Jackson Free Press

Chip Pickering Files for Divorce

WAPT is reporting that the Republican U.S. congressman stepping down to spend more time with his family has filed for divorce from his wife, Leisha.

Voting Rights: Was Chief Justice Roberts Wrong About Voting in Mississippi?

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said implementation of a controversial voter-identification law, which he has championed, began immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating a key section of …

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Alert: Lawsuit Abuse! Lawsuit Abuse!

I hear stories like this one and I get furious at the people who refuse to understand that the most important use of lawsuits is to financially deter crap like …

BREAKING: Melton Wants 'Extraordinary Relief'

The intrigue increases as the city watches to see if our mayor will be arrested for violating his probation. Attorneys for Mayor Frank Melton have filed an "emergency application for …

Fired Principal Alleges JPS Supe Sexually Harassed Him

WAPT is reporting: Jackson Public Schools has fired the principal of Chastain Middle School on Wednesday morning, citing missing money and poor performance. But Principal Michael Ellis said he was …

Hosemann vs. Dems?

Members of the state's Democratic Party claim they were sideswiped Aug. 16 when Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann issued a press release that the party had failed to file …

City Threatens Ridgeway Duplex Owner

City's letter to Jennifer Sutton (PDF)

Executives Run Amok

The similarities between Mayor Melton's current woes and President Bush's are striking. George Bush can't boast the kind of mandate Frank Melton had when he was elected. But both men …

Lost in Translation

"He is like a prodigal son, pondering whether he should return to his native soil." So wrote now-freelance Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow this week in a hand-wringing column about the …

Mississippi GOP Politicizes Scruggs Plea

The head of the Mississippi Republican Party is using the guilty plea of Richard "Dickie" Scruggs to try to focus the scandal spotlight away from Republicans and put it squarely …

Dust-Up on Floor of U.S. Senate Today

[Breaking] Apparently, it was just disocvered that Republicans snuck a provision into the 3,000-page budget bill that allows agents of congressional committees to have access to anybody's IRS records. They're …

Jackson Music Award Winners

The Jackson Music Awards is a time-honored Jackson tradition spanning 34 years, and this year the producers of the awards stressed its connection with the storied past of the Jackson …

Reviving the Urban Wall

A flock of rainbow-colored birds suddenly appears on the left side of the street when you round the bend on East Amite Street, heading toward the intersection of West Capitol …

Radio JFP to Discuss Melton Interview Noon Friday

Here's a double whammy for y'all. Mayor Frank Melton is slated to appear on Ben Allen's WJNT radio show Friday morning. Then, at noon, the JFP will discuss is comments …

Abortion Clinic Stays Open, For Now

A law that some Mississippi lawmakers hope will close the state's only abortion clinic goes into effect in less than two weeks, but that doesn't mean the clinic will close …

Family Remembers a Fallen Hero

Benjamin Brown was a 22-year-old activist in 1967 when law enforcement officers shot him once in the back and again in the back of the head during a civil-rights demonstration …

Jackson vs. Cooper-Stokes, Round 3

Since a special election in February, Joyce Jackson has claimed that widespread fraud marred her Ward 3 Jackson City Council election against LaRita Cooper-Stokes. Last week, Special Judge Richard W. …

[Hero of the Year] Sgt. Reginald L. Cooper

Following a childhood incident in which he encountered a police officer with a terrible attitude, Sgt. Reginald L. Cooper vowed that he would become a police officer himself and would …

Keeping Kids Off the Streets

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and the Jackson City Council are advocating for a facility in the city to house minors who are not serious offenders as a solution to …

Hinds Co. to Jackson: Get Your Own Jail

Hinds County wants the city of Jackson to have its own detention center to house misdemeanor offenders.