JFP warned when taxpayers were voting on funding for the Jackson Convention Complex that powers-that-be would be back asking for a hotel in the future. Now that's happening, in the disconcerting form of a "public-private" partnership.

Secret Now, Pay Later?

Faced with the prospect of deep, unpopular cuts in public services, it's no wonder the Jackson City Council is mulling a plan to free up cash in the near term. The city says its proposed debt refinancing would save the city $18.3 million in debt service over the next five years but add $10.8 million to its long-term debt.

Stop Threatening AGs Authority

This month, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell reported that he will beg the Louisiana Legislature for $27 million to sue oil giant BP for the damage the company's oil is doing to Louisiana's lucrative fishing and tourism market.

Time to Rethink Energy

In the wake of the biggest man-made environmental disaster in American history, our country's leaders have a perfect opportunity to finally, and at long last, make significant changes in U.S. energy policy.

Dine Local This Summer

You hear the "buy local" message from the Jackson Free Press often because we think it's one of the most fundamental things that we all can do as citizens on a daily basis to help the Jackson metro thrive as a unique community.

Make Consolidation Study Transparent

Since a flare-up of attention last winter, the issue of school district consolidation has received only limited public attention. This is unfortunate, as a governor-appointed panel is set to issue a report next month that will lay out a path for dissolving 18 small, rural school districts.

Sun Must Shine on Convention Hotel Deal

Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. dismayed the Jackson Free Press at the City Council work session Monday when he said the city was looking to enter into a possibly-financial deal with TCI-MS to complete the stalled Capital City Center, but that the details would be discussed in closed session at the Council meeting Tuesday (soon after this issue went to press).

Vet The New Lake 255 Plan

After more than a decade, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board came to a tentative compromise on a lake plan that does not appear to be in opposition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' preferred plan to expand Pearl River levees.

Fix the Smoking Ban

Jackson has taken a stand against smoking in public places, joining capital cities across the country that have banned indoor smoking from businesses, restaurants and bars. Health experts have long identified smoking as a serious health issue, and more recently, have found that inhaling second-hand smoke can be just as deadly as lighting up your own cigarette or cigar.

Women's Fund Gets It Wrong … Twice

The Jackson Free Press has been a strong supporter of The Women's Fund—including giving proceeds raised by our production of "The Vagina Monologues" this year to the group. We applaud the Fund for tackling the issue of domestic abuse and, like the JFP, focusing on tackling the systemic causes of the epidemic rather than just the outcomes.

Things Can Change, Mississippi

Mississippi's prison system is in desperate need of reform. Under "tough on crime" legislation like increased zero-tolerance penalties for minor drug offenses and the 85-percent rule, which mandate that prisoners serve 85 percent of their sentences prior to parole eligibility, the state's prison population and incarceration rates exploded.

Stop Stalling Flood Control

It becomes more clear with every Levee Board meeting that the strategy of hard-core Two Lakes development supporters is to stall any alternative plan that could render their plan moot—even though the local levee board has voted to pursue other options. That strategy is severely flawed.

Recovering our Confidence

In the first glimmer of good news Mississippi has seen over its lagging tax revenues, the State Tax Commission reported an increase in collections of about a half a percentage point over the previous month.

Do Good, and Do Better

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. – Hebrews 10:24

Bluster Isn't Enough, Governor

Earlier this week, Gov. Haley Barbour announced that he would sue the federal government over the new health-care law the U.S. Congress passed March 21. In his usual windy style of political rhetoric, his press release was full of statements guaranteed to scare the bejeezus out of the uninformed while adding nothing substantive to the national conversation.

Ellington