Jackson Free Press

The Regulator: The JFP Interview with Gary Anderson

Photos by Roy Adkins & Adam Lynch

Gary Anderson wants to be Mississippi's insurance commissioner, and he's not pulling any punches in the race. The Byhalia native knows a thing or two about politics: He worked under …

Melton Mismanagement Hits the 'Bottom Line

This week, city officials finally handed in their budget revisions to the City Council, detailing cuts that will be made to city departments in order to reconcile a nearly $4 …

The Museum Reborn

Photos by Roy Adkins

When museum director Betsy Bradley walked me through the new Mississippi Museum of Art building in February, the mostly finished museum felt like a chrysalis—placid and even ordinary on the …

Our Broken (Mental) Health System

This is a first in a series of columns and comments on mental health in Mississippi.

City Directors Get Legal Training

The city of Jackson's department directors got legal training from State Auditor Phil Bryant's office yesterday.

Dredging Up the Past: Why Mississippians Must Tell Our Own Stories

It was warm under the mammoth magnolia tree on the north side of the Neshoba County Courthouse, just yards from where the Confederate soldier stood on his marble pedestal until …

Salon.com Questions Barbour's ‘Mississippi Miracle'

Salon.com today has a "hard look" into the job that Haley Barbour has done with Katrina recovery. Some interesting stuff in there, particularly about how slowly some of the non-casino …

A Hidden Tax Increase?

State Reps. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, and Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, are asking Gov. Haley Barbour to call a special session to address the state's rising college tuition costs.

JPS Board Stalls on ‘Larkin-Gate' Contract

Members of the Jackson Public School board and City Council are delaying crucial votes in connection with a contract dispute over the school board's $150 million bond.

Stiffing the Help

The Hattiesburg American reported last week that the Department of Labor is investigating a Jackson business owned by Rosemary Barbour, wife of Hinds County Supervisor Charles Barbour, a nephew of …

The City Hall Shuffle

Some council members learned for the first time Tuesday that rejected Parks and Recreation Director Charles Melvin is still making almost as much as he was as interim head of …

Who I "was", Who I "am", and Who I want to "become"

It's funny how things have a way of happening at just the right time. How things are said at just the right moment. How your point is explained so clearly …

Barbour Raised $3.4 Million in First Quarter of 2007

[Verbatim from Barbour] JACKSON, MS - Governor Haley Barbour today filed a campaign finance report showing he raised more than $3.4 million in the first four months of 2007 and …

The Blind Giant: Insurance Companies Play By Their Own Rules

Hurricane Katrina was a nasty surprise for Mississippi Gulf Coast resident Mike Perronne when it slammed into Mississippi Aug. 29, 2005. Perronne left his Diamondhead, Miss., home that Sunday before …

We the People with ID

State Sen. Charlie Ross, R-Brandon, a GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, held a press conference on the steps of the capitol this morning, requesting Gov. Haley Barbour to call a …

‘Citizen Bloggers' Get Busy at the Ledge

I need some room to rant. Have you seen this crap?

I am just now discovering the CL's "Citizen Bloggers"

Deadly Pet Food Filler Open Secret in China

It seems that all that "free trade"—and loss of American jobs and trading economic strength in our communities for sweat shops—is starting to come home to roost by killing our …

Day 4: Partial Verdict Not Revealed

Reporting by Brian Johnson

According to Judge Webster, the jury has reached a unanimous decision on 10 of the 11 charges; there is one charge that they can't reach a verdict on. Webster, at …

AG says Barbour's Veto 'Unconstitutional'

Gov. Haley Barbour cannot legally make a line-item veto on million of dollars in spending on at-risk youth programs, Attorney General Jim Hood said today. "Barbour's misguided and illegal attempt …

Gas Ain't Forever

It's clear from the parking lots around the state capitol that the legislative session is a busy time for the building. During the session, those parking lots, empty for most …