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Grand Hotel: Does the King Edward Have a Glorious Future?
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton attempted to put some gas behind the renovation of the King Edward Hotel July 22 when, through the media, he gave his staff about a month to finalize plans to renovate the hotel. Or, he threatened, he would push to have it demolished. "When someone gets off the train at the refurbished Union Station, the first thing they see is the dilapidated King Edward Hotel. It's been an eyesore for years, and something needs to be done with it," Melton told The Clarion-Ledger.
Melton's Honeymoon, Part VI: The Mayor and The Police
Mayor Frank Melton swept into the city's mayor office July 4 with a badge and a side arm, determined to take a bite out of crime. During that time, he's taken part in numerous police raids, parading his image of a gun-toting crime fighter before the television cameras.
The Place To Be: Developers Catering More To City's ‘Creative Class'
Since the early 1970s, an outflow of businesses and residents to the suburbs has decimated downtown Jackson. Until recently, the lower taxes demanded of cow pastures and the cheap gas used to get there made moving somewhere else and starting anew easier and attractive to many people.
McMillin Says Resignation Was Political
Despite contradicting claims from Mayor Frank Melton, former Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin said he resigned his position today for purely political reasons rather than tension between Melton and himself. "I couldn't stay as chief in this administration while I was not supporting the mayor's bid for re-election," McMillin said. "I thought it would say a lot about me and my integrity and honesty in taking that salary without supporting the mayor."
Fifty Years Of Unrest: The JFP Interview With Leslie McLemore
Photos by Roy Adkins & Brian Johnson
Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore is rarely afraid to speak his mind. He started young when it comes to being vociferous. He began his career as a social activist fresh out of high school, traversing the state and helping to organize demonstrations and voter-rights campaigns in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. He was vice chairman of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's original delegation to the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City and remains an authority on the MFDP.
Former Chief Questions Shooting
Former Jackson Police Chief Robert Johnson says two Jackson police officers should not have been in a position to shoot a Jackson resident on New Year's morning.
Jackson Council Seeks ‘Pro-Gay' City (SATIRE)
Fresh off its victory at creating a Latino-friendly city-wide police policy, the Jackson City Council is considering marketing a section of Ward 3 as "pro-gay."
Muscle Meets Bivalve
John McGowan and McGowan Working Partners laud the city of Jackson's economic benefit of the Two Lakes plan, a proposed project that would dam the Pearl River and create a series of islands between Hinds and Rankin counties.
Weed and Seed: Successes and frustration with community policing
The duties of a policeman share a similarity to that of firefighting in that the majority of effort exerted by law enforcement usually happens after the brunt of the damage is already done. Like firefighters, policemen generally respond to a frantic call for help, rush to the scene, beat down the door, hose everything down indiscriminately, and leave a mess. This public perception may be oversimplified, but the generalization of a cavalry showing up belatedly at a field littered with the arrow-perforated bodies of settlers seems to stick.
A Compromise Lake Plan?
Read Mississippi Engineering Group's Report (PDF)
Melton Admits 'Failure' on Crime Issue
Download audio of Melton press conference on 12.30.08 (.wav, 15.42MB)
[ElectionTalk] Fighting For The Family: Hinds County Chancery Judge Races
Chancery Court District 5-1 is probably one of the busiest districts in the state. Every week, the district processes some of the most heart-wrenching court cases ever to face a family. Divorces, child-custody battles and estate problems usually have their day within the walls of chancery court—and the kind of issues facing judges can cause tremors. After almost two decades of service, incumbent Stuart Robinson is retiring from his $104,170-a-year post, leaving it to be fought over by four contenders.
Police Have Suspect in ‘Miracle' Shooting
Hinds County Sheriff and interim Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin named convicted felon Michael Allen as the suspect in the Dec. 1 shooting of Jackson business owner Donnie Register. Register, owner of The Antique Market in Fondren, made national headlines, shielding his head from a bullet allegedly fired by Allen. The bullet ricocheted off Register's wedding band and sent fragments into his hand and neck, potentially saving him from a fatal head wound.
Dem At Your Own Risk
The year 2000 was the dawn of the tort-reform craze in Mississippi, when out-of-state groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce poured money into state elections in an attempt to roll back court regulation. The Chamber interpreted Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz as too friendly to plaintiffs and targeted his campaign, dumping millions of dollars into an ad blitz supporting Diaz' opponent, trial judge Keith Starrett, while refusing to identify its contributors. The Chamber even succeeded in getting an emergency appeal from ultra-conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to vacate injunctions challenging the legality of the Chamber ads.
Rights Museum Hidden Costs, Lobbying Questioned
As a vote to approve a controversial placement of a new civil rights museum looms, a commission member is saying that extra taxpayer costs of locating it in a planned development zone near Tougaloo College are being dramatically downplayed by supporters of that plan. "(Consultants) say the road wll be completed by April 8. That's impossible. ...The road is not going to be able to begin construction until the railroad is raised, and I believe there's some funding missing for the railroad at the current time," Civil Rights Commission member Susan Lunardini told the Jackson City Council Thursday.
Reading the Tea Leaves: The Tea Party in Mississippi
Tea Party member Donald Wiggans was different. A small, wiry man, he stood quietly during an August 2009 town-hall meeting on health-care reform featuring U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.
Big City, Bright Future: Development Surges Ahead in Downtown Jackson
Graphic illustration courtesy of Downtown Jackson Partners
These may be strange days for a Capitol City, but Jackson's rebirth continues to pick up speed, despite the antics of its indicted mayor.
Quentin Whitwell
Quentin Whitwell, 37, is a local political advisor and the go-to guy for many campaigns in the state. He co-founded the largely Republican government-relations firm The Talon Group in 2004, along with political strategist and former Jackson City Councilman Chip Reno. Jackson law firm Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes acquired The Talon Group last year, and Whitwell is now a senior government-relations advisor at the law firm.
Fantasy Island
Developers are cheering and environmentalists are jeering as the Lefleur Lakes ("Two Lakes") project gains momentum, helped along by political support from men like Mayor Frank Melton and Gov. Haley Barbour, who seem poised to rubberstamp the development despite concerns from residents and environmentalists.
Bold 'New' City
As the JFP turns 6 (!), we take our traditional birthday look at Jackson's progress.