How Voter ID and Voter Turnout Could Affect Elections
Mississippi's Voter ID law took effect last year, largely relying on research commissioned by the secretary of state's office finding that 98 percent of Mississippi voters reported having at least …
JFP Interviews
Green: Farming an Economic Future
Raised on a farm and the daughter of a sharecropper, Addie Lee Green remembers learning how to chop down trees for firewood as a child. Now she is running to …
Cover
The Lt. Gov Power Trip
If campaign publicity is a measure, the stage is set for a showdown between Tate Reeves and Tim Johnson—although it has been a relatively quiet race thus far.
Cover
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.
Politics
Robert Gray Looks to the Home Stretch
Robert Gray, the Democratic nominee for governor, says he draws some odd reactions from people.
Business
Council Hints at Lawsuit Over JATRAN
The Jackson City Council was poised this week to reconsider an agreement with the new operators of JATRAN, the city's bus system, but held off on discussion amid a threat …
Education
Initiative 42 Draws Support From Religious, Civic and Legal Groups
As Election Day draws near, supporters of the education funding referendum known as Initiative 42 are drawing wide support from organizations around the state.
Cover
MAEP Formula Explained
MAEP funding (theoretically) covers teacher and district employee salaries, retirement and insurance, instruction materials, operational costs, transportation, and special, vocational, gifted and alternative education.
Cover
Debating Initiative 42
Rep. Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, and Jim Keith, a Republican lawyer and Initiative 42 proponent, discussed Initiative 42 and the legislative alternative 42A on Oct. 19 at the Capital Club.
Education
Cristen Hemmins: Education, Equal Pay and Taking On Tollison
Jackson native Cristen Hemmins decided to run for the District 9 Senate seat (which includes Oxford and most of Lafayette County) when her opponent, Gray Tollison, introduced Initiative 42A to …
JFP Interviews
Oswalt: Hinds Jail ‘Correctable and Fixable’
Charlette Oswalt recently met with the Jackson Free Press about why she should be Hinds County's first woman sheriff.
Civil Rights
The 42 Vote: Mississippi’s Time of Reckoning
When Mississippi Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter stepped to the microphone at a Republican rally in Tishomingo County and started warning about a "black judge" taking away funds from white schools …
Cover
MAEP: The Formula and How Politics Got in the Way
The state Legislature established the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, or MAEP, in 1997 to avoid equity lawsuits being filed across the country.
Business
Yarber Downtown 'Resort' Plan Draws Council Scrutiny
Some members of the Jackson City Council are gently pushing back on a proposal from Mayor Tony Yarber's administration to designate part of downtown as a "qualified resort area and …
Education
Rep. Lester 'Bubba' Carpenter: 'Deeply Sorry' for Racial Comments
State Rep. Lester "Bubba" Carpenter, a Burnsville Republican, this morning walked back racially charged statements made public over the weekend about the Initiative 42 schools-funding referendum.
