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Politics Blog

Lumumba Names Chief of Staff

One of the events at yesterday's City Council meeting that fell through the cracks was Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's announcement that he has picked former JSU associate professor Safiya Omari to serve as his Chief of Staff. The Shreveport, La. native has served as associate professor of social work and health …

All Politics is Local

The Paranoid Style in Jackson Politics, or Why Are White People Afraid of Chokwe Lumumba?

Since the somewhat surprising victory of Councilman Chokwe Lumumba in the Jackson mayoral runoff, and his subsequent victory in the general election, I’ve been thinking about what his ascension to the mayor’s office will mean for Jackson and eventually, for the state itself. As the new mayor’s inaugural events begin to take place in the next week, perhaps it is time, as we approach the 50-year anniversary of so many of the momentous events of the civil rights era, to both contemplate and attempt to calibrate just how far we’ve come.

Jackblog

AG Hood Moves to Lift Open-Carry TRO

Verbatim press release from Attorney General Jim Hood: Jackson, MS—Attorney General Jim Hood today filed a petition requesting the Supreme Court of Mississippi to do away with a restraining order issued by the Hinds County Circuit Court late Friday enjoining the State’s new law regulating the carrying of concealed weapons. …

Politics Blog

Reports: Horton Selected as JPD Chief

Mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba will be sworn in today at noon, but the proverbial cat may be out of the bag on his first announcement after being inaugurated. On Saturday, Jackson State University put out a press release congratulating Deputy-Chief Lindsey Horton on being named the city's next police chief. City …

Jackblog

Hinds Judge Blocks Open Carry Law, For Now

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd this evening issued a temporary restraining order for a state gun law that would have taken effect July 1. The law amended an existing statute to clarify that carrying weapons in plain view without a permit is legal. At a press conference yesterday, …

Music

The Breton Sound 6/29 at Sam's Lounge

Check out New Orleans' The Breton Sound tomorrow night at Sam's Lounge.

Politics Blog

Mississippi To Require Voter ID By 2014

If Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has his way, Magnolia State voters will be required to show photo identification to vote, and it could start as early as 2014. Hosemann, seizing on the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week to strike down the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is …

Politics Blog

Miss. House Approves $840m Medicaid Bill

Mississippi House Democrats didn't quite get the Medicaid expansion they wanted, but are declaring victory in sort of getting a debate on the subject. In the end, after a couple of attempts to expand ways for more citizens to receive health insurance coverage, a $841 million Medicaid appropriation bill passed …

Jackblog

Keep Calm. It's Just the Police Shooting.

If you're in Jackson tonight and you hear gunfire, don't worry. It's not the sound of voter-ID proponents celebrating the dismantling of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It's not the beginnings of the Republic of New Afrika's armed insurrection. It's just members of the Jackson Police Department shooting guns. JPD …

SportsBlog

Bulldogs Down, But Not Out, at CWS

After dropping the opening game of the best-of-three College World Series Championship at Omaha, Neb. Monday night, Mississippi State will need to win two games in a row to capture the school's first national championship. The Bulldogs (51-19) will face the UCLA Bruins (48-17) in Game 2 tonight at 7 …

Politics Blog

At Long Last, Gov. Bryant Calls Medicaid Special Session

Break out the seersucker, Gov. Phil Bryant has called a special session of the Mississippi Legislature for Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The Medicaid program is set to expire on July 1 if lawmakers do not renew it. The House will take up the Medicaid reauthorization bill first; then it …

Music

New Music Releases for Tuesday 6/25/2013

Check out these new music releases for 6/25...

Jackblog

U.S. Supreme Court Sends Affirmative Action Case Back to Texas

In a near unanimous 7-1 decision announced earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court decline to rule in Fisher v. University of Texas.

SportsBlog

MSU Opens Championship Series Today

The Mississippi State baseball team opens play in the best-of-three national championship series at 7 p.m. tonight against the UCLA Bruins in Omaha. It is the first time a team from Mississippi has garnered a berth in the series. The Bulldogs (51-18) will send Trevor Fitts (0-0) to the mound, …

Politics Blog

Siemens Deal Cleared In Court

The complaint filed in chancery court has been withdrawn and District 3 Judge Denise Owens ruled Thursday to allow the city of Jackson to issue bonds to pay for the $90 million sewer and water improvement project with the Siemens company. According to Advanced Technology Business Solutions attorney Herbert Irvin, …

SportsBlog

We Should All Be Bulldogs

I've seen a lot of comments of Facebook, Twitter and other social media or in just every day conversation of should Ole Miss fans root for Mississippi State in the College World Series? One thing is for sure, the rest of the SEC is rooting for MSU to win a …

Jackblog

Hinds CC Offers GED Prep Classes

This summer, Hinds Community College will hold classes for people who want to finish their General Education Development (GED) high-school equivalency.

Politics Blog

GOP, Dems: Still Bangin' Over Medicaid

Forget about making Mississippi healthier. Forget about the cost to taxpayers. The fight over Medicaid in Mississippi is turning into an all-out partisan turf war. The latest salvo came yesterday, when Democratic Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood issued an opinion stating that the governor cannot lawfully run the Medicaid program …

Politics Blog

Inaugural Events Aplenty

Here is the list of events scheduled for Lumumba's inauguration celebration, which will apparently last four days: Friday, June 28, 2013 Kick-off celebration (3 p.m. - 7 p.m.) - Smith Park Saturday, June 29, 2013 Ward 2 celebration (10 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - Presidential Hills, Ward 3 celebration (Noon …

Jackblog

Coleman Resigns As JPD Chief

Jackson television station WLBT is reporting that JPD Chief Rebecca Coleman has resigned. The 61-year-old Coleman has served as a JPD officer for 24 years. Mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba said at a WAPT/Clarion-Ledger debate at Mississippi College's School of Law that, if elected, he would replace Coleman. Coleman told WLBT her …