State and Local Legal Blog

Egg on My Face!

A week or two ago, I had egg on my face!  I was speaking to a group of municipal officials and something came up about the Mississippi Public Records Act.  So I explained that if an entity did have its own policy, it could have 14 days to respond, but if it didn’t adopt its own policy, it was 24 hours.
Oops!  A delightful octogenarian piped up:  “Miss Lydia, I believe that they changed that law.”

And so they did!  House Bill 113 shortens the deadline to respond to public records requests to 7 working days instead of 14, with a possible extension to 14 working days in complex cases.

I stand corrected!

Too Much Money

I’m glad I never longed for elective office.  Why?  Because I am just not wealthy enough to achieve it.

Meg Whitman is running for governor of California, and she is in a hard fought race with Jerry Brown.  Sh has been able to purchase more TV time than any person running in any state race.  She has sent more mailers, too.

In fact, she has donated $104 million of her own money to her campaign.  That’s more than any other candidate in California history and second only to the national record for a non-presidential contest.  [Michael Bloomberg spent $109 million of his own money on his third race for mayor of NYC.]

The election is 9 weeks away and Whitman’s personal donations to this campaign represent more than twice the amount of money that Governor Schwarzenegger spent on his last election from all sources.

Let’s face it.  Meg Whitman has a spending addiction when it comes to this campaign.  And it may work.  The polls still indicate that the race is close, and while Brown has benefited from funds from labor, the Los Angeles Times suggests that the money from labor into Brown’s war chest “pales” in comparison to what Whitman is spending.

Can you believe it, honestly?  $104 million of her own money?  Somehow when Bloomberg spent all that money in NYC, well….I just said “that’s NYC”.  And maybe this is just California.  But this is just disgusting.

Alderman Charged with Murder

A Ripley alderman was arrested and charged with murder last week.  The alderman, Lonnie Smith, stands accused in the murder of Antrozon Wallace several months ago.  According to the local authorities, forensic evidence submitted to the State Crime Lab has confirmed Smith’s involvement in the murder.

Subsequent the murder, and before Alderman Smith’s arrest, he was seriously injured while working as a lineman for Tippah Electric Power Association, resulting in amputation of both hands.

Smith is being represented by Attorney Tony Farese in the criminal matter.