Agency Ready to Provide New Mortgages
On Monday, Mississippi Home Corporation, whose mission includes mortgage financing for the state's working families, announced that it is taking reservations for $25 million in bond funds for home buyers.
Health Department Prepares for Swine Flu Vaccine
Every year, about 36,000 Americans die of flu-related complications, according the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. This year, swine flu joins the more common, older flu strains that become …
Omar Morris
When Omar Morris walked into the Boys and Girls Club on West Capitol Street yesterday, he came to give the kids a treat. Morris and his business partner, Vinson Jackson, …
Tonight: Childer's Tele-Town-Hall Meeting
Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Travis Childers announced yesterday that he will be holding a town-hall meeting via telephone tonight at 7:20 p.m. The congressman will make opening remarks, after which …
Public Meetings This Week
Monday, August 17
4 p.m., Jackson City Council, Council Chambers, City Hall, 219 South President St.
West Nile Kills Second Victim
The Mississippi Department of Health is reporting a second death from the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus this summer, highlighting the fact that this well-known virus is more dangerous than the …
Kelly Pates
If you've lived in Jackson for a few years or more, chances are you've heard the Patesa family roots-rock bandperform at local clubs, bars, festivals and other venues in the …
Foreclosures Down in Mississippi
The numbers of Magnolia State residents receiving foreclosure notices dropped dramatically in July. RealtyTrac, the California company that tracks foreclosure notices nationwide, reports a 38 percent drop in the state …
Thompson Schedules Health-Care Town Hall Meetings
In an effort to give Mississippians an opportunity to discuss the proposed health care reforms currently under debate in the U.S. Congress, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of the state's 2nd …
State Receives Funds for Energy Emergency Preparedness
Yesterday, Rep. Travis Childers announced that Mississippi will receive more than $450,000 in federal funding to improve the state's emergency preparedness plans and ensure fast recovery of energy disruptions. The …
Fit in Jackson
Fried chicken, biscuits with butter and honey, mashed potatoes with gravyall that outstandingly delicious Southern comfort food has a way of adding pounds and inches, fast. Add it to a …
Spacecraft Coming to Jackson
A full-sized mockup of America's next-generation spaceship is making a stop in Jackson on its way from Florida to Texas. NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle will dock at the Mississippi …
Millsaps College is Mississippi's Best
Forbes.com put Millsaps College back in the news again, when it ranked the Jackson school as the best in the state based on educational quality, student experiences and their achievements. …
Sallie Eola Reneau
Yesterday, Mississippi University of Women President Claudia A. Limbert honored Sallie Eola Reneau, 131 years after her death. After an exhaustive 22-month search for an appropriate new name for the …
Barbour Defends Town Hall Confrontations
The recent spate of rowdy behavior at health-care town-hall meetings is because Americans don't understand the Obama administration's plan, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters during a conference call Monday organized …
Andre de Gruy
Attorney Andre de Gruy knows that the American justice system isn't perfect. Sometimes circumstances combine to convict people who didn't commit the crimes they're accused of. As director of Mississippi's …
Mississippi History Store Closing
The state Department of Archives and History says it will close the doors of the main Mississippi History Store, Sept. 30, due to low sales. The store, located in the …
Three Mississippi Colleges Named ‘Best Buys'
Mississippi State University, Mississippi College and Millsaps College all made the 2009 Forbes "Best College Buys" list, which divides a school's overall quality score by its average tuition rates for …
Working for the Weekend?
It's Friday, and that means it's time to plan your weekend. Today, get a jump on barbecues and picnics by heading to the new farmer's market at the Jackson Medical …
MBN Seeing Spike in Meth Labs
Drug dealers and producers are getting smarter, says the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The agency is seeing a rise lately in methamphetamine labs and in the numbers of cocaine investigations, …
Myrlie Evers-Williams
Today, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., named Myrlie Evers-Williams, 76, as a 2009 National Freedom Award winner. Widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Evers-Williams became …
AG Sues Barbour Over Veto
Citing case law that restricts the Mississippi governor from selectively vetoing the purpose of an appropriation and redistributing its funds, Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against Gov. Haley …
Brad White
As chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, Brad White is on a mission: He's going to put a voter ID initiative on the ballot in November 2010. To accomplish that …
West Nile Claims First 2009 Victim
Yesterday, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported the first death of the 2009 season due to West Nile virus. The deceased was from Washington County in the Delta. Three …
Public Meetings This Week
Monday, Aug. 3
Jackson Public Schools special meeting, 5:30 p.m. school board meeting room, 621 S. State Street.
Builder Guild Improves Gulf Coast Workforce Housing Standards
Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing in the Mississippi counties hardest hit by 2005's Hurricane Katrina, has revised and improved its standards for affordable …
Legislative Tab Comes in at $21 Million
Mississippians are paying a $21 million bill from the state Legislature this year, $2 million more than 2008, according to the state auditor's annual report. The 13-month session, which ended …
Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend
If you're in the market for back-to-school clothes and shoes, this coming weekend is the time to make your purchases.
Jimmie Travis
During the violent, bloody days of the civil rights movement in Mississippi, Freedom Rider Jimmie Travis nearly lost his life. In February 1963, Travis, then 20, was driving a car …
Johnson Forms School Board Transition Committee
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced yesterday that he is forming a diverse transition committee to "examine the organization and policies of the Jackson Public School District," according to a …
Dr. Samuel Okoye
Jackson physician Dr. Samuel Okoye received national recognition when the Congressional Medal of Honor Society awarded him the Above & Beyond Citizen Honor on March 25. The award is remarkable …
Jackson has Lowest Average Gas Price
In a survey of gasoline prices released by the company Lundberg Survey earlier this week, Jacksonians currently pay the lowest prices at the pumps, nationwide. With the average price across …
This Week's Jackson Public Meetings
Monday, July 27
* Jackson City Council work session at 4 p.m. in City Hall council chambers, 219 S. President Street.
Minimum Wage Increase Affects Thousands in Mississippi
Last Friday, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents an hour, going from $6.55 to $7.25. The increase will affect thousands of workers in Mississippi, according to Bureau of …
Fred Harris
Last night, Jim Hill High School students in Jackson gathered to honor and remember Fred Harris, the school's assistant principal and boy's basketball coach. Harris, 47, died unexpectedly Sunday of …
Back-to-School Tax Holiday This Weekend
If buying back-to-school clothes and shoes are on your agenda, this coming weekend is the time to make it happen. On Friday, July 31, and Saturday, August 1, clothing and …
Johnson Sends ‘First 48' Packing
"First 48," an A&E network program that follows police for the first 48 hours of a murder investigation, won't be shooting in Jackson if Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. has anything …
Domestic Violence Victim
She could be anyone you know. She is white, African American, Latina, Asian or Native American. She might live in the Virden Addition, but then again, she could have a …
Unemployment Hits 20 Percent in Mississippi County
The rate of unemployment in the Magnolia State either dropped slightly or rose slightly, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, depending on how you count the numbers. Adjusting …
Ledger Spreads Bad Info About Columbus Daily
The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus was surprised to learn yesterday that it was changing format from a daily newspaper to a weekly "advertiser" format. Except that it wasn't true. Turns …
Mississippi Casinos Feeling the Pinch
Casinos, which economists once thought were "recession proof," are feeling the slump along with the majority of other businesses across the country. The state Tax Commission reports that Mississippi casino …
Area's First Batterer's Intervention Program Coming to Jackson
Domestic violence. It's such a bland, vanilla euphemism for some of the most brutal and damaging pain that people inflict on one another. Brutal, of course, because peoplemostly women and …
Howard McMillan
Howard McMillan, dean of Millsaps College's Else School of Management, will serve as acting president of the Jackson school beginning next month. He takes the place of Dr. Francis Lucas, …
Remembering Uncle Walter
You might not remember Walter Cronkite, who retired from the CBS Evening News in 1981 after 19 years on the air. I grew up with him, though. Cronkite was news …
Update: Mayor Tables Farish Zoning Request
Yesterday, the Jackson Free Press reported that the Jackson City Council, particularly Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, was worried that a zoning request for the Farish Street Entertainment District could …
Final Transition Forum Tonight
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s transition team will hold the last of five public forums tonight at City Hall. The topic of tonight's meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., is human …
Jackson Public Meetings This Week
Monday, July 20
Johnson Transition Forum: Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s transition team invites the public to a forum concerning human and cultural services. 6 P.M. City Hall, 219 S. President Street
Viking to Open Ridgeland Cooking School
Viking Culinary Group, a division of Viking Range Corporation, is opening a cooking school in Ridgeland next month, kicking off with a class titled "Classic Steakhouse" on Friday, August 21. …
Anna Tadlock
On Saturday, Anna Tadlock of Brandon, 23, was crowned Miss Mississippi at the culmination of three days of pageant events in Vicksburg. According to her profile, the Mississippi State University …
Mississippi Foreclosures Increase, Maybe
A California-based company that tracks foreclosures, RealtyTrac, reported last week that Mississippi has seen a huge jump in foreclosures last month. The company currently lists 1,893 foreclosed properties in the …
