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MUSIC: Sultry and Soulful, by Courtney Lange

It's another sultry Wednesday night on Northside Drive. Women dressed to the nines and men wearing slick suits and hats sit casually at bistro tables drinking fancy, colorful drinks. Red lights filtered through cigarette smoke create a ruby haze under which people eat, drink, dance, mingle and tap their toes to the sounds of Henry Rhodes and the Mo' Money Band.

The New York Times on Frank Melton

First, note that the JFP cover from April, shot by Kate Medley of Melton with the shotgun, is in the New York Times story about him today. Otherwise, the story is an interesting summary and, over all, pretty decent. Of course, there are vital details left out that they probably couldn't figure out quickly ...

WAPT: Melton Wants to Mentor, Use Police Equipment

WAPT is reporting that Frank Melton is trying to get conditions of his bond overturned because he still wants to be able to mentor young people and use police equipment. He is under several counts of felony indictments because he allegedly used police equipment, officers and young people under his mentorship to destroy a house on Ridgeway Street on Aug. 26. WAPT today reported the response of District Attorney Faye Peterson:

Dems, Evangelicals Join Forces Against Global Warming

The new Democratic Congress is joining with the growing anti-global-warming evangelical movement to try to curb the dangers of global warming. Fortunately, denial is no longer the main strategy in Washington. The New York Times reports:

Melton Ramps Up Morals Crusade

Mayor Frank Melton is showing his feminist side in his attempts to close down all sexually oriented entertainment in Jackson and "redefine" life in Jackson as we know it. The Clarion-Ledger reports:

Melton to Clarion-Ledger: ‘Go to Hell'

We see that Mr. Melton is back in town with a flourish. The Clarion-Ledger is reporting today:

Madison County Journal Profiles Melton

Ooo, look at this. The Madison County Journal has a rather glowing profile of Melton this week. Some money quotes:

The British Are Coming, by Herman Snell

British indie-pop invades Martin's Sunday night.

The birth of MTV in August 1981 was boycotted and banned in Jackson. I wanted my MTV. So at the tender age of 11, teen angst set in. Months later, the local cable company gave in to the pop gods, and my musical education began.

Mayoral Staffers to Respond to Ladd, Stringfellow

Three members of the Melton adminstration will visit the Charles Evers show Wednesday, April 26, at 8 p.m. to response to a discussion last week with Donna Ladd of the Jackson Free Press and Eric Stringfellow of The Clarion-Ledger. The following release is verbatim from WMPR (90.1 FM):

Amy Tuck's $510,000 Question

Press statement from the Mississippi Democratic Party: Recent press accounts of $510,000.00 in "unexplained loans" to the Amy Tuck campaign raise serious questions that must be answered: 1) Does she still owe the debt? 2) Is she paying off the debt? 3) Has the debt already been paid off? 4) If there were personal loans made to her, who provided those personal loans? 5) What were the terms of any personal loan agreements? 6) If the loans were secured, who secured the loans? 7) Were there written or verbal promises or commitments made in exchange for the loans? 8) Did the bank give Tuck the same consideration that would have been given to an individual of comparable financial standing who was not a candidate for high public office? 9) Do the loans or the repayment of the loans involve anyone giving or donating $200.00 or more to Tuck or to her campaign? 10) Was the money loaned from Tuck's personal assets? If so, will those assets be publicly disclosed? 11) What does Tuck mean exactly when she says that she is "honoring financial commitments over time?" Does that mean quid pro quo arrangements or political paybacks? 12) Were any legislators, lobbyists, state or federal officials, or other prominent public figures involved in helping Tuck secure or pay these mysterious loans?

Is Vidal Sullivan Back on the Streets?

Where in @#$% Is Vidal Sullivan?

We've gotten a report that Mr. Melton and Chief Anderson have released Mr. Sullivan, and that he is free again. We have not confirmed this report with a second source, yet.

Melton May Face Felony Charges

ww.jacksonfreepress.com/images/site_images/v4issue51/3_demolition.jpg" align=right>by Adam Lynch

Read the original JFP story here that exposed the Ridgeway Street incident.

AG Investigating Allegations of Melton Crimes

Sources interviewed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's office have confirmed that he is actively investigating the events of the evening of Saturday, Aug. 26, as well as previous allegations against Mayor Frank Melton. AG investigators have interviewed various residents of Ridgeway Street over the last week, as reported last week by WAPT, about possible felonies and misdemeanors witnesses say that Melton, his bodyguards and an entourage of young men committed that evening.

Transcript of Jim Hood Remarks Re: Frank Melton

PDF of AG Jim Hood's Letter to Mayor Frank Melton

City Ends Precinct-by-Precinct Crime Stats

Not that it made the front page as any story about the previous administration and crime stats used to, but The Clarion-Ledger has a story today about how the new police chief is officially ending the weekly precinct-by-precinct crime stats, so she can supposedly take a more "holistic" look at crime in Jackson. Of course, this is direct defiance to the Maple-Linder recommendations that the Metro Crime Commission/SafeCity (with Melton as chairman) pushed so hard and for so long. And it brings to mind all those angry editorials the Ledge wrote about the last administration's handling of crime stats. So, why is the city closing ranks on crime statistics? More from the Ledge:

BREAKING: Is Melton Facing Constitutional Removal?

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

The Jackson Free Press has learned that Mayor Frank Melton could face a new wrinkle since pleading guilty to two misdemeanors and "no contest" to a third for violating the state's gun laws:

Melton To Stop More Buses Today

Heads up, parents. The Clarion-Ledger is reporting:

The Case of the Missing Retraction