Jackson Jambalaya

Time Out actually has a fantastic catering business. If one were to view my church's spending ledger, they would see a lot of expenditures to Time Out. We use them for all of our catering events. The bowtie pasta dish is pretty fantastic. I'm not defending excessive spending by our state agencies. Only saying that these expenditures are not likely for kegs or quarters for the pool table.

I was giving free advertising to Time Out. I drove by their parking lot at lunch time the other day and it was dead. If Mississippi government loves that place, the rest of us should as well and patronize it.

Then why would you say "read it and weep?" A little backtracking, perhaps?

Don't recognize sarcasm, do you?

I recognize it fine. That is your standared response when called out.

And I know...standard.

$12.9 MILLION spent with Frontier Strategies since May 2004.

$33,337.58 spent w/ JFP.

Must be Rich. No one else is that dense when it comes to sarcasm. No one.

$955,354.49 spent w/ 100 Black Men of Jackson.

$5,716,585.08 spent w/ Telesouth

Maybe it's too early for sarcasm?

$1,497,379.79 spent w/ Clear Channel.

$137,755.60 w/ the Jackson Advocate.

$883,026.17 spent w/ SOCRATES GARRETT ENTERPRISES.

$246,003.41 w/ GARRETT ENTERPRISES INC.

Church is out now........

I weep every time I read how frivolously our tax dollars are spent.

In a time when drastic cuts are being made to state budgets, and private sector companies have to tighten their belts, should these agencies be catering any business meetings on the taxpayer dime? Why do board meetings have to have refreshments? Why is this an acceptable practice? Meanwhile these same agencies are asking the state legislature for even MORE money this fiscal year.

It's enough to make the baby Jesus weep.

$334,312.00 spent w/ FONDREN RENAISSANCE FOUNDATION.

While ONLY $7,297.48 was spent w/ GREATER BELHAVEN NEIGHBORHOOD.

Run, Forrest, run! Republicans and Democrats alike will be caught in this net, but I like sunshine a lot more than dark clouds. Keep it coming...Bill Billingsley

Bellhaven doesn't need it as much as the crime-ridden Fondren.

I think we crashed the site.

To 9:41 a.m.: That made me laugh.

I don't know whether to have fun researching the numbers or puke after having read them.

Will be fun to watch the peoples in Fondren wail about their tax squeeze when there is so little of Jackson remaining to shoulder the tax burden.

Harvey Johnson and the JFP are pleased that no on in city government had to be laid off when instead the demands to Johnson should have been 'why haven't you laid off 5-10% of the city workforce'.

Bend over Fondren. Enjoy.

The biggest waste of tax dollars comes at the end of every fiscal year.
Every agency and dept. is trying to spend their budget down to zero so they can justify asking for an increase or avoid getting cut the monies not spent.
The more money and employees controlled, the more " important" the agency or dept. becomes.
Looking at the dates of expenses would be instructive. You can count on the year end being frivolous.

Robbie Bell / In State Travel Spending. Is that 'the' Robbie Bell

Any reason why the state tax commission would need $325k for out of state travel last year?

Medicaid, which cuts beneficiaries like leaves falling off a tree, paid a law firm 98K in June 2010 alone.

In addition of course to having its own state-salaried counsel.

Did the AG approve that? Did they have to?

Seems like agencies should have to use their state-provided counsel, unless they get a waiver from the AG. I dunno if that's the law, but it SHOULD be!!

1:46 as long ago as the late 70's the AG's office paid outside counsel for work they should have been able to do in house.
They also required other agencies to pay them out of the other agency's budget legal work!
Only one AG I saw ran it like " the State's law firm" with himself as senior partner.
But, when we elect without concern for competence, that's what we get.
The AGs office is about politics ,not about providing reliable legal counsel.
The AGs office and other state entities, the worst being MDOT, the Utility Commission and until some improvements recently, the Insurance Commission, lack professionalism and a focus on the best interests of taxpayers and have for a long, long time.
But, no governor, not lt. governor has had the political gumption to take on making state government efficient and professional.

By the way, when MPL built Grand Gulf, WE in Mississippi paid for it with the " deal" that once construction was paid for, we'd get cheap electricity and the profit would come from excess sold to neighboring states. Our utility commissioners didn't see fit to hold Entergy to that agreement. And, now they want us to " foot the bill" again. I don't care if they build it, but if I pay for another nuclear plant when our state doesn't NEED the power it would generate, I want something out of the deal! Grand Gulf generates more power than WE need. We OUGHT to be paying ONLY what running the plant, maintaining/upgrading the system and billing costs now.

Lynn Posey has proved out to be a real loser. Dude is in Entergy's back pocket.

An agency should either maintain the ability to handle things in house, or farm out the work - but not this half assed system of hiring attys without the experience to handle the agency's business and still farming all the work out. i second the previous posts. you want to hand out favors by hiring attys with no experience, and no qualifications other than who they're related to, and then pay them double what they'd get in the private sector, fine. But when it hits the fan, jr. better perform.