A Call for Unity ... But No PicturesA June 15 event billed as a huge show of unity for Mayor-elect Harvey Johnson Jr. turned into a debate over transparency after organizers barred photographers and electronic media from the event held at the University Club downtown.
Sleep Inn Breaking Ground DowntownJ. R. Jones, managing member of minority investment and development organization The LEAD Group, LLC, is partnering with Jackson attorney Robert Gibbs in opening a new 64-room hotel on Gallatin Street. Jones, Gibbs and Downtown Jackson Partners will be hosting …
Legislators Remain Stuck on BudgetWith 14 days remaining in Mississippi's 2009 fiscal year, lawmakers continue their struggle to reach a consensus on next year's budget. The special negotiating team, which consists of three House and three Senate members, along with Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, …
Seale Appeals to U.S. Supreme CourtAttorneys for James Ford Seale, convicted in 2007 on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges related to the 1964 killings of two 19-year-old African Americans, have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court today.
'First 48': This is Transparency?Jackson's legal department is putting the finishing touches on a contract with the Arts & Entertainment Network reality cop show, "The First 48." The show, which makes docu-dramas out of murder investigations, shows the inner workings of a city's police …
State Agencies Silenced on Lake Plans?The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks remains strangely silent and without comment on two plans to partially inundate a state park stagger drunkenly forward.
The Saga of the No-Budget-BillAlthough he isn't an official party in the Mississippi Legislature's budget negotiations, Gov. Haley Barbour is still wielding his influence. The regular session ended last week with House and Senate leaders still deadlocked on a hospital assessment and Medicaid funding, …
[Kamikaze] Time for the Pink SlipMany of you work a regular 9-to-5 job. Even those who work part-time, odd hours or odd days understand the premise of hustling for a paycheck.
Ward 1 Voters Stayed Consistent: No to JohnsonVoting patterns in last Tuesday's general elections tell a story about Jackson: Citizens were tired of voting, and the city's whites and blacks don't necessarily agree on who should be the city's mayor.
Brown: Governor Will Cut School FundingState Rep. Cecil Brown is warning that Mississippi's children will be the ultimate losers in the current budget battle if the governor gets his way. In an e-mail sent to his constituents and forwarded to the Jackson Free Press, Brown, …
Budget Stalled AgainMississippi lawmakers failed yet again to come up with a budget for the 2010 fiscal year. A small budget committee has been working overtime to come to an agreement, but yesterday's midnight deadline has passed without producing a result. The …
EEOC Finds Racial Discrimination at MDPSThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found evidence that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety engaged in discriminatory practices against black state troopers. In a June 1 letter, EEOC acting Area Director Willie Schaffer wrote, "there is reasonable cause …
Budget Deadlock ContinuesState lawmakers remain deadlocked on a budget for the 2010 fiscal year beginning July 1, raising the possibility of a special session to settle the matter.
Entergy Seeking Friendlier CourtU.S. District Judge Henry Wingate said last week that he would rule within three weeks to 30 days on a motion for venue change requested by Entergy Mississippi.
[johnson] Drowning JacksonWhen you look at it abstractly, Two Lakes developer John McGowan makes an easy villain: an old, wealthy white landowner intent on taking public lands for private profit with the help of wrangling politicians. But when you meet this man, …
FBI: Crime Dropped Nationwide in 2008The FBI released its Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report on Monday, stating that violent crimes dropped by 2.5 percent nationwide, and non-violent property crimes saw a 1.6 percent decline last year. Overall, this is the second consecutive annual drop in …
Do Lake Plans Endanger Indian Mounds?Pre-historic Native American settlements are among the obstacles faced by any plan to inundate the wetlands along the Pearl River, including the already-controversial "Two Lakes" project. Pam Lieb, chief archeologist for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, told the …
McLemore to Retire, Sort ofJackson City Council President and Acting Mayor Leslie McLemore, who has taught political science at Jackson State University for nearly 40 years, will soon retire from both politics and academia. But McLemore says he will still be busy.
Small Businesses Honored[verbatim] The Mississippi U.S. Small Business Administration will honor its 2009 small business award winners during a dinner reception on Tuesday, June 16 at the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU located at 1230 Raymond Road in Jackson, Miss. Registration starts at …
The Changing Saga of ‘Two Lakes'Last week John McGowan of McGowan Working Partners LLC visited us here at the JFP offices for a marathon lunch session to discuss his "Two Lakes" project.
Court Re-hears Seale AppealOn May 21, the 17-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of James Ford Seale.
The 2009 JFP Interview With Robert AmosRobert Amos is the youngest remaining candidate for mayor. At 35, he's already worked in more fields than some do in a lifetime—health care, education, criminal justice and business—and he's currently an adjunct professor at Jackson State University's College of …
Jackson: Unite on June 2Division in the city heavily affected both the Democratic mayoral primary and the runoff. It is time to put division aside and turn out June 2 to support the presumptive next mayor of Jackson: Harvey Johnson Jr.
Legislature Back in SessionState lawmakers have returned to Jackson today to hammer out the 2010 budget. The Legislature must agree on the Mississippi budget by the end of June as the new fiscal year begins July 1.
The 2009 JFP Interview: David ArchieIndependent Jackson mayoral candidate David L. Archie is a political animal. Over the last 10 years, he has run for the positions of local judge, Ward 3 councilman and Ward 1 councilman.
Jackson, Let's Shoot for the TopAs I write this Tuesday, I have no idea who will be the Democratic nominee for mayor when you read this. As always happens in Jackson and Mississippi, it's been a tough campaign that has wallowed in the mud and …