The Best In Sports In 7 Days
Women's college basketball, Vanderbilt at Mississippi State (8 p.m., Starkville, CSS): The Lady Bulldogs (10-4) play their SEC home opener.
NCAA Hell
Ethical standards in college athletics are plummeting. The BCS is a cartel. NBA age requirements are leading to corruption in college basketball. How much longer will fans tune in to the booster-driven world of premier athletic programs?
[Mott] Not One More Victim
The bad economy and shrinking budget is not an excuse for failing to add teeth to laws protecting women.
James C. Thompson
James C. Thompson is the co-founder of the Jackson political consulting firm Blue Dot Group, which he says was named because the group's political affiliations make them "a little blue dot in a big red state."
The Billion-Dollar Levee Question
Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen came out last week as an avid opponent of a levee expansion, saying it is too expensive. His choice, Two Lakes, is also expensive, and perhaps more so.
Running the Blues
The third annual Mississippi Blues Marathon will start and end at the intersection of Capitol and State streets in downtown Jackson this Saturday, Jan. 9. Event organizer John Sewell said about 2,000 runners from 46 states and four countries are expected to participate in the marathon and half marathon, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, and kicking off at 7 a.m.
City Attorney: More Accountability, Less Drama
Jackson City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen officially adopted his job in October, although in truth he had been filling the role in some capacity for more than five years. Teeuwissen, 43, was the city's legal defense attorney until former City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans left her post after the 2009 municipal election.
Mental Health Ripe for Cuts?
Reform and belt-tightening will collide when state lawmakers consider mental-health services in the 2010 legislative session.
Tell Whole Story on Levees and Lakes
Now that the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District has officially agreed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' levees-only plan for flood control, expect the Two Lakes war machine to kick in full throttle to disparage levees.
[Stiggers] A Mass Choir In Denial
Boneqweesha Jones: "It's time for the 'Qweesha Live Television Magazine Movie Preview for 2010'! My movie pick for the new decade of the new millennium is 'The Bottom Line is Money,' a documentary film by Kunta 'Rahsheed X' Toby, the Gordon Parks of the Ghetto.
[Collier] Resolute Resolutions
A new decade has started, and I'm still trying to figure what that means for me. You're supposed to be excited about the start of a new year, but I can't say I am. Not yet, at least.
Mississippi Legislature Faces a Dire Task
Mississippi legislators skulked back into the state capitol Jan. 5, keeping their body movements at a minimum and their heads low in case somebody noticed them and asked them questions containing the words "budget shortfall."
A Fun World
More than 130 brightly colored puppets and Jim Henson's original sketches for the television show "Sesame Street" and the film "The Dark Crystal" line the new exhibit "Jim Henson's Fantastic World."
Ice Cream Sandwiches for Grover
"Sesame Street" used to have a segment in which über-friendly voices sang a little song about a group of objects.
Mississippi Madness
After four years of effort, local musician and public school teacher Mary Ann Henry, better known by her stage name, Emma Wynters, released "Mississippi Madness." Wynters and a hodgepodge of Jackson-area performers and vocalists collaborate on her fourth album, which features a wide array of instrumentation.
[Herman's Picks] Vol. 8, No. 17
After the holiday hustle and bustle, many of us find ourselves buckling down and paying off a little holiday debt. For your pleasure, many low or no-cost musical options can ease your woes.
Devil's Dream
At first glance, a novel on the life and times of Nathan Bedford Forrest may seem like a polarizing tale, but in "Devil's Dream" (Pantheon Books, 2009, $26) Madison Smartt Bell, a Nashville native, weaves an insightful story that reveals two sides of the controversial Confederate lieutenant general, slave trader and skilled cavalryman.
Hood Offers Census Cautions and Tips
Attorney General Jim Hood is cautioning Mississippians to take care when revealing information in the upcoming 2010 census. Although he urges everyone to cooperate with census takersthe census determines levels of federal program funding and number of U.S. House seats, for examplehe says citizens should be wary of identity thieves impersonating census workers.
Barbour/Palin Ticket Could Carry 2012 GOP Primary
Mississippi State University political science professor Marty Wiseman predicted that a Sarah Palin/Haley Barbour ticket could easily win the Republican presidential primary in 2012, if the two came together long enough to form a united front. Palin, the former governor of Alaska who abandoned her office last year for a career in public speaking, has been making a big name for herself over the last few months. Barbour, meanwhile, will be unable to run for Mississippi governor after this term, and may be fishing around for another political post, providing he does not dedicate his full efforts to being chairman of the Republican Governor's Association and a high-powered Washington lobbyist.
[Balko] The Criminalization of Protest
Police and politicians ignore the First Amendment when we need it the most.