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Cover

After the Flood

It only took Millie Williams a few minutes to decide that the animals needed her. Watching footage of Hurricane Katrina on television at her home in Pennsylvania, Williams saw evacuees …

Jacksonian

Tobie Tomlinson

"Being a shooter," Sgt. Tobie Tomlinson says, "allows for focus." Tomlinson, 35, knows a thing or two about focus. A service rifle shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, based in …

Education

Opposition to University Mergers Strong

Gov. Haley Barbour's proposal to merge some state universities continues to draw ire. On Nov. 20, students rallied at Jackson State University to protest Barbour's suggestion that the state's other …

Education

A Plan for Change

Otha Burton may be one of the newest appointees to the Jackson Public Schools board, but he is a veteran of city government. Burton served as chief administrative officer for …

Education

A Federal Grant to Save Education?

In a year when Mississippi's K-12 educational system faces potentially crippling budget cuts, a federal grant program promising up to $175 million has offered a bit of hope to state …

Politics

Hinds Election Feud Heats Up

A spat between Hinds County Election Commissioners spilled over into a county Board of Supervisors meeting today, with suggestions of voting machine tampering and possibly compromised elections. With elections scheduled …

Tease photo Cover

Trust In Me

It's bitterly cold and almost 11 p.m. when the white van stops under the highway bridge in South Jackson. Fifty yards from the road, there's a small campsite lit by …

Candidate

Robert Graham: Positive Thinker

Robert Graham knows his way around a phone. The Hinds County Supervisor for District 1 keeps three cell phones and is not above using two at once, one on either …

Capitol

House Tries Budget Restoration, Again

The Mississippi House of Representatives has sent the Senate a second proposal to restore some state budget cuts, while negotiators attempt to reach a compromise on an earlier proposal. The …

Crime

Violent Crime Down; Property Crime Spikes

Major crimes in Jackson rose 11.9 percent last week, with a drop in violent crime not enough to offset a spike in property crimes, according to weekly statistics released at …

Good

Doing Good: Health Help for Kids

The Mississippi Health Advocacy Program estimates that 120,000 Mississippi children have no health insurance, even though three-quarters qualify for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. A new outreach project …

Homeless Day Shelter Reopens

The Opportunity Center, Jackson's only daytime homeless shelter, will reopen later this month. Stewpot Community Services, which opened the shelter in May 2007, closed it April 2 due to a …

Hinds Officials Challenge Personnel Cuts

A round of budget cuts and layoffs last week prompted outcry from two Hinds County officials at this morning's meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Tax Collector Eddie Fair told …

Justice

Otis Ashford

Otis Ashford is suing the City of Moss Point and three Moss Point police officers for civil-rights violations related to an April 2008 arrest. Ashford, a Moss Point resident, was …

Talk

Fed Money for Sirens?

Hinds County supervisors sent a grant application Tuesday to U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, for up to $1.6 million to replace the county's 67 emergency sirens. Supervisors Robert Graham, Peggy …

Tease photo Talk

One for the Price of Two

In its zeal to find a new superintendent, Jackson Public Schools has hired one administrator for the price of two. A day after the school board selected Georgia education specialist …

Frank Melton

UPDATED: Judge Finalizes Jury For Melton Trial

After five grueling days of questioning potential jurors, Judge Dan Jordan seated 12 jurors and 3 alternates for the federal civil-rights trial of Jackson Mayor Frank Melton and his former …

Business

Jackson Gets a Taste of the Caribbean

The hungry downtown crowd has spicy new option for lunch, thanks to husband and wife duo Richard and Chandra Higgins. The two opened up Taste of the Island Caribbean Take-Out …

Education

Without Federal Funds, JPS Needs $2.5M from City

Uncertainty about $187 million in federal aid is forcing Jackson Public Schools into awkward contortions as the district prepares its budget for the upcoming school year. The district will likely …

Person of the Day

Gwendolyn Magee

Jackson-based artist Gwen Magee, whose vibrant quilts elevated a traditional craft to nationally acclaimed works of art, died yesterday. Magee, who was intensely private, had been battling a long-term illness, …