Jackson Free Press

Water Water Everywhere

It was still daylight on a nice afternoon last April. I was busy, hungry and tired when my emotions got the better of me, and I drove into a fast …

Just Begin

She was sitting in the driver's seat of the car with the windows up. The two-inch ash dangled on her cigarette. I thought she must have been waiting on someone.

Cooper-Stokes Walks Out

Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes of Ward 3 opposed the talk about possibly rescinding D.L. Johnson Consultants' redistricting contract with the city from the start of a Rules Committee meeting Thursday. When …

Resolution Tango

When I was younger, I would annually trot out the usual suspects when it came time to make my new year's resolutions. You know the ones: lose weight; quit smoking; …

Serve It Forth: Gifts for Your Kitchen

Are you struggling to find the gift for the cook who has everything? It's really not as hard as it seems, and it doesn't have to be pricey. I tend …

Preparing for Battle

Twenty years ago, when Cristen Hemmins was a student at Millsaps College, two teenagers pulled out a gun and abducted her in the campus parking lot. The young men raped …

Support Your Local Food

When I was a child, I would wait with maddening anticipation for Friday night. That's when my dad would pick me up for the night shift at Doubles Pizza, the …

[Balko] Failing Upward in Criminal Justice

When the SWAT team came for Richard Paey in 1997, officers battered down the front door of the Florida home he shared with his wife and their two children. Paey …

The Secret is ... People

I thought about going back into the JFP archives to check and see how many of these publisher's notes in previous Best of Jackson issues I've started with, "You hold …

‘Will You Marry Me?'

When it comes to marriage proposals that are pure genius, I have just one word for you: speakerphone. That's right ladies and gents, Mr. Romantic here proposed to his lovely …

[Dickerson] Dances with Panthers

Suddenly, the big cat began moving toward me, slowly at first, then faster...

Reject the Partisan Posturing

Politics are getting uglier by the day.

Politics are getting uglier by the day.

Change Your Mind; Change Your Life

My first encounter with Mrs. Martin (not her real name) was the day before my birthday in August 2010. She came to my office complaining of fatigue. She was 49 …

Natural ‘Wonder Drugs' for Stress

My alarm woke me at 6 a.m., and I headed for the shower. Soon I was out of the house and headed to work to arrive by 7 a.m. This …

Workers' Rights Under Fire

Imagine you're a Sumerian servant in 2050 B.C., carving tiny jewels for King Ur-Nammu's scepter and--oops--you accidentally slice off your finger. Under the king's law, written on stone tablets, you …

Chief, I Crushed the Car

Recycling is great for the Earth, but a potential nightmare if you're the victim of auto theft in Jackson.

Wedge Issues Bring Heated Debates

Democrats turned up the heat in debates over abortion, immigration and voter rights last week. Up against deadlines to get bills out of committee and through floor votes, the Mississippi …

Parchman's Past, Prison's Future

It's a strange month when the Parchman Farm comes out looking better than a county jail. On March 10, a federal judge finally dismissed the bulk of Gates v. Collier. …

Teresa Nicholas

I've never met writer Teresa Nicholas, but I'm getting to know her quite well. My buddy JoAnne Prichard Morris (who is also an editor of the Jackson Free Press) strongly …

Fannie Lou Hamer

Last Sunday, my partner, Todd Stauffer, and I set off on another of our weekend road trips that take us wherever we end up. This time, we landed in Ruleville, …