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Tale of Two Dems: Bennie vs. Chuck
On June 6, the Democratic primaries in the 2nd Congressional District will be up for grabs. Three candidates are facing off in the race, including political whack-a-mole Dorothy "Dot" Benford, who pops up every election cycle. But the two most significant personalities battling for the chair are state Rep. Chuck Espy and the Democratic incumbent Bennie Thompson.
SafeCity Miffs McMillin, Residents
JACKSON—Local crime watchdog group SafeCity miffed the police chief, the Jackson City Council and many residents of all political stripes with its apparent stealth efforts to get the Legislature to create a discriminatory city "safety zone" that would have carried stiffer penalties for crimes committed in better-off parts of the city and allowed the state and the district attorney to usurp the chief's authority.
The New Jackson
Photos by Stephen Little
Even as the mayor and his administration are scrambling to collect overdue fees, hoping to make up for severe budgetary shortfalls, developers say the city is on the verge of a whole-scale Renaissance, with long-term plans coming online and new developments jostling to see the light of day -- with almost $200 million in development over the last five years.
A Soldier's Story: The JFP Interview with James Meredith
James Meredith talks to the Jackson Free Press about identity education, Barack Obama, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin.
Racist Names, Beware
Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba said he voted with a majority of the council to remove a controversial petition requirement for the renaming of city streets or facilities because he felt city residents deserved a "more fair system" for changing street and place names.
Council Considers Gate Ordinance
Under a new city ordinance Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell proposed today, 75 percent of a Jackson neighborhood's residents could vote to gate their community even though the city would continue funding its infrastructure. "This is a traffic-calming measure," Whitwell said at the Jackson City Council meeting this morning.
BREAKING: Taylor Headed Back to Jail?
Sources inside Hinds County say a 17-year-old companion of Mayor Frank Melton may need to turn himself back in to Hinds County authorities due to an administrative error regarding his failure to post bond.
Fighting Crime: What's The Plan?
Also: Darren Schwindaman's editorial cartoon
UPDATED: Melton Bodyguard Wright Pleads Guilty, Resigns
Read: Adam Lynch's breaking Ridgeway coverage
Lobbying Plan A Joke?
For more than two weeks, city lobbyist Marcus Ward effectively ducked council members seeking to question him on his plan to attain $29 million from Washington.
Immigrant Group Wants Racial-Profiling Ordinance
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance legal counsel Patricia Ice will appear before the Jackson City Council Tuesday at 6 p.m., to call for an anti-racial and immigrant-profiling ordinance.
BREAKING: Council Cocks the Trigger
The Tuesday night City Council meeting devolved into chaos when council members attempted to read aloud a list of very pointed questions to City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans.
Lessons of the 1979 Easter Flood
Part 3 in a series
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended last week that FEMA re-certify the levees protecting the Hinds and Rankin County edges bordering the Pearl River, despite the fact that the levees cannot stop a 200-year flood event similar to the 1979 Pearl River flood.
Calling Out the Guard
Note: The print edition erroneously lists Donna Ladd as the author of this piece.
The Mayor Bunch
Managing a city like Jackson is no easy task. It's the biggest city in the state—with a population of about 175,000, which appears to have lost a good bit of its affluent residents to the expanding suburbs.
The Cost of ‘Tough on Crime'
Jackson resident Almona Fleming is a placid woman, prone to introspective stares and thoughtful contemplation during interviews. Her calm demeanor says nothing about the writhing coil of hunger that for years twisted inside her, eating at both her stomach and her family life.
Parking Battle in Fondren
Businesses in Fondren are skirmishing over limited parking space in the area. Managers and owners of businesses in Fondren Corner say the owners of Lenny's Sub Shop, on the other side of Fondren Place, are cracking down on Fondren Corner patrons who use Lenny's parking.
Hughes Demotes Chandler After Video Investigation
Jackson Fire Chief Vernon Hughes announced he was demoting Assistant Chief Todd Chandler to captain status at a press conference today. Hughes re-assigned Chandler to the division of air supply, effective today, after the investigation of a 13-year-old video allegedly featuring Chandler and other white firemen mocking black recruits. Chandler, who has been with the fire department for more than 20 years, denied being the fireman in the video, though Hughes said he was convinced of Chandler's identification in the film.
Melton to Devise New Budget
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton told City Council members this morning to toss out the current city budget after some members criticized the discord between the mayor and his own budget. He vowed to produce a new budget by tomorrow morning.
What Would God Think?
George County Justice Court Judge Connie Wilkerson kicked over a fire ant mound when he wrote in a letter to the George County Times, published March 28, that "in my opinion, gays and lesbians should be put in some type of mental institution instead of having a law like this passed for them." He was writing the letter in response to a recent California law that gave gay partners the same rights to file wrongful death suits as spouses or other family members have. The letter prompted statewide gay rights group Equality Mississippi and Lambda Legal, a nationwide gay rights organization, to file an ethics violation complaint against Wilkerson, arguing that the letter is evidence that the judge cannot be impartial.