Jackson Jambalaya

 It's that time of year in the SEC.  

Warning: This post is not safe for work or kids.  

There was more craziness on High Street yesterday. 

Note: JJ is going to treat this story somewhat differently.  There is a bunch of good stuff to cover in the report but if it is all, well, stuffed into one post, eyes will glaze.  JJ is going to dissect the report section by section over the next few days where it is more manageable to read while delivering quality information.   

State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement yesterday. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement. 

The war for Smith-Wills Stadium between the city of Jackson and state of Mississippi heated up Friday as Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a counterclaim against the city in Hinds County Chancery Court . The city sued last month to stop the state from taking back possession of the 300-acre property.  

Never let it be said State Representative Trey Lamar (R-Hazzard County) ignores his homies.   Mississippi Today's Geoffrey Pender and Taylor Vance reported October 9, 2024: 

Crotches are gonna crotch.   Veteran photographer Rick Guy shot pictures of the Scarecrow Cruise and Car Show in Madison Saturday for this website.  Automotive beauties filled up Montgomery Street.  A reader bragged about his son's find and restoration of a 1970 Mach I found in a barn.  Naturally, one of the crotches just had to trash the comment but the reader brought receipts.

 Battered syndrome can be beaten.  It takes time and effort, but it can be beaten.  

 Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement. 

The owner of the infamous Hotel O fought back against the Jackson City Council's plans to demolish the eyesore this year.  

 A highly emotional Ali Muthana berated the City Council at its meeting Tuesday during public comments.  Muthana is the father of Hotel O owner Noah Muthana.  Jackson Municipal Court Judge Jeff Reynolds condemned the property and ordered the city to demolish the dilapidated building.

Problems can appear to be just that, problems.  However, problems can also be a forge to create something wonderful, much as an ugly piece of iron is turned into a beautiful sword of steel .  Consider the anamorphic painting.  Ugly from one view yet when gazed at through a different view, a masterpiece emerges.  What seems insurmountable often is a gateway to something better.  The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached on these truths and more in the 1996 sermon posted below.  Enjoy. 

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wants his Senate to develop a plan to reorganize state government.

Madison's Scarecrow Cruise and Car Show has come and gone this but not before JJ photographer Rick Guy captured it all.  Enjoy.

If you didn't make it to the Superdome last night, here is some bootleg of the show.  If you don't know which show, then you are not in the know and if you are not in the know, you don't have a need to know.  

Is the third time a charm? So far, former president Trump has won half of his elections. He’s running for the rubber game in the series (2 out of 3). I’ve never seen anyone run like this for an office in the face of such overwhelming opposition. It’s like a movie in which the hero is an underdog. All of the authorities are pursuing the candidate. They have threatened him with everything from prison to assassination, and he comes back fighting harder than ever. In a way, it’s the All Amercan story of perseverence against all odds.

 This TikTokker (surprise) is not too bright, is she? 

 After #6 Holmes Community College scored a touchdown to take the lead over #8 Northwest Community College with 20 seconds to go last night, things looked bleak for the Rangers of the gridiron.  

We are now less than two weeks away from the Presidential election – and Trump seems to have momentum. In the all-important states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, Trump looks ahead of Kamala. By a whisker.

 Mississippi State Fair attendance dipped slightly from 2023. 

Collection of ZeroBear PolyBear's recipes.

The people of and from Cuba are great, but it's the sandwich named after them that gets my love.

 Rudy Warnock's December 2 federal trial for public corruption charges was postponed.  Judge Wingate entered the following statement on the docket of USA v. Rudolph Warnock, Jr.:

 Check out what this Rochester Community School Board (Mi) member had to say about allowing boys who identify as girls to use the girl's bathroom. 

 A Hinds County jury found Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company must pay $26,885,275 to CHC Investments, LLC on October 23.  

Friends of the Children's Hospital issued the following statement.

Forestry consultant or Forestry conman.  Such is the question to be asked of Pike County's Jeffery Taylor as the lawsuits accusing him of fraud continue to pile up.   

Once a titan of American success, Boeing just can't seem to do anything right these days.  From poorly-build problems to stranded astronauts to the current strike, Boeing might be on the ropes.  Matt Stoller dissected the fall of Boeing on his blog, The Big Newsletter, back in 2019.  Simply put, accountants and financiers replaced the engineers who ran the company and decided to start copying the federal government in how it did things.  Stoller wrote: 

 It's time for another edition of Matt Mitchell's Roll Call.  Enjoy. 

Will evidence of bribes, offer to kill Madison Mayor, and expensive gifts be allowed? 

The legal skirmishing is heating up as former Canton engineer Rudy Warnock and former Canton Ealdorman Cleve Anderson  prepare for their December trials on federal corruption charges.  

 Notice anything missing over at Mississippi Today? 

At 63, I’m still a work in progress. If you'd asked me at 30, I’d have told you I’d have life and business all figured out by now, with nothing left to do but coast. How wrong I was. Back then, I thought I’d cracked the code of my 20s and that my 30s and 40s would just be about riding the wave. When I hit 40, I was sure I’d have it nailed by 50. By 50, I started wondering if anyone ever really has it figured out. Now, in my 60s, I’ve learned to embrace the fact that I’m never going to have it all sorted. And you know what? I’m kind of excited about that. Maybe that’s what aging does—it humbles you, but it also gives you permission to keep getting better, to keep striving. Wisdom doesn’t mean you have all the answers; it means you’re smart enough to know there’s always room to grow.

 JJ finally got around to collecting all of ZeroBear PolyBear's recipes into one page after receiving more than a few requests to do so.   If you want to peruse over a year's worth of recipes from the Bear, just go to this page. Enjoy. 

Mississippians will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to cast their ballots in the nation’s federal presidential and congressional elections. However, given the state’s history in presidential balloting and reliance on the seniority system for clout in Congress, few surprises are anticipated.

 The Neshoba County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement. 

 The Brandon Police Department issued the following statement.  

No-bid contracts were the bane of the Chris Epps scandal as the then-MDOC Commissioner awarded approximately $4 billion in no-bid contracts.  However, current MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain has awarded four consecutive emergency no-bid contracts worth nearly $300 million to the same company.  

 New York Times best-selling author Richard Grant appeared on the podcast back in September when he was in town for the Mississippi Book Festival.  The scribe of Dispatches from Pluto was promoting his new book, A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Dispatches from Arizona.  He talked about facing gunmen in the Sierra Madre, Natchez history, why he moved from Mississippi, the Apaches, and some of the more colorful parts of Arizona history.   Enjoy the episode.  

Court: Gregg lawyers used "trial by ambush"

Rankin County Circuit Judge Dewey Arthur denied Carly Gregg's motion for a new trial. A Rankin County jury sentenced her to life in prison without parole after convicting her of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and tampering with evidence in the death of her mother and shooting of her stepfather.  

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is holding his regular press briefing right now.  The presser is live-streamed below.  

 Is it legal? 

Convicted killer Carly Gregg filed a notice of appeal in Rankin County Circuit Court Friday.  A jury convicted her of first-degree murder and attempted murder.  She was 14 years old when she shot her mother to death and shot her stepfather.  

 Water bottles, anyone? 

 Some scumbag thought it was fun to run over a bear, yes a bear. The video is posted below.  

Baseball, Mother Theresa, and ladders. What do they have to do with each other?  While preaching about faith, the late Dr. Frank Pollard wove them all into a sermon about overcoming spiritual chains as only he could.  Enjoy the 1996 sermon and accompanying scripture are posted below.

Legislators are once again considering MDOT’s request for a recurring stream of revenues to repair roads and bridges. So, how long has this issue been on the table? The following excerpts from a column I wrote in 2018 give a hint.

JJ reported Thursday the University of Nevada forfeited a woman's volleyball game to San Jose State University because the school had a male player identifying as a female.  The forfeitures generated no small amount of controversy.  Posted below is the player in question spiking the ball during a game against San Diego State University.  

 Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement. 

You know those “man vs. nature” movies that just go on and on, getting worse and worse as new crises arise? Hurricanes Helene and Milton provided a classic backdrop for a man vs. nature movie along with a lot of political intrigue on the verge of a presidential election.

Contractors for the city of Jackson discussed shutting down Thalia Mara Hall for renovations for six months next year.  The auditorium is recently closed because of widespread "microbial growth."  

Local mom, Amanda Kibble, is celebrating an important win for her family, and for school choice. Earlier this year, Governor Tate Reeves signed HB 1341 into law. This new law gives military families in Mississippi the right to transfer their children to any traditional public school around the state, assuming that the receiving school has capacity. Early indications suggest this is extremely popular, with lots of military families using school choice to switch schools.