Jackson Free Press

Community Events and Public Meetings

JPS Pepsi Holiday Basketball Tournament Dec 28-30, at Jackson State University, Williams Athletics and Assembly Center (1400 John R. Lynch St.). The tournament features 11 girls' teams and 13 boys' …

Minimum Wage Increase Affects Thousands in Mississippi

Last Friday, the federal minimum wage increased by 70 cents an hour, going from $6.55 to $7.25. The increase will affect thousands of workers in Mississippi, according to Bureau of …

Guilty By Default?

When Mayor Frank Melton held the post as head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, he leaked a memo containing accusations against MBN employees that were later disproved by the …

Council Approves Budget, With Cuts

The Jackson City Council approved a balanced $387.7 million city budget last Friday, after almost two weeks of grueling daily budget meetings.

Good Look, Haley!

The Farish Street Entertainment District barely survived another trial last week. Some planned anchor businesses in the district, including the B.B. King Blues Club, discovered they could not sell alcohol …

Changing the Face of Highway 80

In 10 years, the Highway 80 corridor will look nothing like it does today if the city of Jackson has its way.

Women Speak Out

We asked JFP readers and domestic-abuse victims to share their stories. Here are a couple of the many responses we received. I always thought I was too strong, smart and …

Obama's Jobs Focus Meets Resistance

President Barack Obama pushed for more job creation during his State of the Union address last night. Facing the loss of two governor's races and the Massachusetts Senate seat formally …

[Gregory] Queen of the Fleas

The past three weeks of my life have been one long personal jihad against the fleas currently residing in my house. I call it a "jihad" because the fleas have …

[Hendry] Crash

At first all I heard was a crash. I looked up and saw a young woman carrying a child. I saw the Kroger grocery buggy's contents going in her direction, …

DeLaughter Sentenced to 18 Months

Update: U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson sentenced DeLaughter to 18 months this afternoon.

A Journey of Bones

During her largely improvised closing argument, federal prosecutor Paige Fitzgerald stumbled upon one of the most poetic moments in the James Ford Seale federal kidnapping trial.

Two Districts Competitive in 2008?

Both U.S. House District 1 and former Sen. Trent Lott's seats could prove competitive this year, despite a decades-long trend of Republican domination in Mississippi.

Council Questions High Pay

The city council questioned an extra $35,000 that City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly stands to make on two Tax Increment Financing deals the council approved last week. The council also discussed …

Prowling for Sex

The chat begins innocently enough, with the man asking the girl's name. Then he asks what her hobbies are and tells her she's pretty or sexy. It is easy to …

Wyatt Rides Again On "60 Minutes"

Northside Sun publisher Wyatt Emmerich got a few minutes of fame on Nov. 24 when "60 Minutes" used him as the centerpiece interview in an "expose" of "jackpot justice" in …

Mentally Ill in County Jails

The Clarion-Ledger has an important story today about how mentally ill people who have not been charged with crimes are being held in the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond. …

Time to Put Duckworth Rumors to Bed

A JFP investigation is showing that those accusations were false.

You may have seen some of the back-and-forth over the last week between Othor Cain and me and others about accusations he made on Ben Allen's WLEZ-FM radio show, then …

Should We Give Tax Breaks for Cars?

As someone who leans toward new-urbanism and spends a little time suburb bashing, the story Auto Mobility in this month's Washington Monthly started out a little off-putting. Of course there's …

Chris Joyner, Gotcha Journalist?

Meantime, I'll get Adam to try to sort it out and report back to y'all.

The Clarion-Ledger has a "big" story today that reeks of incomplete, gotcha journalism. Essentially the story is accusing David "Pops" Watkins, and perhaps others, of lying about investors in Farish …