Olde Tyme Commissary
Tucked away in Highland Village's myriad shops is Olde Tyme Commissary, a fixture there since 1972. The store features children's toys and costumes, fine-tailored baby clothes, and educational toys and games, but shoppers can find its true character in the shop's hand-painted items and in its owner, Sandra Weber.
Afrika Book Café
Last month, Tawanna and Rico Chapman, who previously owned African bookstores on Bailey and Ellis avenues, opened Afrika Book Café, creating a new cultural venue in Fondren. The shop sells books, clothing, fragrances and refreshments.
Dreamz Jxn
Located on the corner of Gallatin and West Capitol streets, Dreamz Jxn is a three-story club and entertainment complex in downtown Jackson with 25 plasma TV screens, VIP rooms, three bars and three dance floors.
Coast Ink Embroidery and Screen Print
Where some people see obstacles, Keith Richardson sees opportunities. Originally from Moss Point, Richardson, 28, opened Coast Ink Embroidery and Screen Print with four childhood friends in 2005, after graduating from college the year before.
Peaches Restaurant
Peaches Restaurant has been a soul-food Mecca on Farish Street since Wilora "Peaches" Ephram first opened the doors in 1961. Her son, Roderick Ephram, is proud of the rich history and symbolism his mother's restaurant has in the city of Jackson.
Highway 80 Gets Scrutinized, Organized
After declining slowly for decades, the Highway 80 corridor in south Jackson is poised for a rebirth. The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is looking to have the corridor designated an urban renewal area within the next 60 days, JRA executive director Jason Brookins told the Jackson Free Press Friday. The designation would allow the organization to push economic-development efforts in the area by purchasing blighted property, offering tax exemptions on improvements and issuing bonds.
Duane O'Neill: Marketing Jackson
Duane O'Neill has one of the nicest offices in Jackson, a high-ceilinged corner office in the old fire station next to City Hall. The place is appropriate for a man with his stature in Jackson's business community. O'Neill is president of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, sometimes called the Metro Chamber, which acts as a chamber of commerce and economic development entity for the entire Jackson metropolitan area, supporting Jackson-based projects like the Convention Center and metro-area efforts like the Canton Nissan plant.
Ron Blaylock
It's not uncommon to find Ron Blaylock at a Jackson event with cameras around his neck and one of his three small children in tow while he works. In April, Blaylock decided to move his studio from Ridgeland to 3017 N. State St. to be a part of the Fondren arts scene and share space with photographer James Patterson.
Exercise: Work or Luxury?
The catalyst for New York artist Claudia DeMonte's art is a perfect balance between the internal world of ideas and the external world of possessions. Through her collection, "The Luxury of Exercise: Small Sculpture and Works on Paper," she not only expresses the struggles of women but also their blessings.
Where the Jobs Are in 2010
If we're lucky, we're coming out a deep recession and looking at economic growth that, hopefully, will mean jobs, consumer spending and new business investment nationally. Jackson is poised to take advantage of economic revitalization, but to do it, we'll need to pull together and create opportunities.
Worried in Florida
Pensacola Beach is packed. People sunbathe on the white sand, parents look on as their children make sand castles and run into ankle-deep water, and surfers take full advantage of the waves in the crystal blue water.
Vet The New Lake 255 Plan
After more than a decade, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board came to a tentative compromise on a lake plan that does not appear to be in opposition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' preferred plan to expand Pearl River levees.
[Stiggers] The Larger World
Can you believe it? This year marks my seventh year writing humor and satire for the Jackson Free Press! You've endured seven years of my crazy characters, wacky parodies, unusual pop culture and ethnic references, and liberal views on society and politics.
[Kamikaze] Transfer the Power
This city is on the brink of greatness, with more than a billion dollars worth of new development downtown. Young professionals, black and white, are choosing to live, work, and play in an urban environment. New restaurants are all over town. New residential projects are springing up throughout the capital.
[Purvis] The Case for Shopping Locally
I hate going to superstores. I rarely see the same staff, and the employees never seem too interested in being there. Maybe that's a symptom of supersizing. How can an employee in customer service be there for so many people under one roof?
Bill Would Allow States to Veto Drilling
The American Power Act, a bill being introduced in the United States Senate this morning, will allow coastal states to opt out of offshore oil drilling up to 75 miles from their shores, reports The Sun Herald. States would also be able to veto drilling of nearby states if they can prove accidents would have a negative impact.
The Peaches of Chilton County
The girls at the old farmer's market here (the one off North West Street) tell me that the Chilton County peaches will be coming in soon, probably within the next two or three weeks.
JFP Staffers Finalists for Four ‘Green Eyeshade' Awards
We learned today that the JFP editorial staff will be receiving awards in four different categories this summer in the 60th Annual Green Eyeshade Awards. This was our first year to enter the awards, which are administered by the Society for Professional Journalists, covering the 11 states of the Southeast. The awards include categories for daily papers, non-daily publications, radio, TV and online -- the Jackson Free Press was the only winner in any media from the state of Mississippi!
Karen Irby Sentenced to 18 Years
Hinds County Judge Tomie Green sentenced Karen Irby, who pleaded guilty March 26 to two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of two doctors, to two 18-year prison terms, which Irby will serve concurrently. State law prevented Green from ordering consecutive sentences.
Business Roundup
The Jackson Police Department is restarting an initiative aimed at preventing crime around the city's hotels and motels and protecting visitors. Called Tourism Oriented Policing Strategies, or TOPS, the program emphasizes building relationships between police and city businesses.