Articles by Jason Smith

The year was 1971. Leticia Arryo Pastrana was 15-years-old about to embark on a journey that would thrust her future into the unknown. She was home in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico when her grandmother; her father’s mom who was living with them at the time, got struck with illness. After the news of Pastrana’s grandmother being […]

To be or not to be. That is the question for Puerto Rico in regards to the looming debate of statehood. Should Puerto Rico become a state? Is it its own country?  Puerto Rico is not a state nor a country. However, it is United States territory, leaving many citizens with dual identities. Are they […]

“First it is important that our fellow U.S. citizens know that the 3 million American citizens in Puerto Rico have different rights when they live in Puerto Rico than when they live in the continental U.S.”  Juan Pablo Gutiérrez-González, local owner of the strategic design and branding agency, Gutigon, said. There are more than 6 […]

It all started 45 years ago. Ingrid Jeffs was just a small child when her parents traveled to Ecuador, found hats and started selling them “by the dozen.” But before hats became a “big hit,” her parents ran a small handicrafts business where everything was handmade. “My dad moved to Puerto Rico 50 years ago,” […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a dreadful experience for us all. State-wide lockdowns halted us from living the everyday life we were so accustomed to living. Not to mention the mask mandate that still leaves the country divided. But most importantly, it disallowed many of us to see our family, friends and loved ones. And […]

A constant feature of the United States of America has ironically been division. Take a look at politics; we have two primary parties who, more often than not, differ in core principles to the point it feels like a person almost has to be one or the other. We could even look at religion where […]

The 15-year-old suspect accused of killing four Oxford High School students and injuring another six students and a teacher Tuesday was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a […]

A Collierville man killed at least one person and injured at least 14 others at a Kroger grocery store before committing suicide with, what seems to be, a self-inflicted gunshot yesterday, according to police. After entering the Kroger store, the suspect, former Kroger third-party vendor, Uk Thang, 29, let off multiple shots, wounding innocent employees […]

Kimberlynn Vergara is a nursing student at MATC and is employed as a certified nursing assistant. Every day she witnesses the struggles of patients and families that have to deal with heartache and tragedy with the pandemic and the fight for social justice. Observing such pain has forced her to reevaluate herself, her priorities and […]