Jackson Free Press

[City Buzz] no. 17 January 24 - 31

Convention Center Commissioners picked two construction companies to begin building the Convention Center, seven months after the groundbreaking. The construction contract, worth more than $52 million, will go to two …

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.

2008 Legislative Preview: New Session, Old Problems

Photos by Adam Lynch, Donna Ladd, and Jaro Vacek

The Mississippi legislative session is coming around again Jan. 8, bringing with it some tough decisions. The Legislature took a stroll through roses last year, oddly, thanks to Hurricane Katrina. …

‘Mad and Scared’: The Religious Shift in U.S., Mississippi Politics

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says no one has seen a presidential election like this one in his lifetime, at least. Speaking at the Mississippi Economic Council's Hob Nob event …

Profile: Chokwe Lumumba

Now, Chokwe Lumumba devotes a good deal of time talking about his family's own diverse racial heritage, the camaraderie he experienced among fellow basketballers of all races and nationalities, the …

Are Judges Up for Sale in Mississippi?

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to address an appeal by convicted Mississippi attorney Paul Minor and former judges Walter "Wes" Teel and John Whitfield, who a U.S. District …

‘An Old Washington Hand Goes Home to Mississippi'

David E. Rosenbaum writes in the New York Times today about Haley Barbour's return to Mississippi: "Mr. Barbour must overcome the charge that he has spent his career as a …

Ronnie Agnew

Ronnie Agnew graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in radio/television journalism, then spent the next 27 years working in newspapers, including a nine-year stint as the first black executive …

Party of Lincoln?

Think it's strange that the now-lily-white Republican Party was the choice of freed slaves in the 19th century?

Campaign Parties Around Town

If you want to go out and watch the campaign staffs get drunk, the winners gloat, the losers try to take the high road (or not), or to congratulate or …

Warrs Say ‘Not Guilty'

Former Republican Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr and his wife Laura both pleaded not guilty yesterday to four new charges of misleading loan officers on two mortgage loans in 2003, before …

Mississippi Loses Bio Lab to Kansas

The Department of Homeland Security selected Manhattan, Kansas, over Flora, Miss., and four other sites for its proposed $451 million Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The lab, which will focus primarily …

Bounds Predicts Job Losses, Tuition Hikes

State higher education commissioner Hank Bounds said today that Mississippi's public university system will likely shed 1,000 jobs over the next two years due to budget cuts. Speaking today to …

State May Receive $13M for Small Businesses

A new federal law offers Mississippi up to $13.2 million to support small-business lending programs through community banks. The State Small Business Credit Initiative, part of the Small Business Jobs …

Mississippi Schools Cut 2,000 Jobs

Mississippi school districts have cut more than 2,000 employees over the last year to manage their shrinking budgets, state Superintendent for Education Tom Burnham told a panel of legislators yesterday. …

Michael Wallace

The American Bar Association is a sore topic for Jackson attorney Michael Wallace, who is now representing Mississippi in a multi-state lawsuit against health-care reform.

Stuart Irby Found Dead

Jackson businessman Stuart M. Irby, 58, died last night of an apparent suicide.

WLBT reports that Irby's caretaker found him hanging in his home at about 8 p.m. Police do not suspect foul play.

Ann Williams

Ann Williams, 54, is a bit tough, a little hard to take in at first. But that's because she's passionate. And she speaks the truth.

Jason Dean

For Dr. Jason Dean, a passion for Mississippi and a drive to help his home state grow have guided his life and career.

Lenore Loving Prather

Retired Justice Lenore Loving Prather, the first woman to serve as a Mississippi Supreme Court justice, died Saturday at her home in Columbus at the age of 88.