Jackson Free Press

Mason: ‘I'm Basically an Introvert'

Outgoing Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. said at a Tuesday press luncheon that he did not expect his university to deviate from progress and growth in his absence.

Speed Answers Ethics Questions with Challenge to Levee Board

After giving away part of his family's property bordering the Two Lakes development footprint last week in response to ethics questions, Jackson businessman Leland Speed today asked fellow Levee Board …

Moratorium-Blocking Judge Owns Drilling Stock

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman lifted the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on new deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The judge, however, owns stock in numerous oil and …

Yes, They Can

Last Friday, several interns sat in front of their computers, refreshing their e-mail inboxes. They also had their cell phones at the ready, impatiently waiting for the big text message …

Our Broken (Mental) Health System

This is a first in a series of columns and comments on mental health in Mississippi.

C-L Crime Coverage Improves

My Birthday House Summary

Roadblocks for Road Plans?

The Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature has ignored the state chamber of commerce's calls to increase state funding for roads and bridges for three legislative sessions in a row.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Midterm Madness Comes to Mississippi

Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd and Publisher Todd Stauffer started Best of Jackson almost 16 years ago to uplift the city because back then it was in a bad place, much worse …

Confronting the Realities of Autism

For Angela Douglas, the realities of autism are all around her at work and at home. As an advocate at Disability Rights Mississippi in Gulfport, Douglas works with parents whose …

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 …

In Mississippi, Retiring Officials Can Pocket Campaign Cash

When former Mississippi Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck shut down her campaign committee in the closing days of 2013, she took a parting gift — the $158,342 remaining in the account.

Jason Wells’ GOP Dream: First Mayor, Then President

The Republican nominee for Jackson mayor, Jason Wells, 34, has returned to the polls once again in hope of successfully finding what he desires in life, a political office.

[Mizell] It's as Simple as That

I took a creative writing class in college recently that was small and intimate and we actually discussed interesting things. Usually we'd go over poems and plays; but recently we …

[Sawyer] It's A Rich Or Poor Thing

Each morning during the semester, the bell rings for thousands of Mississippi youth. Mississippi teachers bear a great burden in their cause to shape every young mind. They know that …

Real-Life Horror Stories

John Grisham says Haley Barbour should sign a moratorium on executions in Mississippi. "Absolutely. If I had my way, we'd stop all of them," Grisham said.

New Charter School Law Brings New Costs

Former Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Earl Watkins said a new charter school law that both the House and Senate approved last month will carry additional costs to the local public-school …

MPB: Public Servant?

Max Breazeale checked his transmitters at station WMAH in McHenry Sunday night before Hurricane Katrina ripped the Gulf Coast asunder. From frequency control to power supply, he made sure everything …

CHICK: Nice Southern Girls Do Breastfeed

It looked like any other picnic scene you would find in a Chapel Hill, N.C., park on a beautiful spring day. Lots of trees, grass, children, Frisbees, dogs and smoking …

This Here Alternative Universe

I'm sitting here, OK lying here, in a humongous, brick-colored sofa far away from Jackson in the Pacific Northwest, counting my blessings about life in Mississippi. I didn't start out …