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Manervia Cross Rayford
Manervia Cross Rayford has lived so long that sometimes her descendants have trouble keeping up with all the things she's done in her life.
Cynthia Stuart
Cynthia Stuart came to theater late in life. Winning her battle with cancer heightened her enthusiasm. Although she had worked in music education for years, Stuart did not consider herself an actress until she auditioned for and won the lead role in a Black Rose Theatre production of "Hello, Dolly!" at age 47.
Advocates Call for National Juneteenth Holiday
Residents gathered in the Tougaloo community this morning to push Congress to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865.
Council Battles Over Zoning
Jackson City Council members agonized over how to classify newly annexed city property during a lengthy zoning meeting yesterday.
Bryant: Voting Rights Act Rigs Elections
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant spent the better half of a March 8 public forum mischaracterizing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a former president's lingering attempt to influence southern elections.
Tiara of the Day: Bluebird Crown
This year, the Sweet Potato Queens, in shiny new over-the-top outfits, sashay through Fondren in the first annual Zippity Doo Dah Parade. Boss Queen Jill Conner Browne says she has yet another first: a Larry Vrba bluebird crown.
City to Spur Development at Metrocenter
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. says moving city facilities directly into the largely under-used Metrocenter Mall on Highway 80 will give the mall a much-needed economic boost.
Hezekiah Watkins
On a sunny day in the spring of 1961, Hezekiah Watkins was just another face in the crowd as he watched the Freedom Riders arrive at the Greyhound bus station on Lamar Street. Itching for a closer look, the 13-year-old sprinted across Lamar Street, but he accidentally ended up inside the station where police arrested the activists who rode interstate buses through the South to challenge Jim Crow laws.
Nathan's Law Struggling
On a cold afternoon two weeks before Christmas in 2009, Laurel resident Lori Key stood outside her home like she did every day and waited for her son, Nathan, to get off his school bus. As the bus pulled up in front of her house, several cars came to a stop behind it, as is required by state law.
Tom Harmon
"Art is a very important part of community. You can't have too much," artist Tom Harmon says.
The Best In Sports In 7 Days
Doctor S sez: Enjoy NBA hoops while you can, folks. Your favorite hoopsters are about to be locked out by the owners, too.
Woodrow Wilson Bridge a Hazard, Says Mayor
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which spans the Canadian National rail line just west of Mill Street, poses a hazard to people passing beneath it, says Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.
Mayor Harvey Johnson on ‘JFP on WLEZ' Today
At noon today on WLEZ-FM 100.1, Mayor Harvey Johnson will join JFP editor Donna Ladd and publisher Todd Stauffer for a wide-ranging discussion covering issues currently facing Jackson and its citizens. Topics will likely include questions about "rebranding" Jackson, re-working the budget, issues facing JATRAN and other public services, and some of the development in Jackson that's pushing into the Hwy 80 corridor and midtown. You can listen over the air or live at www.wlezfm.com, or watch for the podcast later in the day at www.jfpradio.com.
Coast Mayor Wants State Treasurer Job
This is a corrected version of this story. Jackson Free Press reporter Lacey McLaughlin erroneously reported that Mayor Connie Moran helped secure $500 million in grants for Ocean Springs. The number should have read $50 million. We apologize for the error.
Cuffs at Capital City?
Jackson Public Schools is looking into allegations that security guards at the district's alternative school have been punishing students by handcuffing them to chairs, bathroom railings and a gymnasium pole.
Funk Philosophy
If you didn't know better, you might have thought you'd stepped into evening service at an annual church convention rather than a program to hear an American theorist speak at Jackson State University. The designated seating areas were packed last night, and some people stood in the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center to hear acclaimed professor and author Cornel West speak. Speak he did.
Convention Center Attendance Up in 2010
Two years after opening its doors to great fanfare, the Jackson Convention Complex has brought in more than $49.7 million and spurred the city's economy by providing jobs, tax revenue, and thousands of visitors who spent money in the city, according to a report the Capital City Convention Center Commission issued this week.
Talking It Out
Hakeem and Matthew have been fighting. Seated in a classroom at Blackburn Middle School, the two eighth-grade boys explain the origins of their conflict, an ever-escalating series of slights.
Rob Mies
Taking a 16-hour road trip from Michigan to Jackson with four live bats doesn't faze Rob Mies who has spent his career promoting bat conservation and education.
Supes Scrutinize Elections Employee
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to extend the contract of a county Elections Commission worker whose employment has stirred controversy. Supervisors voted 3-0 to extend voting-machine technician Pat Wilson's contract through the November general election, despite opposition from Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves.