Records, Records, Records
"I always turn to the sports section first," Earl Warren, the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court once said. "The sports page records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures."
The Best In Sports In 7 Days
MLB baseball, exhibition, Atlanta vs. N.Y. Yankees (6 p.m., CSS): The Braves battle the defending champ Yankees, who should implode any minute now.
[Ladd] Ain't That Something
Not long ago, Todd and I were downtown to see "Groovaloo" at Thalia Mara. As we walked to the car, an obviously homeless man walked up and respectfully asked us for money. Todd did what I've watched him do so many times when we lived in New York City and when visiting San Francisco and other cities. He paused for a split-second in decision and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a $20 bill, glanced at it and handed it to the man who was holding the bucket he uses to wash windshields. The man looked surprised.
Appropriations and Pole-Dancing
The House and Senate agreed on a major appropriation bill last week, when negotiators came to terms on appropriations bill SB 2495, which restores $82 million to the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, including $37 million slated for K-12 public education. House and Senate negotiators reached an accord after Gov. Haley Barbour sliced more than $450 million from the 2010 budget.
Public Works, Private Profit
If Mississippi hadn't provided $15 million in bonds and another $20 million in loan guarantees last January to Schulz GMBH to build its pipe factory, some other state would have. In today's economic market, "tax incentives" is the game state and local governments must play to lure big corporate players to put roots down within their borders.
Bring Development to Earth
Tea-partiers and fiscal conservatives make a lot of noise about how much citizens pay in taxes—income, property, sales and so forth—decrying any effort toward increased spending on health care or social programs.
[Stiggers] Whooty Whoot Time
Mr. Whooty Whoot Man: "Good morning! And welcome to the 'Mr. Whooty Whoot' television show. This program is brought to you by a tiny grant from the Poor Ghetto Children's Television Network. Additional funding is brought to you by the Ghetto Science Team's Community Stimulus and the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank (L.M.H.F.D.N.B.).
A Yankee Reporter in the Bible Belt
I drove 19 hours to get from New York to Mississippi. Nearly a dozen cans of Coke kept me from falling asleep and drifting into oncoming traffic. The only company in my Volkswagen was a bamboo plant sitting on the passenger seat. Each time I shifted gears, the plant's green leaves jolted forward.
[Collier] The Sweetest Taboo
This past Valentine's Day I got two things: a single white rose–which every woman older than 18 received at church that day–and a card from my mother. That's it. No more. It's virtually impossible for it to have been less. That's the way things work when you're unattached.
Trust In Me
It's bitterly cold and almost 11 p.m. when the white van stops under the highway bridge in South Jackson. Fifty yards from the road, there's a small campsite lit by the flames rising from an oil drum. For nearly 20 years, David "Twin" Womack has lived here, with a tent, a sleeping bag and a pair of shopping carts that he used to use to collect aluminum cans in the daytime.
Charters and Quasi-Charters
The Mississippi Legislature's wrangling over charter schools intensified yesterday when the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize "innovative schools" but voted down a provision for actual charter schools.
Banking Locally
Joe Magee, 59, is a third-generation poultry and cattle farmer. His farm, located just outside Mendenhall, produces a little more than half a million chickens and around 100 head of beef cattle a year. Magee operates the farm with the help of his son and one employee.
Colin Blanchard
Colin Blanchard loves cycling so much that despite being hit by a car twice, he rides his bike every morning from his Belhaven home to his job at The Bike Rack on Lakeland Drive where he does bike repair and maintenance. Blanchard, 23, says that cycling is a huge part of his everyday life.
Talent in Full Bloom
Caroline Herring labored to be heard over the garbled intercom chatter of an Atlanta lawn and garden store. It seems that she has a green thumb, and it's time to get seeds in the ground. Gardening, she says, is a treasured respite from the requirements of her career, the pressures of motherhood, and the hectic cycle of recording and touring.
[Rob In Stereo] Growing Prince's Sound
Prince recently released his newest single, "Cause and Effect," (Youtube link) which is predictably tame and in keeping with the trend of his singles in recent years. It is appearing more and more that Prince's glory days are behind him. We haven't gotten a signature catchy, ribald single in the vein of "Little Red Corvette" or "Sexy MF" in years. Luckily, the market for Prince imitators remains ripe. It seems every year an album comes out striving to be the great, lost Prince album.
JPD Investigating Officer for Michelle Obama Comments
The Jackson Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of one of its officers for "conduct unbecoming of an officer" during First Lady Michelle Obama's visit last week, according to a department statement released yesterday.
Monsanto Breaks Ground on Corn-Breeding Station
Flora, Miss., was the site yesterday of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Monsanto Company, producer of 90 percent of the world's genetically engineered seeds. The new $2.4 million, 26,000-square-foot facility, a corn-breeding station, will eventually employ 10 full-time and 50 seasonal workers, Monsanto said in a release.
Council Steps Sideways on Civilian Review
The Jackson City Council approved a resolution today that represents an intermediate step toward establishing some form of civilian oversight of the Jackson Police Department. After months of deliberation in committee, the resolution calls for the creation of a "an independent community advocacy review process for police matters."
Entergy Customers Facing Rate Increase
Mississippi Public Utilities Staff Executive Director Bobby Waites says Entergy customers can expect a $10 million to $12 million rate increase this year.
[Balko] 4.5 SWAT Raids Per Day
During the last six months of 2009, police deployed SWAT teams oyed 804 times in the state of Maryland, or about 4.5 times per day. In Prince George's County alone, with its 850,000 residents, a SWAT team deployed about once per day. According to a Baltimore Sun analysis, 94 percent of the state's SWAT deployments to served search or arrest warrants, leaving just 6 percent in response to the kinds of barricades, bank robberies, hostage takings and emergency situations for which SWAT teams were originally intended.