Women Speak Out
We asked JFP readers and domestic-abuse victims to share their stories. Here are a couple of the many responses we received. I always thought I was too strong, smart and grounded to be caught up in the cycle of domestic violence, but here I am. The funny thing is, while I was with my abuser, I defended him. I lied to myself and made excuse after excuse for his behavior, not because I condoned it, but because I didn't understand the subtleties of domestic violence.
JFP Chick Ball Auction Guide
Paintings on canvas and bright sparkly jewelry
Julie Andrews was spot on in the "Sound of Music": Our favorite things have the ability to lift our mood and our spirits.
U.S. Supreme Court Delays Execution ... Briefly
6:37 p.m. UPDATE: WLBT is reporting that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied Burns' petition.
Tiff Over Hinds TIF
The developer of a south Jackson housing development is asking Hinds County to support infrastructure developments, but at least one supervisor remains skeptical of the request.
Chicks We Love
Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention.
Burns' Execution ‘Very Likely'
Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps briefly spoke with reporters at Parchman Penitentiary at 2 p.m. today.
Behind the Art
Normally when I go to art exhibits, I don't think about who donated or sold the work to the gallery, much less consider their personalities or who they are as people. But in "Herb and Dorothy: A Glimpse into their Extraordinary Collection," the donors are just as much a part of the exhibit as the artwork.
Starting Again: Mississippi Laws Trap Women In Abuse
Claire sat with her back to the wall on the washed-out blue bedspread covered with big cabbage roses, once pink, now faded nearly to white. The neat little room barely had space for the old-fashioned wood-framed double bed, a black desk and office chair, and a high bookcase stuffed with official-looking 2-inch binders and children's movie DVDs.
Honor the 2010 Chicks We Love at Chick-A-BOOM!
Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention. We chose 15 fabulous and strong women to name as "honorary chicks" for the July 24 Chick Ball; 11 of those women are featured in this issue as the Chicks We Love. (The other four " Julie Skipper, Nicole and Susan Marquez and Beth Poff•"were recently featured in the JFP and are already lifetime "Chicks We Love.") We will honor all 15 of these women at a special Chick-a-Boom reception in Hal & Mal(tm)s brew pub at 7 p.m. Saturday during the Chick Ball. Tickets to the reception are $50, and include food and cocktails, as well as Chick Ball admission. Call 601-932-4198 for info.
Watkins Unveils Master Plan for Metrocenter
Read the master plan Powerpoint. (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Hole-Filled Souls
I know a woman who lives in the house with her children, her husband and his violent temper. She wears a mask. This woman, whenever I see her, has a joyful disposition, even when she's wearing long sleeves and ankle-length skirts or pants, even in this heat. I'm certain she has bruises she's hiding. Her children, I've noticed never take too many steps without knowing where she is at all times. I've never asked, because I don't want to cause problems, but I wonder if they're more concerned for her or themselves. Even if he doesn't hit them, only naivete would allow someone to think they aren't affected.
Meeting the Monster in the Gulf
The plane's engine roars as it idles on the runway last Wednesday, July 14. The four propellers on the Army National Guard's C-130 blasted waves of suffocatingly humid Mississippi July air at former Gov. William Winter and me as we board the plane.
Amy Andress
Amy Andress' life motto is modeled after Genesis 50:20. "Even though people want to harm you, God will take what happened to you and turn it into good so that you can help others with what you learned," she says. "There is a purpose for everything that you go through."
Burns Execution Set for Today
The state is set to execute death-row inmate Joseph Daniel "JoJo" Burns this evening at 6 p.m.
Burns, who is in a holding cell at Parchman, filed a clemency request with the governor's office last week, asking for a delay so that he could undergo a mental evaluation. The governor's office has not officially responded to the request.
Testimonial: Spirit Freedom
Leading up to the 2010, the Jackson Free Press asked domestic-abuse survivors to tell their stories. This is one of the pieces we received, republished verbatim.
JPS to Move to Metrocenter?
This story was updated at 6:54 p.m.
Jackson developer David Watkins presented a proposition to relocate the entirety of JPS administration to the Metrocenter Mall during tonight's Jackson Public Schools Board meeting.
Itawamba Lesbian Teen: ‘It Was Pretty Bad'
Itawamba County Agricultural High School student Constance McMillen says she is relieved by the Itawamba County School District's offer of $35,000 for damages plus court costs, and adoption of an anti-discriminatory policy on sexual preference or gender identity.
Broadband, Food On The Go
InLine, a Birmingham-based technology company, is set to install a high-speed fiber network that will connect 16 counties to high-speed Internet in southern and central Mississippi.
Lianne Takemori
When her colleagues needed a creative solution for an exhibit or a workshop, Mississippi Museum of Art curator Lianne Takemori would go out of her way to help no matter how busy she was.
[Balko] Justice For Johannes Mehserle
Early the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, in a now-infamous incident that dozens of cell phones captured on video and then replayed across the globe, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed 23-year-old Oscar Grant as Grant lay on his stomach on an Oakland BART platform.