Are You Ready for the Weekend, Jackson?Kick off the first weekend in autumn tonight with a couple of movies for only $5. At 6:30 p.m., Crossroads Film Society presents "My Time Will Come," from Ecuador, and "The Photograph," from Indonesia at the Mississippi Museum of Art …
Bill LuckettClarksdale attorney Bill Luckett has confirmed that he will run for the Mississippi governor's seat in 2011. Luckett told the Mississippi Business Journal yesterday that he will formally announce his candidacy sometime in the spring, but that he has moved …
Mississippi Unemployment Rate Dips in AugustAugust unemployment numbers in the Magnolia State dropped below 10 percent, with a seasonally unadjusted rate of 9.5 percent, representing 121,300 people, which is 1 percentage point lower than the state's July rate. Mississippi's August numbers are 0.1 percent lower …
PSC Orders Entergy to Comply with AuditThe Public Service Commission ordered Entergy to stop dodging an audit yesterday, threatening the company with subpoenas if it does not comply. Horne CPA, which is conducting two fuel adjustment audits of Entergy on behalf of the PSC, informed the …
Jackson Area Businesses Open, Close and Give AwardsBRAVO! Restaurant in Jackson is asking its patrons for stories of the people who changed their lives. The upscale Italian restaurant is giving away $600 in gift cards for the best story of a life-changing person posted on its Facebook …
Elizabeth CrislerElizabeth Crisler, president and founder of Jackson advertising agency Liquid Creative, will celebrate the company's 10-year anniversary tonight. Crisler opened the agency in 1999 as a branch of Dallas-based Squires & Company, and she bought the company in 2003. Since …
City's Crime Numbers Still Down Despite ShootingYesterday, the Jackson Police Department released ComStat crime figures for the week of Sept. 14 through Sept. 20. The report shows that major crime statistics in Jackson dropped again last week, although violent crimes rose from the previous week. Total …
JSU Hazing Suspensions Have ConsequencesYesterday, Jackson State University announced that 45 members of the school's Sonic Boom of the South are suspended due to an alleged hazing incident that resulted in a student's fractured collar bone. Without those percussion members, the band may be …
The JFP Interview with Chokwe LumumbaChokwe Lumumba was one child among seven in Detroit's West side public housing projects. His birth name is Edwin Taliaferro, though he abandoned what he considers his slave name in favor of his current, more nationalistic, equivalent.
Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' DutyWhen Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief during Hurricane Katrina, remembers Whitten testing the limits of the …
Joel BomgarWhen Joel Bomgar developed a new type of software at age 23, he had no idea that in a few years, he would be running one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country. He was simply trying to …
Two Lakes Developer Long a 'Green' FoeNorthside Sun Publisher Wyatt Emmerich declared in a recent column that the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District should appoint Jackson oilman John McGowan to head the board's technical advisory committee. The committee will work with the U.S. …
The GOP's Obsession with Tort ReformAs 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.
Power Industry Watchdog Grows Three New TeethThe Mississippi Public Service Commission will be getting $824,901 to better watchdog the power industry. This morning, District 1 Rep. Travis Childers announced the grant award from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, which the PSC applied for earlier this …
Mississippi Casino Revenue Still DecliningFor an industry that was once considered recession-proof, Mississippi casinos continue to see their revenues slide. For August, the Mississippi State Tax Commission reports a drop of 9 percent over July, with gambling establishments around the state reporting total revenues …
Barbour Misses ACORN BandwagonThe day after Gov. Haley Barbour announced he was cutting state funds to ACORN, the JFP broke the news that the state gives no money to the groupwhich no longer exists here.
State Courts Face Spring ShutdownState lawmakers received an unwelcome surprise yesterday, when Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller revealed that the state court system is set to run out of money in April.
Roger WickerPassed by a 68-to-30 Senate vote, an amendment authored by Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, mandates that Amtrak allow passengers to carry handguns in their checked baggage. The amendment is an addition to a $122 billion housing and transportation bill, of …
Partnership Brings Free Dental Care to KidsApproximately 400 students in two of Jackson's elementary schools will be receiving dental screenings today and tomorrow through the Colgate "Bright Smiles/Bright Futures" mobile van. The van, which is in Jackson in partnership with the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation and …
Hinds Officials Challenge Personnel CutsA round of budget cuts and layoffs last week prompted outcry from two Hinds County officials at this morning's meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Tax Collector Eddie Fair told board members that their Sept. 15 decision to slash 48 …
Jackson One of 20 Strongest-Performing MarketsA new report issued by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., ranks Jackson as one of the nation's strongest-performing metro areas in the country. The MetroMonitor report tracks the recession and its recovery, and examined the 100 largest metropolitan areas …
Future for Clinic UncertainThe future of the Catholic Charities Legal Assistance Clinic in Jackson, which provides legal services for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, is uncertain, as pending upcoming funding decisions. Funding for the clinic from the Mississippi Bar and the U.S. …
Rwth AshtonThe unusual spelling of her first name is not the only thing compelling about the new Millsaps College chaplain, who comes to Jackson by way of Belzoni and Boston, among other places. Ashton, a United Methodist minister for the past …
Public and Community Meetings In and Around Jackson5 p.m., Fondren Association of Businesses Annual Membership Meeting at Schimmel's (2615 N. State St.). Find out about membership opportunities and what's in works for the Fondren Business District. E-mail [e-mail missing].
Jackson Man Arrested at Grow HouseCalled an "elaborate marijuana growing operation" by authorities, Hinds County sheriff's deputies, Jackson police, and federal and state drug agents arrested Zachary Alexander, 33, on Friday, seizing 86 plants. According to the Associated Press, the pot plants, which Alexander was …
Shoestring ‘Conversation' Focused on SolutionsDiving into state and city challenges, panelists at last night's annual Operation Shoestring fund-raising dinner brought the issues to light along with potential solutions. The diverse crowd listened attentively to "A Conversation About Community," as each panelist offered his or …
Weekend HappeningsA weekend of history, music and soul begins tonight at the 31st Annual Farish Street Heritage Festival. At 6 p.m., a pep rally and a step show will kick off the event on the festival grounds on Farish Street, followed …
Public-Good Rankings Include Mississippi SchoolsWashington Monthly magazine has published college rankings based on their contribution to the public good. The listings include several Mississippi universities and colleges, and are based on three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge …
Immigrant Rights Alliance Says Enforcement UnbalancedMississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler is charging that the indictment of Jose Humberto Gonzalez in the 2008 Howard Industries immigration-enforcement raid highlights the unbalanced enforcement of federal immigration law. In 1986, the federal Immigration Reform and Control …
BCBS: Domestic Abuse Not Pre-Existing ConditionState Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has clarified a statement he made to the Jackson Free Press used in a story Wednesday regarding Mississippi being one of the eight remaining states whose laws allow insurance companies to use a history of …