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Green Your Thanksgiving Meal

Falling leaves, pumpkins, a cornucopia and turkeys: Whether we are conscious of it or not, some of the most prevalent Thanksgiving symbols come from nature. No matter where you are in the country, whether the leaves change, the snow falls or you spend Thanksgiving on a beach, you are bound to see some of these influences at your celebration. While surrounded by family and friends, it is easy to fall (pun intended) into old habits. This year, why not show how thankful you really are by committing to going green with your Thanksgiving celebration?

Civil Rights Museum Stirs Controversy, Again

State lawmakers will have a chance to act on Gov. Haley Barbour's recent call to move a proposed state civil-rights museum to downtown Jackson. Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, told the Jackson Free Press Friday that he will introduce bills today to restart the planning process for a civil-rights museum, which has stalled since a Barbour-appointed commission selected Tougaloo College for its location in 2008.

Jackson, Let's Shoot for the Top

As I write this Tuesday, I have no idea who will be the Democratic nominee for mayor when you read this. As always happens in Jackson and Mississippi, it's been a tough campaign that has wallowed in the mud and brought out the worst in many of our neighbors.

BOOM Jackson Hot Off the Presses

The Jackson Free Press is proud to announce the second annual edition of BOOM Jackson magazine. Billed as a "love-letter to Jackson," the publication is a full-color, high-quality, 84-page publication distributed throughout the city, targeted to visitors and those looking at Jackson to move their families or businesses into the area.

Union Leader Brenda Scott Announces Mayoral Run

Brenda Scott, President of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, threw her hat in the ring for mayor of Jackson on Monday. Speaking to Jackson Free Press yesterday, she promised to be a "common-sense mayor of the common people."

Hood Settlement Under Suspicion

Attorney General Jim Hood offered no guess as to what media outlets are looking for in a sealed February 2008 settlement between his office and State Farm and Fire and Casualty Company. Jackson New Media, Inc., publisher of the Y'all Politics blog, filed motions to intervene and unseal the settlement this month, joined by three TV stations: Jackson's WLBT, Hattiesburg's WDAM and WLOX in Biloxi.

The Food Also Rises: Easter Dining

For some families and many Christian denominations, it's traditional to begin Easter Sunday with a sunrise worship service. Jacksonians without a particular church home—or looking to start the day with a more diverse congregation—can join together at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum at 7 a.m. March 27 with Dr. Dolphus Weary of Mission Mississippi as the speaker. Or, join The Journey at Smith Park at 10 a.m. for dance, music, worship and a free meal.

MySpace v. Domestic Abuse

Pussy for Peace is a married 25-year-old woman from Tehran. The MySpace page she manages is a sprawling hive of women's news and thoughts with a Middle East flavor. When a woman is attacked, shot or beaten anywhere in the world, the news often appears here, along with a host of pro-female thoughts.

Speed Answers Ethics Questions with Challenge to Levee Board

After giving away part of his family's property bordering the Two Lakes development footprint last week in response to ethics questions, Jackson businessman Leland Speed today asked fellow Levee Board members to provide a list of gifts they have received from vendors and contractors doing business with the levee board.

Sleep Inn Poised for September Opening

After a brief hiatus, construction on the Sleep Inn downtown is set to resume in the next two weeks and finish in time for a Sept. 1 opening. Robert Gibbs, a member of the Jackson-based LEAD Group LLC, which is developing the hotel, told the Jackson Free Press today that his group has acquired construction financing to finish the $5 million project.

No Quorum At JPS Board Meeting

Only two board members appeared at this evening's meeting of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, not enough for a three-member quorum. Board members H. Ann Jones and Jonathan Larkin were present and listened to public comments, many of them from parents protesting the board's Oct. 20 decision to discontinue a music education program. Both Jones and Larkin favored renewing the Strings in the Schools program, which brings Mississippi Symphony Orchestra musicians into schools to perform and teach.

Sweet Potato Queens Move Parade to Fondren

The annual Sweet Potato Queens Homecoming will take place in the Fondren neighborhood of Jackson, not Ridgeland, author and founder Jill Conner Browne told the Jackson Free Press today. Following Mal's St. Paddy's Parade this March, Browne announced that the Queens would end their affiliation with the parade and hold their own parade and fundraising events in the Renaissance at Colony Park shopping center in Ridgeland.

Birdland Reopening, Economy Still Lagging

Farish Street nightclub Birdland is open again after spending eight months closed under a court order. The club renewed its privilege license and dancehall permit Friday and was open last weekend, Jackson Police Department spokesman Detective Roderick Holmes told the Jackson Free Press today.

Jane, You Ignorant Snit!

The other day, an e-mail popped up with the subject line, "tired of insults." I grimaced a bit and opened it. The correspondent first told me that she reads my paper most every week, and "I like the Free Press." But then she got to the point: "I wanted to let you know that you do have some conservative readers and I, for one, would like to read more articles by liberals that are not SO OFFENSIVE."

MPB Moves Toward Self-Sufficiency

Big underwriters with deep pockets could save Mississippi Public Broadcasting. To find those generous companies, MPB employees preoccupied with periodic membership drives need time to make convincing sales pitches. To free up that time, MPB says an independent consultant might handle its next fundraising drive.

Update: ‘Jena 6' Sentence Overturned

Update: Today a Louisiana appeals court overturned the conviction of Mychal Bell, one of the "Jena 6" who were facing severe charges for their end of a racially tinged feud at a school in Jena, La. Read more here. Maggie Burks of the Jackson Free Press has been covering the case since early August, when she went to Jena to cover Al Sharpton's visit there in support of the young men. Read her Aug. 8 story here. Read the Wikipedia entry on the case here

Bringing Civility Back to Online Conversations

Here is what the Des Moines Register told readers today:

It was predictable. Allowing anonymous free-for-alls in online newspaper comments—in a way papers never would do in print—is about to go the way of the Hummer. The Des Moines Register, a Gannett-owned paper whose site looks just like the Clarion-Ledger's announced today that it has started allowing only comments from people logged in through Facebook. This somewhat-extreme measure comes after Gannett papers, and many other websites, operated at the other extreme for way too long: allowing just about anything anybody with a fake name wanted to post on their sites. They clearly thought, for a minute, that this was good for page views. And maybe for a minute it was. But, nowadays, all you hear is how nasty the comments are, and readers are flocking away from sites that allow this level of anonymous vitriol and nasty personal comments. People increasingly are only going to such sites for negative entertainment value—the same reason people watch Jerry Springer or pick up Star Magazine. Real news outlets have to have better sense.

[Kinnison] 'Motivate and Delegate'

This summer, after I crossed Interstate 10 and returned home after graduating from Loyola University, I showed up at the Jackson Free Press again. I had first interned at the JFP when I was still at Jackson Prep, in the early days of the JFP, when the office was in a duplex.

Yes, They Can

Last Friday, several interns sat in front of their computers, refreshing their e-mail inboxes. They also had their cell phones at the ready, impatiently waiting for the big text message to come from Barack Obama announcing his running mate.

Doggie Do's and Don'ts

Here in America, we love our dogs. But because an Amber Alert doesn't cover dogs, we often find ourselves at a loss if our own pals go missing or if someone else's shows up on our doorstep. Here are some tips for lost dog prevention and recovery.

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