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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

We are past the halfway mark of the session. The appropriation process has started with each house voting on their perspective budgets for the agencies they were assigned. (Each house divides the budget in half, makes amendments and then go to conference in late March.) We also passed a $350 million bond issue for the electric companies and a $250 million bond issue for uninsured residents rebuilding on the Gulf Coast. But don’t limit yourself to these topics for discussion.

Previous Comments

“i heart to laugh for no reason. no joke.” Proving that laughter really is contagious, this article made me laugh out loud. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20050927-9999-lz1c27yoga.html


So, Representative Fleming, I understand you are about to join the National Rifle Association?


Yes, I talked with Tara Riley-Micah last night at dinner and she said please join. I had reservations about joining during a campaign but she and others have said that it will not viewed negatively on their part. Tara has been very kind to me, when she has had the time, to help me understand the association’s position on issues. That speaks volumes about the personnel in the association and makes me feel comfortable about joining.


I’m sorry, I was just waiting for some kind of comment from someone. I thought that surely Tom or Ray if not Donna would come out and complain about this. Guess we’re all going to ignore it.


You don’t have to wait on anyone if you have a concern.


Rep. Fleming, I have a question for you: What do you think the creatives of MS can do to help those in the public school system? I visit the JPS quite a bit and they are still in need of creative outlets such as art classes and the like. I have asked the principals of Peeples Middle School and Pecan Park Elementary about adoption programs for classes. What suggestions or ideas for assistance do you have? Thanking you in advance for your response.


c a: I think you are on the right track. The state agency, the Mississippi Arts Commission, is suppose to be spearheading efforts to get into more classrooms. They had an excellent liasion to the schools, but she left, so I don’t know who the new person is. Outside of that connection, I think artists should figure out ways of offering their assistance. One model is how the realtors and bankers teach financial literacy to Mississppi public school students. They get approved to enter the schools by that district and then teach the classes to those interested on their dime. The schools pay nothing and the students get academic credit for taking the class. (Yes, that was a bill I introduced and got passed) Hope that was helpful.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.