All results / Stories / Ward Schaefer
Digging Up Bodies?
For the first time since 1995, Mississippi will have a full-time medical examiner who is not Dr. Steven Hayne.
Communication, Please
Melvin Priester Sr. believes better communication can make the Hinds County judiciary more efficient.
Courts Going Digital
A dash of transparency could be coming to Hinds County's court system in 2011 along with some newly elected judges. Mississippi Electronic Courts, a pilot program offering attorneys and members …
Mental Health Ripe for Cuts?
Reform and belt-tightening will collide when state lawmakers consider mental-health services in the 2010 legislative session.
A Plan for Change
Otha Burton may be one of the newest appointees to the Jackson Public Schools board, but he is a veteran of city government. Burton served as chief administrative officer for …
Water Crisis Forces Closures, Cooperation
A water emergency gripped Jackson this week, as more than 100 water-main breaks left many parts of Jackson with low or nonexistent water pressure. The crisis forced the closure of …
Taking a Budget Break
The Mississippi Legislature put budget negotiations on pause this weekend, with plans to reconvene April 20, when the state's revenue forecast will be clearer.
Politics
'Good Time' For the Dems?
Amid cheers and declarations that "It's a good time to be a Democrat," the executive committee of the Mississippi Democratic Party met and unanimously elected Jamie Franks its new party …
Convention Complex Opens
Twenty thousand visitors filled the Jackson Convention Complex during its official grand opening Saturday, according to preliminary estimates.
Frank Melton
Melton: 'I'm At Peace'
Mayor Frank Melton praised Jackson's economic progress and outlined some of the city's persistent problems in his State of the City address Thursday morning, Aug. 21, at the TelCom Center.
Cigarette Tax Debate Rages On
Pragmatism and principle will collide when the Mississippi House considers the Senate version of a proposed cigarette tax increase. The Senate approved increasing the cigarette tax from 18 cents per …
The 2009 JFP Interview With Robert Amos
Robert Amos is the youngest remaining candidate for mayor. At 35, he's already worked in more fields than some do in a lifetime—health care, education, criminal justice and business—and he's …
‘Fidelity to the Law'
Frank Farmer prides himself on his evenhandedness. Farmer, 34, a candidate for Hinds County Court Judge in District 1, grew up in Hattiesburg, the son of a veterinarian and a …
Eyes on Spending
One of the great things about government transparency is its trans-partisan appeal. Conservatives can distrust government just as much as liberals, sometimes more. Still, when it comes to high-tech watchdog …
Free, Green Money
Entergy Mississippi is offering free money for community development and environmental projects in the state.
Talk
One for the Price of Two
In its zeal to find a new superintendent, Jackson Public Schools has hired one administrator for the price of two. A day after the school board selected Georgia education specialist …
Going Rogue
On his county-provided laptop, Phil Fisher has replaced the standard mouse icon with a sword. A former Marine and a current brigadier general in the Mississippi Army National Guard, Fisher …
Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' Duty
When Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief …
The High Cost of Calories
A state tax on sodas, sponsored by Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, was effectively dead on arrival at the state Legislature this year, given the difficulty of passing any revenue measure …
University Mergers Loom?
Rumors of university consolidation gave way to outright threats Monday when Gov. Haley Barbour released his executive budget recommendations for the 2011 fiscal year. Painting a dismal picture of the …
