‘They're Taking Daddies Away'Colonial Terrace Apartments resident Angella Rector speaks with a slow southern drawl that drips of mobile home and Larry the Cable Guy. The redhead married her husband, Juan Espanoza, two years ago. They lived on a tight family budget with …
Sex and Pay RaisesThe Mississippi Tea Party tried to target immigrants once again in a bill that would have charged $5 for out-of-country wire transfers exceeding $500, plus 1 percent of the amount of the transaction. The bill, authored by Sen. Joey Fillingane, …
Judging CarefullyFor Judge Leslie King, serving on the Mississippi Supreme Court is a natural career move, if not necessarily one he expected. Last week, Gov. Haley Barbour appointed King to the Supreme Court, replacing Justice James Graves, whom President Barack Obama …
Improve Jackson for JacksoniansJackson shares a perception problem with the rest of the nation, and media are manipulating that perception with the recent Census data. Why is it taking so long for the perception to match reality?
[Stiggers] ‘Face the Music'I guess we all have to face the tune of change and learn how to adjust to things like cold-hearted people, global warming, price gouging, selfishness, greed and the trickle down economic theory.
[Kamikaze] Spring Cleaning JacksonBabies change you. They change the way you think, the way you act, even your outlook on life. It's funny how something so small can loom so large when you're deciding even your next step.
[Gregory] Ready, Boots? Start Marching!History proves that no matter the legality of abortion, someone will perform them. Let me say that one more time for the men sitting in the cheap seats: "No matter the legality of abortion, they will be done." It truly …
Integrating Yazoo: Race and Change in Haley Barbour's HometownGloria Owens froze with fear as a German shepherd barreled toward her at the entrance of Yazoo City Junior High School on a fall morning in 1968. "Get that n*gger," she heard her classmate command his dog. As the dog …
Taking the Side of UnionsSome Mississippians are taking sides on Wisconsin state employees who are protesting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget that would eliminate state employee unions' collective bargaining rights.
Taco Truck Coming; Fondren Biz ShuffleA few months ago when Sid Scott was craving fresh and simple Mexican food, he wished that Jackson, like the majority of cities, had a traveling taco truck.
Barbour Signs AG's Domestic Violence BillA domestic violence related bill sponsored by Attorney General Jim Hood has been signed into law. Gov. Haley Barbour signed SB 2426, which makes it a misdemeanor for someone to prevent a victim from seeking emergency medical or law enforcement …
Barbour Signs Open Meetings LawTaxpayers will no longer pay the fines public officials incur when they violate the state's open meetings law. Gov. Haley Barbour signed the revised law on Feb. 24.
To Stop Flight, Be ConsistentThere is a serious disconnect right now in Jackson. Since hysterical media reports of recent weeks about continuing "white flight" out of Jackson caused, well, a degree of hysteria among some city residents, it's been interesting, and encouraging, to watch …
MAEP and MuseumsA showdown may be gearing up between the Mississippi House of Representatives and Gov. Haley Barbour on the use of $65 million in federal funds for public education this year.
School Board GrowsThe Jackson City Council voted Friday to confirm Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s two additional nominees to the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees.
Farish Street Too Pricey for SomeDevelopment of the Farish Street Entertainment District may have hit a wall of high prices, says Big Apple Inn restaurant owner Geno Lee.
[Balko] Sticklers for ProcedureIt would be difficult to cite a more shameful episode in the history of America's criminal justice system than the pedophilia panic of the 1980s and '90s. Hysteria overcame police, prosecutors and social workers all over the country who were …
Belhaven Seeks National Historic StatusBelhaven community leaders are asking the city of Jackson to apply for grant money to help the neighborhood earn a designation on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sushi, Tattoos and RedevelopmentThe Fondren neighborhood will get a long-awaited sushi restaurant in April, developer Mike Peters says. Peters told the Jackson Free Press that Fatsumo Sushi, an American-style sushi restaurant in Gulfport, will open a location on Duling Avenue April 1. The …
Council Confirms 2 More JPS Board MembersThe City Council voted today to confirm Mayor Harvey Johnson's two additional nominees to the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees. After delaying the vote for weeks due to in-fighting, council members voted 5-0 to add Linda Rush and 4-1 …
Lawmakers Battle Barbour Over K-12 BudgetMississippi Parent's Campaign Executive Director Nancy Loome praised a school funding bill the House passed yesterday, which she says adequately funds the state's K-12 education system.
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In HouseA proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which …
Schools and CigsCharters-school advocates are looking to change the state's current law to allow charter schools to use lottery enrollment. The Mississippi Legislature passed SB 2293 last year, creating a process for transforming some failing public schools into "New Start Schools" and …
Health for AllAlvin Poussaint's career reads like a hopscotch game across the touchstones of post-World War II African American history. Born in 1934, Poussaint earned a medical degree at Cornell University and studied psychiatry at UCLA before joining the Civil Rights Movement.
Of Contracts, BrokenOver the past few weeks, the Mississippi Legislature has bandied about a few anemic attempts at strengthening laws protecting victims of domestic violence. Among them is an addition to the state's divorce laws that would allow judges to grant a …
[Kamikaze] A Jackson Reality CheckIt's time for some hard truth. Some Jackson detractors may have taken my ProJack stance as blind love for our fair city. Some have accused me of selling hype over substance. I've refuted crime stats, championed development and screamed "Buy …
No Small FeatThe students in John Bennetts' second-grade class are being perfect sponges. Bennetts, a teacher at KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy, a charter school in Helena, Ark., is drilling the class on the difference between "explicit information" and "implicit information."
Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances In HouseA proposed national civil-rights museum in downtown Jackson could receive $30 million in state funds, under a bill up for consideration by the state House of Representatives. The House Ways & Means Committee voted today to approve HB 1463, which …
Health Reform Moves AheadThe Mississippi Legislature is debating laws that conform to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, even as legal challenges to the act continue.
Gloria Owens froze with fear as a German shepherd barreled toward her at the entrance of Yazoo City Junior High School on a fall morning in 1968. "Get that n*gger," she heard her classmate command his dog. As the dog …
The students in John Bennetts' second-grade class are being perfect sponges. Bennetts, a teacher at KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy, a charter school in Helena, Ark., is drilling the class on the difference between "explicit information" and "implicit information."