Jackson Free Press

Washington to Pay Respects, Bid Farewell to George H.W. Bush

George H.W. Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, will lie in state beneath the soaring U.S. Capitol rotunda for a ceremony and public visitation from Monday through Wednesday.

Mayor Declares State of Emergency As Waste Disposal Negotiations Hit Snag

Getting a garbage-collection contract for the City of Jackson is coming down to the wire after Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba declared a state of emergency on Friday, Sept. 17, saying …

Taking On The Times

"It was like it was someone's opinion but it wasn't attributed to anyone," Lea Stokes, a MEMA spokeswoman, said of "Storm Hit Little, but Aid Flowed to Inland City," an …

Lawyers Debate Why Blacks Lag at Major Firms

All you great legal minds out there might want to chew on this New York Times story a bit. It discusses the debate among lawyers about why law firms are …

Anne Friday

As I admired the various portraits of jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll artists that hang on the walls of Hal & Mal's, I was greeted by Anne Friday, 34, …

New ComStat Figures

Lance Bass on God, Being Gay and Loving His Sweet Mama

Two years after I graduated from high school in 2004, Lance Bass came out of the closet on the cover of People Magazine. His revelation struck a chord for me …

If Melton's ‘Pro-Jackson' ...

We realized late in the production cycle for this issue that the Jackson Free Press is publishing its 100th issue this week. It may only be fitting that we reached …

Melton Withdraws Chandler…Again

Phone calls from irritated firemen have driven Mayor Frank Melton to pull the confirmation of interim Fire Chief Todd Chandler.

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 …

[Mizell] It's as Simple as That

I took a creative writing class in college recently that was small and intimate and we actually discussed interesting things. Usually we'd go over poems and plays; but recently we …

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 …

Seeking Solutions to Illegal Dumping: Education, Citation, Action

"(Illegal dumping) poses a big problem in the city of Jackson," Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks acknowledged at the Feb. 2 council meeting. "As soon as we organize cleanups to …

Shooting Blanks

"I've made a lot of enemies from that abortion bill, but I'm tired of Republicans beating the hell out of Democrats over that issue."

Swimming In The Toilet

"Kill him!" "He's a terrorist!" "Off with his head!" "Traitor!" "He's an Arab." We all know that the first African American president will not be elected without ugly racist by-products …

Subject: Send to your Republican friends all across MS

The following e-mail went around the Sunday before the March 11 primary. When one of the JFP writers got it (through an account for an organization he volunteers with), it …

Salon: Report About Jackson, Hattiesburg

Stephen Elliott reports for Salon:

From Opioids to Heroin Addiction, Addressing the Epidemic in Mississippi

Heroin was involved in 24.0 percent (35 cases) of all opioid-related overdose death in 2015, data from the Mississippi Department of Health show. John Dowdy, director of the Mississippi Bureau …

A Son's Thoughts on Willie Morris' 80th Birthday and the Egg Bowl

When Ole Miss beat Alabama last month, I immediately thought of my father. Although he was a graduate of the University of Texas and a proud Longhorn, Willie was still …

Woman on a Mission

Standing an easy 6 feet tall in her fashionable beige wedge sandals, Sandy Middleton strode into the Copiah County sheriff's station. She breezed past the unmanned reception desk, barely pausing, …