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The JFP Interview With Alan Nunnelee

Republican Mississippi Sen. Alan Nunnelee is looking to follow after Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker—again. In 1994, Nunnelee gained Wicker's state Senate seat after Wicker won election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Barbour Welcomes BP Escrow Manager

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour praised Kenneth Feinberg today, for his ability to oversee a $20 billion escrow fund that BP agreed to set up to compensate Gulf State victims filing claims for losses due to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

AG Can Sue BP without OK

British Petroleum announced that Mississippi will receive a total of $65 million to fight oil coming onto the beaches and for tourist advertising, but Attorney General Jim Hood says he requires none of those funds to pursue a suit against the oil giant, should one become necessary.

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.

[Hutchinson] What We Can't Do About BP

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell minced no words in an interview with ABC News recently. Powell said President Barack Obama should muscle BP aside and move in with "decisive force." The general had one thing in mind: military-type response and seizure of the operation.

City Addressees Water Violations; Retirement Payment Increases

Read the city's stormwater management proposal (PDF, 64 KB)

Fishermen Uncertain About BP Claims; Hood Demands Action

Biloxi charter boat captain Tom Becker said he filed a $40,000 claim with BP due to a drop in business following the April sinking of the BP offshore oil rig, but said the last four years offered a poor income record to file with his claim thanks to Hurricane Katrina and the economy.

Hood Talks Damage Claims at Oil Spill Hearing

BP's Letter to House Speaker Billy McCoy

House Panel Questions Dispersant Toxicity

Some House members left this morning's inaugural meeting of the House Select Committee on the Gulf Coast Disaster without knowing the potential risk of dispersants that British Petroleum is using to break up and sink millions of gallons of oil bursting from a destroyed deepwater oil well off the coast of Louisiana.

Covering Our Oily Tracks

We humans forget a lot, especially when remembering means we have to change. And there is the crux of the problem: We've spent decades demanding that the rest of the world conform to what America wants. We gobble up a quarter of the world's energy with a mere 4.5 percent of the its population (both China and India have about four times the number of people). We have allowed amoral corporations to act in our name with impunity. We've stood by while politicians gutted our government in favor of private entities that increased spending and decreased responsibility. We can't sustain, and we can't understand why government isn't doing enough fast enough.

McCoy, Bryant Announce Dueling Oil Spill Panels

Two newly-created committees of state legislators will begin hearings on the Gulf oil spill as early as next week. Yesterday morning, House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, announced the formation of a special House committee to monitor the response to the disaster, which has surpassed the Exxon Valdez as the largest spill in U.S. history. Later the same day, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant announced the formation of a Senate committee for a similar purpose.

Two Races Rumble this Primary

This story has been updated to reflect a correction.

The June 1 primaries will be here in a handful of days, and the winners will likely give two of the state's four incumbents a hard time, say politicos.

BP: Choking Wells and Last Calls

Read BP's letter to the Environmental Protection Agency

Racist Names, Beware

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba said he voted with a majority of the council to remove a controversial petition requirement for the renaming of city streets or facilities because he felt city residents deserved a "more fair system" for changing street and place names.

House Faces ‘Pointless' Abortion Bill, More

The Mississippi House of Representatives return to Jackson tomorrow to deal with the last remaining items of business in its 2010 legislative session, after a fierce battle over what several House Democrats are calling a pointless anti-abortion bill. House lawmakers came to the Capitol Saturday to deal with motions to reconsider on two major appropriations bills made in retaliation for Public Health Committee Chairman Rep. Steve Holland's refusal to bring an abortion funding bill before the committee.

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