Look at the Whole Immigration Picture
Immigrants and their children sent a loud message last week. About 50 people marched on the capitol, protesting recent raids at a Laurel factory and a new Mississippi law that puts people in jail for being undocumented and employed at the same time.
Fire the Employees Stealing from City
Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill summed it up best when he said the city of Jackson had "dropped the ball" on supervising the city's gas cards. According to city council members, 1,088 city employees have access to gas cards that allow employees to fill up public-owned cars and trucks.
Stop Creating More Shortfalls
If State Auditor Stacey Pickering gets his way, the state could end up paying an extra $3 million for a bill that has already been paid.
Do the Good Thing
The Jackson Free Press was pleased, a little anyway, to see that Gov. Haley Barbour finally caved this week and proposed a 24-cent-per-pack tobacco tax hike. Maybe he is finally getting the memo that even Mississippians of all parties support higher taxes on tobacco products, which would both help finance our health-care costs, as well as discourage smoking, especially among young people.
Mr. Melton, Please Step Down
On the national level, we're watching an extraordinary processthe American government is making a peaceful transition of power between two very different presidents, administrations and political parties.
Don't Be Intimidated: Vote Tuesday
Let's be clear: Someone may try to intimidate you out of voting on Tuesday, Nov. 4, but you must not be stopped. No matter what games you face at the precinct, do not leave the polls without casting at least a "provisional" ballot. Memorize that word.
Barbour, Voter Intimidation Is Wrong, Cowardly
Gov. Haley Barbour is the latest Republican official to climb aboard the anti-voting sleaze machine and needs to climb off post-haste and do everything possible to ensure that every eligible Mississippi gets the opportunity to vote. This is no timethere is never a time, in factfor the governor of a state to play partisan politics with the electorate, but it seems that is exactly what our esteemed governor is doing.
Health Care: Access or Reform?
Perhaps one of the more effective openings that Sen. Barack Obama has had for criticizing his opponent, Sen. John McCain, has been in the contrast of their health-care policies.
Be Deliberate on Youth Coverage
There is no better time to pause and look at the media's (poor, unfair, incomplete) coverage of the young people of Jackson and America than in the middle of this nasty presidential campaign.
GOP: Watch the Racist Talking Points
Just hours after the Dow closed Monday down 777 points, a JFP reader posted the "reason" for the financial crisis on our Web site: "The subprime mortgage gateway was led by Democrats (Carter, then Clinton) insistent on the theory (while noble) that everyone should be able to buy a home. Not everyone can." This sounds innocent enough. But it is vital to read the fine print.
Hosemann, Commit to Fair Elections
In recent years, the role of the secretary of state was handled in a fair-handed and relatively apolitical way by Eric Clark, a conservative Democrat who seemed to focus on good governance and efficiency when it came to handling elections.
Close Loopholes for Race Violence
In 2005, the Jackson Free Press went to Franklin County, Miss., with the brother of Charles Moore, one of two black teenagers killed by the Klan in 1964. We wanted to detail a case that probably only got attention in the first place due to three missing civil rights workers at the same time in the "Mississippi Burning" case that drew much more media attention over the years, probably because two of the victims were white.
Governor, Fix Medicaid Permanently
Barbour revealed this week that "a junior staff person" working for the state uncovered a budget correction that allotted the state a one-time payment of $92 million from the federal government. The payment means the long battle to fill the $90 million Medicaid shortfall is suddenly over for the 2009 budget.
Judicial Activism Must Stop
The Jackson Free Press revealed in a breaking story online last week that some Mississippi Supreme Court justices had been deliberating how to change a state law that determines who gets to be the chief justice and presiding justices, essentially turning the positions into popularity contests among the justices.
Start Asking Questions
Community response to the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Flora brings to mind a question every mother has asked an irresponsible teenager since time immemorial: "If 'everyone' jumped off a cliff, would you follow?"
Something to Hide, Mississippi?
The Jackson Free Press recently submitted an information request to the city of Jackson for some fairly modest figures.
Judge Discrimination Must Stop
Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet is calling attention to a recent change in Hinds County Circuit Court that should alarm every county resident, regardless of race. Hinds County Chief Judge Swan Yerger issued a memorandum to circuit court judges last November, dividing the four justices into two different case categories.
Feds Need to Get 'Er Done
The U.S. Constitution probably breathed a sigh of relief last week when the U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments of Mayor Frank Melton and his two bodyguards for the alleged Aug. 26, 2006, attack on a Ridgeway Street duplex.
Half-Way Isn't Enough
A city-wide smoking ban extending to all restaurants without a "stand-alone" bar barely survived the city council last month. Before deciding on the partial ban, members voted down two different versions of the ban, including a more complete ban on smoking in all businesses within city limits, including bars.
Call Off Your Dog, Barbour
Last Thursday, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant refused to let the Senate even consider a bill raising the state's pathetic 17-cent excise tax on a pack of cigarettes to counter the $90 million Medicaid budget shortfall.
Levees Now or Floods Later
Steady rain across Middle America swamped cities and rural communities in Iowa this month. The flooding has killed more than 20 people since May, displaced more than 40,000 and caused billions in damage.
Monitor Melton's Mentoring
Mayor Frank Melton's eleventh-hour call this week for the city to pay $1 million for young people to work for private businesses should put a vital issue front and center for the city of Jackson.
Rally Behind Farish Street
Farish Street remains an eyesore almost 10 years after Memphis-based Performa Real Estate decided to turn it into an entertainment district.
Focus on the Blatant Criminals
Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas may offer a decision on the city's temporary restraining order against the Upper Level Club this week, possibly paving the way for a permanent injunction against the business that will shut it down for good.
Maintaining Public Faith
To quote a passive-laden Clarion-Ledger story: "Subpoenas have been issued" for suspended Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter and former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters, to see if the ex-DA had some influence over DeLaughter in a trade-secrets civil suit.
Time for Compromise
Barring disaster, the special legislative session will begin May 21. Gov. Haley Barbour sent an e-mail out to legislators saying the special session will deal with up to eight topics, from metal recycling to voter ID.
Make Provisions For Our Mentally Ill
The shooting death of 67-year-old Jackson resident K.C. Battle says plenty about the local community's inability to handle mental illness.
Stop Playing God
Right now, there is a lively discussion at jacksonfreepress.com about the upcoming May 21 state execution of Earl Berry, who was convicted Nov. 29, 1987, for the murder of Mary Bounds.
State Advertising Needs Oversight
Gov. Haley Barbour was crying his eyes out Monday over poor, starving, unemployed Mississippians, according to a statement from his office. The Legislature's failure to reauthorize the Mississippi Department of Employment Security will seriously hurt that demographic, he said.
Don't Cheat Inner-City Schools
The Jackson City Council is frustrated and looking for answers as to why new schools aren't being built two years after Jacksonians agreed to up their taxes to finance the construction.