JFP Cyberstalkers/Hackers At It Again
All, after receiving an expletive-filled e-mail from one of our bloggers last week, we have determined that he did not send it. Once again, one of our small group of JFP-haters is stupidly playing games, pretending they are someone else to try to, well, be stupid. And stupid he is—in part of this particular game, he is using a screen name he used years back on this site, which indicates that it's the same person. If you get an odd e-mail, or see something posted on a blog that indicates that the stalker(s) is up to no good, please forward all the information, including IP headers where possible, to us here. We're collecting it all to hand over to the authorities; I believe our harassers will find that this kind of thing is taken more seriously than they might think.
Gettin' Older in San Fran
Todd bought me a new little digital camera for my birthday but, so far, I'm not sure it's really for me. What y'all think?
Blue Angels (and Atheists) By the Bay
Whoa. I'm on a short break from this Web conference we're attending in San Francisco. (BTW, all, the iTodd did an excellent presentation and wowed them this a.m. Be proud. Very proud.) Anyway, I'm back up in our room (which turned out to be a suite on the 26th/top floor; Todd must present more often!) looking out on half of the city and the Bay through a 40-foot-wide or so window. It's gorgeous.
Media Fell Down on Melton Beat
The other night at Symphony at Sunset in Fondren, I was talking to a local newspaperman who told me about a lie Mayor Frank Melton had told publicly during his campaign—basically an item on his resume that was an outright fabrication.
The High Cost of Frank Melton
Monday, Oct. 2, was one of those days when Mayor Frank Melton needed to be two places at once. Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green had called him, his bodyguards, and their attorneys to her courtroom in downtown Jackson to threaten them with contempt if they violated a gag order in their trial for allegedly demolishing a private home on Ridgeway Street, and instructing at least one minor to help them to do it.
Brunini, Watkins Ludlam to Anchor ‘Two Jackson Place'
Just in from David Watkins:
The Brunini law firm yesterday signed on with Parkway to be one of the anchor tenants in the new "Two Jackson Place" office tower to be built in downtown Jackson. The other anchor tenant is Watkins Ludlam.
Barbour Calls Special Session on Coast Housing
[verbatim statement] (JACKSON, Mississippi) * Governor Haley Barbour announced today he has called a Special Session of the Mississippi Legislature for Thursday to ask legislators to reduce the cost of construction of new homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
AG Forms New Domestic Violence Unit
[verbatim] Jackson, MS*Attorney General Jim Hood kicked off National Domestic Violence Awareness month (October) today with the announcement of a newly established unit to combat Domestic Violence in Mississippi. The Domestic Violence Division of the Office of Attorney General is being funded by a two year, $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
‘Sordid Lives' So, So Funny
Todd and I had a wonderful evening last night watching "Sordid Lives" in Hal & Mal's big room. It was a hilarious time, and our friend and JFP senior editor JoAnn Prichard Morris was delicious as the drunken floozy. (I told her to watch for typecasting.)
New Woodward Book Scathing Look at White House
The Washington Post reports that Bob Woodward's new book is roiling an embattled Bush administration:
Update: Melton Is Appearing in Meridian Court Today
Oct. 2, 12:20 p.m.: Mayor Frank Melton has been spotted in the Meridian courtroom where jury selection took up the morning. The judge has asked all parties to be in the courtroom after lunch. More updates soon...
Call the Roll on Dirty Politics
Disturbing statements have been coming from inside Mayor Frank Melton's inner circle since he and his bodyguards were indicted Sept. 15 for home invasion and demolition. To put it simply, paid Melton supporters are trying to convince city residents—especially "the people"—that he was acting as a crime-fighting hero when he allegedly ordered minors to sledgehammer the rental home of schizophrenic Evans Welch.
WAPT: Melton Wants to Mentor, Use Police Equipment
WAPT is reporting that Frank Melton is trying to get conditions of his bond overturned because he still wants to be able to mentor young people and use police equipment. He is under several counts of felony indictments because he allegedly used police equipment, officers and young people under his mentorship to destroy a house on Ridgeway Street on Aug. 26. WAPT today reported the response of District Attorney Faye Peterson:
Read Jim Hood Interview, Article About Melton
If you're looking for the Jim Hood articles just referred to on the Kim Wade Show, click here to read Donna Ladd's interview with Jim Hood, and read Adam Lynch's story, "Hood Threatens Melton."
The New York Times on Frank Melton
First, note that the JFP cover from April, shot by Kate Medley of Melton with the shotgun, is in the New York Times story about him today. Otherwise, the story is an interesting summary and, over all, pretty decent. Of course, there are vital details left out that they probably couldn't figure out quickly ...
D-Day for Mayor Frank Melton
Almost exactly two weeks after the Jackson Free Press reported that eyewitnesses were saying Mayor Frank Melton and his cohorts had taken a "Walking Tall" stick and sledgehammers to rental property on Ridgeway Street, a trio of state and county officials indicted Melton and two of his bodyguards. Melton, who is out on $50,000 bond, is facing six felonies and two misdemeanors that could bring a total of more than 50 years in prison.
Melton's Hometown Newpaper on his Indictments
The Tyler (Texas) Morning Telegraph is reporting on Melton's indictments—while oddly not mentioning that his wife and homestead exemption still reside right there in their coverage area:
Why Jackson Doesn't Need 'Superman'
Also see Darren Schwindaman's cartoon.
D.A.: Melton Investigation Headed to Grand Jury
BREAKING: District Attorney Faye Peterson tells the Jackson Free Press that the county's investigation of Mayor Frank Melton's alleged rampage the evening of Aug. 26 and the morning of Aug. 27 has been concluded. "We will review the information the sheriff has submitted and present it to the first available grand jury," she said Thursday. When asked when that would be, she said, "The next one that's officially scheduled is the second week in October." Could a special grand jury be convened sooner in the case? "It's always possible," she answered.
Read the JFP Story That Started It All
Read Adam Lynch's breaking story that first revealed Mayor Frank Melton's Aug. 26 alleged rampage on Ridgeway Street in Jackson—the accusations that led to felony indictions of Melton and his bodyguards two weeks later on Sept. 15. Adam's story first appeared the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2006. You can read Lynch's exclusive interview with victim Evans Welch here. The JFP also broke the story about Evans Welch's schizophrenia here.
Nightmare on Ridgeway Street
About 8:30 the evening of Aug. 26, residents of Ridgeway Street in the Virden Addition saw the Mobile Command Center roll up in front of Evans "Bubba" Welch's duplex, near the corner of Mill Street. Mayor Frank Melton and his two bodyguards, witnesses say, emerged from the blue-and-white RV, and one broke down Welch's back door.
Walking Tall, Hitting Low
Mayor Frank Melton's alleged attack on a Ridgeway Street duplex on Aug. 26 is not the first time his 4-foot-long stick showed up recently.
AG Investigating Allegations of Melton Crimes
Sources interviewed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's office have confirmed that he is actively investigating the events of the evening of Saturday, Aug. 26, as well as previous allegations against Mayor Frank Melton. AG investigators have interviewed various residents of Ridgeway Street over the last week, as reported last week by WAPT, about possible felonies and misdemeanors witnesses say that Melton, his bodyguards and an entourage of young men committed that evening.
Magnolia Bar to Speak out Against Frank Melton Tuesday
Emergency Press Conference
WHY: The event is being called in response to growing concerns of members of the Jackson community about allegations of improper conduct and abuse of mayoral and law enforcement authority made against Mayor Frank Melton and the Jackson Police Department. The Magnolia Bar joins with scores of local residents and its members in calling for official investigations on local, state and federal levels.
Southern Women Turning on Bush, Republicans
AP is reporting:
The current Republican Party is quickly losing group with us Belles; it's really too frickin' bad that the state Democratic Party is always the last one to know. Where's Pickering's opponent?
Hill Paper: Melton Visit Forces Stronger Safety Rules
Read the JFP's Melton Blog and Archive Here
The Hill, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., reported Wednesday that Capitol police are tightening security requirement after Mayor Frank Melton showed up in Bennie Thompson's office wearing credentials clearing him to carry firearms:
Melton May Face Felony Charges
ww.jacksonfreepress.com/images/site_images/v4issue51/3_demolition.jpg" align=right>by Adam Lynch
Read the original JFP story here that exposed the Ridgeway Street incident.
Huh? Money to the Best Schools, Not the Worst
Can someone explain to me why we're giving extra money to the top-performing schools, and not to the lowest-performing that clearly need it the most???
Barbour Overblowing Katrina Progress Claims
Read JFP's KatrinaBlog
Bill Minor takes Gov. Haley Barbour to task this week over the myth that the Coast is in such better shape a year after Katrina:
A Louisiania Journalist on Life After Katrina
Read a piece by our new friend, Scott Jordan, of the The Independent Weekly, the Lafayette, La., alternative newspaper and a new member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. And as you read this piece, please recall that this is one of the small, locally owned publications that the Gannett Corp. (owns Clarion-Ledger here) is targeting with its new Goliath distribution scheme. Read about Lafayette's Gannett battle here (and the story talks about our response here in Jackson). So, in effect, in two states where the economy has been so rocked by hurricanes and with people needing their livelihoods, the Gannett Corp.'s response within months is to go after the distribution channels of local businesses and make us pay them for the privilege of putting our papers out. Great timing, Goliath.
Barbour Adds Gulf Coast to Special Session
Earlier this week, Gov. Barbour announced a special session to allot corporate welfare to a North Mississippi project. After criticism that his call was ignoring dire needs on the Coast, he expanding the call to include issues vital to the Gulf Coast, which is struggling a full year after Katrina. Following is a verbatim statement from the governor:
Melton Armed in Drug Havens; Violating AG Warning?
According to a WLBT report, Mayor Frank Melton was armed when he demolished a house Friday at 1616 Valley Street in Jackson. Melton told the station that he is demolishing places where "dope (is) being sold or consumed." If that is the case, Melton may well have violated a direct directive yesterday from Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood who told him in June in a strongly worded letter that he would be prosecuted if he continues violating state criminal statutes. One of those statutes prohibit the mayor, or anyone else other than a real law-enforcement officer, from carrying a weapon in one of 19 locations. Those locations include places where illegal drugs are sold or used. The list also includes churchs and public parks—both places Melton has been seen carrying weapons since the attorney general's letter warning him to not violate the law by carrying weapons into illegal places.
Sen. Hagel: GOP Has Lost Its Way
AP is reporting that Chuck Hagel is sounding the death knell on the Republican Party as its "evolved." Good. He's a good Republican, and should be ashamed of what his party has turned into. And, hopefully, he'll be able to lead it a new direction. I've always admired his unwillingness to be caught up in the party's corruption and demagoguery. We need more Repubs like Hagel—and will likely get them, now that this version is likely to get its a$$ handed to it by the American people.
Melton Hiring Felons to Work with Youth
Uh, no kidding. Did The Clarion-Ledger really just figure this out!?! The JFP has been reporting this for months now, in our Melton interviews and in other stories. Guess it's a slow news day at the Ledge:
Special-Session Man Is Back!
[verbatim] GOVERNOR BARBOUR TO CALL SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION
(JACKSON, Mississippi) * Governor Haley Barbour announced today he will call a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to convene at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2006, and deal primarily with a huge job-creating project in northwest Mississippi known as Riverbend Crossing.
TONIGHT: Martinis and Cigars during ‘Casablanca Nights' Ball
The Jackson Free Press is a "Humphrey Bogart" sponsor of the Jackson Arts Council's big fund-raising event, The First Annual Storytellers' Ball, at the Old Capitol Inn on Thursday, August 17, starting at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a gournet Moroccan Feast, Blues divas, the Capitol City Stage Band, lots of dancing, a silent auction to beat silent auctions, a pooside cigar bar and a martini-tasting station. Dress swanky; black tie optional, sparkles advised. $50 per person; reservations at 601.960.1557.
Where The Streets Have No Name
I've flown to Chicago twice in a month to give writing workshops at Northwestern's journalism school, and each time I've been swept up in a wave of compassion and love. I like to think it's because so many Mississippians have made the city their home, but that may well be a bit egocentric of me.
Transcript of Melton Interview About Firefighters
Verbatim interview with Frank Melton conducted by JFP Managing Editor Brian Johnson on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Any use of of quotes from this interview without express attribution to the Jackson Free Press will be considered a copyright violation.
Former JFP Intern Starts New Orleans Magazine
From Jessica Kinnison, one of our favorite former interns, and Jackson Prep graduate:
I am writing on behalf of Voix du Vieux / Voice of the Quarter, a New Orleans based monthly publication that serves as a forum for painters, photographers, poets, fiction writers and musicians. We started this project just over four months ago with the intention of doing our part
Bush Approval Drops; Hurting Republican Chances?
The Associated Press is reporting:
Melton Plans Quick ‘State of the City' at the Alamo
Mayor Frank Melton says he only plans to talk for 30 minutes Friday morning on the "state of the city." The Clarion-Ledger reports:
Clueless in Condi-land? U.S. Endgame in Lebanon?
Here's more food for discussion on Lebanon, from Michael Young at Reason mag, who is also the opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon:
Sheriff to Deputize Two of Jackson's ‘Finest'?
The Clarion-Ledger is reporting:
So, What Were They Expecting?
Brandon, Pearl schools off to smooth start
Am I the only one who thinks it's weird for The Clarion-Ledger to start off its back-to-school stories with proclamations such as the following, leading the front page today:
Fear of a Brown Planet?
Over at Reason mag, David Weigel is calling out immigration hawks ... for racism?