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JPS Board Drops Music Program

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees failed to renew funding for a music education program yesterday, effectively discontinuing a 42-year-old collaboration with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Board members voted …

Costs Mounting for Levees, Lake Plans

Legislators say the chances of the Mississippi Legislature approving funding to build levees in Jackson and surrounding counties are slim, especially since it has taken so long to reach consensus …

Saint's Go 5-0, Beat Eli's Giants

The New Orleans Saints (5-0) scored on their first drive and never looked back in an offensive effort that gained over 500 yards, with seven different Saints making it into …

Bus Drivers Fighting for Contract Improvements

School bus drivers in Hinds, Madison, Clay and Yazoo counties are negotiating for better wages to bring them up from the lowest levels in the area. The drivers, employees of …

Into the Groove

Back in the 1980s, I wasn't too worried about much of anything. I was living in Washington, D.C., working by day as a legal assistant for a huge broadcast corporation …

Dirty Laundry

The Mississippi Democratic Party called on Gov. Haley Barbour last week to speak openly about allegations that former U.S Rep. Chip Pickering laundered a $5,000 donation from his political action …

An Enduring Insurance Exchange

News regarding health-care reform hovers incessantly around either defending or attacking of the so-called public insurance option, a section of H.R. 3200 that provides a government-funded insurance option for customers …

From Blues to Hip-Hop

When I heard about Ali Neff's book on the Clarksdale hip-hop scene, I was relieved that someone had finally decided to talk about something other than the blues. Someone was …

[Herman's Picks] Vol. 8, No. 5

This week starts off with a singer-songwriter night at Hal & Mal's restaurant on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Among the performers starting at 8 p.m. will be Jeff Maddox, Anthony Little, …

BREAKING: Jackson 11th Best City For Small Business

The Jackson Free Press has just learned that Fortune Small Business has named Jackson a "best place to launch" a small business. Jackson ranks 11th on the magazine's list of …

[Balko] Scenes From a Crackdown

Police overkill, such as that displayed at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, is becoming more common every day.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has …

KBR to Engineer Kemper Plant?

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth was electrocuted in his shower stall in Iraq in January 2008. Army documents showed that KBR Engineering and Construction had inspected the building and …

Teens Expect JSU Hazing

A Former Forest Hill High School band director and a local Jackson attorney say that high-school students know what they're getting into when they try out for the Jackson State …

PSC: Keep Rates Low

The Mississippi Public Service Commission has a hard decision before it.

Lessons of Spencer's Death

Awareness has a huge role in making Mississippi—and the U.S.—a safer place for women. Created in 2006, the Attorney General's Office Domestic Violence Division, works with the entire judicial system …

Honoring Heather

It is truly a small world that we live in. I attended high school with Mary Heather Spencer, and even though we ran in different circles, I remember hearing of …

Did She Have To Die?

By 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2007, the temperatures were well on their way to 93 degrees when JPD Sgt. Eric Wall pulled his cruiser into the turn lane on …

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Hello, Melissa Ferrick

Melissa Ferrick, 39, has been busy recording a cover of Radiohead's "High and Dry" for her forthcoming album, but has stopped long enough to call me. She is slightly flustered, …