All results / Stories / Jackson Free Press

Haley Barbour: Heath Reform ‘Crammed' Down Americans' Throats

Also see: Immediate Effect of Health-Reform Bill

Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic health-reform bill, Gov. Haley Barbour released the following statement, verbatim:

Lay Off Hillary

Let up on the woman and give her some time.

Clinton is getting flack for not being more gracious at her speech. Has anyone ever wanting something really bad and worked non-stop only to not get what they had hoped and dreamed of for so long? I think its going to take Hillary a little bit of time to decompress, slow down, and switch directions. Besides, wouldn't everyone be calling her bluff and second guessing her immediate and dramatic switch last night if she hung it up and put on an Obama t-shirt?

Going Dr. Laura On Your Ass

Perhaps Asa Carter, a Klansman and the secretary of the North Alabama White Citizens Council, said it best in 1956:

That Motley Crue Girl

About three months ago, my best friend called me with one of her fabulous ideas. These ideas come at least twice a year and previously involved both a foray into a foreign country and, just once, the purchase of a new cat. This cat would later attempt to kill me in a feline leukemia vaccination-induced fever as I skipped a college class rushing it to the vet. Let's just say that all of these fabulous ideas come with a price.

Searching for the Neshoba Metaphor

I didn't know specifics about it before I went. Much of what I knew, I pieced together here and there from hearing conversations about it.

Clarion-Ledger Downplays Huge Turnout, Hosemann's Error

Remarkably, even in the light of day, Clarion-Ledger reporter Natalie Chandler is still repeating an abysmally off turnout prediction by Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann as if it were accurate, and she as yet has not corrected or apologized for a massive error about party turnout that she posted on the Ledger site last evening. (Click here for last night's discussion of those errors as they unfolded.)

[Editor's Note] Mayoral Stunts Hurting Jackson

I'm mad. And I'm getting madder by the day at the joke that Mayor Frank Melton is making out of the city of Jackson, a city I love, a city so many are working to make into a world-class home and destination.

The Peacemaker?

The effortless July 5 council vote giving Ward 1 Councilman Ben Allen the president's seat was a dramatic contrast to the council president vote of 2005, when Ward 6 Councilman Marshand Crisler took the presidency from Ward 2's Leslie McLemore after a last-minute coup involving Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson, Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman and Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes.

2011: Community

<b>Best Public Figure: 
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.</b>

Jackson's first African American mayor has been through it. Since he was first elected to the seat in 1997, he has weathered belittlement, racism, jealousy, direct attacks, vicious media coverage, being labeled "Election Man," being compared to a slow turtle--all while trying to govern a city decimated by its history and white--hen-economic--flight.

Fairview Inn Restaurant in Jeopardy

A restaurant at the Fairview Inn on Fairview Street could close to the public if a recent ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court stands. On Thursday, the high court ruled 6-3 that a 2004 city zoning amendment allowing a public restaurant at the inn constituted "spot zoning" and was thus illegal.

Dads and Purity Balls-Respect My Authortay!

I've sat on this one too long. Feministing has blogged about the ickiness of the Purity Ball for a while now, and this one is quite the ickiest.

Meet George Allen, the Republican Party's Great White Hope

The leading conservative 2008 Republican presidential candidate is scarier than George W. Bush.

You Can Help Revive the Cigarette Tax

Communities for a Clean Bill of Health says that Mississippians can be instrumental in reviving the cigarette tax increase for this session.

D.A. Questions Judge Allowing Officer to Walk

The Clarion is reporting today that District Attorney Faye Peterson is outraged that Judge Bobby DeLaughter has allowed a police officer charged with vehicular manslaughter to go free with no jail time. After Jeffrey Middleton, who ran a red light and killed a man in 2005 while on duty, pled guilty to the charge that carries up to 20 years in prison, DeLaughter placed him on probation and withheld adjudication, which means that the judge can undo his guilty plea if he doesn't violate the terms of his short probation, and then expunge his record. That, Peterson says, could mean that Middleton is allowed to become a police officer again.

Levee Board Opposes State Takeover Attempt

The Pearl River Levee Board is angry that the Legislature is trying to end-run their authority—and the Flowood mayor accuses one of the members of ethics violations.

It's Official: Mistrial in Melton and Recio Trial

- Kenya Hudson's Melton-Recio trial photos here.

BREAKING: Mayor Cancels Confirmation, Outrages Council

Several members of City Council were outraged today that Mayor Frank Melton abruptly cancelled the confirmation hearing of Charles Melvin, who is Melton's choice to head up the Parks and Recreation Department. Melvin's confirmation hearing was scheduled weeks in advance, but around 11:30 a.m., Melton announced he was cancelling the hearing because Councilman Frank Bluntson was sick.

Melton Indictments: The JFP Story That Started It All

Read Adam Lynch's breaking story that first revealed Mayor Frank Melton's Aug. 26 alleged rampage on Ridgeway Street in Jackson—the accusations that led to felony indictions of Melton and his bodyguards two weeks later on Sept. 15. Adam's story first appeared the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2006. You can read Lynch's exclusive interview with victim Evans Welch here. The JFP also broke the story about Evans Welch's schizophrenia here.

Melton Polling High in First JFP/16-WAPT Poll

A March 12 telephone poll of 763 registered Jackson voters conducted by ZATA-3 Consulting in Washington, D.C., found that Jackson Mayor Frank Melton gets an excellent grade from 42 percent of those polled, while almost two-thirds want him to spend more time being mayor and less acting as a policeman.