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The JFP Interview with Bill Luckett
In Clarksdale, Miss., Bill Luckett may as well already be governor. An attorney by training, he seems to have a hand in nearly every significant activity in town. Down the …
Luckett, DuPree Push Education, Business Help
Mississippi's two leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates found much to agree on yesterday during their first one-on-one debate. Clarksdale attorney and businessman Bill Luckett and Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree both touted …
Un-gifting JPS
State budget cuts are forcing Jackson Public Schools to scale back its gifted-education classes to the bare minimum required by state law. With their emphasis on hands-on learning and critical …
Out of Time
Once the drugs started to flow, it took only a minute for Benny Joe Stevens' lips to stop moving. He slipped out of consciousness, and soon his heart stopped.
Restaurant Makeover
Belhaven mainstay Keifer's Restaurant is set to move to a new building in late September. Assistant general manager Jeff Stricklin told the Jackson Free Press today that the restaurant is …
Witnesses Praise Edwards' Leadership
Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards has made major improvements to the school district but still needs more time, witnesses in the hearing on Edwards' contract said today. Vicki Davidson, …
State's African Americans See Higher Unemployment
Like many things in Mississippi, the hardship of unemployment during the Great Recession has fallen unequally on the state's population. African American workers in Mississippi experienced an 18 percent unemployment …
Making An Urban Family
When Beth Kander moved to Jackson in 2003, she hardly knew anyone. Kander, an author and playwright who has also written for the Jackson Free Press, was far from her …
Advocates Urge Canceling of Youth Prison Contract
Mississippi should cancel its contract with private prison company GEO Group, juvenile justice advocates said today. GEO Group, which operates the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, is the subject of …
Capital City's Tough Year
The Jackson Police Department is no stranger to the Capital City Alternative School. The Jackson Public Schools' alternative school, whose students usually have referrals from other schools for discipline reasons, …
Fair Funds for Kids?
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., increasingly seems like a holdover from another, kinder era of national politics. Cochran has largely removed himself from the hyper-partisanship of recent years.
JPS Board Scrutinizing Principal Pay
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees is considering whether to drop a district requirement that principals be the highest-paid employees at JPS schools. The revised policy could come up …
Gwendolyn Magee
Jackson-based artist Gwen Magee, whose vibrant quilts elevated a traditional craft to nationally acclaimed works of art, died yesterday. Magee, who was intensely private, had been battling a long-term illness, …
Arena in New Hands
City officials have three proposals from private firms offering to study the feasibility of a sports and entertainment arena in downtown Jackson. That puts the city-led arena effort at nearly …
State ‘Backward' on Transparency?
A new state law could take Mississippi from the middle of the pack among states, in its government transparency and accountability to near the bottom.
Cuffs at Capital City?
Jackson Public Schools is looking into allegations that security guards at the district's alternative school have been punishing students by handcuffing them to chairs, bathroom railings and a gymnasium pole.
Tracey Clemons-Frazier
Tracey Clemons-Frazier knows that Jackson's McWillie Elementary School is something special. A 10-year veteran teacher at the school, Clemons-Frazier believes that committed parents, dedicated teachers, a strong administration and an …
Edwards: School Board Micromanaged
As Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards fights for an extension to his contract, he has tried to make the case that the district's Board of Trustees micromanagement hampered his …
State Has Highest Rate of Unbanked
Limited use of traditional banks threatens the ability of Mississippi's working class to improve its economic situation, a report released yesterday says. The report, issued by the Mississippi Economic Policy …
The Cheering Section
As Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards makes the case for keeping his job, he has relied on the support of a variety of visible community members.
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