Jackson Free Press

Sheriffs Ask Barbour to Spare Crisis Centers

County sheriffs from across Mississippi yesterday urged Gov. Haley Barbour to spare the state's mental-health crisis centers, which Barbour targeted for closure in his 2011 budget proposal. Speaking at the …

Barbour Welcomes BP Escrow Manager

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour praised Kenneth Feinberg today, for his ability to oversee a $20 billion escrow fund that BP agreed to set up to compensate Gulf State victims filing …

AG: Trusty Ozment Found in Wyoming

After several weeks of trying to track down pardoned governor's mansion trusty Joseph Ozment, investigators from the Mississippi attorney general's office served Ozment with court papers last night in Laramie, …

PERS Commission Recommends Three-year Freeze on COLA

Verbatim from Gov. Haley Barbour's office:

Verbatim: PERS Study Commission Releases Recommendations for Strengthening Pension Fund

Civil Rights Museum to Break Ground

Former Mississippi Gov. William Winter remembers a time when "civil" and "rights" were two words that weren't used in tandem in many social circles.

Tillerson Review to Confirm Rohingya 'Ethnic Cleansing'

U.S. officials are preparing a recommendation for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to declare that "ethnic cleansing" is occurring against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. That assessment would raise pressure on the …

'Separate-But-Equal' State Flags? Lawmaker Suggests Having Two Instead

In Mississippi, the last state to display the Confederate battle emblem on its flag, some lawmakers want the divisive symbol removed, others want to punish public institutions that refuse to …

Integrating Yazoo: Race and Change in Haley Barbour's Hometown

Gloria Owens froze with fear as a German shepherd barreled toward her at the entrance of Yazoo City Junior High School on a fall morning in 1968. "Get that n*gger," …

Barbour Ignoring Black Judge Applicants?

The Mississippi Magnolia Bar claims Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proved leery of appointing blacks to judicial positions since he won the governor's office in 2003.

How to Beat the House

On July 15, the Mississippi Legislature finished up a 90-minute special session in record time and with plenty of smiles. Both the Senate and the House passed similar bills providing …

2006: The Year That Was (Nuts)

As we survey the top local news from this past year, we have to take a deep breath and feel a measure of pride. Time after time over the last …

Where the 'Southern Strategy' Belongs

You have to watch closely, or you might not pay any mind to earth-shattering statements heard these days in Mississippi. For instance: "Mississippi will not take a back seat to …

Legislative Update—Week 5: Medicaid, Jobs, Land

Legislative committees worked furiously this week during the run-up to the Feb. 19 deadline for House and Senate committees to act on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their …

Legislative Agenda

With coastal construction driving healthy tax revenues, you might expect smooth sailing for this year's legislative session. After all, tight budgets mean tough choices, and tough choices mean bare-knuckle fights …

Dems Bolster Power in Legislature

Photos by Adam Lynch

The Mississippi Legislature moved into Nov. 7 looking on the surface much as it did prior to the elections, party-wise. But education proponents say the new Legislature will likely be …

Call A Special Session, Barbour

The budget wars between the two chambers of the state Legislature are nothing new.

Recovering our Confidence

In the first glimmer of good news Mississippi has seen over its lagging tax revenues, the State Tax Commission reported an increase in collections of about a half a percentage …

MS Senate Keeps Ed Funding

A Senate Appropriation Committee's amendment that would have reduced Mississippi's K-12 education funding by $81 million failed yesterday in the Senate's 29-22 vote.

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?