Jackson Jambalaya

From the Secretary of State's office:

If you have been under a rock as I have been for the last week or so, there is a squabble between Tulane, the City of Madison, and Jackson State University.  JSU wanted to open a satellite campus in Madison.  Tulane and the city were not too happy about it as the city had gone to some trouble to recruit Tulane. Naturally the Parkway East Gods, otherwise known as Dick, Bob, and John Bell, were probably very happy to lease space to JSU and get some money for their little boondoggle. Pays just as well as getting tips from bagging groceries or FDIC bailouts.  If it alienates the Queen, so much the better.

The Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House issued the following press release yesterday on their support of early childhood education.

UMC is apparently giving raises to clinical employees as it announced in this email.

See if you can figure out this MAEP flow chart that Auditor Stacey Pickering provided to the House Appropriations Committee yesterday:

WLBT news director Dennis Smith appeared on the show today. I should say Colonel Dennis Smith, Esquire, as he is a retired Army helicopter pilot and a member of the bar. Mr. Smith announced his retirement this week. Here is the recording of the show and below the recording is a tribute written by one of his former employees. Enjoy.

Told ya a few weeks ago. It's now official: Haverty's is closing.

Check out this little provision in the charter school bill passed by the House on line 401 of the bill:

WLBT News Director Dennis Smith announced his retirement this week.  He will appear on the show tomorrow. Tune in on WJNT from 8-9 tomorrow morning for the crappiest radio show in Jackson.

Watch the webcast for the rollout of the new phones. I've been watching the leaks for awhile and I think some of you will be pleasantly surprised.  Webcast.

Collection of all posts on the Frazier case 

U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett will preside over the Frazier/Copeland prosecution. Judge Dan Jordan, III recused himself from the case.

Senator Will Longwitz sent this update about the progress of efforts to protect the private information of concealed carry permit holders last night:

Check out these ads in the Sun magazine:

The House of Representatives released this weekly update:

State Auditor Stacy Pickering will appear before the House Appropriations Committee tomorrow to discuss flaws in the MAEP formula. Mr. Pickering questioned how reliable several factors such as daily attendance used to calculate funding for MAEP. It seems not all attendance counts are equal. Mr. Pickering stated in a letter to state leaders in September:

Looks like former Trent Lott lawyer and state senator Steve Seale is making the rounds. The Central Mississippi Tea Party sent out this invite last week:

A Paul Brashon submitted this column offering a different um, perspective on charter schools. You can read his exchange with me in the "mailbag" post published yesterday.

Investors Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman go at it over bets on Herbal Life in this video.

Great way to get me to publish a column. Here is an email exchange from yesterday as a Paul Brasher sent me a column on charter schools for publication.

Collection of all posts about the Frazier case

U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan, III recused himself from the Frazier case yesterday. A new judge has not been assigned to the case.

One of my little spies at the State of the City address tonight told me the Mayor said Sam's submitted plans to the Planning and Zoning Department. Ouch.

Here is what Feinstein wants to ban in her new bill:

They stayed at it until after Midnight BUT a charter school bill passed the House by ten votes this morning.

or Factchecking the JFP. Apparently her Laddness had what she considers to be a customer-unfriendly experience with the Hinds County Library System. At the end of an article about expanding access to local library, Ms. Ladd had a beef with the Eudora Welty Library as she was not allowed to renew her books over the phone:

Gotta  love it. The Board of Supervisors for the Madison County Branch of Butler Snow unanimously passed a resolution last night to sell $1.5 million in bonds for a Park for Nowhere. The Madison County Journal reported last week:

The Washington **** reported on the little government program that could.... keep going and going and going as President Obama, Republicans, and Democrats have tried to kill funding for the Columbus Foundation. Unfortunately for the would-be budget cutters, Senator Cochran saved the program each time. Mississippi GOP elder Jim Herring served as on the foundation's board of directors as Vice-Chairman until recently. The newspaper reported:

Look which charter school opponent, Belhaven resident, and former employee of Parents for Public Schools sends his kid to a private school:

The House Education Committee passed a charter school bill this morning. Needless to say Loome, Bounds, and others are hitting up Marquita Brown of the Clarion-Ledger to tell her what they really think. ;-)

Senator Will Longwitz submitted the following column to JJ:

Judge Henry Lackey, yes, that Judge Lackey, disqualified Brunini law firm attorneys Joe Sclafani, Chris Shapley and David Kaufman, from representing attorney Robert Germany and his firm, Pittman, Germany, Walsh, in a legal malpractice case last week. All Hinds County Circuit judges recused themselves from the case. Judge Lackey ruled "the Brunini Law Firm has a substantial conflict of interest to the Plaintiffs" when he removed the firm from the case.

A federal grand jury indicted former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for bribery, kickbacks, fraud, and other offenses. No sense in regurgitating the indictment so here it is. A shame he and Morial can't be cellmates.  Ray, don't let the door hit ya on the way into jail.

Today is a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. I've collected some clips and posted them here for your enjoyment.

Saturday Night Live had fun at our expense last night. Watch.

Saw this little Corvette by Primos today and thought you would like to see it.

James "Tiberius" Prince, III, Publisher of the Neshoba Democrat and Madison County Journal sent this column after a little discussion about the Second Amendment broke out yesterday on this website.  We thank him for his contribution.  

Note: Who can forget this blast from the past?


U.S. Magistrate David Sanders dismissed a lawsuit filed in federal court by Dr. Arnold Smith against Jim Hood yesterday. Judge Sanders ruled the lawsuit will interfere with an "ongoing state criminal prosecution of the plaintiff on charges of capital murder" and it must be dismissed under the Anti-injunction Act.

Updated with crime reports from Reservoir Patrol.  Most inclusive crime reports post ever published on JJ as we now have the reports from Rankin County SO and Reservoir Patrol along with the crime stats for Jackson, Byram, and Madison.

Note: Check out this debate on Facebook.  Senator Will Longwitz sponsored a bill to protect the identities of concealed carry permit holders.  Madison County Journal owner Jim Prince is leading the charge against the bill in the debate.  Needless to say, the lobbyists for the Mississippi Press Association are trying to kill the bill.


Check out the information below about the CEO of Gannett. The same Gannett that decided to publish the names and other information about concealed carry permit holders in New York.

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy announced the Mississippi Senate adopted a charter school bill in this legislative update.

Tired of being cold all week? Here ya go. Not safe for work, kids, or anyone. You've been warned. DWF is of course welcome to post her own version of eye candy.

Speaker of the House Philip Gunn issued the following release at a press conference today at the capital. Governor Bryant and several other officials stood behind him as he announced:

George Melloan wrote a penetrating column in the Wall Street Journal last week about how the Fed is forcing the economy to paint itself into a corner. Worth reading for both sides:

The year-end "fiscal cliff" tax deal sent shivers through the bond market, driving the price of 10-year Treasurys to the lowest level since April. There was a good reason. The stubborn resistance by President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to spending cuts left no further doubts about their lack of interest in the nation's No. 1 economic problem, massive federal deficits.

 Collection of all posts on PERS

The Democrats announced at a press conference yesterday they are opposed to any changes in the Public Employees Retirement System. The Clarion-Ledger reported:

You knew this was coming. The Sun-Herald reported:

The Clarion-Ledger reported Sam's Wholesale Club may leave the County Line Road location and move to Madison. Here are some interesting quotes from the story:

The average rate for return for MPACT investments is 4.8% and three points below the target rate of 7.8%. However, the actual rate of return beat the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 ever since its inception in October 1997 by five points. The S&P 500 declined 0.26% and the Russell 2000 declined 0.23%. However, the annualized rate of return for the S&P 500 was 4.32%.*

The sole Rankin County Democrat issued a press release about the redistricting of district lines in Rankin County:

Jackson attorney and city councilman Chokwe Lumumba picked up an endorsement in his campaign for Mayor from the Down with Whitey, oops, I meant Black is Back Coalition recently. Uhurunews.com reported:

The Mississippi Democratic Party issued the following announcement:

The Rankin County Sheriff's Office announced yesterday, (January 13) the arrest of a burglar in the Reservoir area in this press release:

Collection of all posts on the Frazier case

Austin Frazier and Spencer Copeland filed motions to continue their respective trials last week in federal court. A federal grand jury indicted Claiborne Frazier, Austin Frazier, and C.E. Frazier, Jr. in December for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The grand jury also indicted the Fraziers and Spencer Copeland for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Copy of the seventeen-page indictment

Treasurer Lynn Fitch announced at a press conference, an actuarial firm found "twelve areas of concern" in the Mississippi Prepaid College Savings Tuition program, in a report commissioned by the MPACT Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees suspended registrations in the program in August 2012. There are over 22,000 participants enrolled in MPACT. The Board has not met since September and and is not scheduled to meet for January.

Well, well, well, look what the Clarion-Ledger published today- a response by Scott Shirey, the CEO of KIPP:Delta.  Coincidence?

Just a little preview of Blue Man Group, presented by William Kessler, later this month. Click on ad for tickets.

Treasurer Lynn Fitch will hold a press conference today to discuss her legislative agenda and the results of the MPACT audit. The MPACT Board of Trustees suspended new registrations in the college tuition savings program and ordered a financial audit of the program.

Here is Delbert's speech at the Mississippi Economic Council's Capital Day today:

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 today to rescind the hiring of "lobbyist" Firnist Alexander.  Supervisors Doug Anderson and Kenneth Stokes were not present for the vote. 

The same Clarion-Ledger that hired the Executive Director of the Democratic Party as an assignment editor, is the same Clarion-Ledger that now refuses to publish pro-charter school letters. Surprised?  Followers of the education debate over the last twelve months have seen the Clarion-Ledger act as the propaganda machine for Nancy Loome of the Parents' Campaign, as it regularly publishes letters by Ms. Loome and Claiborne Barksdale.  No shocker there, as the long-time editorial page editor was married to the communications director for Jackson Public Schools and always neglected to inform his readers of that fact. However, the newspaper's unethical conduct continues after David Hampton's retirement, as it refuses to print responses when its education darling decides to play schoolyard bully.

Lucien Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Bryant, and Dr. Laurie Smith, Education Policy Adviser for Governor Bryant, appeared on the show this morning to discuss the Governor's education proposals. The audio is posted below.

Sixty Minutes broadcast this story on the reaction of New Orleans' citizens when Newhouse Publishing announced it was scaling back publishing of the Times-Picayune to three times a week and laying off scores of employees.

The Secretary of State announced the final slate of candidates for the election to fill the seat formerly held by the now-deceased Alice Harden:

Avoided a runoff by nearly two percentage points. Here are the totals:

Someone adopt this puppy. Sister-in-law is driving in rural Madison County this afternoon when she came across this poor little thing in the middle of the road. Belonged to a litter of stray mutts. Mother herded off her pups away from the road and could not be caught. Adopt this puppy. He's a mutt. Stray. So that means no shots, no nothing. Shoot me an email at kingfish1935@gmail.com. Thanks.

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay their brand-spanking new lobbyist a contingency fee yesterday "based on results". Watch the video for yourself:

If you live in House District #59, go vote today.  Consider this an open thread on the race.

JJ has learned Sam's Wholesale Club on County Line Road will be leaving Jackson and moving to Madison. Jackson business and community leaders made a serious effort to keep the store from leaving the Bold New City but to no avail.

Update: The video has been added to this post. Just watch it. You won't believe what you see. 

Yup. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted to hire Firnist Alexander as a lobbyist. The website for the Mississippi Bar reports Mr. Alexander is disbarred.

60 Minutes reported how iPads are used to help autistic children in the classroom setting in the video below.  Developers have created a multitude of apps that unlock the world of autism and make it easier for children with the condition to communicate. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following press release about the arrest of Josh Bobo in the Palisades subdivision this morning:

Just watch the video.  Then ask yourself: WYHI?

The Rankin County attorney did not appear in court yesterday.  A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.  Mr. Guichet was arrested for drug possession last summer.  Earlier post.  Anyone want to form a posse?

Update: Suspect is the son of attorney James Bobo. Confirmed.

Update: Suspect is in custody. Reports are no one is injured.

The pro-charter school PAC "Better Education for Mississippi" announced a press conference for Monday at 1:30 on the second floor of the capital building. Here is the press release.

It seems a bit of controversy has finally entered the House #59 race. A Brent Powell supporter, Rodney Keith (who we will call "Powelltool from now on, my apologies to Tool Academy), took it upon himself to challenge the residency of Republican candidate Bradley Lum.

They got a little worked up on CNBC this morning.

Latest missive from Loome:

Karl Denninger of The Market-Ticker appeared on the show yesterday to discuss the fiscal cliff fiasco and the ramifications for the economy.  Last segment we discussed a little known change in the tax law called FATCA. Apparently the embed player is going into autoplay when this site is opened so here is the link to the show.

The Mississippi Democratic Party issued this press release yesterday:

I asked readers last July to consider adopting this boxer puppy.  Well, the readers responded and one of you did indeed adopt this mutt.  A reader who already owned a Boxer adopted Max. You can see for yourself in the picture below how tough life is for Max right now.

UPDATE: The suit was withdrawn today. JJ confirmed this action with the Rankin County Circuit Clerk. 

The Circle Bend Homeowners Association sued Brent Powell for nonpayment of homeowners' association dues in Rankin County Court in August 2012. Mr. Powell is a candidate for House of Representatives District #59. The election will be held on January 8.

Mike has a few things to say about "blaming whitey" in his latest classic video below.

Hinds County District 2 Supervisor Doug Anderson rescinded his resignation in a December 28, 2012 letter to Board President Robert Graham. Mr. Anderson cited "overwhelming calls" from his constituents as the reason for his decision in the letter posted below.

No sooner had the Board of Directors for the Department of Marine Resources suspended Executive Director Bill Walker without pay, than Deputy Director and former Representative Danny Guice said he wanted the job. The Sun-Herald reported this weekend:

Another Mississippi business sold out. The Wall Street Journal reported:

Bored, hungover, and don't want to watch football? Here is the 1977 version of The Hobbit. Enjoy.