Jackson Free Press

Quote o' the Week

— Gov. Haley Barbour, Neshoba County Fair, July 29, 2004

"Mississippi taxpayers shouldn't pay for health care coverage that the federal government will pay for."

Take Me to Your Leader

Citizens of Jackson looking to strengthen their voices in the community are about to get the chance to learn how. The Pew Partnership of Civic Change, a civic research organization, …

Blue Christmas

Lighting a Christmas tree isn't always a happy, festive occasion. Last week, mothers, sisters, fathers and brothers of some of Mississippi's crime victims gathered in the Carroll Gartin Building in …

The Frame Is Crooked

"If I could just make it to daybreak/Maybe I could find my way by the light of the sun

Booting Delinquents

After raising the hackles of several City Council members, Jackson Mayor Frank Melton walked out of a meeting Nov. 22 after presenting a proposal for a controversial "boot camp" for …

DIY: How To Feng Shui

Laurel Isbister is a name known to Jacksonians, but most know her only as a folk singer. But Laurel has also been a practicioner of a Chinese art known as …

Music Makes Me Smile

I was taking a night off, lying in bed at 12:30 a.m listing to Muddy Waters when a thought occurred to me: It's time to bid farewell to the Subway …

Let ‘Em Fry

Let's be honest. A roasted turkey sports a fine figure while sitting in the middle of a holiday table, but if you take away the warm oven heat, the family …

Katrina Helps, Hinders Local Business

Hurricane Katrina is costing literally billions of dollars—potentially more than $125 billion—and at least some of that burden is hitting home for businesses right here in Jackson.

Alone And Forgotten

Novella Buckley's house is a nondescript brick and asbestos shingle structure, tucked away on the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Morton Avenue, just knocking on the very edges of the …

A Child Of Peace

Mark Henderson's dark skin gleams in the green and white stage lights of the University Park Auditorium on the Jackson State University campus. The group of 20 or so performers …

Stokin' the Flames

and Donna Ladd

It's the most tasteless kind of three-way tussle one could imagine: The Clarion-Ledger and Councilman Kenneth Stokes are fighting over who's more under the sheets with the Ku Klux Klan. …

Trolling for Alternatives

"We must find an alternative to war and bloodshed." Those words by the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. are helping drive thousands of America to organize against a preemptive …

Tribute to Slain Men Hits Roadblock

At the request of the Philadelphia Coalition, Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, introduced Senate Bill 2961, which would name Mississippi Hwy. 19 from Philadelphia to Lauderdale County the "Chaney, Goodman and …

The Surging General

There's no doubt that Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, a medical doctor and former governor of Vermont, has excited young voters. With his upturned fists and shrill, outspoken dislike for …

Bells of St. Peter's

The bells of St. Peter's Catholic Church rang for 15 minutes starting at 6 p.m. on Wed., Dec 11. Fifty or so people hung their heads over their small white …

Green Peace, Anyone?

We are proud to report that the JFP acknowledged the burgeoning peace movement in Jackson before other local media. Hopefully, they'll all keep reporting that not everyone in Mississippi is …

Dance the Fondren Electric

Dana Reed's voice lilts up at the end of each phrase as she describes her upcoming, April 10th dance performance entitled "Inside Herself/Cell." A 23-year-old student teacher in the Power …

Dungeons and Detainees

The Hinds County Penal Farm may be down for the count, thanks to a federal court order demanding the facility close its doors. The recent court order allows 120 state …

La Fiebre Del Baile

Early evening at the BellSouth building in downtown Jackson, the streets are quiet and bare, except for a security guard and a window washer. In the spacious lobby the sound …