| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

Tupelo Republican Wants to Block Gay Unions

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting: 'Saying gay marriage 'goes against everything society has ever stood for,' state Sen. Alan Nunnelee has filed a bill to ban the union under the state Constitution. Mississippi lawmakers must have all bills and constitutional amendments filed by Feb. 23. Nunnelee's bill calls for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Mississippi already bans marriage for same-sex couples and does not recognize homosexual marriages performed in other states, but Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, says the 1997 state law may not be enough in years to come.

My take on the Immigration issue

[Greggs] All In The Single Girl's Family

In honor of the holidays I was going to write an endearing column listing all the wonderful things in my life for which I have to be thankful. I scrapped that after realizing it would probably end up sounding trite and, well, endearing. So I've decided to write a column traversing the sticky rainforest-like scape of my family's deep-seated personality disorders and their relation to my oft-pointed-out single status. That sounded like a lot more fun, and one way that I might actually get excluded from the family festivities this year.

Coming Home

I was always that kid who stuck out in school. With my glasses as thick as ashtrays and my disheveled hair, I was constantly slipping on social banana peels wherever I walked. I was clumsy and silly, but eager to run around barefoot and climb the trees, constantly searching for a place where I felt more at ease with my peculiarities. I often took refuge on our family farm in Hurley, Miss., knowing that the horses didn't care about my awkward inclinations.

[Stiggers] Dr. Collard Greene Goes Organic

Chef "Low" Fat Meat: "My health-conscious friends complained about the food I used to serve at my restaurant.

[Kamikaze] I'm Angry

I try not to write when I'm angry. They say some of the best writing comes out of emotion. But some of the most regrettable pieces have come when penned emotionally as well.

[Miller] Coal Plant: Unnecessary, Expensive and Dirty

The Mississippi Sierra Club, AFL-CIO and NAACP strongly oppose Mississippi Power Company's proposal to build a $2.4 billion "clean coal" plant and adjoining mine in Kemper County.

Seale Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court

Attorneys for James Ford Seale, convicted in 2007 on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges related to the 1964 killings of two 19-year-old African Americans, have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court today.

Melton's Attorney: ‘He Is In Charge'

Mayor Frank Melton's attorney John Reeves said today that the mayor has no need to appoint an interim mayor after confirming that Melton traveled home to Texas after leaving the hospital Friday. "He is in charge," Reeves said. He said the city is sending Melton essential papers to be signed. "He has a wonderful staffsome of the best I've seen, and I've been in public service for 25 years."

BREAKING: Second Bodyguard Pleads Guilty

Also see: Full JFP Melton Blog/Archive/Trial

Former mayoral bodyguard Michael Recio has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his role in the 2006 demolition of a Ridgeway Street duplex, according to WAPT and a federal attorney with knowledge of the case. Recio was the last remaining defendant in a case that originally included another former bodyguard, Marcus Wright, and former Mayor Frank Melton. Wright pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in October, and prosecutors dropped their charges against Melton after his death last week.

Idiot's Guide to Cocktails

Looking back over the last couple of decades, I've certainly enjoyed my serious journalistic life. But I must admit that some of my best times, my favorite memories, involved not just having fun, but helping other people have a good time—whether by hosting a fun party, deejaying at clubs, emceeing events or mixing drinks as a bartender. And I don't mean throwing together some vodka and tonic and a hunk of lime. I mean creating and serving delightful cocktails—heavenly and other-worldly concoctions that make your toes tingle and your tongue dance in delight: true golden margaritas; unpredictable martinis; saucy mojitos; and my all-time-favorite drink, the Brazilian caipirinha.

Mobilizing the Hip-Hop Generation

To anyone who watches MTV all day—where P. Diddy, Ja Rule and Nelly dominate the screen flashing fancy cars, gold chains and an entourage of scantily clad women—political empowerment and hip-hop may seem like conflicting terms. But hip-hop has been political in nature since its birth in the youth subculture of the Bronx during the late 1970s. Unfortunately, what started out as a gritty portrayal of what was really happening on the streets has been perverted in less than two decades into a seemingly endless supply of high-paid corporate clowns rapping about little more than the fact that they're rich. Today, mainstream hip-hop is worse than apolitical—it has become a tool to oppress and distract an entire generation of youth, especially youth of color.

Community Events and Public Meetings

UMC Blood Drive., at University of Mississippi Medical Center (2500 N. State St.). Mississippi Blood Services will take donations. Please bring ID. Call 888-902-5663. Donate at these locations and times:

JFP Lists: Signs of Life, Rest in Peace, Wish List

A creative boom, of sorts, has hit the city over the last couple years—not to mention a renewed interest in supporting locally owned businesses over dull national chain stores (what the JFP dubbed two years ago "Think Global, Shop Local"). Nightlife never left downtown, but even more spots are joining stalwarts like Hal & Mal's and George Street. Many businesses are finding new reasons to move back into the city instead of hiding out in the suburbs where many in the emerging Creative Class don't get to very often. Following is an undoubtedly incomplete list of many of the signs of life that we have witnessed at the JFP, as well as a wish list and a rest-in-peace roster. Add your suggestions to these lists. Who knows? Maybe your wish will come true.

[Mott] Fake It 'til You Make It

"A governor, a senator and then me. I think I may be the comic relief," I quipped before my brief statement at the Fourth Annual Interfaith Dinner on Oct. 4. On the roster were Gov. William Winter, state Sen. Hillman Frazier, two bishops, two preachers, a rabbi, a retired FBI agent—and me. My Jackson Free Press story about a trip to Turkey with the Institute for Interfaith Dialog hardly seemed worthy of the honor.

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors