Jackson Free Press

[Balko] Another Senseless Drug War Death

The Jonathan Ayers story was already outrageous enough. Last September, a North Georgia narcotics task force gunned down Ayers, a 28-year-old Baptist pastor from Lavonia, Ga., in the parking lot …

Homeless Shelter Closes Due to Lack of Funding

Opportunity Center, the only daytime homeless shelter in Jackson, closed Friday. The shelter, which was operated by Stewpot Community Services, offered a variety of social services. On daily basis about …

Easter Weekend Events

Start the weekend off by supporting Jackson's art scene. TALK dance Company presents Handel's "Messiah" and Copeland's "Rodeo" tonight at 8 p.m. at Jackson Academy's new Performing Arts Center. Proceeds …

Learning Spaces

There are more than 132,000 public and private schools in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Change Agents

Here is a listing of our current Agents of Change. If you know of any we missed or need to know, hit us up at Jackpedia.

A Compromise Lake Plan?

Read Mississippi Engineering Group's Report (PDF)

Entertainment for Good Causes Tops Weekend Events

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For Those We Love

We buried my cousin Anita last week. She was a beautiful, saucy blonde who used to tag around her brother Martie and me back on Fork Road in Neshoba County. …

‘Killing Ourselves with Convenience'

On a Sunday afternoon at Lumpkin's BBQ on Raymond Road, a predominately African American crowd dressed in formal suits and dresses fill their plates from a buffet line. The restaurant's …

MIRA Leading Census Effort

Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance President Bill Chandler says his organization will be working full time to make sure Mississippi's Latinos are counted in the 2010 census.

Haley Barbour: Heath Reform ‘Crammed' Down Americans' Throats

Also see: Immediate Effect of Health-Reform Bill

Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic health-reform bill, Gov. Haley Barbour released the following statement, verbatim:

St. Paddy's A Boon for the City

The roughly 70,000 visitors who will descend on Jackson this weekend for Mal's St. Paddy's Parade will bring more with them than green clothing and a strong thirst. The parade, …

Steer Clear of the Clover

With St. Patrick's Day upon us, I found myself asking the same question I ask every year: At what point did St. Paddy's become a green Mardi Gras? By the …

Go Green: Help the Kids

Being more Irish than the Irish themselves isn't the only reason for thousands of people in Mississippi to make their way to Jackson for the 28th annual Mal's St. Paddy's …

Guinness and Grits

For the past 13 years, I have marched with the O' Tux Society in Mal's St. Paddy's Parade, save for one when I had to attend a Boy Scout camping …

Thinking ‘Locals' First

It's hard to believe Mal's St. Paddy's Parade—and the attendant celebrations both downtown and elsewhere—are already upon us. It doesn't seem like it's been long enough since the Great Snowman …

One Lake Instead of Two?

The Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board is pressing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take seriously a lake plan to coincide with a Corps-preferred …

Strangulation, Security and Suffrage

Both chambers of the state Legislature spent the past week considering bills from the opposite chamber. The House amended Senate Bill 2923—a bill that expands domestic assault to include strangulation …

St. Paddy's Party Plan

St. Patrick's Day is officially March 17, but in Jackson, the party only starts then, with goings-on around town right through Sunday.

[Herman's Picks] Vol. 8, No. 27

It's spring break in Jackson, and that means the Sweet Potato Queens are here, ready to show off their greenery for Mal's St. Paddy's Parade on Saturday. After the dreary …