[Stiggers] Le Swanky Steak Shack
"It's funny how a lot of people perpetrating disrespect toward ethnic minorities expect them to smile and be pleasant always. Those smiling and shuffling days are gone. Today, ethnic minorities are serious and intelligent enough to recognize the undertones of hatred and disrespect."
[Dennis] Defensive Reflex
Are we ready, yet, to have a serious and civil conversation about guns, violence, and hate?
Reading the Tea Leaves: The Tea Party in Mississippi
Tea Party member Donald Wiggans was different. A small, wiry man, he stood quietly during an August 2009 town-hall meeting on health-care reform featuring U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.
Jackson Jewish Film Festival: A Multicultural Celebration
Like most art forms, there's something about a film that brings people together. Lessons about love, life and relationship always strike a chord, no matter your religious, familial or ethnic background. Some things are just universal.
Art Disguised as Memoir
Tom Sancton has had an interesting career as a journalist. He is a former Time magazine reporter and editor, contributor to Vanity Fair, Fortune, and Newsweek, and author of a bestselling book about the investigation of Princess Diana's death.
21st Century Spirit
"All Day" by Girl Talk is the latest entry in what is rapidly becoming "the" sound of the 21st century. The mash-up fits perfectly in a society where everything competes for attention in a machine-gun blast of information and advertising.
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?
When ever I'm driving down to Hattiesburg for gigs, I always enjoy listening to the local radio stations. My favorite on the FM dial is Super Country 99.1. They play all the classic country songs my daddy (pronounced "deddy") and I listened to while I was growing up in Bogue Chitto, Miss.
The Slippery Arena Study
The push for an entertainment arena in downtown Jackson, once a private endeavor, is now a matter for city government. Last month, the steering committee of business leaders that has been raising funds for an arena feasibility study handed control of the project to Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.
Kimberly Jacobs
Kimberly Jacobs' 1,000-watt smile lights up the room as she hugs me during our first introduction. Without reservation, she begins to share her passion for promoting artists.
Combating Intellectual Property Theft
It began with one patient exhibiting unusual symptoms in 2006. Doctors were puzzled. When dozens of similar cases began to appear, they got worried. But it wasn't until they found the common factor that the mystery was resolved: counterfeit cough syrup containing diethylene glycol, a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. This fake cough syrup was manufactured in China and sold, through international brokers, to the Government of Panama to be distributed to the poor. By the time it was discovered, more than 100 people had died.
Arizona-Style Immigration Bill Advances, In A Hurry
The Mississippi Senate passed a bill modeled after Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB 1070 today, despite protests by some Democrats that the measure was rife with errors carried over from the other state's law.
New Eats; Small Business Loans Available
Longtime Fondren lunch spot Brent's Drugs started serving breakfast Saturday. The soda fountain and lunch counter closed its pharmacy operation in 2009, and new owner Brad Reeves has had his sights on serving breakfast since purchasing the venerable eatery. The morning menu includes traditional Southern breakfast fare and lighter dishes.
Cynthia Newhall
Cynthia Newhall was just a teenager when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968. On April 18, her 16th birthday, Newhall decided to dedicate her life to the struggle for equality.
[Balko] The Year in Clemency
It was a strange year for clemency, the often misunderstood and generally misused power that allows the president and governors to grant pardons (which overturn convictions) and commutations (which reduce sentences). The federal clemency power was meant to be a last check on injustices that might slip through the courts. But it is typically used for other purposes, mostly for political patronage or to confer a kind of government-sanctioned redemption on people who have atoned for their crimes.
Women and the U.S. Constitution: A Call to Action
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia just asserted for a second time that our Constitution does not protect women against discrimination. That was one of the arguments for passing the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and ironically, people of Scalia's "conservative" persuasion often countered that the ERA was not needed precisely because women are already protected by the 14th Amendment.
Civil Rights Museum Stirs Controversy, Again
State lawmakers will have a chance to act on Gov. Haley Barbour's recent call to move a proposed state civil-rights museum to downtown Jackson. Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, told the Jackson Free Press Friday that he will introduce bills today to restart the planning process for a civil-rights museum, which has stalled since a Barbour-appointed commission selected Tougaloo College for its location in 2008.
Community Events and Public Meetings
5:30 p.m., Blue Bird Bash Volunteer Roundup at Sal & Mookie's (565 Taylor St.). Get information on volunteering in the Fondren Zippity Doo Dah Parade in March. Light snacks provided. E-mail [e-mail missing].
Hezekiah Watkins
On a sunny day in the spring of 1961, Hezekiah Watkins was just another face in the crowd as he watched the Freedom Riders arrive at the Greyhound bus station on Lamar Street. Itching for a closer look, the 13-year-old sprinted across Lamar Street, but he accidentally ended up inside the station where police arrested the activists who rode interstate buses through the South to challenge Jim Crow laws.
McMillin to Run for Re-election
Long-time Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin announced last week that he will seek re-election in November. Currently, McMillin is the only candidate to announce a run for the position.
Brett Favre Says Goodbye To The NFL For A Third Time
Could it be that the old saying 'third time's a charm' holds some weight this time? Two sources have told Foxsports.com that Brett Favre has filed his retirement papers with the league office today.