Jackson Free Press

Taking Back Rock: The JFP Interview With Joan Jett

As a 4-year-old little girl, I watched the tv screen with a gaping mouth, focusing on the black-haired woman yelling about loving rock 'n' roll.

Hinds Drops Regional Jail

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 last Tuesday to end its efforts to build a regional jail, after spending more than $400,000 on acquiring land and designing the …

Kennedy: Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck Spread Hate

Speaking to reporters last Friday after his keynote speech at the memorial for slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Robert Kennedy Jr. said some right-wing broadcast hosts feed …

Hmph!

When I made the decision to leave Ole Miss and venture down to Jackson, MS, I was admittedly scared.

Taking breaks from epic Halo 2 battles and scourging fraternity pledges, I'd caught breaking news flashes of Jackson's zany mayor busting into residential buildings and wearing Kevlar vests.

Legislators Remain Stuck on Budget

With 14 days remaining in Mississippi's 2009 fiscal year, lawmakers continue their struggle to reach a consensus on next year's budget. The special negotiating team, which consists of three House …

Murrah High Makes Top High Schools List

[verbatim] Newsweek magazine has named Murrah High School to its 2009 America's Top Public High Schools list. The schools are ranked on the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or …

Seale Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court

Attorneys for James Ford Seale, convicted in 2007 on federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges related to the 1964 killings of two 19-year-old African Americans, have appealed to the U.S. Supreme …

Hot Stuff This Weekend

The weather isn't the only thing hot this weekend. Here are a few options, courtesy of the JFP Event Calendar, Best Bets and Music Listings.

PSC Creates New Hurdles for Coal-Burning Plant

The Mississippi Public Service Commission met last Friday to consider multiple motions submitted by Mississippi Power, the Sierra Club, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and others regarding Mississippi Power's proposed …

UMC Closing School for Autistic Children

The fate of Jackson's autistic children will be in the hands of the public schools this fall, raising concerns for parents, according to a report from WLBT. Last week, parents …

Laurel Miller and Price Donahoo

Mississippi State University senior, Price Donahoo was working in the library when sophomore Laurel Miller sat down at the computer across from him.

'Racism,' In Context

You've surely heard the heads exploding by now. "She's a racist!" "Maria, er, Sonia Sotomayor said she's smarter than white men!" She made "an unambiguous statement of bigotry."

State Agencies Silenced on Lake Plans?

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks remains strangely silent and without comment on two plans to partially inundate a state park stagger drunkenly forward.

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 …

[Stiggers] Blame a Black Man

Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal justice system the people are represented by associate-in-training Sista Encouragement and two members of the McBride family: police officer and part-time security guard at …

Suspect in Holocaust Museum Shooting is White Supremacist

The Associated Press is reporting that a shooter opened fire in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., just before 1 p.m. today, fatally wounding a security guard before he was …

Crime & Punishment

When a best-selling author comes to Jackson, it's news. When three best-selling authors come in one exclusive event, it's historic.

Thoreau's Fire

True story: On April 30, 1844, Henry David Thoreau began the fire that eventually burned 300 acres of forest outside his home in Concord, Mass. He was never prosecuted for …

Fiat Signs Deal with Chrysler

When the US Supreme Court told plaintiffs yesterday that they did not prove the court needed to intervene, they removed the final obstacle for the company's partial sale to Italian …

JPD Goes Reality TV

Jackson's 14 homicide detectives are about to get a taste of the limelight. As early as next month, field producers for the cop show "The First 48" will begin following …