Wellness Project: Week 2
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Well, I'm starting to remember to stretch in the morning, but unfortunately I only remembered twice last week. I'm going to put a ginormous "STRETCH" sign on my mirror to remind myself to do it. Also, I still haven't gotten a journal to write my prayers in yet. I don't want to use one I've already written in. I want a nice, fresh one with pretty colors to make it special. Why do I want to write my prayers? You see, when a person has a history of anxiety and/or depression, focusing is more of a challenge. I tend to go off track while praying due to racing thoughts in my head. A typical prayer for me is like this:
Irby Wants Her Day in Court
Karen Irby, sentenced to 18 years in prison for the deaths of two young doctors last month, says she was forced to plead guilty, and now wants to withdraw that plea, reports WAPT. Irby was legally drunk and behind the wheel of her black Mercedes when the car crossed into oncoming traffic on Old Canton Road, Feb. 11, 2009, crashing head on into a pickup truck driven by Drs. Lisa Dedousis and Daniel Pogue. The two doctors died at the scene when their truck burst into flames.
Hood Talks Damage Claims at Oil Spill Hearing
BP's Letter to House Speaker Billy McCoy
House Speaker: BP's Absence an ‘Insult'
Verbatim Statement from House Speaker Billy McCoy:
As Speaker of the House, I consider it an insult to our citizens and Legislature that a representative of BP was not present at today's first hearing held by the House Select Committee.
House Panel Questions Dispersant Toxicity
Some House members left this morning's inaugural meeting of the House Select Committee on the Gulf Coast Disaster without knowing the potential risk of dispersants that British Petroleum is using to break up and sink millions of gallons of oil bursting from a destroyed deepwater oil well off the coast of Louisiana.
Birdland Reopening, Economy Still Lagging
Farish Street nightclub Birdland is open again after spending eight months closed under a court order. The club renewed its privilege license and dancehall permit Friday and was open last weekend, Jackson Police Department spokesman Detective Roderick Holmes told the Jackson Free Press today.
David Powe
As chief administrative officer for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, David Powe oversees the daily operations of an economic powerhouse. The center represents 10 percent of the Jackson metro area's economy, and its clout is only growing. Six years ago, when Powe took over as CAO, UMMC reported annual revenues of $686 million. This year, the center is on track for $1.2 billion in revenue.
[Balko] The Subversive Vending Machine
In 1819 the English publisher, bookseller, and radical Richard Carlisle was sentenced to three years in prison for blasphemy and seditious libel. Carlisle's imprisonment was partly due to his publication of pamphlets exposing what's now known as the Peterloo Massacre, in which a cavalry brigade attacked tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered to call for reforms to Parliament, and partly because he published the banned works of enlightenment figures such as Thomas Paine.
Unarmed Marine Killed After Off-duty Officer Shoots Him Six Times
What makes this even worse is that the officer shot at him 13 times. From WBAL TV:
Barbour Taking Heat for Oil Responses
Gov. Haley Barbour is being criticized on several fronts for his response to the damaged BP well in the Gulf that has spewed millions of gallons of oil into the sea since April 20. Twice, Barbour has been out of the state when President Barack Obama visited the coast, most recently to attend a picnic and meet with bond agencies in New York City.
Coast Clear of Oil, But Barbour's Comments Misleading
Although oil spouting from the April 20 destruction of a British Petroleum deepwater oil well is devastating Louisiana wetlands, state officials say Mississippi Gulf waters are still clear and open for business.
Doing Good: Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project
For lower-income residents who can't afford legal services, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyer's Project provides free legal services clinics and representation through more than 1,800 lawyers who volunteer their time and services.
Juanyce Taylor
Being first is a designation many people desire to possess, although most aren't always that fortunate. But Juanyce Taylor, director of diversity assessment and programs for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has a history of originality.
Community Events and Public Meetings
5 p.m., America Reads-Mississippi Member Recruitment, at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), at the Sally M. Barksdale Educational Resource Center. ARM members tutor full-time during the school day, before and after school, over breaks and in the summer. Members support school and community efforts to increase parental and community support and involvement, recruit volunteers and attend monthly training to gain skills necessary to meet service obligations. Members who successfully complete 1,700 hours in one year will receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award worth $5,350, which can be used to attend college and/or pay off current qualified student loans. Call 601-979-1474.
U.S. Official Cheers Stimulus Jobs
Robert Peck, U.S. general services administration's commissioner of public buildings touted 48 new jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, during a press conference at the McCoy Federal Building today.
Census Director Stresses Cultural Sensitivity
U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves met yesterday with representatives from a variety of Mississippi civil rights advocacy organizations to address concerns about low census participation in parts of the state. Groves' visit came in response to a May 18 letter to the Congressional subcommittee overseeing the census that highlighted obstacles to administering the census in historically hard-to-count communities.
Thank God It's Friday
Thank God It's Friday
Thirsty for some drinks and music? Start off your weekend at Hal & Mal's in their Big Room with a show by Robert Randolph and the Family Band. The show starts at 9 p.m., tickets are $25 at the door. Also tonight, Rhonda Richmond will also be performing at Afrika Book Cafe at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15. If music isn't your thing, Rainbow Whole Foods Co-Operative Grocery will have a dinner and a movie in the Rainbow Plaza at 7:30 p.m. The featured film is "Sita Sings the Blues," and a vegetarian meal will be provided. Tickets are $16 at the door and $14 for members. If you've got some energy left over from this short week, head over to Body Benefits on Pear Orchard Road tonight at 5 p.m. for a three-hour spinning workshop. The workshop includes a question and answer session and refreshments. Cost of the workshop is $50. Want more? Check out Best Bets or JFP Events Calendar
Beverly Scurlock
Of all the ways one could begin to describe Beverly Scurlock, it is hard to believe that "quiet" would be one of them. Yet, that's what Mark Scurlock first noticed about her when the two met at the student union grill at Coahoma Junior College in 1983.
Mississippi No. 2 in Gun Deaths
States like Mississippi with high gun ownership and weak gun laws lead the nation in gun deaths, concludes a new report by the non-profit Violence Policy Center based in Washington, D.C. The Magnolia state ranks No. 2 for gun deaths with a rate of 18.32 deaths per 100,000, right behind neighboring Louisiana with a rate of 19.87 deaths.
New Money for Farish and Medical Mall Expands
The Jackson Redevelopment Authority approved a $1 million loan yesterday to the The Farish Street Group to continue their renovations on Farish Street, and passed a resolution recommending that the city expand the Jackson Medical Mall Urban Renewal Area.