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Resilient, Yet Scarred Five Years After the BP Oil Spill, the Gulf’s Ecology Fights to Bounce Back

The aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill is about much more than shimmering blue and emerald water. And it's not as pretty a picture—nor is it as clear.

Obama to Sign Hate Crime Legislation

In a ceremony today at the White House, President Barack Obama will sign a bill into law that has been in the works for more than a decade. The bill updates the 1968 federal hate crime statutes that currently protects individuals from attack because of their race, religion or ethnicity, adding sexual orientation and disabilities to the list.

Crossroads Film 2011 Reviews

The Crossroads Film Festival is screening dozens of movies April 1-3 at Malco Grandview Theatre in Madison, in addition to holding workshops, after-parties and other related events all over town. The Jackson Free Press reviewed a few films to give you a sampling of what you'll find at the festival. For a full schedule of screenings and other festival events, go to http://www.crossroadsfilmfestival.com.

‘This Don't Make No Sense'

The tone was tense at a hastily called Sept. 2 emergency briefing between City Council members and Jackson Mayor Frank Melton. Though slow to release public statements in the days after Katrina struck, Melton announced at the briefing that the city was under an emergency order "to give us the latitude" to address massive power outages across the city and the corresponding fuel shortage attributed to Hurricane Katrina.

Sun-Herald: MISSISSIPPI NEEDS HELP NOW

<i><b>South Mississippi needs your help</b>

The Sun-Herald published a desperate editorial Thursday on its Web site.

2020 Election Issue Preparing for Nov. 3: Voting in Unprecedented Times

Zack Wallace, the Hinds County circuit clerk for the past five years, is seeing a record level of absentee voting this year as the Nov. 3 general election draws near.

Hinds County to ‘Rebrand' Itself

In an effort to improve the image of Hinds County and attract new residents and visitors, the Hinds County Economic Development Authority has contracted an urban planning firm to rebrand the entire county.

Men Who Hate Women on the Web

Joan Walsh of Salon has a fascinating story about how women are often treated online, using the ugly attacks on Kathy Sierra as an example. She writes:

Where's YOUR Confidence?

A Response to Luke Parrish's Blog on Understanding Self-Worth, Confidence, and "Believing in Yourself"

[Balko] The El Paso Miracle

By conventional wisdom, El Paso, Texas, should be one of the scariest cities in America. Surprisingly, it's actually one of the safest.

AG Jim Hood Celebrates State Farm Settlement

Attorney General Jim Hood said Tuesay that his office has reached a class-action settlement with State Farm in the Katrina lawsuit. Policy holders and Hood claim the insurance company wrongfully denied coverage for storm surge damage.

State Investigates ‘Lawn Service' Contracts

Better late than never. It looks like the state and the media are finally playing catch-up on investigating the city's allocation of money to Frank Melton's "lawn service" contracts to young friends from the Wood Street area. The Jackson Free Press has been trying to get attention to this matter for many moons now, and it seems that the feds took heed before the state auditor bothered to take a closer look. For background, here is one of our stories, from last March, on the issue in which I interviewed the head of the "lawn service" (and that story links to documents that we acquired and published for the first time).

Mayor to Hold Up Sales Tax Hike?

Last session, the Mississippi Legislature enacted a referendum vote for a sales tax increase to fix city streets and improve public safety, but Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. says that vote may be on hold indefinitely.

With A Good Intention

People come up and thank me all the time for being "daring." Or "courageous." Or "fearless." No, the Jackson Free Press is not particularly daring or courageous (although admittedly we can be a bit fearless now and then). We're just trying to do our job the best we can. Sometimes we succeed better than others. But "daring"? Not really. Unless you mean willing to risk angering an advertiser or a reader when we tell an unpopular truth.

[‘Tis The Season] Building Green

I recently drove down to Hattiesburg to meet with architect James Polk in a tiny storefront office with a cement floor, spring green walls, and architectural posters and models covering every available surface. Polk is the architect designing Lily Valley, a walkable eco-community centered around a European-style town square, with energy-efficient homes in walking distance of a school, concert hall, bakery, grocery, art galleries, shops and restaurants. Plenty of green space will surround the buildings.

The Dawn of a New ‘Daily'

This past week we flipped the switch on a new "product" that's been brewing in the JFP labs for the better part of six months: JFP Daily.

ARTICLE: Rape and Race: We Have to Talk About It

In this article on TheRoot.com, Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks about a public discussion that took place in a church in Brooklyn, NY - a discussion of the touchy subject of intra-racial rape in the black community.

[Chickdom] The Gift That Keeps On Giving

We Southern women are quite particular about love and marriage, particularly weddings. As little girls, we have our china patterns chosen, as well as the dress, church, colors and cake. It is the realization of all our dreams, and yet amidst all the formalities, our bridal announcements do not include fill-in-the-blanks for that one rite of passage that rebukes all previous Victorian decorum. I'm talking about the part of the celebration where the virginal, blushing bride gets a vibrator.

Alexis Larkin and Aaron Schwartz

Before Alexis Larkin and Aaron Schwartz met on J-Date, an online Jewish dating service, they each had gone out with people who had stretched the truth about themselves. Alexis had met up with a guy who had said he was 5 feet, 10 inches, but turned out to be shorter than she was, at 5 feet, 5 inches. Aaron had a date with a woman who described her body type as "cuddly" but turned out to be quite a bit larger.

The Thin Line Between LGBT and Racist Hate

Echoes of Mississippi's discriminatory history continue to make themselves heard, sometimes in the form of so-called "religious liberty" laws that give businesses and organization wide berth to invoke their religion to justify discriminating against LGBT people.

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