Jackson Free Press

Day 3: Stokes Testifies; Defense Rests

Reporting by Brian Johnson

The defense elected to call only one more witness this afternoon—Councilman Kenneth Stokes. Under direct questioning by Melton attorney Dale Danks, Stokes said he had lodged complaints about drugs in …

Bleak House: City Budget Goes From Bad To…Cuts

Jackson Chief Financial Officer Peyton Prospere painted a bleak picture for Jackson at the April 6 budget meeting.

Bodyguard: Melton Under Influence ‘Every Other Day'

Feb. 11, 2009 - Day 3 of the Melton Trial

Defense attorneys began cross-examining former mayoral bodyguard Marcus Wright this morning. Yesterday, Wright testified that Jackson Mayor Frank Melton had been drinking the night of the Ridgeway Street duplex destruction, …

Open Thread: City Elections Today; Polls Open 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Your Voter Questions Answered

Scary Burbs

<i>Urban Flight May Shorten Your Life</i>

Last spring, during the media frenzy over crime in the city, I interviewed a Brandon woman who had been the victim of an armed robbery in Jackson. She wasn't physically …

Open Thread: Election Chatter - Presidential

What is it you need to say about the presidential election? Let 'er rip!

All God's Kitties

OK, my heart is breaking a little. Miss Ali just picked up her brand-new little puffy black kitten—that Todd found in our backyard. This is the, let's see, ninth or …

In the U.S. Senate Race, Vote Against Everybody

California is currently considering Proposition 85, a bill that would require any teenage girl living in an abusive household to confront her abusive parents before having an abortion--even if her …

Noose Found on Door of Black Columbia Professor

Well, if anything, the Jena 6 situation is going to expose the racism and bigotry in our midst—all of our midst. And that is a damn good thing. We've got …

‘Us v. Them': Why Didn't Hampton Name Hosemann?

David Hampton has a decent column today about all the ugly immigrant-bashing in our state and in the nation of late, as immigration becomes the new wedge issue. We've certainly …

Isaac Byrd

Isaac Byrd, 54, is not the kind of guy who bases his self-assessments on the opinions of others. "One of the great downfalls of black America and Mississippi is that …

Onward To Nowhere

December 6, 2006 The crime summit, once billed as the key to solving crime in Jackson, has devolved into little more than a neighborhood association meeting focused on quality-of-life issues …

Best of Jackson: Medical

Finding a good doctor, dentist, physical therapist, hospital and everything in between is of utmost importance to our health and happiness. Here at the Jackson Free Press, we want to …

War Against Potholes: The City Battles Nature, Resources

To people in Jackson, who have to battle blown tires, crooked front-end alignments and nearly drowned children, the distinction between potholes, sinkholes and utility cuts are meaningless.

Tate Reeves Spoke at Event Where 'Yankees' Were Compared to 'Nazis'

Surrounded by cotton and Confederate flags, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves praised the Sons of Confederate Veterans at their national reunion in Vicksburg in July 2013.

Melton's Honeymoon, Part I: ‘Hurry Up And Wait'

Mayor Frank Melton rode into the mayor's office with an 88 percent margin of victory according to a July 27 press release from the city. Though the margin was lower …

Meeting Addresses Crime, Calls for Tax Increase

Straight talk was the theme at a March 27 town hall meeting on Jackson crime at the Board of Education auditorium in downtown Jackson. The meeting, hosted by the Jackson …

Immigration: Myth Vs. Reality

Illustrations by Melissa Webster & Darren Schwindaman

"They can vote themselves in a pay raise, but they can't do nothing about all this illegal immigration," says Jackson talk show host 'JT,' of the JT and Dave show, …

How Integration Failed in Jackson’s Public Schools from 1969 to 2017

Jackson's public schools, like the majority in the state, remained solidly separate and unequal in the 1950s and 1960s despite the ruling in the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education …

Where The Streets Have No Name

I've flown to Chicago twice in a month to give writing workshops at Northwestern's journalism school, and each time I've been swept up in a wave of compassion and love. …