| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

Battle for the Library

Phtoto by Roy Adkins

The Mississippi Center for Justice has made clear its desire to occupy the old library on 301 N. State Street. The group is offering to pay more than the appraised market value for the building, which has been heavily vandalized in the last few years, and the non-profit said in a press statement that it will not seek its exemption from property taxes if it comes to own the property.

Argument for Yearbook Refusal Unfounded, Says ACLU

The ACLU of Mississippi says the Copiah County School District was wrong not to allow a lesbian student to place a yearbook photo.

11 Things About Sweet Potato Queendom

Learn everything you want to know about the SPQ phenomenon, and then some.

Grady Griffin

Grady Griffin has his work cut out for him. As director of education and training for the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, Griffin, 39, is the man in charge of providing restaurant owners with support and information during the water crisis this week.

Unemployment Tops 20 Percent in Four Counties

Nearly 155,000 Mississippians received unemployment benefits in January, with the state's unemployment rate for the first month of 2010 exceeding the national average. Four counties reported jobless rates in excess of 20 percent: Holmes and Noxubee counties both reported rates of 23.1 percent unemployment; Clay County reported 21.2 percent and Winston County 20.3 percent. The state's average rate is 12 percent, 1.4 percent higher than the national average of 10.6 percent.

Jewell Davis

Jewell Davis is soft spoken and polite, but when she talks about improving Jackson's future as a public information officer for the office of mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., her passion is evident.

Supervisors Push Forward on Byram-Clinton Corridor

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors today approved taking another early step forward in the Byram-Clinton corridor road-construction project. Supervisors voted unanimously to advertise for engineering consulting services on the project, which Supervisor Peggy Calhoun called "vital to the future economic development of Hinds County."

Laurence C. Jones

A hundred years ago, Laurence Clifton Jones established The Piney Woods School in rural Rankin County with $2 and three students. Jones, born Nov. 21, 1884, in St. Joseph Mo., graduated from the University of Iowa in 1908. He turned down a job at Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama, opting instead for the Utica Institute in Mississippi.

Lawmakers to Rally for Education Funds Tomorrow

House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, will lead a rally in support of education funding tomorrow in the rotunda of the state Capitol at 11 a.m. The rally comes in the wake of further budget cuts to K-12 education by Gov. Haley Barbour and in anticipation of budget negotiations between the House and Senate.

JPD Promoting 30 Officers to Sergeant

Read this week's crime report

Carlton D. Williams

Provine High School Band Director Carlton D. Williams is on top of the world as he reminisces about his school's sweet victory at the Tyson Foods Battle of the Bands last month. "It was a very riveting experience," Williams says of the regional band competition. "It was a milestone in my career to be able to participate in an activity of that magnitude."

Kathy Clem

Kathy Clem, executive director of The Good Samaritan Center, is working tirelessly until Christmas to make sure needy families in Jackson will receive gifts this holiday season. Clem, 48, has worked at the center for 25 years, and says there are still 120 children signed up the organization's Santa's Stocking program who are waiting for their wish list to be filled.

Legislature to Tackle Development Project

The Mississippi Legislature will convene Friday for a special session to approve incentives aimed at luring a $500 million economic development project to the state. Gov. Haley Barbour announced the session Aug. 20 but gave few details on the project, witholding the company name, industry and potential locations.

Chamber Forms Health-Care Division

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership is placing a priority on the metro's medical industry expansion by forming a new health-care initiatives division.

Hinds Approves King Edward Financing Support

Hinds County Supervisors approved a tax increment financing plan to support the King Edward Hotel renovation at a meeting this morning. The plan requires the county to cover 85 percent of any increase in property taxes due to the development for the next 20 years or up to $2.8 million, whichever comes first. During that period, the King Edward developers, HRI Watkins, will pay only 15 percent of any increase in property taxes as the area rises in value.

Wins, Losses for School Appropriations

The House and Senate agreed to restore about $37 million to K-12 education in a this week following Gov. Haley Barbour's veto of a budget reconciliation bill that would have restored $79 million in cuts to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and district attorney's offices.

Kathy Elam

Balloon artist Kathy Elam believes that all it takes is a balloon and a smile to brighten someone's day.

Barbour Vetoes Budget Restoration

Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed budget reconciliation act Senate Bill 2688 today, a bill that restored $79 million in cuts he enacted for Fiscal Year 2011. The governor rejected the bill saying that it delayed "inevitable government reorganization and relied on one-time money to cure recurring budget woes."

Allison Goldman

The story of Judy Frieze Wright, a Jewish Freedom Rider who was arrested in Jackson in 1961, inspired Allison Goldman to educate others about the role of Jews during the Civil Rights Movement.

Hinds Supes Approve Eco-Devo Authority

In a move aimed at increasing the county's economic competitiveness, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to convert the county's economic development district into an economic development authority. The name change signifies an expanded function: The rechristened "Hinds County Economic Development Authority" can issue up to $50 million of its own bonds, backed by the county's tax collections.

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors