News

Mad Genius, Hospitals, Museums and Women of Vision

Mississippi is set to choose a general contractor for the Mississippi Museum of History and the accompanying Mississippi Civil Rights Museum by Sept. 26.

Jerry and Helen Young

Pastor Jerry Young laughs heartily about his upcoming appearance at Friday's Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation Annual "Evening with the Sickle Cell Stars Gala," where he and his wife of 39 years, Helen Akins Young, will receive honors in the form of a celebrity roast.

Stokes: Hinds Should Cash in from 'One Lake'

Despite still being years away from any dirt moving on the so-called One Lake project that aims to mitigate flooding and provide business opportunities along its shore, one member of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors wants to make sure that Hinds County gets its fair share.

Public Universities Ramp Up Aid for the Wealthy, Leaving the Poor Behind

Many public universities, faced with their own financial shortfalls, are increasingly leaving low-income students behind.

Dr. Herman Taylor

The American Heart Association recently named Dr. Herman Taylor, Professor of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, vice president of its Greater Southeast Affiliate Board of Directors.

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.

Jackson's Budget Gets Green Light

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba convinced the Jackson City Council to pass his proposed $502.5 million budget after holding two town-hall meetings and two public hearings.

What We're Seeing Now: Air Pollution and Climate Change

Scientists at Princeton, Stanford, Peking and Columbia universities as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conclude that climate change will worsen air pollution, making it a more potent killer this century.

M. Trost Friedler

Sobriety and running a center to assist others to deal with addiction issues came back-to-back for M. Trost Friedler, whose substance abuse issues first brought him to Jackson in the mid-1990s.

It's the Weekend!

On Saturday, "Bravo I: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto" is at 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall.

Jacksonians Speak Out at Town Hall Meeting

Last night, the city of Jackson and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba hosted a second town-hall meeting to address the proposed water-and-sewer rate increases, this time in the heart of Ward 3 at Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.

Consumers With Serious Medical Problems Need To Carefully Assess Total Plan Costs

One of the health care overhaul's most far-reaching provisions prohibits health plans from refusing to cover people who are sick or charging them higher premiums. Still, for people with serious medical conditions, the online health insurance marketplaces present new wrinkles that could have significant financial impact.

Millsaps Majors

Millsaps and Mississippi College have been meeting on the gridiron since 1920, and the Majors and Choctaws have met annually since 2000, when they renewed their close rivalry.

Handmade and Live on Stage

The Canton Gin Market, located in the Old Cotton Gin across the street from the train depot in Canton, is a mecca for local artisans and musicians.

Greek Goodness

Mississippi Greek Weekend is a chance for Greek organizations to band together to raise money and awareness about sickle cell anemia.

Blooming Book Club

Jackson writer Eudora Welty inspired the name of the Cereus Readers book club, pronounced "serious." She and her friends would come together to watch the annual night-blooming of the cereus flower. They called themselves the "The Night-Blooming-Cereus Club."

Irish Dancing in the Capital

The Mostly Monthly Ceili series is a Sunday night event that brings the art of the Irish jig to Jackson.

Zombies and Filmmaking

Prepare Now for the Zombie Apocalypse! On Oct. 26, as part of the fourth annual Mississippi International Film Festival, zombies and their attendant goons will overrun the Russell C. Davis Planetarium for the annual Zombie Ball. The best zombie or goon costume will receive a prize.

Half-Life

This summer, a couple of Walker's Drive-In employees painted a mural on the iconic eatery's patio wall in Fondren. It replaced a pockmarked and aging piece The Projectors, a trio of artists who still live and work in Jackson, did a decade ago.

Williams: Hustle and Fight

Ted Williams says the key to unlocking Utica's economic-development potential just might start with a lunchtime eatery.

Jones: Looking for Bargains

Leon Jones, a 48-year-old former Jackson police officer and day-care center owner, knows the importance of having an advocate on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.

What $6.5 Million Will Buy

Budget talks heated Sept. 5 as Mayor Chokwe Lumumba began distributing some of the funds from his $503 million budget, starting with re-allocating $6.5 million from the public schools. The funds should help Jackson address nagging problems across the city.

Enforcing Truancy Laws

Jackson Councilman Tony Yarber, Ward 6, doesn't split hairs on state truancy laws at Jackson Public Schools: He doesn't believe they are being enforced.

Gators: A Conservation Love Story

By now, the stories of Mississippi's three record-breaking alligators have traveled around the world.

Christy Henderson

As the founder and executive director of the Mississippi Ridability Therapeutic Riding Center, Christy Henderson lives to enrich the lives of special-needs individuals through horseback riding.

Did La. Parish 'Jump the Gun' on One Lake 'No' Vote?

Dallas Quinn, spokesman for the Pearl River Vision Foundation, said St. Tammany Parish, La., officials failed to get input from his group before passing a resolution against the flood-control plan PRVF is developing with the loval Levee Board.

Job Fair, Choctaw Books and Great Harvest

Paul Rankin, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co., closed his Ridgeland location Aug. 31 to focus his efforts on his recently renovated Jackson store at 5006 Parkway Drive.

Wilma Mosley Clopton

"For a person who has been everywhere, now I have a focus," Wilma Mosley Clopton says.

A New Director at Henley-Young?

Hinds County's juvenile detention center is getting a new director. Brenda Frelix is taking over as executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, replacing Dale Knight.

To Dodge Law, High-Cost Lender Offers Cash for Free

Alarmed by the explosion of high-cost lending in the state, cities across Texas have passed ordinances to prevent the cycle of debt that short-term, high-cost loans can create. But some big lenders are finding clever ways around the laws like giving away cash for free.

Ellington