Jackson Jambalaya

 U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III postponed the sentencing for former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba today.   

The race for Hinds County District Attorney is entering the home stretch as we head towards November 4.  Money is the lifeblood of a campaign and this race is no exception.   What is interesting is three candidates are effectively tied in fund-raising while two candidates did not submit reports.  

Hinds County Circuit Judge Faye Peterson wants to send the News to the house - as in house arrest.  Yup.  Judge Peterson said at a status hearing this morning she was considering sentencing Nancy New and her son Zach to serve their bribery and fraud sentences under house arrest. WLBT reported: 

 Insurance Commish Miguel Chaney issued the following statement. 

What is it about medical marijuana that brings scam artists out of the woodwork.  Mockingscam, Corey Ferraez, and Thomas Moore, not to be confused with St. Thomas Moore.  Moore bilked investors out of millions of dollars for a medical marijuana operation while using the money to live high on the hog.  The Securities and Exchange Commission announced:

It finally happened.  Our favorite squatter's residence finally burned down.  

 The Charter School Authorization Board issued the following statement. 

 Annie Oeth authored this press release for the University of Mississippi Medical Center on October 22. 

Elected officials and donors joined with medical leaders to break ground on a new multi-story home for theCancer Center and Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, marking a major milestone in the state’s commitment to expanding cancer care, research and prevention. 

One problem cities face in Mississippi as they fight blight is absentee landlords, especially those who hide their identities behind shell companies.   Tired of such landlords, Jackson is piercing the secrecy veil as it goes after the owners of the infamous Chapel Ridge Apartments in South Jackson.  

Looks like downtowners will get some minor relief.  

Sloppy, bungled, carelessly, falsehoods, fabrications, shoddy.  Such are the words the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals used to describe the work of U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate Thursday as it removed him from a case. 

 What happens when all are equal? 

Once a loser........

Chef Hunter Evans, the man behind Elvie's and the newly revived Mayflower Cafe, joined Grant Callen on The Empower Podcast to talk about food, business, and why anyone in his right mind would leave New York City to open a restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi.

Rudy Warnock and Cleve Anderson will get a chance to fight their bribery convictions after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted their request for oral arguments in their respective appeals.  

 This concludes a fascinating yet troubling discussion with ChatGPT. Previously the AI model postulated that wisdom is beyond rationale AI capacity because wisdom requires answering questions such as “What should we value?”

Even the featherweights can be entertaining.   

 We did that all over the world in 2020. AUTHORITIES MANDATED WEARING MASKS, STANDING AT LEAST 6-FEET APART, AVOIDED MEETING IN LARGE GROUPS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE, CLOSED SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES, NO VISITORS ALLOWED IN HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES…. 

The Blossom Apartments caught fire this afternoon.  

 Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andrew Gipson penned this column. 

How do you hold the State’s largest event in one of the most dangerous cities in America? How do you host over half a million visitors annually, with no major security incidents?

 The ever-colorful Dale Brown passed away at the age on 90.  If there is one word that could never be mentioned in the same sentence with the famed LSU basketball coach, it was boring.  He took over LSU basketball during the doldrums of the post-Pistol Pete era.  He barnstormed across Baton Rouge, going house to house, asking if he could replace the basketball net in the driveway with one that was purple and gold.  He managed to make two Final Fours and win four SEC titles.  Oh yes, he also coached a little-known basketball player named Shaquille O'Neal. Not bad for a kid born on Halloween in Minot, North Dakota. Thanks for it all, Dale.  You will be missed. 

 Attorney Generalissimo Evelyn Fitch issued the following statement. 

Video of shooting and timeline posted below. 

Senatobia police officer had between two and three seconds to react when he fired into a car that nearly ran over him.  The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released all video of the incident.  Senatobia police officer Hunter Foster's shots killed a one year-old child in the car, drawing outrage nationwide. 

Yes, we are doing soup recipes two weeks in a row.  After all, it is soup weather.  The ZeroBear PolyBear blessed us, no, graced us with his recipe for some Red Bean Soup complete in a downloadable format. Enjoy. 

The Madison County Journal skewered JPD Chief Rashall Brackney over her decision to not renew the Flock Safety contract: 

 Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement. 

 The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that switchblades are indeed legal as it found the Federal Switchblade Act to be unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.  

The Mississippi Republican Party issued the following statement. 

 This is what pre-schoolers got to see as they arrived at Jackson Academy yesterday morning. 

 Former Capitol police officer Michael Rhinewalt might have to be tried again for manslaughter if Hinds County Circuit Judge Faye Peterson has her way. 

 Get your tickets now as a true classic returns to the big screen in a couple of weeks.  Before the Clubber Langs, music video scenes, over the top baddies such as Drago, there was Rocky, a gritty story about a pug who didn't want to be champion but just prove he wasn't just another bum.  The best part is the 50th anniversary showing is playing for five days.  Get some tickets and take your boys.  Showtimes are posted below. 

The Mississippi State Fair enjoyed attendance of over half a million people this year while paid attendance rose although it has not recovered to what it was before the last edition of the Mudbugs Festival.  

 State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement regarding former MDOC Commissioner Pelecia Hall. 

 The Queen of the SEC returns.....

Somebody call Jackson Prep and tell the owner they are on the clock!

Today's Idiots of the Day award goes to......

I thought I was finished making lifelong friends. At 65, I figured the roster was pretty much set. I wasn't looking for new ones, and I certainly didn't expect to make some of the most meaningful friendships of my life at this age. These days, most things in my life are either planned or predictable. But over the past decade, I've been surprised by how many new friends I've made, and even more by how I made them.

 Jane Hawkins Smith, wife of Bill Smith and mother of Lucien Smith, peacefully passed away Sunday.   Posted below is her life story and funeral arrangements. 

 Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump had something to say after Attorney General Lynn Fitch cleared a Senatobia police officer in the shooting death of a one-year old child.  

 Well, well, well.  It appears there is a little bit of indoctrination going on in at least one Jackson public school.  Is Brett Kenyon in charge of the curriculum at JPS? 

 Nothing like homecoming festivities or is it homecoming follies?  We report, you decide. 

 Matt Moscona is having waaaaaaay too much fun with the downfall of the Alabama Crimson Tide.  

 Update #2: Latrice Rogers, the owner of Taste Fondren, emailed a comment that is posted below.  

Update: Approved.  Stokes played the race card.   Vote was 3-2 with Hartley, Clay, Stokes voting aye while Foote and Parkinson voted nay. 

Check out what is on the agenda for today's meeting of the Jackson City Council Zoning Committee: 

JXN Water Manager Ted Henifin made it clear Jackson's water/sewer system should return to its control.  Mr. Henifin released a transition report that recommends converting JXN Water to a non-profit company that will continue to operate the system. It is a safe bet such a proposal will not be taken too kindly by the wise men of Jackson.   

 Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement. 

Check out this little exchange from the Jackson City Council's Public Safety and Parks Committee meeting last week.  

or welcome to The Pitt, Season 2.5. 

 The Kevin Gates concert was a complete ____show in Brandon last night. 

"There is a place in every soul should that understands one day we will give an account that's built into every one of us that judgment is coming and the Holy Spirit convicts us so that he can lead us to this Savior and gives us eternal life.  That's the Holy Spirit.  That's God the Father's work.  That's Jesus the Son's work.  Well, what is your work?" asked the late Dr. Frank Pollard as he preached from the pulpit of First Baptist Church in 1998 on the wonders of the Holy Spirit.  If you didn't make it to church this morning, enjoy the remedial sermon posted below. 

 It appears Jimmy John's in Jackson is officially down and out. 

 This continues a fascinating yet troubling discussion with ChatGPT. Previously the AI model postulated that “the most intellectually honest form of analysis is: here are both sides; here are the criteria by which I'm judging them; here is how each performs against those criteria; and here is how the conclusion changes if we change the criteria.”

A "customer" finds out it might not be a good idea to threaten a Pearl girl with TikTok.  You geaux, girl. 

Flock cameras will soon be no more in Jackson.  JPD Chief Rashell Brackney announced she is not renewing the contract with Flock Safety at a meeting of the City Council's Public Safety and Parks Committee Wednesday.  The cameras have drawn controversy nationwide due to misuse by some police officers. 

 The world is crumbling away as planned. Seriously. What else might we expect? Decades ago, I asked my pastor about politics and politicians. Why are both so messed up? He replied, “We get better than we deserve.” That was one of those answers I had to chew on for a while. 

The latest school ratings were kind to public school districts in the Jackson Metro Area.  As usual, Clinton led the way while Jackson brought up the rear.  However, JPS is performing better than when it faced a state takeover several years ago.  Meanwhile, the charter schools had one theme: failure.  

 A car caught fire over by Jackson Oncology.  

Lord Protector Tate Reeves issued the following statement. 

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 UMC Vice-Chancellor Dr. Louann Woodward issued the following announcement in her weekly column yesterday. 

 It's going to get down into the 40's this weekend and you know what that means: Soup weather!  The ZeroBear PolyBear may be away but he left us with his recipe for some creamy butternut squash soup in a downloadable format.   Fire up the stove and get to work.  

As riots grow across France, the media is quick to blame the French government for not spending enough money on edumucation.  However, the Wall Street Journal nailed France's real problem in an editorial last week: the country is past being flat broke.  Check out what it had to say: 

 Ridgeland police arrested Hinds County Assistant District Attorney Briana Keeler and charged her with  domestic violence - simple assault Sunday.  

 The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following statement. 

 Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is permanently barred from the practice of law. 

 MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain blew off the Legislature even though Republicans and Democrats alike had questions about how he runs his agency.  Mississippi Today reported: 

JJ reported on the conviction of a Sovereign Citizen for traffic offenses in Madison a few weeks ago. Although there were some nuggets of humor in the court file, it is a bit much to expect readers to wade through over 70 pages. Fortunately, the Kingfish is going to save you such trouble and provide the humorous nuggets in small bites. Enjoy this declaration of "12 Presumptions of Law",Thomas Barham filed with the Court.  

The company that blew up the liquor industry in Mississippi earlier this year might be facing the music in federal court.  U.S. District Judge James Maxwell dismissed Ruan Transport Inc.'s motion to dismiss after a Mexican restaurant sued to recover lost revenue and profits. 

Some people are always just mad at everyone and everything.  Exhibit A: Last week's meeting of the Jackson City Council. 

 Sometimes, being in the top fifty is not a good thing.  Exhibit A. 

 Jackson Area Federal Credit Union is officially no more.   Five Star Federal Credit Union notified customers yesterday: 

 Flunking out of college may have been the best career move I ever made. I would have had a hard time selling that theory to my mother at the time, and I certainly didn’t offer it as an option to my children. But it got me into the restaurant business.

The Christa Pike botched execution debacle in Tennessee raises a question that has persisted since the U.S. corrections system began seeking a more “humane” and sanitized method for the state to exact the ultimate punishment on criminals.

 AgComm issued the following press release.

Senior American Day at the Mississippi State Fair will be held on Wednesday, October 14, inside the Coliseum. The doors will open at 8:00 a.m. This annual event is open to all ages, with activities especially geared toward senior citizens. 

 State Bean-Counter Shad White issued the following statement. 

A witness claims there was nothing Nathan Rhinewalt could have done to avoid a deadly boating crash that took place on the Rez last month.   

 Well, well, well, look at who's coming to Brandon next year.  What will the crotches who complain about Bro Country, Lil Wayne, and 80 year old bands say now? 

 Meanwhile over on Monument Street last week..... 

 So what will Justis Gibbs' big announcement be? 

 Ag Commish Andrew Gipson issued the following schedule for today and tomorrow at the Mississippi State Fair. 

 Attorney General Lynn Fitch took a break from prosecuting cops to issue the following statement. 

Bring the kids.  We got entertainment for the whole family.  

 Ridgeland Police Chief Bryan Myers issued the following statement. 

 Posted below are the schedules for Monday and Tuesday's events at the Mississippi State Fair. 

Our bumbling Public Works Director is at it again as he delays more road projects. Actually, he is not at it again and that's the problem. The Northside Sun reported: 

"What price the crown of a King on his throne When you're chained in the dark all alone?" Cask of Amontillado by the Alan Parsons Project. 

Cornell alumnus Bill Maher made his feelings about Greek life pretty clear Friday night. 

 JPD issued the following statement. 

Ag Commish Andy Gipson issued the following press release. 

Commissioner Gipson invites Mississippians and visitors from across the region to attend the 167th Mississippi State Fair and enjoy entertainment and special events Sunday, October 11, through Monday, October 12, at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.

He was a leader of a synagogue who probably trucked with the Pharisees and Saducees.  Knew his law backwards and forwards.  Yet when his daughter fell deathly ill, he found all the fancy rules and incantations meant nothing.  Betrayed by what he knew, he fell back on one simple thing: faith.  Reaching out to Christ, preached the late Dr. Frank Pollard, Jairus begged him heal his daughter as she passed away.  Passed away she did but his faith brought her back to life.  Enjoy the 1998 sermon posted below as Dr. Pollard discusses the beauty of faith.  

 The first in a series on a fascinating yet troubling discussion with ChatGPT:

 Sometimes, the good cat wins a round.   Check out this Darwin Award winner.  

Correction: The post misidentified Hudson as a Laurel City Councilman.  Hudson ran for City Council but was never election.  My fault.  I half-assed wrote the post while watching College Gameday. 

A crybaby community activist will be crying some more after the Mississippi Court of Appeals kicked him to the curb last week. 

 In any war ‘why’ is always disputed between warring parties. As the oldest nation on earth, Israel is recognized as being involved in more wars than any other nation. Israel became a nation when God appointed Moses to lead His people out of captivity in Egypt. The ‘why’ in this war was obvious: Pharoah wanted to keep the children of Israel as slaves. God wanted to lead the children of Israel to the land He had promised to Abram, the progenitor of the race of Abraham. 

 Some bad ideas are never forgotten.  WLBT reported: 

Things got wild at a Northeast Jackson nightclub this week. 

Can't get a good man? The Clarion-Ledger offered great advice on how to do so back in 1940.  

 Hinds Junior College is closing the 18-hole Eagle Ridge golf course. President Dr. Stephen Vacik announced on Facebook: 

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.