Efficiency The Legislature has a history of meddling in the operations of the prison system. That has led to higher costs and inefficiencies. The governor should have full authority over this clearly executive function.

Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and the state Department of Corrections likely will get criticism for closing the Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood. Prisons generate jobs and the area has been hit with several plant closings.

But it is important that the state's corrections system costs be brought under control.

Musgrove and corrections officials believe they can operate the state prison system cheaper and more efficiently. They are renegotiating contracts with private prison contractors Wackenhut and Corrections Corporation of America, which he says could save the state between $6 million and $12 million in 2003.

Legislators are skeptical of the governor's claims and may clash with Musgrove over the issue during a promised special session to deal with the issue. There will likely be significant opposition to the proposal from powerful lawmakers like state Sen. Bunky Huggins, R-Greenwood, in whose district the Delta Correctional Facility is located.

But lawmakers set this political drama in motion. The Legislature tied MDOC Commissioner Robert Johnson's hands in the appropriations process and failed to fund critical corrections needs while propping up contracts for the private prisons with guaranteed inmates.

Musgrove and Johnson deserve a chance to prove to lawmakers that they can make good on their promise to save the state millions with this gambit.

Clearly, the state needs all the money it can get right now and making operations costs for corrections more efficient seems a solid step in the right direction.

Treehouse

With WorldCom's problems, one would think the city of Clinton would be consumed with the effects of the fall of its biggest corporate citizen.

But Clinton's biggest issue seems to be a neighborhood treehouse that has the city in an uproar over zoning.

It is a story that sounds like an episode of Andy Griffith. Neighborhood kids are fighting city hall over the zoning of a treehouse.

The treehouse is in the front yard of Scott and Mary Welch at 218 Kitchings Drive in Clinton. It's a popular hangout for the kids. More than 100 people turned out last week at a Planning and Zoning Board hearing in support of the treehouse.

"If we remove this treehouse, my front yard will return to a cold, silent, desolate place," said Scott Welch.

But Clinton Zoning Administrator Gary Ward says the treehouse violates zoning rules prohibiting structures in front yards. He says it must be torn down or moved to the couple's back yard. The Welches are seeking an exception. It is an attractive, two-story, quite elaborate structure.

The public, naturally, wants to side with the kids. The pressure is such that members of the Planning and Zoning Board were apparently too scared to make a recommendation. Now the Board of Alderman must decide.

Despite the quaintness of this Mayberry-type issue, it is an important zoning matter and one that could influence future zoning stands.

The Jackson metro area is exploding with development. The communities that thrive will be the ones that steadfastly hold to their planning and zoning requirements.

This will not be a popular decision, but the mayor and aldermen should stand firm on zoning. This not about a treehouse, but neighborhood protection.

Special session

When they convene in the year's second special session on Tuesday, the Legislature faces the immediate task of dealing with a proposed $31.5 million bond package to fund expansion of the Howard Industries computer component manufacturing facility in Sandersville.

Gov. Ronnie Musgrove says the expansion will produce 2,000 new jobs.

The Legislature is also expected to be asked to deal with the broader issues of Medicaid program reforms and the future of private prisons in the state.

Homegrown Howard Industries seems a good bet for state economic development dollars. The Medicaid and private prison issues are thornier and may bog down as lawmakers seek to digest a lot of information in a relatively short period of time.

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