Business Blog

Things haven’t been going Leland Speed’s way in his court challenges to a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would curb Mississippi’s power to take private property for large economic development projects But don’t look for Speed, a real estate executive and interim Mississippi Development Authority chief, to walk away from the fight. “I’m [...]

Every year, hunters flock to the Delta to take advantage of some of the best public hunting land in the state offered by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks’ wildlife management areas (WMAs) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This year, however, hunters are wondering if [...]

The Mississippi Supreme Court Thursday dashed Leland Speed’s bid to keep a constitutional amendment limiting eminent domain off Mississippi’s November ballot. But in issuing the 7-2 ruling, the justices said they would be willing to reconsider Speed’s arguments if the amendment passes. The court essentially ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the matter, since [...]

Baseball in the backyard is an American mainstay. But giving up your backyard for baseball? Birmingham Mayor William Bell is asking his City Council to endorse a plan to seize private property for building a new home for the Birmingham Barons, the city’s AA minor league baseball team that now plays at suburban Hoover’s Regions [...]

By Stephen McDill Eminent domain, the taking of land for development, has proven to be a heavily emotional and highly politicized talking point in Mississippi this year. Staff writer Ted Carter will take a hard look at both sides of the issue in Monday’s edition of the MBJ. In the meantime, we’ve collected video clips [...]

Mississippians cheered the arrival of big league economic development this decade with Nissan’s arrival in Canton and Toyota pending move into Blue Springs. But a property rights movement is working to blunt the enthusiasm for more economic bonanzas — at least if state incentives include offering the mega employers private property the state would seize [...]

Eminent domain — at least the government taking of private property on behalf of private enterprise — does not seem to offer much room for compromise. You are either OK with the government taking private property for private sector economic development or you are not. If middle ground exists, neither Leland Speed nor Ron Aldridge [...]

A ballot initiative to curb eminent domain in Mississippi to protect private property from private enterprise carries a cost land owners may not have considered, says Randy Kelley, executive director of Three Rivers Planning and Development District. New limits on the state’s eminent domain law through a constitutional change could end the paying of “replacement [...]