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State of Emergency, Reloaded
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton declared an official state of emergency for the city of Jackson June 22, outlining a stricter curfew for city minors. He then announced an update to the state of emergency to council members at the June 27 council meeting.
Rainbow Businesses Hopeful
Computer Co-op Office Manager Charlotte Lundemo said she was optimistic after a Monday Ward 7 meeting on flooding problems plaguing Rainbow Grocery and connected businesses in Fondren Plaza. Lundemo and her husband, Computer Co-op owner Luke Lundemo, said the city appeared ready to foot the bill for street repairs that would re-route drain waters that have been pouring into the back of businesses during downpours.
Federal Aid Coming Fast, With Strings
A coming flood of federal aid is forcing state agencies, city government and community organizations to balance local needs with the demands of timeliness and accountability.
City Plan Short On Details, Costs
Fifteen months after Frank Melton took the mayoral oath, Jackson Human and Cultural Services Department consultant Jayne Sargent submitted a city plan to council members last week that read more like a day-in-day-out to-do list than a comprehensive plan for progress.
Lemurs and Tigers and Cats
In celebration of its 90th anniversary, the Jackson Zoo has spent millions of dollars on renovations. New benches, trash receptacles, improved fencing and new landscaping are some of the improvements the zoo has made for the zoo-goers.
‘Trustworthiness and Integrity'
Bridgett Clayton came to the practice of law relatively late, but she has built a varied career in a brief amount of time. The Meridian native studied political science at the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1982.
Casey Amendment Targets Poor Children's Care
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey is pushing an amendment to keep children in the national Child Health Insurance Program from getting rolled into an insurance exchange.
MDOT Mulls Fortification Project
The Mississippi Department of Transportation will vote on whether or not to approve the city of Jackson's proposal to narrow Fortification Street and widen its sidewalks to make the road more pedestrian-friendly.
New Crime Lab, Please
Attorney General Jim Hood recommended more money for the state crime lab and the Mississippi Medical Examiner's office at a Monday meeting with the House Judiciary Committee.
An Enduring Insurance Exchange
News regarding health-care reform hovers incessantly around either defending or attacking of the so-called public insurance option, a section of H.R. 3200 that provides a government-funded insurance option for customers who choose not to buy insurance from the private sector.
Leave Them Kids Alone
A new study from the National Youth Rights Association disputes the perception that teens are reckless behind the wheel. The study, which analyzed fatal traffic accidents in California from 1995-2004, found that teen drivers are no more dangerous behind the wheel than middle-aged adults when socioeconomic status is taken into account.
State Not Good for Business?
Mississippi's competitive environment is the worst in the U.S. So says the "Eighth Annual State Competitiveness Report," from the independent, non-partisan Beacon Hill Institute, an economic research organization at Boston's Suffolk University.
Lessons of Spencer's Death
Awareness has a huge role in making Mississippiand the U.S.a safer place for women. Created in 2006, the Attorney General's Office Domestic Violence Division, works with the entire judicial system to raise awareness of the issues surrounding domestic abuse.
A System that Works
Judge Houston Patton isn't used to competition. Since first winning election as Hinds County Court judge in 1989, Patton has had no opponents for the District 2 seat. But this year is different; the Jackson native is facing two challengers in November: Bridgett Clayton and Henry Clay.
‘Fair and Even-Handed'
Jackson Municipal Judge Ali ShamsidDeen is not trying to be a politically divisive figure, but his background as a editor of the Jackson Advocate in the 1990s and an associate of the law firm Lumumba and Freelon, suggests a controversial bent.
A Different Tree for Downtown?
The live oak trees lining Capitol Street have withstood decades of storms, but a new proposal calls for uprooting them in the name of progress. Downtown Jackson Partners is calling for the city to replace the large species with something smaller and less disruptive to street infrastructure.
ON THE ISSUES: What's In A Health-Care Plan?
For many Mississippians, the issue of health-care costs are central to the question of health-care availabilityor, more specifically, the lack of it.
Levee Board Hopeful on Lake 255
Members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District are hopeful that Mississippi's congressional delegation will strong-arm top officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers into reconsidering a Corps-rejected Lake 255 on the Pearl River.
Moore Alleges DA ‘Misconduct'
The attorney for Sharrod Moore, who is awaiting his Sept. 15 trial for the Nov. 14, 1995, murder of Jackson police officer Robert J. Washington, is accusing Hinds County District Attorney Robert S. Smith of "prosecutorial misconduct." Smith, they say, used "perjured" witness accounts to get the indictment, has not provided timely discovery documents and alleged a police "cover-up" in the case in a Jackson Free Press interview in May.
Judge Rules in Favor of Personhood Amendment
Read the ruling (PDF)
An initiative asking voters to decide if the state Constitution should define when life begins can be placed on the 2011 ballot, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Malcolm Harrison ruled today.