The Sun Herald will blog from Jackson

This is the first post in a new Sun Herald blog about happenings in and around your state Capitol.

Political Editor Geoff Pender and I will update you here as often as possible with news nuggets, and sometimes useless, but hopefully entertaining info about “how the sausage is made” in Jackson, as Geoff says.

This is my first trip into the “Blogosphere” as the kids say, so bear with me.

It’s mostly quiet at the Capitol today.

Many legislators headed to South Mississippi this morning for funeral services for Bay St. Louis businessman and community leader Joseph P. “Jody” Compretta Jr., son of House of Representatives Speaker Pro Tem J.P. Compretta.

The Mississippi House and Senate both gaveled in at 9 a.m. to take care of a few small standing items, leaving enough time to make the three-hour drive for the funeral this afternoon. Many said they were shocked and saddened about the news of the 39-year-old Compretta’s death. Compretta died in an accident during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans over the weekend.

Freshman Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, said this morning he wanted to sign on with six South Mississippi Legislative Democrats who came out Tuesday to oppose Gov. Haley Barbour’s plan to use $25 million in Hurricane Katrina reserve funds on upgrades to North Mississippi’s transportation system that would benefit a Toyota plant. The plan made headlines in Saturday’s Sun Herald and Coast legislators were mixed on the idea. No decision about the money has been made yet. The Legislature holds the purse strings.

The Mississippi Development Authority also announced today that March 15 would be the deadline to apply for the first two phases of the Homeowner Assistance Grant Program.

Legislators are expected to return to Jackson late this afternoon. A full slate of committee meetings are set for tomorrow. Each week should be a little busier from here until April 19, when the session is scheduled to end. Lawmakers adopted a shortened 103-day session this year, but it could run longer if all the business isn't handled.

Committees are currently fine-tuning bills, or casting them aside, as was the case with the much-publicized House bill that would prohibit restaurants from serving the obese, which was dumped by a Health committee yesterday. Countless others are sure to meet a similar fate.

We’ll have plenty of South Mississippi focused coverage here and on the home page. We’ll also keep the good old print edition well stocked. Stay tuned.