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Frankie's Got A Gun
From the day Frank Melton took office as mayor of Jackson on July 4, 2006, he has exercised his right to bear arms in dramatic and public ways. Almost immediately after proclaiming at his inauguration that he was going to run the "thugs" out of Jackson, Melton donned black SWAT-type clothingblack fatigues and a bulletproof vest, usually over a black WLBT polo shirt and a dark baseball capand strapped on at least one semiautomatic handgun into a front holster on the vest for his nocturnal "crime-fighting" raids that would become the trademark of his mayoral agenda.
Former D.A. Ed Peters to Prosecute Nudity Cases
Just in/verbatim from city:
At the request of the City Attorney, Sarah O'Reilly-Evans and pursuant to court order, former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters will begin prosecution of the January 29th cases involving nudity on April 5, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in Jackson Municipal Court. These violations involving Gilbert Paige, Manager of Centerfolds and Centerfolds' dancer Paula Young were discovered during a general walk through of night clubs in the West Street Area by Mayor Frank Melton and two Jackson Police Officers.
Christian Science Monitor on Melton and Race
The Christian Science Monitor just ran a piece about Frank Melton called Mayor's tough tack on crime stirs up racial sensitivities:
Hill Paper: Melton Visit Forces Stronger Safety Rules
Read the JFP's Melton Blog and Archive Here
The Hill, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., reported Wednesday that Capitol police are tightening security requirement after Mayor Frank Melton showed up in Bennie Thompson's office wearing credentials clearing him to carry firearms:
Ledge Admits to Being Sued in MBN Case ... Finally
Now that the judge is dropping the MBN defamation suit against The Clarion-Ledger, and two of its editors/reporters, the newspaper is telling its readers that it was being sued by the same folks suing Frank Melton. Remember, they did NOT tell readers that back during the mayoral campaign when the paper and the mayor were wound up together in companion lawsuits, or when it endorsed Melton without mentioning this rather pertinent fact. But, now they bring Jerry Mitchell in to admit it after the fact: It's news when it's good them, but not when the suit was brought.
BREAKING: Frank Melton Sues Clarion-Ledger
Melton told the JFP Friday that he was planning to file a lawsuit against the paper.
April 18, 2006—Sources tell the Jackson Free Press tonight that Mayor Frank Melton has filed a civil lawsuit against The Clarion-Ledger for damages in the Hinds County Circuit Court. He is alleging breach of contract in the case filed by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents. Melton claims that when he provided a memo, written by then-MBN deputy Roy Sandifer, to The Clarion-Ledger that he had an "oral contract" with the reporter to check the facts contained therein. The memo, which detailed wrongdoing by the agents, was later found to be largely false by the state auditor's office. Sandifer is now assistant chief of the Jackson Police Department.
Chasing the Youth Vote
Here's a story from Wiretap magazine about the strategies (and lack of) behind luring the youth vote. This talks about the Harvard report that our teen columnist Jessica Kinnison wrote about in the last issue. Not surprisingly, the writers find that "Generation Dean" is the only presidential campaign figuring out how to tap into young voters--and that is genuinely trying to increase turnout. They write: "What Generation Dean has figured out is that young people want to feel powerful. Young progressives are disgusted with Bush, and at this stage of the game, with no campaign announcement from Ralph Nader or any other third-party candidate, the Democratic Party is the only alternative. Dean, sensing the discontent of young partisans, said in one campaign speech, 'If you want young people to vote in this country, we had better stand for something, because that is why they're not voting.'" Mississippi candidates would do well to heed this advice.
Vasti, Proud and Strong, by Scott Barretta
Feb. 26, 2004—Guitarist, songwriter and producer Vasti Jackson may well be the busiest musician in Mississippi. In the last several years, the Hattiesburg resident has appeared in several feature films, a documentary and a TV show, co-produced a Grammy-nominated album, and worked as a session man and road musician for numerous artists. Jackson also performs with his own band and as a solo acoustic act, and recently stepped up front with a new CD, "No Border to the Blues," that might be seen as a distillation of all the work he's accomplished to date.
Blackmon Makes History
Will Barbara Blackmon become the first African-American -- and a woman at that!? -- to be elected statewide in Mississippi since Reconstruction? Time will only tell.