Jackson Free Press

[Outlaw] A More Perfect Union

Change will come—even in the state that seems slowest to change.

Stokes to Resign from City Council

Jackson Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes said he plans to resign from City Council in order to serve as Hinds County's new District 5 supervisor.

For Those We Love

We buried my cousin Anita last week. She was a beautiful, saucy blonde who used to tag around her brother Martie and me back on Fork Road in Neshoba County. …

An Ache in Our Souls

A few years ago, I made what was, for me, a radical step: joining the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson. For a minute or two, I was on the board …

Make Jackson Weird

I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, and one of the biggest adjustments to rooting for my now-beloved Saints is to learn to keep hope alive for a team that …

Jackson Resident Claims Racism

Jackson resident Robert Shoulders is suing Utility Constructors Inc. and its owner Terry Lovelace for racial harassment.

Workers Rally Against Human Trafficking

A group of about 70 Indian workers marched onto the Mississippi State Capitol Thursday protesting treatment by Pascagoula construction company Signal International, LLC. "These people endured a kind of slavery," …

Barbour Toots Own Horn, Rags Musgrove

Gov. Haley Barbour released a statement today about, well, himself. Here it is, verbatim: When Haley Barbour became Governor of Mississippi in January 2004, Mississippi was in its worst financial …

Mississippi Passes Tough Price Gouging Law

In the wake of last year's skyrocketing prices at the pumps, Gov. Haley Barbour has signed a bill stiffening penalties for gasoline price gouging. The bill, SB 2032, increases jail …

[Cohen] The Enemy Within

Our new NOISE section will highlight the JFP's breaking online stories, hot blog discussions and exclusive online op-eds. Starting this week, the JFP is asking a number of opinionated souls …

Independent Woman

Peggy Calhoun's office in the Hinds County Circuit Court building has a big window overlooking Pascagoula Street and Jackson's City Hall. It's a privileged perch. Most of her fellow Hinds …

JUST IN: Wilson Pleads Guilty to Murder in Teen Death

More details as they develop ...

Toice Wilson today pled guilty to murder in Hinds County Circuit Court after the prosecution refused his request yesterday to plead guilty to manslaughter in the beating death of Tawana …

Ain't Too Proud To Beg

After days of behind-the-scenes struggle, the Legislature passed bills allowing casinos to build within 800 feet of the high-tide line during a special session called by Gov. Haley Barbour to …

Police Assaulted Boy, Mother Says

A Jackson mother alleges that a JPD officer threw her child against a police car and gave his face a cut that required 11 stitches.

Hood Responds to Hayne Criticism

Gov. Haley Barbour signed H.B. 1456 into law March 19, requiring that pathologists doing autopsies in Mississippi--in addition to the state medical examiner--hold American Board of Pathology certification. Such certification …

A Long, Long Road

"Donna, you know what? I run Jackson," declared Mayor Frank Melton, scrunching his face up into one of his trademark snickers that are cute and creepy at the same time. …

[Balko] The Government's License To Steal

In the February issue of "Reason," I wrote a feature story on civil asset forfeiture, the process by which law enforcement groups can seize property, usually in drug cases, sometimes …

Tale of Two Downtowns

What step to take next will be a huge question for 2003. We could be going nowhere, or at least a relatively short distance—after all, we're in a recession, Mississippi's …

Ex-Felons Fight for Right to Vote

Twelve years ago, Yvonne Kennedy, a Democratic member of Alabama's House of Representatives, began a campaign to re-enfranchise ex-prisoners in the state after they had served out their sentences. At …

Can Education Be Saved? More Cuts May Be Ahead.

Pontotoc County Superintendent John Simmons has been in his position for only two years, but already knows how strapped for money his county schools are. "Some of our history books …