Hood Charges 6 With Selling Illegal Contacts
We just received this release from Attorney General Jim Hood's office: An undercover operation has resulted in several arrests and numerous businesses facing allegations of unauthorized dispensing of contact lenses, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Public Integrity Divisions, working with the …
Mike Chaney: BCBS, HMA Reach Deal
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney announced a deal in an ongoing dispute between Hospital Management Associates and BlueCross & BlueShield of Mississippi. Here's Chaney's statement: "I am very pleased that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi moved forward today October 21, 2013 to recognize four HMA hospitals for network …
Lucky Town Clears Zoning Hurdle, Craft Beermaking Returns to Jackson
Lucky Town Brewing Co. is reporting on its Facebook page that the startup microbrewery received unanimous zoning approval to move into a building in midtown. Lucky Town—which started making more of its own beer in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign—is one of only a handful of breweries operating …
Will Jackson Get Boost from $1 trillion in Black Spending?
Over the weekend, Black Enterprise magazine reported that the spending power of the nation's 43 million African Americans is expected to top $1 trillion by 2015. BE cites a report that will be presented at a June 2014 meeting of the National Association of Black Accountants Conference. The report found …
Report: "Extreme Concern" Persists at Henley-Young
The latest court monitoring report for the Hinds County's Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center shows "the facility continues to have "major developmental needs in many areas.” The Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi filed a class-action lawsuit in 2011 that alleged Henley-Young's staff members subjected the children to physical …
Belhaven, Fondren on House Burglary Alert
Residents of Jackson's Fondren and Belhaven neighborhoods are cautioning their fellow neighbors to be vigilant amid what they're calling a crime spree of house burglaries. Jeff Good, who lives and owns businesses in Fondren, sent out the word on Facebook. "We obviously have a group of criminals stalking our neighborhood …
At Least Jackson Media Cares About One Murder Victim
The Jackson Police Department announced an arrest this afternoon in the death of pro fisherman Jimmy Johnson. A Texas native, Johnson was only passing through Jackson to participate in a fishing tournament when he was shot and killed at a motel Sunday. Rightly, there has been an outpouring of support …
Jackson's Ship Comes In
As I blog, the United States Navy and the City of Jackson are unveiling at City Hall the crest of the USS Jackson. Lanier High School’s color guard were scheduled to open the ceremony with the presentation of colors of the U.S. flag and Jackson State University’s Band Ensemble was …
Josh Marks Memorial Planned; Service to Highlight Mental Illness
A memorial service for Josh Marks is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Tougaloo College's Woodworth Chapel. Marks died on Oct. 11 after battling mental illness. A Chicago native who attended Tougaloo, Marks earned fame from his appearance on TV cooking reality show "MasterChef." A statement from …
Chicago Tribune: Josh Marks' Death Ruled a Suicide
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/12/14111/ The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Josh Marks, a Chicago native who attended Tougaloo College and worked for a time in Vicksburg for the U.S. Army as a contract specialist, died Friday of a what the coroner has ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The victim, of the South Side, …
Missouri, Stop Putting Secession Ideas in Mississippi's Head
Apparently, in my native Missouri (also known as the most methy state in the nation), a billboard has popped up along an Interstate asking passersby to "Consider a contiguous 5-state secession" with Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi. That's interesting. For one, that would be a pretty weird-ass-shaped nation (see …
2 Museums Project: An Economic Boom
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has put out a flyer touting the economic impact the planned 2 Museums Project will have on the economies of the state and its capitol city. The flyer says the Mississippi Development Authory's tourism division estimates that the two new museums will welcome …
Miss. Breaks Good, Ranks Low for Methiness
Dear Magnolia State Meth Dealers: Do not interpret this as a challenge. But Mississippi is one of the least methy states in the nation, a new Huffington Post infographic shows. Citing something called the Nationa(l) Security System, or NSS, HuffPost said that Mississippi had five meth-lab-related accidents in 2012. Given …
Where's the Money? MSDH Withheld $600K from DV Shelters
The state Department of Health has withheld nearly $600,000 from domestic-violence shelters over the past two years.
Watkins Asks For Another Shot at Farish
Jackson developer David Watkins is apparently not satisfied with losing control over the Farish Street renovation project, and is asking the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board to reconsider their decision of two weeks ago to cut ties with the Farish Street Group, of which Watkins is the chief investor and developer. …
Coming Attractions
Trace^Pathways Farm in Learned, Miss. is hosting educational farm tours through Nov. 8, 2013 for schools and families. The farm is located about 25 minutes from Jackson, near Port Gibson off of Hwy. 18. Activities include a Haystack Pathway, where patrons will get an opportunity to interact with farm animals, …
Meridian Fights The Power Against Kemper, Too
(Yes, I'm going to get all the mileage I can out of this Public Enemy-esque headline.) A group called Mississippians for Affordable Energy picketed Tuesday night in Meridian to protest Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper County coal-fired power plant. Local TV station, WTOK reported: "The picketers say they were there in …
Supes Continue Raiding Byram-Clinton Corridor Fund
At this morning's Hinds County Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors distributed more than $250,000 to various recreational and other projects around the county. The money is coming from $3.5 million that had been set aside for the Byram-Clinton Parkway development project, which sparked intense debate between two board members. In …
Canton, Nissan, UAW in NY Times
The UAW is making unionization at Canton's Nissan plant an international effort.
ZAPP Plans "Make A Difference Day"
The Zoo Area Progressive Partnership is organizing a Make A Difference Day cleanup along Capitol Street from I-220 to the zoo entrance on Tuesday, October 8. The event will start at noon, and volunteers will meet at the zoo education center before the zoo's main gate. Volunteers are asked to …
Report: Ole Miss Football Players Used Homophobic Slurs at On-Campus Play
Yahoo! Sports has picked up a story from the Ole Miss student newspaper The Daily Mississippian that details the homophobic actions of at least 20 students, including members of the Ole Miss football team, during a play on campus in Oxford. From the DM Online's story by writer Adam Ganucheau: …
Affordable Care Jubilee Oct. 4
Rep. Bennie Thompson is partnering with the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center to educate and assist Mississippians to enroll for health insurance.
Health Care Still Unavailable to Many Poor Mississippians
Emergency room care remains their only health-care option.
Snag a 'Get On Up' Movie Role
Jackson auditions are Oct. 5.
Hinds Dems Throw Down Tomorrow
4 Democrats 2 Seats. The Hinds Count Democratic Party is preparing for what it's billing as a showdown for the District 2 and District 4 races tomorrow night at Metrocenter. Here's a the full release: JACKSON-On the evening of Thursday, October 3 at 6:00 PM at Center Court at the …
JRA Cuts Ties to Farish Street Group
Well, that seemed easier than expected. The Jackson Redevelopment Authority on Sept. 25 canceled, by unanimous vote, the contract of Farish Street Group LLC, the real-estate management company charged with luring businesses to the building on Farish Street. In a move that Mayor Chokwe Lumumba called "long overdue," JRA chose …
Health-Insurance Marketplace Scam Alert
Mississippi's Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner want to make sure you don't get scammed with the newest rollout of the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces.
Roger Wicker is listening -- but only to what he wants to hear
The government is shut down. The U.S. Air Force Academy has suspended travel, which threatens to cancel its game against Navy this weekend. And me and city reporter Tyler Cleveland couldn't even officially figure out how many Hispanics live in Jackson because the U.S. Census Bureau website is shut down. …