Jackson Free Press

Senate Removes Pre-K Funding from MAEP Bill

Nancy Loomis from the Parents' Campaign in Jackson reports that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed HB 1677 yesterday, funding Mississippi Adequate Education Program for the coming school year.

LeFleur Lakes Critic Tom Pullen on Radio JFP Friday

Tune into WLEZ, 103.7 FM, at noon Friday, Jan. 12, 2007, for Radio JFP, Jackson's news and entertainment variety hour. Joining host Todd Stauffer will be editors Donna Ladd and …

Big Tobacco Loses Appeal; Wants Little Tobacco Taxed

On Friday, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. agreed with a 2006 ruling to ban cigarette labeling such as "low tar," "light," ultra light" or "mild." The ruling found …

Ben Payton

Ben Wiley Payton, 62, grew up with the Mississippi blues. The Coila, Miss. native listened to his grandmother, Mabel Johnson, playing gospel music on piano, and his uncle, Joe Birch, …

Tougaloo Prez Says Museum Funding Up to Barbour

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[Bounds] Children First Act of 2009 Contains Accountability Measures

State Superintendent of Education

In education, asking even a very simple question leads to a complex answer. For example, if a parent wants to know, "How is my child's school doing?," the principal can …

McLemore to Retire, Sort of

Jackson City Council President and Acting Mayor Leslie McLemore, who has taught political science at Jackson State University for nearly 40 years, will soon retire from both politics and academia. …

Controversy Over Civil Rights Museum Growing

[Promoted from forums] If approved by a commission studying the issue, the museum would be built on the college's property off County Line Road, west of I-55 and south of …

Crisler Announces Mayoral Run

Standing in front of a throng of supporters and family at the Alamo Theatre, City Councilman Marshand Crisler formally announced his candidacy for mayor Thursday afternoon. Crisler, who first won …

City Employees Stealing Gas?

The Jackson City Council's budget committee will meet today at 1 p.m. to discuss reports of 945 city employees allegedly misusing city gas cards a total of 9,288 times during …

Melton Trial: Prosecutors Call Duplex Owner Jennifer Sutton as Witness

The U.S. government called Ridgeway Street duplex owner Jennifer Sutton as their second witness in the federal civil-rights trial of Jackson Mayor Frank Melton today. Crying as she looked a …

AG: State Meth Laws Curbing Problem

[verbatim from AG's office]Since Mississippi's Meth Law went into effect just over a year ago, meth lab seizures have gone down 65%, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. The new …

Jackson City Council Votes Down Living-Wage Increase

At the Tuesday evening meeting tonight, the Jackson City Council voted down a proposed ordinance establishing a living-wage requirement for employees of the city of Jackson by a 3-3 vote. …

Haley Barbour's 2008 Inaugural Address

Read the verbatim full text of the governor's prepared remarks over on StateDesk.

StateDesk Live with Breaking News and Commentary

Visit StateDesk.com, the JFP's statewide news blog, for daily news on the state Legislature, commentary and other pertinent state news. Right now, you can read and comment on a PDF …

Squeezed by Taxes? You're Not Alone

Chewing some gristle on tax day? Here's a bit of news for you. Mississippi's two Republican senators in Washington, D.C., Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, voted for another tax break …

Mississippi Foreclosures Increase, Maybe

A California-based company that tracks foreclosures, RealtyTrac, reported last week that Mississippi has seen a huge jump in foreclosures last month. The company currently lists 1,893 foreclosed properties in the …

Stop! In the Name of Art

The long-anticipated "Stop! In the Name of Art: Motown/Downtown Invitational" will open today at the Arts Center of Mississippi with about 60 works displayed. Pieces vary in media, from photography …

UPDATED: Melton Blames Council for ‘Oversight' Woes

The Jackson City Council learned during a Tuesday budget meeting that the city has "no supervisory oversight" on numerous municipal transactions, which is costing the city revenue and could ultimately …

North Korea Goes Nuclear

Last night, North Korea tested a 5-15 kiloton nuclear weapon in an underground test, according to the government there.