All results / Stories / Ronni Mott
State Jobless Rate Tops 9 Percent
The Mississippi unemployment roles swelled in January to 9.2 percent, a rate higher than the national average of 8.5 percent. In December, the state reported a 7.6 percent rate.
Spring Break Lunch with the Mayor
[verbatim] The City of Jackson's Safe Neighborhood and Youth Development Division will host "Lunch With the Mayor in the Park" at Lake Hico Park on Thursday, March 19, 2009, from …
Obama in Gulfport Today
President Barack Obama begins his fourth visit to the Gulf Coast this morning, starting in Gulfport. Gov. Haley Barbour said that he will be on hand to welcome the President. …
BREAKING: JPS Settles Ellis Case
Jackson Public Schools has reached a settlement with Michael and Rachel Ellis in the Ellis' Title VII lawsuit filed in January against JPS Superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins.
Irby Receives 18 Years Behind Bars
Karen Irby, who pleaded guilty March 26 to two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of two doctors, was sentenced this morning to 18 years in prison for each count, …
Flu Concerns Rising
On Friday, the Mississippi State Department of Health released a statement responding to reports of swine flu in Texas and California.
[Mott] The Cost of Executions
Quitman County, Miss., population 10,500, raised taxes for three years and borrowed $150,000 to provide legal counsel to Robert Simon and Anthony Carr, sentenced to death for the 1990 murders …
Fourth Man Exonerated, Registers to Vote
Arthur Johnson, 48, registered to vote this month, after nearly 16 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, and another eight months waiting for Mississippi to officially …
Texting Ban Affects Only Teens
A new bill signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour last week mandates that teens under 18 with an intermediate license or learner's permit cannot text friends and family while …
Good
Annual 'Taste of Mississippi' Benefits Stewpot
This year's "Taste of Mississippi: Homegrown Hunger Relief" is scheduled for Monday, March 30, beginning at 7 p.m. at Highland Village in Jackson. More than 40 area restaurants and beverage …
New Club, King Edward to Open Downtown
Even in the midst of an economic downturn, enterprising entrepreneurs take advantage of opportunities. A new downtown club and the reopening of a venerable Jackson landmarkafter decades of abandonment and …
AG Sues Barbour Over Veto
Citing case law that restricts the Mississippi governor from selectively vetoing the purpose of an appropriation and redistributing its funds, Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against Gov. Haley …
Committee to Study Car Tag Costs
Mississippi's Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant yesterday announced the creation of a special legislative committee to study the cost of car tags in the state. The proposed committee will contain three …
Urban Myth 101
Last week, the Jackson Free Press received several e-mails proclaiming "Jackson Crime Alert" in the subject line. Obviously having been forwarded through dozens, maybe hundreds of prior e-mail addresses, the …
Unemployment Nears 24 Percent in Some Counties
Five Mississippi counties reported jobless rates exceeding 20 percent in February, with Noxubee and Holmes counties edging toward a quarter of their populations collecting unemployment benefits; the counties reported rates …
Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has …
Ring a Bell
At the end of September, I took my vacation in Batesville. Unbeknownst to many--including the majority of Mississippians, I imagine--Batesville is the home to the Magnolia Grove Buddhist Monastery and …
Grokking New Beginnings
With Jackson State University naming Carolyn Meyers as its new president within the past week (see Ward Schaefer's interview), my thoughts naturally turned to Mississippi's educational system and the subject …
Indigo Changes
America's baby boom generation set out to change the world in the '60s and '70s, and they succeeded. Marching together, they helped stop an unjust, undeclared war and made choice …
Unemployment Hits 20 Percent in Mississippi County
The rate of unemployment in the Magnolia State either dropped slightly or rose slightly, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, depending on how you count the numbers. Adjusting …
