See if Your Jackson-Area State Candidate Supports Initiative 42
The League of Women Voters of the Jackson Area released the results of a legislative candidate poll that asked candidates if they support Amendment (Initiative) 42 with the options: Yes, No or Undecided. So far, seven Senate candidates and eight House candidates have responded. See your candidate's stance below. Senate ...
City Going on Well Water After South Jackson Water Line Break
The mayor's office just sent out the following the release about the situation in south Jackson: The City of Jackson will temporarily switch to the well water system in south Jackson as crews work to locate a 42-inch water line break. The transition to the well system begins immediately to ...
City: New Water Billing System to Come Online
The city's new water billing system, part of the controversial $91 million Siemens contract, is scheduled to go live at the end of August. According to a city press release: "Residents will soon experience updates to their water billing as part of comprehensive upgrades the City of Jackson has initiated ...
Sandra Bland Traffic Stop Video Hits YouTube
The Texas Department of Safety has posted a 52-minute video of the Sandra Bland traffic stop, showing the state trooper threaten Bland with a Taser, a detail that he didn't put in his arrest report.
Foster Care Overhaul Coming to Mississippi?
The state admitted that it has not met court-order requirements in a 7-year-old lawsuit, Olivia Y v. Bryant, intended to change the state's foster care system. Gov. Bryant has agreed to hire an Executive Director of the Department of Family and Children's Services, which will soon become a cabinet-level position. ...
Gov. Bryant Arms the Guard
Bryant arms the National Guard in response to concerns for soldier safety.
Tupelo Daily Newspaper Won't Accept Same-Sex Marriage Announcements
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in the historic Obergefell v. Hodges case, several media outlets reverted and retreated to their ideological lines. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, has garnered national attention in an article by Robbie Ward, former DJ reporter, on the Huffington Post ...
Jonathan Sanders Story: Clarion-Ledger He-Was-No-Angeled the Black Horse-and-Buggy Driver Killed by White Cop
Sadly, it was only a matter of time before it happened here in Mississippi--a black man was killed by a white cop amid mysterious circumstances and officials are trying to keep tensions from simmering. It happened on late Wednesday night in tiny Stonewall when, according to various media outlets, a ...
In 1860 Hinds County, Slaves Outnumbered Whites Nearly 3 to 1
Here's an interesting factoid for those of you discussing the Civil War and slavery about Hinds County, which contains Jackson, the capital, of course. It's from this link, where you can also link to a number of other Mississippi counties and see the numbers of slaves that some of the ...
2 Yazoo County Judges Quit Doing Marriages All Together
Marriage—it's what brings us together. That is, unless you live in Yazoo County and were planning on having a justice court judge officiate your ceremony. Earlier this week, Judges Pam May and Bennie Warrington sent a letter to the board of supervisors saying they wanted to opt out of having ...
#FlagMyths: 'The Civil War Was Fought Over... Tariffs'
In an occasional blog series I'm inaugurating here, I'd like to pull forward some debate that's happening in the comments and examine a variety of the myths and legends that surround the South's participation in the civil war. From the comments section came this one from Claude Shannon: The war ...
Mississippi #1 in How Far a Hundred Bucks Stretches
We don't get to say we're number one in many good things, but here's a nice one... according to The Tax Foundation, $100 in Mississippi is worth the most of any state in the country (an equivalent of $115.21). If there's anything we've known about Jackson for a while, is ...
Petition to Remove Confederate Symbol from State Flag Has Over 1,000 Signatures
Mississippi native Duvalier Malone has started a petition to remove the Confederate symbol from the Mississippi state flag. The online petition form has over 1,100 signatures. In a statement, Malone said he "wants to create enough momentum for Mississippi to have another referendum vote on the flag, which will hopefully ...
In 1860, 49% of White Families in Mississippi Owned Slaves, Who Outnumbered White Folks Here
During the last couple weeks of talking about the Confederacy (and the state flag that celebrates it), we've encountered any number of historic inaccuracies in the arguments of those who don't want to change our state flag. One of them is that (a) not many white Mississippians even owned slaves ...
How Mississippians Voted in 2001 on the State Flag: The Numbers
Jere Nash, co-author with Andy Taggart of "Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006," posted this information about the vote to change the state flag in 2001. It is from their book, and this is his verbatim post, with his permission, about the people who turned out to vote: "As ...
3 Counties in Mississippi Are Not Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
Update: Now there are only three counties in the state not issuing same-sex marriage licenses according to Unity MS. The Campaign for Southern Equality and ACLU of Mississippi have compiled a map of the counties that are (and aren't) issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. For updates see the list ...