Jackson Free Press

Statewide Smoking Ban In the Works

A joint House and Senate Public Health Committee heard opinions yesterday from health advocates and business representatives about the potential consequences of a statewide smoking ban, as proposed by Senate …

No More Rotting Hulks

Every little acorn dreams of oak trees, the saying goes. Well, one little seed has come to Jackson, and is now looking to grow a virtual forest of a community.

Jackson Reduces Budget by $5.3 Million

The Jackson City Council approved a final revision to the city's budget containing a total of $5.3 million in budget reductions, after the administration overestimated some department expenditures and increased …

Willis Trial Postponed

Hinds County Circuit Court has postponed a malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by Cedric Willis, Jackson city attorney Pieter Teeuwissen said today.

PSC Attorney Withdraws from Coal Plant Hearing

A Mississippi Public Service Commission attorney gathering information for a second-phase hearing on the workability of a proposed $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County withdrew her participation from the …

Council Agrees to Invest in South Jackson Development

The Jackson City Council voted to issue more than $1 million in bonds for a South Jackson development at Tuesday's council meeting. The decision, which is connected to the development …

JRA May Help Fund Capitol Green

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority voted today to work with a developer to form a funding strategy for an automated parking garage and communal air-conditioning unit for the proposed $1.3 billion …

New Money for Farish and Medical Mall Expands

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority approved a $1 million loan yesterday to the The Farish Street Group to continue their renovations on Farish Street, and passed a resolution recommending that the …

City to Shore Up $1.5M for JATRAN

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said Monday the city will have to come up with an unexpected $1 million by January to pay for JATRAN bus drivers.

Burkhalter Stepping in as Interim U.S. Attorney

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder picked federal prosecutor Don Burkhalter to serve as interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi today. Burkhalter, who served as No. 2 …

City Again Helping Minority Businesses

The city of Jackson is returning its Equal Business Opportunity Office to its former glory. On Dec. 1, the city hired professional speaker and public relations consultant Pamela Confer as …

Council to Vote on Sales-Tax Request

At tomorrow's meeting, the Jackson City Council will decide whether to ask the state Legislature to remove a controversial state commission that must now approve how the city spends sales-tax …

Jackson Resident Claims Racism

Jackson resident Robert Shoulders is suing Utility Constructors Inc. and its owner Terry Lovelace for racial harassment.

Workers Rally Against Human Trafficking

A group of about 70 Indian workers marched onto the Mississippi State Capitol Thursday protesting treatment by Pascagoula construction company Signal International, LLC. "These people endured a kind of slavery," …

Police Assaulted Boy, Mother Says

A Jackson mother alleges that a JPD officer threw her child against a police car and gave his face a cut that required 11 stitches.

Can Education Be Saved? More Cuts May Be Ahead.

Pontotoc County Superintendent John Simmons has been in his position for only two years, but already knows how strapped for money his county schools are. "Some of our history books …

Debate Highlights Party Loyalties

Photos by Adam Lynch

Republican State Auditor Phil Bryant and Democratic Rep. Jamie Franks sparred before a modest crowd of about 200 at Biloxi's Saenger Theater last Wednesday. The event was more a locked-down …

Suffer The Children

Ginger Smith is founder and administrator of The Renaissance Academy, a division of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, which works to educate troubled students in Hinds County. Since 2004, Smith …

Johnson's Back!

"I, Harvey Johnson, Jr, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully ... discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, so help me God."

Amid Shouts, A 911 Overhaul

The mood in the House on Feb. 8 was affable, as it had been throughout most of the Legislative session since it opened in January. Lawmakers passed more than 10 …