Jackson Free Press

Best of Jackson 2018: Community and Culture

We here at the Jackson Free Press like to keep our focus on local: local people, local business, local food--you get the idea. There's nothing to us more local than …

OPINION: Reform for a Broken System

The Salas family is one of many in Mississippi and the U.S. caught in the madness of the immigration debate and politicians' failure to pass real and meaningful reform to …

OPINION: Be an Urban Warrior in and for Jackson

Regardless of how you feel about politics at a national level, we all love seeing Jackson grow and improve. The one thing many people don't realize is that we can …

Monique Ealey

Mississippi Children's Museum Outreach Coordinator Monique Ealey sees the facility as a resource for families and educators around the state, so for her, it's important that the museum has outreach …

What’s in ‘UPS’ Ed Formula, What’s Not?

The Mississippi House Education Chairman, Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, repeatedly told House members that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program is too complicated to understand and not reliable for school …

Sessions Interviewed by Mueller Team in Russia Investigation

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed for hours last week in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday. He's the highest-ranking Trump administration official and first …

Sessions was one of Trump's earliest and most loyal allies, the first senator to endorse …

• January 23, 2018

University Funding Cuts Prompt Talk of Tuition Hikes, Consolidation

Most of the state's public university and college presidents crowded into the Mississippi House of Representatives' appropriations room on Monday with a united message.

Abram Orlansky

Attorney Abram Orlansky has been the director of Jewish Cinema Mississippi for the past three years.

Vouchers Could Extend to Any Public School Student Under New Bill

Just before Gov. Phil Bryant declared Jan. 21-27 "School Choice Week," Sen. Gray Tollison's, R-Oxford, voucher-expansion bill dropped. The legislation would vastly expand the use of vouchers—a way to use …

Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, introduced Senate Bill 2623, which vastly expands one of the state's …

• January 22, 2018

'Resistance' Movement and Women's March Look to 2018 Midterm Elections

The idea first came to Teresa Shook, a Hawaii retiree, in the hours after Donald Trump was elected. Perhaps, she suggested to a few friends on Facebook, women could march …

Percy King of the Jackson Zoo Killed in Double Homicide

Jackson Zoo's 'Snake Man,' Percy King was killed in a double homicide Friday, January 19, 2018.

President Trump Steps to Forefront of Anti-Abortion Movement

He once called himself "pro-choice." But a year into his presidency, Donald Trump is stepping to the forefront of his administration's efforts to roll back abortion rights.

JPS Board Starts Supe Search, May Re-organize District

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees voted this week to begin the search for a new superintendent, starting with issuing a request for proposals to hire a consultant to …

Fletcher Cox

In the divisional round, the Eagles found ways to control the Atlanta Falcons' offense. One of the biggest reasons for Philadelphia holding the Falcons to just 10 points was defensive …

Ever-Changing Grade System for Public Schools in Flux Again

Mississippi's system for assigning A-to-F letter grades to public schools keeps changing, and it looks like the state may have to reset the scale again in 2018.

Governors Ask Trump, Congress to Do More on Opioid Crisis

Less than three months after President Donald Trump declared the U.S. opioid crisis a public health emergency, the nation's governors are calling on his administration and Congress to provide more …

House Votes to Scrap MAEP, Rewrite Ed Formula By 12-Vote Margin

After four hours of debate and 17 rejected Democratic amendments, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted mainly along partisan lines to scrap the Mississippi Adequate Education Program in favor of …

City Hall and Schools Reopen as Pipe Repairs Continue

The City of Jackson and Jackson Public Schools reopened today after being closed this week in the face of the wintry weather in Jackson and beyond.