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Animal Cruelty Bill Clears Major Hurdle
Cruelty to cats and dogs would become a felony in Mississippi under Senate Bill 2821, which the House Agriculture Committee voted unanimously today to approve. The bill to make "aggravated cruelty to a dog or cat" a felony on the second offense now goes to the House Judiciary B Committee for consideration.
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In House
A proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which allots $55 million total to the civil-rights museum and a museum of Mississippi history, both to be located near the William Winter state archives building. The bill now goes to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.
Health for All
Alvin Poussaint's career reads like a hopscotch game across the touchstones of post-World War II African American history. Born in 1934, Poussaint earned a medical degree at Cornell University and studied psychiatry at UCLA before joining the Civil Rights Movement.
No Small Feat
The students in John Bennetts' second-grade class are being perfect sponges. Bennetts, a teacher at KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy, a charter school in Helena, Ark., is drilling the class on the difference between "explicit information" and "implicit information."
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In House
A proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which allots $55 million total to the civil-rights museum and a museum of Mississippi history, both to be located near the William Winter state archives building. The bill now goes to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.
Stadiums, Hackers and Oil
A bill the Mississippi Senate is considering could transfer control of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium to Jackson State University. House Bill 1158, which the House of Representatives passed Feb. 10, would give JSU control of the stadium itself while transferring the property surrounding the stadium to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Barbour Repeats Budget, Medicaid Myths at CPAC
Continuing his hints at a 2012 presidential run, Gov. Haley Barbour addressed the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference Saturday in Washington, D.C., with his argument for electing a Republican president. Barbour touted his own record in Mississippi, trotting out a list of accomplishments that requires some closer scrutiny. Here's a partial list of some of Barbour's statements and the facts behind them.
Edwards to Argue for Job In March
Next month, Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards will have a chance to win his job back. Edwards has appealed the JPS Board of Trustees Dec. 7 decision not to renew his contract beyond the end of this school year. Yesterday, the board set Mar. 4 as the tentative date for a hearing, subject to Edwards' approval.
Ken South
Ken South takes pleasure in seeing the annual Mississippi HeARTS Against AIDS benefit grow. The benefit, which takes place Saturday at Hal & Mal's, features a silent art auction, live entertainment and food. Since 2007, the auction has taken place in an outdoor tent to accommodate the event's rising attendance.
Not Without A Fight
Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards won't go quietly. Edwards announced Feb. 5 that he would appeal the JPS Board of Trustees' decision to let his three-year contract expire with the current school year.
Sales-Tax Commission Needed for Jackson?
City leaders have only one major request this legislative session, but that doesn't mean they'll get it. Jackson lawmakers are pushing to revise a 2009 sales-tax bill that offered a stream of funding for public safety and improvements to the city's flagging road, water and sewer infrastructure. The bill came with a requirement that the city establish a commission--stocked with non-city appointees--to oversee spending of the money, a mandate that Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. rejected as too onerous.
House Stalls on Domestic Violence GPS
Monitoring domestic violence suspects out on bond is apparently a controversial issue in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The House spent most of yesterday tackling an unofficial list of non-controversial legislation. Left off that list was a bill sponsored by Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, that would give judges the option of requiring a defendant accused of domestic violence to wear a GPS-equipped tracking device.
More Art, Crafts, Cannoli, Retail
A children's fountain, outdoor dining, garden rooms, performance stage and expansive art installations are just a few of the design elements The Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art will feature when it opens in August.
Supes Scrutinize Elections Employee
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to extend the contract of a county Elections Commission worker whose employment has stirred controversy. Supervisors voted 3-0 to extend voting-machine technician Pat Wilson's contract through the November general election, despite opposition from Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves.
Ice Leads To Five-Hour Gridlock on the ‘Stack'
On a day that many Jacksonians suffered long commutes, Rodney Cuevas still had an exceptional evening. Cuevas left his job at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for his home in Brandon a little before 4 p.m. on Thursday.
A Mixed Bag for Mississippi Children
By many measures, children in Mississippi are worse off than kids in most other states, but Mississippi shows some bright spots. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual "Kids Count" report ranks Mississippi 50th overall for its children's educational, economic and physical well-being. At today's Mississippi Kids Count annual summit, advocates and educators shared challenges and success stories in the effort to improve the state's standing.
Caring for Criminals
Inmate medical care is an unpopular business, at least in Hinds County. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors learned that lesson the hard way in January, when it found itself scrambling for a medical provider before its existing contract, with Jackson-based Reddix Medical Group, expired Jan. 31.
Lawmakers Tackle Critter Cruelty
For proponents of a felony animal-cruelty law in Mississippi, state Rep. Greg Ward, D-Ripley, seems like the biggest obstacle to success. Last year, when a Senate-approved bill to make the malicious torture or killing of a dog or cat a felony died in the House Agriculture Committee, many animal-welfare advocates blamed Ward, the committee chairman. This year, that same bill appears headed for Ward's committee again. Rep. Linda Whittington, D-Schlater, says, however, that Ward doesn't deserve a bad rap.
Fondren Business Shuffle, Nightclub Reopens
The Orange Peel is moving. Owner Kristin Tubb says the Fondren consignment shop will open in its new location, at 422 Mitchell Ave., on March 10. As Fondren's retail and restaurant community has grown, the demand for parking has put the squeeze on The Orange Peel's current location at the corner of North State and Duling streets, Tubb said.
Hinds Cornered on Inmate Medical Care
UPDATED 4:15 P.M.
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to approve a contract with Reddix Medical Group for medical care at the county jail. The board met this morning to approve a replacement for the county's existing contract with Reddix, which expired today. After recessing to allow Sheriff Malcolm McMillin time to review Reddix's new, costlier proposal, the board approved the $330,000 agreement this afternoon.