Waiting on Transparency
The past week was a decent week for transparency in Mississippi, at least compared to most weeks in these parts. For one thing, the city of Jackson launched its 311 service so that residents can both log inquiries and requests and track the progress of the response.
[Stiggers] Controlling the Masses
Cockeyed Chicken Lady: "I'm your former spokesperson for Cockeyed Chicken here to inform the Ghetto Science community about my resignation from Cockeyed Chicken Inc. During my three years as spokesperson for Cockeyed Chicken, I studied and learned a lot about marketing techniques used to convince consumers in the Ghetto Science community to buy and eat Cockeyed Chicken."
[McLaughlin] Giving Time
The worst thing is for a child to expect you and then you not show up.
[Balko] Failing Upward in Criminal Justice
When the SWAT team came for Richard Paey in 1997, officers battered down the front door of the Florida home he shared with his wife and their two children. Paey is a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair after a car accident and a botched back surgery. He also suffers from multiple sclerosis. Paey was accused of distributing the medication he used to treat his chronic pain, even though there was no evidence he had sold or given away a single pill. Thanks to Florida's draconian drug laws, he was eventually convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Go-To Guy
Every town has that guy, the one you go to who gets things done. He's the man everyone turns to when they have problems. In Seville, he happens to be the barber.
No Easy Answers
When a black sergeant dies at Fort Neal, La., near the end of World War II, a complicated murder mystery begins. Was it a lynching or something more? The segregated Army of 1944 is the backdrop for Charles Fuller's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "A Soldier's Play."
‘A Natural Thing'
Let's start with a little history lesson. Back in the mid-1990s, hip-hop was at a crossroads. Groups like Company Flow and Anticon were pushing the boundaries of the genre into avant-garde directions that challenged the foundations of what could even be comfortably considered hip-hop.
Coal Plant Cost Painful
The Mississippi Public Service Commission is taking its time approving rate increases funding a $2.88 billion coal-burning plant already under construction in Kemper County.
Sharing Spaces, Building Community
While studying in Denmark in the 1980s, Charles Durrett noticed a housing community different from the typical condos and homes he passed during his 20-minute walk to the train station. He saw people drinking tea together on a porch and neighbors helping each other, and he felt a strong sense of community.
Chloe Garth-Elkins
Chloe Garth-Elkins' Saturday Upward Bound class at Jackson State University is learning about the word rastaquouere. The students begin to grasp the true meaning of the word through application of its technical definition: "social intruder; upstart." Garth-Elkins patiently guides students through the lesson, inviting them to enter the world of scholars in constant pursuit of knowledge.
Poets Changing Human System
Like Halley's Comet, it might happen at most twice in a lifetime, where two of the most widely recognized names in poetry come together at the same time and place to enlighten and inspire. That time is this weekend. Get outside, because the stars are shooting: Sonia Sanchez and Amiri Baraka are coming. This year marks Jackson State University's Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center's fifth Creative Arts Festival, and nationally and internationally acclaimed authors Sanchez and Baraka are two of the special guests.
Puppy Mills, JATRAN, Power Savings Before Council
The city will restrict roadside animal sales after a 6-to-0 vote in favor of a new ordinance today.
Jackson Business News: Fondren Food, Young Entrepreneurs
Several new restaurants are opening their doors in Fondren. The most recent is Petra Cafe, formerly of Clinton. The Mediterranean restaurant closed its second location (the first is in Hattiesburg) last month and relocated to the former Jerusalem Cafe site on Old Canton Road, opening officially last week. The new Petra boasts an entirely renovated interior. Owner and operator Ayman Albataineh says a remodeled outdoor seating area, with a roof, should be complete in one week. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Petra offers a lunch buffet for $9.99. The restaurant serves dinner seven days a week.
Shelley Johnson
When Shelley Johnson started researching the American foster-care system 10 years ago, she was shocked to discover that 500,000 children did not have stable homes.
Lawmakers Pass Civil Rights Museum Bill
Construction of a civil rights museum and a history museum for the state of Mississippi is a go after lawmakers passed a bill moving it forward yesterday.
City Rolls Out 311 Call System
A new 311 call system offers Jackson citizens and business owners improved access to city services, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said today. Speaking at a press conference this morning, Johnson hailed the technology as an advance in making city government more open.
Health Centers Fare Better Under Agreement
The state's mental-health facilities may be open another year, now that Democrats in the Mississippi House of Representatives agree with Republican Gov. Haley Barbour on a new $5.5 billion state budget.
Gene Young
In the last year of his life, Gene Young was a regular at the Eudora Welty Library. The civil rights activist would bring a briefcase full of newspaper clippings and photos showing his arrests, speeches and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement that started when he was a child.
Community Events This Week
Free Tax Counseling and Filing IRS/AIM or AARP volunteers will do electronic filing. Bring all necessary documents. Joint filers must come together. Free.
City Calls for Businesses to Hire Youth
The success of the city's Summer Youth Employment Program depends on the number of local businesses who hire young people, Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said at a press conference Friday.