Jackson Free Press

Back in the Saddle

Like many of us, I started off the new year so well. I actually began an intensive fitness makeover at 6 a.m. on Dec. 30--just so that I would have …

Transparency and Head Trips

State agencies will have to put their spending and contracts on a website for public scrutiny if the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate work out their differences with a …

MPB Eyes Self Sufficiency

The Mississippi Public Broadcasting board voted this morning to start considering where to make budget cuts in response to threats to end its state funding.

Community College Boost Awaits Barbour's Pen

Mississippi's community colleges could get an extra $15 million if Gov. Haley Barbour signs off on a funding bill approved by both chambers of the state Legislature. The version of …

A Museum Split?

The total cost of a proposed Mississippi civil-rights museum could depend on its location. While Gov. Haley Barbour and a majority of the state House of Representatives have backed a …

Barbour's Cross to Bear

In 1968 in Yazoo City, Police Chief Ardis Russell Sr. arrested a black mother, LeBertha Owens, for trying to take her young daughter, Gloria, to the public library for materials …

Barbour's Bad Education Math

If Gov. Haley Barbour gets his way, Mississippi public schools may end up short-changed by $65 million because of a vanishing pot of federal money.

Sex and Pay Raises

The Mississippi Tea Party tried to target immigrants once again in a bill that would have charged $5 for out-of-country wire transfers exceeding $500, plus 1 percent of the amount …

Judging Carefully

For Judge Leslie King, serving on the Mississippi Supreme Court is a natural career move, if not necessarily one he expected. Last week, Gov. Haley Barbour appointed King to the …

Integrating Yazoo: Race and Change in Haley Barbour's Hometown

Gloria Owens froze with fear as a German shepherd barreled toward her at the entrance of Yazoo City Junior High School on a fall morning in 1968. "Get that n*gger," …

Barbour Testifies at Health-Care Hearing

During a U.S. House of Representatives health-care reform hearing yesterday, Gov. Haley Barbour argued against the law's mandatory requirement for states. President Barack Obama, however, endorsed a bipartisan Senate bill …

Barbour Signs AG's Domestic Violence Bill

<i>Verbatim statement:</i>

A domestic violence related bill sponsored by Attorney General Jim Hood has been signed into law. Gov. Haley Barbour signed SB 2426, which makes it a misdemeanor for someone to …

Scott Sisters Face Health Barrier to Transplant

Also see: The Tragic Case of the Scott Sisters

Barbour Signs Open Meetings Law

Taxpayers will no longer pay the fines public officials incur when they violate the state's open meetings law. Gov. Haley Barbour signed the revised law on Feb. 24.

Barbour's Ed. Numbers Off-Mark

Mississippi public-education advocates fear that the state Senate may short-change school districts next year by $65 million. On the Senate agenda is a House education-funding bill approved last week; however …

Barbour Taps Leslie King for Supreme Court

Leslie King, a veteran state Court of Appeals judge, will take departing Justice James Graves' place on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Gov. Haley Barbour announced yesterday that he would appoint …

To Stop Flight, Be Consistent

There is a serious disconnect right now in Jackson. Since hysterical media reports of recent weeks about continuing "white flight" out of Jackson caused, well, a degree of hysteria among …

MAEP and Museums

A showdown may be gearing up between the Mississippi House of Representatives and Gov. Haley Barbour on the use of $65 million in federal funds for public education this year.

Funk Philosophy

If you didn't know better, you might have thought you'd stepped into evening service at an annual church convention rather than a program to hear an American theorist speak at …

Charles Barbour

Mississippi Public Service Commission candidate Charles Barbour said his run against the Republican incumbent in the August primary isn't any of his uncle's business.