Jackson Free Press

Beer Exploration

It's a good week—and summer—to love beer in Jackson. After last year's passage of the higher-gravity beer law, and this year seeing the homebrewing ban lifted once and for all, …

Read the Book First

My husband and I have struck a deal with our 11-year-old son, Mateo, regarding the "Harry Potter" series: To see the movie, he has to read the book.

Undocumented, Unafraid and Back to School

For many of Mississippi's high school juniors and seniors, back to school means taking AP courses, doing research on what college or university to attend, and maybe even planning for …

Let's Do Lunch

Back-to-school time means back to packing lunches. It can be all too easy to get into a rut, packing a virtually identical lunch every day just before the family flies …

Back to Green

There is something exhilarating about the process of filling a shopping cart full of fragrant new crayons and crisp new paper and the coolest backpack characters of the season.

We Achieve More Together

As an educator and a parent, I understand how important it is to have a good parent/teacher relationship from the beginning of the school year.

Race Still Matters

In Mississippi, the negative social evaluation of black people has resulted in “separate but equal” in practice.

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What's Wrong with the GOP?

There is something wrong with the Republican Party.

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Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Benefit'

Few issues bring out the hyperbolic "best" in politicians than guns, regardless of party affiliation.

The Swimsuit Body

I challenge myself to question the judgments I make about people, including what makes people attractive, and why I think someone should or shouldn't wear something.

Jackson Zoo Keeping Options Open

Jackson Zoo Director Beth Poff said the organization and its board of directors are keeping all options open as the zoo continues to adapt and change to meet the needs …

Lawsuit Highlights Child-Support ‘Disarray’

Child custody cases are messy affairs. Take the case of Windell Blount, a May 2013 graduate of Tougaloo College, who has been embroiled in a he-said-she-said tug-of-war with his ex-wife …

Angels on Patrol

Bennie Jones and his guardians patrol a neighborhood after one of its residents called and asked if they would spend some time in the area.

Abandoned Housing Two-Step

Abandoned and dilapidated houses are common in parts of Jackson and neighbors are fed up.

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Ready ... Set ... Scan

Nine months after state officials holstered a plan to require all parents receiving federal child-care assistance to scan their kids in and out of day care every day, Mississippi is …

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Lydia Hall

Lydia Hall, a 19-year-old graduate of Madison Central High School, has been a volunteer teacher at an orphanage in El Salvador for the past five summers.

It’s Cool to Be a Nerd

If you want to talk about education in Mississippi, you need to prepare for a pretty depressing conversation. We're either in the top five or bottom five of every national …

A State of Color

Paul Smith has published his first photography book, "The Color of Mississippi" and is working on a second, "The Color of the South."

Obama, Lawmakers Square Off Over NSA Authority

The Obama administration squared off with skeptical lawmakers Tuesday over efforts to terminate the government's authority to collect phone records of millions of Americans, a proposition that exposed sharp divisions …

Gas Well in the Gulf Continues to Burn

An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast continued to burn Wednesday after it caught fire following a blowout that prompted the evacuation of 44 workers, authorities said.