http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/ Yall Politics - The Definitive Guide to Politics in Mississippi en staff@yallpolitics.com Copyright 2008 2008-11-19T19:23:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/attorneys_want_seale_released_from_prison/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/attorneys_want_seale_released_from_prison/#When:18:23:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/19/8 A reputed Ku Klux Klansman should not face months of "potentially unnecessary and unlawful imprisonment" as the government appeals his acquittal in the kidnappings of two black teenagers found dead in 1964, his attorneys argue. James Ford Seale, 73, was convicted last year on kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the abductions of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee. The decomposed bodies of the two 19-year-old friends were pulled from a Mississippi River backwater in 1964. Seale was convicted in June 2007 and was serving three life sentences when the conviction was overturned in September. A panel of three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges in New Orleans said the statute of limitations had elapsed and acquitted Seale of the decades-old crime. At the time, Seale's attorney quickly moved to have him released from a federal prison in Indiana, saying he's an elderly man in declining health. Federal prosecutors, however, persuaded the court to keep Seale in prison while they appeal the decision to overturn his conviction. Scruggs Scandal 2008-11-19T18:23:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/tobacco_study_critical_of_miss/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/tobacco_study_critical_of_miss/#When:18:21:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/19/8 Mississippi was the first in the nation to sue the tobacco industry in the 1990s but spends about a fourth of what a Washington-based advocacy group says it should on tobacco-prevention efforts. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a report released Tuesday, ranks Mississippi 23rd in the nation for its funding of tobacco-prevention programs. The state used to be nationally recognized for its efforts. And the group isn't very impressed with Republican Gov. Haley Barbour's cigarette tax proposal. Barbour has proposed asking lawmakers to approve a 24-cent increase on every pack of premium cigarettes sold in Mississippi. The increase would be higher on packs produced by tobacco companies that didn't participate in the state's 1997 settlement with the tobacco industry. Peter Fisher, vice president of state issues for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said Barbour's proposal would have little impact on public health. Headlines 2008-11-19T18:21:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/council_votes_down_pay_hike/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/council_votes_down_pay_hike/#When:18:20:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/19/8 A plan to dig into city savings to pay for $2-per-hour raises for Jackson public works employees did not muster enough support Tuesday from the City Council. Before a council chamber filled with city workers, officials exchanged heated remarks and then voted down the plan in a 3-3 vote. It was the third time the council has voted on the raises. Councilmen Frank Bluntson, Kenneth Stokes and Charles Tillman supported the pay increase. They were met with audience applause when they said low-paid public works employees deserved the raise immediately. "Let's be fair," Bluntson said. "Let's treat people the way we want to be treated." Council President Leslie Burl McLemore said his colleagues were pandering to the crowd. He voted against the raise along with Councilmen Marshand Crisler and Jeff Weill, saying the city cannot afford it. Metro 2008-11-19T18:20:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/state_lawmakers_review_use_of_lobbyists/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/state_lawmakers_review_use_of_lobbyists/#When:18:18:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/19/8 A legislative hearing into state agencies’ use of contract lobbyists will continue this afternoon with testimony from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Division of Medicaid. During morning testimony, the Senate Ethics Committee heard from state College Board President Amy Whitten and former Higher Education Commissioner Tom Meredith about universities’ lobbying practices. Committee chairman Sen. Merle Flowers, R-Southaven, said the committee was concerned that state agencies were wasting money by paying lobbyists to perform duties that staff members could perform. The committee also was concerned about the selection of lobbyists. Legislature 2008-11-19T18:18:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/officer_alleges_melton_reprisal/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/officer_alleges_melton_reprisal/#When:18:15:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/19/8 A Jackson police officer who was transferred from his job riding a Segway scooter around downtown alleges his transfer to the night shift in west Jackson was Mayor Frank Melton's way of getting back at him for cooperating with federal investigators. Officer Robert Watts filed a notice Tuesday of intent to sue the city for alleged retaliation for talking to FBI agents about the mayor. He is seeking more than $250,000 for "mental anguish" and punitive damages. Police Chief Malcolm McMillin says he, not Melton, spearheaded Watts' reassignment. His decision, he said, was based on job performance, but he would not go into detail. "I had him transferred, but I did not make the decision as to where to put him," the chief said Tuesday. "I said send him back to patrol, and that's the last I heard of it." Metro 2008-11-19T18:15:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/jackson_mayor_hospitalized_for_minor_surgery/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/jackson_mayor_hospitalized_for_minor_surgery/#When:18:14:00Z The Clarion-Ledger, 11/18/8 Mayor Frank Melton was hospitalized Tuesday after a routine checkup revealed minor surgery was needed, said a city spokeswoman. Goldia Revies said late Tuesday Melton had not undergone the unspecified procedure and remained in the hospital. She didn’t name the facility. The condition isn’t serious, Revies said. It’s unknown if the surgery is related to Melton’s heart problems. Melton is expected to be out of the office for the next few days to recuperate, she said. Metro 2008-11-19T18:14:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/barbour_budget_spares_maep/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/barbour_budget_spares_maep/#When:18:12:00Z The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 11/19/8 Gov. Haley Barbour's 2010 budget recommendations include use of the rainy day fund and higher cigarette taxes, but they still cut many agencies by 4 percent over what they were appropriated during the 2009 legislative session. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program, however, is fully funded in Barbour's proposal. "This is going to be a hard budget year," the second-term Republican governor said during a Tuesday morning news conference to announce his budget proposal. "We need to be prudent, conservative and responsible." Barbour's total budget proposal is $5.8 billion, representing a 2.1 percent increase. Despite declining state revenue collections, tied in large part to the struggling national economy, the governor did fully fund the MAEP, which provides the basics of operating local school districts. ElectedOfficials 2008-11-19T18:12:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/wicker_against_cochran_wary_of_auto_bailout/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/wicker_against_cochran_wary_of_auto_bailout/#When:18:10:00Z The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 11/19/8 The cash-strapped Big Three automakers could find little support for an economic bailout among a Mississippi congressional delegation whose state depends on foreign competitors like Toyota and Nissan. The chairmen and CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler want the federal government to pump $25 billion into their faltering companies. The plan has support from several top lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. But it will get no love from U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who said in a press release Tuesday that the "Big Three automakers were in financial trouble before our economy slowed down. To provide a $25 billion bailout for some companies isn't fair to taxpayers or the American businesses that have made smart decisions, nor is it good government policy." U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran said in an e-mail to the Daily Journal that he too is "not inclined to support the auto bailout but will review the details carefully before a vote occurs in the Senate." ElectedOfficials 2008-11-19T18:10:00-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/felon_lawyers_must_make_case_in_miss_court/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/felon_lawyers_must_make_case_in_miss_court/#When:18:08:01Z Legal Newsline, 11/19/8 The argument over $14 million in attorneys fees from a $100 million state settlement will be settled in a Mississippi court, and state Auditor Stacey Pickering thinks the decision may come quickly. Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Pauley decided Monday afternoon that even though the fees were earned in a federal bankruptcy case, the dispute that followed involves questions of Mississippi state law. His decision affirmed an earlier ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez. The State of Mississippi agreed to a $100 million settlement over back taxes allegedly owed by Worldcom in 2005 and was represented by admitted felons Joey Langston and Timothy Balducci, both of whom are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty of attempting to bribe a judge. "(T)he Bankruptcy Court decided that the State's pursuit of the fees paid to the Langston Law Firm was not a collateral attack of the Settlement Order implicating res judicata, estoppel or waiver, which was the Langston Law Firm's first claim," Pauley wrote. Scruggs Scandal 2008-11-19T18:08:01-06:00 http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/gop_governors_broach_haley_about_rnc_chairmanship/ http://yallsports.com/index.php/yp/post/gop_governors_broach_haley_about_rnc_chairmanship/#When:13:29:00Z GOP governors broach Haley about RNC chairmanship group of Republican governors today suggested to Haley Barbour that he reprise his role as RNC chair, but the Mississippi governor demurred. The idea came in a private meeting this afternoon in Barbour's hotel suite in Miami, where a group of GOP governors gathered in between public sessions at the RGA. A source in the room said that Barbour quickly knocked down the idea, citing his commitment to Mississippi. Barbour served as RNC chairman from 1993-1997, overseeing the party's capture of Congress in 1994. The conversation was a casual one, with the governors discussing some of the possibilities that have emerged to take over the party. The election, to be decided by the RNC's state chairs and national committeemen and women, won't take place until the party meets in Washington in January. POLITICO 11/13/8 2008 Presidential Race 2008-11-19T13:29:00-06:00