Jackson Free Press

‘Encouraging News' on Water, But More Breaks Likely

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said today that the city has made significant headway in returning water service to the city, but he warned that more breaks will appear as …

Jackson Business Round Up

The success of last month's "Downtown After Dusk" event in the courtyard of Underground 119 has secured a new tradition in Jackson. Julie Skipper, one of the organizers, said today …

Mississippi Worst in the Nation for Child Well-Being

Mississippi ranks last in the nation for overall child wellness, according to findings from an Annie E. Casey Foundation study released earlier this week.

[Hutchinson] White Women Are Punishing Obama

What started as a trickle of puzzled queries on Oprah's message board when she touted Sen. Barack Obama in October 2007 eventually turned into angry complaints from many white women …

Houston, We Have A Problem

As soon as the Best of Jackson 2005 issue was put to bed, the JFP turned our attention to the upcoming city elections. My personal mayoral bias was that Harvey …

Day 1: JFP Blogs Figure Prominently in Voir Dire

On Monday, defense attorney Merrida Coxwell Jr. conducted voir dire for Melton. In his second question, he asked if any potential juror read or made comments on media blogs, specifically …

Onward I Must Go

I don't recollect ever being one in my younger age who made notoriously teenage comments like, "I can't wait until I'm grown" or "Just as soon as I leave the …

BREAKING: Mayor Frank Melton Running for Re-election

In an interview in City Hall today, Mayor Frank Melton broke the news to the Jackson Free Press that he is going to run for re-election as mayor of Jackson. …

Parents, Educators Call on JPS to Renew Music Program

UPDATED October 26, 2009

Complaints inundated Jackson Public Schools Board members after a tie vote on Oct. 20 failed to renew a music education program that serves elementary students across the district. The roughly …

What's In A Name?

Quick. Why did John R. Lynch get a street around Jackson State University named after him? Who is Forrest County named after? How about Duling Avenue in Fondren? Or Alcorn …

Donna Needs Bloggers' Help

All, today I've been preparing for a panel on "how blogging has changed my newspaper" that I'm sitting on at the AAN conference next week (right before the Bill Clinton …

The Myth of a Red South?

Alternet is discussing several polls and news articles that seem to indicate that Bush does not have the South all sewn up: "But as the election draws nearer, polling trends …

Does Obama Fill America's ‘Unconsummated Desire'?

I'm no fan of the NYT's David Brooks, but this column analyzing the Kennedy embrace of Obama, and the larger implications, is breathtaking. Per Brooks:

Clarion-Ledger Asks, Answers, Whines Anyway

In one of those nonsensical editorials today we all know and dread—there they go sticking their finger in the wind again—The Clarion-Ledger asks: "Banyard: Why Does Justice Take So Long?" …

Let's Talk Domestic Violence

Let's talk, Mississippi.

In honor of Heather Spencer, who was beaten to death by her boyfriend who almost beat her to death a couple months back with nothing done about it by the …

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 …

Preservation Commission Rejects Demolitions

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton's plan to demolish almost 80 abandoned and dilapidated structures inside the Historic Farish Street District hit a speed bump today after the Jackson Historic Preservation Commission …

Johnson Questions Millsaps Police Study

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. is implying that Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill has sidestepped the traditional administrative process by commissioning a survey related to the numbers of police officers …

BREAKING: Lee Vance New Police Chief; Anderson Out?

More details as they emerge.

WAPT is about to report that Mayor Frank Melton today promoted Commander Lee Vance to the position of police chief, meaning that current Chief Shirlene Anderson is out.

Council Moves to Reject Profiling

An Aug. 19 Jackson City Council Planning Committee hearing on a new anti-discrimination ordinance created a stark contrast to many anti-immigrant rallies around the country.