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Digging Up Bodies?
For the first time since 1995, Mississippi will have a full-time medical examiner who is not Dr. Steven Hayne.
Communication, Please
Melvin Priester Sr. believes better communication can make the Hinds County judiciary more efficient.
Courts Going Digital
A dash of transparency could be coming to Hinds County's court system in 2011 along with some newly elected judges. Mississippi Electronic Courts, a pilot program offering attorneys and members of the public online access to court filings, is on track to become available statewide at the beginning of next year.
Mental Health Ripe for Cuts?
Reform and belt-tightening will collide when state lawmakers consider mental-health services in the 2010 legislative session.
A Plan for Change
Otha Burton may be one of the newest appointees to the Jackson Public Schools board, but he is a veteran of city government. Burton served as chief administrative officer for Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., during Johnson's first two terms as mayor, from 1999 through 2005.
Water Crisis Forces Closures, Cooperation
A water emergency gripped Jackson this week, as more than 100 water-main breaks left many parts of Jackson with low or nonexistent water pressure. The crisis forced the closure of state offices, schools, colleges and private businesses.
Taking a Budget Break
The Mississippi Legislature put budget negotiations on pause this weekend, with plans to reconvene April 20, when the state's revenue forecast will be clearer.
'Good Time' For the Dems?
Amid cheers and declarations that "It's a good time to be a Democrat," the executive committee of the Mississippi Democratic Party met and unanimously elected Jamie Franks its new party chairman at the Regency Hotel on Saturday, July 12.
Convention Complex Opens
Twenty thousand visitors filled the Jackson Convention Complex during its official grand opening Saturday, according to preliminary estimates.
Melton: 'I'm At Peace'
Mayor Frank Melton praised Jackson's economic progress and outlined some of the city's persistent problems in his State of the City address Thursday morning, Aug. 21, at the TelCom Center.
Cigarette Tax Debate Rages On
Pragmatism and principle will collide when the Mississippi House considers the Senate version of a proposed cigarette tax increase. The Senate approved increasing the cigarette tax from 18 cents per pack to 49 cents per pack Jan. 29. The Senate bill was a more modest revision of the $1 tax, which the House approved two weeks earlier.
The 2009 JFP Interview With Robert Amos
Robert Amos is the youngest remaining candidate for mayor. At 35, he's already worked in more fields than some do in a lifetime—health care, education, criminal justice and business—and he's currently an adjunct professor at Jackson State University's College of Lifelong Learning.
‘Fidelity to the Law'
Frank Farmer prides himself on his evenhandedness. Farmer, 34, a candidate for Hinds County Court Judge in District 1, grew up in Hattiesburg, the son of a veterinarian and a physical therapist. He studied biology briefly at Rhodes College in Memphis before deciding to major in political science.
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.
Free, Green Money
Entergy Mississippi is offering free money for community development and environmental projects in the state.
One for the Price of Two
In its zeal to find a new superintendent, Jackson Public Schools has hired one administrator for the price of two. A day after the school board selected Georgia education specialist Lonnie Edwards, on Aug. 10, Earl Watkins resigned as JPS superintendent.
Going Rogue
On his county-provided laptop, Phil Fisher has replaced the standard mouse icon with a sword. A former Marine and a current brigadier general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, Fisher has a bit of the warrior in him, and his stint on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors has been marked by vocal opposition to many of the board's actions.
Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' Duty
When Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief during Hurricane Katrina, remembers Whitten testing the limits of the law in the aftermath of the 2005 storm.
The High Cost of Calories
A state tax on sodas, sponsored by Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, was effectively dead on arrival at the state Legislature this year, given the difficulty of passing any revenue measure during an economic recession.
University Mergers Loom?
Rumors of university consolidation gave way to outright threats Monday when Gov. Haley Barbour released his executive budget recommendations for the 2011 fiscal year. Painting a dismal picture of the state's finances for the next three years, Barbour called for consolidating the state's eight public universities into five institutions.