Senators: Don't Disrespect Jackson
Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, acted shamefully this week in circumventing an attempt to get better funding for Jackson's cops.
Time to Be Responsible, Pet Owners
This issue of the Jackson Free Press, owned and operated by animal lovers, is dedicated to the idea that Jackson, and Mississippi as a whole, can quickly become a whole lot smarter when it comes to taking care of animals. Even though the state has long had a bit of a laissez-faire culturechoosing to put certain things off or justify not taking action altogetherthe issue of animal care must be high on our priority list.
Be Part of the Crime Solution
The town-hall meeting that the local police union and the Jackson Free Press sponsored last week downtown was eye-opening and sobering. Audience members seemed genuinely flummoxed when they saw the PowerPoint slides of how few police officers are available in a given department at any one time. The numbers are grim—especially considering the naive ideas about crime-fighting pushed by local politicians and media.
Kill Two Lakes, Enhance The River
A vote this week by the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District ("Levee Board") appeared to overturn its decision of last July to support a "Lower Lake" plan based, in part, on the Levee Board-sponsored charrette featuring noted architect and city planner Andres Duany and his company, DPZ. We feel that's unfortunate, and hope the Lower Lake plan, if viable and responsible, will still be considered in the future.
Pandering for Cheap Votes
Senate Bill 2988, a bill making felons out of employed undocumented immigrants and their employers, is now law. Mississippi Building and Construction Trade President David Newell says the law will help prevent the displacement of working U.S. citizens, while associations that represent employers say a law like this is going to present one more hoop to jump through on the way to filling a thin work schedule.
Barbour: Reset Museum Decision
This week, the commission appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to choose a location for Mississippi's Civil Rights Museum voted 22-9 in support of its location committee's recommendation that the museum be located on property leased to the museum by Tougaloo College.
OurCity: Jackson Belongs to Everyone
Last issue, the Jackson Free Press told you about SafeCity's attempt to make parts of the city into what one JFP reader called on our Web site, "Baghdad by the Pearl." The "watchdog" group wanted to create some sort of bizarre, gerrymandered "green zone" situation that, essentially, would have allowed the Mississippi Highway Patrol and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith (who is also a state employee) to run our law enforcement.
Ask Us Before You Leap
It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Everywhere Jacksonians look, we discover that somebody is trying to slip something by usto benefit themselves in some way that ranges from completely absurd to annoyingly selfish.
Civil Rights Museum Should Be Downtown
Last week, the location sub-committee of the National Civil Rights Museum Commission in Mississippi recommended Tougaloo College as the location of a proposed civil rights museum in Mississippi. While we recognize Tougaloo's extraordinary role in the fight for civil rights in Mississippi, and we proudly support efforts to immortalize the role of both the college and its students and teachers from that era, we submit that it would make more sense for the people of Mississippi that the museum be located in Downtown Jackson.
Enact Campaign Finance Reform Now
The recent scandals surrounding political donors like Dickie Scruggs and Joey Langston, former elected officials like Ed Peters and judges like Bobby DeLaughter has brought a chronic problem in Mississippi front and center: Lax campaign-finance laws have left the state ripe for corruption.
Kill Telco Immunity Clause
It's odd, really, to hear Republicans on Capitol Hill extol the virtues of "original intent" doctrines for interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Especially when they're so busy subverting the original intent of our Founding Fathers this week in legislation.
Stop Removing Kids from School
On Jan. 21, young Mississippi students traveled across the state, converging in front of the state capitol. They arrived carrying their hopes, dreams, passions. They also carried the dreams of young people who could not be there, who could not publicly stake their claim on their education, and voice their demands for reform. These young people are lost in the system, their voices slowly shrinking back in insecurity and self-loathing. They are the product of an education system that lawmakers and caregivers have seriously handicapped in its effort to effectively discipline the students for whom it exists, while providing them with a free, quality education.
Dare to Be the Best
This week, under a tribute post to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on jacksonfreepress.com, reader "justjess" shared a story about keeping his dream alive. She told the story of her friend in Chicago speaking to a group of young men and women. There was no victim stranglehold in her message, which was essentially a call to be the best.
Justice Corrupted
While the state is mesmerized by the Scruggs saga, another type of judicial corruption is begging for attention. Arrested in 1992 for rape, a Sunflower County jury found Arthur Johnson guilty after a two-day trial in '93, where the victim's identification swayed the verdict despite a solid alibi. On Jan. 4, the Mississippi Supreme Court sent the case back to Sunflower County based on a DNA test showing conclusively that Johnson was not the perpetrator.
Melton: Time to Retire
Mayor Frank Melton's fainting session at Monday's county inaugural event was the latest warning he needs to heed: It is time for him to retire as mayor of Jackson. It would also be a good idea for him to return to Tyler, Texas, where his wife is an esteemed physicianpediatrician, but stillwho can look after him and help him do what he needs to doand stop doing what he shouldn'tin order to improve his health.
Chief: Re-Assign the Bodyguards
The events of Dec. 21 make plain what happens when you give power to the undeserving. Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon said Mayor Frank Melton and two of his bodyguards pulled up behind her car as she drove to work and blasted his police siren while riding her bumper.
Melton, Resolve to Be Mayor
The recent dust-up over the Jackson Public School Board is yet another reminder that Mayor Frank Melton remains focused on petty political maneuvering at the expense of a business-like approach to city government. Citizens would like him to get about the business of running the city and stop his game-playing, personal vendettas, and financial servicing of his friends and family. The era of Melton treating this job as if he'd been elected court jester instead of mayor has got to come to an end this year.
Spoon-feeding the FBI?
This week's City Council agenda contained an order confirming Mayor Frank Melton's appointment of Millsaps professor Bill Brister to the Jackson Public School Board of Trustees. If confirmed, Brister will replace board member Jonathan Larkin.
Crossing the 'T' In 'Melton
Sheriff Malcolm McMillin was confirmed this week in his new role as part-time chief of police for Jackson. From what we know of McMillin, we like him, and there is word already that morale may be improving in the Jackson Police Department as a result of his leadership. We hope that continues to be the case, and we'll monitor it to the best of our abilities.
Words Do Hurt
"Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you." Any child who's been the object of hateful, hurtful words knows down deep that it's a lie. Words can hurt, can damage, can, in fact, leave psychic scars that may never heal.
We Don't Need Another Hero
Ever since the mayor announced that the sheriff is going to moonlight as the police chief, it's as if fairy dust has been sprinkled on Jackson. It would seem that crimeדthe No. 1 issue!ԗwill be gone in a matter of weeks.
State Gets a Second Chance
Second chances are rare. Mississippi gets an occasional glimpse at another chance when it convicts murders and conspirators of the horrendous crimes committed here during the Civil Rights Era. But those chances don't come nearly often enough, and at this late date, they may fail to resonate nationally as the milestones they represent in the state. Now, though, Mississippi has the opportunity to make a second chance count for the entire U.S.
Feds: Mete Out Equal Justice
As the dust from a very ugly election settles, one thing is clear: There is a new, disturbing kind of well-funded machine politics that has rolled through the state in recent years, which has little use for Democrats. Granted, Dems haven't responded to the pressures of the U.S. Chamber-funded blitz on Mississippi wellbut (slightly) to their defense, they have been broad-sided by huge money and a Bush-appointed Justice Department bent on playing state politics, with a compliant state media to back them up.
Melton's Budgetary Confusion
When writing an editorial, it's important to hit on a few high points. Generally, you want to relate some recent occurrence in the news to a trend that the newspaper's Editorial Board feels should be a concern to citizens. Next, based on the evidence of that trend, the Board expresses encouragement or outrage. Finally, the editorial ends with a "call to action" so that your readers have an opportunity to participate in the solution.
Mystery Ballots
Leading up to Election day, we've heard a lot of semi-hysteria regarding voter fraud in Mississippi. Certain politicians have latched onto this chimera as the wedge issue for 2007, while loudly bemoaning the lack of voter turnout in the state. One might even get the impression that fraudulent voters outnumber legitimate voters, given those stump speeches.
Don't Blame (It All on) Melton
Leland Speed, whose family enthusiastically supported Frank Melton in his mayoral run, is going around saying something amusing about the beleaguered mayor in recent days as rumors fly about possible federal grand-jury indictments against the city's loose-cannon folk hero.
Recio Promotion Insult to JPD
Last week Mayor Melton appointed his bodyguard, a 15-year police officer with little supervisory experience, to the position of assistant chief, granting him a $31,000 raise and, presumably, a considerable jump in responsibilities. Sgt. Michael Recio appears to be leapfrogging a few bullet points on the typical chief's resume thanks to his association with Frank Melton.
It's Time to Save Lives
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which started Monday, has taken on a new urgency this year. Given the recent spate of domestic murders in Jackson that might have been prevented, it's clear that the people who most need their awareness raised about the issue are the city's administrators and the officers of the Jackson Police Department.
Jackson Needs a Money Manager
Here's something we all know: Mayor Melton likes to throw money around. Prior to his election, he was well known for sending kids to college, "adopting" young men into his home, and handing out high paying jobs to friends, former enemies and family.
JPD and DA: Do the Right Thing
It's been a tough week. In addition to budget woes and ludicrous statements by the mayor about confiscating the nicest cars to sell, we have lost two beautiful women at the hands of their boyfriends. And mere competence by the Jackson Police Department might have saved both their lives.