Jackson Free Press

Hurricane Recovery, Barbour - Style

Photos by David Rae Morris,

As residents of Mississippi's Gulf Coast gathered to commemorate the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, they recalled a cataclysmic storm that spared no one, rich or poor, from its destruction. …

Barbour Supports Civil Rights Museum

[The following letter is verbatim from Gov. Barbour to the Civil Rights Museum Federation Committee at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History]

Face-Off: The Battle for ‘Tort Reform'

When Sen. Gloria Williamson walked up to the podium on the first day of the 2004 Extraordinary Session called by Gov. Haley Barbour, she had one goal. The senator from …

Timothy Fizer

The front door of F. Jones Corner bursts open around 4 a.m. on a Friday, and Timothy Fizer emerges, holding a drunken man's arms behind his back as the man …

Senate Committee Passes Anti-Immigrant Bill

This afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 2179, which is similar to a controversial Arizona law that forces local and state law enforcement to ask for proof of …

House Approves Medicaid Hospital Measure

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journail is reporting that the Mississippi House has approved a $45 million assessment on hospitals in a compromise to cover part of the $90 million shortfall …

Silver Alert Legislation Awaits Barbour's Signature

Keeping our parents and grandparents safe is the goal of a Mississippi House bill creating a Silver Alert system. The system, based on Amber Alerts for children, will allow family …

Mason Says Merger Plan a Leaked ‘Idea'

As Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. shook hands at a forum this morning at Koinonia Coffee House in Jackson, he sought to quell concerns about a possible HBCU …

State Launches Site for Visiting Debate Journalists

[Verbatin] An estimated 3,000 journalists are expected to descend upon Oxford this week for the first 2008 Presidential Debate. To assist media with resources for broadcasts and articles pertaining to …

Barbour Vetoes ‘Partnership' Bill

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE FOR HOUSE BILL 1115 -March 27, 2006-

I am returning House Bill 1115: AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-13-403, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS IN THE HEALTH CARE TRUST FUND LAW; TO AMEND SECTION …

[Fleming] Give Barbour Credit Where It's Due

In time, we all can agree on something in our political lives. This week, I can honestly say that I am in agreement with Gov. Haley Barbour on several points. …

[Ladd] Life in the Fast Lane

Not to be a drama queen here, but hanging out at the Mississippi Legislature can really shatter one's faith in humanity. After doing years of research on harmful youth policies …

State Jobless Rate Tops 9 Percent

The Mississippi unemployment roles swelled in January to 9.2 percent, a rate higher than the national average of 8.5 percent. In December, the state reported a 7.6 percent rate.

$20 Million Loan Approved for Old Capitol Green

UPDATED

Gov. Haley Barbour approved a $20 million loan for the Old Capitol Green infrastructure improvements Monday, in a move that the development's supporters consider a critical early step.

Medical Examiner Bill Sent To Barbour

The Mississippi Legislature has passed a bill that would require state medical examiners to be certified forensic pathologists. The House of Representatives today approved Senate changes to House Bill 1456, …

Panel Withholding Data, Education Advocates Say

A governor-appointed panel on school district mergers is withholding the data it used to identify 18 Mississippi school districts for potential consolidation, frustrating a group of education advocates.

'Tort Reform' Not Working?

There's just no pleasing some people. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's tort-reform lobbying arm, the "Institute for Legal Reform," released a report last Wednesday ranking Mississippi as the 48th worst …

Tough Questions for Mitch Tyner

The uncut version.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Tyner answers tough questions about his Davidian quest for the state's top office, if liberals can love God, and whether or not he's a closet Democrat.

Operation Downgrade

Gov. Haley Barbour's "Mississippi Education Reform Act of 2005," SB 2504, finally passed in the House of Representatives in early March, after living in the shadow of a looming Medicaid …

Supremes Question Kemper

In all the pages of court records regarding a dispute between environmentalists and an electric utility company--pages that one Mississippi Supreme Court justice characterized as the most voluminous he has …