| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

JUST IN: Melton Set to Declare State of Emergency

The Jackson Free Press got a phone call today at 10:45 telling us that the mayor was gathering reporters at City Hall at 11 a.m. to address his "state of emergency" and youth curfew pledges from last week.

Seattle's Former Top Cop Says End Drug War

In an op ed this weekend in the Seattle Times (and, it seems, the LA Times, since he's bylined as "Special to the Los Angeles Times"), Norm Stamper, former chief of police in Seattle, says he's not for decriminalization of illicit drugs; he's for legalization. Of all of them.

'Local' Means More than 'Locale'

In her Aug. 21 column, "How Locavores Brought On Local-Washing," Forbes magazine Deputy Editor Elisabeth Eaves takes umbrage with the story "A Local Lie" (link) published here and in a handful of other newsweeklies around the country.

Take That, O Disloyal Ones!

Immediately following a Jackson City Council work session in January, Mississippi Link publisher/owner Socrates Garrett was all smiles. Council President Marshand Crisler had informed him that it was looking like the council was going to vote to award him the city's legal ads. The Link bid $5 for a 100-word ad published three times—the lowest-cost bid submitted this year.

[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.

Dignity-Rutgers Team on Oprah Today

Of course I have more to say, but in my busy chick world, for now I only have to say it's time. It's time to use that repressed energy to let folks know it's enough. We don't have to live in a world where pop culture defines them with degrading language. We don't have to live in a world where our sons learn to tear women down to build themselves up. We don't have to be quiet and just accept that our society is what it is, because it's not.

A.G. Hood: Any Deal Includes Melton's Resignation

In a press conference this afternoon, Attorney General Jim Hood confirmed that his office will offer a plea bargain to Frank Melton, telling reporters that it is the policy of his office to always offer people under indictment an opportunity to plead guilty to the crime, sometimes to a lesser charge. Hood did not specifically say he would require Melton to plead guilty to a felony, but he did say that Melton would have to resign as mayor in order to reach a plea agreement.

Dirty Tricks Against Obama ... Already

Per Joe Conason over at Salon, the right-wing machine is pulling some old dirty tricks out of its archive:

The Civil War Had Nothing to Do With Slavery

[Irby] Thank You, Mr. McIntyre

PHILADELPHIA, MISS.—Lawyers made closing arguments today in the State of Mississippi v. Edgar Ray Killen trial. I sat with the media in the courtroom shaking my head as defense attorney James McIntyre of Jackson avoided addressing the facts of the case and tried instead to convince the jury why it should not have been brought up in the first place.

Hello, and Goodbye

I've never been great at goodbyes. When I meet people I dig, I want them around. But I've learned that a life filled with interesting experiences and people does mean, sometimes, saying goodbye. Since I've been in the weekly newspaper business, I've figured out that putting out a dynamic, fresh newspaper means embracing change, even when it makes one a tad grumpy.

Bill Proposes to End MPB Funding

Mississippi Public Broadcasting Acting Executive Director Jay Woods said a proposed bill that would eventually end state funding for his agency due, in part, to its supposed "liberal" bias would hinder the state's educational and economic growth.

Whitney Place to Rebuild Fondren

Watkins Partners Developer David Watkins says he plans to move ahead with his plans to tear down a 1938 business strip in Fondren, recently used as a movie set in "The Help," to create space for his proposed multi-use development, rather than pursue historic tax credits to renovate the block. The developer says keeping the strip would not be economically viable, despite questions about the buildings' historic value.

[Lott] The Oreck Challenge

Before this column takes on the big issues expected in the Senate this year, I want to address something all Mississippians should note. It's a lesson about corporate citizenship and corporate responsibility that our state should resolve to remember, particularly as we try to bring new jobs here.

Senate Sets Sights on Gun Laws

Mississippi already exports more firearms than any other state, but some legislators want to relax our gun laws even more.

Melton: ‘How Dumb Can You Be?'

Jones County Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum gave Jackson Mayor Frank Melton the keys to the courtroom at a hearing today, allowing him to belligerently insult the attorney for the Democratic committee that expelled him from the primary ballot last week and avoid answering questions he did not wish to address. Landrum has been put in charge of a suit to decide whether or not Melton can legally run for re-election as a Democrat.

Beth Kander

In response to the news that state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol was the "surprise speaker" at the recent Council of Conservative Citizens meeting in Jackson in June, Jackson playwright Beth Kander announced on Facebook that she will be hand delivering a letter and flowersto the senator.

Obama Campaign Comes to Mississippi

The Associated Press is reporting that the Barack Obama presidential campaign is opening an office in downtown Jackson in order to work toward the March 11 state primary. The JFP learned separately that the office will be in the site of former gubernatorial candidate John Arthur Eaves' campaign offce. Former Gov. Ray Mabus and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson are Obama's state co-chairmen.

The King Gets Another Reprieve

In the nick of time, the Mississippi Senate approved an amendment this week that would provide a $2 million interest-free loan to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority to fund environmental cleanup and handle other preliminary costs associated with the redevelopment of the King Edward Hotel. The move came after the current developers of the King Edward Hotel learned that the city's application for its elusive $2 million BEDI environmental grant—needed to move the project forward—had once again hit a snag.

‘He Will Be Missed': Herman Snell, 1969-2010

"A secret turning in us makes the universe turn. Head unaware of feet, and feet head. Neither cares. They keep turning." - Rumi

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors