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Health Reform on the Way
The Mississippi Primary Health Care Association and Health Help for Kids hosted a community forum last week featuring federal and state leaders who outlined some of the changes Mississippians could expect as a result of the new health-care legislation.
Appropriations and Pole-Dancing
The House and Senate agreed on a major appropriation bill last week, when negotiators came to terms on appropriations bill SB 2495, which restores $82 million to the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, including $37 million slated for K-12 public education. House and Senate negotiators reached an accord after Gov. Haley Barbour sliced more than $450 million from the 2010 budget.
Police Assaulted Boy, Mother Says
A Jackson mother alleges that a JPD officer threw her child against a police car and gave his face a cut that required 11 stitches.
Boxers, Cows, Horses and Hogs
Advocacy groups this week denounced Senate Finance Committee Chair Tommy Robertson for killing an embattled tax swap bill that would have cut the state's grocery tax by half and raised the tobacco tax to $1 per pack.
No More Decree
The Jackson Police and Fire departments are no longer bound by a 1974 consent decree in the promotion and hiring of employees. Last week, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate determined that the city "has fulfilled its obligations under both decrees," which were devised to counter racial discrimination in hiring and promotions.
[City Buzz] no. 13 January 31 - February 7
The Mississippi AFL-CIO held a press conference on Monday, demanding the Senate pass two worker-friendly bills sent to them from the House.
Mayor Faces Heart Surgery
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton fainted at an inauguration ceremony for county officials Monday morning. Melton appeared to temporarily lose consciousness during the inauguration, which recognized officials elected during the November elections, including Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith.
Law on Call
Last summer, Jackson attorneys Tim Porter and Rocky Wilkins came up with the idea for "Law Call," a live call-in show that premiered on WLBT Feb. 7.
Levee Board Votes for Levees
The controversial "Two Lakes" saga ended Monday when the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District voted to move ahead with a levees-only flood-control plan endorsed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
New Homes 'Tested and Passed'
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton stepped away from his federal trial Friday to announce that city inspectors no longer have concerns about infrastructure problems at the Timber Falls and Forest Hills Place neighborhood developments.
Lifers and Choicers Agree: JPD Sucked
Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion debate recently forced the city of Jackson to address the right to protest in public. Though the state of Mississippi made history earlier this century for demonstrations and rallies on social issues, particularly on civil rights issues, the city of Jackson seems to have no exact number for determining how many demonstrators constitute a "demonstration," even as more radical pro-life groups pledge to storm the "Gates of Hell" here in Jackson in upcoming weeks.
Civil Rights to Actually Be Taught
Gov. Haley Barbour likely shocked his staunchest supporters when he announced a bill authorizing public schools to add civil rights and human rights to the public-school curriculum in all grades. "I think the broader the curricula and history are, the better it is for the students," Barbour said at the March 20 announcement.
UPDATED: Saggy-Pants Ordinance Fails 4-2
The Jackson City Council voted down Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes' proposed Saggy Pants Ordinance on Tuesday with a 4-to-2 vote. Opposition to the ordinance included Councilmen Jeff Weill, Marshand Crisler, Leslie McLemore and Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simone. Supporters included Stokes and Councilman Bluntson, with Councilman Charles Tillman absent.
Reversing This Injustice
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, visited the campus of Jackson State University Tuesday to speak on an upcoming April 1 march across the Crescent City Connection, a bridge spanning the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the bedroom community of Gretna. After New Orleans took a pounding from Hurricane Katrina, police from the majority-white community of Gretna shut down the bridge to largely black refugees fleeing the destruction in New Orleans.
Another Nod To Big Tobacco
Former tobacco lobbyist Gov. Haley Barbour announced March 27 that he was vetoing a bill to provide $20 million a year to The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, an anti-smoking program financed through a $120 million annual payment from a 1990s tobacco company settlement.
Mayor Leads Morality Raid
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton took his mayoral duties into Center Folds strip club, in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Melton showed up after 1 a.m. with two other police officers and claims he found violations of the city's nudity laws.
City Council Interrogates Police Chief
The Jackson City Council criticized Police Chief Shirlene Anderson's crime plan and demanded action on unconfirmed department heads at a March 6 special council meeting. The council spent the first hour of the meeting addressing Anderson's "Comprehensive Crime Reduction Plan," which the chief presented with help from Chief Administrative Officer Robert Walker. "This is a draft," Walker cautioned. "This is not the fine-tuned document we intend to have before you in a few weeks."
More Cops For Guns; Fewer For 911?
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton says he's more than doubling the city's seven-member gun-interdiction team because of the team's success since April. Officers will be moved from within the city's current force, which is down to 440 officers, far under the 1999 Linder-Maple recommendations for Jackson.
Barbour Targeting Dem Governors
It's political deja vu all over again. In his new role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. Haley Barbour is playing a key role nationally again—strategizing about how to beat Democrats in races around the country, as well as fighting for redistricting in other states that can help Republicans win races.
The Billion-Dollar Levee Question
Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen came out last week as an avid opponent of a levee expansion, saying it is too expensive. His choice, Two Lakes, is also expensive, and perhaps more so.