Jackson Free Press

Hazel Brannon Smith, Crusading Journalist and 'Scalawag'

Durant native and author Jeff Howell recalls his 13-year-old self discovering African American basketball player Walt Frazier in his library's red, white and blue 1976 edition of the "World Book."

State Settles Kids’ Mental Health Litigation

After seven years of litigation, one Mississippi teenager will finally get to move from the East Mississippi State Hospital to a regional center that provides services for those with intellectual …

JSU Reels After President Search, Budget Cuts

Jackson State University students, faculty and staff members went through a whirlwind of hiring and firing in the last two weeks.

Time to End Free Passes for Racist Lawmakers

Leaders can feign disgust at Rep. Karl Oliver's words, but their cozy relationship with racial rhetoric and symbols emboldened him and may lead to the violence he encouraged. It is …

Pointing Fingers Won’t Help Mental Health Crisis

Mississippi's mental-health care problems are not secrets, and yet only when the DOJ sues the state and after speaking with some community advocates does the governor start talking about community-based …

The Battle for Children’s Mental Health in Mississippi

Lisa Fuller, a Mississippi mother of two in Madison, stood up at the Children's Mental Health Summit at the Jackson Hilton on May 12 to explain her laborious journey of …

Lawmakers Urge Trump to Avoid Picking a Partisan for FBI Job

As President Donald Trump considers a replacement for fired FBI Director James Comey, lawmakers are urging the president to steer clear of appointing any politicians.

Shifting the Power to Regulate Nurses, Barbers, More

Melony Armstrong did not want to cut hair; she wanted to braid hair in her own shop. She believed that the time and money spent on beauty school would be …

How Gov. Phil Bryant Is Hurting Mississippi

In my personal journey in the fight for fairness, equality and progress, I have come to a stark conclusion: Gov. Phil Bryant is single-handedly preventing our state from progressing and …

Analysis: Leaders Say Reducing State Budget Meets GOP Goal

There has been plenty of hand-wringing about the Mississippi budget the past several months, with Republican Gov. Phil Bryant making multiple rounds of cuts because tax collections fell short of …

From Council Schools to Today’s Fight for Public Ed

Yearbooks and classmates prove that Gov. Phil Bryant is the product of white flight and segregationist education, which may explain his efforts, along with others in his party, to undermine …

Tort Reform, Sexual Assault Prevention and Fantasy Sports Bills Move Forward

"Tort reform" rose from the past at the state Capitol last week as lawyers in the House of Representatives battled it out over a short, seemingly inconsequential bill, House Bill …

In the Statehouse and the Courtroom, Mental Health is Embattled

Research in the psychology and psychiatry fields show little to no evidence that hospitals and residential treatment centers are effective in helping a person with mental-health needs.

Corporate lobbyist Haley Barbour came home to Mississippi and served as governor from 2004 to …

• February 14, 2017

Ann Lamar

Gov. Phil Bryant is naming recently retired Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Ann Lamar of Senatobia to the College Board.

Gov. Bryant Closes Campaign Account, Starts 'Imagine Mississippi PAC'

Gov. Phil Bryant terminated his campaign-finance account on Jan. 31, disbursing the funds to other political committees, candidates and charitable organizations.

Will Experience Give New England An Edge In SuperBowl 51?

HOUSTON (AP) — There's no hiding it. One edge the New England Patriots have over the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday's Super Bowl can't be denied: experience.