Jackson Free Press

Lest Ye Be Judged

I ran into a woman Sunday at Broadmeadow United Methodist Church who remembered that my mother used to sell Avon. Apparently, Mama had gone to her family's house in Neshoba …

Schools and Cigs

Charters-school advocates are looking to change the state's current law to allow charter schools to use lottery enrollment. The Mississippi Legislature passed SB 2293 last year, creating a process for …

Of Contracts, Broken

Over the past few weeks, the Mississippi Legislature has bandied about a few anemic attempts at strengthening laws protecting victims of domestic violence. Among them is an addition to the …

Bills to Protect Domestic Abuse Victims

After her husband physically and mentally abused her for nearly a decade, Joy Jones* realized her situation was only going to get worse. She gathered up enough courage to seek …

NAACP Asks Barbour to Condemn Klan Plate

Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson is asking Gov. Haley Barbour to condemn the Mississippi Sons of Confederate Veterans' push to create a commemorative license plate for Confederate General and the …

Mississippi Lawmakers on Smoking, Sex-Ed and Kicked Cats

Today is the deadline for Mississippi legislators to take floor action on all bills originating in their respective chambers, and the House and Senate passed several bills yesterday and this …

Not Without A Fight

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards won't go quietly. Edwards announced Feb. 5 that he would appeal the JPS Board of Trustees' decision to let his three-year contract expire with …

House Stalls on Domestic Violence GPS

Monitoring domestic violence suspects out on bond is apparently a controversial issue in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The House spent most of yesterday tackling an unofficial list of non-controversial …

Wyatt Emmerich's ‘Welfare' Chart Dissected by The New Republic

With a hat-tip to Jay, we bring your attention to the story From Mississippi to ‘The Corner': A Tale of Right-Wing Wrongness, where our star is none other than Northside …

The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Doctor S sez: It's Super Sunday, y'all. I'm super, thanks for asking.

Immigrants, Medicaid and Abortion

The House took up a controversial bill demanding that state and local law-enforcement officials request proof of residency status from civilians they suspect are undocumented immigrants. The version of Senate …

[Kamikaze] Jackson Schools in Crisis

I am a proud product of Jackson Public Schools. I spent nine years in that system. My mother was a long-time educator in JPS. My brother currently teaches in JPS. …

[Parshall] Firestorm Misses the Point

The blood libel remains a potent bogeyman in anti-Semitic rhetoric around the world.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence is honoring National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention month by promoting healthy youth relationships to prevent teen dating violence.

War On The Poor

Congress Embraces a New Southern Strategy

It was 7:30 in the morning, and the smallest beneficiaries of the Richard Brandon Head Start Center at 5920 N. State St. followed their young parents into the mass of …

So…Am I Wrong For Pointing This Out?

Anyone else notice the extreme disparities in the comments on the Clarion Ledger sight re: The Ridgeland Shooting vs. The Terry Shooting? Both incidents. Tragic. Avoidable. Domestic disputes involving family …

JRA Opposes Eminent Domain Initiative

Members of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority fear an upcoming November ballot initiative to restrict the government's use of eminent domain to public projects such as bridge and roadway construction will …

Ice Enters Jackson's Ward 1 Race

At 4 p.m. yesterday, an hour before the city's deadline for Ward 1 city council candidates to file for the Feb. 15 special election, Attorney L. Patricia Ice submitted her …

IHL and Other Kicked Puppies

Last week marked the final week for general bill submissions in this session of the Mississippi Legislature, and much legislation is already clearing the House and Senate. Committees in both …

Airing Abuse

When does sunshine become an invasion of privacy? Television station WDAM, an NBC affiliate in Hattiesburg, has what it says is video evidence of abuse at the Forrest County Juvenile …