Jackson Free Press

Can We Learn from the Hotel Morass?

As the city administration and the Jackson Development Authority scramble to close a convention-center hotel deal filled with "complexities" (as JRA member John Reeves put it), the situation should make …

Council: Revisit Free Speech 101

The Jackson City Council voted Tuesday to extend a compromise to the Occupy Jackson protesters, allowing them a permit to stay in Smith Park until 11 p.m., rather than all …

[Jones] A Lottery for 3-Year Olds

In 1962, 58 Michigan toddlers won a lottery. To pick up their prize, these 3-year-olds were dropped off at a row of buildings in Ypsilanti, a small town near Ann …

Love Thy Neighbor? Buy Local

The programs are called all sorts of things these days--Think Local First, Small Business Saturday, Shift Your Shopping, Keep Austin Weird, Keep Fondren Funky--but they all point to one thing: …

Follow Lead of Powell, Barksdale

There are people who complain, seeing insurmountable problems everywhere, and there are people who take action infused by hope and informed by facts and evidence. We were thrilled to see …

What the Mamas Taught Us

When I heard 40 days before Election Day that the "No on 26" folks were trying to hire a spokesperson, I just knew women didn't have a chance. Thankfully, I …

Vol. 10, No. 12

<b>'Not Your Church'</b>

Somewhere in the fight to stop Amendment 26 (Personhood), I went from just living in Mississippi, home of the entrenched conservative mindset to which I must surrender my hopes of …

The Dems' Missed Chances

We've said it before: It's tough to be even marginally progressive in Mississippi. It's as if the DNA of old habits has gotten into our water, and it won't work …

Building Business

Gov. Haley Barbour has long been bullish on Mississippi's business environment, announcing every new business his administration brings into the state—large and small—and every new development with great fanfare.

[Dennis] Happiness Is

How much of the information we exchange is worth communicating?

[Stiggers] Spinning Your Favorites

Don't let the bad, sad and terrible news mess with your mood. Come on down to Clubb Chicken Wing's 'Mid-Week After Hours Job Fair, Networking Session and Disco' and do …

Barbour: Don't Marginalize Women

I'm not sure what Gov. Haley Barbour is "running" for now--vice president? chief of staff?--but I was dismayed to read about his recent speech in which he focused on how …

[Queen] It's About Women's Rights

I find it laughable that the state of Mississippi is even considering asking us to vote yes on Initiative 26. Really? We are being asked to make a law to …

[Stiggers] Oh Lord Have Mercy

I realize that your current situation is hard to take, but do not be despondent. Remember that life is a period of adjustments. I suggest you adjust by becoming critical …

[Stiggers] Shop Without Shame

Jojo's Discount Dollar Store is ready to have another entertaining and enlightening 'Post Thanksgiving (not Black Friday)' sale. Jojo has stocked the store with plenty of inexpensive gift items, and …

[Gregory] Don't Mess With Mamas

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." —William Ross Wallace

Ring a Bell

At the end of September, I took my vacation in Batesville. Unbeknownst to many--including the majority of Mississippians, I imagine--Batesville is the home to the Magnolia Grove Buddhist Monastery and …

[Kamikaze] Parental Sanity

Our children are our greatest commodities. It is our responsibility as parents, as teachers and adults to protect and nurture them so they can grow to be productive citizens.

[Stiggers] Survive, Thrive, Stay Alive

Brother Hustle: "Newt the Ging-Grinch said this about poor people and children: 'Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who …

Finding What's Right

It's easy to criticize. I know this intimately. In fact, I'm considering hiring a private detective to search for that half-full glass.