Jackson Free Press

Birthday Reflections

As the JFP turns 6, Todd Stauffer reflects on the problem of "balance" over accuracy—a media problem McCain's lying spree has brought front and center.

[Kamikaze] Parental Precepts

It's 2008. Do you know where your kids are? Better yet, do you know what they're plotting behind those closed bedroom doors, between cell phone texts and e-mails on MySpace …

The Other Side

When I was at Neshoba Central back in the 1970s, I would get called to the office quite a bit. The students around me would look at each other, cutting …

Crime Plan: More of the Same

Mayor Frank Melton said he is responsible for the remarkable rise in violent crime in the city last Friday. "I am accountable for that, and the buck stops with me," …

Melton: ‘We Tore That Shit Up'; Prosecution Rests

FEDERAL COURTHOUSE—The prosecution in U.S. v. Melton started Day 4 of testimony in downtown Jackson today by calling Joe Lewis, who is with the city's Community Improvement Division and is …

How Mississippi Voted

Pollsters predicated all along that Mississippi would not break its 32-year Republican voting streak on Election Day, but hours after the polls closed, pundits would not (or could not) accurately …

Bush to Go Domestic in ‘State of the Union'

President Bush must give a difficult "State of the Union" tonight to a nation that has turned against his policies. Please join us here at the JFP to blog it …

Civil Rights Museum Part of Tougaloo ‘Master Plan'

Tougaloo College President Beverly Hogan told The Clarion-Ledger today that a civil rights museum has been part of the college's "master plan" for years:

UPDATED: New Voters, More Postage

The stamp box on your absentee ballot envelope isn't big enough, says Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn. The size of the envelope and the ballot inside raises the postage …

Truant ‘Sweeps' Obscure Progress

After a setback last Tuesday, Jackson Mayor Frank Melton went through with a campaign promise to attack the Jackson Public School drop-out rate and get school-age children off the street. …

Downtown Development Features ‘Green' Garage

An automated parking garage with robot valets is one of the features of a $27 million proposed parking structure and communal air-conditioning unit to accommodate the $1.3 billion Old Capitol …

The GOP's Obsession with Tort Reform

As the health-insurance reform debate swirls, Gov. Haley Barbour is claiming that most Americans are actually looking for tort reform, not a government-guaranteed insurance option, to lower their health-care costs.

How to Remake a Neighborhood

Affordable housing is not a typical prestige project for architecture firms. A new development in Jackson's North Midtown neighborhood may dispel that notion, though, applying innovative design on a relatively …

City to Move Forward on Fortification Renewal

UPDATED: This story has been updated with additional information about the project's cost and expected completion date.

City Council Votes 'No Confidence' on City Attorney

City Council cast a vote of no-confidence in City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans at the May 22 council meeting, saying O'Reilly-Evans acts as if she works for the mayor rather than …

The Mayor 'Runs Amok'

Mayor Frank Melton and 20 members of the Jackson Police Department stormed the Upper Level club early Sunday morning and closed it as a potential fire hazard, as first reported …

Daily Journal to Barbour: Come Clean

The Daily Journal in Tupelo continues to do Mississippians proud by calling on Gov. Haley Barbour to come clean about his financial ties to his (former?) D.C. lobbying firm. In …

Week's Events

Monday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m., You Have the Mic at Afrika Book Cafe (404 Mitchell Ave.). The open political forum for discussing Jackson's current issues is hosted by Othor Cain …

Watching History Unfold

My mind is going in so many directions right now that I'm surprised that I'm not dizzy.

First, yesterday was the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington. Whenever I saw clips of his speech, I would …

The Saints are Coming

Q: What happens when U2 and Green Day get together and do a video to help fund the rebuilding of New Orleans? A: I don't know. I'm speechless.