This morning, the Mississippi Economic Policy Center released a report on the State of Working Mississippi in 2012, showing how wages, education levels and other factors have changed in Mississippi’s work force over the past decade.
The full report is available online at mepconline.org, but here are some of the highlights that stood out:
Who’s making bank?
- The median hourly wage for workers in the state rose only marginally from 2000 to 2010, from $13.13 to $13.45.
- The gap between the ... read on »
The Jackson City Council voted tonight to settle Cedric Willis' case against the city for his wrongful arrest for murder and rape.
State Rep. Bobby Moak, of Bogue Chitto, gave the Democratic response to Gov. Phil Bryant's state-of-the-state speech. Here's the text of Moak's remarks:
Democratic Response to State of the State
Rep. Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto)
January 24, 2012
I’m Bobby Moak and I’m honored to represent southwest Mississippi in the House of Representatives and humbled to serve my colleagues as Leader of the House Democratic Caucus.
Days into this new session, the previous administration unveiled a ... read on »
Gov. Phil Bryant delivered his state-of-the-state address this evening at the Capitol. Supporters and admirers heralded the speech as the first in the Mississippi history to take place outdoors. Here's the full text:
Governor Phil Bryant
State of the State
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thank you Governor. First, let me congratulate you on your excellent appointments of committee chairs. I know them all very well and look forward to our successes together. Mr. Speaker, you have also honored ... read on »
This afternoon, Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green postponed a hearing on whether to strike down reprieves former Gov. Haley Barbour granted on his final days in office.
On Jan. 12 Green issued a temporary restraining order to stop the more than 200 pardons from moving forward and ordered five former inmates who worked in the governor’s mansion to show proof they complied with a constitutional requirement to file public notice of their release.
The purpose of today’s hearing was to ... read on »
I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but it's official: Haley Barbour's last-minute pardons overwhelmingly benefitted whites. A Reuters team, including stringer and JFP political freelancer Robbie Ward, analyzed the race of the criminals on the list and found that although blacks represent more than two-thirds of MIssissippi's prison population, fewer than a third of Barbour's pardonees were black:
Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's grants of commutations or pardons to ... read on »
Why is everyone so surprised that that President Barack Obama hummed a few surprisingly well-sung notes of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at a New York City fundraiser last night? After all, his boo, Michelle, just celebrated her 48th birthday a few days ago. And the Al Green song likely remains fresh in his mind after the Obamas no doubt got their celebratory groove on to POTUS' top-secret Quiet Storm mix.
There are other reasons Obama probably feels like he's on a high note: a couple good ... read on »
Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement this morning, saying he has found 21 people among former Gov. Haley Barbour's 200-plus pardons who have fulfilled the constitutional requirements to receive pardons. The statement said that 156 people did not meet the requirement to publish their intent to ask for a pardon in a newspaper for 30 days. Hood's office is still processing 26 files.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday where Hood says he will argue that the court should hold some of the ... read on »
A county in Alabama is challenging a component of the Voting Rights Act that keeps a watchful eye on states with a history of civil rights abuses, the Associated Press reports.
In a Washington Post op-ed published today, Haley Barbour defended clemency pleas he granted in the waning hours of his governorship. He said that the ensuing controversy stemmed from people not knowing the difference between clemency and letting people out of jail.
"People thought — incorrectly — that I had let 215 prisoners out of jail because the secretary of state reported that many people received clemency," he wrote.
In fact, he only released 26 prisoners from custody, he said. What's ... read on »
_(WPB)_(190_of_216)_medium.jpg "Chick Ball 2009 (7.25.09) (WPB) (190 Of 216)")
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