News

Cochran Bike Bill On the Ropes

Congressional House Republicans are trying to put the brakes on a provision in the federal transportation bill that could promote more biking and walking in America's cities and towns. But biking and walking advocates are looking to an unlikely ally for support: Mississippi's senior conservative Republican Sen. Thad Cochran.

40 Acres and a Duel

When James Stern arrived at Mississippi State Penitentiary's medical Unit 31, fellow black inmates debriefed him on one of the unit's infamous residents: Edgar Ray Killen.

Stern v. Killen: 40 Acres and a Duel

When James Stern arrived at Mississippi State Penitentiary's medical Unit 31, fellow black inmates debriefed him on one of the unit's infamous residents: Edgar Ray Killen.

Felicia Tillman

"I have big, big, big faith," Felicia Tillman says. The 34-year-old Jackson native believes that becoming the author of two plays was a spiritual thing for her.

Free Voter ID Will Cost ... But What?

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced yesterday that his office will be "proactive" and distribute free voter ID cards to anyone who does not have the proper identification. But his office does not yet have a vendor in place to make the cards or know how much they're going to cost the taxpayers.

Crooked Letter Brewery Blocked

Jackson County Board of Supervisors denied a Vancleave couple a special exemption Monday to build a brewery on their land along Antioch Road. The law requires an exemption for industrial businesses in an agricultural zone.

Surina R. Dixon

After three months on the job, and before she coached a single basketball game, Texas State University fired head women's basketball coach Surina Dixon in 2008. Dixon charged that her termination was a result of her calling foul on the university over what she believed was gender bias.

Stokes: Shut Jail Down

District 5 Supervisor Kenneth Stokes wants to close the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond following a series of blunders at the jail.

Stokes: Shut Down Jail, Pull Pants Up

District 5 Supervisor Kenneth Stokes wants to close the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond following a series of blunders at the jail.

Arden Barnett

Since the fall of 2011, Duling Hall has pushed its way to the forefront of the live music scene in Jackson. The man leading the charge is promoter Arden Barnett.

Community Events and Public Meetings

Eighth Annual JFP Chick Ball July 28, 6 p.m., at Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St.). The fundraising event benefits the Center for Violence Prevention, and this year's goal is to start a rape crisis center. For ages 18 and up. Seeking sponsors, auction donations and volunteers now. More details: jfpchickball.com and follow on Twitter @jfpchickball. Get involved, volunteer, and donate art, money and gifts at [e-mail missing]. $5 cover; call 601-362-6121, ext. 16.

MDOC Sticks with Private Prisons

Sometime between the 8:45 p.m. and the 9:15 p.m. staff shift change on July 30, 2010, Tracy Alan Province, John Charles McCluskey and Daniel Kelly Renwick escaped from Arizona State Prison-Kingman. Just after 10 p.m., perimeter-patrol officers discovered a 30-by-22-inch hole in the fence. Two hours after the prison determined the inmates had escaped, Arizona Department of Corrections assumed command and the U.S. Marshals Service launched a manhunt.

Abortion Clinic's Fate Unknown

Betty Thompson doesn't know what will happen to her employer, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, on July 1.

Working Together: Jackson

On the night of June 14, hundreds of people flooded through the doors of New Horizon Church in south Jackson to collaborate on one of the biggest tasks the city has ever taken on. Working Together: Jackson is an organization two and one-half years in the making.

Da Chief

At a crowded house party in 1994, full of teenagers and loud, blistering music, two things were happening: dancing and a rap battle. That was the first opportunity for Alex Guillermo Jr., aka Da Chief, to rap his original song "Ecclesiastes." He was surrounded by a small group of people. "I had butterflies for a couple of bars, then they went away," he said.

It's the Weekend!

Today, the Priced to Move Pop-Up Art Gallery opens at 5 p.m. at the former Eastland Federal Courthouse (245 E. Capitol St.) and runs through June 17. The even is free; find Priced to Move on Facebook. Fred Hammond, Byron Cage and Canton Jones perform at the Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex. Free tickets; for information visit http://www.mcdonaldsgospeltour.com. The play "Behind the Pulpit" is at 8 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall, and features Bernadette Stanis ("Good Times"), Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson and Calvin Richardson. There will be an encore show June 16. Tickets are $25-$32; call 800-745-3000. Passenger Jones performs at Ole Tavern. Renegade is at Olga's. Stevie J and the Blues Eruption play at F. Jones Corner. Larry Brewer is at Georgia Blue. Need more options? See our Best Bets.

Rally Protests Contraceptive Rule

American and Christian flags stood on equal footing in front of the U.S. Courthouse in Jackson Friday as about 60 people gathered to protest a rule that requires health-insurance plans to cover contraceptives.

Taxes May Rise for City Schools

The Jackson Public Schools are asking the city for more money to pay off $150 million in bond issue debt.

Jackson May Raise Taxes for City Schools

The Jackson Public Schools are asking the city for more money to pay off $150 million in bond issue debt.

Forum Focuses on Black Health

Just because Congressman Bennie Thompson is a member of the same party as Barack Obama, that doesn't mean he won't criticize the Democratic president's administration.

Drew Brees

New Orleans and Drew Brees are playing chicken while driving at full speed. The New Orleans Saints are running out of time to get quarterback Drew Brees a long-term deal. Under the collective-bargaining agreement, teams have until July 16 to sign players to multi-year deals that were franchise-tagged. NFL teams can franchise a player to keep him from signing with another team, but the team must pay him an average of the top five salaries at the player's position.

Working in Groups

My problem is a simple one that may be familiar: In the nonprofit I'm part of, too much "group stuff" happens in long email exchanges. Like a lot of volunteer organizations, we get a bunch of work done in committee, department and board meetings, when everyone is on the same page and focused. But outside those meetings, real life often gets in the way. Things don't happen between meetings—or people just can't connect to get things done—with the result that some projects take longer than you'd hope.

Jury Orders New Ward 3 Election

The defense called it "the case of the sore loser." The plaintiff called it "the case of the stolen election." The jury agreed with the latter.

JFP Wins Multiple Awards for 2011 Work

The Jackson Free Press got amazing news from Detroit Friday afternoon when we learned the Association of Alternative Newsmedia was presenting us a coveted first-place public-service award for our team coverage of the personhood effort last fall.

Engaging Dialogue

For more than 20 years, local nonprofit Jackson 2000 has worked to improve the social, political and economic climate of the city of Jackson through dialogue about race. A group of concerned citizens, including former Mayor Russell C. Davis and then-president of Alcorn State University, Dr. Walter Washington, founded Jackson 2000 in 1989.

WJXN: Pirate Radio?

Jacksonians have been talking about the radio station with no DJs, no commercials and a music lineup like none they've ever heard.

As If We Lost the Saints

A tornado touched down in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi the evening of May 23. It was a busy Wednesday night in The Times-Picayune newsroom. The paper's website, NOLA.com, posted reports of heavy wind damage in Arabi, then later the news of a possible tornado striking. Staffers were busy collecting the information and reporting it promptly. But the tornado is not the only thing that kept New Orleans' journalists up all that night.

DeSean Dyson

DeSean Dyson planned on being a lawyer. Less than a year before he graduated from college, however, Hurricane Katrina struck. His TV screen filled with negative images of young black men in New Orleans.

Condemned Man Seeks Reprieve

Gary Carl Simmons Jr., scheduled to be the third person Mississippi puts to death this month, wants the State Supreme Court to grant him a stay of execution. Monday evening, Simmons' attorney filed a motion asking for 14 days to have a forensic psychologist perform a mental-health assessment, which Simmons never received in the course of his defense.

Another Condemned Man Seeks Reprieve