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Ledger: Never Say RIFs Again

Here at the Jackson Free Press, which has been blessed to grow steadily during the economic downtown, we were saddened to watch The Clarion-Ledger's latest round of layoffs. We feel bad for the demoralized and unemployed that the Gannett Corp. coldly leaves in its wake in its effort to increase "shareholder value."

How to Shop Fondren

When the Fly Girl and the Girl About Town get together, we shop. Or at least we talk about shopping. So, we decided to start a series of "How to Shop" guides. Our first stop: Fondren. The little gem of a neighborhood is packed full of fantastic restaurants and locally owned boutiques stocked with everything from artisan gifts, art and fair-trade finds.

Shopkeep: The Everyday Gourmet

As you browse the wares at The Everyday Gourmet on County Line Road, certain details will immediately grab your attention--like the dangling spoon and fork chandelier, and the sweet, outdoorsy scent from candles and wood products.

Barbour Taps Leslie King for Supreme Court

Leslie King, a veteran state Court of Appeals judge, will take departing Justice James Graves' place on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Gov. Haley Barbour announced yesterday that he would appoint King to serve the remainder of Graves' term, which expires in 2013. The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Graves' appointment to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Mobile Food Ordinance in Dispute

Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell is trying to orchestrate a deal between downtown food suppliers and advocates of a new city ordinance that will allow restaurants to bring food to the downtown lunch crowd or Fondren on the back of a truck or van.

Double Chic

I found so many great pieces while I was out shopping for our fall trends shoot.

Lannie Spann McBride

When Lannie Spann McBride speaks, her voice resonates with tones cultivated by a lifetime of singing the gospel. Her message of faith has touched the hearts of her students, and the hearts of people around the world.

Group Plans Westin Hotel Downtown

Joseph Simpson wants to build a luxury hotel in downtown Jackson near the federal courthouse and re-open the Iron Horse Grill a few blocks away. He briefly described his development projects to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority board yesterday during the group's regular meeting. His intention is to get $15 million in bonds from the JRA to help fund the projects.

Ben Ellard

Last week Ben Ellard assisted a victim through the court system so she could get a protective order against her abusive husband. The woman's spouse had prevented her from having her cell phone, car or friends.

Tamu Green

Tamu ("sweet" in Swahili) Green speaks with enthusiasm and conviction about his vision for Mississippi. Like a proud parent of a star athlete showing off his trophies, he walks between unopened boxes in his new office in Ridgeland. He describes how the computer equipment and robotics gear will be used for young people.

Big Changes at Koinonia

If his ability to juggle a phone interview while whipping a breakfast bagel is any indication, Nate Coleman is going to make one heck of a restaurateur. Coleman, a Jackson native and trained culinary chef is bringing a new eatery to the capital city that will occupy Koinonia's space, according to a new release from the coffee shop.

Jeff Maddox

Country music songwriter and singer Jeff Maddox has a single that's getting airplay across the United States and overseas, but so far he hasn't heard his song on radio stations at home. Maddox, 42, grew up in Pearl and lives there still, writing music and recording albums.

JFP People of the Day: Outstanding Educators

Parents for Public Schools of Jackson and the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson honored four outstanding teachers in the Jackson Public Schools: Diane Setzer, Mary Cook, Barbara Stevens and La'Keshia Opara-Nadi. All four received a 2011 Outstanding Educator award during a luncheon yesterday at the Jackson Medical Mall.

Back to School

Students began arriving at Timberlawn Elementary School before 7:30 a.m.--early for some older children whose brains were still on a summer schedule. Younger children in brand new, oversized backpacks looked apprehensively at the school's doors, but special education teacher April Washington greeted them with a smile. "Hey! Are you ready?" she asked enthusiastically before directing children and parents to the right classrooms.

Walk the Local Talk

Here at the Jackson Free Press, we know well how hard it can be for a small, locally owned business to stand up to a corporation that wants to stamp out as much competition as possible in order to please shareholders far from Jackson.

Barbour: First, Do No Harm

Call us suspicious, but we don't believe for one minute that Gov. Haley Barbour thinks the Mississippi Legislature will vote to merge the state's three historically black universities, while not touching Ole Miss or Southern. (We do believe they might merge Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State, though.)

Do the Good Thing

The Jackson Free Press was pleased, a little anyway, to see that Gov. Haley Barbour finally caved this week and proposed a 24-cent-per-pack tobacco tax hike. Maybe he is finally getting the memo that even Mississippians of all parties support higher taxes on tobacco products, which would both help finance our health-care costs, as well as discourage smoking, especially among young people.

Barbour's Shameful Pardons

We first heard that then-Gov. Haley Barbour had pardoned another wife-killer Saturday night on WLBT after the Saints game. From there, the news snowballed, with another wife-killer added to the mix, culminating in a list of more than 200 pardons and grants of clemency that we were trying to sort through as the paper went to press.

Be Part of the Crime Solution

The town-hall meeting that the local police union and the Jackson Free Press sponsored last week downtown was eye-opening and sobering. Audience members seemed genuinely flummoxed when they saw the PowerPoint slides of how few police officers are available in a given department at any one time. The numbers are grim—especially considering the naive ideas about crime-fighting pushed by local politicians and media.

Hurricane-Hit Hancock Losing Out

Only a fraction of federal money reserved for re-construction in Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas actually went to the county with some of the most egregious damage, a Government Accountability Office report revealed.

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