Story
Education
Rewarding of the Fittest Schools: #MSLeg Robs Poor Schools to Reward Richer Ones
At the end of a school day and an exhausting period of state testing, four Clinton Public School District teachers looked tired but content as they crowded into a tiny …
Story
Health Care
Mental Illness: Behind Bars and Beyond
Locking up people suffering from mental illnesses is an endless, fruitless cycle—unless a person can access the services and (in some cases) treatment needed to live their lives in the …
Story
Next Mayor Must Lead on Preventing Youth Crime
As I type, the polls for the mayoral primaries are still open, and the outcome is uncertain. What I do know is that Jackson must adopt a new attitude when …
Story
Jacksonian
Joshua Mannery
Murrah High School senior and Student Body President Joshua Mannery, 17, is both a scholar and an activist.
Story
Civil Rights
Black Lawmakers Set Boycott Over Confederate Emblem on Flag
In part of a sweeping debate about the public display of Confederate symbols across the South, some black legislators in Mississippi say they are boycotting a regional meeting that their …
Story
City & County
Mississippi GOP Shoots Out 'Shameful' Email About Chokwe Lumumba, Candidate Responds
Last night, the Mississippi GOP sent out an apparently-worried email about the possibility of Chokwe Antar Lumumba winning the capital city's mayor's race.
Photo
Story
City & County
Hosemann: Turnout in Jackson Elections Low, Mayoral Run-off Would Be 'Miracle'
Today is the primary election for Jacksonians to determine who will be the next mayor and council members of the city—or at least decide the top two candidates in each …
Photo
Story
Biz Roundup
The Kundi Compound, Curious George at the Children's Museum, Stanton Optical and The Hair Factory
Community activists and Jackson Free Press contributors Funmi "Queen" Franklin and Brad "Kamikaze" Franklin held a grand opening for the Kundi Compound, a small-business incubator in midtown, on Monday, May …
Story
Person of the Day
Robbie Fisher
Recently, Jackson-area filmmaker Robbie Fisher's film, "A Mississippi Love Story," which follows the journey of couple Eddie and Justin Outlaw, won Best Direction at the New York Premiere Film Festival.
Story
Crime
Physician Accused of Bribing Prison Chief to Plead Guilty
A physician accused of bribing Mississippi's former corrections commissioner plans to plead guilty Wednesday, court records say.
Story
National
Trump Makes Puzzling Claim About Andrew Jackson, Civil War
President Donald Trump made puzzling claims about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War in an interview, suggesting he was uncertain about the origin of the conflict while claiming that Jackson …
Story
Business
On May Day, Honoring Workers Who Die on the Job, and a Call for Reform
Advocates for workers' rights, including the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights and the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, gathered at the Mississippi Capitol on Friday, April 28, to honor those …
Story
Person of the Day
Evan Engram
The New York Giants got a tight end and a deep threat in one package in the NFL draft. In another move to revive their anemic offense, the Giants selected …
Story
Economy
Analysis: Annual Report Dives Deep into Mississippi Finances
The new Mississippi Comprehensive Annual Financial Report has a chart that shows who is in charge of state government.
Entry
Winners and Losers From the First Round
By bryanflynnMany people like to be a critic, and many people like to make a snap judgment on any number of topics. Many may see a preview for a new movie and instantly know if it will be great or not just from the short clip.
You could apply that same principle to the NFL Draft. We see what a team does and instantly love it or hate it. In reality it could take anywhere from two to five years to see if a team made the right move.
But that isn’t going to stop me from making a snap judgment on the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. These are my three winners and three losers from April 27’s first round.
Let's get critical.
Loser: Teams that traded up for a quarterback
One thing nearly all the analysts agreed on is that this draft featured a weak quarterback class. That didn’t stop the Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans from jumping up in the draft to take one.
Chicago signed Mike Glennon in free agency and traded with the San Francisco 49ers to move up a spot so they could grab Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears gave up two third-round picks (one in 2018) and a fourth-round pick in this draft to move up.
Quick note: First- and second-round picks should end up being starters in year one; third-round ones should contribute significantly early their first year; fourth-round ones should help out at some point in their rookie season, and fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round ones need to develop while playing special teams.
That means the Bears gave up two players who should help a team that has holes all in the roster. Chicago gave up a lot of picks for a guy who made just 13 starts in his college career.
Kansas City traded its third-round pick this year and the first-round pick in the 2018 draft to move up from the 21st pick to the Buffalo Bills’ 10th pick. The Chiefs gave up a starter and a player that should help right away in Patrick Mahomes, who will sit behind Alex Smith.
Fans will wonder why Kansas City moved up if Mahomes isn’t a star. For a playoff team like the Chiefs, the team could have used the picks to make a run at the Super Bowl.
Houston ended up giving up a 2018 first-round pick, moving from 25th to the Cleveland Browns’ 12th spot. This is least of the bad moves from teams who moved up since the Texans were able to draft Deshaun Watson.
The Texans’ defense could make the transition easier, but they did give up a starter in next year’s draft. If Watson doesn’t pay off quickly, it will be another in a recent line of quarterbacks who didn’t work in Houston.
Winner: the Cleveland Browns
Say what you want about the Browns not getting a quarterback, but in …
Story
Education
Jackson State to Award Degrees to Nearly 1,000 Students
CBS News correspondent DeMarco Morgan and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy will speak to Jackson State University graduates.
Story
City & County
Poll: Lumumba Leads in Mayor's Race; Graham, Horhn Battle for Second Position
A newly released poll conducted by Millsaps College and Chism Strategies reveals a highly competitive mayoral race. Jackson voters head to the polls on Tuesday, May 2 for the Democratic …
Story
State
Gambling in Mississippi: State in Top 5 for Addiction, First for Related Arrests
Mississippi sees the most gambling-related arrests and is in the top five states in the country for gambling addiction, a recent study from WalletHub found.
