| JFP Mobile | Jackson, Mississippi

Candidates Weigh in on Education

The three candidates for lieutenant governor had their first debate June 13 in Biloxi, as part of the Mississippi Department of Education Summer Conference. The debate, funded by the Mississippi Department of Education, focused on education issues.

J.J. Salem

Jackson author J.J. Salem's latest steamy beach read, "Tan Lines," has received praise from publications as varied as Publisher's Weekly and The New York Post, and was named a "Summer Reading Pick" by "Good Morning America."

Change Where It Matters

In an age when television airwaves and opinion pages burst with outraged faces and voices on both sides of the political spectrum, one group of Mississippi youth is conducting public discourse in a more level-headed light. What's more, these high schoolers are learning how to enact social change where it matters most: the community.

Then There Were Six

An additional four staff members at Columbia Training School have been suspended with pay, bringing the total to six, according to Department of Human Services Director Don Taylor. DHS is currently investigating staff at the school for shackling at least five students for more than a week because another student said the girls planned to escape.

Mayor Faces Heart Surgery

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton fainted at an inauguration ceremony for county officials Monday morning. Melton appeared to temporarily lose consciousness during the inauguration, which recognized officials elected during the November elections, including Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith.

Law on Call

Last summer, Jackson attorneys Tim Porter and Rocky Wilkins came up with the idea for "Law Call," a live call-in show that premiered on WLBT Feb. 7.

Levee Board Votes for Levees

The controversial "Two Lakes" saga ended Monday when the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District voted to move ahead with a levees-only flood-control plan endorsed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

New Homes 'Tested and Passed'

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton stepped away from his federal trial Friday to announce that city inspectors no longer have concerns about infrastructure problems at the Timber Falls and Forest Hills Place neighborhood developments.

Lifers and Choicers Agree: JPD Sucked

Demonstrators on both sides of the abortion debate recently forced the city of Jackson to address the right to protest in public. Though the state of Mississippi made history earlier this century for demonstrations and rallies on social issues, particularly on civil rights issues, the city of Jackson seems to have no exact number for determining how many demonstrators constitute a "demonstration," even as more radical pro-life groups pledge to storm the "Gates of Hell" here in Jackson in upcoming weeks.

Feds to Slash School Funding?

Federal mandates connected to the "No Child Left Behind Act," signed by President George Bush in 2002, demand that Mississippi improve its school test scores or face losing federal money for education.

Opening the Flood Gates

The imposing iron gate along West Street had been locked to the North Midtown neighborhood since the mid 1980s. Would anyone from North Midtown even want to walk through?

Civil Rights to Actually Be Taught

Gov. Haley Barbour likely shocked his staunchest supporters when he announced a bill authorizing public schools to add civil rights and human rights to the public-school curriculum in all grades. "I think the broader the curricula and history are, the better it is for the students," Barbour said at the March 20 announcement.

UPDATED: Saggy-Pants Ordinance Fails 4-2

The Jackson City Council voted down Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes' proposed Saggy Pants Ordinance on Tuesday with a 4-to-2 vote. Opposition to the ordinance included Councilmen Jeff Weill, Marshand Crisler, Leslie McLemore and Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simone. Supporters included Stokes and Councilman Bluntson, with Councilman Charles Tillman absent.

Irby Trial On Schedule

The criminal trial of Karen Irby, wife of Jackson businessman Stuart Irby, is set for March and looks ready to proceed. At a Feb. 17 pre-trial hearing, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green indicated that she foresaw no delays in the case and that she plans to sequester the jury.

Reversing This Injustice

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, visited the campus of Jackson State University Tuesday to speak on an upcoming April 1 march across the Crescent City Connection, a bridge spanning the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the bedroom community of Gretna. After New Orleans took a pounding from Hurricane Katrina, police from the majority-white community of Gretna shut down the bridge to largely black refugees fleeing the destruction in New Orleans.

CityBuzz [08.23.06]

In a national survey of American cities with more than 100,000 people, Jackson ranked the 42nd most liberal out of 236. The survey, conducted by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research (votingresearch.org) showed Jackson edging out liberal icons like Austin, Texas (92) and Athens, Ga. (97). Sadly, Jackson did not score higher than Memphis, Tenn. (38) or Seattle, Wash. (16), to say nothing of Berkeley, Calif. (3). The most liberal city was Detroit, Mich.

Another Nod To Big Tobacco

Former tobacco lobbyist Gov. Haley Barbour announced March 27 that he was vetoing a bill to provide $20 million a year to The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, an anti-smoking program financed through a $120 million annual payment from a 1990s tobacco company settlement.

Mayor Leads Morality Raid

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton took his mayoral duties into Center Folds strip club, in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Melton showed up after 1 a.m. with two other police officers and claims he found violations of the city's nudity laws.

City Council Interrogates Police Chief

The Jackson City Council criticized Police Chief Shirlene Anderson's crime plan and demanded action on unconfirmed department heads at a March 6 special council meeting. The council spent the first hour of the meeting addressing Anderson's "Comprehensive Crime Reduction Plan," which the chief presented with help from Chief Administrative Officer Robert Walker. "This is a draft," Walker cautioned. "This is not the fine-tuned document we intend to have before you in a few weeks."

More Cops For Guns; Fewer For 911?

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton says he's more than doubling the city's seven-member gun-interdiction team because of the team's success since April. Officers will be moved from within the city's current force, which is down to 440 officers, far under the 1999 Linder-Maple recommendations for Jackson.

All results / Stories

Sort By

Date

Authors