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'Nothing But Negative Attacks'
Minutes after Gov. Haley Barbour began his prepared speech at the Neshoba County Fair last week, a transcript of the speech arrived in the Jackson Free Press' e-mail box.
Boycott du Jour
That was then.
I recently met David Baria, president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, for the first time. He was in the lounge side of Bravo Restaurant in Highland Village, lightheartedly holding court with his wife, also an attorney, a couple family members, and various and assorted other confident folks in business suits drinking red wine and martinis. He was boisterous, even as the state Legislature was facing a contentious debate over whether or not to enact civil tort reform—his personal bête noir—in the state. I got the feeling that he and his entourage might gather often in that very same spot; they were clearly a part of the vibrant young professional scene at Bravo.
Why Jackson Doesn't Need 'Superman'
Also see Darren Schwindaman's cartoon.
Statistics, Men and Mississippi
• 100 years ago, most Americans were men under the age of 26, living in the Midwest and renting; today, more Americans are women over 35 who live in the South or West and own a home. Men are older, too—the median age for all Americans is 35.3 years. However, there is a higher ratio of men to women today than there was in 1980. Seven states, all in the western U.S., have more men than women. (source: U.S. Census data)
Crashing the D.A.'s Party
It didn't take long for Frank Melton to come out of the closet on Election night as a primary force in Robert Smith's district attorney campaign. Raw footage of Smith's victory party shows that Melton's people—especially contract employee Bob Hickingbottom—directed what happened at the party. Like when Melton stepped up to the mic to introduce Smith.
My Statement About Mike Lacey's Use of Racial Slur
April 18, 2008—When I first heard that one of AAN's highest ranking executives had used the n-word to jokingly refer to a deceased friend of his, I assumed his friend was black and was shocked. When I learned that the friend was white, I was just as appalled. The issue, to me, is not who he was talking about; it was about his use of the most notorious white supremacy label as a flippant term of endearment. Even more puzzling to me is why Mr. Lacey, or other white men, would even consider doing such a thing considering the baggage that word continues to carry for so many Americans, black and white.
Close Call
Sept. 11 brought a reprieve for a Farish Street building that housed many of the early machinations of the country-blues movement. On Aug. 9 the front façade of Brown Furniture Building at 225 North Farish Street started bowing after construction crews ripped up the sidewalks in front. Apparently, the sidewalk was holding up the bricks in the front façade; when the sidewalk went, the building was in danger of going, too. So the city wanted to rip it down.
The 2009 JFP Interview with Frank Melton, Part IV: The Kids
In his long Feb. 26 interview with Jackson Free Press editor Donna Ladd in his City Hall office, Mayor Frank Melton turned the topic to the young men in his life.
Bloggers Speak Out
Mississippi keeps cropping up out there on the weblogs (called "blogs," we're talking about Web sites that update daily with news and politics coverage) and—almost universally—in a familiar context. I saw our fair state mentioned last week on the Democratic "inside baseball" site http://www.dailykos.com)]DailyKos, in a completely gratuitous mention that's par for the course: "Don't fear, however. CT is a safe Dem state. There's as much chance of Bush taking the state as of the Dems taking Mississippi."
Melton: Hood Is Wrong
Read PDFs of documents that Melton faxed to the JFP to prove that he can carry weapons places prohibited by state law. Click here for the PDFs.
'Mississippi Burning' and Other Tall Tales
In one of those bizarre twists of fate that keep happening to me since I returned to Mississippi, I ended up recently spending a Saturday afternoon in Neshoba County with a camera crew from Glamour magazine. As if that weren't odd enough, we were at two of the most historic locations in Neshoba County, actually in the U.S. The über-hip crew, flown in from New York and Los Angeles, was doing makeup, arranging clothing, and taking pictures first at the spot where a gaggle of Klansmen killed civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner on June 21, 1964. Then the crew moved to Mount Zion, the black Methodist church that Klansmen burned to both punish the parishioners for trying to register blacks to vote, and to lure the civil rights workers to Neshoba County from Meridian so that they could be "eliminated."
Lounge and Croon with the JFP Dec. 13 and 14
Join the JFP for the monthly Lounge Thursday night, from 7 to 10 p.m., in Hal & Mal's non-smoking Oyster Bar–come chat and fellowship with other creative Jacksonians. Free admission and munchies. Then on Friday, join Todd and Donna back at Hal & Mal's for Southern Fried Karaoke after the Dirty Santa Pub Quiz (it starts at 8 p.m. and costs $5 to play). The karaoke mics should go live around 10 p.m. Free.
JFP Chick Ball - Saturday Night!
Click here for more details on the Chick Ball.
The JFP Chick Ball is finally here. Join us from 6 to midnight Saturday night at Hal & Mal's Red Room to raise money to buy a Freedom Van for the Center for Violence Preventionand have a great time! Only $5 will get you in to hear Chick music, enjoy free food from area restaurants, bid on tons of silent auctions items, play games and have your photo taken at a "photo booth" set up by friends of the late Heather Spencer. The silent auction will run from 6 p.m to midnight. Event is age 18+. Call Sage Carter-Hooey at 601.362.6121 ext. 2 to make last-minute donations today! (So far, we've raised about $6,500 toward the van. Please help us; every dollar counts!)
BREAKING: Mississippi Minority Contractors Sue Toyota
[Verbatim statement tonight:] Jackson, MS (March 31, 2009). Jackie Williams and Renna Fisher, African American principals of Fish & Fisher, a ten-year old construction company, have filed a civil racial discrimination and conspiracy action against Toyota of North America, the State of Mississippi Development Authority, and the Governor of the State of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Western Division.
C-L Editorials: Stokes–Ward 3 Lost in Tuesday's Election
Stokes won, but it is a loss for Ward 3 and the city as a whole.
The paper editorializes:
"Policing Jackson: Problems & Solutions" – Questions?
Post your questions for the panel or specific panelists below.
The Jackson Police Officers Association and the Jackson Free Press are presenting a town-hall meeting with police officers and other concerned citizens for real talk on fighting crime in Jackson. JFP Editor Donna Ladd will moderate the discussion in the Department of Education auditorium (the old Central High School) at 359 North West Street in Downtown Jackson (print map here) on Thursday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m. A reception and fellowship will follow.
Got Rights? The ACLU's Freedom Party – June 30
http://www.msaclu.org
Join the ACLU and the Jackson Free Press for a Freedom Party outside at 930 Blues Cafe on Friday, June 30, featuring performances by Willie King and other local artists. Admission: $5 for ACLU members and board members: $10 for non-members; $15 for couples; students and volunteers get in free! Call 601.355.6464 for details. Starts at 5:30 p.m. Come visit the JFP table! Win "I Get It Once a Week" T-shirts! Register to vote! Come on out, y'all.
BREAKING: Mother of George Bell Indicted
More details as they emerge.
The Jackson Free Press has confirmed that Robbie Bell, the mother of a young man accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend, Heather Spencer, to death, has been indicted in the case as an accessory to the crime, which occurred in her home in North Jackson. It was reported that Robbie Bell was in the house when Spencer was killed the night before her body was found.
JFP Election After-Party, Blogging at Soulshine
After you vote Tuesday, head to Soulshine in the Hal & Mal's complex to watch the returns on the big-screen TV, and either celebrate or drown your sorrows–Happy Hour prices all night long. The JFP will be blogging from Soulshine about the returns and whatever the hell else we feel like adding to the blogosphere. So if you can't make it, check in on this site to keep yourself up-to-date with what's going on here and in the outside world, and be sure to add your comments.
Calling B.S. on Voter ID Plan
Today, the 5th Circuit called bullsh!t on a lower court's plan to force Mississippi voters to register by political party and show photo ID at the polls in order to vote. The court struck down U.S. District Judge Allen Pepper's "political" ruling last year requiring the state to re-register all voters and requiring voters to declare a party, or "unaffiliated." The problem with Pepper's plan, which hadd come in response to a Mississippi Democratic Party lawsuit trying to keep Republicans from squatting their primaries, was that it overreacted to a problem that had not been shown to exist, the court said.