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Tea With Lydy
I've thought often of Lydy Caldwell since she was so horribly murdered in October. But I thought of her often when she was alive, too.
[City Buzz] Rules Are Made to Be Busted
DON'T LIKE THE RULES? CHANGE 'EM: Democrats in the Mississippi House succeeded in passing a rules change on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, that they will likely use to block some controversial legislation. The rules change now requires a 2/3 "supermajority" vote to get bills out of committee instead of a simple majority; it's expected that such a supermajority will not be possible when it comes to legislation such as Voter ID and tort reform, which have tended toward party-line votes. If the bills can't be voted out of committee, they can die there without reaching the House floor. …
Melton Supporters Get Defensive
Read blog thread here.
Then I Got Mad
Click here to view a petition to recall Gov. Haley Barbour.
[Talk] ‘You Don't Need No Ticket'
Hope was palpable in the new Union Station the evening of Aug. 26. Mayor Harvey Johnson had wisely chosen the almost-completed "multi-model transportation center" as the site of his annual State of the City address. The building itself is remarkable: the renovation keeps (or replaces) the retro styling of a train depot of the past, while avoiding the mistake of over-designing that so often makes new construction tacky and uninviting.
We, the Dougla
The show was a wild mix. Act I: Afro-Hindu Caribbean Tribal Dance. Act II: Disco Grooves and Soul Train moves. Act III: Classic European ballet based on a Russian folktale. Watching the Dance Theatre of Harlem at Thalia Mara Hall on Thursday, Jan. 30, taught me, in vivid color, that to be American and to be human means that I am mixed. My family prides itself in not being "mixed." In the early '70s the members of the White Citizens Council hurriedly established a statewide private-school system. In fact, my 1976 diploma from a Council School contains the following words on the seal of the certificate: "States Rights and Racial Integrity."
[Talk] Home to Roost
The chickens George W. Bush hatched in January 2001 when he signed the No Child Left Behind education bill are starting to come home to roost. Now in the second year of high-stakes federal testing requirements that treat every student just alike—regardless of background, special-ed status or need for remediation—public schools are beginning to feel the pressure of federally required but under-funded tests. The NCLB standards may cause them to shut their doors if they can't figure out how to bring every student up to "proficient" (next to highest out of four levels) with the sole determination being the outcomes of controversial tests.
Let Them Braid Hair
Three African-American women from Tupelo joined an attorney from Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Aug. 5, in front of the James O. Eastland Federal Court Building downtown to demand the right to make a living. The women—an accomplished African hairbraider and two who would like to be—are filing a civil rights lawsuit in challenging the state's cosmetology laws, saying they discriminate against them because of burdensome licensing requirements that make it difficult to braid hair for a living or teach the skill of braiding to others.
Chutzpah, Y'all
Then, she pursued Madonna, JFK Jr., the New York Yankees and the beautiful people at the Cannes Film Festival. Now, it's the Sweet Potato Queens and congressional candidates at the Neshoba County Fair. Photographer and New Yorker-turned-Jacksonian Suzi Altman knows who she wants to shoot and how to chase them down, sometimes wearing a "Girls Kick Ass" T-shirt. "I am quick, little and determined," said the 5-foot-3 Altman.
Mayor Announces, Melton Pounces
Read full report here.
Daddy's Little Running Back
As a child, my dream was to play running back for the greatest professional football team, at that time the Chicago Bears. I thought I would never see the day when young girls or women would be wearing jerseys, shoulder pads, helmets, cleats and rushing down the field for six points, all the while avoiding No. 46 who just sent her teammate to the sidelines with a thunderous hit. Could I ever realize my dream? Probably not, but I'm getting closer.
Gunning For Guns
In a new war on guns in Jackson, Mayor Frank Melton said Sunday that he is preparing an executive order outlawing gun shows in the city limits of Jackson.
Harvey Johnson Leads in New Mayoral Phone Survey
Verbatim from Brad Chism:
Friends, Below is a topline from the survey yesterday. Further below is a repeat of the explanations and qualifiers-these are important. From the blog traffic it appears that some don't read below the first paragraph. I had several calls and emails this morning looking for this ZataPulse wave, one from a healthy critic of this exercise. And yesterday, I ran into one of the candidates, who will remain nameless. He blew off some campaign steam with a few choice words about our survey work. And then he wanted to make sure we were surveying again last night and insisted that I add him to the email list!! Go figure.
Droppin' Hard
In his March 27, 2008, deposition, Stephen Hickman said that drugs were long flown into Jackson's Hawkins Field and then distributed among various drug heads.
2009 JFP Interview with Frank Melton, Part I: Health
The day after Mayor Frank Melton got a reprieve from prison due to a hung jury, he held a brief press conference in City Hall to talk about his plans for the city. Soon afterward, Jackson Free Press editor Donna Ladd approached Melton for a new set of JFP interviews and then sat down with him for nearly three hours in his mayoral office on Thursday. Following is part 1 of that interview.
Bands (And Others): Build Your Own Jackpedia Page!
Now that the new JFP site is up, it's a perfect time to ensure that you, your band, your company, your business, etc., has its own Jackpedia listing. Just go to Jackpedia, sign in (your same user name probably works) and have at it. Remember that the JFP's second annual user-generated print version of Jackpedia comes out in August, so we need your help getting Jackpedia more loaded up than ever. Pass the word.
Ghosts of Frank Melton
Leave it to Frank Melton to live among strangeness even after his death.
Berry Killed on His Birthday?
As Earl Berry's attorneys continue their protests that the state's method for killing inmates is flawed, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion this week to reset the execution of Earl Berry for the 1987 murder of Mary Bounds to May 5incidentally Berry's 49th birthday.
The Mayor and His Star Witness
Video still courtesy of WAPT
Christopher "Smiley" Walker was re-arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals for failing a routine urinalysis drug test required by his probation officer. Six days earlier, he had sat beside Mayor Frank Melton in City Hall at the press conference held to lambaste District Attorney Faye Peterson.
The 2009 JFP Interview with Frank Melton, Part II: Being Mayor
2009 JFP Interview, Part I