Jackson Free Press

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 …

House May Tap $100 Million of Reserve Fund

The Mississippi House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a plan to use $100 million in reserve funds this year to shore up agency budgets that were slashed …

School Proponents Urge Budget Cut Restraint

UPDATED: October 16, 2009

Education advocates are urging Gov. Haley Barbour to resist making further cuts to the state's education budget in response to revenue shortfalls yesterday. Barbour warned this week that more budget …

AG says Barbour's Veto 'Unconstitutional'

Gov. Haley Barbour cannot legally make a line-item veto on million of dollars in spending on at-risk youth programs, Attorney General Jim Hood said today. "Barbour's misguided and illegal attempt …

Eat Free or Die

Radio ads announced a once-every-four-year opportunity for free food: the GOP candidate forum to be held at the Sports Museum on Lakeland Drive. A sucker for free food, I have …

Green Stops Pardons; Barbour Explains, Sort of

Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers

10 Local Stories of the Week

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.

Patrick Harkins: A Businessman with a Band

"I like to work with the mantra of positivity and doing the best we can every day to give our community the gift of music," says Patrick Harkins, owner of …

Gov. Bryant Closes Campaign Account, Starts 'Imagine Mississippi PAC'

Gov. Phil Bryant terminated his campaign-finance account on Jan. 31, disbursing the funds to other political committees, candidates and charitable organizations.

Gulf Drilling Saga Almost Over?

A controversy that started more than two years ago, during the waning days of Gov. Haley Barbour's final term in office, sparking a lengthy legal battle between environmentalists and state …

How Gov. Phil Bryant Is Hurting Mississippi

In my personal journey in the fight for fairness, equality and progress, I have come to a stark conclusion: Gov. Phil Bryant is single-handedly preventing our state from progressing and …

A Bust for Barbour’s Corporate Welfare

Chiquita, known as the United Fruit Company before that name became synonymous with political bullying and corruption in Latin America, announced recently that it was moving its operation at the …

Conservative Agenda Fueling Medicaid Numbers?

Republican governors in states including Mississippi and Nebraska may be using inflated cost figures for Medicaid in order to help a movement to roll back recent health-care reform.

Barbour Still Waiting to Sue Feds

Gov. Haley Barbour will wait for the Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum to file a multi-state suit against recently passed national health-care reform before joining in, his office said today.

The 3rd Annual Beer Taste-Off with Raise Your Pints

For the third year straight, we invited the folks over at Raise Your Pints to come to the Jackson Free Press offices and share their insights on great craft beer.

Here's A Full List of Barbour's Pardons; What Do You Think?

Jan. 10, 2011—Click here to read a full list of outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour's pardons, then tell us what you think (and what you know about these folks' crimes!)

Governors Association To Meet In Biloxi

Governors from all 50 states will convene in Biloxi this weekend for the National Governors Association's Annual Meeting. The meeting, which brings together governors to share policy ideas, begins on …

Saving the Best for Last?

When Mississippians vote this November, they may find the hotly contested U.S. Senate race between Roger Wicker and Ronnie Musgrove buried near the end of the ballot.

Quote o' the Week

— Gov. Haley Barbour, Neshoba County Fair, July 29, 2004

"Mississippi taxpayers shouldn't pay for health care coverage that the federal government will pay for."

Mississippi 3rd "Most Socialist" State?

I love me some Business Insider, even when they start making up stuff to drum up page views, like this recent "slideshow" piece. The premise of this piece on "socialist" …