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Are You Ready for the Weekend, Jackson?

Kick off the first weekend in autumn tonight with a couple of movies for only $5. At 6:30 p.m., Crossroads Film Society presents "My Time Will Come," from Ecuador, and "The Photograph," from Indonesia at the Mississippi Museum of Art (museum members get in for $3). For opera lovers, head to Millsaps College for a rare, free treat. Robert Crowe, a male soprano, will sing Mozart and Haydn arias beginning at 7 p.m. at the Ford Academic Complex. If you're looking for a way to contribute to the community, at 8:30 p.m., head to Galloway United Methodist Church for "Ending Homelessness: Putting the Pieces Together in Our Community," the final event in the Mississippi State Hospital's Homeless Connect Week. You have plenty more options to choose from, so if none of those make you happy, head over to the JFP Events Calendar for more options.

Bill Luckett

Clarksdale attorney Bill Luckett has confirmed that he will run for the Mississippi governor's seat in 2011. Luckett told the Mississippi Business Journal yesterday that he will formally announce his candidacy sometime in the spring, but that he has moved beyond merely considering a run. A staffer at Luckett's political action committee, Progress for Mississippi, confirmed Luckett's candidacy to the Jackson Free Press today.

Mississippi Unemployment Rate Dips in August

August unemployment numbers in the Magnolia State dropped below 10 percent, with a seasonally unadjusted rate of 9.5 percent, representing 121,300 people, which is 1 percentage point lower than the state's July rate. Mississippi's August numbers are 0.1 percent lower than the national rate of 9.6 percent. The state is also one of 16 states reporting a decrease in joblessness across the U.S.

PSC Orders Entergy to Comply with Audit

The Public Service Commission ordered Entergy to stop dodging an audit yesterday, threatening the company with subpoenas if it does not comply. Horne CPA, which is conducting two fuel adjustment audits of Entergy on behalf of the PSC, informed the state regulator in a Sept. 21 letter that Entergy is virtually dousing every page of information the CPA firm requests with gallons of lawyers.

Jackson Area Businesses Open, Close and Give Awards

BRAVO! Restaurant in Jackson is asking its patrons for stories of the people who changed their lives. The upscale Italian restaurant is giving away $600 in gift cards for the best story of a life-changing person posted on its Facebook page. The contest is a creative way of launching the restaurant's presence on the social-networking Web site, BRAVO! co-owner Jeff Good told the Jackson Free Press.

Elizabeth Crisler

Elizabeth Crisler, president and founder of Jackson advertising agency Liquid Creative, will celebrate the company's 10-year anniversary tonight. Crisler opened the agency in 1999 as a branch of Dallas-based Squires & Company, and she bought the company in 2003. Since then, Liquid Creative has doubled in size and tripled its client base.

City's Crime Numbers Still Down Despite Shooting

Yesterday, the Jackson Police Department released ComStat crime figures for the week of Sept. 14 through Sept. 20. The report shows that major crime statistics in Jackson dropped again last week, although violent crimes rose from the previous week. Total major crimes this year are a scant 0.2 percent down from last year's numbers.

JSU Hazing Suspensions Have Consequences

Yesterday, Jackson State University announced that 45 members of the school's Sonic Boom of the South are suspended due to an alleged hazing incident that resulted in a student's fractured collar bone. Without those percussion members, the band may be unable to perform at all.

The JFP Interview with Chokwe Lumumba

Chokwe Lumumba was one child among seven in Detroit's West side public housing projects. His birth name is Edwin Taliaferro, though he abandoned what he considers his slave name in favor of his current, more nationalistic, equivalent.

Manhunt D.A.‘s ‘Guard' Duty

When Bruce Dunagan heard that Tallahatchie County prosecutor John Whitten III was involved in a vigilante-style manhunt last month, in Sumner, he wasn't surprised. Dunagan, who was Biloxi's police chief during Hurricane Katrina, remembers Whitten testing the limits of the law in the aftermath of the 2005 storm.

Joel Bomgar

When Joel Bomgar developed a new type of software at age 23, he had no idea that in a few years, he would be running one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country. He was simply trying to save time.

Two Lakes Developer Long a 'Green' Foe

Northside Sun Publisher Wyatt Emmerich declared in a recent column that the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District should appoint Jackson oilman John McGowan to head the board's technical advisory committee. The committee will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to devise flood control for the section of the Pearl River between Hinds and Rankin counties—and is considering a controversial plan developed by McGowan himself.

The GOP's Obsession with Tort Reform

As the health-insurance reform debate swirls, Gov. Haley Barbour is claiming that most Americans are actually looking for tort reform, not a government-guaranteed insurance option, to lower their health-care costs.

Power Industry Watchdog Grows Three New Teeth

The Mississippi Public Service Commission will be getting $824,901 to better watchdog the power industry. This morning, District 1 Rep. Travis Childers announced the grant award from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, which the PSC applied for earlier this year. Childers said the money will create jobs, improve training, and increase energy efficiency.

Mississippi Casino Revenue Still Declining

For an industry that was once considered recession-proof, Mississippi casinos continue to see their revenues slide. For August, the Mississippi State Tax Commission reports a drop of 9 percent over July, with gambling establishments around the state reporting total revenues of $206 million. In August of 2008, winnings totaled $238.2 million.

Barbour Misses ACORN Bandwagon

The day after Gov. Haley Barbour announced he was cutting state funds to ACORN, the JFP broke the news that the state gives no money to the group—which no longer exists here.

State Courts Face Spring Shutdown

State lawmakers received an unwelcome surprise yesterday, when Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller revealed that the state court system is set to run out of money in April.

Roger Wicker

Passed by a 68-to-30 Senate vote, an amendment authored by Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, mandates that Amtrak allow passengers to carry handguns in their checked baggage. The amendment is an addition to a $122 billion housing and transportation bill, of which $1.2 billion is for Amtrak, and would deny funding for the carrier if it doesn't comply by March 2010.

Partnership Brings Free Dental Care to Kids

Approximately 400 students in two of Jackson's elementary schools will be receiving dental screenings today and tomorrow through the Colgate "Bright Smiles/Bright Futures" mobile van. The van, which is in Jackson in partnership with the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation and the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry, will be at Brown Elementary School today and at Smith Elementary School tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Hinds Officials Challenge Personnel Cuts

A round of budget cuts and layoffs last week prompted outcry from two Hinds County officials at this morning's meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Tax Collector Eddie Fair told board members that their Sept. 15 decision to slash 48 filled positions from the county's payroll would affect more than just those employees.

Jackson One of 20 Strongest-Performing Markets

A new report issued by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., ranks Jackson as one of the nation's strongest-performing metro areas in the country. The MetroMonitor report tracks the recession and its recovery, and examined the 100 largest metropolitan areas for the second quarter of 2009.

Future for Clinic Uncertain

The future of the Catholic Charities Legal Assistance Clinic in Jackson, which provides legal services for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, is uncertain, as pending upcoming funding decisions. Funding for the clinic from the Mississippi Bar and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women ended in August 2009.

Rwth Ashton

The unusual spelling of her first name is not the only thing compelling about the new Millsaps College chaplain, who comes to Jackson by way of Belzoni and Boston, among other places. Ashton, a United Methodist minister for the past 12 years, was most recently the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Belzoni, Miss. Before that, she served as associate pastor of Crossgates United Methodist Church in Brandon.

Public and Community Meetings In and Around Jackson

5 p.m., Fondren Association of Businesses Annual Membership Meeting at Schimmel's (2615 N. State St.). Find out about membership opportunities and what's in works for the Fondren Business District. E-mail [e-mail missing].

Jackson Man Arrested at Grow House

Called an "elaborate marijuana growing operation" by authorities, Hinds County sheriff's deputies, Jackson police, and federal and state drug agents arrested Zachary Alexander, 33, on Friday, seizing 86 plants. According to the Associated Press, the pot plants, which Alexander was growing under ultraviolet lights in his home on Naples Street, are valued at $325,000.

Shoestring ‘Conversation' Focused on Solutions

Diving into state and city challenges, panelists at last night's annual Operation Shoestring fund-raising dinner brought the issues to light along with potential solutions. The diverse crowd listened attentively to "A Conversation About Community," as each panelist offered his or her unique life experience to forward the discussion.

Weekend Happenings

A weekend of history, music and soul begins tonight at the 31st Annual Farish Street Heritage Festival. At 6 p.m., a pep rally and a step show will kick off the event on the festival grounds on Farish Street, followed by live music all weekend. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate. If you're looking for an international cultural experience, Crossroads Film Society presents "Getting Home" from China and "I am from Titoy Veles" from Macadonia at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Global Lens film series at the Mississippi Museum of Art. See JFP Events Calendar for more options.

Public-Good Rankings Include Mississippi Schools

Washington Monthly magazine has published college rankings based on their contribution to the public good. The listings include several Mississippi universities and colleges, and are based on three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).

Immigrant Rights Alliance Says Enforcement Unbalanced

Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler is charging that the indictment of Jose Humberto Gonzalez in the 2008 Howard Industries immigration-enforcement raid highlights the unbalanced enforcement of federal immigration law. In 1986, the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act made employers liable for employing undocumented aliens.

BCBS: Domestic Abuse Not Pre-Existing Condition

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has clarified a statement he made to the Jackson Free Press used in a story Wednesday regarding Mississippi being one of the eight remaining states whose laws allow insurance companies to use a history of domestic abuse as a reason to deny health-care coverage.

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