Jackson Free Press

STEPS: Barbour's Good Idea?

A new Mississippi program that will use federal welfare funds to help hire new employees has many policy analysts excited. The Subsidized Transitional Employment Program and Services, or STEPS Program, …

Searching for Dems at the Fair

As Democratic governor hopeful Johnny DuPree took the stump at the Neshoba County Fair, he looked at a majority-white crowd waving signs supporting Phil Bryant and Gov. Haley Barbour.

Politics Clash in Initiatives Battle

The Mississippi Supreme Court is setting itself up for a consistency clash if it votes in favor of a ballot initiative giving rights to microscopic human eggs.

Barbour Signs $25 Million Incentive Bill

Gov. Haley Barbour signed HB 1628 yesterday, which provides Alliant Techsystems Inc. with a $25 million incentive to expand its aerospace manufacturing plant in Iuka, Miss., according to the KTTC …

McCain, Palin Coming to Jackson Sunday for Gustav Face Time

The Associated Press is reporting that the McCain-Palin campaign is coming down to Gustav territory:

State Workers Forced to Furlough?

Mississippi Sen. Alice Harden, D-Jackson, said she will submit a bill this legislative session forcing all state employees not directly connected to essential services, like hospital care, to accept a …

OPINION: Mississippi: A Microcosm of the U.S.

Way back in 1964, the year of "Freedom Summer" and the disappearance and death of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, the "singing journalist" Phil Ochs offered this elegy: …

Medicaid on Hold?

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, said he wants the Mississippi Senate to belly up and help the House fund Medicaid.

First Week Light on Substance

On a mild but drizzly afternoon that forced planned inauguration ceremonies indoors, Phil Bryant took the reins of Mississippi government.

Now Comes the Hard Part, Again

Mississippi's lawmakers may have approved $20 million in bonds for a state civil-rights museum last week, but the project still has major hurdles to clear before becoming a reality. Chief …

BREAKING: AG Hood Announces Pardon Findings, Serves Notice

Barbour Watch Archive

Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers

Transparency and Head Trips

State agencies will have to put their spending and contracts on a website for public scrutiny if the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate work out their differences with a …

House Dems Cave, Then Flee

House Democrats caved in to pressure the first day of the special session, passing a bill to temporarily reauthorize the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Personhood Polls Surprisingly Close

In this typically anti-abortion state, a recent poll suggests that the fate of the "Personhood Amendment" might be too close to call. Public Policy Polling found that 45 percent of …

Why the PSC Race Matters

Few people attend the monthly meetings of the Mississippi Public Service Commission, outside of utility company officials and their host of attorneys. Generally, when the talk is about electricity, gas …

Federal Stimulus: ‘We Need to be Ready'

The stimulus is coming, and it's bringing big money. The Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review told the Mississippi House Ways and Means Committee that the economic impact of …

State's Biz Climate Iffy

Gov. Haley Barbour touted his administration's pro-business bona fides for the last time in his role as state government's chief executive before a throng of mostly business folks at the …

Barbour Veto Shortsighted?

A day after Gov. Haley Barbour announced that he would not make a bid for U.S. president in 2012, he used his veto power to kill a bill to develop …

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.