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Medgar's Office in Dispute

Jackson resident Delores Orey said the city's grant to restore the historic NAACP headquarters during the Civil Rights Movement may be misplaced. The administration of Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. intends to apply for a $712,500 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for the purchase and renovation of property occupied by NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers, who was murdered in his driveway by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in 1963. (A Hinds County Circuit Court jury convicted Beckwith for the murder in 1994 after two all-white juries failed to convict him in 1964.)

Casting Call Saturday

Paramount Pictures will be in Jackson Saturday, Jan. 2, looking for a young actress to star in the new Coen Brothers' film, "True Grit," which will begin shooting in spring. Writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen "would love, love, love to find somebody unknown" Casting Director Rachel Tenner said in a release. "Any girls with an instinct to try should come and give it a shot."

Council Approves Metrocenter Purchase Despite Budget Woes

The Jackson City Council voted to purchase property inside the Metrocenter mall today. The city will buy more than 170,000 square feet of space within the mall—formerly occupied by Dillard's department store before it moved out in 2004—for $39,500. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. approached the council with the possibility of buying the property earlier this month as part of a bigger plan to revitalize the Highway 80 corridor between the city limits of Pearl and Clinton. The area, which contains the Metrocenter Mall, served as a bountiful location for businesses well into the 1980s before white residents vacated to the suburbs.

Nick's Restaurant Opens in Fondren

Longtime Jackson favorite Nick's Restaurant is re-opening Saturday, Jan. 2 in a new mixed-use development at 3000 Old Canton Road in Fondren. After 26 years on Lakeland Drive in Jackson, owner Nick Apostle decided to move his namesake restaurant when he realized it would be cheaper than closing for three months while he renovated the old location.

Barbour Wants 68 Percent Cuts to Ed Programs

Gov. Haley Barbour is recommending cutting education programs for gifted, special and vocational programs by 68 percent, reports WLBT. Making such deep cuts to state funding for the programs would result in losing $176 million in federal funding, as well.

State Economic Recovery Projected for 2013

Like the nation as a whole, Mississippi can expect to recover from the nationwide economic recession by 2013, according to a report released last week by the state Institutions for Higher Learning. Many economic indicators suggest that the state's economy is beginning to turn around. Mississippi's recovery will lag slightly behind that of other states, however, because its economy relies more on slow-growing, lower-productivity industries.

Jackson to Recycle Christmas Trees

The city will be recycling discarded Christmas trees into mulch this year, and will offer the mulch to Jackson residents for free. City Spokesman Chris Mims urged city residents to please remove all Christmas ornaments and trappings from their trees before taking them to any of the tree recycling drop-off points.

‘Tough Times' in Mississippi

The non-profit Center for Social Inclusion released a new report "Tough Times in Mississippi: Housing and Poverty," last week showing that the Magnolia state is one of the hardest hit in the current recession. Not surprisingly, the African American community has been disproportionately affected, and is at the greatest risk of being left out of an economic recovery.

Season's Readings

As Christmas approaches, the television airwaves are deluged with a new crop of delightfully mind-numbing holiday movies. I enjoy a sappy Lifetime movie as much as the next girl—and I'm a dude. Laugh it up; I've got no shame. But if you're like me, you occasionally want to experience stories in a way that's a bit more traditional. I'm talking, of course, about those antiquated devices known as books.

How to Remake a Neighborhood

Affordable housing is not a typical prestige project for architecture firms. A new development in Jackson's North Midtown neighborhood may dispel that notion, though, applying innovative design on a relatively humble scale.

Bette Shornick

Bette Shornick is an artist of many talents. She creates jewelry, plays the piano and because of her appreciation of music education, she is determined to see every child pursue their passion.

Barbour: Hands Off Damages Cap

Gov. Haley Barbour is working hard to keep non-economic damages caps on lawsuits thoroughly capped. Barbour's office submitted a Dec. 17 amicus brief to the Mississippi Supreme Court, arguing that plaintiff Ronnie Lee Lymas should not be able to challenge the constitutionality of non-economic caps the Mississippi Legislature established in 2004.

Alabama Dem Switches to GOP

In a move that some Democrats find unsurprising, first-term Alabama Congressman Parker Griffith announced yesterday that he was switching his party affiliation from the Democrats to the GOP. In a prepared statement, Griffith said there was no place in the Democratic Party for a "pro-business, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment" legislator.

City Again Helping Minority Businesses

The city of Jackson is returning its Equal Business Opportunity Office to its former glory. On Dec. 1, the city hired professional speaker and public relations consultant Pamela Confer as head of the office, which serves to increase minority business participation in city contracts.

Barbour Names Commission on School Consolidation

Gov. Haley Barbour announced yesterday the formation of an advisory panel on school consolidation, one of the more controversial suggestions from his November budget recommendations. Composed of state and local education officials, business leaders and legislators, the 16-member Commission on Mississippi Education will begin studying consolidation in January 2010 and deliver a report to the governor by April.

Otis Ashford

Otis Ashford is suing the City of Moss Point and three Moss Point police officers for civil-rights violations related to an April 2008 arrest. Ashford, a Moss Point resident, was visiting the house of his sister, Dell Jones, also of Moss Point, on April 18, 2008, when he heard noises coming from his brother's house next door. According to his lawsuit, Ashford went to his sister's porch to investigate the noise and saw two men struggling in the dark in front of his brother's house. Believing his brother to be involved and in danger, Ashford demanded that his brother be let go.

State Ranks High for Happiness, Religion

In separate nationwide reports, Mississippi gets high scores in happiness and religion. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta released a report ranking the states for happiness. The Magnolia state was No. 7 on that list, topped by other sunny climes, including Louisiana, Hawaii and Arizona. New York state is at the other extreme.The CDC speculates factors including hours of sunshine, cost of living, congestion and air quality all contribute to the happiness rankings, according to USA Today.

Hinds Supes Approve Hwy. 80 Beautification

Hinds County Supervisors opened bids today on a roughly $240,000 beautification project for Highway 80. The road, which runs through South Jackson, was once a major commercial thoroughfare and business center, but is now a prime example of blight in the city, dotted with dilapidated and vacant buildings. The area is also the subject of a $500,000 economic development and revitalization study commissioned by Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. in November and scheduled for completion in August.

Mark Scurlock

Donut entrepreneur Mark Scurlock is delivering Christmas a few days early for Jackson. This morning, Scurlock celebrated the grand opening of his new location at 125 S. Congress St. at the corner of Pearl Street in the heart of the city's downtown.

Senate Health-Care Bill Clears Crucial Hurdle

The U.S. Senate won a victory early this morning in the health-care debate, reports The Washington Post. In a 1 a.m. 60-to-40 vote, Senators approved the first of three procedural motions to move reform legislation to final passage, now scheduled for Christmas Eve.

College Board Loosens Firing Rules

Facing steep budget cuts this year and a bleak outlook for the next two years, the state College Board gave initial approval yesterday to a policy change that would allow university presidents greater flexibility in firing tenured and tenure-track professors.

Barbour Comparison Off the Mark?

Gov. Haley Barbour made national news again this week by comparing health-care reform—as envisioned in the U.S. House and Senate—to the horror of the Jonestown massacre. Speaking as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Barbour equated the Democrats' health-care reform proposal in Congress to the poison Jim Jones used to kill 918 of his cult followers in a 1978 mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.

Kathy Clem

Kathy Clem, executive director of The Good Samaritan Center, is working tirelessly until Christmas to make sure needy families in Jackson will receive gifts this holiday season. Clem, 48, has worked at the center for 25 years, and says there are still 120 children signed up the organization's Santa's Stocking program who are waiting for their wish list to be filled.

College Tuition Increases Possible

One of the things the Mississippi College Board is considering to offset the decrease in state funding is to increase tuition for students. During yesterday's meeting at the state Institutions of Higher Learning offices, Commissioner Hank Bounds brought the issue to the table, reports NEMS360.com

King Edward Opens: 'Great Day for Jackson'

Visit our King Edward special report and gallery.

Brad Rogers

For better or worse, Pearl Mayor Brad Rogers proved he's his own man when it comes to making a decision on the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District. Rogers was one of the five members of the levee board who voted in favor of a motion to adopt a levee plan for flood control along the Pearl River, as well as one of four mayors on the board who favored levees. Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads explained that he had constituents who wanted the board to get moving on some kind of flood-control plan, be it levees or a lake plan, and warned that the Corps had limited their choices by pulling the plug on the lake option.

Jackson Crime Sees Slight Decrease

Major crimes in Jackson decreased slightly last week, with a 22.9 percent drop in violent crime and a 1.3 percent increase in property crimes over the previous week, according to statistics released at a Jackson Police Department command staff meeting this morning. The weekly trend mirrors yearly statistics: For the year to date, violent crime has decreased 9.2 percent from 2008 numbers, while property crime is up 1.7 percent.

King Edward Re-opening Today

Long a downtown eyesore and unpleasant reminder of Jackson's troubled past, the King Edward Hotel is re-opening tomorrow with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. A joint project of Jackson developer David Watkins' group, Watkins Partners, and Historic Renovation Incorporated of New Orleans, the six-year, $84 million renovation of the 300,000 square-foot historic building is complete, marking the end of a long and bumpy return to glory.

Scott Rallies State Workers

Brenda Scott, president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees CWA/AFL-CIO, is spreading the word about Gov. Haley Barbour's proposed cuts to the state budget. Those cuts could affect not only current employees, but retirees as well, she told Delta Democrat Times yesterday.

Levee Board Votes for Levees

The controversial "Two Lakes" saga ended Monday when the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District voted to move ahead with a levees-only flood-control plan endorsed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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