Jackson Free Press

D-Day for Mayor Frank Melton

Almost exactly two weeks after the Jackson Free Press reported that eyewitnesses were saying Mayor Frank Melton and his cohorts had taken a "Walking Tall" stick and sledgehammers to rental …

Melton Timeline

July 4, 2005 — New Mayor Frank Melton was sworn in at City Hall. In his speech, he promised that any young person who wanted one could have a job …

Wright Appointment Raises Concerns

At the Jackson Free Press, we believe strongly in second chances. People make mistakes, get caught up with the wrong crowd and follow the wrong people down the wrong rabbit …

Hands Off Jackson's ‘Local Control'

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. wants the city to have more input on a controversial commission that will decide the fate of potential new revenue generated by a 1 percent …

City Sets Special Election

On Tuesday, Jackson City Council members scheduled a special election for Feb. 15 to fill the Ward 1 council seat. The deadline for candidates to qualify for the Ward 1 …

Step Outside the Mall Box

Last year's skyrocketing gas prices, combined with the housing bust, unemployment and a general economic malaise, is enough to make many suburbanites rethink their commutes and McMansions in favor of …

Amend Senate Bill 3268

In March, Mississippi legislators passed Senate Bill 3268, which allows municipalities to raise certain sales taxes by 1 percent to pay for police and fire protection, and road, water and …

Eric Stringfellow

As a journalism professor, Eric Stringfellow, 49, is never far away from a newspaper. As he works on his computer, a stack of papers accompanies him.

Jackson Nightclubs Central in Lawsuits

Controversies surrounding two Jackson nightclubs have put the clubs in the center of separate lawsuits, one as a defendant, the other as the plaintiff.

You & JFP

Name: Bryan Doyle Location: Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. Age: 28 Occupation: Journalist, POLITICO

Start Asking Questions

Community response to the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Flora brings to mind a question every mother has asked an irresponsible teenager since time immemorial: "If 'everyone' jumped …

Eric Stringfellow

As a journalism professor, Eric Stringfellow, 49, is never far away from a newspaper. As he works on his computer, a stack of papers accompanies him.

Doing Our Job

In the middle of crazy campaign coverage over the last week, we saw this quote posted on Facebook: "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else …

Yarber Made Fine Council President

The Jackson City Council raised eyebrows last week by voting to replace Councilman Tony Yarber, Ward 6, with Councilman Charles Tillman, Ward 5, as council president.

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Stephanie Parker-Weaver

Since 2008, one of Stephanie Parker-Weaver's main passions has been the nonprofit she founded, called Rebirth Alliance, which aims to educate the public about breast cancer—specifically, a rare and aggressive …

Second Best Ideas

I vividly remember the day when Ward 1 City Councilman Ben Allen bounded into my office at the Jackson Free Press. During the Frank Melton mayoral administration, it wasn't unusual …

AG: Bodyguard Changed Story

After Mayor Frank Melton copped to three pleas in his gun cases, The Clarion-Ledger's Eric Stringfellow criticized the attorney general's office for not interviewing the mayor's two bodyguards. Det. Michael …

Melton Retrial Scheduled For May 11

2009 JFP Interview with Melton, Part I

Melton Objects To Gulf Coast Jury

Following a federal judge's decision yesterday to hold Mayor Frank Melton's retrial in Jackson, with a jury from the Gulf Coast, Melton has filed a motion to reconsider the ruling. …

City Council Pays Temps

Jackson's City Council reversed its position over withholding payment to temp agencies this Tuesday. Last month, four members of the council voted to withhold thousands of dollars to temp agencies …