Jackson Free Press

Mitchell: "Will the Real Voice of Small Business Please Stand Up?"

Good piece by Stacy Mitchell, a leader on "Think Local" issues and author of the book "Big Box Swindle." At issue here is whether the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (as …

James Anderson

James Anderson stands in front of a large Christmas tree, adjusts his scarf and gets into character while he reads Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory." This holiday tradition is one …

Confident Men

I can't decide whether Jeff Sharlet's "C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy" (Little Brown, 2010, $27) is pulp nonfiction about a scholarly topic, or scholarly nonfiction about a …

The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Doctor S sez: Have we really seen the last of the Old Gunslinger, Brett Favre? I'd say it's a definite maybe. We'll see how he feels next summer.

Psonya and Timothy Hackett

Newlyweds Psonya and Timothy Hackett have different accounts of their first encounter at the Jackson County Courthouse in Pascagoula in 2004.

Yuletide Blessings

We use the word "blessing" a lot during the December holidays. We count our blessings, we send greeting cards with wishes for blessings, we receive blessings after religious services, instead …

The Suite Life

The bass thumps heavily and rhythmically and meets you at the door. The treble dances like a modern dancer who's in a zone. If your name's on the list, walk …

Holiday Cheer(s!)

Some holiday get-togethers are light-hearted and festive, and booze flows freely among friends. Other gatherings are a bit more begrudging, and alcohol becomes the lubricant for surviving hours of enforced …

Grokking New Beginnings

With Jackson State University naming Carolyn Meyers as its new president within the past week (see Ward Schaefer's interview), my thoughts naturally turned to Mississippi's educational system and the subject …

Ghosts of Frank Melton

Leave it to Frank Melton to live among strangeness even after his death.

Utility Pushes Back on Power-Saving

Mississippi Power Company wants a proposed statewide energy-efficiency plan evaluated based on its cost to ratepayers rather than its long-term savings—a move critics say is a contrast to its desire …

Respect for the City

Campaign adviser and lobbyist Quentin Whitwell is looking to get his own campaign moving this year. Whitwell, 38, announced to supporters last month that he plans to run for the …

JPS' Special-Education Problem

Jackson Public Schools has trouble with special education, but it's hardly unique. The district's failure to provide adequate services to students with emotional and behavioral disorders came to light earlier …

Grading Government

Released at the same time as Gov. Haley Barbour's budget recommendation for the upcoming 2012 fiscal year was a report card for state government. Since 1997, state agencies submit performance …

[Dennis] For Goodness Sake

I had a physics teacher in high school named Mr. Jones. He was a brilliant older man who often solved problems in his head faster than the rest of us …

The JFP Interview with Carolyn Meyers

Carolyn Meyers was born a tinkerer. The worst spanking she can remember was the consequence of her taking apart a clock radio her mother had just bought.

New Challenges

Carolyn Meyers doesn't look much like her predecessor at Jackson State University, Ronald Mason, on paper or in person. The tall, arguably aloof Mason was not a researcher by training, …

Pamela Nail

In between shuffling her 9-year-old son home from school and making last-minute calls to plan a charity event at the Mississippi Children's Home Services, Pamela Nail stops to reflect about …

City Issues Boil Water Notice

Verbatim statement:Due to two recent water main breaks, one located on Woody Drive and one located at 1539 Woodburn Street, the City of Jackson Water/Sewer Utilities Division has issued a …

Judge: Entergy Overcharged Customers

Read the ruling (PDF)

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge ruled last week that Entergy Corporation has been selling overpriced energy to Mississippi customers.