Welcome to the Cluster Pluck
It's been a busy summer for Craig Dubow, CEO of Gannett Co., the parent company of The Clarion-Ledger and the Hattiesburg American.
Simulation Builds Respect
It's almost the end of the month, and a family is trying to decide how to stretch their money to buy groceries. One family member doles out a few bills, explaining that they have to spend it a little bit at a time, otherwise they won't have any food at the end of the week.
Will Killing Legislators' Perks Work?
If elected governor, Bill Luckett says he will end the states' Supplemental Legislative Retirement Program and use those savings to fund education.
Yancey Looks Toward Treasurer's Office
Lee Yancey, District 20 state senator, is running for state treasurer. He will be in a runoff election Aug. 23 against Lynn Fitch for the Republican nomination. As treasurer, Yancey has promised to lower taxes and reduce government debt.
An Open Letter to the Greater Jackson Community
We, the members of the board of Jackson 2000, extend our hearts and thoughts to the family and friends of James Craig Anderson, and we join the rest of the community in sharing the pain and sadness they must feel, and offer to them our comfort and resources. Indeed, we are concerned for all of those involved and touched by this tragedy.
[Stiggers] Throw Up Your Hands
From my perspective, the world is a ghetto dealing with the inner city blues. It makes you want to holler, weep, wail, scream and throw up both your hands, right?
[Kamikaze] I'm Angry
I try not to write when I'm angry. They say some of the best writing comes out of emotion. But some of the most regrettable pieces have come when penned emotionally as well.
[Head] One Mississippi, Two Mississippi
This is not a new disease. This is an acute symptom of a very old chronic disease.
The Convention Hotel Race
City leaders are racing the clock to make a decision by the end of this month on whether to finance a convention center hotel.
Put to the Test
Where the Candidates Stand on Education
Along the roads that yellow school buses are just beginning to frequent, red-and-blue campaign signs are reminders that this is also a political season. Many of the signs are for Johnny DuPree or Bill Luckett, Democratic candidates for governor who will face each other in a runoff election Aug. 23.
Making Amends
The Aug. 2 Republican primary for Madison County sheriff was a fierce race with five candidates vying for the post. Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge will retire this year. One of the candidates, Mark Sandridge, caught the most media attention this spring after his campaign portrayed Jackson in a negative light.
Lynn Fitch
Lynn Fitch, 49, is from Holly Springs, but has lived in Madison for 26 years. She attended the University of Mississippi for her undergraduate degree and for her law degree. She has two daughters and one son.
Left Brain, Right Brain
Natchez inspires Vidal Blankenstein. She says that growing up around all the visual art there molded her as an artist. "Art was never anything that anyone talked about, but it was always there," she says. "It was everywhere."
Diary of a Dad
Patience. It's a word that has a lot of meanings for fathers. Whether it's for our careers or with our children, patience is a difficult skill to develop. Author Jeff Kinney, a self-described "failed cartoonist," worked to become a comic-strip artist; however, that career eluded him.
For One Moment: A Black-White Role Reversal
This morning, I woke up to more of the usual-suspect comments under this story: Crime Perception Hurts Jackson Economy. Apparently, I had wigged out the white-guy chorus that always wants to point fingers the other direction when it comes to crime. How? By talking about how our racist, terroristic history against African Americans has led to today's crime situation. They no like that:
State Universities to Get Broadband Boost
Mississippi's research universities and other state research centers will be able to communicate much more efficiently, thanks to expanded broadband technology.
Republican Cat Fight for District 25
When it comes to their platforms, there aren't many differences between the Republican candidates for the state senate's district 25. Will Longwitz, a Madison attorney, and Charles Barbour, a businessman and former Hinds County supervisor (and nephew of Gov. Haley Barbour), both preach limited government and fiscal responsibility, and both share conservative values. Perhaps that's why the District 25 race has been an endless political tug-of-war between the candidates as they try to gain votes in this close race. Whoever wins the Republican runoff election Aug. 23 will face Democrat Cecilia Sampayo in the Nov. 8 general election.
Ruthie Taylor
Ruthie Taylor teaches middle-school classes in theater production where she helps students from fifth to eighth grade find themselves through the characters in plays and through the different functions needed to bring a production to the stage. "Middle school is a tough time to grow up," she says. "I want to give the students an outlet for their energy."
Of Anger and Alternative Endings
When I was a teenager, I decided I wanted to be a civil-rights attorney. I had visions of righting the kinds of wrongs done in my hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. I only learned about the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner by people my family knew when I was 14, even though they happened when I was 3.
Simulation Builds Respect for Poor People
It's getting close to the end of the month, and the "Chen" family is trying to decide which bills they can afford to pay. The utility company tells them their phones and electricity are about to be shut off. They try negotiating.