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The JFP Interview with Joey Lauren Adams

Filmmaker Joey Lauren Adams, 39, is a fan of drinking Budweiser and driving along flat Arkansas highways looking at cypress trees, not necessarily at the same time. The first time I interviewed her, for a hoity-toity celebrity magazine in New York City in the summer of 2001, she was home in North Little Rock from her adopted city of Los Angeles, hankering to live in the South again. But as a successful and respected actress—she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her starring role in "Chasing Amy"' and is a charter member of director Kevin Smith's hipster actor posse—her life and business were far from Arkansas.

Melton Calls Councilman a ‘Goddamn Idiot'

Mayor Frank Melton showed his dark side publicly yesterday while in a meeting to try to figure how to alleviate his $3 million budget deficit from last year. The Clarion-Ledger reports today on Melton's meltdown:

The Perils of Hillary as Veep Choice

It comes as no surprise to me that polls are showing a mixed blessing were Barack Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, as her supporters are pressuring him to doin part by saying that he needs her help to win. An Associated Press story today begins:

Senseless Smoking Ban

I just had to comment on this. Tried to avoid it, but it's really starting to peeve me off. I understand that people don't want to have to deal with cigarette smoke. Okay. I accept that. Non-smokers don't want their meals interrupted by the smell. Besides, we're trying to make a healthier Mississippi - right? Let me explain why this makes absolutely NO sense-- if it's so serious that we must waive the rights of citizens to smoke freely.....why then are they still legal!!!!?????!!!!!!

Breaking: All Five ‘Grayhead' Defendants Found Not Guilty

After four hours of deliberations, a jury has acquitted the five defendants accused of kidnapping and assaulting Michael Sanders to warn him away from talking to the police. Police say that Aundre Mason, 29, Darnell Turner, 28, Terrance Womack, 29, Elisha Moton, 26, and Corey Redd, 27—allegedly part of a "gang known as "Grayhead"—shot Sanders in the leg, duct taped his mouth and locked him in a car trunk for several hours on March 10, 2004. However, today the jury exonerated the five men of this crime.

Mississippi Lobbyists, Associates in Thick of Trump’s Ukraine-Russia Web

A key figure in Trump's impeachment inquiry has an ongoing and paid association with lobbying firm BGR Group, started by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, as well as a paid position as executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership in Arizona.

BREAKING: Frank Melton Sues Clarion-Ledger

Melton told the JFP Friday that he was planning to file a lawsuit against the paper.

April 18, 2006—Sources tell the Jackson Free Press tonight that Mayor Frank Melton has filed a civil lawsuit against The Clarion-Ledger for damages in the Hinds County Circuit Court. He is alleging breach of contract in the case filed by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents. Melton claims that when he provided a memo, written by then-MBN deputy Roy Sandifer, to The Clarion-Ledger that he had an "oral contract" with the reporter to check the facts contained therein. The memo, which detailed wrongdoing by the agents, was later found to be largely false by the state auditor's office. Sandifer is now assistant chief of the Jackson Police Department.

Barbour Defends Town Hall Confrontations

The recent spate of rowdy behavior at health-care town-hall meetings is because Americans don't understand the Obama administration's plan, Gov. Haley Barbour told reporters during a conference call Monday organized by the Republican Governors Association.

Gay Rights Activists Protest MC

Photo credit: Brian Johnson

Photo caption: Soulforce co-director Katie Higgins was among those arrested at Mississippi College Thursday.

Ole Miss Student Kills Campus Police Officer

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal is reporting that a second-year Ole Miss student has been arrested for dragging and killing a campus police officer after he was pulled over for speeding:

Bill Expands Mississippi Gun Rights

In a near unanimous vote, the state Senate passed a bill yesterday that will allow Mississippi hand-gun owners to walk into restaurants and parks with their weapons, reports The Commercial Appeal. The Magnolia state joins Tennessee in attempting to expand the rights of handgun owners.

City Council Divided on Melton Investigation

Update: Podcast of Ben Allen's 9/6/06 Press Conference is available here.

Juvenile Justice: What's Needed

Rep. Earle Banks, D-Jackson, chaired the Mississippi House Juvenile Justice Committee last year, but accepts that with Republicans running the Legislature, much will change.

Witnesses Praise Edwards' Leadership

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards has made major improvements to the school district but still needs more time, witnesses in the hearing on Edwards' contract said today. Vicki Davidson, the district's director of advanced academic programs, praised Edwards "hands-on" managerial style, which she said was responsible for the improved morale and greater collaboration she sees among district staff.

The JFP Interview With Charlotte Reeves

Jackson resident Charlotte Reeves prides herself on being a longtime Jackson resident. Her continuing involvement with the city mirrors her willingness to involve herself in its politics.

Melton: Who, Me?

"I don't know anything about that. I can't imagine what I've done," Melton said.

The Jackson rumor mill is on overdrive today about federal indictments of Mayor Frank Melton coming down in the wake of an FBI investigation that pulled several members of his administration before a federal grand jury last week. But the feds ain't talking, as they tend not to do in such cases. Until they're ready, anyway. As for Melton, he told the JFP's Adam Lynch at City Hall this afternoon that he hasn't heard a thing about a possible federal investigation of him.

Bell Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Life

For background on this case, read the JFP's investigative feature, "Grant Me Justice."

Jerusha DeGroote Stephens

On July 1, Mississippi became the 44th state in the nation to license non-physician acupuncturists. This week, Jackson resident Jerusha DeGroote Stephens received the state's first acupuncture license. It's a fitting distinction for Stephens, as she helped lead the campaign to gain state approval for her ancient profession.

Immigration Bill a Reality

Well, he signed it. Gov. Haley Barbour caved in to the screaming fury of conservative talk radio and the raging rant of phone calls and signed into law SB 2988, which makes an undocumented immigrant with a job in Mississippi a potential felon. The bill also makes employees who hire undocumented workers felons, with a punishment of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Do The Right Thing

This story originally ran in the Daily Mississippian, Ole Miss' student newspaper.

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