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Weekend Events

Start your weekend off right with a little back-to-school shopping. The Mississippi Sales Tax Holiday started at 12:01 a.m. today and ends Saturday at midnight. Buy shoes and clothes that retail for less than $100, and you pay no sales tax. Head to the Department of Revenue website for complete information.

Karaoke Connections

In a darkly lit corner of Fenian's Pub on Fortification Street, an older long-haired man in a T-shirt looks around tentatively as he puts down his pint. His wife, still clad in her hospital scrubs, smiles eagerly.

JPS Board Mulling Metrocenter Move

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said at last week's Jackson Public Schools board meeting that he supports developer David Watkins' vision to relocate the entirety of JPS administration to the Metrocenter Mall, but said it was not his place to influence the decision.

[Mott] ‘Bring On the Rest'

Driving away from Parchman Penitentiary on the night Mississippi executed Joseph Burns, I was having trouble putting my feelings into words. I had just watched a man die in front of my eyes and yet, I was oddly calm, as if I had just walked out of a movie theater.

Minimalist Musings

Though a lover of words, Wyatt Hillyer is not very good with them. The main character in "What is Left the Daughter" by Howard Norman, Hillyer writes to his daughter: "My whole life, Marlais, I've had difficulty coming up with the right word to use in a given situation, but at least I know what the right word would have been once I hear it."

Council Approves Capitol Street Construction

The Jackson City Council approved a memorandum of understanding last night granting Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. the authority to continue to change Capitol Street into a two-way street.

Ridgeland Apartment Complex says "Jackson" crime has spilled into Madison WHAAAA??

In the latest in Jackson bashing news: I have a colleague who recently showed me the weekly newsletter from his apartment complex. While the actual complex will remain nameless, it IS, indeed, located in Ridgeland. Well, I thought you guys would get a kick out of something I read in said newsletter ... just as my colleague thought I would. My eyes almost popped out of my head like I was in a Looney Toons cartoon.

Bridging the Gap

Marty Stuart, a Philadelphia, Miss., native, is firmly rooted in traditional country music with a mission of preserving that history. Stuart is a self-proclaimed bridge, connecting young musicians with their history while promoting the musical heritage of his home state.

[Purvis] Wasteland of Empty Promises

"Call—call the police!" I stammered through the phone tenuously gripped in my trembling hand. I was kneeling in my mother's living room in the midst of broken glass and a carpet stained with drops of blood—his blood. He had punched out the glass in the patio door and the panes in the living-room windows.

Women Speak Out

We asked JFP readers and domestic-abuse victims to share their stories. Here are a couple of the many responses we received. I always thought I was too strong, smart and grounded to be caught up in the cycle of domestic violence, but here I am. The funny thing is, while I was with my abuser, I defended him. I lied to myself and made excuse after excuse for his behavior, not because I condoned it, but because I didn't understand the subtleties of domestic violence.

Chicks We Love

Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention.

Burns' Execution ‘Very Likely'

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps briefly spoke with reporters at Parchman Penitentiary at 2 p.m. today.

Starting Again: Mississippi Laws Trap Women In Abuse

Claire sat with her back to the wall on the washed-out blue bedspread covered with big cabbage roses, once pink, now faded nearly to white. The neat little room barely had space for the old-fashioned wood-framed double bed, a black desk and office chair, and a high bookcase stuffed with official-looking 2-inch binders and children's movie DVDs.

Community Events and Public Meetings

10 a.m., Disaster Preparedness Expo for Senior Citizens at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), in the UMC Conference Center. Topics include: Where to go if your home is uninhabitable; how and where to get medication; and well as who to contact for social services. Call 601-352-2269 to RSVP.

Get It Fresh

Nothing beats farm- or garden-fresh produce for flavor and nutrition. Lucky for Jacksonians, the area has a number of venues where local growers sell in-season and organic produce and, in some cases, organic meats and eggs.

My Kind of Tea Party

Recently, I was asked to appear on a local cable talk show to talk about issues of the day. I didn't think much about it; it sounded easy and innocent enough. And I was busy and didn't bother to ask who I was appearing on the show alongside.

A Second Chance

When Hinds County animal-control officers pick up a dog, they take it to a temporary shelter at the county Penal Farm in Raymond. The county shelter houses between 700 and 1,000 dogs a year. After a week, most make their way to the Mississippi Animal Rescue League where, more often than not, they are euthanized. A lucky few earn a spot in the county's special program.

James, Wade, and Bosh Land in Miami

LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh have decided to bring together their talents in Miami. The city of Cleveland, including Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, is heartbroken. Gilbert fired off such personal invective that I doubt LeBron James will ever consider returning to the Cavs, when his Heat contract expires.

ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police

Freelance photographer Lance Rosenfield was working on assignment for ProPublica in Texas City, Texas, last week, when a BP security guard began following him. Rosenfield was later detained by police after taking photos for two ProPublica stories. One revealed that BP's Texas City refinery had illegally emitted 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air in April and May. The other reported that the Texas City refinery continues to have serious safety violations five years after an explosion at the plant killed 15 workers. What follows is Rosenfield's account of what happened on Friday night after the police, accompanied by the BP security guard, stopped him at a local gas station.

BP Announces Hiring Improvements

BP officials announced improvements to make the company's Vessels of Opportunities program more efficient and incorporate more regional employees, during a media briefing Wednesday.

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