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Community Events and Public Meetings

Tuesday, July 6

Small Business Leadership Conference July 6-7, at Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.), in the Community Meeting Room. Conference hours are 9 a.m.-2 p.m. July 6 and 5-9 p.m. July 7. John Jr. Gospel Ministries and Leaders of Tomorrow are the hosts. Call 769-251-9461.

Gulf States Request Mental Health Funds From BP

Mississippi Alabama, Louisiana and Florida officials are asking BP to provide funds for mental health services for residents who have been affected by the oil spill, the Associated Press reported July, 2.

Health Coverage Available for High-Risk Patients

Mississippi residents can apply for a new federally financed and operated high-risk health insurance pool this month as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Barack Obama signed in March.

South Jackson Mall Seeks Community Input

The Jackson Square shopping center that has struggled with crime and vacancy for years is showing signs of life. The South Jackson retail mall at Terry Road and Interstate 55, renamed the Jackson Square Outlet Mall, is getting a facelift and actively pursuing new tenants, but the property's new owner believes community support is essential to the project's success.

Red, White and Blues

The annual Celebrate America Balloon Glow event kicks off the Fourth of July weekend festivities tonight at Northpark Mall in Ridgeland featuring food, games, a hot air balloon glow, country music stars Candy Coburn and Tracy Lawrence, followed and ending with the annual fireworks display. The free event begins at 6 p.m.

Tim Slattery

Putting a balloon a few hundred feet in the air is not an easy task, but for balloonist Tim Slattery it's just like any other hobby--one he compares to sailing or golfing.

Mississippi Sound Closed to Fishing; Oil in Food Chain

Executive directors at the Mississippi departments of Marine Resources and Environmental Quality closed the Mississippi Sound for commercial and recreational fishing yesterday in response to the gusher in the Gulf.

New Mississippi Laws in Effect

A host of new laws, and modifications to existing laws signed by Gov. Haley Barbour in the 2010 Legislative session go into effect today.

Officer on Leave After Shooting

Read this week's crime stats.

Jessica Auberney Smith

Jessica Auberney Smith, who writes under J. Auberney, is a self-proclaimed "hopeless romantic." So much so, that she is turning poetry and gift-giving into her livelihood.

Allergy Meds Now Require Prescription

Beginning today, cold and allergy sufferers who rely on products containing pseudoephedrine will need a doctor's prescription to purchase them in Mississippi. The law passed during this year's legislative session is meant to stem the tide of methamphetamine production, and pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, is also a major element in meth.

'A Safer, Better Hinds County'

Michael Williams believes a good judge should possess empathy. A partner at Davis, Goss & Williams, the Clinton resident is running for Hinds County Court judge for District 3 in the hopes of improving the county he's lived in almost all his life.

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The JFP Interview With Alan Nunnelee

Republican Mississippi Sen. Alan Nunnelee is looking to follow after Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker—again. In 1994, Nunnelee gained Wicker's state Senate seat after Wicker won election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

JPS Approves 12 Percent Smaller Budget

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees approved a budget yesterday that cuts staff work days and eliminates 125 unfilled teaching positions. The $270.7 million budget for the upcoming school year is 12 percent smaller than last year's, reflecting drops in state funds and local revenues.

Kristi Hendrix

Upon arriving at Kristi Hendrix's office, it's hard to remember I'm not visiting her home. Inside the house, a collection of trophies from Good Samaritan's "Some Like It Hot" Chili Cook-off are displayed next to pictures of community and family members that sit on the top of the home's fire places.

Correction for JFP Issue and JFP Daily

In yesterday's top JFP Daily story, "City Approves Convention Hotel Financing," and in this week's issue, JFP reporter Adam Lynch misquoted Ward 1 City Councilman Jeff Weill saying that the city is being asked to co-sign onto billions of dollars of debt. Weill said the city is being asked to co-sign onto millions of dollars of debt. The Jackson Free Press apologizes for the error.

Alex Hampers Oil Clean-Up Efforts

Rought weather caused by Hurricane Alex, the season's first hurricane-strength storm in the Gulf of Mexico, is impeding cleanup efforts on the Coast, reports ABC News. Alex is headed for the Texas-Mexico border, and is not interfering with the cleanup effort at the site of the Deepwater Horizon gusher; however, on shore, winds and high tides are keeping workers from the beaches.

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City Approves Convention Hotel Financing

See the presentation to city council members (PDF, 1.5 MB)

JFP People of the Day: John and Margrit Garner

As the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees has poured over its budget for the upcoming school year in a series of hearings, John and Margrit Garner have been there to watch and comment. With three grandsons in JPS, the Garners have a personal interest in the district's success. But their involvement speaks to a long history of activism for children and students.

Sweet Potato Queens Move Parade to Fondren

The annual Sweet Potato Queens Homecoming will take place in the Fondren neighborhood of Jackson, not Ridgeland, author and founder Jill Conner Browne told the Jackson Free Press today. Following Mal's St. Paddy's Parade this March, Browne announced that the Queens would end their affiliation with the parade and hold their own parade and fundraising events in the Renaissance at Colony Park shopping center in Ridgeland.

Another Round for Ole Miss Mascot

With Colonel Reb officially voted down as the school's mascot in February, the University of Mississippi is gathering votes on 11 alternate choices through Monday, July 5. The options, just about all of them preceded by "Rebel" and narrowed down from a list of more than 1,000 submitted ideas are: a duo named Hotty and Toddy, a black bear, blues musician, cardinal, fanatic, horse, land shark, lion, mojo, riverboat pilot and titan.

Council to Vote on Hotel Financing With Few Details Public

Read the resolution (PDF, 344 KB)

City to Vote on Funds For Fondren Street Improvements

The Jackson City Council will vote at Tuesday's council meeting on whether to approve a $2 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to install new sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and street-construction for the area starting at the fork at Old Canton Road and State Street and extending to Duling Avenue in Fondren.

ML 'The Truth'

When Jackson native Marland "ML" Williams couldn't get a ticket to see R&B artist Monica perform because her concert was sold out a few months ago, he surely did not anticipate performing on the same stage as her.

Doing Good: A ‘New Focus' for At-Risk Youth

Since Virgie Peterson, 12, joined the New Focus For Youth Intervention program at the Jackson Medical Mall last fall, she went from being a C student to becoming a straight-A student.

Community Events and Public Meetings

Events at Jackson City Hall (200 S. President St.). Call 601-960-1033.

Oil on Mississippi Beaches

More than two months after the Deepwater Horizon sank in the Gulf of Mexico and millions of gallons of oil began spewing into the waters, on Sunday, Mississippi began to feel the pain of its neighboring states as tar balls and blobs of oil washed onto her shores. Oil was reported in Jackson County near Ocean Springs, on the beach in Pascagoula and Biloxi, and "masses and streams" of oil showed up south of Pascagoula in the Mississippi sound, reports The Sun Herald.

Oil Expected on State's Beaches

State officials expect oil in the Mississippi Sound to make landfall on beaches within the next few days. Speaking to the Sun-Herald yesterday, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Trudy Fisher said that Coast residents should brace themselves for the possibility that skimmers and booms would not contain all the oil.

Culture, Closings and Comics

Start your weekend off by attending Cross-Pollinate Vol. 2 tonight. Speaker Larisa Mann who is a scholar, journalist and deejay in San Francisco, will be discussing her research on the interplay between creativity and copyright law with a lecture that will include multimedia and draw on her fieldwork in Jamaica. The free event starts tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Jackson Community Design Center (509 E. Capitol St.). Cross-Pollinate will continue Saturday with a party at the North Midtown Arts Center (121 Millsaps Ave.) featuring music from DJ Ripley (Larisa Mann), Hot & Lonely, Mr. Nick, and DJ Scrap Dirty. Admission is $5 and begins at 9 p.m. Call 415-425-9291 for more information. The best place to start planning your weekend is the JFP's Best Betsfor more options.

New McDonald's Compromises Appearance

Neighbors of a proposed McDonald's restaurant at the corner of Lakeland Drive and Ridgewood Road succeeded in changing the businesses hours of operation and the color of the building, even though they weren't successful in stopping the development during a meeting Wednesday.

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