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Barbour Back At Old Lobbying Firm

According to Roll Call, Barbour wasted no time in getting back to his other job, working as a high-powered lobbyist for the firm named in his honor -- BGR Group -- formerly Barbour, Griffith and Rogers.

Sachs: Reaganomics Toppled the U.S.

Economic Jeffery Sachs notes that Reagan's "War on Government" -- and the 30+ year experiment of low taxation for the wealthy and deregulation of financial markets has led to serious income inequality and national competitiveness.

Arkansas AG Tells Personhood to ‘Redesign' Proposed Ballot Initiative

Earlier this week, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel sent sponsors of a proposed personhood ballot amendment back to the drawing board.

Barbour's Last Speech to Legislature as Gov.

Welcome back, or for you freshman, Welcome!

Outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour gave his final address to a joint session of the Mississippi Legislature yesterday. For your consideration, here are his remarks, as prepared, from the governor's office:

UMMC Cuts 115 Jobs Today, Citing Economy, Uninsured Patients

The University of Mississippi Medical Center announced in a press statement today that is is laying off 115 employees. Here it is, verbatim:

JPS to Hold Town Hall Meetings

Correction: The date for the second set of town hall meetings has been corrected below.

Council Sets Valentine's Day Election

So far, it looks like three candidates have thrown their hats into the race to replace longtime Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes. The council voted today to hold a special election on Feb. 14.

Boots Optional?

Phil Bryant may not support a woman's right to make decisions about her body but there is one issue on which the future guv is decidedly pro-choice: footwear. Mississippi's 64th governor takes the oath of office at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 10, followed by a parade and concludes with an inauguration ball at the Jackson Convention Complex at 6 p.m. According to the invitation for the event themed Rising Together, "black tie and boots are optional." As one whose love of western leatherwear matches Bryant's, I'm of the mind that boots should be mandatory. In fact, Satan wins if you dare to show up in regular ol' wing tips. And while many members of the media are waiting for an advance copy of Bryant's inaugural speech, my breath is bated for the moment Bryant's camp reveals his choice of boot for his big night: Will he go with a kick-ass pair of Tony Lama ostrich quills? Stylish Ariat Belly caimans? Or will he pull out all the stops and go with an American alligator hornback from Lucchese? I know my invitation is in the mail (members of the public can visit risingtogether.ms to buy tix for $50 each) but likely hasn't shown up yet because of the busy holiday season. In the meantime, I'll be shining my boots.

The Week in Crime

Due to yesterday's police academy graduation, we got the weekly crime stats a little late.

Due to yesterday's police academy graduation, we got the weekly crime stats a little late. Here's an overview.

City Council Votes to Dissolve Relationship with TCI

It's about time. Here at the JFP, we've been writing for years now about the potential minefield that is a relationship with Frank Melton's buddies at Trans Continental Realty (connected to controversial Texas businessman Gene Phillips). No time to rehash now (putting out the second of two issues right now so the staff can take some Christmas time off), but you can see the full archive of our convention-center hotel coverage here: http://www.jfp.ms/hotel. Meantime, we're thrilled to hear that the city is doing what we've long wanted them to do: dissolve that relationship. We know it hasn't been easy since Melton and friends sold TCI the land, but it finally seems to be happening. Sigh of relief. And, yes, we told ya so. (Sorry, couldn't resist. But we did. Years ago.)

Barbour Headed Back to ‘K Street'?

AP in Jackson has an unnamed source saying that Barbour plans to return to BGR Group (formerly Barbour, Griffith and Rogers), a lobbying firm that focuses primarily and Republican issues and candidates. (Their Washington DC office is actually near 13th Street NW and F Street NE, a few blocks from K Street.)

Barbour Reacts to Race to the Top

The Obama administration announced the recipients of this year's Race to the Top grants, and Mississippi was not on the list.

PERS Commission Recommends Three-year Freeze on COLA

Verbatim from Gov. Haley Barbour's office:

Verbatim: PERS Study Commission Releases Recommendations for Strengthening Pension Fund

City Mulls Bond Deal

The City Council and city attorney have thick stacks of documents to review detailing the deal the Jackson Redevelopment Authority worked out to build a convention center hotel.

City Crime Rankings: ‘Invalid, Damaging and Irresponsible'

We've been warning Jackson for years about the "dangerous" city rankings scam designed to sell books. Leaders in most cities across American cringe and complain when the CQ Press (formerly known as Morgan-Quitno) "dangerous" rankings come out—but here in Jackson, corporate media and politicians from Haley Barbour to former DA candidate Wilson Carroll to supporters of Marshand Crisler tend to take a less-intelligent approach. It's as if they view the rankings as the perfect opportunity for sensationalism and cheap votes. We've written many pieces about this problem. (Also see: Barbour, Carroll Bash Jackson With Old Statistics). Meanwhile, the FBI has warned for years against taking these "rankings" seriously.

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