All results / Stories / Ward Schaefer
Lessons from the Animal Kingdom
Romeo never visited the zoo. The lovelorn lad had all he needed to woo Juliet, thanks to Shakespeare's silver pen. But imagine if he flipped on the Discovery Channel and searched for guidance in the mating habits of animals. Let's consider what he might have learned:
Vince Gordon
"Fast cars, fast motorcycles, fast women." That's how Vince Gordon describes his former lifestyle as a military policeman in Yokosuka, Japan.
Matt Massingill
18-year-old Matt Massingill raised $1,100 through a charity golf tournament benefiting Ducks Unlimited.
Tobie Tomlinson
"Being a shooter," Sgt. Tobie Tomlinson says, "allows for focus." Tomlinson, 35, knows a thing or two about focus. A service rifle shooter with the Army Marksmanship Unit, based in Fort Benning, Ga., he spends half the year training for and competing in national shooting competitions, and the other half teaching marksmanship to new soldiers. He captained the AMU's 2006 and 2007 championship rifle teams and, in 1995, won the individual National Service Rifle Championship.
Paul Lacoste
When he showed up at training camp for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League in 1999, Paul Lacoste was considered a mere "camp body," not a serious prospect.
Sanford Knott
Sanford Knott doesn't sound like a typical Jacksonian. A childhood hearing problem kept him from speaking clearly until he was in junior high school.
Jason Thompson
"Time waits for no man. / Time takes from those who walk slow along the wrong road." With a multi-talented personality, Jason speaks on his working with the youth, organizing art events, and positive hip-hop music.
Nick Mosca
Seven years ago, only four out of every 10 Mississippians drinking public water drank fluoridated water, a basic public-health measure in most states. Today, roughly 55 percent of the state's population drinks water treated with fluoride. That change is due in no small part to the efforts of Nick Mosca.
Janice Cameron
Downtown lawyers, med students, hipsters and retireescountless Jacksonians of every stripe know Janice Cameron's work, even if they don't know her. With her husband, Dennis, Cameron owns Cups Espresso Café, a Jackson-based coffee-shop chain.
Rachel Hicks
Rachel Hicks will not be ignored. The Belhaven resident is co-founder and executive director of Mississippi First, a fledgling non-profit organization focused on education policy that will move the state from lastwhere it often lands in national measures for educationto first place.
Why I Still Drink Coffee
On pain of death (or, rather, pain of dirty looks from Ronni), I'm taking stock of my five wellness goals. I'm falling short on some: my afternoon coffee intake has risen, not dropped, and I'm meditating about half as often as I'd like. The coffee goal might be a bad one, though. While I don't love the headache and sluggishness that comes with a caffeine deficiency, I find something perversely romantic about the whole ritual, about sharing this weakness with so many people.
Larry Emmett & Michael Parker
Larry Emmett and Michael Parker have been together for 18 years, but they couldn't get married before 2003, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Burnin' Down the House: DIY Concerts
It's not just for sweaty, basement punks anymore. Do-it-yourself house concerts are cropping up all over Jackson, the perfect expression of the city's collaborative, welcoming music scene.
Julie Skipper
Though it's hard to believe now, there was a time when Julie Skipper wanted nothing to do with Jackson. A Meridian native, she graduated from Millsaps College in 2001 with a degree in art history.
New Openings; Fondren Parade Planning
The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership will celebrate the grand opening of Paco's Margaritas Mexican Grille at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 13. The restaurant is located at 6340 Ridgewood Court Drive in Jackson and is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday 11 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, call 601-487-8388.
JPS Board Won't Renew Edwards' Contract
The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees voted during its Dec. 7 meeting not to renew Superintendent Lonnie Edwards' contract for the upcoming school year, Board Attorney Dorian Turner told the Jackson Free Press today. The 3-1 vote came during executive session, and the board informed Edwards of its decision at a meeting this afternoon, Turner said.
2011 Mississippi Legislative Preview
The Mississippi Legislature returned Jan. 4, and many legislators are not looking forward to the kind of cuts facing state departments. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health is looking at a shortfall of more than $30 million this year, which could easily mean the closing of some mental-health institutions in the state, delivering more mental-health patients into county jails and state prisons.
More Art, Crafts, Cannoli, Retail
A children's fountain, outdoor dining, garden rooms, performance stage and expansive art installations are just a few of the design elements The Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art will feature when it opens in August.
Week Two: Budget Woes, Taxes, Photo ID
Legislators came face-to-face with rough times this week with Gov. Haley Barbour calling for $158.3 million in budget reductions for fiscal year 2009.
The Saga of the No-Budget-Bill
Although he isn't an official party in the Mississippi Legislature's budget negotiations, Gov. Haley Barbour is still wielding his influence. The regular session ended last week with House and Senate leaders still deadlocked on a hospital assessment and Medicaid funding, and some House Democrats blame the governor for ruing a near-agreement.