Terrance Watts, 40, pleaded guilty Monday to illegally casting absentee ballots in two Canton municipal elections in 2009.
Watts was convicted of forgery, a disenfranchising crime, in 2005 and has not had the right to vote restored by the Mississippi Legislature, but he voted in Canton’s primary and general elections.
“The crime was that Mr. Watts falsely swore to an Affidavit on an absentee ballot that he was a duly and qualified elector of Madison County, when he knew he was not,” Madison/Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest said in a news release.
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Foreclosures drop in Mississippi, rise in Louisiana
Foreclosures drop a bit in Miss.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 361 properties in Mississippi. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.
Last month, 149 properties were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 212.
The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 3,551 housing units - was down 2.7 percent from March and 2.2 percent from April 2010. That ranked Mississippi 45th in the nation.
RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork.
Number of home foreclosures on the rise in La.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The number of Louisiana homeowners facing foreclosure is on the rise.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 2,289 properties. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.
Last month, 1,349 housing units were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 635.
The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 858 housing units - was up 11.8 percent from March and 23.8 percent from April 2010. That ranked Louisiana 22nd in the nation.
RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork. April was the seventh straight month of national declines and brought foreclosure activity in the depressed U.S. housing market to a 40-month low.
"The slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure," said RealtyTrac chief executive James Saccacio.
Nationally, 219,258 properties received a foreclosure-related notice last month. Lenders took back 69,532 U.S. properties in April.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 361 properties in Mississippi. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.
Last month, 149 properties were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 212.
The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 3,551 housing units - was down 2.7 percent from March and 2.2 percent from April 2010. That ranked Mississippi 45th in the nation.
RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork.
Number of home foreclosures on the rise in La.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The number of Louisiana homeowners facing foreclosure is on the rise.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 2,289 properties. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.
Last month, 1,349 housing units were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 635.
The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 858 housing units - was up 11.8 percent from March and 23.8 percent from April 2010. That ranked Louisiana 22nd in the nation.
RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork. April was the seventh straight month of national declines and brought foreclosure activity in the depressed U.S. housing market to a 40-month low.
"The slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure," said RealtyTrac chief executive James Saccacio.
Nationally, 219,258 properties received a foreclosure-related notice last month. Lenders took back 69,532 U.S. properties in April.
In Texas schools, a picture's worth 1,000 calories
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A $2 million project being unveiled Wednesday in the lunchroom of a Texas elementary school will use high-tech cameras to photograph what foods children pile onto their trays - and later capture what they don't finish eating.
Digital imaging analysis of the snapshots will then calculate how many calories each student scarfed down. Local health officials said the program, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, is the first of its kind in a U.S. school, and will be so precise that the technology can identify a half-eaten pear left on a lunch tray.
Researchers hope parents will change eating habits at home once they see what their kids are choosing in schools. The data also will be used to study what foods children are likely to choose and how much of if they're eating.
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Digital imaging analysis of the snapshots will then calculate how many calories each student scarfed down. Local health officials said the program, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, is the first of its kind in a U.S. school, and will be so precise that the technology can identify a half-eaten pear left on a lunch tray.
Researchers hope parents will change eating habits at home once they see what their kids are choosing in schools. The data also will be used to study what foods children are likely to choose and how much of if they're eating.
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No single answer to housing for tornado victims
Thousands of Southerners who lost everything last month to a pack of killer twisters will need new homes after they move out of shelters and relatives' spare bedrooms, but the types of housing they find will vary widely depending on where they live.
The communities that caught the brunt of the tornadoes range from rural crossroads in Mississippi to mid-sized Alabama cities like Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. Places like Smithville, Miss., had few rental houses or apartments to begin with; hard-hit Birmingham has a much larger stock that's ready for almost immediate occupancy.
Unlike after Hurricane Katrina, when crews set up thousands of nearly identical campers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency all over coastal Mississippi and southern Louisiana, officials say different areas hit by the tornadoes will require varying solutions.
The National Weather Service and state emergency officials are still tallying how many homes were destroyed when waves of tornadoes mowed through the South, killing hundreds in seven states as entire neighborhoods were wiped out in some areas. Alabama took the hardest hit: The state said 236 people were dead at last count, and 42 of the state's 67 counties have been approved to receive disaster assistance.
In Mississippi, state emergency management spokesman Jeff Rent said officials will help tornado victims secure mobile homes from FEMA in hard-hit Monroe County, where 15 people died and dozens of homes and businesses were damaged. The challenge is finding suitable sites for the mobile homes, especially in hard-hit areas like Smithville, which was littered with debris, Rent said. In Bertie County, N.C., residents left homeless by a mid-April tornado outbreak are living in FEMA trailers.
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The communities that caught the brunt of the tornadoes range from rural crossroads in Mississippi to mid-sized Alabama cities like Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. Places like Smithville, Miss., had few rental houses or apartments to begin with; hard-hit Birmingham has a much larger stock that's ready for almost immediate occupancy.
Unlike after Hurricane Katrina, when crews set up thousands of nearly identical campers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency all over coastal Mississippi and southern Louisiana, officials say different areas hit by the tornadoes will require varying solutions.
The National Weather Service and state emergency officials are still tallying how many homes were destroyed when waves of tornadoes mowed through the South, killing hundreds in seven states as entire neighborhoods were wiped out in some areas. Alabama took the hardest hit: The state said 236 people were dead at last count, and 42 of the state's 67 counties have been approved to receive disaster assistance.
In Mississippi, state emergency management spokesman Jeff Rent said officials will help tornado victims secure mobile homes from FEMA in hard-hit Monroe County, where 15 people died and dozens of homes and businesses were damaged. The challenge is finding suitable sites for the mobile homes, especially in hard-hit areas like Smithville, which was littered with debris, Rent said. In Bertie County, N.C., residents left homeless by a mid-April tornado outbreak are living in FEMA trailers.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Whatcha Think: Is this an idea that's time has come?
Lawmaker seeks drug testing of welfare recipients
LA State Wire
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Jefferson Parish lawmaker is hoping he can persuade the Legislature on his fifth try to mandate drug testing of welfare recipients in Louisiana.
Republican Rep. John LaBruzzo's bill is scheduled for a Wednesday hearing in the House Health and Welfare Committee. Though he's gotten it out of committee before, LaBruzzo has repeatedly failed to get the measure passed through the full Legislature.
The proposal would require at least 20 percent of people who receive benefits to submit to drug testing.
LaBruzzo says the bill could help families get addiction treatment and make sure tax dollars aren't spent on drug habits. Opponents say the bill unfairly targets poor mothers, without evidence demonstrating they are more prone to drug problems.
States eye drug tests for welfare recipients
MIAMI (AP) — Lawmakers in more than two-dozen states have proposed drug-testing recipients of welfare or other government assistance, taking a tough stance on aiding the poor in the down economy. Critics say such laws would be unconstitutional — an argument that federal judges have agreed with before.
Similar proposals have been introduced in past years by lawmakers in dozens of states, but none currently requires drug testing because it's difficult to get around the arguments that the tests violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches. Michigan's random drug testing program for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.
No other state has enacted such a program, worrying about legal battles. But lawmakers say they're willing to take the risk, as cash-strapped states struggle to close budget gaps, potentially paving the way for major legal battles. The National Conference of State Legislatures said at least 30 states have proposed to drug test recipients of government aid during the current legislative session.
"It's hard for me to justify to taxpayers that I'm taking your money and giving assistance to people who are buying drugs with it," said Florida state Sen. Paula Dockery, who is sponsoring a bill requiring testing for those who receive temporary cash assistance. The bill passed in the final days of the session and Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign it.
LA State Wire
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Jefferson Parish lawmaker is hoping he can persuade the Legislature on his fifth try to mandate drug testing of welfare recipients in Louisiana.
Republican Rep. John LaBruzzo's bill is scheduled for a Wednesday hearing in the House Health and Welfare Committee. Though he's gotten it out of committee before, LaBruzzo has repeatedly failed to get the measure passed through the full Legislature.
The proposal would require at least 20 percent of people who receive benefits to submit to drug testing.
LaBruzzo says the bill could help families get addiction treatment and make sure tax dollars aren't spent on drug habits. Opponents say the bill unfairly targets poor mothers, without evidence demonstrating they are more prone to drug problems.
States eye drug tests for welfare recipients
MIAMI (AP) — Lawmakers in more than two-dozen states have proposed drug-testing recipients of welfare or other government assistance, taking a tough stance on aiding the poor in the down economy. Critics say such laws would be unconstitutional — an argument that federal judges have agreed with before.
Similar proposals have been introduced in past years by lawmakers in dozens of states, but none currently requires drug testing because it's difficult to get around the arguments that the tests violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches. Michigan's random drug testing program for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.
No other state has enacted such a program, worrying about legal battles. But lawmakers say they're willing to take the risk, as cash-strapped states struggle to close budget gaps, potentially paving the way for major legal battles. The National Conference of State Legislatures said at least 30 states have proposed to drug test recipients of government aid during the current legislative session.
"It's hard for me to justify to taxpayers that I'm taking your money and giving assistance to people who are buying drugs with it," said Florida state Sen. Paula Dockery, who is sponsoring a bill requiring testing for those who receive temporary cash assistance. The bill passed in the final days of the session and Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign it.
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