Jackson Free Press

Keith Tonkel

For going on 35 years, Keith Tonkel has been in the pulpit, serving the congregation and neighborhood of Wells United Methodist Church on Bailey Avenue. His office, on the second-story …

Scary Burbs

<i>Urban Flight May Shorten Your Life</i>

Last spring, during the media frenzy over crime in the city, I interviewed a Brandon woman who had been the victim of an armed robbery in Jackson. She wasn't physically …

Your Grid or Mine?

<i>Jackson Designers Push 'New Urbanism'</i>

Turn off U.S. 51 onto Hoy Road in Madison, toward the reservoir, and drive past a number of bland gated communities until the gravel ends and you're on dirt. Keep …

[Talk] Home to Roost

The chickens George W. Bush hatched in January 2001 when he signed the No Child Left Behind education bill are starting to come home to roost. Now in the second …

[Talk] No Discernible Effect

With no discussion to speak of, the Jackson City Council re-instituted its youth curfew ordinance at its Aug. 26 meeting. With City Councilman Ben Allen out of the room temporarily, …

Fixin' the Burbs

We hear and read a lot about the hidden costs of sprawl, for example that the average American now spends 443 hours behind the wheel every year, the equivalent of …

[Ladd] No More Wink-Wink Politics

Waaaa-powwww, right in the kisser! So, what was that loud explosion that hit the middle of last week? Certainly, it could have been me letting out 42 years of pent-up …

Tell Me the Truth, JoAnne

<b>Complicated and Loquacious

Q. I'm new to Mississippi, and everybody talks too damned much. You ask someone a question, and you can't get them to shut up. Whatever happened to "yes" or "no"? …

Title Time For Our Guys?

The Jackson Senators return home on Thursday night, needing just one victory over the Armadillo Dillas to claim the Central Baseball League championship. The Senators won the first two games …

A Football Doubleheader

Boy, does Louisiana Tech suck or what? At least they got the satisfaction of losing on national TV. But Dr. S doubts that Maryland and Georgia Tech would agree. The …

Mayor Johnson's ‘State of the City' Address

In its entirety: State of the City Address, Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr., August 26, 2003, 5:30 p.m., Union Station

Are We Living In Titletown?

The Jackson Senators have been a success on and off the field in their two seasons at Smith-Wills Stadium. On Monday night, they open the Central Baseball League playoffs (brought …

[Ladd] Gentlemen, Tone It Down

Every day of the past week I've heard someone, usually a white progressive, ridicule City Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes. "He's crazy." "He's a lunatic." "He's a racist." The outspoken Ward …

Mobilizing the Hip-Hop Generation

To anyone who watches MTV all day—where P. Diddy, Ja Rule and Nelly dominate the screen flashing fancy cars, gold chains and an entourage of scantily clad women—political empowerment and …

[Talk] Social Republicans

Aug. 21, 2003—Barbara Blackmon's race might hurt her chance at the lieutenant governor's post this November, but it might help put fellow Democrat Ronnie Musgrove back into the governor's mansion. …

Get Your Grid On

<i>Dr. S' Amazing College Football Preview</i>

That chill in the night air (it got down to 75 the other night, brrr) signals that it's almost time for football. And here in Mississippi, the favorite brand of …

Amy Tuck Revives State Flag Issue

Whoa. How should we read this interesting turn of events? Does Ms. Tuck believe it will be politically expedient to have a rebel flag debate as part of her race …

School Daze: Testing Madness

As I proctored a classroom full of seventh-graders taking the Grade Level Testing Program (GLTP) test last April in a suburban Jackson public school, I couldn't help but think that …

Electronic Voting Easily Hacked?

The Washington Post reports that many states are backing away from electronic voting machines: "Since being released two weeks ago, the [Johns] Hopkins report has sent shock waves across the …

Open Primaries in Mississippi?

Is the closed-primary system outdated? The Sun-Herald explores.