Jackson Free Press

We Can Do It!

I sure do love it when a plan comes together.

Haley's Unholy Alliance

Barbour Client Indicted in Nursing Home, Delay Scheme

When Haley Barbour was head of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, he loathed Medicare, the federal health-care program, and tried to gun it down in the GOP …

Blog/Read Verbatim ‘State of the State' at StateDesk

Right now, head over to StateDesk. We've just posted the full speech verbatim, so you can read along and comment as Gov. Barbour reads his speech. It's also live on …

Of Mergers and MAEP

As the Mississippi Legislature writes the 2013 budget, funding for public schools is likely to be up for debate. Specifically, legislators will consider how much funding to put toward the …

Civil Rights to Actually Be Taught

Gov. Haley Barbour likely shocked his staunchest supporters when he announced a bill authorizing public schools to add civil rights and human rights to the public-school curriculum in all grades. …

Mississippi Revenues Down Again

After a slight 1.4 percent uptick in March, state revenues are back in the doldrums, down for the 19th month of the last 20. April revenue came in at 8.54 …

Hood Seeks Transparent Claims Process

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and other Gulf states attorneys general will meet today with Ken Feinberg, BP claims administrator for the Obama administration, to present a protocol for residents …

Baria: Barbour's Wind Pool Veto Raises Rates

Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, successfully added an amendment to a bill by voice vote yesterday that continues the state's annual $20 million payment to the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting …

Barbour Declares Third Emergency

Several north Mississippi counties joined Gov. Haley Barbour's emergency list yesterday because of severe storms, flooding and tornados that left at least three Mississippians dead. The counties of Benton, Lafayette, …

School Funding Takes Hopeful Turn

An upcoming revised revenue estimate for Mississippi could give public-education advocates and supporters some breathing room. The state Legislature's Revenue Estimating Committee met this week, and Mississippi Parents' Campaign Executive …

Mississippi Art Funds Under Knife

State funding for the arts will likely drop next year, but grants to artists will remain largely the same, said Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director Malcolm White today.

Mississippi Receives Federal Disaster Designation

<i>Verbatim statement from Gov. Haley Barbour</i>:

JACKSON - Gov. Haley Barbour announced today that residents in 18 counties affected by the severe storms, flooding and tornadoes April 15-April 28 are now eligible for federal disaster assistance.

IHL's Bounds: ‘We're in a Financial Crisis'

The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning heard some rotten numbers at this morning's IHL meeting. Gov. Haley Barbour recommended a flurry of budget reductions for …

KiOR on the Block?

Fully cashing in on the green energy revolution continues to elude Mississippi as a company that state officials, including former Gov. Haley Barbour, helped fund with state money, is now …

The Saga of the No-Budget-Bill

Although he isn't an official party in the Mississippi Legislature's budget negotiations, Gov. Haley Barbour is still wielding his influence. The regular session ended last week with House and Senate …

Mental Health Ripe for Cuts?

Reform and belt-tightening will collide when state lawmakers consider mental-health services in the 2010 legislative session.

Fears and Committees

Gulfport Councilman Kenneth Casey said he fears the oncoming hurricane season and what it could mean to the waters and shoreline of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

AG Hood Passes on ‘Mud Fight' with Simpson

Republican Attorney General candidate Steve Simpson's attempts to spar with his opponent, Democratic incumbent Jim Hood, went mostly uncontested during a debate at a John C. Stennis Institute of Government …

Dirty Laundry

The Mississippi Democratic Party called on Gov. Haley Barbour last week to speak openly about allegations that former U.S Rep. Chip Pickering laundered a $5,000 donation from his political action …

Barbour Aborts Building Takeover

While under scrutiny from the Jackson Free Press and other government officials, Gov. Haley Barbour is backing off his expensive idea of moving his and other offices into the Sillers …