Valerie Wells | Staff | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Valerie Wells

Recent Commentary

Editor's Note

Grow Old With Me

The longest day of my life started on a tropical island. It was oh-dark-thirty, so early in the morning that it was still night. I had only taken a short …

Editor's Note

[Editor's Note] Grow Old With Me

The longest day of my life started on a tropical island. It was oh-dark-thirty, so early in the morning that it was still night. I had only taken a short …

Culture

Finding Seagulls in the Grain

I crossed the street quickly and hurried under Interstate 55 to catch the bus. The gray, concrete columns stood silent, holding up tons of speeding commuters. The underpass space is …

Editor's Note

Primitive Power

My husband balanced a lumpy, orange sweet potato in one hand. His other hand was poised on the juicer. He arched an eyebrow while I tried to keep my mind …

Editor's Note

The Good Guys

Men who care about children, who stand fast to protect them, who work hard to make this world better and safer and even a little bit more fun are absolutely …

Editor's Note

Take My Hand

I was not about to lie down in a body imprint left in the grass no matter how much the artist encouraged me. Looking at the impression of a fallen …

Publisher's Note

Loving America, and Americans

The continuing national debate over taxation and federal budget policy in this country is good--as is the boldness with which both liberal and conservative elements are stating their positions.

Development

Fresh and Local, Every Day

One night a few weeks ago, Todd and I left the office at our too-usual time of 8 or 9 p.m. We ran through McDade's to pick up dinner supplies.

[Balko] A History of Paternalism

Government-sponsored public health campaigns have given us many memorably mockable moments, from talking crash-test dummies to "I learned it by watching you!" Now, courtesy of the federal government's National Institutes …

Crime

[Balko] Failing Upward in Criminal Justice

When the SWAT team came for Richard Paey in 1997, officers battered down the front door of the Florida home he shared with his wife and their two children. Paey …

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Recent Stories

Tease photo Media

Media's Need for Speed

One of the year's largest stories didn't catch anyone by surprise.

Tease photo State Government

Eight Years in, State Still Neglecting Kids

The foster home was not a haven for the little girl no one cared about. One of the people living in the home was a convicted rapist.

Tease photo Media

As If We Lost the Saints

A tornado touched down in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi the evening of May 23. It was a busy Wednesday night in The Times-Picayune newsroom. The paper's website, NOLA.com, …

Tease photo Art

Conducting a Festival

Four smiling mop-topped men with skinny ties strum guitars to a familiar backbeat. "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah," they confirm in unison as if they really know something. Paul's …

Tease photo Cover

Art on the Gulf

Silvery, coppery structures twist among old live oak trees near the shore of the Mississippi Sound, close to where the Biloxi Schoon­er docks. This is the site of the Ohr-O'Keefe …

Tease photo Cover

Gulf Coast Arts

Silvery, coppery structures twist among old live oak trees near the shore of the Mississippi Sound, close to where the Biloxi Schoon­er docks. This is the site of the Ohr-O'Keefe …

Books

Curious Louise

Louise Borden was looking through a copy of Publisher's Weekly in 1995 when she learned a curious fact. A short article mentioned that children's authors H.A. Rey and Margret Rey …

Culture

Small Mementos

The Old Capitol Museum (100 S. State St., 601-576-6920) highlights three powerful Mississippi women in a new exhibit that continues through the end of June.

Tease photo Media

Free State of Jones

Jones County is a study in duality. It has two courthouses in two county seats: Ellisville and Laurel. During the Civil War, the county supposedly seceded from the state of …

Dish

Under Pressure: Fighting to Keep ‘Choice' In State

Shelley Abrams is fighting the state of Virginia's attack on abortion rights. She oversees several clinics that provide legal abortion services, including one in Virginia and several other southern states. …

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