[Rob In Stereo] Breaking Up is Hard to Do
It's incredibly difficult to be objective about The Roots. It has been one of my favorite groups since I first heard "You Got Me" back in 1999. The song was the first live instrumentation hip-hop I had ever heard and is one of those songs that make you remember exactly where you were when you first heard it.
The Ultimate Layer Cake
Summer is full of occasions to get together: a backyard barbecue here, a potluck there, your third step-cousin twice removed's 29th birthday (for the fourth year in a row). It seems people are always clamoring for your time, your attention and your culinary contributions.
Ryals Goat Dairy
I frequently hit the Mississippi Farmer's Market on Saturdays with the Child. We go to see friends, as well as stock up on fruits, veggies and other necessary items like yard art. We tend to stick to a routine, buying from the same vendors on each trip, varying only when the Child spots cookies.
Get It Fresh
Nothing beats farm- or garden-fresh produce for flavor and nutrition. Lucky for Jacksonians, the area has a number of venues where local growers sell in-season and organic produce and, in some cases, organic meats and eggs.
To Be Changed
Every Thursday at 10:30 a.m., women between the ages of 60 and 80 stand up in Trinity Episcopal Church at 1315 Jackson Ave., here in New Orleans, and place their arms on the shoulders and back of the man I love.
My Kind of Tea Party
Recently, I was asked to appear on a local cable talk show to talk about issues of the day. I didn't think much about it; it sounded easy and innocent enough. And I was busy and didn't bother to ask who I was appearing on the show alongside.
Give Me Shelter: Protecting Animals, Prosecuting Abusers
The mutt turned up in the Providence Madison subdivision one day in early October 2009 . A black and tan hound mix, around 7 months old, she was skittish around the neighborhood(tm)s residents. She cowered if a human tried to pet her, tucking her tail between her legs, even urinating. Some residents began feeding her, though, leaving dog food on the road for her to eat.
A Second Chance
When Hinds County animal-control officers pick up a dog, they take it to a temporary shelter at the county Penal Farm in Raymond. The county shelter houses between 700 and 1,000 dogs a year. After a week, most make their way to the Mississippi Animal Rescue League where, more often than not, they are euthanized. A lucky few earn a spot in the county's special program.
After the Flood
It only took Millie Williams a few minutes to decide that the animals needed her. Watching footage of Hurricane Katrina on television at her home in Pennsylvania, Williams saw evacuees from New Orleans leaving their pets behind.
Stokes Addresses Alleged Personal-Care Home Abuse
On Tuesday, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes proposed a new ordinance imposing fines and jail time for people found guilty of neglect or mistreatment of residents of small nursing homes, often referred to as "personal-care homes."
Hitched: A Groom's Story
Most grooms consider everything that might go wrong the night before the wedding. For me, those considerations came a year and a half before Rachael Gray-Lewis and I said, "I do."
Mayor Hypes Restarted Housing Project
Tucked into Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s July 7 State of the City address was the news that a 26.7-acre housing development previously held up by a lawsuit is now back on track. Johnson's speech highlighted a number of well-known economic-development projects in varying states of completion, but it also indicated that the Agape housing project in northwest Jackson has cleared a major obstacle.
Willie Mae Shirley
At first sight, one wouldn't suspect that the freshly painted home of Willie Mae Shirley has been standing since 1926. The home, located on Shirley Avenue in the Washington Addition subdivision, is filled with memories from friends and family in the form of pictures, furniture and gifts. An inviting walkway lined with brightly colored marigolds leads to the home's front porch.
Council Re-Elects Prez and Targets Profiling
The Jackson City Council voted to retain current council President Frank Bluntson and Vice President Charles Tillman after a lightning-fast roll call during Tuesday's council meeting.
Christmas Every Day
On a cold November morning, you see a teenager walking in nothing but shorts and a T-shirt––no coat. He is visibly cold and doesn't "belong" in your neighborhood.
Tommy Gun and the Juggernauts
Thomas "Tommy Gun" Leonard conducts football practice in the blistering Mississippi summer heat. At midday, the temperature seems like 100 degrees, and the players and coach are exhausted.
Find Another Way
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is no stranger to right-wing nuttery, but he offered a prime example of conservative hysteria in comments in a July 12 article in The Clarion-Ledger. Suggesting children of undocumented immigrants are burdening Mississippi's hospitals, Bryant told The Clarion-Ledger, "You have some that have babies—anchor babies—and don't pay for it."
[Stiggers] Where is the Love?
Brother Hustle: "Bill Withers sang it best: ‘Sometimes in our lives/We all have pain/We all have sorrow./But if we are wise/We know that there's always tomorrow.' I also like what little orphan Annie sang during her stage play: ‘Just thinking' about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow until there's none!'
[Beety] The Cost of Death
On July 21, the state of Mississippi is scheduled to put Joseph Daniel Burns Mississippian, murderer and father of three—to death. Our state has executed only 10 men over the past 30 years; yet, if all goes as planned, Burns will be the third Mississippian executed this year.
[Balko] A Case Study in Local News Futility
The Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism recently surveyed 490 hours of local news reports in the Los Angeles area and found what most people who watch local news probably already knew: It's dreadful.