Why Donner Kay Is Blogging Again
OK, I've been bad. Of a fashion. In recent months, I've gotten so caught up in new projects (like the new BOOM Jackson quarterly!) and in volunteer work and in managing what is quickly becoming our best staff ever (collectively speaking; we've always had great staffers), that I just haven't been blogging on the JFP site. And, yes, I admit it: I've found it easy to put a pithy statement or two on Facebook, and perhaps a link back to a JFP story, and leave it at that. But I've realized that isn't the best way to act, live and work LOCAL, and I'm a local-vore if you ever did meet one. So, starting today, I've got a new attitude. You're going to hear more from me on the JFP site (even though it's best for my productivity to not get too caught up in conversations under stories!).
Family Values
Our history as a state and a nation is filled with atrocious efforts to destroy the self-esteem of black men. During the entire arc of slavery and then Jim Crow laws--which did not end until the U.S. Supreme Court finally acted in December 1970, sending thousands of Jackson families fleeing to the suburbs and white academies--white supremacists worked diligently to de-moralize and criminalize black men. Their excuse was fear that those men would rape women with my skin color, even as many of the white bigots raped and impregnated black women that they "owned."
Crossroads Film Festival Winners Announced
The Crossroads Film Society today announced the winners of its 2010 festival competition. The festival continues today at the Malco in Madison; all the winning films will screen. See the Crossroads festival site for schedule of other film screenings. The winners are:
McMillin Talks on Irby ‘Conspiracy'
Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin this week fired back at accusers who say he led a conspiracy to go easy on Karen Irby, whose intoxication and high-speed driving killed two doctors and seriously injured her husband, Stuart, and herself after leaving the Jackson Country Club the evening of Feb. 11, 2009. Police reports show that she crossed five lanes of traffic in her black 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500 and hit a Chevrolet Silverado C1500 pick-up truck head-on; it burst into flames, killing Drs. Mark Pogue and Lisa Dedousis.
Change the Room, Change the World
Many people think the only thing is takes to change the world is fire in the belly and a lot of action. Not so fast. Building a sustainable community takes good conversation and planning that lead to best practices and enduring smart actions.
For Those We Love
We buried my cousin Anita last week. She was a beautiful, saucy blonde who used to tag around her brother Martie and me back on Fork Road in Neshoba County. Our mamas--both deliciously loud women married to Ladds--were great buddies, and took turns "keeping" us all. Martie and I were born the same year, and people used to think we were twins.
Haley Barbour: Heath Reform ‘Crammed' Down Americans' Throats
Also see: Immediate Effect of Health-Reform Bill
Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic health-reform bill, Gov. Haley Barbour released the following statement, verbatim:
Clarion-Ledger Drops Stringfellow Column After First Lady Flap
Eric Stringfellow, who has worked with The Clarion-Ledger as a writer or editor since 1982, revealed today that the executive editor of the paper, Ronnie Agnew, has dropped his column. In an e-mail to Agnew, pasted verbatim below, Stringfellow accuses Agnew of dropping his column because he revealed that the paper had killed his column about first lady Michelle Obama's visit to Jackson. Agnew's short e-mail dismissing Stringfellow is also pasted below verbatim.
Help Youth Media Project! Here's PayPal link for Friendship Ball!
It's time for another huge party in downtown Jackson. And this time, you can help the Youth Media Project grow and bring kids from throughout the metro together in a positive way. Just click here to buy your ticket(s) for the Jackson 2000 Friendship Ball Saturday night, and every dime you pay goes to help the young people have a room to work in, get supplies, buy videotapes and other equipment, and even buy snacks for their after-school and Saturday meetings. Jackson 2000 chose the Youth Media Project one of three Friendship Ball receipt recipients this year, and they work in an office (previously donated) connected to the JFP. This is an incredible group of young people, and you can read more about them and their goals on their Web site here. The group is sponsored by the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, the Mississippi Youth Justice Project, the Jackson State Mass Communications Department and the Jackson Free Press.
BREAKING: Writer Barry Hannah Dies of Heart Attack
The Jackson Free Press has learned from sources in Oxford, Miss., that author Barry Hannah, 67, died of a sudden heart attack in his home there today. He was working with a graduate student, sources say. Hannah was born in Meridian, Miss., and raised in Clinton. He is the acclaimed author of eight novels and currently directed Ole Miss' MFA program in creative writing.
The Power of Now
When I moved back to Mississippi in 2001, I was naïve. I thought I was coming home to write about the past that shamed me as a white Mississippian. I wanted to be a white Mississippian who wasn't afraid to face the past.
The Problem With Lakes and Levees
When famed New Urbanist Andre Duany came to Jackson to examine creative solutions to both flooding and economic-development options, he didn't get excited about the Two Lakes development plan developed by geologist and oilman John McGowan.
Snow Ice Cream: Here Are Readers' Recipes (Add Yours!)
But now for the snow ice cream recipes:
Ah, a snow day in Mississippi. It doesn't happen very often, but every time it does, southerners start craving snow ice cream. We're asking readers on Twitter and Facebook and all of you to provide your favorite snow ice-cream recipes. Here are what we've gotten so far; add your own in comments! Also, enter the JFP Snowman contest; tweet @jxnfreepress (hashtag #jfpsnowman), post to loungelist.com or share on Facebook anytime today! Or, e-mail to [e-mail missing].
Little Love for Levees
The meeting room for the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board in Flowood filled with rancor Monday, Feb. 8, after the board learned that the state Legislature may vote to dilute its authority to make flood-control decisions for the metro area, clearing the way for the controversial Two Lakes development plan to come back to life.
Senate Joins House in Passing ‘Sudafed' Bill; Barbour Supports
The Mississippi Senate today passed a bill requiring that pseudoephedrine be sold by prescription only in the state. The drug is a key ingredient in both cold medicines and methamphetamine, or meth. The House passed the bill last week. Minutes ago, Gov. Haley Barbour released a statement in support of the bill:
Transcript of President Obama's State of the Union Address
This is the text released to media just before the speech began. Verbatim:
[Ladd] The Prosperity of Living
Here in Jackson something really special is happening. People are joining hands to face down the naysayers and forge a new future for our city. We're putting our pennies together and investing locally. None of us is perfect, but we know that we are very strong when we put aside differences and work together for the city and her people.
Open Thread: Saints or Favre in the NFC Championships?
Over here at the Jackson Free Press, it's Saints all the way! Tell us your thoughts; we won't hold them against you. Maybe.
This is why I'm still here at 8 p.m. Friday night
And I'm not the only one. Ronni is here, Ward is here; Lacey and Adam just left. We are in the middle of our huge annual issue to celebrate all that is great about our city. Someone just *now* dropped fruit and M&Ms. Mark Scurlock showed up earlier with pastries. It's as if so many of y'all are cheering us on as we sort through thousands, no millions, of little Best-of blurbs, trying to get the damn commas right!
Open Thread: It's New Orleans Saints v. Minnesota Vikings
With the weekend behind us, the championship picture is clear in both the AFC and NFC.
In the NFC, the second-seed Minnesota Vikings -- having heartily knocked the Dallas Cowboys out of their collective saddles to end the Boys' late-season win streak -- are headed to the La-Brees-iana Superdome to face the number-one seed New Orleans Saints.
BREAKING: Boilwater Notice Lifted for Most of Jackson
[Verbatim from city] BOIL WATER NOTICE LIFTED FOR SURFACE WATER SYSTEM
Mayor Johnson announced during a press conference today that the Health Department reported that water samples taken from the city's surface water system were all clear. The boil water notice for the approximately 175,000 residents on the surface water system is now lifted. The well water system in southwest Jackson's pressure is still building and when it reaches an acceptable level, testing will begin for it. City crews expect that testing should begin Monday. Residents on that system are still on a boil water notice. Please see the details below.
Who's Open for Business (or Closed) in Jackson?
This is an open thread for postings about who is open for business and who is closed in Jackson. Feel free to give us updates as things change. Good luck out there.
MEMA Reports 12-Hour Shifts; Tankers of Water from Coast
The following is a list of actions being made by state and voluntary agencies:
[Verbatim statement] PEARL –The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to help cities and counties with the ongoing water emergency. The State Emergency Operations Center in Pearl is under partial activation, which brings in members of certain state agencies to provide emergency support. At this time staff specializing in public works and engineering, logistics management and public health are working 12 hour dayshifts.
Two Lakes Letter About JFP ... in the Northside Sun
John McGowan's company is definitely obsessed with the JFP's comprehensive coverage of their conceptso much so that they sent a letter to the Northside Sun about it that appeared today. The letter complains, rightly, that we (I, actually) used the word "chemicals" instead of "wastewater" in the Most Intriguing 2009 write-up about Mr. McGowan (which I have already corrected both in the paper and in the online story here). However, the paper is not pointing to Adam Lynch's original story about the Galveston Bay incident, or to Mr. McGowan's statements about environmentalists, which were in this story in the JFP last fall. I apologize again for using the wrong word in the Intriguing write-up, and I encourage everyone to read Adam's story for a fuller picture.
Here's Why I Adore Jeff Good
Jeff's e-mail, verbatim:
The water problem this week has created inconveniences, both minor and major for many residents and businesses, but this e-mail from Jeff Good this morning put it all in perspective for me. We are very fortunate, and let us give thanks for what we all have, even as we send prayers and whatever money possible to the people of Haiti.
200,000 Jacksonians Without Water; MEMA Opens Emergency Center
Water Crisis Hotline: 601.960.1111
What businesses are open, closed? Post yours.
The Hitched Issue
Getting married in 2010? Or, are you just a wedding groupie? Either way, enjoy the JFP's annual Hitched issue: featuring three weddings and lots of fun tips. Oh, and some alternative vows.
Our Haley Barbour: The 'Anti-Obama'?
Newsweek has a story this week asking if Haley Barbour will be the next president. The story starts:
No More Sugarcoating
In the afterglow of the King Edward's re-opening and as we've prepared this "Most Intriguing" issue, I've been thinking a bit about Frank Melton. After spending the last several months untangling from all the emotions and frustrations of covering him for four years, I'm starting to realize that he may have done the city good.
Slate, NYT, Balko Calling Out JFP Work on Barbour Pardons
We are thrilled to see that, thanks to Reason editor Radley Balko, national media are finally picking up on news the JFP's Ronni Mott, with intern Sophie McNeil, brought out over a year ago: Gov. Barbour let a string of woman killers off the hook with no apparent reason. Meantime, beyond reporting on the case on the Gulf Coast, the state's other media did not report that Barbour's "trustys" for the most part brutually killed wives and girlfriends.
Barbour Compares Health Reform to Jonestown Massacre
Gov. Haley Barbour embarrassed Mississippians again today by standing up alongside several Republican members of Congress and calling the Democratic health-insurance reform "catastrophic," then compared it to Jim Jones' infamous Jonestown massacre, according to a report just out on Politico.
Jackson's Glorious Tipping Point
Last night, Todd and I were at the holiday social at Hal & Mal's, and I couldn't stop talking about two things (a) the Saints we're going to see in NOLA this weekend and (b) the fact that I believe that today 12/17 we could call it is our city's tipping point with the psychological victory that is the re-opening of the King Edward Hotel. The symbol of our demise has become the proof of what a determined community can do when it comes together. David Watkins, Mayor Johnson, HRI, Deuce McAllister, Leland Speed, Ben Allen were the big players, but the King Ed is really proof of what Jackson is becoming.
Let It Shine
I'm not going to tell a lie: One of the reasons I left my home state back in 1983 was religious intolerance. That makes it all the more ironic that I have found a deeper faith than I could have imagined in the years since I've returned.
Getting Your Zen On
Curious about this whole mindful, compassionate, in-the-moment thing? Here are books to inspire you to focus and meditate and let the stupid stuff go, regardless of your religious faith.
Winter Chick Jam
After the success of our first Chick Jam in the summer, the Jackson Free Press is hosting Winter Chick Jam on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. with performances by folk band Fedora Welty, punk rockers Party Dots and indie-rock band Law School.
Do the Right Thing and ... Report
As I proofread this week's cover story about the stories mainstream media won't cover, I thought back to the first year of the Jackson Free Press.
President Obama's Address on the War in Afghanistan (Transcript)
Following is transcript of President Barack Obama's Tuesday night speech on the war in Afghanistan, released by the White House on Tuesday:
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
OK, as we all anticipate a great Thanksgiving meal or two or three, let's take time to give thanks for what we have. What are *you* grateful for? Please share below.
Latasha Willis
Today we honor one of our own: new JFP event listings editor Latasha Willis. The best way you can honor Latasha? Send your events calendars for the next three months to her by next Tuesday, Dec. 1 at [e-mail missing].
Barbour Wants to Merge State's Black Universities
In his budget proposal today to the Mississippi Legislature, Gov. Haley Barbour proposed consolidating Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University. He also wants to roll Mississippi University for Women into Mississippi State University. He also called for most state agencies to cut their budgets 12 percent.
JFP Food Blog Live! First-ever JFP Food Issue Is Out!
Today we launched our brand new food blog -- http://www.jfpfood.com -- and published our first-ever (!) food issue, dedicated to both cooking and dining (and a bit of drinking). It's a huge 52-page issue; hats off to ShaWanda for editing and assigning it; Kristin for great design; Ronni and Lacey for busting their butts editing it; and all the freelancers for such great work!
Southern and Healthy
No, "healthy southern" is not an oxymoron.
President Obama's Speech at Fort Hood Memorial (Transcript)
Yesterday, President Obama spoke at a memorial for the Americans murdered at Fort Hood last week. In honor of the victims, and all veterans today, here are his comments, verbatim:
BREAKING: Health Care Reform Passes U.S. House 220-215
One Republican joined 219 Democratic members of the U.S. Congress minutes ago to pass H.R. 3962 to reform health care in America. Rep. Joseph Cao, of the 2nd District of Louisiana joined Democrats to pass the legislation. A cheer went up in the chambers when the 218th vote was cast by Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat of Michigan's 15th District. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the legislaiton.
The Path of Least Drama
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
Jackson Recognized, Again, for Business Climate
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. send out a statement this afternoon, announcing that Jackson has again been recognized for the city's strong business climate, as it has several times in recent months. Johnson stated, verbatim:
Barbour Appoints Malcolm Harrison to DeLaughter's Old Judge Spot
Verbatim from Gov. Barbour's office this morning:
Jackson, Mississippi – Governor Haley Barbour today announced the appointment of S. Malcolm O. Harrison, of Jackson, as Circuit Court Judge for the Seventh Judicial District, Sub-district 4, serving Hinds County. Harrison will serve the unexpired term of former Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who resigned July 30; the term ends January 3, 2011. "I am very pleased that Malcolm Harrison has accepted this important judicial position," Governor Barbour said. "He brings extensive criminal and civil experience to the Circuit Court bench from his distinguished service as a prosecutor and as a lawyer in private practice. I appreciate his continued dedication to public service as he takes on this new role.
Into the Groove
Back in the 1980s, I wasn't too worried about much of anything. I was living in Washington, D.C., working by day as a legal assistant for a huge broadcast corporation and, by night, in a club as a deejay.
You Tell Us!
In honor of this week's special ode to the onerous '80s, today's Person of the Day is a JFP staffer pictured here when he was a strapping young Jacksonian, complete with gold chain and muscle shirt. Can you tell who this is? Hint: He's winning a big award Wednesday night in Jackson.
Time For Strength
I was talking to a police officer recently about a domestic-abuse situation I'm worried about. It was the case of a local woman whose partner has beaten her for years. She finally got up the courage to leave, and he hunted her down where she was hiding and nearly killed her.