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Jackson Violent Crimes Drop 18 Percent Last Week
Violent crimes in Jackson decreased by 18 percent last week, along with an overall 3 percent decrease in all major crimes, according to statistics released at a Jackson Police Department …
Carl Gibson
Carl Gibson has only been in Jackson for nine months, but he has already become a fixture of the city's music and arts scenes. The Kentucky native drums and performs …
MDE Submits Proposal to Makeover State Schools
On June 1, the Mississippi Department of Education sent a 500-page Race To The Top proposal to radically transform the state's educational system to Washington, D.C. Mississippi's entry in the …
Councilmen Address Store Shooting
Addressing tension between Indian storeowners and their African American clientele, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes called for dialogue between the groups at a public hearing on crime yesterday evening.
Commission Readies School Consolidation Report
A governor-appointed panel is set to issue its final recommendations on school district consolidation in the next month. The Commission on Education Structure met at the state Capitol today to …
Board Approves University Tuition Hikes
The state College Board approved tuition increases for Mississippi's eight public universities at a meeting this morning. The increases, which will take place over two years, are necessary to offset …
Restaurant Makeover
Belhaven mainstay Keifer's Restaurant is set to move to a new building in late September. Assistant general manager Jeff Stricklin told the Jackson Free Press today that the restaurant is …
Senate Grants Barbour More Budget Power
The Mississippi Senate passed a bill yesterday that would give Gov. Haley Barbour greater leeway in cutting state agencies to balance the state's budget. The bill, Senate Bill 2495, would …
Lessons from the Animal Kingdom
Romeo never visited the zoo. The lovelorn lad had all he needed to woo Juliet, thanks to Shakespeare's silver pen. But imagine if he flipped on the Discovery Channel and …
Burnin' Down the House: DIY Concerts
It's not just for sweaty, basement punks anymore. Do-it-yourself house concerts are cropping up all over Jackson, the perfect expression of the city's collaborative, welcoming music scene.
Free Speech or Bad Behavior?
A recent Jackson Police Department internal investigation is a prime example of the wild world of free speech in the Internet era. On March 10, the department released a statement …
Speed to Turn Over Property, Calls Ethics Issue ‘Moot'
Jackson businessman and Levee Board member Leland Speed is donating a portion of the property that spurred charges of an ethics violation to Mississippi College. Speed told the Jackson Free …
Barbour Repeats Health-Care Scares
Federal health-care reform will burden Mississippi with higher Medicaid costs, Gov. Haley Barbour told business leaders at a summit yesterday. Barbour claimed that the legislation would cost the state $230 …
Scalia Defends Gay, Abortion, Gun Rulings at First Baptist
The United States should not look to other countries when interpreting its own Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said yesterday in a speech at First Baptist Church of …
Burton: Schimmel Pushed Edwards' Ouster
George Schimmel, member of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees, drove the board's consideration of whether to replace Superintendent Lonnie Edwards, said Otha Burton, his fellow board member, today. …
Fondren Business Shuffle, Nightclub Reopens
The Orange Peel is moving. Owner Kristin Tubb says the Fondren consignment shop will open in its new location, at 422 Mitchell Ave., on March 10. As Fondren's retail and …
Airing Abuse
When does sunshine become an invasion of privacy? Television station WDAM, an NBC affiliate in Hattiesburg, has what it says is video evidence of abuse at the Forrest County Juvenile …
Federal Aid Coming Fast, With Strings
A coming flood of federal aid is forcing state agencies, city government and community organizations to balance local needs with the demands of timeliness and accountability.
Frank Melton
Melton: 'I'm At Peace'
Mayor Frank Melton praised Jackson's economic progress and outlined some of the city's persistent problems in his State of the City address Thursday morning, Aug. 21, at the TelCom Center.
Feds Want Melton Retrial Moved To Gulfport
Federal prosecutors want to move the retrial of Mayor Frank Melton and his bodyguard Michael Recio to the Gulf Coast to avoid intense media scrutiny. In a motion (PDF) filed …
