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Sneak Attacks

Jacksonians first caught a glimpse of the kind of mayor they had elected less than a week after Melton won the primary. WAPT sent reporter Greg Flynn to the YMCA on Farish Street, where Melton volunteered, to get Melton's thoughts on how he felt about his win and where he planned to take the city.

‘Major Extortion'?

Photos by Brian Johnson & Darren Schwindaman

Council members Marshand Crisler, Ben Allen and Margaret Barrett-Simon told the Jackson Free Press Monday that city Chief of Staff Marcus Ward threatened Jackson School Board member Jonathan Larkin's re-appointment to the board if he does not approve a bid for a contract by a company supported by the mayor's office. According to the three council members and sources connected to JPS, Ward told Larkin that the mayor's office would not submit Larkin's name to the Council for re-confirmation if he did not approve a contract bid by Jackson business Integrated Management Services PA, for work related to the $150 million bond issue—a bid that is reportedly much higher than the next lowest bid.

‘Gangs' of Fondren?

An April 13 fight involving a group of preteens and young adults in Fondren Park has resulted in a flurry of responses on the OurFondren Neighborhood Association's online community message board, raising questions about how neighbors should respond to safety concerns.

Why Won't Ledge Identify Press Releases!?!

OK, this practice has long bugged me, but now it's really driving me crazy. Now that The Clarion-Ledger is turning its newspaper into "information centers," they are posting press releases throughout the day under the header "breaking news headlines," with a few actual news updates mixed in. OK, that's tricky enough, but when you click to the press releases, they do nothing to actually tell readers that they are press releases. They don't say "verbatim," they don't mark them "press release." They just post them with a byline that reads: "The Clarion-Ledger." No, it's not written by "The Clarion-Ledger"; it's written by a PR flack and then pasted in. I don't have a problem with them posting releases (if they actually have substance or relevance), but why the deception on the fact that they are just press releases!?! This is about as far from good, or civic, journalism as you can get. Do they think we're idiots out here?

The iPhone arrives…In June

You've got to feel as sorry as you possibly can for the richest man in the world. After all, here's Bill Gates on Monday, giving the keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, one of the largest technology shows on the planet, and he's one of the most important people in the history of modern computing. He's amassed a fortune by being perhaps the person most instrumental in shaping our experience of computers in homes, businesses and governments around the world.

More Prosecutions Possible in Neshoba Slayings?

We are transferring a posting from BenG (from the Hungry Blues blog) here in order to have a more substantive conversation about it and not take away from the Dee-Moore discussion where it was originally posted:

Day 8: Franklin County Editors, Past and Present

This morning, Judge Henry Wingate agreed to allow the government to show the jury a racial epithet-filled letter that James Ford Seale allegedly wrote to the Franklin Advocate on July 23, 1964—two and a half months after he is accused of abducting and helping kill Henry Dee and Charles Moore, and six days after then-Franklin Advocate Editor and Publisher David Webb was announced as the publicity director of the Americans for the Preservation of the White Race, a Natchez-based front organization for the Ku Klux Klan, according to Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files.

Not Fear, But Love: Cancelling Holidays in the Year of COVID-19

"How are you going to tell the grandkids?" This was the question that convinced George Long to cancel his Thanksgiving plans. This was the question that convinced him to wear a mask, to minimize his social life for the duration of the pandemic.

CORE Activist George Raymond Immortalized in Arc of Freedom’s New Documentary

Glen Cotton, Christopher Windfield, Corey Redd and Will Kelly answered questions after the screening of their documentary “George Raymond: Thirst For Freedom” for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s “History Is Lunch” series on July 7, 2021.

Small Schools, Big Talents

Mississippi schools have been a source of great football talent for a long time. While players at the major universities and colleges get most of the attention, smaller schools have talented players the bigger schools often overlook.

Profile: Chokwe Lumumba

Now, Chokwe Lumumba devotes a good deal of time talking about his family's own diverse racial heritage, the camaraderie he experienced among fellow basketballers of all races and nationalities, the poor whites he has represented vigorously in the courtroom or the relationship he was able to build with former Gov. Haley Barbour.

BREAKING: Smith's Response ‘Blatant Lie,' Father Says

District attorney candidate Robert Smith held a press conference today—not inviting the Jackson Free Press—to respond to Freddie Patton, a father he features in a campaign ad blaming D.A. Faye Peterson for not prosecuting the drunk driver who killed his baby daughter. Patton said yesterday that the Smith campaign brought him to Jackson from his home in Chicago and immediately put him on a TV set to do the ad. However, he said he soon learned that the Smith campaign lied to him about the role Peterson could have played—when, in fact, she was never given a case file to prosecute. Thus, he publicly retracted his endorsement, as the JFP reported yesterday.

Focus on Money in Mental Health Crisis a 'Red Herring,' Advocate Says

Disability Rights Mississippi praised a federal judge's ruling earlier this week that found the State violates the civil rights of those with mental illness, but a leading mental health advocate pushed back on Attorney General Jim Hood's emphasis on money, rather than a well-funded systemic overhaul.

DOSSIER: Shanda Yates' Win in Mississippi Inspires Voters, Teaches Lessons

If the last week has proved anything, it's that people in the U.S., in Mississippi and especially in the Jackson metropolitan area are excited about a political newcomer, Shanda Yates, defeating a long-time incumbent for the District 64 seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

The JFP at 15: Raising Hell, Having Fun

The Jackson Free Press' official birthday is Sept. 22, my late badass mother's birthday. She was illiterate, but loved to tell stories and encouraged me to say whatever I needed to say—so it was only appropriate to start the JFP on the day she would have turned 78.

After ICE Raid, Immigration Limbo in Mississippi for a Jackson Family

Daniela Vargas was asleep early on Feb. 15 when she felt her father kiss her goodbye, as he did every morning. It was around 6:30 or 7 a.m., a seemingly normal Wednesday morning—until it wasn't. Just a few minutes later, her father came back, waking her: "Dani, immigration is here!"

DA Smith Says MBN Framed Jackson Man; Agency Says Evidence Not 'Credible'

Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is hanging his defense to state charges and a bar complaint around what he alleges is a set-up of Christopher Butler, the man at the center of five of the six counts that could get the DA booted from office.

Stonewall: Life Across the Tracks

There's a saying amongst black folks in Stonewall, that if it has a motor, they—white cops—don't want you on it.

Best of Jackson 2016 Nomination Ballet

Best of Jackson voting is divided into two stages—a nominations ballot and a final ballot!

A Waiting Game: What’s Next with ‘One Lake,’ Flood Control?

Despite multiple roadblocks and open questions, the controversial plan to create a large lake along the Pearl River for flood control and potential development in the Jackson area continues to move ahead as project sponsors respond to thousands of comments that poured in last fall.

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