Discuss the Saints: ‘Ten and Oh'
The Saints started the day in Tampa Bay by going three-and-out, punting, and then watching the Buccaneers march down the field against their depleted secondary and score seven points. What wasn't clear from that opening drive was this: Those seven were the only points that Tampa would score for the rest of the game.
Discuss the Saints: 9-0
The Saints are good enough to beat every team on their schedule. So why are they keeping these games so close?
Seeking the Authentic
Since I'm one of those folks who was "brought back" to Mississippi by a native, I sometimes feel like I have a unique vantage point. Mississippi reminds me enough of my boyhood Texas to be a second home to me, and yet it's weird enough to feel like "a whole'nother country."
Saints Defense Playing ‘Sharper'
Great story in the Times-Picayune about the role that Darren Sharper is playing in not only picking off quarterbacks but also leading the Saints' relatively young secondary.
[Stauffer] A 21st Century Boom Town?
When we launched the Jackson Free Press seven years ago this week, it was with a cover story on Jackson's "creative class." Seven years later as the JFP rolls into Volume 8, I still hear from people surprised, amazed and (at least, more often than not) pleased to see the JFP is still kicking andin factgrowing.
'Local' Means More than 'Locale'
In her Aug. 21 column, "How Locavores Brought On Local-Washing," Forbes magazine Deputy Editor Elisabeth Eaves takes umbrage with the story "A Local Lie" (link) published here and in a handful of other newsweeklies around the country.
Think Local First
I'm currently reading the book "Big Box Swindle" by Stacy Mitchell, who wrote our cover story this week. The book argues that much of what we believe about big-box developmentthat it creates jobs, wealth, tax dollarsare myths.
Whose River Is it?
In the past weeks, the Jackson Free Press has spent some time looking into the Two Lakes plan for flood control and economic development on the Pearl Rivera plan that's come back so many times from the grave that it makes "Night of the Living Dead" seem like a History Channel documentary.
The Changing Saga of ‘Two Lakes'
Last week John McGowan of McGowan Working Partners LLC visited us here at the JFP offices for a marathon lunch session to discuss his "Two Lakes" project.
Jackson Run-Off and ‘Two Lakes' Open Thread
All, the debate is over, so tell us what you thought. Did you learn something new? Did you hear something you liked? Didn't like? Did it affect your vote? What were the best moments? The worst?
Why Harvey? Call Me ‘Responsible…'
Political seasons are always interesting, particularly because we at the Jackson Free Press feel it's important—despite the turmoil that often ensues—to endorse candidates for office.
What Did You Think of the Mayoral Debate?
All, add your comments below about what you thought of Thursday night's debate, brought to you by the Jackson Progressive, Jackson 2000, Leadership Jackson Alumni, WAPT and the Jackson Free Press. What were the best lines? Worst? Who scored the best points? Did you decide who to vote for?
‘Think Local' Elections
As the city primaries approach on May 6, 2009, I turn again and again to the thought of how local business will fare in these elections.
Stimulus Starts At Home
This week we're proudand perhaps a little surprisedto be publishing one of our largest issues of the Jackson Free Press so far in Volume 7; and one of the most ad-packed issues ever.
Ledger Admits Guilt on Melton
Last weekend, David Hampton, editorial director of The Clarion-Ledger, wrote what could have been an important first step for the newspaper that did a fair bit to help get Frank Melton elected.
Now, Go Produce a Record!
Last week's Best of Jackson issue was followed, as always, by the Best of Jackson party, and this year's party was an amazing blowouthundreds of our closest friends joined us for a sneak peak at the new Auditorium in the old Duling School in Fondren for what has been pretty roundly praised as a good time on a Sunday night.
LoungeList Photos: Best of Jackson 2009
Thanks to everyone who came out last night to the Best of Jackson 2009 party to see the awards given away, experience a wonderful new venue -- the Auditorium -- here in Jackson, and to rub elbows (literally) with the creative class of Jackson, Mississippi. Photos by Kip Caven have been posted to LoungeList.com. (If you got photos from the party, post them over there on LoungeList and I'll add them to this album. Thanks!)
Celebrating Excellence
I write this having just watched the swearing in of our new president, hearing his call to service and responsibility in his inaugural address. It will take some time to let that speech soak in and to hear more about the tone that will be set in Washington.
LoungeList Photos: Convention Center Opening
LoungeList.com photographer Kip Caven got some great shots of people -- reportedly tens of thousands -- attending the Jackson Convention Center grand opening in downtown Jackson on Saturday, January 17, 2009. Enjoy!
Hope Community Credit Union Merges with American Savings
[verbatim release] JACKSON, Miss., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE) and American Savings Credit Union (ASCU) announced today that the two organizations are joining in a merger transaction. The merger became effective January 1.
Photos: John Horhn Announces Candidacy for Mayor
Photos of the announcement press conference and rally for Mississippi State Senator John Horne, who announced his intention to run for Jackson city mayor in 2009. Photos by Kip Caven:
Ole Miss Upsets Texas Tech in Cotton Bowl
In a surprise performance capped by 81 total points scored, Ole Miss rolled over Texas Tech in part due to big plays on defense, including an interception returned for a touchdown and a safety against Tech.
Make Jackson Weird
I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, and one of the biggest adjustments to rooting for my now-beloved Saints is to learn to keep hope alive for a team that lacks a tradition of winning.
11/26 Dow Continues Up Going into Holiday
The Dow has been up for four straight days, apparently responding to action taken by the Barack Obama transition team as it names its cabinet and bevy of advisors, along with hints that a solution for ailing automakers may be in the works.
Think Global, Buy Local
Welcome to the "Good" issue. Our goal with this intern-created issue is to present you with ways that you can give back, give thanks and consider some opportunities to do some good this holiday season before you sink into shopping madness.
Obama: The YouTube President
Today's Saturday radio broadcast by Barack Obama follows in the tradition of weekend radio broadcasts by the president of the United States and, often, by the opposition party. But, according to the Washington Post, Obama is giving things a twist. Going forward during the transition and then into Obama's presidency, the weekend address will also be presented as a video available on the Web.
Barbour Named Vice-Chair of GOP Governors
AP (hat-tip to WLOX) is reporting that the GOP governor's group has elected South Carolina governor Mark Sanford as chair and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour as vice-chair of the Republican Governors Association.
12/13 Dow Recovers Nearly Five Percent
Thursday trading saw the Dow careen back up at the close, presumably on bargain hunting and the sense that a Dow of 8,000 (which it reached briefly) is a floor for this bear market. The real story, however, was intraday trading...there were 911 points between the Dow's low and high. It closed up 552 points, it's third greatest point gain in history.
11/12 Markets Down Again on Jobless News
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits hit a staggering number last week -- 516,000, making it the highest week since shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. The result was another downturn in the market, with the Dow ended Wednesday just under 8,300, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both showing 5 percent drops. In morning trading on Thursday, the Dow had gained 100 points.
11/10 Dow Dips Under 8,900
While the dip wasn't as dramatic as in weeks past, the Dow did fall less than a point today lead by U.S. automotive stocks that are taking a hit as they seek a government handout from the government. GM is warning that it's running low on operating capital, while Ford's stock is trading at $1.93, down 4.5 percent.
ON STAGE: Rain, A Tribute to the Beatles
Thalia Mara Hall
Formed from the same group that performed Broadway's "Beatlemania," Rain has been performing as the fab four since 1977.
IN GALLERIES: "The Philosophy of Beauty"
Millsaps Lewis Art Gallery
Memphis artist Tad Lauritzen's work is a joy to view.
ON SCREEN: "Opera Jawa"
Mississippi Museum of Art
Crossroads Film Society presents "Opera Jawa" and "Luxury Car" as part of the Global Film Festival,
11/6 Markets Down Two Days Running
After losing over 500 points yesterday in the wake of the American presidential election win by Senator Barack Obama, the Dow is down another 440 points in mid-day trading. CNN Money says the sell-off is accelerating on concerns that falling oil prices and problems in the U.S. auto industry will be harbingers for a longer recession.
10/31 Markets End Up for the Week
The Dow ended up again on Friday, the first time it's been up for two days in a row in the month of October. CNNMoney headlined their story Strong End to a Brutal Month, leading with: "Stocks rallied Friday, capping off a strong week at the end of one of the worst months in Wall Street history." The Dow began October at 10,831 and ended at 9325, according to CNN.
Gallup Poll Not ‘Tightening' on National Vote
The assumption is that four days out from a Presidential election, the national polls would show continued tightening in the race between the two major party candidates. And, while these polls are only broad indicators of the candidates' chances (since it's the Electoral College that ultimately matters), it's interesting to see today that Gallups three models -- registered voters, traditional likely voters and expanded likely voters -- all showed increases for Obama in Friday's three-day rolling poll. One-third of the poll was conducted after the Obama infomercial and joint rally with Bill Clinton on Thursday.
Gannett To Cut Another 10 Percent in December
On Tuesday, Gannett Company, the corporate parent of the Clarion-Ledger, announced sharply lower earnings and their intention to lay off another 10 percent of their Newspaper division workforce in early December. The layoffs come just months after another round of layoffs affected 3 percent of employees in August.
10/29 Ching, Ching, Ching…Market Rollercoaster Climbs High
The Dow and other indicators took an extraordinary leap up on Tuesday, with the Dow climbing nearly 10 percent to close up 889 points, the second highest point gain ever, representing a 10.9 percent gain. The NASDAQ gained 9.5 percent and the S&P 500 10.8 percent.
10/23 Dow Ends Up 172; NASDAQ Stays Down
Although the Dow got as low as 275 it rallied back by the time the bell rang to go up 2 percent after two straight days of sliding, including a massive point drop yesterday. Some of the stocks that bounced back included oil and transportation stocks.
10/22 Stocks Hit Again Over Earnings Woes
The Dow dropped more than 500 points today settling a little over 8500 as weak earnings and a continued drop in oil prices drove recession woes. Intra-day the Dow was down nearly 700 points; the 500 point drop today (which would have been called "Black Something-Day" if it'd happened 12 months ago -- it was the Dow's 7th worst point drop) represents nearly 6% of the index's total.
Factchecking McCain on Small Biz
In all of Sen. John McCain's hand-wringing recently over Sen. Barack Obama's tax plan, there's something I have never seen said plainly enough that I'd like to state for the record here:
Apple Posts Strong Quarter; Yahoo! Cuts Jobs
The NASDAQ eagerly awaited reports from two stalwart tech stocks after the bell rang today. Apple offered up one of its best quarters in its history, but with unsteady guidance for fiscal Q1 2009. (Apple's first fiscal quarter of each year corresponds with the holiday quarter, calendar Q4 2008.) Apple posted revenue of $7.9 billion and a profit of $1.14 billion, compared to $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million in the year ago quarter.
10/21 Markets ‘Sell' on Recession Fears
The DOW stayed above 9000 today, but still dove over 230 points, down 2.5 percent, with the market focused on some tough earnings reports from banks and financials. Deep into earnings season, fears have turned to recession, even as credit markets appear to be loosening somewhat.
10/16 And, Dow Back Up Again…But Recession Fears Still Loom
The Dow was down as much as 360 points today in intra-day trading but ended up 400 points or nearly 4.7 percent. Some of the rally seemed to be a result of oil prices that have dropped to almost half of their record high earlier in the year; those numbers withdrew some short-term inflationary fears and helped send airline stocks up.
10/15 Dow Registers Second Largest Point Loss Ever
With the analysts chalking it up to new concerns that we're in a recession, the Dow experienced is second greatest point drop ever today with relatively little fanfare, dropping 733 points. The NASDAQ was off 8.5 percent and the S&P 500 lost 9 percent of its value. It goes without saying that this extraordinary volatility continues with the market see-sawing between massive losses and record-setting gains.
Six Flags Over Wall Street: Market Climbs 11 Percent
In an amazing recovery after weeks of selling, the Dow industrials gained 11 percent and the NASDAQ nearly 12 percent. The Dow gains represent the most points ever and match an 11 percent rise in March 1933, according to the Portland Business Journal.
10/10 DOW down ‘Only' 128 Points. Are We in a ‘Panic'?
Intraday, the Dow was off over 700 points in early trading, spending part of the day below 7900 for the first time since April of 2003. Businessweek makes the case that these past two weeks might well be called the "Panic of 2008," reviving a term from years past that might just fit the way the market is behaving.
Connecticut High Court Throws Out Gay Marriage Ban
In a 4-3 opinion, the Connecticut Supreme Court threw out that state's gay marriage ban today, making Connecticut the third state in the country that will recognize same-sex marriages. Connecticut already had a same-sex civil unions law, but the state's Supreme Court today ruled that the state could not show sufficient evidence why all marriage rights shouldn't be conferred on same-sex couples.
10/9: Markets Down 7 Percent…Again
The Dow lost 678 points to close down 7.33 percent and under 8,600, while the NASDAQ lost 5.47 percent and ended down below 1,650. The markets experienced their seventh straight day of losses, closing at their lowest levels since 2003. While the Bush administration announced that it may take over some banks to stem the crisis and open up credit markets, the move didn't appear to change attitudes on Wall Street.
Millsaps Named a 'College of Distinction'
[verbatim release] JACKSON, Miss.Millsaps College is the only college or university in the state named to the 2008-2009 Colleges of Distinction guidebook based on the college's dedication to four key areasengaged students both outside and inside the classroom, great teaching by expert professors, a vibrant community both on and off campus and successful, productive graduates.