Education
The Hunt for Vouchers in Mississippi, After All These Years
Republican leaders secretly slipped $2 million for a private-school voucher program into an unrelated funding bill—despite the fact that most Democrats and many Republicans opposed expanding the program.
Jacksonian
Derek Augustus
Derek Augustus, who co-owns local recycling company Environmentality with Karissa Bowley, has always been interested in finding his creative eye, and designing and building things by hand, he says.
Civil Rights
Poor Mississippi Counties Are Top IRS Targets in Hunt for Tax Cheats
A new study of IRS practices reveals a tale of two Mississippi counties, with one of the poorest in the state earning the top spot as the most audited in …
Politics
Reeves Skipping First Debate for Governor Despite Early End to Session
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican candidate for governor, will be a no-show at the party's first primary debate on Tuesday night.
Person of the Day
Aaron Pelch
Millsaps College named head football coach Aaron Pelch as interim athletics director on Dec. 20, 2018, and he assumed his duties on Jan. 1, 2019.
Biz Roundup
Food Truck Festival, Miss Jackson Hospitality Pageant and Regions Financial Debates
The Mississippi Museum of Art recently announced that it will expand the hours for its sixth-annual Food Truck Festival on May 16 to include lunch service. Local food trucks will …
City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
Education
GOP Leaders Trick House Into Sending $2 Million to Private Schools
Mississippi will use millions in taxpayer dollars to fund private schools after Republican leaders in the Legislature secretly slipped funds into a bill for state construction projects.
Education
HCC Honors Gala, Tougaloo Gospel Explosion Musical and MSU International Film Festival
Hinds Community College's Utica campus hosted its Vice President's Scholarship and Hall of Honors Gala on Friday, March 29, at 7 p.m. at the Clyde Muse Center
Business
Jackson Black Pages Plans Expo for Mississippi's Black-Owned Businesses
Chuck Patterson founded the Jackson Black Pages, which connects Jacksonians with black-owned local businesses through its website so they can put money back into their local communities.
Person of the Day
Tyrone Jackson
Tyrone Jackson will become Mississippi Delta Community College's first African-American president and its ninth overall. Larry Nabors is retiring after six years as president.
Civil Rights
Mississippi Senate Approves New Map to Boost Black Voting Power
Mississippi lawmakers are working to redraw the lines of a state senate district that two federal courts ruled dilutes black voting power.
Person of the Day
Yolanda Ni
Yolanda Ni, an eighth-grader at Oak Grove Middle School in the Lamar County School District, won the 2019 Mississippi Spelling Bee on Tuesday, March 19, at the Mississippi Public Broadcasting …
Biz Roundup
Evolutions Beauty Bar, JXN Gumbo at Mantle and 52nd Annual Beth Israel Bazaar
Latarsha Ellis, a lifelong Jackson native who has worked as a cosmetologist and hair stylist for more than 20 years, will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for her …
Person of the Day
John O'Neal Jr.
John O'Neal Jr., a civil-rights activist, playwright and actor who cofounded the Free Southern Theater and Junebug Productions, died of vascular disease on Feb. 15 in New Orleans. He was …
Crime
Michael Avenatti Defrauded Mississippi Bank, Prosecutors Charge
Michael Avenatti, the high-profile attorney who formerly represented Stormy Daniels, defrauded a Mississippi bank, federal prosecutors in California charged on Monday.
Education
Teacher Pay in Limbo as Mississippi Senate Balks at $4,000 Raise
The fate of a bill that could grant Mississippi's public-school teachers a $4,000 pay raise over a two-year period remained uncertain Monday morning as lawmakers from both chambers of the …
City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
Civil Rights
Voting Rights Act Denied Mississippi Its 'Sovereignty,' AG Candidate Says
At a Tupelo campaign stop on Monday, Mississippi State Rep. Mark Baker, a Republican candidate for attorney general, said the 1965 Voting Rights Act violated Mississippi's "sovereignty."
Education
Mississippi Library Partnership, UM Tobacco-Free Grant and MSU Ragtime and Jazz Festival
Hinds Community College President Clyde Muse and Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum signed an agreement on Wednesday, March 20, to join the Mississippi Library Partnership.
