Howard McMillan
Howard McMillan, dean of Millsaps College's Else School of Management, will serve as acting president of the Jackson school beginning next month. He takes the place of Dr. Francis Lucas, who announced earlier this year that she would be leaving the college, effective June 2010. Dr. Lucas is using her accrued sabbatical leave to finish her term.
Kenneth Stokes
The Jackson City Council voted earlier this month to appoint individuals that historically sided with former Mayor Frank Melton to lead them under the new administration. Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson and Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman received unanimous votes for council president and vice president, respectively. Bluntson immediately set about making Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, the third councilman in the Melton "faction," head of the council's planning committee, so that Stokes could immediately go about bringing up all the agenda items that the more level-headed council leaders of the past kept bottled up in committee.
Anna Tadlock
On Saturday, Anna Tadlock of Brandon, 23, was crowned Miss Mississippi at the culmination of three days of pageant events in Vicksburg. According to her profile, the Mississippi State University graduate says her future plans include receiving her master's degree in education and teaching English at the high school or college level. She also sees herself getting married and starting a family within the next 10 years.
Dan Blumenthal
Fast cars have been a passion for Dan Blumenthal since he was a little kid. He inherited the bug from his father, and was reading Road &Track magazine at age 7.
Officer Colendula Green
As I approach Smith Park, I spot a woman standing in a black long-sleeved JPD uniform, gun on belt, badge on shirt and dark shades over eyes.
Chris Mims
Director of communications is one of the first administrative positions that Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. filled when he took office earlier this month. His choice for the job was Jacksonian Chris Mims.
Judy Lewis
Mississippi Public Broadcasting's board of directors unanimously appointed Judy Lewis, 59, as its new executive director last week. Lewis, a native Mississippian from Morton, holds a doctorate in higher education from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor's and master's degree in education and speech communication from Mississippi College. She succeeds Marie Antoon, who announced her retirement in May, and will begin her new job Aug. 1.
Amani Floyd
For students at Jackson's Bailey Magnet School, Amani Floyd's dedication as a teacher has paid off well. Floyd, a student in the Mississippi Teacher Corps program at the University of Mississippi, helped the kids raise their American history test scores by 10 percent, with 95 percent of students passing the state exam. That's the highest rate of inner-city students passing the exam in four years.
Jerzy Leszczynski
Jackson State University professor Dr. Jerzy Lesczcynski is one of 22 educators in the nation to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. President Barack Obama named the honorees yesterday, recognizing educators for their work in "furthering the educational advancement of our nation's young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders," according to a White House press statement.
Beth Kander
In response to the news that state Sen. Lydia Chassaniol was the "surprise speaker" at the recent Council of Conservative Citizens meeting in Jackson in June, Jackson playwright Beth Kander announced on Facebook that she will be hand delivering a letter and flowersto the senator.
Micajah Sturdivant
Micajah Sturdivant stands on a sun-dried deck behind the MMI Management building gazing across a small lake and laughing about the number of geese bathing in the water.
Ruth Oguhebe
As she walks into the empty school library, 17-year-old Ruth Oguhebe smiles and reaches out for a hug before sitting down at a table and taking off her shoes.
Jed Oppenheim
Although his parents were activists, Jed Oppenheim says he first realized the inequalities of race and class systems during the 1992 riots in his hometown of Los Angeles.
Renita Full of Hope
Mississippi native Renita Martin will venture from New York City to Jackson this weekend to perform her one-woman show "Five Bottles in a Six Pack" at New Stage Theatre. Martin graduated from Crystal Springs High School and briefly attended Tougaloo College before moving to Boston, and later to New York.
Untangling Funk
The New Yorker editor and novelist Ben Greenman's new book, "Please Step Back", tracks the life and career of funk-rock star Robert Franklin, a.k.a. Rock Foxx, a fictional character based loosely on Sly Stone.