Crime
Five Important Things To Know About DA Smith’s Rankin County Trial
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith's most recent trial for aggravated stalking and robbery charges spanned two days in a Rankin County courtroom.
City & County
Family of Woman Killed by JPD Sues for $10 Million
Eight months after two Jackson Police Department officers fired fatal shots at 21-year-old Crystalline Barnes following a traffic stop, her family filed a $10 million federal lawsuit today against three …
City & County
City Settles Yarber-Era Sexual Harassment, Pay-to-Play Lawsuit
The Jackson City Council voted unanimously (5-0) at the Sept. 11 meeting to settle a longstanding sexual harassment lawsuit against former Mayor Tony Yarber and several other unnamed "John Does" …
Crime
DA Smith Not Guilty, Refers to Case as 'Modern-Day Emmett Till'
A Rankin County jury deliberated for nearly four hours before announcing its final decision for Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith's most recent trial, this one for charges of …
Crime
UPDATED: Jury Deliberates in Hinds DA Trial, After Smith Takes Stand on Second Day
The jury went behind closed doors in a Rankin County courthouse to decide whether or not Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is guilty of an aggravated stalking charge …
Crime
DA Smith Trial: Tales of Affairs, Fighting, Hiding in the Closet
An all-white jury of eight women and six men settled in to listen to the state's case against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith on Tuesday, Sept. 11, in …
City & County
JPD Targets Morale; Unveils $1.3-Million Fleet of New, Bold Police Vehicles
The Jackson Police Department unveiled a new fleet of 46 vehicles for the patrol division, each donned with a distinctive orange stripe across the rear doors.
Crime
UPDATED: Hinds DA Smith's Aggravated Stalking, Robbery Trial Resumes After Delays
Jury selection began today in Rankin County for Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith's latest trial for an aggravated stalking charge and a robbery charge for allegedly attacking ex-girlfriend …
City & County
Release JPD Officers' Names in 72 Hours, Task Force Recommends
The rise in officer-involved shootings under Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, now at nine, and the lack of transparency thereafter posed an issue for the self-proclaimed most radical mayor in America.
City & County
Lumumba Has Mixed Reaction to Special Session's Funding to Jackson
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba had a mixed reaction to the recent special legislative session during which Jackson received $50,000 from the BP settlement to repair a bridge on Sherwood Drive …
Civil Rights
Making ‘Black Voters Matter’ in the Deep South
LaTosha Brown, who co-founded Black Voters Matter, stopped in Jackson on Aug. 24, 2018 to network with black women as part of her organization’s “The South is Rising Tour.”
City & County
Black Mississippi Mayors Endorse Espy at Civil Rights Museum
Nearly a dozen black mayors from cities and towns throughout Mississippi took the stage Thursday afternoon at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum to endorse Mike Espy in his campaign for …
Politics
'Run, Jim, Run': AG Hood on Race for Governor, Women Empowerment
Women for Progress of Mississippi hosted a women's issues forum called "She is Running," where Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood offered remarks about the role of women in his prosecutorial …
City & County
Activists Delay Officer-Involved-Shooting Task Force's Final Report
Members of Jackson's officer-involved-shooting task force started showing up at the Porter Building across from City Hall on Monday, Aug. 27, prepared for what was supposed to be their final …
City & County
JPD Seeks Body Cams from Axon on 30-Day Free Trial
The Jackson Police Department will seek Jackson City Council's approval for body cameras through a month-long trial with Axon, the company formerly known as TASER International.
City & County
Protesters Interrupt Piper Kerman's Talk on Incarceration, Education
Piper Kerman spent several hours in the Old Capitol Inn Thursday first talking her life and her bestselling memoir about her year in a federal women's prison, "Orange is the …
JFP Interviews
Johnnie McDaniels: ‘I Pray, I Plant, and I Plow’
Johnnie McDaniels and his sons spent three days taping 1,411 bumper stickers all across his pickup truck. They have not yet thought about how they will get them off in …
City & County
JPD to 'Saturate' Streets Following Two Armed Business Robberies
Following two armed business robberies in the City of Jackson on Aug. 13, Interim Police Chief James Davis announced that members of the Jackson Police Department and the Jackson-Hinds S.W.A.T. …
City & County
City Enters Interlocal Agreement With Hinds County for Street Repairs
At a press conference in July, the mayor defended himself and his administration against claims that he had a stack of interlocal agreements on his desk he had been refusing …
City & County
Developer Secures More Farish Properties; Area Blight Worries Council
After over an hour of deliberation, the Jackson City Council voted to hand over seven of eight parcels Oxford-based developer Clarence Chapman after years of hold-up.
Business
Lumumba 'Eager' for New Zoo Management Company to Take Over
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba hinted that the Jackson Zoological Society's time as the managing entity of the Jackson Zoo could be coming to a close.
City & County
Developer Seeks More Farish Street Properties Pending Council Vote
Farish Street, the once vibrant African American neighborhood in Jackson, has since become a barrage of empty lots, fallen-in homes and abandoned storefronts, with a few active businesses mixed in.
Business
Jackson Zoo's Future: A Bailout, A Resignation and Closed Doors?
The Jackson Zoo's future is the latest victim of Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. And in the last week, it has.
City & County
Jackson to Hire 'Returning Citizens' to Develop City's 100GB Broadband
The City of Jackson will employ "returning citizens" re-entering the community after serving time to establish the Jackson's forthcoming 100GB high-speed broadband network.
City & County
Virgi Lindsay’s Rookie Year and Cautious Optimism
During an interview in her living room on July 2, Virgi Lindsay reflected on her first year as councilwoman for Ward 7, and what she hopes for the City in …
City & County
Sessions-Backed Anti-Violence Grant Draws City Council Approval
Without discussion, the Jackson City Council gave Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and the Jackson Police Department permission at the July 17 meeting to apply for a grant through Project Safe …
City & County
JSU to Analyze Gun, Gang Crimes in Jackson
The Jackson City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, July 17, to approve a memorandum of understanding between Jackson State University and the Jackson Police Department so JSU can do research …
City & County
Domino's Filling Potholes in Jackson Through $5,000 'Paving for Pizza' Grant
The Jackson City Council is expected to vote tonight to accept a $5,000 donation from Domino's for road repairs.
Business
Frontier Airlines Coming to Jackson, Direct Flights to Denver, Orlando
Frontier, the budget airline that promises to bring its customers "Low Fares Done Right," descended upon Jackson today to announce direct flights to Denver and Orlando. It will begin in …
City & County
Lumumba Disputes Interlocal Claims, Vows to Speed Process
In efforts to put an end to rumors that Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba had been slowing down interlocal agreements between the City and the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, the …
City & County
The Antar Era: 365 Days of Building a ‘Radical’ Foundation
Jackson's youngest mayor, now 35, assumed his official duties on July 3, 2017, and since then, he has been on a determined-but-rocky mission, as the world looks on.
City & County
Reimagining 9 Acres Downtown
If downtown Jackson were a person, she would be an upstanding woman with a lot of scars, living in the shadows of painful memories.
Education
Mississippi Moves Up to 48th for Child Well-being, But Highest Poverty Rate
For the first time since 1991, Mississippi ranked higher than 49th or 50th in the Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual Kids Count report that measures child well-being across economics, education, …
Crime
Project EJECT 'Prevention Piece' Begins at Local Boys and Girls Clubs
Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Mayberry delivered a presentation to middle and high schoolers at the Boys and Girls Club on Raymond Road on June 27 and had them take a …
City & County
Interim JPD Chief James Davis Starts Job, Permanent Search Underway
James Davis' first words as Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba's second interim chief of police were "Glory be to God." He uttered them yesterday in Jackson City Hall's ceremonial office, just …
City & County
DA Smith on Police Shootings, Being a Victim
For the better part of last week's officer-identification task-force meeting at the Jackson Municipal Art Gallery, some of the members didn't know they had a prominent guest.
City & County
City's Financial Consultant, Michelle Thomas, Hints at Plans for Jackson
At its June 19, 2018, meeting, the Jackson City Council officially confirmed Michelle L. Thomas as the city's temporary financial consultant. She also offered suggestions for how to get the …
Crime
MDOC Re-Entry Symposium Addresses Hurdles, Solutions for Returning Citizens
The parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church in northeast Jackson looked like the rear of any prison in the state this morning—lined with white Mississippi Department of Corrections vehicles …
City & County
UPDATED: Public Works Eyeing Private Contractors
In Public Works Director Bob Miller's short time as the highest-paid city official in Jackson, he has had to sway the city council on a growing number of occasions to …
City & County
City's Budget in Hands of Woman Who Overhauled Newark, N.J., Budget
The woman who helped lead a budget turnaround in Newark, N.J., under then-Mayor Cory Booker will manage the City of Jackson's budget overhaul.
City & County
Jackson Even Less Transparent with Officer-Involved Shootings?
Just one month after Mississippi Bureau of Investigations officially began handling officer-involved shootings in Jackson, it has been harder to get information previously available to citizens and reporters following these …
City & County
JPS: $65 Million Bond 'The Only Option' for District After State Funding Cuts
The Jackson Public School District is moving forward with a $65-million bond referendum on Aug. 7 for Jacksonians to approve or strike down.
City & County
JATRAN Getting New Small Buses and Vans, But Problems Linger
Officials in the City of Jackson are taking steps to revive a crumbling bus system with a series of new purchases and a multi-million-dollar grant application.
Business
'Stranded' Water Bills Out to 15% of City Backlog, 17,000 More to Go
For the last month and a half, City of Jackson officials have been trying to fix the Siemens, Inc. billing system that left 20,000 customers "stranded" in the system, many …
City & County
Body Cams, Community Policing, Mental Health Funds on JPD's DOJ Wish List
The Jackson Police Department hopes to equip its officers with body cameras and increase its "community policing" capacity with funds from U.S. Department of Justice.
Politics
Rankin’s First Black Mayor Faces Setbacks
Pelahatchie Mayor Ryshonda Harper Beechem became Rankin County's first black mayor in July 2017. A couple of months into her tenure, she raised questions about checks that seemed off to …
City & County
City Blowing Through Its Fund Balance?
The Jackson City Council meetings are falling into a chaotic pattern—the later it gets into the meeting, the more likely you are to see a show-stopping argument between members of …
City & County
Jackson Gets Pill Drop Boxes for Prescription Medication
The Jackson Police Department will get five prescription drop boxes for people to dispose of unused, unwanted or old medications rather than keeping them in their homes.
City & County
Kingston Frazier, One Year Later
On a sweltering Friday evening, orange cones blocked off Meadow Lane as the neighborhood came together on May 18 for a commemorative graduation and block party for Kingston Frazier, the …
City & County
What Lumumba’s ‘A-Team’ Earns
As we get nearer to annual budget hearings in the City of Jackson, you can almost feel the tension mounting around money issues.
