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Midtown Housing Development Breaks Ground

City leaders today celebrated groundbreaking on the first phase of a $3.49 million energy-efficient residential development in Jackson's midtown neighborhood. The Jackson Housing Authority is financing the project through stimulus …

Candidate

'A Safer, Better Hinds County'

Michael Williams believes a good judge should possess empathy. A partner at Davis, Goss & Williams, the Clinton resident is running for Hinds County Court judge for District 3 in …

Barbour Repeats Budget, Medicaid Myths at CPAC

Continuing his hints at a 2012 presidential run, Gov. Haley Barbour addressed the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual conference Saturday in Washington, D.C., with his argument for electing a Republican …

Justice

Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' Duty

When Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief …

Talk

Week 5: Selling Planes, Buying Ads, Raising Taxes

Jet-Setters No More? On Friday, the House passed a bill that could put a state jet up for sale on eBay. Citing the "true conservative" example of Sarah Palin, Appropriations …

Candidate

‘Where the Glitch Is'

Bill Gowan wants to make his temporary post on the Hinds County Circuit Court more permanent. Currently serving as a special circuit judge, Gowan hears serious drug and violent-crime cases …

Candidate

‘Always a Coach'

It's not hard to tell that Brent Southern is a coach. Peppering his conversation with phrases like "when the whistle blows" and "read all the angles," the attorney describes the …

Development

$20 Million Loan Approved for Old Capitol Green

UPDATED

Gov. Haley Barbour approved a $20 million loan for the Old Capitol Green infrastructure improvements Monday, in a move that the development's supporters consider a critical early step.

Education

A Federal Grant to Save Education?

In a year when Mississippi's K-12 educational system faces potentially crippling budget cuts, a federal grant program promising up to $175 million has offered a bit of hope to state …

Health Care

Sheriffs Ask Barbour to Spare Crisis Centers

County sheriffs from across Mississippi yesterday urged Gov. Haley Barbour to spare the state's mental-health crisis centers, which Barbour targeted for closure in his 2011 budget proposal. Speaking at the …

Education

Panel Withholding Data, Education Advocates Say

A governor-appointed panel on school district mergers is withholding the data it used to identify 18 Mississippi school districts for potential consolidation, frustrating a group of education advocates.

Business

More Room At the Inn

While plans for a convention-center hotel remain in limbo, downtown Jackson is seeing plenty of hotel development on a smaller scale. Last week, a team of developers that included several …

Politics

Congress Reauthorizes Children's Health Insurance

The House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) yesterday, a move that, if sustained, would extend coverage to an additional 4.1 million children nationwide. The …

Crime

Report Calls for Drug-Law Reform

Reducing Mississippi's incarceration rate, which is the second-highest in the United States, depends on reforming many aspects of the state's criminal justice system, a report released this month says.

Frank Melton

Melton Faces Cop's Suit

Fresh off an announcement of his re-election campaign, Mayor Frank Melton received two signs last week that his legal woes are not over. Jackson police officer Robert Watts filed a …

Frank Melton

Recio To Stand Trial Next Week

The civil rights trial of Jackson police officer Michael Recio will proceed next week, despite requests by federal prosecutors for a postponement after the death of Mayor Frank Melton. Prosecutors …

Talk

Week 3: Schools, Dialysis and Unions

Education Appropriations Responding quickly to dire news about Mississippi's school districts, House lawmakers approved a bill Jan. 21 that would appropriate $68 million for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the …

Is Mississippi Rushing Executions?

The state of Mississippi is set to execute Joseph Daniel Burns on July 21, making Burns the third inmate executed this year. Attorney General Jim Hood asked the Mississippi Supreme …

Frank Melton

Bodyguard Gives Damaging Evidence Against Melton, Recio

On Feb. 10, jurors in the federal civil rights trial of Mayor Frank Melton heard from the government's star witness, former mayoral bodyguard Marcus Wright. Wright, who pled guilty to …

Frank Melton

Melton Retrial Scheduled For May 11

2009 JFP Interview with Melton, Part I