News

The New Jackson

Photos by Stephen Little

Even as the mayor and his administration are scrambling to collect overdue fees, hoping to make up for severe budgetary shortfalls, developers say the city is on the verge of a whole-scale Renaissance, with long-term plans coming online and new developments jostling to see the light of day -- with almost $200 million in development over the last five years.

Judge Yerger: A ‘Racist' Sentence?

Johnathan Jones walked back into Pops Around the Corner on Dec. 28, 2005, after leaving earlier to go home to Brandon. He told the bartender that "some n*gger" had thrown a beer bottle through his window and that he was "going to kill" the "n*gger." He asked the bartender to help him call the police to fill out a case report so his insurance company could replace the window.

Doris Shavers Killed in Domestic Dispute

WAPT is reporting that Doris Shavers, 40, has died after being shot in the head, allegedly by Henry Phillips in a domestic dispute last night on Ludlow Street. While Shavers was in UMC fighting for her life, police had originally charged Henry Philips, 50, with aggravated assault, a felony, and domestic violence. He is now charged with murder.

George Bell III in Women's Jail, Not Detention Center

WJTV—which has done stellar reporting in the Heather Spencer rape/murder—is reporting that the accused murderer is being housed in the women's jail downtown, not the Hinds County Detention Center where murder suspects would normally be. The reasons are unclear. WJTV is also pointing out that police finally charged him with domestic violence for the June hammer-beating of Spencer—after he allegedly bludgeoned her to death last week. Why the belated domestic-violence charge is a misdemeanor, rather than a felony assault charge for the 57 staples put in her head, is unclear at this time.

BREAKING: RTI to Build Titanium Sponge Plant in Mississippi

RTI International Metals Inc. today announced both plans to supply titanium products "that support the production of the Airbus family of commercial aircraft, including the A380 and the A350 XWB programs" and to build a titanium sponge plant in Hamilton, Miss., crediting Gov. Haley Barbour in their press release, which states in part:

BREAKING: JPS Settles Ellis Case

Jackson Public Schools has reached a settlement with Michael and Rachel Ellis in the Ellis' Title VII lawsuit filed in January against JPS Superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins.

Cries of Our Children: Prevent Suicide Now

Editor's Note: The date of the Contact training has been corrected in the story below.

Haley's Shadow Money

Barbour's confidence going into his re-election campaign is formidable. But the former Washington lobbyist and former chairman of the Republican National Committee may not be such a "former" lobbyist after all, critics are charging, and he may be using his influence to benefit lobbying clients.

Parker Andrews

Parker Andrews is an intriguing enigma. At first glance, he is a typical 11-year-old fifth-grade student whose recent acquisition of Healy skate shoes has transformed him into a full-fledged speeding bullet. But beyond first impressions, Andrews is unlike many his age.

Hurricane Recovery, Barbour - Style

Photos by David Rae Morris,

As residents of Mississippi's Gulf Coast gathered to commemorate the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, they recalled a cataclysmic storm that spared no one, rich or poor, from its destruction. Virtually every structure along the 90-mile stretch of coastline was either wrecked or swept away after Katrina's 140 mph winds and 40-foot storm surge came ashore like a steamroller

Scandal, Fraud And Abuse

Twenty-four months in, the Katrina information firestorm has been dampened down to the size of a birthday candle fl ame in mainstream media, leaving the 60,000 still living in FEMA trailers and the quarter-million still displaced after two years without good options for getting their stories out.

Crisler: We Want Temp Worker Details Now

The Jackson City Council Budget Committee asked the Melton administration again Monday to cough up more information on its temporary and contract employees for the 2006-2007 fiscal year (PDF, 592 KB). "We have real basic requests about information concerning employees of the city of Jackson and the salary they made from '06 to '07," said Budget Committee Chairman Marshand Crisler. "I think I was very clear about that. The deadline was Friday, and at this particular moment we have not received that."

Charleston (S.C.) Facing TDN-Like Scheme; JFP Quoted

Fondren ARTMix TONIGHT, 5 to 8 p.m.

Come out to Fondren for one of the coolest nights in Jackson. Shops and galleries will be open from 5 to 8 p.m., with lots of fun entertainment indoors and out. Stop by the JFP table in Fondren Corner (near Basil's) for some free wine and to register for Wilco tickets, Planetarium tickets and massages by Erik Makinnion. We also hear that Domini Bradford will be selling bowls of her famous veggie pad thai behind Rainbow starting about 6. There will be run stuff everywhere you turn. We'll see you out there. Free, of course.

Ramsey Wise

"It's sort of like a dumpling," Ramsey Wise explains with hand motions.

City Council: Desperately Seeking Money

Administration Department Director Rick Hill told City Council today that possible solutions to the city's $3.4 million shortfall include increasing water and sewer fees, refinancing the city's debt, tapping the city's $7.4 million budget reserve fund, making cuts in city payroll and reducing funding to the city's golf courses.

BREAKING: House Speaker on GOP Hit List

The House Republican Conference officially declared war on House Speaker Billy McCoy today. The conference agreed this afternoon that GOP members will vote together as a group to elect a new House speaker to replace McCoy, D-Rienzi, at the next legislative session in 2008. "We're going to have a new speaker next January, and it's not going to be Billy McCoy," said Assistant Republican Leader Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, in a Republican Party press release. "… He cannot be re-elected Speaker without Republican votes, and it is clear he will have none."

Audio of Melton and Smith's Remarks

"Robert, you're like a little brother to me. I love you and I'll always love you, and I had to distance myself from your campaign ...."

Fate Sealed for Ex-Klansman

Throughout his trial, James Ford Seale appeared in court wearing slacks and a dress shirt. This morning, as he walked in shackles into a U.S. District Court in Jackson, he wore an orange Madison County-issued jumpsuit. In the courtroom, neither his siblings nor his children were present. He smiled at his wife, as guards escorted him to his seat next to public defenders Kathy Nester and George Lucas.

Broken Katrina Promises

Racial discrimination, housing crises and neglect of prisoner rights in the wake of Katrina is the subject of a new ACLU report released Monday, Aug. 20. In anticipation of the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, the ACLU released the report, "Broken Promises: Two Years After Katrina," which details Katrina victim injustices in Mississippi and Louisiana. It is a follow-up from last year's report, "Abandoned & Abused: Orleans Parish Prisoners in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina."

Zikri Arslan

For a man who has moved to a different place almost every year since he came to the United States from Turkey in 1996, laying down roots is a new experience for Jackson State University professor Zikri Arslan. "I'm getting old," jokes the 38-year-old environmental chemistry specialist. Between work and taking the kids to the reservoir, he says he only has time for the occasional pick-up soccer game. The University of Massachusetts graduate and father of 4-year-old twins describes himself as a "simple person."

The Cavalry Arrives

Robert Smith is getting a nice boost from the Supreme Court less than 24 hours into his successful run-off against former Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson. Using $160,000 in grant money obtained by Gov. Haley Barbour, the Mississippi Supreme Court decided to appoint a second special judge to assist Hinds County in reducing its criminal docket, months after county residents—and the outgoing D.A.—began screaming for help.

D.A. Peterson Concedes, Goes Home

With 98 percent of precincts reporting and Robert Smith leading by 1,183 votes, District Attorney Faye Peterson just conceded defeat in the Red Room at Hal & Mal's, saying that she hopes that the next D.A. will be as tough on crime as she was, because "Hinds County has a crime problem."

Live Blogging from Peterson Party at Hal & Mal's

Donna Ladd and Ronni Mott are blogging live from D.A. Faye Peterson's post-election gathering at Hal & Mal's.

BREAKING: Leslie McLemore Elected Council President

JFP reporter Adam Lynch called in from the City Council meeting tonight to report that new Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Weill provided the swing vote to elect Leslie McLemore Council president, and to reject Melton's good friend, Frank Bluntson, who is acting council president. Charles Tillman was elected vice president. Voting for McLemore were the anti-Melton bloc—McLemore, Marshand Crisler, Margaret Barrett-Simon, plus newbie Weill.

BREAKING: Smith's Response ‘Blatant Lie,' Father Says

District attorney candidate Robert Smith held a press conference today—not inviting the Jackson Free Press—to respond to Freddie Patton, a father he features in a campaign ad blaming D.A. Faye Peterson for not prosecuting the drunk driver who killed his baby daughter. Patton said yesterday that the Smith campaign brought him to Jackson from his home in Chicago and immediately put him on a TV set to do the ad. However, he said he soon learned that the Smith campaign lied to him about the role Peterson could have played—when, in fact, she was never given a case file to prosecute. Thus, he publicly retracted his endorsement, as the JFP reported yesterday.

UPDATED: Father Says Smith Campaign Ad ‘a Lie'

As the district attorney's runoff looms, challenger Robert Smith is combing the alleys of the criminal justice system, looking for people unhappy with Peterson's performance. One such foray produced a couple who claim in the footage that Peterson failed to bring to justice a drunk driver who killed their daughter in 2006—but now the father says he was tricked into doing the ad.

The JFP's Coverage of the Hinds DA Race - VOTE TODAY

Face-Off: Faye Peterson v. Robert Smith

Judge Sentences Seale to Three Life Terms

Throughout his trial, James Ford Seale appeared in court wearing slacks and a dress shirt. This morning, as he walked in shackles into a U.S. District courtroom in Jackson, he wore an orange Madison County-issued jumpsuit. Neither his siblings nor his children were present. He smiled at his wife, as guards escorted him to his seat next to public defenders Kathy Nester and George Lucas.

BREAKING: James Ford Seale Receives Life in Prison

A former Klansman, who was thought to be dead until the brother a man he kidnapped and helped kill went to Franklin County with the CBC and the Jackson Free Press and found him living in a trailer, was sentenced to three life sentences this morning on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges, reported the Associated Press.

Ellington