Jackson Free Press

Best of Jackson 2020: People

There's nothing to us more local than Best of Jackson. We're officially in our 18th annual award season. Here is who you voted as the best local people, places, food …

Amazing Teens 2014

Numerous teenagers in the Jackson area are already making a difference in their communities, and soon they will be affecting the world. These 16 teenagers, as well as their peers, …

[Kamikaze] Let's Get ‘Real'

Listen, this proposed "council" on racial reconciliation that I've read so much about in previous weeks appears to be a good idea ... in theory. But here's the thing, while …

Fear is a Four-Letter Word

Harvey Johnson is not the only one who lost the mayoral primary last week. So did fear. Yes: fear suffered a resounding loss in Jackson.

Melton to Devise New Budget

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton told City Council members this morning to toss out the current city budget after some members criticized the discord between the mayor and his own budget. …

Barbour's Cross to Bear

In 1968 in Yazoo City, Police Chief Ardis Russell Sr. arrested a black mother, LeBertha Owens, for trying to take her young daughter, Gloria, to the public library for materials …

King Freak

On a Sunday evening in fall 2009, Patrick Grogan painted his face and arms black and walked into a service at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson wearing a black hoodie …

Most Intriguing Jacksonians 2008

For the third year running, the Jackson Free Press staff presents the last year's most intriguing Jacksonians. Mind you, this is not necessarily a compliment—past "winners" have included criminals and …

What Would God Think?

George County Justice Court Judge Connie Wilkerson kicked over a fire ant mound when he wrote in a letter to the George County Times, published March 28, that "in my …

Jewish Organization Asks City to Block Holocaust Denier

UPDATED October 14, 2009

The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants sent an e-mail to the Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. last night asking him to bar Holocaust refuter David Irving …

Plan B? Flood Control Beyond Lakes and Levees

Flood-control options for the Pearl River seem limited as Jackson-area residents compare the ungainly design of the levee plan designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1996 with …

Tonight is National Night Out

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. will join the community for tonight's National Night Out, an annual event designed to heighten drug- and crime-prevention awareness and strengthen communities.

Seeking Perfection

Six shirtless men bolt onto the stage with fierce precision and boyish grins. They dance to a Prince tune, one leaping as high as the top of a door, another …

Road Strip

It was the first time I had ever seen an entire trunk full of beer. I take that back. It was the second time I'd ever seen a trunk full …

Whistleblowers and Secrecy?

I'm going to be blogging about this issue on my About.com site, but I'm mentioning it here because I'm annoyed at the way our local newspaper has covered it.

My Story on Melton in Reason Magazine

Read the piece.

The libertarian Reason magazine today published a piece they asked me to write about Frank Melton and his shenanigans to date. Check it out here (note that a couple of …

Hills And Gullies On State Street

I've got two different things I need to say this week, and they're almost impossible to segue between, so let me just get the first one out of the way.

Summer Arts Preview

We were in denial for a bit there, but now that the thermometer has reached an official 100 degrees, we're not going to keep it from you any longer: This …

Where There's Smoke, There's Haley Barbour

During his long tenure in Washington, Haley Barbour was known for his love of Maker's Mark bourbon, good cigars and Republican politics, not necessarily in that order.

Spring Arts Preview: Shouts And Murmurs At ‘Ground Zero'

A few weeks ago, as I stood in the crowd at the opening reception for the Jacob Lawrence "Migration Series" at the Mississippi Museum of Art, I wondered exactly what …