News

Barbara Ann Harris Johnson

Instead of only recognizing African Americans in February each year, Barbara Ann Harris Johnson decided that African American accomplishments should always be honored. Through her column, "Black History Every Month," which appeared monthly in the Jackson Advocate, she upheld that belief.

Business Law, Restaurant Raves

One of the more common obstacles to fledgling entrepreneurs is a lack of adequate legal advice, Michael Harris, program manager of the Jackson Business Accelerator, said today.

Interior Department Issues New Drilling Ban

The U.S. Interior Department issued a new offshore drilling moratorium yesterday that will be in effect until Nov. 30.

Council To Vote on Bigger JPS Board

The City Council is set to vote tomorrow on an expansion of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees from five to seven members. Proponents of the move argue that it will make the school board more accurately represent the city, with one member corresponding to each of the city's seven wards.

Vashti Muse

When Angela Hite met Vashti Muse 20 years ago while dancing for Hinds Community College Hi-Steppers, she received encouragement and support from Muse to continue dancing.

Doing Good: Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service

Several state nonprofits received a boost to their programs July 7, when the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service announced $10 million in federal grant allocations for the state's AmeriCorps program.

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.

BP Installing New Cap

In the company's newest effort to contain the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, BP officials said Sunday that they are making progress with a plan to place a new cap on the geyser, The Associated Press reported yesterday.

ProPublica Photographer: I Was Followed by BP Security and Then Detained by Police

Freelance photographer Lance Rosenfield was working on assignment for ProPublica in Texas City, Texas, last week, when a BP security guard began following him. Rosenfield was later detained by police after taking photos for two ProPublica stories. One revealed that BP's Texas City refinery had illegally emitted 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air in April and May. The other reported that the Texas City refinery continues to have serious safety violations five years after an explosion at the plant killed 15 workers. What follows is Rosenfield's account of what happened on Friday night after the police, accompanied by the BP security guard, stopped him at a local gas station.

Katie O'Neal Sorey

Katie O'Neal Sorey began to get a sense of her life's purpose when she was 14 years old. While attending the Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church's annual Mission Fest, a conference based on service and worship, she had the opportunity to work with the homeless at Gateway Rescue Mission.

BP Announces Hiring Improvements

BP officials announced improvements to make the company's Vessels of Opportunities program more efficient and incorporate more regional employees, during a media briefing Wednesday.

Weekend Summer Soirees

After work today, stop by Joyflow Yoga (7048 Old Canton Rd., Ridgeland) for a free Sun Salutation class at 5:45 p.m. to get ready for the Sun Salutations benefit for the Center for Violence Prevention August 7. Once you're rejuvenated, go flex your mental muscles at the "Dinner and a Quiz Show" at Rainbow Whole Foods (2807 Old Canton Rd.) at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $13, $11 for members in advance and $16, $14 for members at the door. If you'd rather shake your booty, go to a folk-dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. at the Contra Dance at The Commons (719 N. Congress St.) and then watch Sound Wagon perform at 8:30 p.m.; $5 donations. Or, head to ArtRemix at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) from 6-11 p.m. with performances by Sherman Lee Dillon, John Paul, Keith & the One Four Fives and Those Darlins; tickets are $20, $15 for members in advance and $25, $20 for members at the door. In the mood for a weekend getaway? Take a trip to the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale to catch the "The Most Southern Weekend on Earth," a two-day celebration of all things Southern with concerts by Robert Belfour, Jimbo Mathus and Kevin Gordon on Friday; and True Revue and Mose Allison on Saturday. Tickets are $20 tonight, $30 Saturday or $40 for both nights.

Mississippi Drop-Out Rate Still Increasing

Jackson Public Schools reported a drop-out rate of 24.3 percent in 2009, up from 17.6 in 2008. Statewide, Mississippi's 2009 graduating class had a drop-out rate of 16.7 percent, up from 16 percent in 2008, the state Department of Education reported yesterday.

Johnson Champions Developments Despite Budget Shortfalls

In his State of the City address yesterday, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. pointed out that selecting the MetroCenter Mall as the event's location bears significance for Jackson. Despite the city's budget challenges, revitalization of MetroCenter and the Highway 80 corridor are top priorities for the administration, Johnson said.

Keith Plunkett

For the next year, Keith Plunkett will spend his weekends in a boat. On Saturday, Plunkett launches "Lucy's Revenge," a yearlong project that will send him paddling more than 600 miles on Mississippi's rivers.

JPD Combats House Burglaries

This morning, the Jackson Police Department reported 95 house burglaries for the week of June 28 through July 4--an increase from 79 in the prior week. Overall, major crimes decreased from 268 to 260, citywide.

Bus-Sized Tar Mats Sighted; Barbour Announces Study

A five- to six-mile stretch of large tar mats washed up on Long Beach Harbor late last night, reports The Sun Herald.

Johnson Gives State of the City Address

verbatim statement

Thank you Reverend Stanley Smith for offering the invocation today. To President Bluntson and members of the Jackson City Council, other elected officials, City Employees, citizens of Jackson and friends, it is my pleasure to see you and welcome you here today to the 2010 State of the City Address. I would also like to recognize my wife Kathy and take this opportunity to show my appreciation for her continued support.

‘Fidelity to the Law'

Frank Farmer prides himself on his evenhandedness. Farmer, 34, a candidate for Hinds County Court Judge in District 1, grew up in Hattiesburg, the son of a veterinarian and a physical therapist. He studied biology briefly at Rhodes College in Memphis before deciding to major in political science.

Supremes' Decision Could Affect Minor

The U.S. Supreme Court's June 29 decision to vacate the 2006 fraud conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and remand that case back to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals could mean good news for convicted Mississippi attorney Paul Minor.

Is Mississippi Rushing Executions?

The state of Mississippi is set to execute Joseph Daniel Burns on July 21, making Burns the third inmate executed this year. Attorney General Jim Hood asked the Mississippi Supreme Court June 21 to set an execution date for Burns, the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Burns' request for a hearing. Burns follows Gerald James Holland and Paul Woodward, whom the state executed May 19 and 20, respectively. Holland and Woodward were the first two executions in the state since 2008, and Burns' execution will make 2010 the busiest year for Mississippi's death chamber since 1961.

Auditorium Closes; Relaunching as Events Space

The Auditorium, a Fondren restaurant and music venue, has closed temporarily as its owners develop a plan to re-open as an events space. The restaurant, located in the Duling School, closed July 4. Developer Mike Peters, who owns the Duling School property, told the Jackson Free Press today that the restaurant is "revamping."

Bill Payne

After more than 14 years of waking up early mornings and going to his small office that sits in the back of Church's Chicken at the intersection of the Medgar Evers Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Bill Payne remains passionate about his franchise. He greets each employee with a smile every day, displaying his appreciation for his or her hard work.

New Deadline for Seale's Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court set an August 9 deadline last week for the U.S. Department of Justice to respond to the appeal of former Ku Klux Klansmen James Ford Seale, WLBT reported yesterday.

Hinds Seeking Fed Money for Byram-Clinton Corridor

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors took another small step forward today on its long-delayed Byram-Clinton corridor road-building project. The board voted unanimously to earmark $2 million for the project out of the $14 million remaining from a 2007 bond issue.

Ellington