City & County
Questions Loom for Jackson, JSU Football
JSU announced Dec. 18 that it would replace Rick Comegy and, less than one month later, unveiled Harold Jackson.
City & County
JSU Taps Harold Jackson as Football Coach
It didn't take long, but Jackson State University named a new head football coach today.
Education
Poor Schools Struggle to Fill Funding Gaps
JPS Superintendent Dr. Cedrick Gray and other school superintendents say that because Mississippi isn't fully funding its education formula, their districts have fewer classroom aides, larger class sizes, outdated computers …
City & County
JFD Battles Downtown Fire
What fire officials are calling a "major" industrial fire is burning in downtown Jackson.
Justice
Prison Recs Give Judges More Power
A joint meeting of the Mississippi House Corrections and Judiciary B committees took the first step towards grappling with the growing prison population that policymakers believe is needlessly costing state …
City & County
The Influencers
Lobbyists remain one of the most formidable forces in Congress and under capitol domes around the nation. Lobbying, which the U.S. Constitution protects as a form of free speech, has …
Jacksonian
Cecil Brown
Just as Switzerland hasn't always practiced neutrality, Rep. Cecil Brown, a north Jackson Democrat since 2000, says the Legislature hasn't always been as polarized as it is now.
Editor's Note
My ‘News’ Year Resolutions
By the time you read this, the 2014 regular session of the Mississippi Legislature will be underway. And there's a good chance, by then, we'll all already be kind of …
City & County
McQuirter Picked Hinds Board Prez
During an at-times testy Hinds County Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors elected a new president and changed the board's policy for choosing presidents and vice-presidents in the future.
City & County
Salvation Army Thrift Store Burns
The Jackson Salvation Army Thrift Store on Presto Lane is destroyed after an early morning fire today.
Jackson Groups Offer Free NYE Rides
A few local organizations are making sure that New Year's Eve revelers have a way to get home safely if they've been drinking.
State
State Prisons End Conjugal Visits
Although its precise origins are unclear, Parchman was the first penal institution in the U.S. to permit conjugal visits.
City & County
State Shortchanges Domestic Abuse Shelters
Mississippi domestic-violence shelters have been shortchanged more than previously believed—$1.6 million over the course of four years.
Business
Trustmark Settles Suit Over Fees
If you've banked with Trustmark National Bank in the past few years, you could soon collect a sort of New Year's bonus.
Civil Rights
NAACP Calls for ‘Energy Justice’
Across the South, state branches of the NAACP are urging policymakers to consider disparate effects on African Americans when it comes to crafting energy policy.
City & County
Expanding Medicaid: ‘Something Smart’
David Becker believes the 21st century will be the health-care era. Based on a report Becker co-authored, Mississippi will practically be stuck in medieval times if policymakers continue to fight …
City & County
Latinos Say Task Force Profiled, Assaulted Them
Law enforcement raided the home of Rosi Lopez in early December looking for a homicide suspect.
Education
Bryant Wants to Retain State Control of Schools
Gov. Phil Bryant wants to ensure that the State of Mississippi is the only entity educating Mississippi kids.
City & County
Jackson Fills Recycling Need
Soon, people who don't have residential recycling pickup will have a new drop-off location in the city of Jackson.
Economy
Report: State Would Reap $14 Billion from Medicaid Expansion
Even with the intense debate that has taken place over the last year or so, the conversation over Medicaid expansion in Mississippi has remained somewhat abstract, focusing on the costs …
City & County
JSU Powers Up
Dr. Robert Blaine said Jackson State University’s iPad program helped closed the school’s internal achievement gap, and has put JSU on the cutting edge of digital learning.
Cover
Killing Quardious Thomas: A Castle Doctrine Case Study
The law providing immunity for Eric Williams is Mississippi's Castle Doctrine, which spells out a range of circumstances in which homicide may be justified.
Politics
Voter ID First Tested in GOP Primary
Despite opposition from Democratic-leaning groups who say laws requiring voter ID could keep minorities, young people and college students away from polls, Mississippi's voter ID law will first be tested …
City & County
JPS Bus Drivers Hint at Unionizing
This morning, Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber had to make a quick stop before attending a meeting of striking Jackson Public School bus drivers: He had to drop his kids …
City & County
Planned Refuge Won’t Kill ‘One Lake’
Residents of the capital city may soon have another option for outdoor recreational activities, a 5,000-acre wildlife refuge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing.
Politics
Bill Allain: A People’s Champ
The family of former Mississippi Gov. William "Bill" Allain, who died Dec. 2 at age 85, wants him to be remembered as someone who explicitly fought for Mississippians who historically …
City & County
Downtown Housing Development Moves Along
A housing development that had been planned for west Jackson before it met community opposition is moving ahead in a new location in downtown Jackson.
Business
Renfroe: Utils Need Skin in the Game
Steve Renfroe, the newest member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission, is the man in the middle on the question of the controversial Kemper County power plant, now under construction.
Person of the Day
Peggy Hobson-Calhoun
The most vocal champion of the Byram-Clinton Parkway, which has long been under development, announced what she called an exciting new phase for the project.
City & County
Getting to the Cause of School Brawls
Dr. Cedrick Gray, the Jackson Public Schools superintendent, promises to punish any and all students who violated district rules during a recent outbreak of fighting—as well as social-media promotion of …
Person of the Day
The Scottsboro Boys
For his alleged participation in raping two white women, prosecutors apparently wanted 17-year-old Haywood Patterson to stand trial first "because he has the blackest skin, the wickedest gleam in his …
City & County
Jackson to Curb Illegal Guns
A Jackson councilman wants to curb the presence of illegal guns with an ordinance requiring gun owners to promptly report lost or stolen guns.
City & County
JPS Superintendent Debunks Fight Myths
After students at Murrah High School used social-media tools to brag about—and in some cases embellish—several fights this week, Jackson Public Schools officials are urging parents to be vigilant about …
City & County
JPS Responds to Murrah Fights, Rumors
Rumors about a planned shootout at Murrah High School that originated between students on social media and escalated when local news organizations began reporting them "turned out to be largely …
Film
No Comfort in ‘12 Years a Slave’
In “12 Years a Slave,” Chiwetel Ejiofor takes on the story of Solomon Northup.
City & County
Jackson Talks Crime Solutions
At a forum in Jackson last week, more than 100 people descended on the Mississippi Capitol to combat what organizers called the "recent onslaught of crime in Jackson."
Business
State Buckles Under Steep College Costs
New information from account-management service Manilla.com, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Hearst Corp., shows that Jackson is among the cities with the highest average student-loan debt.
City & County
Departing Brazilians Detail JSU Thefts
Over the weekend, 27 students from Brazil withdrew from Jackson State University following three incidents dating back to the summer in which the students were victims of crime.
City & County
Horhn Hosts Crime Forum, Commits Crime?
Hours after state Sen. John Horhn hosted a forum to fight what he called the "recent onslaught of crime in Jackson," Horhn himself contributed to the city's crime problem by …
Economy
Pearl Mall: Symbol of Misplaced Priorities?
The Outlets of Mississippi, a retail shopping center located near Interstate 20 in Pearl, opened this morning with ribbon-cutting ceremony that Bryant and other officials attended.
City & County
A Quiet Push for ‘Kush’
Chokwe Lumumba espouses a view of regionalism that is quite different from the Hinds-Madison-Rankin model, one that aligns with the Jackson-Kush plan.
City & County
The Drug War’s Crossroads
Cedric Willis, who was arrested in 1994 and charged with murder, rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault, and was exonerated 12 years later, doesn't buy the argument that law-enforcement officials …
City & County
Council Could Front Zoo $1.2 Million
Lately, Beth Poff has been concerned about the Jackson Zoo's dire financial situation, which threatened the park's national accreditation.
Person of the Day
Anthony McIntyre
In the view of Anthony McIntyre, a 35-year-old veterans advocate, soldiers can receive excellent benefits while serving and once their service ends from a solid network of government agencies and …
City & County
Officials Question Drug War's Effectiveness
Lee Vance, an assistant police chief with the Jackson Police Department, participated in a roundtable discussion at the Mississippi Black Leadership Summit, under way at the Jackson Convention Center.
City & County
Lumumba: Regionalism of Another Kind
During this spring and summer, when the Jackson mayoral campaign season hit its peak, a fierce debate took place about regionalism.
City & County
Henley-Young’s Breakfast Snub
The Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center will likely not be in full compliance with a 2012 court order to improve conditions at the facility by the time the order expires in …
City & County
McQuirter, Greer Wins Signal Change for Hinds Board
Darrel McQuirter and Tony Greer's walloping of their opponents for two seats on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors could be a game changer for the county.
