Jackson Free Press

Consider a Trip

One way to get away from the holiday hustle and bustle is to literally get away.

Hawaii Volcano Erupts from Summit, Sends Huge Plume into Sky

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted from its summit before dawn Thursday, shooting a dusty plume of ash about 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) into the sky.

East Meets West, Bound by Brass

Trumpet and brass bands are a huge deal in Serbia. Each year, the town of Guca hosts a trumpet festival where the world's finest players and bands perform for hundreds …

Nigerian Troops Save 25 More Kids, Women from Boko Haram

Nigerian troops rescued 25 more children and women from Boko Haram early Wednesday as the soldiers destroyed seven more of the extremists' camps in a northeastern forest stronghold, the army …

Obama, Military Assess Islamic State Strategy

With the Islamic State group holding its own in Iraq and Syria, President Barack Obama is huddling with the top U.S. military brass to assess whether their campaign to defeat …

[Kamikaze] Transfer the Power

This city is on the brink of greatness, with more than a billion dollars worth of new development downtown. Young professionals, black and white, are choosing to live, work, and …

Rather Fun House

A Review of "House of Wax"

Nearly a decade has passed since the revitalization of the horror-film genre in the mid-1990s, and the dozens (hundreds?) of fright flicks loosed into multiplexes since then have exhibited a …

Chicks: Make Music!

As I did the music listings this week and worked on this article, I thought about our upcoming annual JFP Chick Ball and how much it means to me.

Jeffrey Altman

As of April 1, Jeffrey Altman has taken on the role of interim executive director for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, or MDOT, following the retirement of Melinda McGrath after …

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.

Selling the Sales Tax

City officials took their message to the people Sunday evening in the first of several town-hall style events, kick-starting the massive task of selling Jacksonians on a proposed 1-percent sales-tax …

Report: Mississippi Laws Cause ‘Extreme’ Prison Sentences

Mississippi’s habitual offender laws are causing “extreme” prison sentences that are disproportionally affecting African American men and are costing the state millions of dollars for decades of incarceration, according to …

Quick, Cultural Getaways

One year, a friend of mine made it her New Year's resolution to go out of town once a month, even just for a day, "even if it's just to …

Dent May: MS Confidential

There's a story that countless TV shows and movies have mined over the years: The small-town artist moves to the big city chasing fame and fortune.

Brian Dozier

Mississippi is full of small towns with major talent. That talent could be musical, literary or athletic in nature. Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier is one of those talents.

[Hutchinson] Where Was the World When Haiti Really Needed It?

The heartbreaking and pathetic scene that I and a group of American visitors witnessed at the small beach town in Northern Haiti still haunts me. We had no sooner arrived …

Alliances of the Little Guys

Jeff Milchen doesn't like big boxes. In 1997, Milchen noticed with alarm that large chain stores were rapidly displacing the locally owned, independent stores that gave Boulder, Colo., its character.

The New Well

Graphic courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy is considering Richton, Miss., as a location for the newest expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The reserve, established in 1975 to protect the …

Analysis: Romney Wants a Repeat, Obama a Reversal

Mitt Romney would love another debate like the last one. President Barack Obama most certainly would not.

NYC, New England Brace for Snowstorms

Snow begins to fall at the start of what's predicted to be a massive, possibly historic blizzard.