Baptist Ranked in Top 100 Hospitals
HealthGrades, an independent reviewer of physician information and hospital quality outcomes, named Mississippi Baptist Medical Center among the best 100 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery, joint replacement, general surgery and prostatectomy.
Tougaloo Building Nabs Design Awards
The American Institute of Architects Mississippi and the Brick Industry Southeast Region will present awards to Tougaloo College for the design of the school's recently completed Bennie G. Thompson Academic and Civil Rights Research Center. The presentation is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 in the building's lecture hall.
Tornado Awareness Week
<i>Verbatim from Mississippi Emergency Management Agency</i>
Gov. Haley Barbour has proclaimed the week of Oct. 24-28 as Tornado Awareness Week in Mississippi.
Rims Barber
An early birthday party Friday night for Rims Barber, who turns 75 in November, will also recognize his civil-rights activism and how he and his wife Judy "speak truth to power." Tonight, however, he is speaking at Jackson State University about poverty. He intends to motivate some students into action.
Kill Devil Hill
Jacksonian Rex Brown brings some friends home with him Oct. 21 when Kill Devil Hill plays at Club Fire (209 Commerce St., 601-592-1000). The hometown boy, who has worked in Los Angeles for the past 15 years, is lead singer for this new heavy-metal band with some serious heritage.
Randy Bell
"It's where people come to help," a calm radio voice explains. "It's an assortment of tents and trailers in a parking lot right in the middle of some of the worst destruction from last week's monster tornado in Yazoo City."
Nina Parikh
Nina Parikh will enjoy dinner and a movie tonight to view an international film with a universal message outside at the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Hall: Stay on the Highway
Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall posted this on Facebook: "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."
Patricia Taylor
Patricia Taylor drove a friend to take a postal service exam in 1980. Giving that friend a ride started a career for Taylor when she decided she wanted to take the test, too. A couple of weeks later, she got a phone call and landed a job with the U.S. Postal Service in Jackson.
Aubrey K. Lucas
With his trademark bowtie in place, Aubrey K. Lucas oversaw the evolution of the University of Southern Mississippi. For that and other activities, he is one of 11 Mississippi Medal of Service recipients.
Doctors Oppose Initiative 26
Dr. Paul Seago finds it absurd that if Initiative 26 passes this November, a carcinoma could have the same rights as his teenage daughter.
Mary Libby Payne
Justice Mary Libby Payne, 79, of Pearl is one of 11 recipients of the Mississippi Medal of Service for significant contributions to the state.
Ramirez Missing Two Years
Abraham Jonathan Ramirez went out with friends to El Jardin, a Jackson nightclub off Gallatin Street, a couple of years ago. He was 21 then, had a new pick-up truck and wore cowboy boots. He lived in Pearl and had lived there for at least a couple of years where he worked in construction for his girlfriend's brother.
Scrapping for Funds
The Mississippi Department of Education says it needs a 13-percent funding increase in 2013, but most of the increase includes funding that the department was legally entitled to in previous years, but did not get.
Cornelius "C" Turner
Cornelius "C" Turner adds another honor to his accomplishments. Last week, Gov. Haley Barbour honored Turner and 10 other people with the Mississippi Medal of Service for significant contributions to improve their communities and state.
Chamber: Young People Want to Be Heard
Jackson's young people want to be heard and are demanding more ways to have fun, socialize and network, according to a new study the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership revealed this week. Market Street Services, an Atlanta-based consulting firm that the GJCP chose to oversee its long-range plan, sent representatives to Jackson this week to meet with chamber leaders and local officials.
Duff Dorrough
Sept. 30, 2011
City Accepting Applications for Business Development Grants
<i>Verbatim from City of Jackson</i>
Beginning October 3, 2011, the City of Jackson's Office of Economic Development will accept applications for its Small Business Development Grant (SBDG) and Storefront Improvement Grant (SIG) programs.
Robert Poore
Robert Poore, one of the landscape architects for the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, pointed to the reflection of the new green space in the glass walls of the Jackson Convention Complex. Although the earliest plans for the garden didn't take the huge virtual mirrors across the street into account, much of the planning did consider refracting light. "It's all about light and from all different directions," he told the Jackson Free Press this morning.
Mood Food
Food greatly affects our moods. Chamomile tea can calm us, strong coffee can invigorate us, and comfort food makes us feel loved. Science backs up many food choices we make to improve our mood.
Primitive Power
My husband balanced a lumpy, orange sweet potato in one hand. His other hand was poised on the juicer. He arched an eyebrow while I tried to keep my mind open. The sweet potato was way too large to fit in the juicer, so he cut it in chunks and fed it into the slender cylinder. I watched, knowing I would have to drink the juice and not react in any negative way. The juicer pulverized and liquidated the sweet potatoes in mere seconds.
Ivan Rider Drives ‘Daisy'
Director Ivan Rider returns to Jackson to direct "Driving Miss Daisy" at New Stage Theatre.
Greg Grimes
Greg Grimes has already dealt with a stray-cat problem this morning. He's also looking at someone's water leak. As the city of Jackson's constituent services manager, he takes complaints from residents and solves their problems.
Calhoun: Jails Becoming Mental Health Centers
Hinds County wants help dealing with a rising population of incarcerated prisoners who suffer from substance abuse and mental health issues. The board of supervisors passed a resolution today formally asking legislators to support the development of a "behavioral health treatment court collaborative" in the 2012 session.
Andrew Stankevich
Andrew Stankevich tried to start a group for gay students at Mississippi College School of Law, but administrators told him they were morally opposed to the idea. Stankevich said he has the letter that they sent him.
Thompson to Co-Sponsor Autism Act
At least 8,139 children in Mississippi have autism, according to a July 1 report from the Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee. The Legislature established the committee earlier this year to suggest strategies to combat a rise in autism rates.
Longtime Standards
Cowboy boots, straw hats, a couple of purses and a pair of high-heeled shoes fill the front window at Dennis Brothers Shoe Repair (325 N. Farish St., 601-354-9125). Men's boots sit on top of the glass counter inside. On the side, rows of men's and women's shoes are for sale.
Kosher Gospel
A young, black man dressed in an embroidered jacket sits at the piano. He belts out a gospel tune in layers of emotion. Sweat pours down his face as he sings a familiar--but not instantly recognizable--religious song with a multi-textured and robed back-up choir.
Ivan Rider
Ivan Rider returns to Jackson to direct "Driving Miss Daisy," opening tonight at New Stage Theatre.
"It's the theater of my heart," Rider told the Jackson Free Press this morning. "I'm delighted to be back."
Jennifer S. Love
Jennifer S. Love, a Mississippi native and Jackson State University graduate, is the new assistant director of the FBI's Security Division. Love most recently served as acting assistant director of the FBI's Inspection Division.
Capt. Ken Chapman
Capt. Ken Chapman claims he taught Aretha Franklin how to do the Bankhead bounce for a performance at the opening ceremony for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She was going to sing "Respect," and he thought the move would work great when she got to the "sock-it-me, sock-it-me, sock-it-me" part.
Southern-Style Laughs
Black Rose Community Theatre (103 Black St., Brandon) presents the comedy "Divorce Southern Style" Sept. 14-18.
News Wars: The Rise and Fall of The Clarion-Ledger
Orley Hood and Walter Philbin lugged their laundry bags into the laundromat near the Jitney 14 on Fortification Street. They sorted their clothes, put their coins in the slots and waited for the first wash cycle to begin. Then Philbin pulled out a stack of old Associated Press wire stories he'd been saving.
Ronnie Agnew
On Sundays, Ronnie Agnew and his eight brothers and sisters piled into his father's 1967 Buick LeSabre and headed to church. "My mom and dad were very religious," he says. They didn't let the kids watch a lot of TV, but they watched "Sesame Street" when it hit Mississippi Educational Television in 1970.
Pat Harrison
The south Mississippi rivers rising with days of heavy rain make up the Pat Harrison Waterway District, named in 1962 for a key U.S. senator.
Pearl River Rising, City in State of Emergency, Shelters Open in Metro
See Weather Service and MEMA warnings about metro here as they come in.
Gulf Storm Bringing Slow, Heavy Rains
Experts expect Tropical Depression 13 in the northern Gulf of Mexico to become a tropical storm today. The National Weather Service reports that this system will hit central Mississippi Saturday with heavy rains of 5-10 inches.
David ‘Honeyboy' Edwards
One of the "Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen" has passed. David "Honeyboy" Edwards, 96, died yesterday at his home in Chicago, Ill.
Abraham Jonathan Ramirez
Abraham Jonathan Ramirez went out with friends to El Jardin, a Jackson nightclub off Gallatin, a couple of years ago. He was 21 then, had a new pick-up truck and wore cowboy boots. He lived in Pearl and had lived there for at least a couple of years where he worked in construction for his girlfriend's brother. He hadn't been getting along too well with her that week, so he went out with his buddies. He was surprised to run into his girlfriend, Mayra Ibarra, at the club that night.
Racial Reconciliation Helps ‘The Hurt'
Neddie Winters hasn't seen the movie "The Help" yet, but he's encouraging everyone else to watch it, then sit down and have a serious talk about it. "I'm not sure I have the strength to go see it. But you go--go and talk about it."
Miriam Weems
Artist Miriam Weems filled the world with color from her cottage studio in Belhaven, and she reflected what she saw back to the community. This week, her fans, friends and family mourned her death and said good-bye.
Engineering Whimsy
Betsy Bradley stepped into the construction zone in high heels, looking back at a group of curious art lovers. Behind her, more than 30 adults holding wine glasses and beer bottles followed.
A Community LoveFest
Rev. Keith Tonkel considers WellsFest a love-fest for the community. Tonkel, Wells Memorial United Methodist Church pastor since 1969, says the 28-year tradition is a "gift of love" to the community and to the nonprofits that WellsFest benefits
Lan Diep
Lan Diep has spent the past year helping the Vietnamese-American community on the Gulf Coast deal with the impact of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010. An Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow with the Mississippi Center for Justice, Diep is sorting out the problems allowing many to file or to receive claims.
Film Industry Work Force Training Begins
A film industry work force training program begins classes next week at Hinds Community College, Rankin Campus.
Welcome to the Cluster Pluck
It's been a busy summer for Craig Dubow, CEO of Gannett Co., the parent company of The Clarion-Ledger and the Hattiesburg American.
Lucio Miele
Dr. Lucio Miele of University of Mississippi Medical Center is the newest member of the American Cancer Society's Mid-South Division Board of Directors.
Crime Perception Hurts Jackson Economy
Jackson misses out on booking conventions because of a false perception that the city has a high crime rate, Rickey Thigpen says. Thigpen, executive vice president of the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, spoke this morning at the Friday Forum gathering at Koinonia Coffee House.
McMillin Concedes Sheriff's Race
Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin is conceding the Aug. 2 primary election to his challenger, Tyrone Lewis. Read the statement here.
Mary Sterrett
Well-wishers are posting birthday greetings on Facebook for the first baby born at Baptist Health Systems, Mary Ormand Heald Sterrett, who turns 100 today.