City & County
Sex Trafficking: What Now?
During the last legislative session, Mississippi lawmakers sharpened the teeth of the state's laws addressing human trafficking.
City & County
Johnson: Barns, Zen and the Tax Base
A couple of weeks before the end of Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s third term in office, we sat together for about 45 minutes talking about his accomplishments, the campaign, what …
City & County
Sex Trafficking: It’s Not About Sex
Heather Wagner, assistant attorney general in charge of the domestic violence unit in the state attorney general's office, says it's unclear just how big the sex trafficking problem is in …
City & County
Making of a Mayor
On the morning of the Democratic primary race on May 7, Jackson's political insiders in the mood for prognosticating might have positioned Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba as a long …
City & County
Sex Trafficking: A Local Problem
Trading lives for money, sex, work or drugs—those are just a few of the ways people get used. The money can be huge—for those in control of other lives.
City & County
The Odd Journey of Mills for Schools
Millage rates—property taxes—might sound about as far from "sexy" as any story can be. But the well-being of Jackson Public Schools depends largely on the city allocating enough money to …
Person of the Day
Newton H. James
Those who knew him best say that Newton H. James was a brave man at a time when such bravery came at the risk of life and livelihood in Mississippi. …
Person of the Day
Brendan O'Toole
Brendan O'Toole isn't using lavish fundraisers to raise $2 million to support veterans. Instead, he's using his stamina, endurance and, mostly, his feet on a 3,600-mile, coast-to-coast run.
Editor's Note
Notes from the Fishbowl
Waking up to our biases is like popping the red pill—suddenly, the matrix is everywhere.
Education
Putting Early Learning First
When it comes to Mississippi's future—economically and socially—we have no better way to ensure success than to provide our youngest citizens with early childhood education, beginning at age 3.
City & County
What Is Lumumba’s ‘Jackson Plan’?
For anyone still on the fence over whom to vote for in the Democratic runoff next Tuesday, it's likely that reading through the Jackson Plan will move his or her …
Editor's Note
The Johnson Legacy
Voters have an interesting choice as they head to polls for the second time May 21 to cast ballots for the Democratic Party runoffs.
Person of the Day
Jim Hood
The office of Mississippi's Attorney General Jim Hood has long been an advocate for victims of crime in the state. As such, Hood and his team of attorneys write and …
City & County
City’s Attorney Details Jackson Lawsuits
During the campaign battles leading up to the primaries Tuesday, mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee, whose family business, Mississippi Products, is embroiled in numerous lawsuits, struck out at incumbent Mayor Harvey …
City & County
City Attorney Details City Lawsuits, JATRAN Controversy
The Jackson city attorney and a lawyer suing the city on behalf of police officers discuss allegations that the city is facing a mountain of lawsuits.
Wellness
A Constant Risk
About six months ago, Candace Houston's world went wonky. That's when she learned that her cousin's persistent cough wasn't bronchitis. Instead, the diagnosis was tuberculosis, a highly contagious and potentially …
Candidate
Williams: Part of the Solution
Patricia Williams' candidacy for Ward 3 comes from deep concern. As a life-long resident of the ward, she says it has gone downhill in recent years along with its young …
Candidate
Jones: Living Up to Potential
John H. Jones Jr. is a highly educated and experienced administrator, and he wants to bring those qualities to the Jackson mayor's office.
City & County
Lee’s Legal Troubles Multiply
The week before the Democratic primary went from bad to worse for mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee when news emerged Monday that a fifth supplier, Diversey Inc., is suing his family …
Person of the Day
Jobie L. Martin Classroom Building
A locally designed building on the campus of Hinds Community College has received a national award for excellence from the American Institute of Architecture.
Candidate
‘It’s Not About Me’: The JFP Interview with Mayoral Hopeful Frank Bluntson
Jackson City Councilman Frank Bluntson, 77, is not exactly a newcomer to local politics: He has served almost eight years on the Jackson City Council, and several as council president.
City & County
Remembering Eric Smith
Eric T. Smith was always busy. He was a husband, a father and a man who cared about his neighbors.
Business
Creative, Historic Space
Take a couple of enthusiastic young Jackson entrepreneurs and put them together with an established urban-development company and what do you get? Well, you might get some fabulous low-cost housing …
Person of the Day
Rachel Jarman Myers
Rachel Jarman Myers brings southern Jewish history into Mississippi classrooms with a special interactive program: a traveling trunk.
Person of the Day
Judge James E. Graves
Fifth Circuit Judge and Clinton native James E. Graves Jr. will receive an award in May honoring a lifetime of work in the Mississippi legal system.
City & County
Det. Eric Smith Remembered
Eric T. Smith was a husband, a father and a man who cared about his neighbors. Like many Mississippians, he was an avid New Orleans Saints fan as evidenced by …
Person of the Day
Edward Croom Jr.
If you don't have a clue what an ethnobotanist does, don't feel alone. But if you're curious, you probably won't find a more enthusiastic advocate for the field than Edward …
Education
Dems: Reprioritize to Fund Schools
The Mississippi Legislature does not lack the money to fully fund education; it lacks political will, Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, says.
Person of the Day
Erica Michelle
Erica Michelle has known all her life that acting would be her career. Now, at 26, the Jackson State University alumna has completed her first movie role and has several …
Education
Education Still Inadequately Funded
With no shortage of suggestions about how to fix the conditions and the lagging achievements of public schools during this legislative session, Democrats say that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, …
Wellness
Sit, Jackson
In our rush to meet deadlines, take care of our families and get stuff done, finding the time to do nothing may seem counter-intuitive.
Politics
Wins for Women and Children
Women and children may be a little safer in Mississippi after some successes this past week at the state house.
Health Care
Jacksonian Receives New Liver at UMMC
Karen Battle barely had the energy to lift her feet high enough to clear an ordinary street curb just a few weeks ago. Liver disease had ravaged her health and …
Person of the Day
Thomas Mosley
What's good for the heart is also good for the brain. That premise connects the work of Thomas Mosley to traditional medicine, which is concerned with treating ailments of the …
Personhood
Mississippians 'Confused' About Personhood?
Not satisfied with taking "no" for an answer from the state's voters, Personhood Mississippi has teamed up with the Christian ultra-conservative American Family Association to take another shot at changing …
Economy
Race Equality Gap Growing
Black families in America have never reached the levels of wealth that American whites enjoy, a new report from Brandeis University finds.
Economy
Sequester to Affect Mississippi's Children
Today marks the deadline for Congress and the president to agree on a plan to avoid the $85 billion in automatic, indiscriminate spending cuts called the sequester.
Person of the Day
Michelle Obama
First lady Michelle Obama made Clinton her first stop on a two-day tour promoting her signature Let's Move anti-obesity program.
State
Foster System Remains ‘Unacceptable’
Jamison J. had shuffled through 28 foster homes, mental institutions and temporary shelters, by the time he was 17 years old.
Civil Rights
Blessings for All Unions
More than three years after the Episcopal Church provided for gay union blessings, Mississippi's Bishop Duncan Gray III announced Feb. 1 that he would allow congregations to bless same-sex unions …
Jacksonian
Calden and Alden Hopkins
When Calden and Alden Hopkins talk about their lives, a picture of strong family devoted to service emerges.
Editor's Note
Don’t Look Away from Abuse
Violence isn't something that happens to other people. Every day, sexual violence happens in all neighborhoods, rich and poor.
Cover
From Punishment to Healing: Moving Mental-Health Care Home
Jennifer Michaels traces her mental-health problems back to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, when she was 12 years old.
Justice
Women Still Under Assault
With Mississippi's only abortion facility facing permanent closure due to a law passed during the 2012 legislative session, other women's reproductive rights may be fairly safe during this year's session.
Health Care
HHS Denies Mississippi's Plan for Exchange
Commissioner Mike Chaney said he feels the Obama administration has betrayed him for denying the state's application.
Politics
Nunnelee Reintroduces Akin's Bill
Mississippi's U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee is reviving the specter of former Rep. Todd Akin, a fellow Republican from Missouri.
Crime
Tackling Human Trafficking in Mississippi
Trafficking of human beings--for sex or for labor--affects everyday people we all might encounter.
