Jackson Mayor's Poll Shows High Undecideds
An early poll about the Jackson race for mayor shows Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber in a dead heat with attorney Chokwe Antar Lumumba for first place. It also indicates …
City & County
War of Words Begins in Mayor’s Contest
When the robots begin calling, you know the race has begun. Before she announced that she had indeed decided to seek the mayor's office, Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon was …
Education
Immigrants Need Affordable College, Advocates Say
Immigrant-rights advocates have been working to change the law to make college more affordable for Mississippi's growing immigrant population.
City & County
Analysis: No Safe Wards in Mayor's Race
As of this morning, nine individuals—two women and seven men—have said they would participate in the special election to replace late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba.
Person of the Day
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez is an activist for LGBT rights and immigrant issues, urging Congress to pass the DREAM Act to allow children who were brought to the U.S. without documentation an …
City & County
Mayoral Candidates Announce, Campaign Chicanery Follows
In announcing his plans to seek the mayor's office this week, Sen. John Horhn touted two decades worth of his legislative accomplishments.
Politics
'Religious Freedom,' School Voucher, Drug Testing Bills Pass on Big Deadline Day
Despite their best efforts to whip up enough votes for passage, supporters of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, proposal had to change course late Wednesday, just before …
Cover
The JFP Interview with Malcolm White: Director of Optimism
It took Malcolm White a few years to find the right place to anchor his St. Patrick's Day parade.
City & County
City Veterans First to Launch Mayor Bids
The first two individuals to formally announce that they will participate in the special election for mayor of Jackson are both veterans of city government—former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and …
City & County
As Lumumba Laid to Rest, Election Begins
As expected, the special election to replace Chokwe Lumumba, who died in late February, is now in full swing—just days after the late mayor's funeral.
Person of the Day
Holt Collier
During the Civil War, Holt Collier participated alongside his masters in Company I of the Ninth Texas Cavalry and served as a Confederate spy. During the course of his lifetime, …
City & County
Hundreds Celebrate Chokwe Lumumba's Life
They came in suits, dresses, dashikis and tunics. They wore an assortment of headwear, everything from riding caps to berets, kufis, hijab and headwraps. They invoked Jesus Christ, Allah and …
City & County
Jackson Housing Chief Open to Selling Midtown Units
Sheila Jackson, executive director of the Jackson Housing Authority, says she is considering making the rental duplexes at its Midtown housing development available for purchase at some point in the …
Business
Anti-Labor Bills an 'Attack on Democracy'?
Yesterday, the Mississippi House of Representatives advanced several bills that would restrict labor unionizing and picketing activities, which Chandler called an "attack on the democracy."
State
Money Ain’t a Thing
After years of underfunding public education in Mississippi, teachers are finally getting some love from the state Legislature.
City & County
Off and Running
No matter what anyone says, the campaign to replace the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba is already in full swing.
City & County
‘Baba’ Chokwe: Lumumba the Mentor
Chokew Lumumba was a living, breathing history lesson, especially for up-and-coming human-rights attorneys interested in understanding the relationship between the fight for civil rights and American-style justice and fighting it …
City & County
Stamps Wants Discernment, Small Pool for Mayor's Race
In a scene reminiscent of the dramatic cable series "The Wire," Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps invited potential mayoral contenders and city contractors to a City Hall press conference this …
City & County
A Push to Draft Chokwe Antar Lumumba as Mayor
As Jackson ponders the question of who will step into the mayor's seat after the sudden death of Chokwe Lumumba last week, some are looking at Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar, …
Justice
County, SPLC Disagree on Youth Jail Fixes
Hinds County officials and attorneys for children detained at the county's Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center are again at odds over how much improvement has taken place at the youth jail …
Business
99 Problems
The city of Greenwood and one of its major employers, Viking Range LLC, seem like a lesson in contrasts.
City & County
Chokwe Lumumba, 1947-2014
The mayor's legacy is probably cemented; the vision he laid out for Jackson is in doubt.
Crime
Pipe Bomb Investigated at North Miss. Home
A north Mississippi family says law enforcement are investigating a possible pipe bomb found outside their home on Monday.
Person of the Day
Orley Hood Jr.
People never seem to appreciate a good newspaperman until he's gone. Friends, loved ones and longtime readers say Orley Hood was one of the best.
Politics
Dems Push GOP into Corner on Payraises
Under the recommended budget for fiscal year 2015, which begins July 1, teachers are in line to receive a raise, but employees of most agencies are not.
Politics
A Million and One Questions
As if Mississippi taxpayers haven't been burdened enough defending lawsuits that appear patently unconstitutional, the Mississippi House of Representatives approved a proposal last week to ban abortions more than 20 …
Editor's Note
The Joshua Generation
Like everyone who has young people in their lives they love, it is terrifying to me that someone might gun down my baby brother for participating in a senior-year prank …
Politics
20-Week Abortion Ban Advances to Senate, Possibly Courts
One female lawmaker gave it her best shot, but the Mississippi House of Representatives approved a proposal this morning to ban abortions after 20 weeks of conception.
Politics
Moment of Clarity: Teacher Pay, Healthcare
Speaker Philip Gunn's vocal campaign for a teacher pay raise this year met widely with raised eyebrows, both among his fellow Republicans and his Democratic foes with whom he often …
Business
Gannett's Butterfly Effect
One month ago, five Clarion-Ledger's newsroom staff members, "armed" with $200 in one-dollar bills, spent a Sunday afternoon at the Flowood Walmart "to celebrate and promote the new, expanded" version …
Jacksonian
Alana Jackson
After college, Alana Jackson started two jobs. One was as a news producer with WJTV, using her mass communications degree from Jackson State University. The other was volunteering with community …
Politics
Lawmakers: What Makes a Drug Trafficker?
It was a sometimes contentious but relatively brief floor battle in the Mississippi House of Representatives as lawmakers grappled with the nuts and bolts of sweeping prison-reform legislation.
Person of the Day
Al Sharpton
Despite having slightly different approaches during their activist careers, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba are both legends of the American civil- and human-rights movements.
Education
Teachers to 'Jump Through Hoops' for Pay Raise?
Another marathon debate session in the Mississippi House of Representatives ended with the 86-26 passage of a bill to increase teacher salaries by about $4,250 over four years.
Business
Art Lofts Hit Funding Roadbock
Plans for a residential development in "ruins" across from the King Edward Hotel are going back to the drawing board as backers search for new methods of financing.
Politics
Legislative Update: Medical Cannabis, Booze
Josh Harkins' Senate Bill 2745 revises the state's list of Schedule I controlled substances to exclude low doses of cannabidiol.
Person of the Day
Hydeia Broadbent
Born with HIV and abandoned at a Las Vegas hospital in 1984, Hydeia Broadbent was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS by age 3.
Crime
Are Violent-Crime 'Strike Forces' Worth It?
One of the keystones of Gov. Phil Bryant's legislative agenda passed a hurdle as Judiciary B Committee of the Mississippi State Senate approved a bill to create a system of …
Cover
Gulf Drilling Saga Almost Over?
A controversy that started more than two years ago, during the waning days of Gov. Haley Barbour's final term in office, sparking a lengthy legal battle between environmentalists and state …
City & County
Legislative Update: Heart of the City
In addressing the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership's annual meeting last Wednesday, Bryant spoke frequently about the capital city.
Crime
Death for Sex Crimes Against Children?
Two Republican state lawmakers want to pass laws to impose the death penalty for certain crimes against children.
Domestic Violence
New Oversight for Domestic-Violence Funds?
Several lawmakers have proposed bills that would establish an interpersonal-violence commission to monitor and distribute funds to domestic-violence shelters.
Development
JSU: Domed Stadium Not Dead
Vivian Fuller, the athletic director for Jackson State University, says that plans for the domed venue for the college are still very much alive.
Politics
This Can’t Be Life
Every other week, Victoria Phillips drives three and a half hours from her Raleigh home to visit her husband, who is incarcerated at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
Politics
Model for Drug-Testing Bill Controversial
Gov. Phil Bryant has mined Florida for many of his bigger ideas, and his recent the drug-testing bill is no exception.
State
Wives Resist Conjugal Visit Ban
Wives and family members of incarcerated men serving time in Mississippi prisons are urging state corrections officials to rethink the recent elimination of conjugal visits.
City & County
Charlayne Hunter-Gault Headlines MLK Event
After Charlayne Hunter-Gault integrated the University of Georgia in 1961, she was naturally swept up in the tumult of the Civil Rights Act and wanted to join her fellow student …
Miss. House OKs Drug Testing for the Poor
A proposal to randomly test some recipients of federal-state assistance passed the Mississippi House of Representatives just after 6 p.m.
City & County
The Blueprint
The capital city wants legislative funding to pay for emergency services the city provides to state buildings and agencies, to move to elected school-board members and the ability to appoint …
Crime
In Prison Reform, Will Racism Persist?
Mississippi is going to make its criminal-justice system work better. That's how newly minted House Corrections Committee Chairman Tommy Taylor, R-Boyle, started a joint meeting of the Mississippi House Corrections …
