Jackson Free Press

Unfriendly Skies: Can Jackson Save Its Airport?

The City of Jackson, which controls the 3,381 acres of land the airport occupies, is bracing for a looming battle for its control with the State of Mississippi.

Phil Bryant: Tea Party Governor

The running joke in Jackson political circles is that Phil Bryant is just three handshakes away from being a Hinds County sheriff's deputy.

Mississippi AG’s Race: What’s at Stake?

Since announcing his candidacy for the state AG's office, Mike Hurst has made fighting public corruption the centerpiece of his campaign as well as attacks against Jim Hood, whom Hurst …

State Sues Jackson Over Refusal to Police Fair

The city of Jackson appears to have won the first round in a game of chicken against the Mississippi State Fair Commission over not providing fair security.

Judge: Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Against MDOC Can Proceed

A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit against the state prison system.

Chief Vance: Gov. Barbour Helped Reimburse JPD For Fair

Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance this morning announced the decision of Mayor Tony Yarber's administration to not have JPD patrol the Missisippi State Fair this year.

Whose Job Is It, Anyway?

Mississippi has a weird mish-mash of officials who have some responsibility for making sure clerks follow the state's public-records law and that candidates file their campaign-finance reports, but rarely take …

Justice, Hope and Hurricane Katrina

Re-housing residents along the Mississippi coast became the most daunting problem of the post-Katrina recovery—logistically and politically speaking.

Kitchen-Table Politics: The JFP Interview with Vicki Slater

Vicki Slater spoke with the Jackson Free Press in early July about why she believes she would make a better governor than the incumbent Phil Bryant.

Troubled Water, Part I: Explaining Jackson's $91 Million Siemens Contract

It's almost impossible to turn on the nightly local television news without coming across a story of a Jackson resident who was shocked to open an astronomically high City of …

Are Mississippi Officials Deadbeats?

The situation in Mississippi may be dire, but it's not hopeless. There are opportunities to drastically—not incrementally—improve things in Mississippi, but our leadership seems fixated on solutions looking for problems.

Bryan Stevenson

The founding attorney for the Montgomery, Ala.-based Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson works in a broken system of justice. The indigent clients EJI represents deal with issues such as mental …

Ward 1: Side-by-Side

Given the mountain of challenges staring at the Jackson City Council, it's hard to imagine two candidates whose resumes make them better equipped to get their hands dirty than Ashby …

Making Mississippi 420 Friendly

The potential of cannabis as an appetite stimulant is among the key arguments from proponents of rolling back legal restrictions for marijuana for its medicinal purposes.

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Two Hinds County Judge Runoffs Today

Today, some Hinds County voters are returning to the polls for two runoffs for two county judge seats.

The Perils of Deregulating MDOC

Not long after Chris Epps took over as the commissioner of the state prison system, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill that removed the Mississippi Department of Corrections from the …

Hickingbottom Joins Ward 1 Race

The field is set for the special election to replace Quentin Whitwell as Jackson Ward 1 Councilman. The last man—all six candidates are men—in is Bob Hickingbottom.

Democrat Baria Wants Legislative MDOC Hearings

A Democratic lawmaker wants the Legislature to look deeper into the allegations of corruption that have ensnared longtime Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps.

MDOC Scandal Highlights Privatization Problems

With the nation's largest private prison operators earning more than $3 billion in revenue, private-prison and government watchdogs say the opportunity for the brand of corruption alleged against Epps and …

Epps, McCrory Indictment Outlines MDOC Bribery Scheme

Christopher Epps, the long-tenured commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and former Rankin County School Board President Cecil McCrory will be arraigned later today on a 49-count indictment in …

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