News

Major Victory

The Millsaps men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time after upsetting Centre 69-60 on Sunday in the SCAC Tournament championship game. The Majors are a good bet to host an NCAA regional. The pairings will be announced Monday at 11 a.m.

Huge 'Leap' Show at Swell-o-Venue Friday

Swell-o-Venue kicks off their 2008 season on Friday, Feb. 29, with their first show of the year featuring Bear Colony (Esperanza Plantation), Look Mexico (Lujo Records) and Captain & Company (featuring ex-Colour Revolt-er Drew Mellon). Bear Colony are touring in support of their 2007 debut, We Came Here to Die, and are debuting new material on their first tour of 2008. Doors are at 7 P.M., the event is all-ages, and the cost is $10. Bear Colony will also be playing an earlier acoustic in-store performance at Be-Bop Record Shop (Maywood Mart) at 4 P.M. that is free to the public.

A Blank Check for Entergy?

Consumer's rights advocates and environmentalists alike are furious about a Senate bill that would pave the way for the state Public Service Commission to let utility companies charge customers for construction of a new nuclear facility at Grand Gulf, in Port Gibson. Current law only allows utility companies to raise rates after the facility is online and producing electricity.

Bruce Golden

During the day, he's Mr. Golden, the mild-mannered school librarian who dispenses copies of "Tuck Everlasting" and "Because of Winn-Dixie" to the book-loving kids at Peeples Middle School in South Jackson. Mr. Golden's library is a peaceful world of words, a refuge for literary-minded students from their hectic and often stressful school days. But on nights and weekends, he's Bruce, a jazz percussionist who trades in his Dewey decimals for complex polyrhythm and syncopated beats.

SafeCity Miffs McMillin, Residents

JACKSON—Local crime watchdog group SafeCity miffed the police chief, the Jackson City Council and many residents of all political stripes with its apparent stealth efforts to get the Legislature to create a discriminatory city "safety zone" that would have carried stiffer penalties for crimes committed in better-off parts of the city and allowed the state and the district attorney to usurp the chief's authority.

Innocent Man Goes Home for First Time Since 1993

INDIANOLA—Arthur Johnson, 48, wrongfully convicted in 1993 of rape and burglary, went home with his family Monday, Feb. 25, for the first time in a decade and a half. Sunflower County Circuit Judge Ashley Hines still levied $25,000 in bail, even though DNA testing proves Johnson did not commit the rape. Johnson has already served 15 years of his 55-year sentence in Parchman.

Obama Campaign Comes to Mississippi

The Associated Press is reporting that the Barack Obama presidential campaign is opening an office in downtown Jackson in order to work toward the March 11 state primary. The JFP learned separately that the office will be in the site of former gubernatorial candidate John Arthur Eaves' campaign offce. Former Gov. Ray Mabus and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson are Obama's state co-chairmen.

Family Shelter Needs Furniture

I just got this from Sandy Middleton at the Center for Violence Prevention, which provides shelter and assistance for women and children escaping domestic violence. Please help if you can:

Downtown Civil Rights Museum Supporters Gathering at 1 p.m.

Council President Leslie McLemore is leading a diverse group of Jacksonians who want to see the new Civil Rights Museum located in downtown Jackson, rather than then the suggested locale of Tougaloo College land north of the city. Join the group at 1 p.m. at the Smith Robertson Museum in downtown Jackson today (Monday, Feb. 25) to show your support.

Finding James Ford Seale Alive: A Timeline

This is how the discovery that James Ford Seale was alive transpired

Media folks often ask the Jackson Free Press to clarify why the timeline in the original story, "I Want Justice, Too," published in the JFP on July 20, 2005, about Thomas Moore's July 2005 trip to Meadville varies from the "Mississippi Cold Case" documentary released about that trip back to Meadville nearly two years later. The truth is that that documentary muddles the timeline in some small, but significant ways, that leave out the role of the Jackson Free Press. (The original intent of the documentary was to document Mississippi journalists covering Moore's journey for justice.)

Republicans Kill Law Enforcement Bill

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood berated House Republicans Wednesday for voting down a bill that would have allowed him to ask a judge for permission to wiretap phones for white-collar crimes. "It's nothing less than a partisan attack. This vote was too solidly along party lines to be anything else," Hood said at a Wednesday press conference.

‘You're Free To Go'

Photos by Roy Adkins

(View a full gallery here).

Inky The Clown

The pink-and-blue (Calvin Clown designed) striped arms disappear beneath the table, drawing forth a plain-looking hardcover black book. "You don't mind if I read?" Inky asks casually, waiting a second for my surprised, affirmative nod before opening his book to unleash a flame blazing from the page. "Jeepers!" he cries, shutting it with a start. "Must have been a cookbook."

Dongles Back in Action?

One of the most conservative U.S. appeals courts in the nation outlawed Texas' ban on sex toys last week, and local retailers could use the decision to overturn a local municipal ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Texas law making it illegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by jail time, violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Immigration: Myth Vs. Reality

Illustrations by Melissa Webster & Darren Schwindaman

"They can vote themselves in a pay raise, but they can't do nothing about all this illegal immigration," says Jackson talk show host 'JT,' of the JT and Dave show, after the House approved a raise for government officials, including a $10,000 raise for in-session work for legislators.

Civil Rights Museum to Tougaloo?

Jackson hip-hop artist Kamikaze is organizing community feedback regarding a consulting group's recent recommendation to place the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum north of County Line Road in Ridgeland. Museum consulting firm LaPaglia & Associates recommended Tougaloo College as the site of the museum on Feb. 11, even though it received a No. 10 ranking on a site list (PDF, 177 KB) as recently as November when the top spot under consideration was the site of Smith Wills Stadium on Lakeland Drive.

Controversy Over Civil Rights Museum Growing

[Promoted from forums] If approved by a commission studying the issue, the museum would be built on the college's property off County Line Road, west of I-55 and south of I-220.

USDA Recalls 143 Million Pounds of Beef

The Associated Press is reporting:

BREAKING: Levon Brooks Released

A Noxubee County judge released Levon Brooks on his own recognizance without bond after spending 18 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 3-year-old child. After Noxubee District Attorney Forrest Allgood reviews the case, Brooks will reappear in court in about three weeks, at which point he is fully expected to be exonerated. The judge could not talk specifically about evidence in Brooks' case because it will be used to prosecute Justin Arthur Johnson, who is now charged with the two murders Kennedy Brewer and Brooks served prison sentences for.

BREAKING: Kennedy Brewer is a Free Man

More to come on this story.

The Jackson Free Press' Ronni Mott called this morning from a Noxubee County Circuit courtroom to say that the judge hearing Kennedy Brewer's case has granted his freedom. There was not a dry eye in the courtroom as Brewer's grandmother lifted her head to the sky, crying out "Thank you Jesus!"

Free At Last? Brewer May Go Free Friday

Two men who have served a combined 34 years behind bars for crimes they apparently did not commit may walk away free men on Friday, Feb. 15.

Jayur Mehta

After leading me through the maze of bookshelves and cataloguing drawers and into his office in the downtown Charlotte Capers building, archeologist Jayur Mehta motioned me to sit down and began rummaging through opaque rectangular boxes in a corner. Once he found the one he was looking for, he beckoned me to them, smiling.

[Release] Performa Gets ‘Phase One' Loan for Farish St.

[Verbatim Release] Funding Complete for Phase One of the Farish Street Entertainment District; Focus Turns to Phase II -- BB King's Blues Club and Stimley Performing Arts Park

Obama & McCain Win Virginia, Maryland

This about says it all, I guess, from The New York Times:

To Booze or Not to Booze

Police Chief Malcolm McMillin submitted an ordinance proposal to the Jackson City Council this week that would restrict alcohol retailers from doing business after 2 a.m. The ordinance specifically makes it unlawful for any owner, proprietor or an employee of any establishment with a liquor license to dispense light wine or beer—whether sold or given away—after 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday. The ordinance also restricts businesses from allowing patrons to bring their own alcohol onto the premises after 2 a.m.

Hood Renews Call for Campaign Finance Reform

[verbatim statement] JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood—as he has done since 2004—is again calling on state lawmakers to reform campaign finance laws.

Nebraska Suspends Executions

The New York Times is reporting that the electric chair is "cruel and unusual punishment," suspending executions there until the state can find a more humane way to kill prisoners:

UPDATED: Suspect Arrested in 1992 Murder of Toddler

Updated with new information

[verbatim from AG's office] Jackson, MS-Attorney General Jim Hood today confirmed that an arrest has been made in the 16-year-old murder of a 3-year-old girl in Noxubee County. Albert Johnson (age 51), of Brooksville, MS, was arrested on Monday, February 4, 2008, by investigators with the Attorney General's Office. He is charged with capital murder in the death of 3-year-old Christine Jackson in Noxubee County on May 3, 1992. The little girl was taken from her home in the middle of the night and was raped and murdered. Johnson made his initial appearance on February 5 before Noxubee County Justice Court Judge Dirk Dickson, and was denied bond. Johnson is being held in the Chickasaw County jail.

State Farm Suit Against AG Hood Dismissed

As Attorney General Jim Hood predicted yesterday, The Sun Herald is reporting that a State Farm lawsuit against him has been dismissed, allowing the civil investigation of State Farm's actions after Katrina to continue:

JSU Town Hall Meeting on HIV/AIDS Today

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Jackson State University is hosting a "Prevention is Power" town hall meeting today (Feb. 7) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Jackson Medical Mall Community Room. Miss JSU Jasmin Searcy will moderate. Free rapid HIV testing will be provided by Crossroads Clinic, located on the third floor of the Jackson Medical Mall.

Ellington