Jackson Free Press

Hood Says Power Companies Forced PSC Shutdown

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and power industry watchdogs suspect power companies shut down a state regulating agency expressly to remove a new means of regulation from the table.

Childers on GOP Hit List

The National Republican Congressional Committee is campaigning early this season. The NRCC identified 70 Democrats to target for the 2010 election, according to an email obtained by Washington political periodical …

Republicans Choose Sides In Bailout

The Jackson NAACP, the Mississippi AFL-CIO and supporting organizations protested Mississippi Republican senators' opposition to a bailout bill for General Motors and Chrysler at the State Capitol on Tuesday.

Feds to Slash School Funding?

Federal mandates connected to the "No Child Left Behind Act," signed by President George Bush in 2002, demand that Mississippi improve its school test scores or face losing federal money …

Week 3: Schools, Dialysis and Unions

Education Appropriations Responding quickly to dire news about Mississippi's school districts, House lawmakers approved a bill Jan. 21 that would appropriate $68 million for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the …

U.S. Official Cheers Stimulus Jobs

Robert Peck, U.S. general services administration's commissioner of public buildings touted 48 new jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, during a press conference at the …

Is Mississippi Rushing Executions?

The state of Mississippi is set to execute Joseph Daniel Burns on July 21, making Burns the third inmate executed this year. Attorney General Jim Hood asked the Mississippi Supreme …

Long Live The King

As attorney David Watkins stands beneath the 12-story façade of the dilapidated King Edward Hotel, he's got a glimmer on his face. He's exchanging pleasantries with James Guinn, general foreman …

AP Reports on Columbia Training School Abuse

This isn't exactly a new story–see the JFP story from January 2005–but it is good to see the Associated Press taking our training-school horrors to a national stage. The story, …

Are ‘HillPublicans' True Dumba$$es?

Just ponderin'. (See Alternet article).

OK, if all these desperate Republicans are going to follow Rush Limbaugh's advice and turn out to vote for Hillary Clinton in order to try to keep Obama (and his …

Watchin' It

The delicious aroma of oatmeal raisin cookies greets me as I push open the office door. I attempt to rebel against the evil forces pulling me toward the scent. In …

MSU Digitizes Endangered Citizens Council Radio Tapes

Stephanie Rolph was a graduate student at Mississippi State University in the mid-2000s when she found a collection of reel-to-reel audio recordings of the Citizens Forum, a broadcast once helmed …

Are Mississippi Officials Deadbeats?

The situation in Mississippi may be dire, but it's not hopeless. There are opportunities to drastically—not incrementally—improve things in Mississippi, but our leadership seems fixated on solutions looking for problems.

JFP Interview: Education Governor William Winter

<b>*The JFP Unabridged Web Edition*</b>

The Neshoba County Fair this year was like a tale of five governors on Thursday, traditionally the hottest political fire-breathing day. In a way though, it was the story of …

Gannett's Hattiesburg-American Refuses to "Hold Nose" for Lt. Gov

Note that the Hattiesburg-American wrote an entire non-endorsement without a single actual issue mentioned -- the entire column is based on the performance of the two women during the campaign. …

Fourth Death in Mississippi Prisons; Judge Says Other Prison OK

Another Mississippi inmate has died at the hands of a fellow inmate, bringing the death toll to four amid disturbances over the past week in the state prison system.

JSU President Mason Proposes HBCU Merger Into ‘Jacobs State'

Read Jacobs State Proposal

Election for Ward 6 Council Seat Set for June 17

[Fleming] Told You Lott Would Quit

I hate to say I told you so … but I did.

State Slow to Spend STEPS Hiring Funds

Philadelphia, Miss., business owner William Hegman says the Workforce Investment Network of Mississippi is not properly monitoring its spending of $52 million in federal job placement money.