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[Editor's Note] Peace, Prosperity and Tolerance

Every December now for about a decade, we have asked the Jackson Free Press staff members to sign hundreds of holiday greeting cards that we send to freelancers, advertising clients, sources, and other friends and acquaintances of the JFP.

Census Shows Jackson's ‘Flight Problem'

Also see: Ward Schaefer: Jackson 'White Flight' Slows In Last Decade

Farish Street Too Pricey for Some

Development of the Farish Street Entertainment District may have hit a wall of high prices, says Big Apple Inn restaurant owner Geno Lee.

[Balko] The El Paso Miracle

By conventional wisdom, El Paso, Texas, should be one of the scariest cities in America. Surprisingly, it's actually one of the safest.

[Kamikaze] Shut Up and Listen

I went to "The Vagina Monologues" last weekend, and it turns out that it wasn't that bad after all. After I was "told" I would be going, I prepared myself for all of the "controversy" and "profanity" that I was supposed to hear.

A Letter to Caller Number One

"Why don't y'all just leave him alone?" The passion in the caller's voice was alarming. "He's an old man. Just leave him be. Let sleeping dogs lie." When I heard these words back in February, I stepped away from the sink where I was washing dishes and stood in front of my television, with suds dripping down onto my feet and the hardwood floors below. The anonymous caller was ranting to the hotline of a local news station, and the "old man" was James Ford Seale.

[Collier] When the Clock Ticks

The incessant tick-tock of the biological clock has been the cause of anxiety for women who haven't yet had children but want them, and those who are still waiting for "the one." I've never bought into the internal clock phenomenon much. Until I had a birthday recently, that is.

[Queen] My Kwanzaa

As far back as my memory will take me, Kwanzaa has consistently been the best time of my life minus the early years when the horrors of the day prior (Dec. 25) invoked a spirit of deprivation because all my friends had new toys for Christmas.

Dems Target Abortion Rights

In a move calculated to force a showdown on abortion rights in the state, the Mississippi Legislature declared war on Roe v. Wade last week after Rep. Steve Holland, chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, added language to Senate Bill 2922 that would effectively ban legal abortion in the state.

The Inaugural Purpose

It was a great honor for me as chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to emcee the presidential inauguration and to help plan it. Since Washington's day, inaugural ceremonies have not been just about the President, but more so a celebration of a new chapter in American democracy.

AG Jim Hood Celebrates State Farm Settlement

Attorney General Jim Hood said Tuesay that his office has reached a class-action settlement with State Farm in the Katrina lawsuit. Policy holders and Hood claim the insurance company wrongfully denied coverage for storm surge damage.

Melton's Attorney: ‘He Is In Charge'

Mayor Frank Melton's attorney John Reeves said today that the mayor has no need to appoint an interim mayor after confirming that Melton traveled home to Texas after leaving the hospital Friday. "He is in charge," Reeves said. He said the city is sending Melton essential papers to be signed. "He has a wonderful staffsome of the best I've seen, and I've been in public service for 25 years."

BREAKING: Second Bodyguard Pleads Guilty

Also see: Full JFP Melton Blog/Archive/Trial

Former mayoral bodyguard Michael Recio has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his role in the 2006 demolition of a Ridgeway Street duplex, according to WAPT and a federal attorney with knowledge of the case. Recio was the last remaining defendant in a case that originally included another former bodyguard, Marcus Wright, and former Mayor Frank Melton. Wright pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in October, and prosecutors dropped their charges against Melton after his death last week.

Innocent Man Goes Home for First Time Since 1993

INDIANOLA—Arthur Johnson, 48, wrongfully convicted in 1993 of rape and burglary, went home with his family Monday, Feb. 25, for the first time in a decade and a half. Sunflower County Circuit Judge Ashley Hines still levied $25,000 in bail, even though DNA testing proves Johnson did not commit the rape. Johnson has already served 15 years of his 55-year sentence in Parchman.

Mississippi Chrysler Dealerships Closing

Chrysler is closing almost 800 dealerships across the country as part of their bankruptcy agreement, including six in Mississippi. The Magnolia State dealerships on the closure list are:

AG: Entergy Admits to Over-charging Mississippians

[Verbatim from AG Jim Hood] Jackson, MS - After months of denials, Entergy Mississippi has now admitted to overcharging Mississippi ratepayers for power, and to engaging in part of the same scheme it used in Louisiana, where it was forced to pay back $106 million, Attorney General Jim Hood announced today.

HB 561: Frozen Embryos are Children

Last week, Mississippi Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, sent an e-mail to his constituents concerning House Bill 561, the "Human Embryo Adoption Act." In his e-mail, Mayo disparaged the fact that the bill prevents same-sex couples from adopting frozen human embryos.

Mass Firings and A Merry Christmas

Twelve days before Christmas, Jackson employees suddenly received a mass e-mail from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security stating that they were "registered with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security" and that they were, thus, "covered by unemployment insurance."

Council May Investigate Melton

In front of a packed City Council chamber, with citizens spilling into the hallway, Council President Ben Allen announced that he will now support an investigation of Mayor Frank Melton's alleged illegal actions, if by 4:30 p.m. this Friday, professional investigators have not "wrapped up" their probes. If that is case, Allen said, he would call for a Council-led investigation of Melton that would begin the following Monday. Melton's alleged rampage through a Ridgeway Street duplex was first reported by the JFP on Sept. 1.

[Balko] The Media Aren't Liberal

For the last few months, my colleague Matt Welch has been tracking the positions of California's newspapers on Proposition 19, the ballot measure that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use. At last count, 26 of the state's 30 largest dailies had run editorials on the issue, and all 26 (plus USA Today ) were opposed. This puts the state's papers at odds with nearly all of California's left-leaning interest groups, including the Green Party, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP; progressive publications such The Nation, Salon and The Huffington Post; and a host of prominent liberal bloggers.

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