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Warrs Say ‘Not Guilty'
Former Republican Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr and his wife Laura both pleaded not guilty yesterday to four new charges of misleading loan officers on two mortgage loans in 2003, before Warr became mayor in 2005. The new indictments follow a 16-count indictment that federal authorities launched against the Warrs for Katrina fraud, including misrepresenting occupancy and losses to FEMA, to which the Warrs also pleaded not guilty in January.
Melton Hires ‘Rogue' Debris Removers?
Two council members say Jackson Mayor Frank Melton has enlisted a Louisiana company to do rogue debris removal work in the city. "These guys were on the street all over the city this morning," said Council President Leslie McLemore. "They have not been authorized by the council to do this work. The council has already selected a private contractor for that work." McLemore said he believed Nungesser Industries, of Pearl River, La., is doing unauthorized work, at the behest of Melton.
Court Shifts, Graves Makes History
Even as Election Day brought an upset of Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Smith, a U.S. Chamber favorite, the outcome may not have loosened the corporate business lobby's influence on the court's decisions. The Chamber spent millions of dollars on the election, pushing out two justices who were willing to challenge the court's judicial activism against plaintiffs, which it became known for under Smith.
Mayor Brings Back Crime Unit, UMMC Grant
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. reversed two of the last mayor's more controversial decisions Wednesday, announcing that he is bringing back the Crime Prevention Unit that Mayor Frank Melton eliminated four years ago, as well as reinstating an annual UMMC payment of $200,000 t to finance fire equipment and special training for firefighters. Melton had canceled the UMMC annual payment in lieu of taxes that Johnson had arranged during his last term as mayor.
In Response to Entergy Matter, Lawmakers Trying to Merge PSC, Public Utilities
In response to a controversy involving Entergy rate hikes, the Mississippi House of Representatives Public Utilities Committee passed a bill this week moving the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff back under the supervision of the Public Service Commission. As reported in the Jackson Free Press last week, Commissioner Brandon Presley and others are complaining that the separation has inhibited the Commission's ability to correctly audit Entergy and how it is imposing rates on MIssissippians.
Groups Push For New Smoking Ban in Legislature
Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, is pushing for statewide legislation in the next session of the Legislature that will prevent smoking in most enclosed public places, including restaurants and bars. The bill has not yet been dropped, and could see adjustments before it enters the legislative process.
District 71 Re-Vote on for Tuesday
An attorney for Adrienne Wooten, the candidate who won the House District 71 race by about 200 votes, said her Republican opponent John Reeves had yet to prove his case for a re-vote, even as Wooten's supporters pressed to spread awareness about the Dec. 18 re-vote. "No voters came forward saying they had been deprived of the right to vote. … There are irregularities in every election, some confusion in every election. If we base the decision of a revote on some confusion on the voters' part then we're going to be re-voting in every election," Wooten's attorney Carlton Reeves told the Jackson Free Press.
Standard Life Purchase Delayed
Jackson attorney and developer David Watkins told the Jackson Free Press today that the national recession and subsequent credit crunch is hitting home again. Capital One, the loan agency funding the purchase of the city-owned Standard Life Building, is slowing down the paperwork and forcing delays on Watkins and HRI Inc. of New Orleans, who are attempting to buy the building from the city.
UPDATED: New Voters, More Postage
The stamp box on your absentee ballot envelope isn't big enough, says Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn. The size of the envelope and the ballot inside raises the postage to 83 cents, she said, despite the postage box on the exterior of the envelope reading: "Place stamp (singular) here."
Waterworks Flowing at Smith Park
The fountain in Smith Park is running again. The park, which sits in downtown Jackson along Amite Street, contains a large spill-over fountain with attached manmade creek that winds through the park, passing beneath pavement bridges and around concrete boulders and an outdoor center stage. For months, however, the fountain has been silent, the water drained, the concrete stream bed containing only leaves and bits of trash.
Consultants Threaten JSU Programs, Alumni Fear
Members of committees affiliated with Jackson State University are worried that the university will be cutting programs in a curriculum reorganization. Associates of the Hinds Chapter of the Jackson State University National Alumni Association Political Action Committee and the Mississippi Coalition of Black Higher Education voiced their concerns at a 10 a.m. press conference at the office of Jackson attorney and city Councilman Chokwe Lumumba.
DISH with Ben Allen
Before the holidays, Council President Ben Allen set out a number of goals he said City Council would pursue in January, with the hope of making substantial progress by February. Where do things stand now?
Council Must Address Another $3 Million Deficit
The Jackson City Council dropped the bomb at a special meeting that the city of Jackson is still stuck with a $3 million deficit from the 2006-'07 budget, even after the Council approved the 2008 budget last week. "We need to address the issue of the closed-out budget of '06-'07, which by state law, we are required to have balanced by Sept. 30. Right now, that is not the case," said Ward 6 Councilman Marshand Crisler. "I don't think we can over-emphasize the importance of doing that in a timely fashion."
Reeves Blasts Stimulus, Predicts Rotten State Revenue
State Treasurer Tate Reeves slammed President Barack Obama's stimulus plan on Monday, saying Obama had chosen to "outsource" the leadership on the package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Mayor Goes Back on the Ballot
UPDATED
Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum put Jackson Mayor Frank Melton back on the Democratic ballot today.
Bank Problems Mire Farish Project
A local bank has refused to clear Performa Mississippi LLC for loans totalling $3 million to finance Phase 2 of the development of the Farish Street Entertainment District.
City Tax Cut Unlikely
A Thursday night public hearing revealed that a proposed tax cut for Jackson residents may be down the tubes. Jackson Mayor Frank Melton proposed the cut last week during a budget hearing, but even he abandoned the cut last night, which would have cut city revenue by only $582,200. Council members present at the Thursday hearingincluding Charles Tillman, Marshand Crisler, Margaret Barrett-Simon and Council President Leslie McLemoresuspected the tax cut would not be able to survive budget shortfalls, especially in light of city employees demands for pay increases.
Bill to Hamstring AG Office?
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Senate are pressing for a new law that would force a competitive bidding process on plaintiff lawyers looking to contract with the Mississippi attorney general's office. Bryant and some senators say the bill, which they call a "sunshine law," will further open attorney general/private attorney contracts to public inspection.
A Blank Check for Entergy?
Consumer's rights advocates and environmentalists alike are furious about a Senate bill that would pave the way for the state Public Service Commission to let utility companies charge customers for construction of a new nuclear facility at Grand Gulf, in Port Gibson. Current law only allows utility companies to raise rates after the facility is online and producing electricity.
Hood Joins AGs Asking Congress to Protect Homeowners From Foreclosure
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wants the U.S. to change its bankruptcy laws to protect homeowners from foreclosure. "Despite the best efforts of state and federal government regulators to engage servicers in voluntary loan modifications to avoid unnecessary foreclosures, further action to spur meaningful modifications must be taken," Hood said in a statement.