Jackson Free Press

The JFP Interview With Dave Dennis

In 1995, then-Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice announced his re-election campaign from the Gulfport home of Dave Dennis. Dennis had a lot in common with the governor. Both made their fortunes …

Barbour Approval Rating Only 37 Percent

May 12, 2005–SurveyUSA has released its approval rating survey results conducted in all 50 states for May 10, 2005. 600 Mississippians were asked "Do you approve or disapprove of the …

Candidates Reject ‘Career Politician' Label

Political candidates walked a fine line Wednesday at the Neshoba County Fair, trying to persuade voters that they were neither inexperienced nor—a harsh indictment—a "career politician."

[McCoy] The Clock Is Ticking

The House of Representatives remains very disappointed that there has been no compromise on the budget for the fiscal year 2006. We pledge to remain here as long as there …

Mental Health Legislation Passed

House Bill 897, signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour, creates a panel to study issues surrounding delivery of the state's mental health services and make recommendations for improvement.

Fishing in Democratic Waters

Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry is down on the Coast this week, looking for voter irregularities in a Democratic Senate district.

Mississippians and the Numbers

On Wednesday, May 26, Mississippians for Economic Progress released a poll in a press conference attended by Haley Barbour, which suggested that Mississippians support the notion of ending "lawsuit abuse" …

Rep. Steve Holland

Rep. Steve Holland says he might be on the verge of retiring from the Mississippi House, after 33 years' service.

Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

Mississippi has a weird mish-mash of officials who have some responsibility for making sure clerks follow the state's public-records law and that candidates file their campaign-finance reports, but rarely take …

Eminent Domain: ‘Taking' Too Much?

In 2001, Nissan was preparing to come to Canton, and Lonzo Archie's home stood in the way of a new factory. The state, eager to bring in the factory's jobs …

Contractor, State Trade Blows

The State of Mississippi wants Hinds County Chancery Court Judge William Singletary to dismiss a suit launched against it by multi-national corporation Utility Management Corp.

Unemployment Nears 24 Percent in Some Counties

Five Mississippi counties reported jobless rates exceeding 20 percent in February, with Noxubee and Holmes counties edging toward a quarter of their populations collecting unemployment benefits; the counties reported rates …

Week 7–Butt Tax and Task Force

Two tricky bills survived their respective sides of the Legislature, most likely to be stoned to death or ignored into oblivion by the opposing chamber in the upcoming weeks.

Road to a Gentleman’s Surrender: Gov. Tate Reeves Strikes Hard, Then Bows to Legislature

To hear it from (Tate) Reeves, the Legislature fiddled while Mississippi burned, gambling with the lives and livelihoods of its people through unnecessary legalistic dissembling.

Barbour: Outstanding Women ‘Rare'

Read the WAPT report.

"'There are some outstanding women but they're rare,' Barbour said. 'I'm not in the bean-counting business. As we fill out this administration, I feel very comfortable that people are going …

Immigration Bill a Reality

Well, he signed it. Gov. Haley Barbour caved in to the screaming fury of conservative talk radio and the raging rant of phone calls and signed into law SB 2988, …

Barbour Rejects Medicaid Deal

Gov. Haley Barbour took advantage of his more powerful position in state budget negotiations on Monday by rejecting a tentative budget agreement forged less than 24 hours earlier.

Barbour Overblowing Katrina Progress Claims

Read JFP's KatrinaBlog

Bill Minor takes Gov. Haley Barbour to task this week over the myth that the Coast is in such better shape a year after Katrina:

14 or More Schools Will Operate In Red As a Result of Education Budget Cuts

[Verbatim From the Mississippi Department of Education] Jackson, MS – A detailed district-by-district spreadsheet of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was released today to superintendents to review the impact …

Appropriations and Pole-Dancing

The House and Senate agreed on a major appropriation bill last week, when negotiators came to terms on appropriations bill SB 2495, which restores $82 million to the Fiscal Year …