The Best In Sports In 7 Days
Women's college basketball, Belhaven at Millsaps (6 p.m., Jackson): The Lady Blazers and Lady Majors battle for neighborhood supremacy at the Hangar on New Year's Eve.
Most Intriguing Jacksonians of 2009
Every December, the Jackson Free Press staff dips into our archives for the past year to select a handful of the year's most intriguing Jacksonians.
Lost in the Blues
Playing to a packed house on open-mic night at Lumpkin's BBQ on Raymond Road, the four members of The Blues Eruption jam organically as one unit. Stephen "Stevie J" Johnson nods coolly to his bandmates, who ease into a funk shuffle from the song's original hard, driving blues groove.
[Rob In Stereo] Decade In Review
It was a decade of regression in pop music. If you were to chart the quality pop albums that came out each year of the aughts, you would have a steady downward slope from 2000 through today; that being said, there were some truly classic bands, songs and albums to emerge out of the decade.
Healing Forces
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for Jews. We spend it fasting and praying in hopes that we can be cleansed and absolved of all sin. Luckily, on the day before Yom Kippur this past September, I found myself preparing for the holiday in a way generations of Jewish comedians only dreamed ofby having a beautiful woman lay her hands on me.
He Drank, She Drank
I like girlie drinks. There, I said it. I'm not ashamed of it, either. Sweet? Yep. Fruity? The more, the better. And if you buy me a chocolatini, then I'll be your best friend.
JFP Cocktail Hour
The Jackson Free Press is a great place to work for so many reasons. One especially fun reason came last Wednesday before we shut down for the holidays when we had an impromptu JFP cocktail hour as we opened presents.
The Basic Home Bar
The basic necessities for your own home entertainment.
Salsa Mississippi
A rich wooden floor, mirrored walls and flashy dance-club lights turn an ordinary parlor into a place of extra--ordinary possibility at La Salsa Dance Club and Studio in Fondren. Anything seems possible with the right attitude.
Abe Schewel
When Abe Schewel isn't carrying his briefcase through the halls of Murrah High School or wearing a whistle around his neck on the soccer field, it's easy to mistake him for a student, which may be why so many of his students relate to him.
[McInnis] Tiger Woods and Selective Naivete
I never understood the significance of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in baseball, and baseball is the favorite sport in my household. Robinson's accomplishments in the integrated major leagues means no more to me than his accomplishments in the Negro League because I do not need whites to validate the genius of African people.
Investigating The Investigators
Support is growing on Jackson City Council for establishing civilian review of the Jackson Police Department, but the form that review will take is still uncertain.
Medgar's Office in Dispute
Jackson resident Delores Orey said the city's grant to restore the historic NAACP headquarters during the Civil Rights Movement may be misplaced. The administration of Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. intends to apply for a $712,500 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for the purchase and renovation of property occupied by NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers, who was murdered in his driveway by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in 1963. (A Hinds County Circuit Court jury convicted Beckwith for the murder in 1994 after two all-white juries failed to convict him in 1964.)
Casting Call Saturday
Paramount Pictures will be in Jackson Saturday, Jan. 2, looking for a young actress to star in the new Coen Brothers' film, "True Grit," which will begin shooting in spring. Writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen "would love, love, love to find somebody unknown" Casting Director Rachel Tenner said in a release. "Any girls with an instinct to try should come and give it a shot."
Anita's Favorite Movies of 2009
This is my first "official" blog for the Jackson Free Press, and what better way to take this virgin voyage through JFP blogland than discussing my favorite films of 2009. I compiled the list based on movies that have made their way into Mississippi multiplexes. Thanks to the efforts of Malco, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark, we were able to get a good portion of the year's critically successful films, and I hope that you continue to support their efforts and the smaller films that are not aimed at the adolescent male crowd.
Council Approves Metrocenter Purchase Despite Budget Woes
The Jackson City Council voted to purchase property inside the Metrocenter mall today. The city will buy more than 170,000 square feet of space within the mallformerly occupied by Dillard's department store before it moved out in 2004for $39,500. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. approached the council with the possibility of buying the property earlier this month as part of a bigger plan to revitalize the Highway 80 corridor between the city limits of Pearl and Clinton. The area, which contains the Metrocenter Mall, served as a bountiful location for businesses well into the 1980s before white residents vacated to the suburbs.
[Balko] Kern County's Monstrous DA
Farewell to Ed Jagels, a man who put 25 innocent "child abusers" in prison.
Nick's Restaurant Opens in Fondren
Longtime Jackson favorite Nick's Restaurant is re-opening Saturday, Jan. 2 in a new mixed-use development at 3000 Old Canton Road in Fondren. After 26 years on Lakeland Drive in Jackson, owner Nick Apostle decided to move his namesake restaurant when he realized it would be cheaper than closing for three months while he renovated the old location.
Barbour Wants 68 Percent Cuts to Ed Programs
Gov. Haley Barbour is recommending cutting education programs for gifted, special and vocational programs by 68 percent, reports WLBT. Making such deep cuts to state funding for the programs would result in losing $176 million in federal funding, as well.
State Economic Recovery Projected for 2013
Like the nation as a whole, Mississippi can expect to recover from the nationwide economic recession by 2013, according to a report released last week by the state Institutions for Higher Learning. Many economic indicators suggest that the state's economy is beginning to turn around. Mississippi's recovery will lag slightly behind that of other states, however, because its economy relies more on slow-growing, lower-productivity industries.