Jackson Free Press

House Votes to Accept Senate's Tort Reform Bill

After a long floor debate today, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted 76-38 to concur with the Senate strike-all version of HB 13 — a bill that institutes $1 million …

Langston Suit Fraught with Politics

A state lawsuit against the law firm of disbarred attorneys Joey Langston and Timothy Balducci is uncovering a curious mixture of politics and money, and not all of it surrounds …

Minority Contractors Win Arbitration Award

[verbatim] An American Arbitration Association panel awarded minority contractor Fish & Fisher $1,283,351 in a dispute with white owned L & T Construction. The dispute arose over work performed by …

Calm the 'Runaway' Rhetoric; Do the Homework

As we go to press, it seems likely that Gov. Haley Barbour will call a special session this year to try and push through more "tort reform" measures after failing …

Eaves' Health-Care Plan Touches Nerve

Photos by Kate Medley, Roy Adkins, & Adam Lynch

Brookhaven resident Washuma Murphy faces more than $3,500 in medical bills every year, without the benefit of medical insurance. Doctors diagnosed her 12-year-old son, Devon Murphy, with Sturge-Weber Syndrome at …

Barbour Talks Party Line on Cap & Trade

In a speech yesterday at the Southern Growth Policies Board, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour repeated the GOP's party line about the Obama administration's proposed cap and trade energy policies, repeatedly …

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 …

Justice Association Slams Barbour's Request to Court

The Mississippi Association for Justice is accusing Gov. Haley Barbour of playing politics with a wrongful-death case in Bolivar County. "Haley Barbour's recent motion to the Supreme Court to reconsider …

Barbour: ‘Don't Let Your Guard Down Yet'

Also see: Jackpedia: Hurricane Gustav to get/post vital information.

Leland Speed Stepping Down from MDA

[verbatim statement] Governor Haley Barbour announced today that Leland Speed, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority since the beginning of the Barbour Administration, is returning to the private sector …

Legislative Update: Smokes, Schools and Parks

The House agreed with the Senate in a 120-to-0 vote to roll the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi into the Health Department. Former tobacco lobbyist Haley Barbour killed the Partnership …

Flipping the 'Race Card'

I almost spewed coffee all over my screen. I had just opened a "Haley Barbour" news alert and read that our esteemed former governor had accused Democrats of playing the …

• 14 comments

McDaniel Attorney Mitch Tyner Expects to Find 6,700 Bad Votes Cast for Cochran

McDaniel campaign attorney Mitch Tyner says he believes at least 6,700 fraudulent votes were cast in the Republican primary run-off, enough to negate Thad Cochran's win.

Charles Barbour: On Kooks, Black Families and His Wife

Charles Barbour, 52, studied criminal justice at the University of Mississippi. As a city councilman, he would like to see the Jackson Police Department adequately funded but given financial oversight.

• 4 comments

Boxers, Cows, Horses and Hogs

Advocacy groups this week denounced Senate Finance Committee Chair Tommy Robertson for killing an embattled tax swap bill that would have cut the state's grocery tax by half and raised …

Legislature 2006: A House United?

Last year, in the days before the new legislative session, lawmakers were ready to walk into the state capitol with their guns out. Mississippi was, and remains, a state where …

Mississippi Special Session Starts Friday

It's official: Gov. Haley Barbour has called state lawmakers back to Jackson for another special session to deal with the 2010 state budget. The session begins on Friday, July 10, …

2011 Budget Slashes State Jobs

Following Gov. Haley Barbour's cost-cutting lead, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee released their proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 2010. Among its recommendations is eliminating 3,600 …

Wayne Dowdy Will Worry State GOP

Clarion-Ledger columnist Sid Salter writes that new Mississippi Democratic Party head Wayne Dowdy will worry the state Republicans: "Dowdy is a formidable opponent in every sense of the term. He's …

Legislators Remain Stuck on Budget

With 14 days remaining in Mississippi's 2009 fiscal year, lawmakers continue their struggle to reach a consensus on next year's budget. The special negotiating team, which consists of three House …