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Week 7–Butt Tax and Task Force
Two tricky bills survived their respective sides of the Legislature, most likely to be stoned to death or ignored into oblivion by the opposing chamber in the upcoming weeks.
The Lakes Plan That Won't Recede
Although both the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the local Levee Board have rejected the Two Lakes development/flood-control plan, its supporters are vowing not to give up.
The Katrina Effect: Politics After the Storm
Nobody had ever seen anything like Katrina. "When Katrina came, we knew we were in for an entirely different kind of animal," said Capt. Louis Skrmetta of Gulfport.
Drill, Baby, Drill: The Reality of the McCain-Palin Plan
Republican presidential nominee John McCain has a shiny new vice presidential candidate but an old idea for dealing with the nation's gas crisis.
Spies In The Sky
Jackson and the metro area have a new set of eyes in the sky, thanks to local helicopter pilot Coyt Bailey, SafeCity Watch, philanthropist Jim Barksdale and other private donors, who together donated about $700,000 for the purchase of a surveillance helicopter that will cruise the skies over Jackson and Ridgeland.
Downtown Development Gets Boost
Watkins, Ludlum, Winter & Stennis are moving their offices from State Street to a planned building at Jackson Place, effectively replacing the firm originally slated to serve as anchor to the development. The move puts the development tentatively known as "2 Jackson Place" back in production and sets the ribbon-cutting for 2009.
WAPT Poll Finds City Discontent
A 16 WAPT poll of 500 registered voters, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., found that a majority of Jackson citizens are unhappy with Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, the city council and the direction in which the city is going.
JRA Considers Latin Festival, Parking Robots
The city of Jackson may host a new Latin and Caribbean-culture festival in September if the Jackson Redevelopment Authority and Novia Communication & Media Group can agree on using Union Station and Union Marketplace as its venue.
City's Debt Crisis Looms
The Jackson City Council has put the brakes on the administration's plan to re-finance the city's debt to fill holes in the budget.
McMillin's Moonlighting Means Merger?
Photos by Adam Lynch
Could 13 be the city's lucky number? Jackson Mayor Frank Melton named Sheriff Malcolm McMillin as the city's chief of police—the 13th chief to hold the seat since 1988. McMillin said he will assume the role immediately, but added that he will also retain his job as sheriff of Hinds County.
Beware of 'Liar's Loans'
Jackson Administrative Assistant Carolyn Bell, who financed her Ridgeland home through New Century Mortgage—now called Carrington Mortgage Company—bought her home in 2006 with a fixed, introduction teaser rate, and her monthly payment is $1,008. The adjustable rate of the loan is kicking in this month, however, bringing with it the possibility of a $1,400 monthly mortgage payment. Bell knows she can't afford the new rate and doubts she will be able to re-finance before it takes effect.
The Mayor 'Runs Amok'
Mayor Frank Melton and 20 members of the Jackson Police Department stormed the Upper Level club early Sunday morning and closed it as a potential fire hazard, as first reported online Sunday by the Jackson Free Press.
BREAKING: Melton Budget 'Smoke and Mirrors'
The City Council cut short a budget session today after the Melton administration failed to present detailed budget revisions.
Let's Make a Deal
The Mississippi Center for Justice is still looking to buy the old library building at 301 N. State Street, the site of the historic "read-in" by nine Tougaloo College students during the Civil Rights Movement. MCJ, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm, wants to make the building—which had served as the city's "whites only" library until the read-in—the future site of its offices. MCJ President Martha Bergmark said the role the building played in the Civil Rights Movement made it a fitting location in synch with the nonprofit group's prime agenda of providing equal justice to everybody.
Hot Over 'Heat and Serve' Housing
A heated March 9 Jackson City Council meeting followed a March 8 work session attended by about 40 angry South Jackson residents concerned over the plan to create a lease-to-own single-family home subdivision. Neighbors say Valley Park Subdivision with its 15-year leasing option, is akin to "canned instant decay—just heat and serve," according to one opponent.
Long Live The King
As attorney David Watkins stands beneath the 12-story façade of the dilapidated King Edward Hotel, he's got a glimmer on his face. He's exchanging pleasantries with James Guinn, general foreman for Clayco, the St. Louis contractor that's doing remediation work on the hotel, and there's no getting around the fact that this guy is seriously giddy.
ACLU Worker Arrested For Observing Police
Police arrested ACLU Field Coordinator Brent Cox for surveying a police interdiction last month, though Cox said he was fulfilling his constitutional duty in observing the activity.
Beauty, Schmeauty
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors let a $1.2 million beautification grant slip through their fingers this week when they voted against meeting $240,000 in federal matching funds. The grant, provided through the Mississippi Department of Transportation, would have paid to landscape six U.S. 80 intersections in Jackson. Supervisors must approve the problem by July 28, though that is now unlikely.
Barbour Tied to Dirty Politics
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has ties to a GOP telemarketing firm that jammed New Hampshire phone lines used by disabled or dependent voters trying to get to polling stations in 2002.
Who Gets To Crown The King?
Melton told the Jackson Free Press that he plans to move ahead with an alternate group of investors for the King Edward Hotel renovation if work does not begin by June.