Jackson Jambalaya

Rankin County schools dominate best schools for chronic absenteeism.

The Mississippi Department of Eduction issued the following press release. 

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has released the 2025-26 Chronic Absenteeism Report, which shows Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate slightly decreased to 26.5%, representing 115,385 students who missed important instructional time in the last school year. The rate for the 2024-25 school year was 27.6%.

 This post is authored by Zerobear Polybear. 

My parents grew huge gardens when I was a kid (many years back), The vegetables they grew pretty much every year included pink eyed purple hull peas, bunch and pole butter beans, Contender green beans, lady peas (my Dad’s #1 favorite vegetable), Texas cream peas (better yield than lady pea, but not as good), speckled butterbeans (for my mom), peanuts (for my dad), sweet corn, tomatoes, several different varieties of squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes (always) and red potatoes (sometimes), and surely some I have forgotten. These were grown on a neighbor’s otherwise unused land on what seemed like eternally long rows to a kid holding a weed chopping hoe.

In next year’s statewide elections, I am a candidate for State Auditor. Our State Auditor is responsible for ensuring your tax dollars are being spent honestly and wisely. Mississippi must have an auditor with conservative values because it is an outrage when your hard-earned tax dollars are wasted or stolen.

 You can't heat some people enough.   Some assaults should be classified as justifiable. The Wall Street Journal reported: 

 Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba wants to postpone his sentencing for his public corruption convictions.  The docket in his federal case states: 

Mississippi politics has never lacked for characters. Or grudges. Or strange alliances. Or elections that still get people worked up years later.

 Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann issued the following statement. 

 Rivers of gold were supposed to flow when Desoto County sold out to AI.  However, a PEER memo reports SpaceX AI is trying to stiff the county on property taxes.  AWS tried to pull the same stunt in Madison County but the Supervisors blocked that little move.   

 Mississippi is a hotbed of high school football but don't tell that to the Clarion-Ledger.  The "state newspaper" threw its last high school sports reporter overboard last week.   Yup.  You read that correctly.  Ex-reporter Michael Chavez tweeted: 

 A shootout took place between some hoodlums on McDowell Road in front of Key Elementary.  Although the information is not verified, one woman posted on Facebook: 

 Note: Sorry for the delay in reporting this story. 

 The Madison County Board of Supervisors approved the sale of $48 million in bonds that will be used to fund a conference center.  However, this being Madison County, the project was not approved until the Supervisors slugged it out. 

 Last week I bought out the Vatican. Granted, it was for one night only, and the Pope wasn't part of the package, but for a few hours the most crowded museum on the planet belonged to 25 of my Yonderlust Travel guests and one very patient security guard.

 Damn.  This little episode that took place on Raymond Road went full Robert De Niro. 

 In the past year, voices as disparate as President Trump and members of both houses of Congress, along with Mississippi elected officials, have called for suspending either federal or state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel in response to soaring prices for both commodities.

 Freddy managed to survive Jackson.   

Madison Timber Receiver Alysson Mills submitted her required 90 day status report to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on March 31. The report documents her slog to recover funds for the victims of Lamar Adams.

 Yet another out of state landlord and its manager learned the hard way Jackson Environmental Court Judge Jeff Reynolds does not play when it comes to abandoned properties.  Despite all the finger-pointing, Judge Reynolds sentenced Chapel Ridge Apartments Manager Larry Jackson to serve one year in jail if he does not demolish the property by December 9 after finding him guilty of four environmental code violations.  

 Bama fans are going to Bama fan.  Check out what these Alabama rednecks did to Kamario Taylor's mom after the game Saturday.   

One of the best movies ever made returns to the big screen next week  for not one, not two, not three, but four nights even if you don't give a damn.  Showtimes are posted below.  Get your tickets soon as these showings usually sell out. 

 Then there is this little scene from the Provine High School football game last week. 

 Who paid for the District Attorney's gold cart? Tis a question Mississippi Today's Molly Minta asked but went unanswered recently.  Ms. Minta reported last week: 

Who says the funk died?  Earth, Wind, & Fire is coming to Brandon next spring.  

Lindsey Whiteside will be going to prison for at least ten years after she pleaded guilty to taking a minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity last week in federal court.  

Sometimes the illusion of being down and out is just that, an illusion. 

 Was the murder of two men on Spanish Court last week a case of street justice? 

A sermon that began with the admonition "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" turned into a discussion on the joys of sex.  Yes, you read that correctly.  The late Dr. Frank Pollard dedicated a whole sermon to the subject of sex, calling it God's gift to humanity. After all, sex occurred before, not after the fall of man.  As beautiful as it can be, he preached, its misuse can hurt others, hurt ourselves, destroy love.  The so-called sexual liberation, said he, often turns into slavery where one is governed by lusts and betrays those he loves.  The news of the President's infidelity in 1998 drove Dr. Pollard to preach this message.  See what else he had to say in the video posted below. 

A building home to the rite of passage for many came tumbling down today.  Yup.  They finally blew up the old Department of Public Safety building in Jackson this morning.  Watch it all. 

 The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget conducts research and provides information to the public on major fiscal issues facing the United States. These include the rising national debt, the budget reconciliation process, health care policy, and the future of trust funds like Social Security, Medicare, Federal Highway, and others.

It's never a good idea to carjack a guy who owns a gun store as Florida man found out today.  The owner of Two Gun Tactical discussed his heroism in a video posted on Facebook. 

 The supporters of Congressman Bennie Thompson were not too happy when the State Auditor appeared at the final redistricting hearing and said the Republicans should redistrict the Congressman out of his seat.  

 Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement. 

Friday night football is turning into the weekly edition of Friday night fights in Mississippi . 

Ok, everybody. It’s time to relax. Let’s talk about college football and hunting seasons. The World Series is coming soon. We’ve wasted way too much time talking about POLITICS! Really? What is a woman? Who identifies with whom these days? Why does the White House need a new ballroom? Is it AI (artificial intelligence) or SI (super intelligence)? Xi and Trump agreed it should be SI. It’s settled. 

Defendants are naturalized citizens? Deport if convicted?  

The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 Jackson Mayor John Horhn issued the following statement. 

Regulator asked Five Star to take over JAFCU.  

The National Credit Union Administration issued the following statement. 

 The Capitol Police issued the following statements yesterday.

 Always wanted to try some cippiano? Well, you won't have to travel to California anymore thanks to ZeroBear PolyBear.   The Bear was kind enough to share his cippiano recipe with us in a downloadable format.  Enjoy.  

Rotten food fed to animals.  Mold.  Few employees.  Expired drugs.  Rat infestations.  Such were described in a USDA report on the Jackson Zoo.   The report speaks for itself: 

 Only in Madison. ;-). 

 Jackson Mayor John Horhn issued the following statement. 

Headlines ran wild last week after the Ben Crump team representing the Nolan Wells family said messages were deleted from his phone.  Such statements gave an "ah-ha" moment to the online lynch mob that wants to go down to Ocean Springs and string some boys up.  However, there is just one problem: the phone locked up at 2:18 on July 4.  

 JPD issued the following statement. 

Yes, Virginia, experts can be wrong. Few are Santa Claus. But some want you to think they are. They put on an Effective Altruism costume. That says they mean well — and therefore suffer no consequences if their advice is wrong. But you might.

 Rest in peace, Anika, rest in peace.  

 JJ fell a little behind on the crime updates as law enforcement sent quite a few press releases over the last few days (From Oxford to Jackson to Hinds County to Rankin County).  They are all combined into one post. 

The gravy train stopped for a Flowood healthcare company after Medicare caught it billing over and over for services provided to who else but dead people.