All results / Stories / Ward Schaefer
Minister Blasts Mississippi Senator's Connections
Also see JFP cover story: Guess Who's Coming to Jackson, June 24, 2009
The Market In Fondren
When Jim and Linda Burwell opened Mimi's Family and Friends restaurant in Fondren this spring, they wanted to influence the neighborhood beyond the restaurant's walls.
State's First Legal Distillery Opens
Beginning Wednesday, May 19, Mississippi liquor stores will offer a truly local spirit. Cathead Vodka, the first legally distilled spirit in the state, goes on sale this week, after a nearly three-year development process. The corn-based alcohol is a joint venture of Jackson native Austin Evans and Georgia transplant Richard Patrick.
Jackson Area Businesses Open, Close and Give Awards
BRAVO! Restaurant in Jackson is asking its patrons for stories of the people who changed their lives. The upscale Italian restaurant is giving away $600 in gift cards for the best story of a life-changing person posted on its Facebook page. The contest is a creative way of launching the restaurant's presence on the social-networking Web site, BRAVO! co-owner Jeff Good told the Jackson Free Press.
Pearl River Resort Cuts 570 Jobs
The Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia is laying off 570 non-Tribal employees and closing the Golden Moon Casino on weekdays. The Neshoba Democrat reports that the Golden Moon has been a financial strain on the resort, which is managed by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, since it opened in 2002. The economic recession hitting the state and the entire country has not helped, either.
School Board Grows
The Jackson City Council voted Friday to confirm Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s two additional nominees to the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees.
Jamie Scott Hospitalized
Less than three weeks after her release from prison, Jamie Scott has been hospitalized. Activist Nancy Lockhart, who worked for more than five years to free Jamie and her sister, Gladys, said in an e-mail press release that Jamie was admitted to the hospital in Pensacola, Fla., today for an "excessively high potassium level." Jamie Scott suffers from diabetes and has been diagnosed with renal failure. Her medical conditions, and the cost of caring for her, was one of Gov. Haley Barbour's justifications for ordering the suspension of her and Gladys' life sentences for a 1993 armed robbery.
School Funding Takes Hopeful Turn
An upcoming revised revenue estimate for Mississippi could give public-education advocates and supporters some breathing room. The state Legislature's Revenue Estimating Committee met this week, and Mississippi Parents' Campaign Executive Director Nancy Loome says that an estimated increase in state revenue could help make the case for level education funding during upcoming budget negotiations at the state Capitol.
Edwards: School Board Micromanaged
As Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards fights for an extension to his contract, he has tried to make the case that the district's Board of Trustees micromanagement hampered his ability to lead. Today, in the third day of a hearing on Edwards' contract, Edwards' attorney, former Jackson Mayor Dale Danks, suggested that the board's consideration of a residency requirement for district employees kept Edwards from assembling his administrative team.
Cynthia Stuart
Cynthia Stuart came to theater late in life. Winning her battle with cancer heightened her enthusiasm. Although she had worked in music education for years, Stuart did not consider herself an actress until she auditioned for and won the lead role in a Black Rose Theatre production of "Hello, Dolly!" at age 47.
Cuffs at Capital City?
Jackson Public Schools is looking into allegations that security guards at the district's alternative school have been punishing students by handcuffing them to chairs, bathroom railings and a gymnasium pole.
Talking It Out
Hakeem and Matthew have been fighting. Seated in a classroom at Blackburn Middle School, the two eighth-grade boys explain the origins of their conflict, an ever-escalating series of slights.
Supes Scrutinize Elections Employee
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to extend the contract of a county Elections Commission worker whose employment has stirred controversy. Supervisors voted 3-0 to extend voting-machine technician Pat Wilson's contract through the November general election, despite opposition from Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves.
Justin Schultz
Justin Schultz believes that Jackson's arts scene is exceptionally supportive.
History's Return
Gov. Haley Barbour is a sucker for anniversaries, apparently. In his final State of the State address last week, the governor said that 2011—the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides and the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War—was the year to make a proposed Mississippi Civil Rights Museum a reality.
Chandler Griffin
For years, Chandler Griffin has observed the tough work of international development. As a documentary filmmaker for nonprofit organizations working in Rwanda and Uganda, among other countries, the Jackson native has seen the challenges of trying to build sustainable programs. But he never imagined tackling those challenges himself.
Capital City's Tough Year
The Jackson Police Department is no stranger to the Capital City Alternative School. The Jackson Public Schools' alternative school, whose students usually have referrals from other schools for discipline reasons, is the subject of allegations that staff have been handcuffing students as punishment for minor infractions.
Mississippi Art Funds Under Knife
State funding for the arts will likely drop next year, but grants to artists will remain largely the same, said Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director Malcolm White today.
The JFP Interview with Bill Luckett
In Clarksdale, Miss., Bill Luckett may as well already be governor. An attorney by training, he seems to have a hand in nearly every significant activity in town. Down the road from his law office, a revitalization effort is afoot in downtown Clarksdale. Ground Zero Blues Club and Madidi Restaurant, two ventures Luckett owns with actor Morgan Freeman, are central to this progress.
The JFP Interview With Dave Dennis
In 1995, then-Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice announced his re-election campaign from the Gulfport home of Dave Dennis. Dennis had a lot in common with the governor. Both made their fortunes in the construction industry, and Dennis was an active Republican fundraiser who embraced Fordice's brand of business-friendly conservatism. Dennis, now 58, hopes to follow in Fordice's shoes.
Prev Next