News

Andrew Dunaway

A few years ago, Andrew Dunaway's sister suggested since he talked so much about food, he should start writing about it. So, he did. He interviews chefs and tries out the cuisines at restaurants throughout the South.

It's the Weekend!

Be sure to warm up if you decide to participate in one of the two charity walkathons taking place this weekend. Today, JSU celebrates its 100th anniversary with a football reception at 4 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) and a gala at 6 p.m. at JSU's Walter Payton Center (Walter Payton Drive). Admission is $100, $50 for children under 12, and $1,000 for a table of 10 for the gala; call 601-983-9490. Mike & Marty and The Deleted Family perform at the High Note Jam at 5:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art's Art Garden. The event is free, and there will be food for sale; call 601-960-1515. Dreamz Jxn hosts the GSU v. JSU Pre-party. Rock the Runway: Divas Against Domestic Violence is at 6 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex. Admission is $20; call 508-443-4827.

Barbour: Legislature Better Place to Decide Personhood

Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday reiterated concerns he expressed earlier this week on MSNBC and Fox News about Mississippi's ballot Initiative 26, the proposed Personhood amendment.

Study: Jackson 6th Largest Metro for Concentrated Poverty

The Jackson metro has some of the most concentrated poverty areas in the country, with the majority of those poor individuals living inside city limits, a Brookings study released today finds. The report states that living in poor neighborhoods creates additional obstacles and burdens for individuals such as lack of quality education, increased crime rates, lower property values and lack of goods and services. Poverty also strains local governments.

Melody Musgrove

It's a rainy day at Callaway High School. Tell-tale water stains spread in brown patches on the ceiling, and tiles bulge under the weight of water from the leaky roof. Custodians have stacked boxes of replacement ceiling tiles in the front hall and placed buckets under the worst leaks.

U.S. Education Official to Visit JPS

Melody Musgrove, director of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs and former state director of special education in Mississippi, will visit Callaway High School today to discuss school modernization and funding available under the proposed federal American Jobs Act.

Personhood: A Pandora's Box

Atlee Breland picked her three young children up from preschool and drove home to Brandon. A self-employed computer programmer, Breland is able to adjust her day around her children. Her husband, Greg Breland, came home later in the afternoon, and the family sat down and ate dinner together.

Self Defense or Murder?

Edna Mae Sanders first met former Navy Seal Sherman Sanders at a Baton Rouge party in March 2005. She gave him her phone number, and it wasn't long before he began surprising her with gifts and driving from New Orleans to see her on weekends.

Students Make Gains in Math

National test scores in math and reading consistently put Mississippi below the national average, but this year's results show students made gains in one of the areas where they typically fall farthest behind: 8th-grade math scores.

On the Ballot

Here are the candidates you'll see on your Nov. 8 ballot. Everyone in Mississippi will see the statewide offices. Voters in Hinds County will also see their appropriate state Senate, House of Representative, commissioner and other county races.

Churches and Campaigns

The Internal Revenue Service categorizes churches as nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. It regulates how nonprofits can be involved in political campaigns and still maintain their tax-exempt status.

Inside Yes on 26

Yes on 26 Campaign Director Brad Prewitt is an unassuming man. The 36-year-old with boyish features looked a bit uncomfortable wearing a suit and tie during the campaign's "Festival of Life" at New Horizon Church in Jackson Sept. 28.

Voter ID: Excessive Regulation?

In 2005, Noxubee County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Ike Brown decided to go the extra—and illegal—mile to get votes for African American candidates, according to court records.

Voting Long Under Fire

In the decades after the 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870, granting American citizens the right to vote regardless of race, white southerners developed methods to circumvent the amendment and keep African Americans out of the voting booth without attracting federal intervention.

Eminent Domain: ‘Taking' Too Much?

In 2001, Nissan was preparing to come to Canton, and Lonzo Archie's home stood in the way of a new factory. The state, eager to bring in the factory's jobs and economic benefits, reasoned that Archie's land was critical enough to the project to exercise its power of eminent domain on behalf of Nissan.

Money Talks

If Hinds County Supervisor candidate John Dennery had to choose an animal he identifies with the most, he says he would pick a guard dog. The Republican candidate for the District 1 seat isn't happy about how the board has spent taxpayer money over the past few years and pledges that he will eliminate wasteful spending if elected.

Multi-Use Trail Gets $1.1 M

It's probably not every day that a state transportation commissioner double-high-fives a sitting mayor. Dick Hall, central district transportation commissioner, and Gary Rhoads, Flowood's mayor, were in a celebratory mood this week because $1.1 million in federal funds were finally secured for the Museum to Market Bike Trail project.

Absent-Minded Balloting

Despite a mistake in preparing absentee ballots, state officials say people's votes will be counted, but could present legal challenges later. An error in preparing them initially left information about the cost of the three initiatives off absentee ballots.

Megan Prosper

During October, Belhaven University's Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Building gallery was home to Megan Prosper's artwork. Black-and-white photographs lined one wall while another had seemingly random dangling items. Her artwork consists of "bits and pieces of scraps and old throw-away things" that she has put together to make something beautiful.

Bike Trail Boost

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership will announce funding for the "Museum to Market" pedestrian and bike trail project in Jackson this afternoon.

Monzell Stowers

While Occupy protests were going on in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and New York City, Monzell Stowers was waiting for the movement to come to him.

Mustard Seed Gets Boost from Wellsfest

Wells United Methodist Church announced yesterday that the 28th Wellsfest raised $62,000 for the Mustard Seed, a local non-profit that helps adults with development disabilities.

City Receives Funds to Counter Recidivism

Ex-offenders will be able to get more help finding jobs due to a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will help the city strengthen its Fresh Start program, Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said today.

Groups Make Final Pleas for Votes

A little more than a week before Election Day, various political and advocacy groups are lobbying voters in hopes of swaying their votes on three ballot initiatives.

Monster of the Day: The Wolfman

The Wolfman makes a Halloween appearance in Jackson tonight. He'll be howling in Belhaven for the last performance of "The Monster Monologues." He has a few things he needs to get off his chest, such as recalling what he did the night before. It's complicated having two lives inside one body.

Community Events and Public Meetings

6 p.m., Jackson Touchdown Club Meeting, at River Hills Country Club (3600 Ridgewood Road). Members of the athletic organization meet weekly at 6 p.m. during the football season. This week's speaker is former JSU coach Joe Gilliam Sr. $280 individual membership, $1200 corporate membership; call 601-506-3186.

Voter Forum Tomorrow Night

Mount Helm Baptist Church will host a community education forum Tuesday night to inform voters about three voter initiatives that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Power APAC Receives Kennedy Center Award

A Jackson public school has received national recognition for its part in making the fine arts a component of students' education. The school also received a grant to support its arts program.

Economic Blueprint for Success

Early childhood education, the creative economy and interracial cooperation are crucial to Mississippi's economic development, state business leaders say.

Todd Logan

Todd Logan was working on a play at his Evanston, Ill., home in 2009 when he heard Attorney General Eric Holder say in spite of Obama's election there continues to be serious racial divide in America. The play he was writing was about that very subject.

Ellington