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Mobilize for the Monkey
A small group of protesters stood at the entrance to the University Medical Center Monday afternoon, holding signs and passing out information to passersby. They were there to protest vivisection, the practice of using live animals for medical research and training, often through programs supported by U.S. government sources.
Residents To Legislature: Please Help
The Battlefield Community Association has a new way to fight crime in West Jackson: Members are taking the fight to the Legislature.
[City Buzz] no. 15 December 27 - Janurary 3, 2007
Grant Writers Suing City
Former city employees LaSeine Hunter Hilliard, Meisha Jones and Stanley Murray are bringing a civil action against the city of Jackson for termination against Civil Service rules and state law.
Clear-Eyed Optimist
Many Mississippians view former Gov. William Winter as one of the few great progressive leaders of the state. Winter is a partner at the law firm of Watkins, Ludlam, Winter and Stennis, and travels around the state speaking to audiences on racial reconciliation. Borne from a 1997 initiative during the Clinton administration, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation helps to foster dialogue and understanding across racial lines. Last month I sat down with Gov. Winter in his downtown Jackson law office.
Convention Hotel Waits on Financing
It's been a little over a month since the Jackson Redevelopment Authority passed a resolution to issue up to $95 million in bonds for the proposed convention center hotel complex, but the project's developers are still trying to get a financial structure in place for the development to move forward.
Clinton and Palin Encourage Women Politicos
Women believe that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Sarah Palin crashed a few glass ceilings in the Nov. 4 general elections. Despite the media treating them unfairly, concentrating far too much on hairstyles and clothing, the majority of women voters say that the two politicians have paved the way for more women to run for office in the future.
Gardens, By and For the People
Serenity Luckett, principal of Brown Elementary, looked down at the dirt of the soon-to-be-garden she was watering to see the water roll into pools on top of the soil. After a few minutes of watering and some tilling, most of the car-sized plot was ready for planting.
Years to Go on BP Suit, Hood Says
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said it could take years to assess the extent of harm the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico caused.
U.S. Food Bill Spares Small Farmers
Mike Steede, owner of Steede farms in Lucedale, Miss., took over the farm his family has operated for the past 150 years after he retired from teaching agriculture at the Mississippi State Extension Service last year. In May, he formed a Community Supported Agriculture program, which delivers in-season fruit and vegetables weekly to 36 members from his 40-acre farm.
Such Sweet Sorrow
Since July 2004, Ross Olivier has been pastor of the Galloway Methodist Church in Jackson, bringing with him experience forged in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. As we spoke last Monday, his enthusiastic responses were well-considered, yet accessible. He leaned into me as he spoke. Rarely have I been in such a magnanimous presence. I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for myself: Why hadn't I met this man before? Olivier is returning to South Africa on Jan. 13.
Barbour Aborts Building Takeover
While under scrutiny from the Jackson Free Press and other government officials, Gov. Haley Barbour is backing off his expensive idea of moving his and other offices into the Sillers Building in downtown Jackson.
Technicality May Free Seale
James Ford Seale will be going home soon, probably within days, thanks to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which on Sept. 9 overturned his 2007 conviction on federal conspiracy and kidnapping charges for abducting Charles Moore and Henry Dee in 1964.
More Judicial Horseplay?
Imprisoned attorney Paul Minor is arguing in Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal filings that presiding U.S. Southern District Court Judge Henry Wingate showed bias against the defense in his 2007 trial by changing his jury instructions from his earlier 2005 trial, and by ordering that evidence be removed from the 2005 trial that had stalled the jury's guilty verdict in that case.
Bribery Indictments Expand
The federal indictment of attorney Dickie Scruggs continues to snatch up lawyers like an expanding avalanche barreling down a ski slope. Booneville attorney Joey Langston pled guilty to a corruption charge last week, admitting that he tried to influence a Hinds County Circuit Court Judge.
Legislative Update: Back Door to Abortion Restriction?
The House and Senate spent all of March firing bills at one another, waiting to see what the other side was going to do with them. It's that time of the session now where both chambers get to face the mutated monsters that come back to them.
City Shaken By Departures
Last week saw a flurry of resignations from Mayor Frank Melton's administration, starting with City Administration Director Peyton Prospere, whose resignation became public Wednesday. On Friday, Deputy City Attorney Herb Irvin and grant writer Lisa Lucas also resigned. These resignations came only days after Melton vowed to WAPT that he would fire some members of city government.
Gone and Back Again?
Resolution 655 may pave the way for a tobacco tax designed to pay for Medicaid shortfalls.
Eyes on Spending
One of the great things about government transparency is its trans-partisan appeal. Conservatives can distrust government just as much as liberals, sometimes more. Still, when it comes to high-tech watchdog organizations and initiatives, most innovation seems to come from vaguely progressive, if officially nonpartisan, sources.
Amazing Grace
Grace House is a local homeless shelter for people suffering from HIV and AIDS. Many people, due to the stigma of this illness, lose family, friends and ultimately, their ability to support themselves after testing positive. Trey Mangum, the director of Grace House, sat down to speak about an innovative program for residents—an art exhibit and reading they are holding for the residents at the Lott-Stanton Gallery. Grace House residents created all of the artwork for the exhibit during art classes taught at the shelter over the past six months.
Free, Green Money
Entergy Mississippi is offering free money for community development and environmental projects in the state.