Safer Schools Now
School is not always the most comfortable, or safest, place for a gay student.
Ceara's Season
Ceara Sturgis' home in Wesson, Miss., is filled with cookie jars. Ancient, smiling caricatures of 1950s-era "Campbell's Kids" join recent additions featuring the likeness of the M&M characters.
Dusty Grooves, Re-Imagined
The Black Hollies' precise work at merging a number of iconic musical styles, from blues-influenced British rock to the cool and detached American psychedelic rockers of the mid-1960s, will convince you to trade your iPod for a record player and a stack of scratchy 45s.
Provoking Art
Ben Rinehart engineers paper. He folds simple, familiar forms like hand-operated fortune tellers kids made in third grade. He creates modern folk art in the shape of pop-up books and three-dimensional blocks. The pieces are mainstream American artifacts.
Running to Reconnect
Running isn't just a corporal experience. I lace up my New Balance trainers and hit the trails in the afternoon not just to keep my physical body sound, but also my mind.
Cookin', Schmookin': Help Is On the Way
On Thanksgiving you have two options: Do the cooking, or let someone else cook for you. Luckily, local restaurants and food distributors can fill in and make Thanksgiving easier.
A DIY Thanksgiving
Want to cook Thanksgiving dinner yourself, but don't know where to start? Tired of the same old recipes? Here are some new options, from my kitchen to yours.
Leftovers? Make Soup (Duh)
Thanksgiving is a time to relax, enjoy a good meal, and make new memories with family and friends. Alas, this warm and fuzzy feeling is soon dispelled once the guests have gone home, and you are left with enough leftover food to feed Santa and all the elves.
Turkey Trivia
Turkey time is here. Hallelujah. Before you dive into your towering plate of gobbler, take a minute to get to know this fabulous poultry that wows dinner tables across the nation.
A Good Deed
It is easy to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that we forget about those less fortunate. This year, before beginning your own holiday shopping, we urge you to reach into your kitchen cabinets for food items for one of the shelters below that feed the homeless and less fortunate families of Jackson.
A Salty Solution
If you grew up feasting on a dry, chewy, tasteless bird every year, here's the good news: Turkey meat can be juicy and even flavorful, thanks in part to a technique known as brining.
Spice Box: SAGE
Thanksgiving turkey wouldn't be the same without the peppery, somewhat astringent flavor of sage. It's used in poultry seasoning and stuffing for holiday meals, but plenty of good cooks don't know what to do with this velvet-leaf herb outside cornbread dressing and the roast turkey behemoth of the holiday season.
Alt.Thanksgiving
We've had it all before: roast turkey, stuffing, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie. It is easy to get tired of the typical Thanksgiving meal, specifically when the post-turkey drowsiness sets in.
Barbour: First, Do No Harm
Call us suspicious, but we don't believe for one minute that Gov. Haley Barbour thinks the Mississippi Legislature will vote to merge the state's three historically black universities, while not touching Ole Miss or Southern. (We do believe they might merge Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State, though.)
Johnson Picks New JPS Board Members
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced his picks for the Jackson School Board last night. The returning mayor fell back on the ward rotation method in making his selections. He re-appointed board member Jonathan Larkin to finish his term, which will last another year and a half, on behalf of Ward 1, and appointed retired JPS Deputy Superintendent for Elementary Schools Kisiah Nolan to fill the Ward 4 slot. Johnson appointed retired cardiologist George Schimmel for the Ward 7 slot.
Ivory Harris
Ivory Harris remembers the Northwest Jackson neighborhood of Presidential Hills where he grew up as a "living, breathing community." As a student, a teacher and a public servant, Harris has never strayed far.
JPS Board Renews Music Program, Delays Bullying Policy
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees renewed a popular music education program last night, after its failure to do so last month resulted in weeks of outcry from parents and education advocates. Board members voted 4-0 to approve the district's contract with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, which provides concerts to all JPS elementary schools and string instruction to over 400 students.
Capital Murder Conviction Reversed
The Mississippi Appeals Court has reversed Cory Maye's murder conviction for the Dec. 26, 2001, killing of Ron Jones, a police officer in Prentiss, Miss., a tiny community of 1,000 residents in Jefferson Davis County. The court has remanded the case for a new trial.
JPS Extends Strings Program
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees has approved a revised contract with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra to extend the strings program through the end of the current school year, reports WAPT. Board President Sollie Norwood was absent from the meeting and did not cast a vote, however, the rest of the board voted 4-to-0 to retain the program.
Barbour's Budget Hits Women, AG, Schools Hard
Gov. Haley Barbour released a budget proposal yesterday calling for a 12 percent cut in the state budget for most agencies and the consolidation of the state's historically black colleges and universities. The proposal, which reflects the state's fiscal year 2011 revenue estimates of a $715 million shortfall, picks and chooses which agencies should receive the majority of cuts.