News

Big City, Bright Future: Development Surges Ahead in Downtown Jackson

Graphic illustration courtesy of Downtown Jackson Partners

These may be strange days for a Capitol City, but Jackson's rebirth continues to pick up speed, despite the antics of its indicted mayor.

Ted Duckworth

Native Jacksonian Ted Duckworth, 39, is dedicated to changing the face of downtown Jackson. A married father of four, Duckworth graduated from Mississippi State in 1988 with a bachelor's in real estate and mortgage finance. The following year, he started his own company, Duckworth Realty, with exclusive listings in LeFleur's Gallery Shopping Center and The Market at Grant's Ferry Shopping Center.

Casey Parks' Africa Trip Blog

We can all keep in touch with Casey's adventure at

Also, Lisa Mullins at NPRs The World did another interview with her. This is the show's interview with her on Sept 11 Interview. (Scroll down until you see the phrase "Casey interview", which lasts exactly 6 minutes)

AG Scrutinizing Clarion-Ledger's TDN Scheme

Apple's iTV and SlingBox TV

This week Apple whipped its hype machine into full gear to introduce a series of new iPod and iTunes related products. The most exciting offering might be the rare preview that Apple gave of its upcoming device—codenamed "iTV"—a set-top box designed to allow you to stream iTunes videos from a Mac or PC running iTunes 7 to your television. The bad news? It won't be ready until the first quarter of 2007.

Percy King

Rosie and Juno turned as Percy King sauntered down the path to meet me. "Hey, girls," King called out. "I've got carrots for ya! And I know you girls love carrots!" The two elephants, each weighing well over 8,000 pounds, lumbered in his direction to collect their treats—just like great big puppy dogs. King greeted me warmly as he tossed carrots to his biggest charges, who, with delicacy belying their huge size, picked the carrots off the ground with their trunks.

Jude Muse

"When you look good, you feel good. Being in style is being unique and having your own style," says Jude Muse, owner of Treehouse Boutique.

UPDATE: Local Pubs Invited Back to Conoco/Super Stops

BREAKING: Melton, Kids Accused of Destroying Private Home

Photo Gallery of Destruction

Crime Summit Useful?

JSU criminology professor Jimmy Bell says the city's upcoming crime summit, planned for Aug. 31 will be different from crime summits hosted in other cities, while the ACLU is concerned that the summit will not tackle crime issues in a substantive way.

Cindy Griffin

Cindy Griffin, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, has been a Jackson resident for more than 27 years. She came to the city looking for work after earning a marketing degree from Louisiana State University.

‘MySquare' & The Joys of QWERTY

Huge news for iTunes users—an executive at movie house Lion's Gate let slip during a quarterly conference call that they've made a deal with Apple to sell full-length films through the online iTunes Store. They're probably not the only ones—expect to be able to buy movies from iTunes for your iPod—or for playback on your Mac or PC—by the end of the year. One question remains … will those movies burn to DVD?

Shawna Davie

Davie blew away the crowd at the Reproductive Freedom Project rally last month with her passionate defense of a woman's right to make decisions for her body. The Jackson State student works part time with the ACLU, organizing events like the Freedom Rally, but she also organized protests during the state Legislature's failed attempt to outlaw abortion earlier this year, as well as its botched attempt to limit a woman's ability to get braids by producing a bill requiring hair specialists to be licensed to twist hair.

E&P Editorial: Clarion-Ledger Violating First Amendment

Special-Session Man Is Back!

[verbatim] GOVERNOR BARBOUR TO CALL SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION

(JACKSON, Mississippi) * Governor Haley Barbour announced today he will call a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to convene at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2006, and deal primarily with a huge job-creating project in northwest Mississippi known as Riverbend Crossing.

[Lott] The Tools of Peace

Not long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, and well before Hurricane Katrina, some in the national media criticized me for helping fund the construction of a new helicopter carrier for the U.S. Marine Corps—one that would be built in Pascagoula by workers at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. I proudly helped christen that ship on August 19 because America needs this equipment now more than ever.

TONIGHT: Martinis and Cigars during ‘Casablanca Nights' Ball

The Jackson Free Press is a "Humphrey Bogart" sponsor of the Jackson Arts Council's big fund-raising event, The First Annual Storytellers' Ball, at the Old Capitol Inn on Thursday, August 17, starting at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a gournet Moroccan Feast, Blues divas, the Capitol City Stage Band, lots of dancing, a silent auction to beat silent auctions, a pooside cigar bar and a martini-tasting station. Dress swanky; black tie optional, sparkles advised. $50 per person; reservations at 601.960.1557.

Melissa Adkinson

Melissa Adkinson, 36, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, relates easily to the majority of clients she helps. She works as a case manager at the Good Samaritan Center, a non-profit organization. She has lived in Jackson for the past two and half years.

WLBT Consumer Report Snares JFP Classified

We were embarrassed to learn that one of the classified ads discussed in WLBT's 3 on Your Side story last night ran in the Jackson Free Press. WLBT didn't mention the JFP by name in the transcript, but after reading the report online, we determined that our paper had run one of the ads. It appears that WLBT did good consumer reporting, following complaints and leads regarding the ad and ads like it in other publications, and we applaud them for it.

Clueless in Condi-land? U.S. Endgame in Lebanon?

Here's more food for discussion on Lebanon, from Michael Young at Reason mag, who is also the opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon:

Gannett Distro Scheme Strikes in Montana

Win2Mac Gaming and Open Source Kids

Only Apple can make something called the Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) the sexiest tech-marketing showcase of the summer, but it looks like it'll happen, with a keynote by Steve Jobs over by the time you read this.

Jacob Roth and Dave Molina

Jacob Roth, 26, a graduate of the University of Michigan from Detroit, and Dave Molina, 23, a graduate of Amherst College who is from Ohio, came to Jackson in 2005. They arrived via the Teacher Corps Program at Ole Miss, which places non-education majors in critical areas while allowing them to earn a master's degree in education. Both landed at Jim Hill High School in South Jackson. They instantly bonded but realized something vital was missing for youth in Jackson.

Sheriff to Deputize Two of Jackson's ‘Finest'?

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting:

Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Raids

The Cato Institute—made up of pesky libertarians who take on both "sides"—has released a report by Radley Bilko on the rise in popularity of paramilitary drug raises—and their dangers and abuses. Here's the executive summary:

[Lott] The Elephant in the Room

I'm among a growing number of Americans believing we must frankly acknowledge we're in a war with Muslim extremism. To deny that Muslim extremism is a worldwide problem, denies the so-called "elephant in the room." It invites division and defeat for the civilized world.

Like In Jackson, Goliath Strikes In Iowa

King Edward Hotel a Go

A memo released by David Watkins today says that construction on the King Edward Hotel has begun. Has the threat of implosion finally passed?

[Natchezinian] Regina Charboneau

Yes, they eat biscuits and listen to blues in San Francisco. Thanks to Regina Charboneau, that is. The Biscuits and Blues nightclub, started in 1995, is one of the several establishments this acclaimed chef has opened or helped put on the map. The Natchez native has certainly made her hometown proud.

Did Clarion-Ledger Columnist Plagiarize?

Update, Aug. 2, 2006—Today, The Clarion-Ledger published a statement (see below in Comments) saying that Courtney Taylor's work will no longer appear in the newspaper. We guess that answers the question posed by an astute reader on the Ledge forums accusing Taylor of plagiarizing a Southern Living article. The post starts:

Ellington