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Jackson City Government Broken, says Mayor
Information from Mayor Harvey Johnson's transition team meetings is slowly trickling in, and Johnson said preliminary reviews are showing the city suffers from a broken chain of command.
PSC Refuses Bill of Rights Vote
Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley lashed out at fellow commissioners Lynn Posey and Leonard Bentz after the two refused to vote on a proposed Mississippi Ratepayers' Bill of Rights at a Tuesday regular public service commission meeting.
State gets D+ for Protecting Water Quality
Mississippi rates a lowly D+ for protecting the quality of natural water sources, according to the Gulf Restoration Network. The organization, an alliance of local individuals and national and regional groups, issued a report card grading how committed (or non-committed) state officials are at incorporating the standards of the Clean Water Act of 1977. The Clean Water Act established goals of reducing national water pollution and eliminating the release of water fouled with high amounts of toxic waste.
Mississippi GOP Sues for Fair Elections
The Mississippi Republican Party filed suit against the Leflore County Election Commission and Southeast Greenwood poll manager Gail Griggs today for "failure to perform their statutory duties in the November 4 election."
Police Have Suspect in ‘Miracle' Shooting
Hinds County Sheriff and interim Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin named convicted felon Michael Allen as the suspect in the Dec. 1 shooting of Jackson business owner Donnie Register. Register, owner of The Antique Market in Fondren, made national headlines, shielding his head from a bullet allegedly fired by Allen. The bullet ricocheted off Register's wedding band and sent fragments into his hand and neck, potentially saving him from a fatal head wound.
Farish Financial Woes 'Over'?
King Edward Hotel developer David Watkins may step in to help overcome financial speed bumps the Farish Street Entertainment District has suffered, according to Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen. Allen was short on details Tuesday, but seemed confident that Watkins, one of the chief personalities behind the development of the historic King Edward and the upcoming renovation of the Standard Life building in downtown Jackson, was working with Performa to remove the financial barriers.
Meeting Addresses Crime, Calls for Tax Increase
Straight talk was the theme at a March 27 town hall meeting on Jackson crime at the Board of Education auditorium in downtown Jackson. The meeting, hosted by the Jackson Police Officers Association and the Jackson Free Press, featured Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin, Assistant Chief Lee Vance, former Assistant Chief Edna Drake, Rev. Hosea Hines, and Det. Juan Cloy and David Domino of the police union. Hinds County DA Robert Smith was also slated to be on the panel, but his assistant called just before the event to say he wouldn't attend. City Councilman Margaret Barrett-Simon canceled earlier the day of the event.
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.
Mayor Re-instates, Discredits JPD Promotion Exams
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton announced today that the police department will again administer police officer promotion exams to officers currently serving in acting sergeant and lieutenant positions because the city has not offered the test in recent years. Melton, however, kicked the legs out from under any validation the test might bring, telling reporters that officers who flunk the exam would not necessarily be demoted to their lower certified positions.
Mississippi to Receive $100 Million in Microsoft Settlement
The Mississippi Legislature may have a new tool to work with in straightening out the state's fiscal woes. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced at a June 11 press conference that technology giant Microsoft Corporation has agreed to a $100 million settlement with the state of Mississippi that will be divided among state agencies and residents.
Jackson Lake Plans and Eminent Domain
Jackson Realtor Bob Ridgway is president of a 100-year-old exclusive hunting and fishing spot about a half mile from where County Line Road dead ends at Old Canton Road. Mule Jail Club has an eight-person membership that goes back to the 1880s, and a number of small cabins sit on pylons either within the water or on ground that is partially or totally submerged during a portion of the year. Biologists describe the territory as some of the most pristine wetland between Hinds and Rankin counties. Nevertheless, Mule Jail could lose a considerable portion of itself to lake water, just as it sacrificed a portion of itself to the making of the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
District Taking Second Look at Stimulus Allocations
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson told the Jackson Free Press today that the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District was rethinking a plan to allot $12.2 million in stimulus money for road and bridge repair in Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties. Thompson complained that the current plan gave economically distressed Hinds County $3.5 million, while giving financially affluent Madison County $4.2 million and Rankin County $4.5 million. The city of Jackson, a metropolitan area carrying the most paved roads in the stateand the most in need of repaironly qualified for $1.2 million under the plan.
Reeves Plans to Challenge Election Ruling
Republican District 71 incumbent legislator John Reeves said he will appeal a Hinds County Circuit Court decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd granted a writ of mandamus Tuesday to Democratic District 71 winner Adrienne Wooten, compelling the Hinds County Election Commission to certify the results of the Nov. 6 election and acknowledge Wooten as the winner.
Bill Restricts State's Use of Eminent Domain
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour could face his first veto override if he refuses to sign a House bill limiting the state's right to take property. House Bill 803 restricts any governmental usage of eminent domain "for the purpose of converting privately owned real property for retail, office, commercial, industrial or residential development; or for enhancement of tax revenue or for transfer to a person."
City Council Pays Temps
Jackson's City Council reversed its position over withholding payment to temp agencies this Tuesday. Last month, four members of the council voted to withhold thousands of dollars to temp agencies after Mayor Frank Melton refused to disclose information on temporary workers.
Upper Level Closed, Temporarily
Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas granted the city's request to temporarily close the Upper Level nightclub on Monday, calling the club a "public nuisance." "The court finds that the activities on or about the Upper Level premises have occurred in this fashion for a long time and that said club constitutes a clear and present danger to the surrounding community ... ," Thomas wrote in his decision.
Johnson to Present Budget to Council
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. reminded Jackson City Council members at yesterday's payroll meeting that he will present his budget proposal to the council at a noon tomorrow, Aug. 19. The new fiscal year for the city begins Oct. 1, 2009, and the city has to finalize the budget in September.
Domestic Abuse is a Pre-Existing Condition in Mississippi
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney expressed outrage today that the state of Mississippi is one of eight states in the nation, including the District of Columbia, which allows insurance companies to consider domestic abuse as a pre-existing condition with which to deny health-care coverage. The National Women's Law Center reported in April that the state of Arkansas passed a law prohibiting insurance companies to pull coverage for domestic violence survivors, putting a spotlight on the remaining states.
Mayor Reveals ‘Dire' State of Jackson's Budget
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. confirmed Monday what many City Council members already knew: that the city's financial situation is "dire."
Southern Republicans Hold Up Bailout
The Jackson NAACP, the Mississippi AFL-CIO and supporting organizations protested Mississippi Republican senators' opposition to a bailout bill for General Motors and Chrysler at the State Capitol Tuesday. U.S. Senate Republicans, including Mississippi Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, helped filibuster and block a compromise for a government bailout of the two car companies last week, despite Vice President Dick Cheney warning them that they would be considered the party of failed President Herbert Hoover if the auto industry collapsed.