City & County
City Announces Robinson Road Repaving Project; Stay-At-Home Order Still in Effect
Robinson Road will see a three-phase repaving project made possible through a partnership between the City of Jackson and the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba ...
City & County
City of Jackson Sues Canadian National Railway Over Blocked Railroad Underpass
The City of Jackson filed a lawsuit against Canadian National Railway demanding that the company reopen a blocked railroad underpass at Walter Dutch Welch Drive in west Jackson.
City & County
Mayor Lumumba Revises, Extends Jackson Stay-at-Home Order
Last week, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba signed an executive order to extend the City of Jackson’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order to May 15.
City & County
Mississippi Justice Institute Sues Mayor Lumumba for Open-Carry Order
The Mississippi Justice Institute is pursuing a lawsuit against Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba after he signed an executive order temporarily banning open carry of firearms in Jackson.
Politics
Jackson Attorney with COVID: ‘A False Sense of Protection Here’
Since diagnosing its first COVID-19 positive patient on March 11, Mississippi had seen 6,342 cases of the novel coronavirus as reported April 28, when this story went to press. Of ...
Politics
'Reopen Mississippi' Protesters Demand Governor to Reopen State Amid Pandemic
Dozens of cars bearing hand-painted messages and signs, American flags, the Mississippi state flag, the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag and other insignia, encircled the Governor’s Mansion in downtown ...
Crime
AG Fitch Backs Away from Releasing More Pretrial Detainees in Wake of COVID-19
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is backing away from an effort to release pretrial detainees sooner to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Mississippi jails, where it is virtually impossible ...
National
Mississippi Small Businesses at Risk of Permanent Closure, Households Struggle
Approximately 62% of small businesses in Mississippi are at risk of permanently closing within five months as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report from Main Street ...
Crime
Hinds County Extends COVID-19 Emergency, Reduces Jail Population
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors is extending its COVID-19 state of emergency for non-essential employees until May 1, waiving penalties for overdue, late and new license plates, and taking ...
Business
With No Relief In Sight, Jackson Small Business Owners Struggle
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses, which typically do not have more than two weeks’ worth of working capital funds at any given time, especially hard in recent weeks.
Crime
County Jail Officer Tests Positive for COVID-19
A Hinds County Detention Center corrections officer has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday.
City & County
City Receives A+ Bond Rating; $40 Million Bond for Infrastructure Approved
Even as the nation and world continue to plunge deeper into a possible recession in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Jackson’s long-term bond rating for general obligation ...
City & County
Lumumba: More COVID-19 Tests, Hazard Pay, Hotels for Infected Residents
The City of Jackson is purchasing 6,000 additional COVID-19 tests for use on first responders and local jail inmates, providing hazard pay to first responders and partnering with a local ...
Business
Small Business Owners Have Loan, Grant Options, Even If None Perfect
Emergency loans from the SBA and a new "Payroll Protection Program" loan created by the CARES Act of 2020 give small business owners some options for keeping the doors open ...
City & County
Mayor Lumumba: Jackson Police Will Enforce Strong Stay-at-Home Order
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba stood before reporters in front of City Hall to both get tough with violators of his first executive order and to announce a detailed lockdown ...
Crime
Local Jails, Prisons a Petri Dish for COVID-19?
Prisoner advocates describe the COVID-19 situation as a ticking time bomb in Mississippi, where 19,000 people are serving sentences behind state prison bars and 5,200 people languish for months or ...
Food
Red Lentil Soup
This delicious red lentil soup, called mercimek çorbası in Turkish, is popular throughout the Middle East.
City & County
Mayor Warns Businesses Violating Orders, Calls for Consistent Statewide, National Policies
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba talked tough Monday to people and businesses violating his executive orders in the capital city, and calling for more consistent statewide and national orders.
City & County
City's COVID-19 Limits on Groups, Restaurants Remain; $40 Million Bond Vote Ahead
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba reiterated to Jackson residents Thursday that the City of Jackson’s ban on gatherings of 10 or more people and limitations on local restaurant operations, as part ...
City & County
JPD Officer Tests Positive for COVID-19; No More Jail for Misdemeanors
A Jackson Police Department officer has tested positive for COVID-19, Police Chief James E. Davis confirmed in a press conference today, where he also announced more safety protocols.
Crime
Dr. Yusef Salaam of ‘Exonerated 5’: Jails, Prisons ‘Petri Dish’ for COVID-19
Living under unusual, high-pressure circumstances and without access to adequate health care or nutrition has forced the nation’s prisoners to cultivate a kind of secret knowledge that others on the ...
City & County
JPD Will Not Change Arrest Policy Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
The Jackson Police Department is not making changes to its arrest protocols in the wake of COVID-19, even as other departments across the country are rethinking their own policing strategies ...
Crime
Hinds, D.A. Evaluating Release of Some Pretrial Detainees Due to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country and globe, advocates warn of the unique health risks the easily contracted virus poses for the 19,000 people serving sentences inside ...
City & County
City Responds to COVID-19 with Emergency Measures, Scales Back Operations
Today, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba declared a state of civil emergency in the City of Jackson due to the coronavirus outbreak, signing additional executive orders to limit the number of ...
National
Mississippi Voters on Biden Landslide: 'Joe Knows Us, and We Know Joe'
Biden won Mississippi with an overwhelming 81.1% of the Democratic vote compared to Sanders' 14.8%. The majority of people who showed up at the polls in Hinds County—83.2%—voted for Biden, ...
National
Biden in Mississippi: Credits the 'African American Community' for Comeback
Themes of unity and overcoming hate penetrated the remarks of former Vice President Joe Biden and his supporters during the Democratic presidential hopeful's visit to Jackson yesterday.
City & County
Project EJECT Or Not: Mayor Disputes Grant Connection to Federal Strategy
A new federal grant to help the Jackson Police Department purchase new surveillance equipment is not part of the controversial Project EJECT crime strategy, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba insisted this ...
City & County
The Siemens Settlement, Explained
Jackson's saga of a troubled contract with Siemens Inc. and subcontractors for new water meters seemed to come to an end on Feb. 19 when Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announced ...
Health Care
Mississippi Receives Grant to Fight High Rates of HIV/AIDS
As Mississippi continues to experience high HIV/AIDS infection rates, a federal grant aims to support the state in fighting the epidemic.
City & County
Jackson's Food Insecurity Focus in April Expo
In a state where one in four children go to bed hungry at night, solutions to the food insecurity that plagues Jackson are the goal of a series of public ...
City & County
City of Jackson Reaches $89.8 Million Settlement with Siemens
The City of Jackson has reached a $89.8 million settlement with Siemens Inc., Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba announced yesterday.
City & County
State Auditor Looking at City Contract; Flooding, Water Quality Plagues Jackson
Chief Administrative Officer Robert Blaine drew a unanimous censure from the Jackson City Council following an administrative error in a City contract with a prominent backer of Mayor Chokwe A. ...
Crime
Hearing: Formerly Incarcerated Seeking Employment Need Solutions, 'Ban the Box'
Formerly incarcerated Mississippians who are entering the workforce continue to face obstacles to employment, advocates testified Tuesday at the Mississippi Capitol during a Senate Labor Committee hearing.
City & County
City Council Censures CAO Blaine, Pursues Litigation Against Contractor
The Jackson City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to censure Chief Administrative Officer Robert Blaine following an administrative error in a City contract that resulted in the City of Jackson paying ...
City & County
Strong Arms of JXN to Hold Non-Violence Event in Grove Park
The Strong Arms of JXN program plans to train community members to canvas neighborhoods with high rates of gun violence in an effort to let them know about resources that ...
City & County
'Beaten, Broken, Tired': Prison Protest Draws Families, Activists to Mississippi Capitol
Families mourned the death of their loved ones while in Mississippi Department of Corrections custody and shared their fears for those who are still alive and enduring squalid conditions in ...
City & County
Causes, Solutions to Gun Violence in Jackson Emerge at MLK Day Forum
Disinvestment in Jackson communities, lax gun-control laws and a failing mental health system—all under the State's purview—all create conditions for violence. So do gentrification, white flight and black flight.
City & County
Flooding in Jackson Metro Ongoing Concern, More Rain Expected
Flooding remains a risk in the Jackson metro area three days after Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba declared an emergency, due to pending rainfall and high water levels in the Pearl ...
City & County
Jackson Under Flash Flood Emergency: ‘Not Out of the Woods,' Risks Still High
The National Weather Service in Jackson declared a flash-flood emergency on Tuesday, Jan. 14, due to heavy rainfall and already-high water levels in the Pearl River.
City & County
Mayor Lumumba: Violence Prevention Must Take Into Account Poverty and Gun Laws
Addressing reporters last Friday in the wake of high end-of-year homicide rates, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba highlighted his administration's efforts to curb violence in the city through a variety ...
City & County
JPS School Closures and Consolidations Raise Concerns in Jackson
Earlier this week, the Jackson Public Schools' board of trustees voted to close and consolidate several schools as part of the district's ongoing efforts to address decreasing student enrollment, teacher ...
City & County
Police Task Forces ‘Waste of Time’ for Violence Prevention?
Law-enforcement efforts to combat violent crime in Jackson in recent years have increasingly focused on the creation of multi-agency task forces, which identify high-crime regions or criminal activity, gather intelligence, ...
City & County
New DA Jody Owens Promises Reform, Alternatives to Incarceration
Earlier this week, civil rights attorney and avowed criminal-justice reformer Jody Owens officially took over as the new Hinds County district attorney, succeeding the controversy-plagued Robert Shuler Smith, who served ...
City & County
JPD Arrests 82 People Under 'Operation Targeting Gun Violence'
Days after U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst chided Jackson public officials for being too soft on crime, Jackson Police Department Chief James Davis held a press conference to highlight 82 arrests ...
Crime
Long Sentences, Broken Lives
Paul Houser is one of 2,635 Mississippians currently serving lengthy prison terms under Mississippi's so-called "habitual laws," the state's version of "three strikes laws." Mississippi's habitual laws drive the state's ...
City & County
City to Provide 500 Meals to Jackson Children Over Holidays
Several local nonprofits will unite this holiday season to provide 500 free meals to young people in Jackson as part of ongoing efforts to fight food insecurity in the city ...
Crime
Hinds County Jail ‘In Crisis,’ Still Violates Federal Consent Decree
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors dodged a bullet Monday, narrowly avoiding a federal contempt trial for ongoing conditions at the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond.
City & County
Verizon Wireless Suing City of Jackson
Verizon Wireless is suing the City of Jackson over what it claims is an unlawful and discriminatory denial of its application to build a cellphone tower in the city.
City & County
A Colorful Past: Can the Sun-N-Sand Be Saved?
The Sun-N-Sand, located on Lamar Street and steps away from the Mississippi Capitol, has sat vacant and fenced in since 2002, but its place in Jackson's collective memory remains vivid ...
Politics
Bloomberg Talks Justice Reform in Mississippi, Apologizes for ‘Stop and Frisk’
Following the private meeting, the former New York City mayor revealed to members of the press that he is running on a criminal-justice reform platform. He promised to cut the ...
Prev Next
