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Actor Gary Coleman Dead at 42

From CNN:

Sun-Herald Unhappy With Threats From Guv's Staff

Sounds like the governor's staff is getting on the wrong side of Gulf Coast media, and it'll be interesting to see if (a.) this is a trend and (b.) how his handling of the current crisis affects his political future. The governor, who is (too generously) heralded for his "handling" of Katrina in Mississippi, may be stepping in it a bit as he tries to dance and chew gum at the same time while grabbing facetime during the tragedy in the Gulf.

Ex-Mayor of Detroit Gets Five Years

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is heading back behind bars.

This just doesn't seem to end, does it? From mlive.com:

Ross Perot + Dr. Evil = Rand Paul?

Not since Sarah Palin have we encountered such a breath of fresh stupidity.

Apparently while trying to explain away his problems* with the Civil Rights Act on ABC's Good Morning America, Rand Paul -- newly minted "tea-party" GOP candidate for Senate from the great state of Kentucky (shout-out to Texas for somehow convincing him to not live there) -- called President Obama "un-American" for his criticism of BP's handling of the Gulf Oil spill.

‘JFP Mobile' App Live in the Apple Store

Just today we got word of final approval by the Apple Store for the 'JFP Mobile' iPhone/iPad/iPod app, which is available immediately as a free download.

Advocates Unite at CARE Conference

When most of us hear the word "lobbyist," we might conjure up images of back-room dealings with high paid lobbyists and legislators who put big business over people.

JFP Staffers Finalists for Four ‘Green Eyeshade' Awards

We learned today that the JFP editorial staff will be receiving awards in four different categories this summer in the 60th Annual Green Eyeshade Awards. This was our first year to enter the awards, which are administered by the Society for Professional Journalists, covering the 11 states of the Southeast. The awards include categories for daily papers, non-daily publications, radio, TV and online -- the Jackson Free Press was the only winner in any media from the state of Mississippi!

Suburbs Losing Young Whites to Cities

Diversity in city and suburbs = good. Keep it up, Jackson.

Our good friend David Watkins (or "Pops" in JFP comments and forums) posted a link to this Huff Post piece on Facebook yesterday, which reports on a Brookings Institution study that shows that, among other things, young whites are returning to cities from the suburbs (such as we are seeing right here in Jackson). David also said this under his link: "Here's an interesting tidbit from the Brookings study; the overall population of metro Jackson has increased in the last decade from 497,000 to 537,000, but the percentage white population has decreased by 4% and is now at a total of 49%. We are following the same pattern as the rest of the country in getting more diverse throughout the metro region."

JFP Forums Are Back!

Last year we switched from using the Forums script here on the JFP site to something I was calling the "Community Blog," mostly because it allowed us to integrate recent comments from the Community Blog into the "stream" of comments we get on stories and more "official" blog entries. Well, that didn't work -- few enough thread of discussion got started that I've decided to return to the original Forums.

Clarion-Ledger ‘Shopping' Section Ignores Local Stores

The Clarion-Ledger tried to make a big deal out of new pages it was added to the Sunday edition, so we grabbed one to see what the big deal was. It turned out to be much ado about nothing. They have a page called "Dining/Shopping/Events" with the predictable kinds of Southern Style features they've already done. (Making us wonder if they're canning the Weekend section or such.) Ho, hum.

Why Donner Kay Is Blogging Again

OK, I've been bad. Of a fashion. In recent months, I've gotten so caught up in new projects (like the new BOOM Jackson quarterly!) and in volunteer work and in managing what is quickly becoming our best staff ever (collectively speaking; we've always had great staffers), that I just haven't been blogging on the JFP site. And, yes, I admit it: I've found it easy to put a pithy statement or two on Facebook, and perhaps a link back to a JFP story, and leave it at that. But I've realized that isn't the best way to act, live and work LOCAL, and I'm a local-vore if you ever did meet one. So, starting today, I've got a new attitude. You're going to hear more from me on the JFP site (even though it's best for my productivity to not get too caught up in conversations under stories!).

1st Annual Downtown Cinco De Mayo Celebration WEDNESDAY 5:30pm

ADMISSION IS FREE TIL 9pm. Music, Mexican Food, and YOU!

The Jackson Progressives, Jackson Free Press, Jackson Downtown Neighborhood Association, and several other entities have joined forces for the 1st Annual Downtown Cinco De Mayo Celebration: Celebration of Jackson's Diversity. WEDNESDAY, MAY 5th beginning at 5:30pm at DREAMZ JXN. 426 Capital (One Block From the Historic King Edward Hotel).

GOP's "Financial" Woes: Country Wants Reform, Libertarians Want Tea Parties Back

For the second time this week, the GOP stood together on Tuesday to block cloture on the Senate Financial Reform bill. Their party unity may, however, be working according to plan for the Democrats, who are feeling strong public support for the measure, according to CNN. In fact, the Republicans are in the awkward position of standing pat with the banking industry, fighting reforms that include additional oversight for the bank's investment arms and the ability of the FDIC to step in and protect consumer interests in failing banks. (Here's a nice little wrap up of what reform is meant to do.)

Sense of Community Revealed

In my humble opinion, The Jackson Free Press has set itself apart in this city, state and nation as a publication that is hard-hitting, to the point and never shows only part of an issue. The staff has created awareness of the creative juices in this city and awakened dead stories, and people, which became award-winning journalism.

2010 Duke Blue Devils, Your National Champions

The 2010 Duke Blue Devils can be your national champion, because they won't be mine. This team was one of the worst national champions in recent memory. Sure, they showed grit and clutch performances. But Coach K's crew plowed through a weak ACC like Caesar through Gaul, then took advantage of so many upsets in the first few weeks. Their hot streak through the last four games cemented a fifth national championship for the Blue Devils, but I doubt that this team could have beaten any of those other great Duke teams. A generous critic would call them overachievers. I don't.

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