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Face-Off: The Battle for ‘Tort Reform'
When Sen. Gloria Williamson walked up to the podium on the first day of the 2004 Extraordinary Session called by Gov. Haley Barbour, she had one goal. The senator from Neshoba County, a Democrat, wanted to convince the Senate—an assembly of mostly well-to-do Republican men lined up behind Barbour's mission to end "lawsuit abuse"—to do the right thing. She wanted to appeal to the human side of the chamber, to convince them to continue allowing Mississippians who had suffered horrendous disfigurement as a result of a defective product, negligence or an act of malpractice to collect "pain and suffering" damages.
‘Merit' in Mississippi
The teacher merit-pay mindset is attracting more believers here in Mississippi, despite hesitation on the part of teachers' organizations and many lawmakers who worry that it's just another way to chip away at the public education system.
‘The Mayor Happened'
The Jackson Free Press got an anonymous call about the mayor of Jackson tearing down a house with sledgehammers in late August 2006.
Left Behind: The Reality Bites
First, the good news. Jackson Public Schools announced last week that three schools—George Elementary, Murrah High School and Power APAC Elementary—all reached Level 5 for the 2003-04 school year, which is the Mississippi Department of Education's highest rating. George Elementary showed the greatest improvement, going from a Level 3 to a Level 5 school in one year.
First, Do No Harm: State Struggles With Record of Juvenile Injustice
At 17 years old, Tommy Croft has grown up faster than most youth his age in Mississippi. Croft conveys the pain and genuineness in his story about his dark past with his large brown, puppy-dog-sad eyes. Croft wears the same street clothes as many other African-American youth in this state do: an orange bandana and a backward orange-and-white baseball cap with an over-sized baseball jersey. The dark hair on his upper lip is just enough to make him look a few years older.
‘Lawsuit Abuse' Over
Champagne corks were popping at Bravo the evening of June 3, even as some diners were sobered by the day's events. That afternoon, the Mississippi House of Representatives had suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, accepted Senate tort-reform language, voting to send the legislation, HB 13, to Gov. Haley Barbour. The bill features major pro-industry tort reform, including $1 million damage caps for business liability—even for extreme negligence that leads to loss of limbs and disfigurements.
The Klansman Bound: The Road to Justice (A Timeline)
Klansmen kidnap Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, two African American teenagers in Meadville, Miss., beat them at gunpoint in a Mississippi national forest, and forcibly throw them into a backwater of the Mississippi River to die.
Melton and Bodyguards Arraigned; No Guns or Alcohol
Mayor Frank Melton and his two bodyguards, Michael Recio and Marcus Wright, were arraigned in a packed federal courtroom in downtown Jackson before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson today at 1:30 p.m for their alleged role in destroying a private home on Aug. 26, 2006. The three pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights conspiracy charges, and each must pay $10,000 unsecured bond. The trial is set for Aug. 18, 2008. All had attorneys present, but only Marcus Wright's attorney, John Colette, will definitely represent him going forward, and may seek a separate trial for Wright. Today, Colette's associate, Matthew Baldridge, represented Wright. Kevin White of Coxwell & Associates was there on behalf of Melton, and John Moore represented Recio. The attorneys present for Melton and Recio will not represent the men going forward, they said. The judge gave Melton and Recio waivers to get court-appointed attorneys; Wright said he did not need one.
Walking Tall, Hitting Low
Mayor Frank Melton's alleged attack on a Ridgeway Street duplex on Aug. 26 is not the first time his 4-foot-long stick showed up recently.
‘Highway 80 Day' In Jackson
April 6, 2005 Democratic mayoral candidate Frank Melton announced at a March 31 catfish rally at Howard Wilson Kia on Highway 80 that, as mayor, he would be paying more attention to what he calls the "Forgotten Commercial Corridor." The highway, once a main artery connecting Jackson with Meridian and Vicksburg, began a slow decay in the 1970s and is now considered by Melton and many residents to be a blighted area.
UPDATED: Ridgeway Minor Arrested for Armed Carjacking
Also see Schwindaman's cartoon story: Adventures of Above-the-Law Man!
The High Cost of Frank Melton
Monday, Oct. 2, was one of those days when Mayor Frank Melton needed to be two places at once. Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green had called him, his bodyguards, and their attorneys to her courtroom in downtown Jackson to threaten them with contempt if they violated a gag order in their trial for allegedly demolishing a private home on Ridgeway Street, and instructing at least one minor to help them to do it.
Bye Sportsman's Lodge, Hello Jackson Square, N.U.T.S.
Several new businesses will open at Jackson's largest outdoor shopping center July 21.
CityBuzz [10.11.06]
Lott Calls for Bruce Stamp
Sen. Trent Lott has asked the U.S. Senate to issue a postage stamp commemorating the life of Sen. Blanche Kelso Bruce, who was the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate. Bruce was elected to the Senate in 1874, where he served from 1875-1881. Bruce was born into slavery in Virginia in 1841. When the Civil War began, he volunteered for the Union Army but was rejected because of his race. In 1869, he moved to Mississippi, where he quickly made a name for himself as a Republican politician. Bruce died in 1898.
D-Day for Mayor Frank Melton
Almost exactly two weeks after the Jackson Free Press reported that eyewitnesses were saying Mayor Frank Melton and his cohorts had taken a "Walking Tall" stick and sledgehammers to rental property on Ridgeway Street, a trio of state and county officials indicted Melton and two of his bodyguards. Melton, who is out on $50,000 bond, is facing six felonies and two misdemeanors that could bring a total of more than 50 years in prison.
[Crossroads] JFP Picks & Reviews
Whether you've already bought into the anti-corporate, "Think Global, Shop Local" mantra, or you're just trying to figure out what all the Wal-Mart bashing is really about, Lori Cheatle and Daisy Wright's "This Land Is Your Land" is the perfect primer to what corporations are doing, or trying to do, to America.
Grant Me Justice: Two Women Killed in Two Weeks
Enjoying the slight drop in temperature on Monday, Sept. 17, Doris Shavers sat laughing with friends and family in her mother Ethel Sanders' front yard where the family liked to emerge from their nearby houses and fellowship. Their children played among them, riding bikes and jumping on the trampoline across Ludlow Avenue in Doris' front yard.
‘Victory Is Mine’: Lumumba Landslide Win Defies Conventional Wisdom, Polls
Chokwe Antar Lumumba likely claimed the Jackson mayor’s seat, winning the Democratic primary by a landslide against other candidates, drawing more than twice the votes as the second-place candidate.
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