Jackson Free Press

Up In Smoke

City budget woes are keeping the heat on firefighters and stoking fiction between Interim Chief Todd Chandler and some firefighters.

The Best In Sports In 7 Days

High school baseball, MHSAA playoffs: The postseason begins. Expect a Jackson-area team to win Class 5A again. Check your local listings to learn when your favorite team plays.

[Grayson] I Was A Wood Street Girl

Typical sixth-graders aspire to become lawyers, doctors and professional athletes, but I was not your typical sixth-grader. I was raised on what came to be known as the worst street …

[Kamikaze] A Wave Of The Finger

My hat is off to Cyrus Webb and ShadowPlay Entertainment for raising issues affecting the hip-hop nation recently. His Free2Flow Summit last week was an attempt to enlighten the public …

BREAKING: Frank Melton Sues Clarion-Ledger

Melton told the JFP Friday that he was planning to file a lawsuit against the paper.

April 18, 2006—Sources tell the Jackson Free Press tonight that Mayor Frank Melton has filed a civil lawsuit against The Clarion-Ledger for damages in the Hinds County Circuit Court. He …

Council Rejects Melton Budget; Stokes Drops Coup Effort

More details soon ...

Just got word that the City Council has rejected the Melton adminstration's new budget with its $3 increase in garbage fees. Also, Kenneth Stokes has withdrawn his coup attempt to …

BREAKING: Melton Responds to "Batman" Release

The man that Mayor Frank Melton admits being "obsessed" with has been released from jail tonight. He, along with brother Terrell Donelson and James Benton, were acquitted last week of …

Ben Allen and Donna Ladd on WJNT Thursday at 5 p.m.

The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Pro baseball, Philadelphia at Atlanta (6:30 p.m., TBS/ESPN2/620 AM): The scum-of-the-NL Phillies call on the Braves.

The Gypsies of Jackson Theater

John Howell, 39, and his wife, Diana, 40, believe in the power of the stage. As co-founders of the Fondren Theatre Workshop, they've brought new and bold shows to community …

On The Road Again with Frank Melton

On Sunday, April 2, photographer Jaro Vacek and I went to Frank Melton's home on 2 Carters Grove to meet with the mayor's Mobile Command Center crew for a night …

Put The Pros On The Police Beat

As of this writing, Donna Ladd has spent at least 30 hours over two weeks with Mayor Frank Melton in interviews, phone calls, ride-alongs, press conferences and visits at his …

Gunning For Guns

In a new war on guns in Jackson, Mayor Frank Melton said Sunday that he is preparing an executive order outlawing gun shows in the city limits of Jackson.

Melton Interviews, Part II Out; Ledge Suddenly Hot on Melton

Read Part II of Donna Ladd's JFP interviews with the mayor, plus a narrative of two Sunday nights in the Mobile Command Center. Online now.

Herman's Picks

Nothing screams a need for a weekend road trip or vacation like the coming of spring. Our current dissatisfactions with our daily jobs must surely stem from lone and breezy …

JUST IN MONDAY: Key Witness Turns Self in to Melton

Monday, 9:30 p.m.: According to Mayor Frank Melton tonight, Christopher "Smiley" Walker turned himself into the mayor tonight and is now in custody. Melton refuses to publicly disclose Walker's whereabouts, …

Just the Facts: A Reader's Guide to the Melton Interview

Donna Ladd's interviews with Frank Melton have been conducted in several meetings since March 23 in his office in City Hall, his home and around the streets of Jackson in …

Welcome Home, ‘Ssippi

He calls himself Christopher "Ssippi" Wessman. An L.A. painter, cello player and bassist is back in town. Ssippi, a Jackson native, is here for a show to display his recent …

Why Buy Jackson?

Once again, an abundance of commentary has surfaced regarding the decline of Jackson, along with the local pundits' sometimes eccentric explanations of the Capitol City's current afflictions.

Marshand Crisler: The Man Watching the Mayor (2006)

The office of Jackson Council President Marshand Crisler bears the signs of a harsh duality. Crisler carries himself with a clean, pressed look—in startling contrast to the reporter sitting across …