Jackson Free Press

Lawmakers Attempt to Restore $82 Million to 2010 Budget

The Mississippi Legislature has sent a second budget reconciliation compromise to Gov. Haley Barbour, this time restoring $82 million of the cuts the governor has made this fiscal year. Barbour …

Is Suing in Our Best Interest?

Gov. Haley Barbour said he is moving forward with a plan to hire counsel to stop the spread of Choctaw gaming to Jones County, but is the investment in lawyers …

Wanna Cig, Kid?

Gov. Haley Barbour, who was Big Tobacco's "go to" lobbyist when he was in Washington, D.C., is still maintaining that he'll veto any kind of tax bill that is laid …

Barbour's Shameful Pardons

We first heard that then-Gov. Haley Barbour had pardoned another wife-killer Saturday night on WLBT after the Saints game. From there, the news snowballed, with another wife-killer added to the …

Crisis: Medicaid Games Come to a Head Today

Haley Barbour's phone numbers: 359-3150, 359-3150, 720-8733, 359-3150. Call now.

In an editorial today, The Clarion-Ledger writes: "The solution to the current Medicaid funding crisis is to take $200 million from the tobacco trust fund and approve a cigarette tax …

Budget Battle Shows Barbour's Mettle

The state budget negotiations were like a summer blockbuster: expensive, full of strong language, boring and too long. Gov. Haley Barbour played a starring role, and like any diva, he …

Governor Adamant About Port Expansion

Despite pleas to reconsider his earlier decision to divert money from funds designated for rebuilding housing on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters yesterday that he's not changing …

Hinds Judge Grants Extension in Pardon Case

This afternoon, Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green postponed a hearing on whether to strike down reprieves former Gov. Haley Barbour granted on his final days in office. On Jan. …

Legislature Agrees on Budget

Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate budget negotiators came to an agreement yesterday on the 2011 budget that pays the state's education department $14 million less than it did in …

House bill added $184M to school funding

The Sun Herald reports: "The House's $2 billion K-12 spending bill, which passed by a 103-18 vote Tuesday, would fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, a formula established in 1997 …

Sid Salter on Haley Barbour

In the Sept. 13 issue of National Journal: "I think (Barbour's) been successful in changing his image from someone who just showed up on Crossfire to a guy who rolled …

Barbour Contradicts on Coal Plant

Speaking at a biofuels conference this morning, Gov. Haley Barbour re-affirmed his support for construction of a $2.88 billion experimental coal plant in Kemper County while criticizing a federal energy …

Ermea Russell

On May 23, Ermea Russell will begin her term as a Mississippi Appeals Court judge. Gov. Haley Barbour appointed her last week.

House Voted to Sell Jet

On the Mississippi House list of ways to deal with the state's budget crunch is selling the state's jet used by Gov. Haley Barbour. Last week, House lawmakers voted to …

Superintendent Responds to Education Cuts

(verbatim statement) State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tom Burnham regarding the additional cuts to the K-12 education budget by Governor Haley Barbour:

'So Be It': Ballot 'Trick' Fails

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled last week that the U.S. Senate race between Roger Wicker and Ronnie Musgrove should appear near the top of the general election ballot, ending a …

CNN Highlights Perks for Barbour Trustys

CNN is now reporting that in his last days in office, Gov. Haley Barbour's staff helped two mansion inmate workers secure driver's licenses and that those prisoners, David Gatlin and …

Keep Up the Reform Momentum

Former Gov. Haley Barbour's unprecedented spate of last-minute pardons brought numerous issues regarding some of Mississippi's antiquated customs into the glaring light of national media attention.

Welcome to FY 2010: Where's the Budget?

At around 8 p.m. last night, the Mississippi House approved a $60 million hospital tax promoted by Gov. Haley Barbour to fund the state's Medicaid program, after a nearly two-and-a-half …

Bill for Pardon and Parole Accountability on Hold

Yesterday, the Mississippi Senate passed a bill that would make the governor's right to pardon convicted felons more accountable to their victims and to the communities where they committed their …