Is Tuck Her Own Woman?Here's an story from Bobby Harrison at the Daily Journal from back in December that discusses her new support for a tobacco tax and other ideas that Mr. Barbour might not be happy with.
The Cult Of IrresponsibilityJust how bad of a newspaper is The Clarion-Ledger? A hint comes three-quarters of the way into Executive Editor Ronnie Agnew's "end of the year" column (Jan. 1, 2006). The paragraph is about Mayor Frank Melton:
2005 Year In Review, Part 2: To Hell and BackThe second half of 2005 turned out to be the most interesting six months any of us have lived through in a while. On the positive side, the city continued its march toward greatness - with increasing numbers of younger …
Tate's the Treasurer, ManState Treasurer Tate Reeves also has a new Web site up and running in time for the 2006 legislative session. It's kind of brown and flat and ugly, and seems to be mostly about Mr. Reeves the Treasurer. (Isn't a …
[Greggs] Ali G's Magnificent 2006 PredictionsLast year on New Year's, I made a resolution against resolutions. My logic for this decision was knowing that if I truly wanted to change something about myself, I could wake up some random Tuesday in March and make the …
City Ends Precinct-by-Precinct Crime StatsNot that it made the front page as any story about the previous administration and crime stats used to, but The Clarion-Ledger has a story today about how the new police chief is officially ending the weekly precinct-by-precinct crime stats, …
Do Not Take Revenge, My Friends<i>Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever …
Loving Thy NeighborLast week, the day after the JFP's first "Race, Religion & Society" panel discussion, I looked at two e-mails within a couple hours of each other. The first, from a white man in Brandon with a subject line of just …
Crossing The Mighty River: Race, Religion and MississippiAt the climax of the 11 o' clock church service at Galloway Methodist church, the Rev. Ross Olivier assumes the pulpit to deliver his sermon. Olivier's polished demeanor gives no air of being weathered by years of struggle against apartheid …
Mayor, Chief Downplay Crime StatsJackson City Council President Marshand Crisler spoke out last week against the city police department's tight lips regarding crime figures, in contrast to Former Police Chief Robert Moore, who provided weekly reports on crime statistics. The computer-generated statistics, called COMSTAT …
[Casey's Note] Leaving My Heart In JacksonWhen I first saw the Jackson Free Press, something sparked. I had given up hope for local weeklies, but the cover—a grid-like spread of a variety of Jackson folks—called to me. Someone had dropped off about 100 copies outside of …
My So-Called Holiday ColumnThey say that during the holidays, you're supposed to stop and consider what you're thankful for. (OK, this is starting out cheesy, I know. Work with me here.) Combine that seasonal desire with the fact that Donna assigned me the …
Just RewardsChristmas came early for Thomas Moore when Mississippi religious leaders agreed to offer a reward for tips about the 1964 murders of his brother and his friend.
Oh, Say Can We See?When Mazie Moore saw <i>that</i> picture in Jet Magazine in 1955, it terrified the Franklin County mother. Mamas across the South, black mamas, were hearing about the photo. They took it as a warning to protect their boys from the …
The Day That Emmett DiedTwelve-year-old Simeon Wright lay in his bed in his family's small house near Money, Miss., in the Mississippi Delta. It was Saturday night, Aug. 27, 1955, and Simeon was tired from a busy week. Wright was looking up at the …
JFP Interview: Keith BeauchampKeith Beauchamp, 34, has spent the last 10 years of his life investigating the brutal murder of Emmett Louis Till in Money, Miss., in 1955. Till, 14, was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was reported to have whistled at …
Twin FailuresWe live in a culture so driven by visual images that our eyes can't take them all in. From pop-up Internet ads to quick-cut TV commercials to high-tech billboards, we witness far more than we can comprehend, wiping most of …
Jackson Less ‘Dangerous' In 2004Ironically, a murder binge in the city—nine fatal shootings in 10 days—comes just as a national crime-rating outfit released good news for the city of Jackson, at least about its reputation in 2004. For the first time in a decade …
[Greggs] All In The Single Girl's FamilyIn honor of the holidays I was going to write an endearing column listing all the wonderful things in my life for which I have to be thankful. I scrapped that after realizing it would probably end up sounding trite …
Sensational ‘Suburban Legends'Perhaps the biggest single flaw that The Clarion-Ledger has in its recent addition to its "Changing Face of Jackson" series is the fact that it doesn't include itself in the litany of problems that the newspaper claims are holding back …
Melton's Honeymoon, Part III: Crime and Punishment, Melton StyleFrank Melton carried the May 2 mayoral primary in part because of a surly, take-no-prisoners attitude on crime. Melton used his 14-month tenure as head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to forge a local image as a hard-nosed delivery …
You Can Do ThatI hadn't planned to write about the death, or the life, of Rosa Parks. I know she was an amazing hero, but I didn't think I had anything else to say that everybody and his brother aren't already falling over …
[Greggs] One Tiny Little Pink LineOn some rather innocuous Sunday eight years ago, I was a 21-year-old recent college graduate just back from a camping trip. I sat on the edge of a bathtub and anxiously awaited the results of a pregnancy test. It wasn't …
Franklin Advocate Editorial and Thomas Moore ResponseThis letter appeared in The Franklin Advocate, the weekly newspaper in Meadville, Miss, the week after Thomas Moore's story appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It is reprinted verbatim; below it you can read Thomas Moore's letter to the editor …
Damned If We Don'tThe weekend Katrina hit, Kate Medley and I were in the Natchez area finishing research and art for the package of stories that you'll read in this issue. This time in Adams and Franklin counties, as Kate and I got …