News

Jackson Police, Fire and At-Will Employees No Longer Must Live in City

Police officers, firefighters and at-will employees making less than $40,000 a year no longer must live inside the city limits after the Jackson City Council lifted the requirement in its Tuesday night meeting.

Gov. Bryant Wants Vote on State Flag; Taggart Says It Must Change

New messages about the Mississippi flag flowed out of the annual Hobnob Mississippi event this year with the governor revealing that he wants citizens to vote on it again and a prominent Republican saying that changing the flag is about much more than what is good for business in the state.

Lafayette Stribling

Legendary basketball coach Lafayette Stribling decided on Oct. 31, 2012, that 55 years of coaching basketball was enough and retired.

Gov. Phil Bryant Confirms Third Option for Jackson Public Schools

Gov. Phil Bryant confirmed this morning that he is working with several organizations as well as the Mississippi Department of Education to find a third option to revitalize the state's second-largest school district beyond leaving it under Jackson Public Schools' control or allowing the State to run it.

Saved for a Reason: The Fight to End Domestic Violence

The Mississippi Department of Health tracks interpersonal violence in the state, and in fiscal-year 2015, law-enforcement officers responded to 10,411 calls related to domestic violence, the annual report from the Office Against Personal Violence shows.

Two Ways to Take Over a School District

If Gov. Phil Bryant does not agree to a rumored-but-still-quiet deal with the Jackson mayor and a large philanthropic foundation to provide a third option, Jackson Public Schools will face one of two options for the Mississippi Board of Education—and the state—to take over the district.

Hinds DA Facing Different Kind of Trial for Alleged Abuse, Stalking in Rankin County

In the last year, Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has avoided a conviction in two trials for hindering prosecution in Hinds County that would have forced him from office as the area's top prosecutor, and probably gotten him disbarred.

Gerald Mumford: ‘I’m Running on Integrity’

Candidate Gerald Mumford, 39, is currently a Jackson Municipal Court judge and runs his own law firm offering services in personal injury, premises liability, criminal law, family law and civil rights cases.

Reva Lewis

Odd Humans Art & Apparel creator Reva Lewis' designs draw from a variety of themes, with influences of horror and the macabre, nature and science fiction present in many of her pieces.

Lumumba's 'Radical' 100 Days: Cooperatives, Crime ... and an NFL Team?

Standing on the sunny side of Jackson City Hall, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba reflected on his first 100 days in office this morning, focusing on economic development and crime, with his transition team and other city officials surrounding him.

Lily Rain, MDA Ambassador's Program, Cantina Laredo and Pho Huong

Lily Rain, a Houston-based clothing, accessories and home decor retailer, recently held a grand opening for its first Mississippi location in on Oct. 14.

Mississippi High Court Undercuts MAEP: School Formula Is Not a Mandate

The state's highest court says the Legislature does not have to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, ruling against 21 public-school districts that sued the state for underfunding MAEP from 2010 to 2015.

10 Local Stories of the Week

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.

Governor to Court: State Flag Doesn't Violate Rights as Marriage Bans Did

Offending black citizens is not enough to block the Mississippi flag, attorneys for Gov. Phil Bryant argued to the U.S. Supreme Court this week; they must instead show that the flag caused discrimination in order for a court to declare it unconstitutional.

"A Place for All People" at JSU, Tougaloo NASA Research and "Intersections of Gender and Place" at MUW

Mississippi University for Women is hosting "Intersections of Gender and Place," an art exhibition that focuses on women artists in the South whose work relates to gender issues and southern culture.

Marquis Haynes

The Vanderbilt University offensive line could not do much against University of Mississippi defensive end Marquis Haynes on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Jacksonville, Fla., native lived in the Commodores' backfield on nearly every offensive snap.

Amid Hotel Flap, Fondren Labeled a Top ‘Endangered Historic Place’ in State

Fondren is now on the list of the “10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi," just as developers of a new hotel anger neighbors for demolishing the house the neighborhood is named after.

UPDATED: JPS Draws Expected 'F' in MDE District, School Grades Released Today

The Mississippi Department of Education released the 2017 accountability rankings of all schools and districts in the state this morning. Seventy percent of the state's schools are performing at "C" grade or higher. Nine districts received an "F" grade, including Jackson Public Schools.

Hinds DA Seeks to Block Abuse, Drug Testimony As Trial Moves Forward

The Mississippi Supreme Court denied Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith's appeal this morning.

Stephen Johnston

Making movies was not necessarily part of the planned career trajectory for "Same Kind of Different as Me" Executive Producer Stephen Johnston.

From Jefferson Davis to Barack Obama: Jackson Elementary School Gets a New Name

One of Mississippi's top-performing elementary schools, Davis Magnet IB Elementary School, has changed its name to Barack Obama Magnet IB Elementary School.

Attorney General: DA Smith Is 'Mistaken' In Appeal to State Supreme Court

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's office says Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is "mistaken" about claims that the attorney general "exceeded the scope of his authority" by prosecuting Smith in Rankin County when the district attorney there did not explicitly ask for their assistance.

A Teenager, a Gun and a Chance for Innocence

The Remington 700 Model is the subject of several class-action lawsuits against the firearms manufacturer due to a faulty trigger, which can discharge on its own.

The Edison Walthall Rises Again

The Edison Walthall Hotel is the place of legends, bar fights between powerful men and lots of stories its walls could tell, but it has sat empty now since it closed in 2010.

A Tipping Point for ‘Threatened’ Jackson Zoo

If the Jackson Zoo were a species, it would be considered "threatened" on the extinction scale.

CORRECTED: Supreme Court Has Not Denied DA Smith's Appeal

The Mississippi Supreme Court denied Robert Shuler Smith's appeal to vacate his charges for abusing a former girlfriend before his trial starts in Rankin County later this month.

Newly Released Documents Show the Asbestos Trail in Fondren

The day after developers of a new Hilton hotel suddenly started demolishing structures on a two-acre site in the heart of Fondren, asbestos inspector Ryan Galfetti showed up unannounced after the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality received a complaint that asbestos may be present in the structures and the new piles of debris.

Ellington