Jackson Free Press

Mal Tiempo, Buenas Caras (Bad Times, Good Faces)

Photos by Cheree Franco and Matt Saldaña

José Bacallao stares into a boarded-up restaurant on the edge of a Highway 90 strip mall in Waveland, a tiny town in southwestern Mississippi that was the epicenter of one …

UPDATED: Levee Board Approves ‘One Lake' Plan, Not ‘Two'

Members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District held a press conference this afternoon at the Mississippi TelCom Center, where chairman Billy Orr announced that the District has …

Jackson Developer Nervous over Council Vote

Update July 16, 2007: The zoning committee of the Jackson City Council today voted to delay a $75 million development by the Jackson Medical Mall. People over the project fear …

The Mayor and His Women

It bugged the hell out of me when I got an e-mailed press release from Police Chief Shirlene Anderson's office late on July 3 with this subject line: "Chief Shirlene …

[Isbister] What About Women Musicians?

As I left my office June 15, I had a heavy heart. Everyone was getting ready for Jubilee!JAM—the barricades were going up and parking had been a nightmare for two …

The Road Trip Issue

For some, a vacation just isn't a vacation unless they get on a plane, take a cab to a resort and spend their days baking at the pool. Putting aside …

BREAKING: Invite Suggests Melton Fundraiser for Sheriff Candidate

A document (PDF, 40 KB) received via fax by the Jackson Free Press makes it appear that Jackson Mayor Frank Melton is planning a fundraiser at his home for Hinds …

Purvis: ‘Melton Did Not Put Me in the Race'

Jackson 2000 held a district attorney candidate forum today at noon at Schimmel's. The Jackson Free Press moderated, asking questions provided by audience members. We will have a full report …

The Ledger's Co-Dependency with Frank Melton

One wonders where The Clarion-Ledger edit-boyz came up with this lead to their editorial berating their mayor for doing, pretty much, exactly what he indicated he would do during the …

Rudy: What a Hypocrite

So now the man who ran an entire crime-fighting plan with gun control at its base is now a "strict constructionist" when it comes to the Second Amendment. You know …

BREAKING: Taylor Headed Back to Jail?

Sources inside Hinds County say a 17-year-old companion of Mayor Frank Melton may need to turn himself back in to Hinds County authorities due to an administrative error regarding his …

A Boy and His Mailbox

In "Glorious Mail," Mississippi natives J.D. Evermore and co-writer/co-producer Alice Walker tell the story of Cesar Nutley Willingham IV, an antiques dealer, community theater actor and flamboyantly green-eyeshadowed homosexual from …

The Other Ridgeway Incident

This week, I will begin a journey across the hemispheres to Auckland, New Zealand. I am moving for reasons that begin with my parents' departure for Auckland nine months ago …

[Mott] Some People Talkin'

Brian Johnson, Matt Saldaña and I passed the pages of "We Are Family"—last week's cover story about Shirley Beach's journey from racism—between us last week, proofing and correcting them. Brian …

A New Sheriff In Town?

Photos by Brian Johnson, Roy Adkins, Nate Glenn, Darren Schwindaman, and Jaro Vacek

Sheriff Malcolm McMillin is familiar with opposition, having faced it and triumphed in repeated elections since he was first elected sheriff of Hinds County 16 years ago.

‘Chief Shirlene Andersons (sic) wants citizens ...

... to have a happy and safe Fourth of July Holiday ...'

No, that's not a typo, at least not on our part. The chief's office sent that e-mail with that exact subject line today. Here's the rest of the e-mail, verbatim:

City's War on Sex Toys Is Back

Just when you thought that the Jackson Police Department isn't up to the challenge posed by escalating crime, they prove you wrong. Per The Clarion-Ledger tonight:

A New Sheriff? JFP Interview with Malcolm McMillin

My opposition in this race, their mantra is, "It's time for a change." Not that I've done a bad job, but that it's time for a change, just a change …

A New Sheriff? JFP Interview with Tyrone Lewis

I come from a family of six kids—two sisters, three brothers. And my mother and father still live, and still reside in this neighborhood I grew up in. I had …

A New Sheriff? JFP Interview with Lester Williams

In 1990 I transferred over to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. There I was primarily assigned to the DEA and the FBI on their task force, working in major investigations. …