Donna Ladd

Cedric Willis Sues City of Jackson

Cedric Willis, who served 12 years in prison until he was exonerated last year, has announced that he is suing the city of Jackson for $36 million for wrongful arrest. As Brian Johnson reported in his award-winning feature about Willis in in the JFP in 2006, when Willis left prison he had received no education, no job training and had not a penny to his name. The state of Mississippi does not currently offer restitution for wrongful conviction. Willis was exonerated because The Innocence Project showed that the district attorney's office did not present evidence in the original trial that indicated his innocence, as Brian wrote in his feature last year:

John Lawrence on Radio JFP at Noon Friday

Cocktails That Make You Go ‘Boo!'

To scare up a formidable Black Cat, pour 1 ounce vodka and 1 ounce cherry brandy into a highball glass over ice. Fill with equal parts Coke and cranberry juice.

State Investigates ‘Lawn Service' Contracts

Better late than never. It looks like the state and the media are finally playing catch-up on investigating the city's allocation of money to Frank Melton's "lawn service" contracts to young friends from the Wood Street area. The Jackson Free Press has been trying to get attention to this matter for many moons now, and it seems that the feds took heed before the state auditor bothered to take a closer look. For background, here is one of our stories, from last March, on the issue in which I interviewed the head of the "lawn service" (and that story links to documents that we acquired and published for the first time).

BREAKING: City Council Has Standing Against Mayor

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled today that the Hattiesburg City Council has standing to seek a writ of mandamus against Mayor Johnny DuPree.

U.S. House Probing Diaz, Minor Prosecutions

The idea that the prosecutions of Justice Oliver Diaz and attorney Paul Minor may have been politically motivated by a George Bush administration is gathering steam in the nation's capitol, in the aftermath of other similar allegations about Bush's Justice Department. The Clarion-Ledger's Washington Bureau is reporting:

Real-Life Horror Stories

John Grisham says Haley Barbour should sign a moratorium on executions in Mississippi. "Absolutely. If I had my way, we'd stop all of them," Grisham said.

Todd's New Book Is Out!

JFP Publisher Todd Stauffer's new book, "How to Do Everything with Your Web 2.0 Blog," is out! You can order the book online at Powell's and other outlets. It should also be in local bookstores anytime now.

Shrinking JPD Springs a Sex-Toy Sting

So, the city can manage to find money to do sting operations in order to seize dildos. What a relief. Clarion-Ledger is reporting:

Ladd Profiles Frank Melton in Reason Magazine

JFP Editor Donna Ladd writes about Mayor Frank Melton's shenanigans for Reason Magazine. The piece starts:

My Story on Melton in Reason Magazine

Read the piece.

The libertarian Reason magazine today published a piece they asked me to write about Frank Melton and his shenanigans to date. Check it out here (note that a couple of factual things happened in editing, like saying that my ride-alongs were this year, instead of 2006. I've asked them to fix those things; let me see if anyone sees anything else.)

JFP, Other Alts Stand with Phoenix New Times

The Jackson Free Press is proud to stand up today, alongside our sister papers in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies against the efforts of elected officials in Phoenix, Ariz., to both thwart the public's right to know and to use the criminal-justice system to intimidate the alt-weekly by subpoenaing personal information of its Web site users. Follow the saga here in a verbatim press released issued today by AAN.

Ledger Publishes Old News on Michael Taylor

Oddly, The Clarion-Ledger today published a news story about Frank Melton's young friend, Michael Taylor, pointing out that new D.A. Robert Smith will have a conflict prosecuting him. This is really old news, folks. We've been telling everyone since before the election that Smith was going to have a conflict prosecuting Taylor, whom he had represented, and others. Also, it's not news that he is in the Hinds County Detention Center. I saw this story because this blog posting by Chris Joyner popped up in a Google news search on Melton: Where in the world is Michael Taylor?. My first thought was "in jail, of course; didn't they know that!?!" It's also intriguing that Chris doesn't mention that he is hawking the story by his own wife, Kathleen Baydala, which is fine but bears a mention.

Icky: ‘Heritage' Operative on Barbour's Staff

Just when you thought that the past was another half-mile behind us, something like this comes to light. The Associated Press reported:

With Due Respect, Mr. Agnew ...

It's hilarious that The Clarion-Ledger is trying to position itself in front of the FBI investigation of Frank Melton even though they have followed, if they even bothered to do that, for the last two and a half years. (And turned a blind eye for two decades before that.) After watching The Clarion-Ledger ignore, omit and gloss over the reality of Frank Melton for so long—even refusing to follow up on the Ridgeway story until after Adam Lynch broke it here—it's truly disgusting to watch Ronnie Agnew try to grab some morsels of credit for Melton possibly being indicted by a federal grand jury. From today's pathetic column by Agnew:

The Melton Tapes: Donna Ladd's Interviews with Frank Melton

In spring 2006, Mayor Frank Melton broke his 14-month silence toward the Jackson Free Press, after refusing to give an interview to the newspaper after critical coverage of his campaign by JFP editor Donna Ladd, who was later joined by Adam Lynch and Brian Johnson. Over several weeks, Ladd spent many hours interviewing Melton, and went on two ride-alongs with him and police officers on the Mobile Command Center. Here are transcripts of those interviews:

Does This Make Sense?

The Clarion-Ledger has a story about D.A.-elect Robert Smith not showing up for a docket call and needing to resolve his pending cases before he takes office in January. The Ledger states:

Melton: Who, Me?

"I don't know anything about that. I can't imagine what I've done," Melton said.

The Jackson rumor mill is on overdrive today about federal indictments of Mayor Frank Melton coming down in the wake of an FBI investigation that pulled several members of his administration before a federal grand jury last week. But the feds ain't talking, as they tend not to do in such cases. Until they're ready, anyway. As for Melton, he told the JFP's Adam Lynch at City Hall this afternoon that he hasn't heard a thing about a possible federal investigation of him.

Oxford Cop Killer Pleads Down to Manslaughter

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting:

Libertarian Magazine Probes State Medical Examiner

Over the last week, an investigative story in Reason magazine by Radley Balko probing Mississippi medical examiner Steven Hayne has attracted national attention, even drawing an editorial in the Wall Street Journal. The Reason piece, "CSI Mississippi," starts:

Good Times with Recio & the Gang

Michael Recio was big and hulking and provided decent cover for a reporter who wasn't used to walking up to people's homes unannounced in the middle of the night. I may have looked SWAT-chic, in the bulletproof vest the mayor loaned me, my black pants and those chocolate-brown Skechers I bought at Stein-Mart for just this occasionbut I still needed a bodyguard. And this one carried that long MP5 slung over his vest.

Noose Found on Door of Black Columbia Professor

Well, if anything, the Jena 6 situation is going to expose the racism and bigotry in our midst—all of our midst. And that is a damn good thing. We've got to clean out these wounds and deal with the ugliness. And you can't do that if you're in denial about it being there. Associated Press:

Barbour Attacks Eaves for Suing the Military; Eaves Responds

In recent TV ads, Gov. Haley Barbour feigns outrage at his opponent for suing the military as a trial attorney. Eaves responds in an e-mail and TV spot that indicates that Barbour isn't explaining why he sued the Pentagon:

He Fired a 9mm and They Didn't Check His Background?!?

What!?! Just because a man is a "homeowner" firing at apparent "thugs" with his semiautomatic, the JPD doesn't check his background? Good Lord. There goes another Clarion-Ledger front-page hero.

Mea Culpa from Ledger's Hampton ... Sort of

But notice that his only solution to the problem of newspapers' decreasing coverage of "complex" political issues is finding more bloggers for the Ledger's site. Sigh; it's sad to watch daily newspapers shrink andd die due to their own purposeful irrelevance in the community, while their leaders can do nothing about it but beg for more bloggers:

Lobbyist: Barbour Has No Ties to Firm

Bobby Harrison is reporting in the Daily Journal that Lanny Griffith has issued a statement about Haley Barbour's current status with his (former?) lobbying firm.

GAO: FEMA Favored Mississippi Over Louisiana

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has confirmed that FEMA favored Mississippi over Louisiana after Katrina, concurring with the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general who criticized FEMA for awarding "the vast majority of the available funds (about 71 percent) to one project in one state." Associated Press:

Crossing Gallatin

So the JFP celebrated its fifth birthday a couple of weeks ago. I have long exercised the privilege of celebrating my birthweek and birthmonth, rather than just a flimsy day, so I'm not technically late with my thoughts on this milestone.

Theater of the Beef-Plant Absurd

Can we just call the beef-plant debacle what it is: a foolish bipartisan embrace of a corporate-welfare scheme gone awry? Both Dems and Republicans pushed for it, and Barbour wrote a letter in support of it. It was stupid and wasteful. Let's stipulate that. All I want to hear is how all these yucks are going to keep such a thing from happening again, instead of a bunch of blame flowing every direction when it's obvious that people of both parties were snookered and hogtied.

Jamie Franks: ‘I'm Being Attacked'

Jamie Franks today sent out an e-mail to supporters, responding to the state (and national?) Republican Party's "liberal"-baiting campaign—"Too Liberal for Mississippi"—against him. Here is Franks' verbatim statement:

Burglary, Shots Fired on Melton's Street

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that a house was burglarized on Riverwood Drive, Mayor Frank Melton's street in North Jackson. The homeowner fired at them and they ran into the woods. Authorities apprehended two men and are looking for a third. Nearby McLeod Elementary School was placed on lockdown.

AG Warns Citizens About E-mail Threat Scam

The attorney general's cyber-crime unit is investigating the origin of a threatening e-mail that has been circulated around Jackson in the last week. Verbatim statement:

Republican Mayor Lott to Endorse John Eaves Today

Verbatim from the Eaves campaign:

LUMBERTON — Republican Mayor Aaron Lott of Lumberton will endorse Democrat John Eaves for Governor during a news event at 2 p.m. today, Thursday, September 27, 2007. The event will be held at 304 North Second Street in Lumberton. For his endorsement Mayor Lott cited Eaves' strong Christian values and Barbour's misuse of Katrina recover funds to enrich his friends, family, clients, and himself.

Melton Calls Councilman a ‘Goddamn Idiot'

Mayor Frank Melton showed his dark side publicly yesterday while in a meeting to try to figure how to alleviate his $3 million budget deficit from last year. The Clarion-Ledger reports today on Melton's meltdown:

Grant Me Justice: Two Women Killed in Two Weeks

Enjoying the slight drop in temperature on Monday, Sept. 17, Doris Shavers sat laughing with friends and family in her mother Ethel Sanders' front yard where the family liked to emerge from their nearby houses and fellowship. Their children played among them, riding bikes and jumping on the trampoline across Ludlow Avenue in Doris' front yard.

Chief: No Wrongdoing in Cop Shooting of Unarmed Man

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that Chief Shirlene Anderson is saying that a police officer who shot an unarmed man three times in the chest during a traffic stop committed no "wrong-doing." Police still will not release the officer's name:

Health & Wellness Info Needed on Jackpedia!

To help the JFP prepare for our upcoming fall wellness issue (out Oct. 11), we're asking readers and wellness practitioners to post information on Jackpedia that will help JFP readers live more healthy and productive lives. In that issue, we will pull wellness listings from Jackpedia to feature in the paper. The way to be considered for inclusion is for practitioners, healthy restaurants, health clubs, doctors, etc., to register at Jackpedia and post info about your wellness service/business, or for readers to offer suggestions about wellness sources/ideas that have helped you.

Is the Melton Administration Breaking the City?

More details when Adam Lynch returns from City Hall.

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that the Melton administration revealed to City Council today that they still need $3 million in order to balance the city's budgeteven though Council has already adopted a 2008 budget, which was supposed to balance the budget. The city wants to borrow the $3 million from the city's 7 million reserve fund. Administration officials refused to show up at a 2 p.m. budget meeting to answer questions about the shortfall, the Ledger reported.

Miss. Prayer Warriors Protesting Barbour Lobbying Ties

Haley Barbour still getting paid by lobbying firm.

The Mississippi Prayer Warriors sent around this e-mail today questioning Barbour's lobbying ties. Pasted verbatim:

Barbour Plays Hillary Card on Eaves; Eaves Cries Foul

BARBOUR NEEDS A FACT CHECKER

The John Eaves gubernatorial campaign just sent around this statement responding to Barbour's comment during last week's debate that Eaves gave to fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign—clearing trying to play the liberal-femi-nazi card on Eaves:

Best of Jackson is Drawing Near: Need Suggestions!

Folks, we will soon begin the competition for Best of Jackson 2008. This year, we are solicting reader suggestions for categories you'd like to see on the Best of Jackson ballot that we haven't had in the past.

Melton is SUCH a Union Man

In The Clarion-Ledger story this morning about the Council's effort to regulate the mayor's ability to hire so many temporary workers for undefined lengths of time, the mayor demonstrates why the unions got behind his candidacy.

Barbour-Eaves Debate 7 p.m. Thursday on MPB

Tune in to hear a live broadcast of the debate between Gov. Haley Barbour and challenge John Eaves tonight at 7 p.m. on MPB radio. Feel free to comment on the debate here.

Gannett Papers Facing Staff, er, ‘Mojo' Loyalty Issues

A journalism professor published interesting column in Seven Days, the alternative paper in Burlington, Vt., about their Gannett daily, ironically (to us) called the Burlington Free Press. The column explores why so many employees are leaving that daily. The paper here has similar problems with turnover; Laura Hipp, who had been covering the Legislature, announced she is moving to Texas this fall. And here in Jackson, Gannett recently stopped giving employees free coffee. Some of this sounds awfully familiar with our own former-newspaper-turned-"information center," eh? (Remember, all Free Press references are to the Burlington daily!)

BREAKING: Did Mayor Fire Cops for Muddling Domestic Case?

Sources tell the Jackson Free Press that Mayor Frank Melton may have fired police officers who muddled the response to reports on Ludlow Street Monday that Henry Phillips, 50, was brandishing a weapon outside the house of his ex-girlfriend, Doris Shavers, 40.