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Business News: Renovations and Closings
Eley Guild Hardy Architects celebrated the opening of its downtown Jackson office Nov. 18. The firm moved into the former Union Planters Bank building at 329 E. Capitol St. this fall after a $1.7 million renovation. The building had been vacant for several years after Regions Bank acquired Union Planters in July 2004.
STEPS: Barbour's Good Idea?
A new Mississippi program that will use federal welfare funds to help hire new employees has many policy analysts excited. The Subsidized Transitional Employment Program and Services, or STEPS Program, which Gov. Haley Barbour announced Sept. 15, uses the state's $43 million share of the welfare funds in the stimulus package to subsidize the cost of hiring 3,500 new full-time employees for private businesses across the state. The state will cover the full cost of hiring a new employee for the first two months of employment and then gradually decrease its contribution over six months.
Barbour Criticized for Slavery Insensitivity
Gov. Haley Barbour earned the ire of many when he downplayed a controversy over state proclamations of Confederate History Month--which omitted any mention of slavery--in comments last weekend.
Sleep Inn Poised for September Opening
After a brief hiatus, construction on the Sleep Inn downtown is set to resume in the next two weeks and finish in time for a Sept. 1 opening. Robert Gibbs, a member of the Jackson-based LEAD Group LLC, which is developing the hotel, told the Jackson Free Press today that his group has acquired construction financing to finish the $5 million project.
Crime Drops, Officers Reinstated
Read the most recent crime statistics.
Investigating The Investigators
Support is growing on Jackson City Council for establishing civilian review of the Jackson Police Department, but the form that review will take is still uncertain.
Oil Found on Miss. Barrier Island
Residue from the Gulf oil spill has washed up on Petit Bois Island, Gov. Haley Barbour announced in a press conference this afternoon. A two-mile long strand, approximately one meter wide reached the six-mile long island south of Pascagoula this morning, Barbour said. Crews have already begun cleaning up the oil, using shovels, and should finish in a day.
Ricky Moore
Ricky Moore will retire from his position as Hinds County's assistant director of emergency operations on Nov. 30. Moore, a Jackson native, has held the post for 20 years, and his retirement, which he announced Nov. 6, comes after he was passed over for promotion to the top spot with the county's Emergency Operations Center.
JPS Weighs Bullying Policy
The bullying got so bad that LaShron Cooley's daughter began to feel physically sick before school. As a sixth-grader in the International Baccalaureate Program at Northwest Middle School, the girl was teased for being bookish and sticking out. Her mother is from Detroit, and some classmates accused her daughter of talking "white."
Hinds Officials Seeking Pay Raises
Two Hinds County officials are requesting salary increases for selected employees, despite a tight county budget. Tax Collector Eddie Fair and County Attorney Sherri Flowers are scheduled to request the raises for their employees at this morning's meeting of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.
JPS Gifted Students Give Back
A community service program for Jackson Public Schools students culminates today in an alternative gift market. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), JPS students will be selling gifts like care packages that benefit local and international aid organizations.
Andre Cooley
Andre Cooley says he lost his job because he is gay. Cooley served as a juvenile corrections officer with the Forrest County Sheriff's Department from November 2009 until June 15 of this year. On Monday, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on Cooley's behalf against the sheriff's department, Sheriff Billy McGee and two other department officials.
Joe Troupe
Joseph Randall Troupe, better known as Joe, was a veteran, a skilled carpenter and a powerful motivator. Troupe died Friday after battling lymphoma. He was 67. Troupe's wife, Mary Troupe, is the executive director of the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities. She credits him with helping her live a normal life in spite of being wheelchair bound.
Supreme Court Justice Graves Named to 5th Circuit
President Barack Obama named Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James Graves to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today.
Fisher: $1.5 Million County Loan ‘Irresponsible'
District 4 Supervisor Phil Fisher was the lone dissenting vote on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors this morning when the board voted to borrow $1.5 million to cover a budget shortfall for the 2009 fiscal year, which ends today. While discussion of the move was limited at today's meeting, Fisher told the Jackson Free Press Sept. 29 that he would oppose the loan out of principle.
Court Overturns Fulgham Death Sentence
The Mississippi Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for Kristi Fulgham and ordered a new sentencing hearing for her 2003 murder conviction. The court issued a decision yesterday finding that the trial court erred by preventing a social worker from testifying about Fulgham's background as mitigation evidence.
Runoff Scheduled for Priester-Southern Race
Hinds County residents in the county's first judicial sub-district have a second decision to make in their judicial election. Special Circuit Court Judge Melvin Priester and attorney Brent Southern will face each other in a run-off Nov. 23.
Two-Way Capitol St., Water Line Repairs Closer
A massive state bonds bill, providing $2 million for converting Jackson's Capitol Street and up to $6 million for upgrading city water lines, cleared a major legislative hurdle yesterday and appears poised for passage. The water system improvements, which the bill would fund through interest-free loans, were a major item on Jackson's legislative wish list following a rash of water main breaks in January.
Hinds Takes Over GPS Monitoring of Juveniles
Hinds County has received $80,000 to use GPS technology to track juvenile offenders under house arrest. The county Board of Supervisors voted today to accept a one-year grant from the state Department of Public Safety that will allow it to take over the monitoring program from Court Programs, Inc., which has handled monitoring for the past three years for the county's youth court.
City's Legislative Agenda a Hard Sell
The legislative agenda for Jackson that Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. unveiled yesterday is short and cheap, but most items on the wish list will still face an uphill battle when the state Legislature convenes again in January. Jackson's legislative delegation will likely encounter more resistance than in past years, thanks to a budget crisis that will make legislators especially tight-fisted.