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Coal Plant on Public Hot Seat This Week
The Mississippi Public Service Commission began the second phase of hearings this week to determine the need for a proposed $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County.
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City & County
Jackson’s Batches of Green Patches
Venturing out and embracing nature may be just the mental reprieve we have been needing, and the capital city has options aplenty for residents and visitors alike to peruse.
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City & County
A’Walkin’ We Will Go
The Jackson metro is filled with great places to go for a walk. Here are just a few of them.
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Alleged Victims
Jackson Family Wants Closure From the Church
The year was 1970, and 11-year-old Francis Morrison lay in his bed in the big house at 771 Belhaven St., listening for heavy footsteps, the covers pulled all the way …
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Person of the Day
Matt Wallner
University of Southern Mississippi outfielder Matt Wallner, a Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year and finalist for the Ferriss Trophy, and his team have plenty to play for this …
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Jacksonian
LaDaryl Watkins
LaDaryl Watkins says she's always been active and loves people, and wanted to combine the two. She is currently a co-coordinator in The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi's health and …
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Civil Rights
OPINION: Creating a Movement
I almost majored in history during college, but since my memory for facts and dates has always been a little shoddy, I decided not to go that route. I ended …
Story
Car Company's Big Plans Haven't Come to Fruition
It seemed like a win for everyone involved when a startup car company, backed by political heavyweights, wooed investors with plans to build a massive auto plant in the Mississippi …
Story
Working for the Weekend?
It's hard to believe that it's the first weekend in June, isn't it? If you're looking for things to do, places to go and people to see, though, this is …
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Fly
Five Things to Know About Dustin Cardon, Web Editor
Here are five things to know about Jackson Free Press Web Editor Dustin Cardon.
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EPA Issues Final Rules Protecting Drinking Water, Streams
Drinking water for 117 million Americans will be protected under new government rules shielding small streams, tributaries and wetlands from pollution and development, the Obama administration said Wednesday.
Entry
Jackson One of 11 Cities for Pelicans’ D-League Team
By bryanflynnFinding ways to develop talent is one of the most important aspects of running a winning team. The teams that are better at discovering and building up young players are normally the best in their leagues.
Major league baseball uses the minor league to do that through the farm system, which gives players a place to get game experience as they hone their craft.
In basketball, the NBA began the D-League, or Developmental League, in the 2001-2002 season. It will be called the NBA Gatorade League, or NBA G-League, starting next season.
The D-League currently has 22 teams, all of which are affiliated with a single NBA team. That pro team either fully owns and operates its D-League outfit, or the developing team has a hybrid ownership in which the an NBA team funds and manages it, but local ownership controls business and manages community relations.
The Memphis Grizzlies purchased an expansion franchise in January that is set to begin play next season in Southaven, Miss. Memphis is one of five teams that has launched an expansion team or bought an existing D-League team.
On Friday, March 31, the New Orleans Pelicans announced their intentions to start an expansion team, as well. Pelicans owner Tom Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints, will own and operate the D-League team, which will begin play in the 2018-2019 season.
New Orleans sent a Request for Proposal, or RFP, to 11 Gulf Coast-region cities, which the Pelicans and the NBA selected based on market research.
Of those 11 cities, seven are based in Louisiana (Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Shreveport and St. Tammany Parish), two are in Mississippi (Biloxi and Jackson), one is in Alabama (Mobile), and one is in Florida (Pensacola).
New Orleans starting a D-League team means it can call up players from that team and get them players on the same day. Players will learn the same plays that the Pelicans use, as well, meaning that they won’t have to learn a new playbook when they are called up.
The Pelicans can use its D-League affiliate to develop draft picks that need more playing time before joining the NBA team. It also allows the team to expand its fan base outside of New Orleans.
Jackson makes perfect sense for a team looking to widen its reach. New Orleans Saints fans are numerous around the capital city, but there doesn’t seem to be one NBA team that a majority of Jacksonians root for each season.
New Orleans can build a fan base in Jackson that will be as loyal to the Pelicans as it is to the Saints. Fans in Central Mississippi never stopped loving the Saints no matter how terrible the team happened to be during the season. These same fans could be just as loyal to the Pelicans.
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State
Slow-Moving Hurricane Sally Carrying a Deluge to Gulf Coast
Hurricane Sally, one of a record-tying five storms churning simultaneously in the Atlantic, closed in on the Gulf Coast on Monday with rapidly strengthening winds of at least 100 mph …
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What's in a Cajun?
Having spent a large portion of my life in South Louisiana, I have eaten some of the best food on Earth, particularly red beans and rice. I have already had …
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City Begins Clean Up
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. urged residents to drive with caution and stay clear of debris resulting from tornadoes during a press conference today at the Hinds County Emergency Operations …
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Public Works, Private Profit
If Mississippi hadn't provided $15 million in bonds and another $20 million in loan guarantees last January to Schulz GMBH to build its pipe factory, some other state would have. …
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National
Moon to Carry Private Message from Kim Jong Un to Trump
A beaming South Korean President Moon Jae-in, freshly returned home Thursday from a whirlwind three-day summit with Kim Jong Un, said the North Korean leader wants the U.S. secretary of …
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Person of the Day
Katherine Dieckmann
Movie fans may know Katherine Dieckmann as the writer and director of 2000's "A Good Baby" and 2009's "Motherhood," and the director of 2006's "Diggers." However, it wasn't so long …
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Awards, Awards, Awards: Cheers to JFP Staff, Freelancers
By Donna LaddYesterday was a very good day for the JFP staff, and especially our writers and designers.
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Person of the Day
Zack Bird
Thanks to a 13-player trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves, former Murrah High School graduate and star pitcher Zack Bird did go home again.
