http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/noise/ en ladd@jacksonfreepress.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-11T16:38:01-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/obama_takes_lead_in_superdelegates/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/obama_takes_lead_in_superdelegates/#When:16:38:01Z The Associated Press is reporting that Sen. Barack Obama has officially gone ahead of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for Democratic superdelegates: Obama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio and Arizona, as well as two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton. The additions enabled Obama to surpass Clinton's total for the first time in the campaign. He had picked up nine endorsements Friday. The milestone is important because Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. They are a group that Clinton owned before the first caucus, when she was able to cash in on the popularity of the Clinton brand among the party faithful. Those party insiders, however, have been steadily streaming to Obama since he started posting wins in early voting states. 2008-05-11T16:38:01-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/william_winter_to_receive_jfk_profile_in_courage_award/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/william_winter_to_receive_jfk_profile_in_courage_award/#When:17:50:00Z Former Gov. William Winter is one of three people receiving the coveted John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Monday in Boston for his "courageous decisions of conscience" during his lifetime. "Governor William Winter gives testimony to President Kennedy’s belief that politics can truly be a noble profession,” Caroline Kennedy said in a statement. “His lifetime of public service, both to his country and his beloved state of Mississippi, has been distinguished by its devotion to equality and justice. We are proud to honor him with a Profile in Courage Award for lifetime achievement.” Winter is being honored with the lifetime achievement award. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner are also receiving Profile in Courage awards. 2008-05-09T17:50:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/attorney_general_holding_domestic_violence_conference_may_13_14/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/attorney_general_holding_domestic_violence_conference_may_13_14/#When:17:00:00Z [verbatim statement] The Domestic Violence Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, in cooperation with the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, will hold its second annual Domestic Violence Conference on May 13 and 14. The conference will be held at the Silver Star Hotel and Casino in Choctaw, Mississippi, and is entitled Domestic Violence in Our Communities: Response, Accountability, and Progress. Any law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court clerks, probation and parole officers, and advocates working in the field of domestic violence or victims rights are invited to attend. 2008-05-09T17:00:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/nobody_minding_the_store/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/nobody_minding_the_store/#When:01:16:00Z by Adam Lynch May 7, 2008 The Jackson City Council grudgingly approved about $45,000 of payments to the U.S. Treasury Department Tuesday after the city failed to manage two federal law-enforcement grants. The council voted 6-0, with Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes absent, approving a $40,394 payment to the U.S. Treasury Department because the city misspent money from a 2004 local law-enforcement grant, and another $4,687 repayment of a 2002 local law-enforcement grant. The action increased the city claims docket from $2,304,563 to $2,349,645. 2008-05-08T01:16:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/earl_berrys_lawyers_try_to_save_him_from_execution/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/earl_berrys_lawyers_try_to_save_him_from_execution/#When:21:00:00Z Update: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeal of doomed prisoner Earl Berry. His attorney, Jim Craig, released the following statement: "We are very disappointed that the Mississippi Supreme Court has denied Earl Berry's latest appeal -- especially since, under the Court's rules, we had at least until this coming Thursday to file a rebuttal brief. The State did not dispute, in their papers, the proof we submitted that Earl Berry is mentally retarded and therefore cannot be executed. So the Court is willing to allow a mentally retarded man to be executed because his lawyer -- who that same Court appointed as the prior head of the State Capital Post-Conviction Office -- failed to follow the Court's procedures. The same lawyer failed in numerous other cases, on mental retardation issues and other kinds of issues, which are discussed in Justice Diaz's dissent. It is shocking that the Court would turn a blind eye to this injustice. "Just as disappointing, the Court has denied Mr. Berry the opportunity to prove the serious flaws in the State's lethal injection procedures. Just because the US Supreme Court said that Kentucky's procedures were adequate safeguards against suffocation and intervenous chemical burning, does not mean that Mississippi's procedures are sufficient. Mississippi uses less anesthetic in the first dose than Kentucky -- and unlike Kentucky, does not have trained personnel in the execution room to monitor the procedure. Instead, Mississippi allows two paramedics to stand outside the room, accompanied by the notorious pathologist Dr. Hayne, most famous for giving expert testimony to convict two innocent men of murder. "It doesn't matter how many years the appeals process has run. That doesn't give the State of Mississippi the right to kill mentally retarded prisoners. And it doesn't give the State the right to torture them to death. With all due respect, the Mississippi Supreme Court has acted hastily and made a grievous mistake. We will decide in the coming days what should be filed next, to address this erroneous ruling." 2008-05-05T21:00:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jam_announces_2008_schedule/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jam_announces_2008_schedule/#When:20:30:00Z Friday's Line-up: ZZ Top, The Ohio Players, Blind Melon, Eric Church, Mel Waiters, Hurt, Blue Mountain, Egypt Central, Hill Country Review, Endeverafter, Backdoor Slam, Jonzetta, Speakeasy Saturday's Line-up: Robert Randolph's Revival, Shinedown, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucero, Pat Grenn, North Mississippi All Stars, Citizen Cope, Tantric, Mississippi Mass Choir, Kamikaze, Saving Abel, At Cliff's End, Three 6 Mafia, Absense of Concern music 2008-05-05T20:30:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/wishy_washy_approach_to_public_policy/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/wishy_washy_approach_to_public_policy/#When:20:14:00Z By Adam Lynch May 1, 2008 Jackson Mayor Frank Melton dismissed rumors at a Monday press conference that he had forced a local contractor into subcontracting a Louisiana company he originally favored to remove debris from an April 4 storm in North Jackson. “There have been a lot of rumors going around, but the key players (in debris removal) are Socrates Garrett and (Integrated Management Services President) John Calhoun and myself. Those are the key players,” Melton said. “If there’s any information you need, one of the three of us will do the best we can. ... The rest of that stuff; just forget about it, because it’s about competition, it’s about greed and it’s about money, and I’m not going to put up with it.” 2008-05-01T20:14:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/big_fix_rig_needs_cats_to_spay_this_week/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/big_fix_rig_needs_cats_to_spay_this_week/#When:15:19:00Z If you have a cat that needs to be fixed—you know who you are—the Big Rig Fix is doing low-cost spays and neuters in Jackson five days a month, and are in town this week (May 1-3) with not enough cats to fix. They can do up to 40 cats a day, and right now only have six scheduled for Saturday, and none for the other days. This day may be cancelled if they cannot get more cats. They also need to keep their spay numbers high so that they can keep the low-cost program here in Jackson at all. 2008-05-01T15:19:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/agency_in_jeopardy_over_ad_oversight/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/agency_in_jeopardy_over_ad_oversight/#When:22:55:00Z by Adam Lynch April 30, 2008 House Democrats and Gov. Haley Barbour are squaring off against one another regarding how the state spends advertising dollars. The House and Senate were unable to come to terms with a Mississippi Department of Employment Security reauthorization bill on the last day of the regular session, and the department now verges on the point of evaporation. Capitol 2008-04-30T22:55:00-06:00 http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/barbour_toots_own_horn_rags_musgrove/ http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/barbour_toots_own_horn_rags_musgrove/#When:17:03:00Z Gov. Haley Barbour released a statement today about, well, himself. Here it is, verbatim: When Haley Barbour became Governor of Mississippi in January 2004, Mississippi was in its worst financial shape since the Great Depression. The State was in a $720 million budget hole; the State’s Rainy Day Fund reserves had dropped 90%, to less than $25 million; and there were loud calls for tax increases. 2008-04-29T17:03:00-06:00