Steve Mullen supervises The Commercial Dispatch's day-to-day news operations.
Mullen came to The Dispatch in January 2009 from The Bakersfield Californian in Bakersfield, Calif., where he was managing editor. He also served The Californian since 2001 as an assistant city editor, business editor, features editor and assistant managing editor.
An Ole Miss graduate, Mullen also previously worked at The Clarion-Ledger, where he was a copy editor and assistant metro editor. He was also a reporter and news editor for The Oxford Eagle. He has received various industry awards for reporting and page design.
Recent Stories & Articles Keeping Uncle Haley out of the kitchen11/18/2009 10:03:00 AM We thought, over the past several years with two elementary-age kids, that we’d seen all the cutesy Thanksgiving-themed things students could possibly produce. Of course, there’s the perennial favorite: Drawings and cutouts of turkeys made by tracing their hands. We’ve seen the Indian feathers and headbands from construction paper, and the Pilgrim hats and buckles. We’ve seen turkeys made out of pine cones and Coke cans.
Denialism and The W11/11/2009 9:59:00 AM In his new book “Denialism,” author Michael Specter explores how, on occasion, “an entire segment of society, often struggling with the trauma of change, turns away from reality in favor of a more comfortable lie.”
Denialism is all around us. We often ignore reams of evidence, if it contradicts something we find more comfortable or easier to believe.
Burned over Burns Bottom?11/4/2009 9:51:00 AM Well, at least we could say we got close this time.
This community has talked about building a soccer complex for years. After working to vet several candidate sites over the past several months, the city and county finally struck a deal on locating a soccer complex and community park in Burns Bottom — not just a bunch of fields, but a plan to keep the land’s natural beauty intact. After out-of-town planners and architects showed us the property’s potential, most dissenting voices came around. Amid wrestling over MUW’s name, the 900-pound tag team in the room10/28/2009 11:00:00 AM As the need to reach a consensus on a new identity for Mississippi University for Women becomes ever more urgent and more dire, I find it pleasing to imagine all the different sides of the debate crowded face to face, in one arena, going at it. I can picture a wrestling ring — or better yet, a cage match.
Hang on to your butts: Where there’s smokes, there’s fire10/21/2009 10:11:00 AM There’s gonna be a huge warehouse sale in Tupelo next week — and it ain’t on furniture.
The state Tax Commission seized an estimated $20 million worth of smokes in a tax raid in April, and on Oct. 27, it plans to auction off its contraband to the highest bidders. Caught in the middle10/14/2009 9:38:00 AM There comes a time for all of us when we finally feel our age.
I turned 39 a few weeks ago. This is a birthday no one wants to celebrate. It’s much like 29, but 10 years worse. I recall, incredulously, that once, I actually wished to be older. Now, I want the clock to turn back, or at least slow down for a precious minute or two. It takes a village ... of two9/30/2009 9:40:00 AM A new Census report out this week shows that Mississippi remains the poorest state in the nation, which comes as little surprise to anyone, especially those either without a job or cashing a meager paycheck each week. (We’re also the lowest-wage state in the nation.) Water, and lots of it9/23/2009 9:38:00 AM I’m starting to understand how people in Seattle must feel.
The rain is here, and it won’t go away. When is the last time we had a clear day, sunup to sunup? At this point, it seems days like that never existed. Somewhere, children are gathered around a rocking chair as Grandpa spins a tall tale about how he once left his car sunroof open overnight, and nothing happened.
All apologies9/16/2009 9:59:00 AM I’m sorry to say it, but I miss the good ol’ days when nobody apologized.
“Carry the battle to them,” Harry Truman famously said. “Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive. And don’t ever apologize for anything.” Ulysses Grant, Frankenberry, and me9/9/2009 10:13:00 AM I’m engaged in a project which is requiring me to take a personality test.
If you’ve had access to the Internet for more than five minutes, then you’ve probably taken a baker’s dozen of tests and quizzes. Some are serious, like those that gauge healthy habits or depression. Online IQ tests are rampant and common. Along our bumpy, shovel-ready roads9/2/2009 10:56:00 AM We were driving through West Point toward Columbus last weekend when I had the bright idea to make a detour past Old Waverley, which we’d never explored before. Keeping the teeth in line8/21/2009 11:58:00 AM The 7-year-old walked too close to the swing set at school, and got clocked by a swinging kid — right in the teeth. I didn’t see the immediate aftermath, but it must have looked like a scene from “Carrie.” Somehow she managed to bleed on her socks. Squeaky wheels — or worst of the cart?8/12/2009 10:49:00 AM One thing can be said about the health care debate: Watching it makes me ill.
While I’ve tried to read up, I’m no expert. Another disclaimer: I’m a middle-of-the-road guy as far as politics are concerned — I tend to like things that politicians in each party say from time to time. A big First Day8/5/2009 10:53:00 AM We’re neck deep in the First Day of School. The kids are outfitted, supplies have been bought and delivered, and I’m helping them out of the car to join the throngs of new classmates. All that remains is the completing of ten months of this until we get a few weeks’ rest, then do it all over again. On catfish7/29/2009 4:44:00 PM My uncle has a lake on his land near Canton, stocked with bass and bluegill; he loves to fish, and my kids, in turn, are learning to love it too.
Tax holiday not perfect, but it’s a start7/22/2009 10:41:00 AM Happy holiday!
The Second Most Wonderful Time of the Year — the Legislature-imposed sales tax holiday — will be upon us in nine short days, and yes, like an eager little kid, I’m counting the days. From 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, to midnight on Saturday, Aug. 1, I’ll be able to waltz into any five-and-dime or mega-mart in the state and buy some school supplies without having to pony up a single penny to the state Tax Commission. For MUW, a Sallie Reneau-sized task7/15/2009 Where’s Sallie Reneau when you need her?
Reneau was possibly the most persuasive woman Mississippian of her day. In 1856, at age 18, she convinced Mississippi’s governor and legislature to charter a state university for women — never mind that such a thing had never been done before, in any state.
Now, Reneau’s own name is on a very short list of proposed new names for the Mississippi University for Women. The Incredible Shrinking Columbus7/8/2009 The Golden Triangle has a new big brother. Starkville is now more populous than Columbus, according to Census figures released last week. The reason for the season7/1/2009 Another Fourth of July is almost upon us. A majority of us know how we’ll mark the occasion — probably with fireworks, beer and barbecue. Unfortunately, fewer than half of us have a good idea of why we’re celebrating. Ugly babies have it tough6/25/2009 I came across news of a new medical study that compared mothers’ reactions to pictures of attractive babies vs. ugly ones. It turns out that unconditional love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: Moms are quick to drop ugly babies in favor of pretty ones.
Unconditional love, it seems, comes with conditions, especially if you have a face only Mom can love — or at least one you thought she did. Mississippi’s energy future6/21/2009 When one thinks of energy-producing states, Texas, Alaska and California come to mind, for their oil and gas.
Taking the long way home6/10/2009 It’s tough to decide who is happier — me or the grandparents.
It’s me, of course. Try being apart from your family for five months, a decision we made when I was hired by The Dispatch. I moved over, while Lee and the girls stayed behind to finish school in California. Good news for Starkville: The Dispatch brings new, free newspaper to Bulldog Country6/8/2009 Hello, Starkville.
The Starkville Dispatch begins publication today, offering a free news source to readers in Bulldog Country.
The new paper is a publication of The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, and replaces The Commercial Dispatch in racks around town. The new paper will also be available in many more locations than the old Dispatch, and will be in the racks sooner. No phone calls, please5/20/2009 They muscle their way in — uninvited, unwelcome, and downright annoying.
They’re the unending cascade of automated phone calls — in particular, those that play a recording warning you that your car warranty is about to expire. In defense of the Vicksburg Four5/13/2009 Much ado has been made of the behavior of the four Columbus police officers accused of Spring break-style behavior in Vicksburg National Military Park, while in that city for a training seminar. Where's all the ammo?4/29/2009 Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition. I always liked that phrase. Yes, the Lord should be praised. And ammunition is good too, especially if you have a gun. Rays of sunshine in the Gloom Belt4/22/2009 It seems a team of scientists has been cataloging the nation’s bad-hair days. As it turns out, Kentucky is gloomy, but so is Mississippi. In fact, you could call Mississippi the buckle of the "Gloom Belt." News in another new form4/15/2009 As I write this column, I’m switching back and forth to a program called TweetDeck. Its dark, businesslike interface fills my entire laptop screen with several columns of updates, each one chiming as new information comes in. The girls arrive; the party begins4/8/2009 We’ve covered some ground.
Lee and the two girls, ages 7 and 9, are here for Spring Break, their first time in Columbus, in advance of moving here from California after the school year ends.
I’ve received lots of suggestions on how to keep them occupied; we’ll never cover it all but we’re off to a good start.
Two days and counting4/1/2009 It’s D-Day minus two. My wife, Lee, and our two kids are coming in for a visit Friday night, and preparations have begun. Getting ready for ‘the girls’3/25/2009 If you’ve seen the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” you have an idea of what they look like.
Found poetry3/18/2009 There is a certain poetry about Columbus — literally.
Writers are among us, in places you wouldn’t expect, recording bits of everyday life.
Selling house evokes mixed emotions3/11/2009 Supervisors' 'belly bump' part of life in the Friendly City3/4/2009 Columbus is known as the Friendly City, something I pointed out last week, commenting that it was “a pretty good nickname, as it’s tough to find an unfriendly person.” The paper was barely on the street and the column on the Web site before a challenge landed in my e-mail inbox. 25 random things about Columbus2/25/2009 Those familiar with Facebook, the online social networking site, know that the big thing right now is to make a list of “25 random things” about themselves and share it with friends. The idea is, if you are sent a note, you have to, in turn, create your own list and send it to 25 more people, and so on. A historic marker for Catfish Alley2/21/2009 Original ideas are few and far between. In fact, journalists often joke that in the news business, no idea is original: Whatever it is, somewhere it’s been done before. After years of talk, it’s time to move on2/11/2009 Search our archives for older stories by Steve Mullen
