Jackson Jambalaya

Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler sparred with the Madison County Board of Supervisors over the Parkway East and Parkway South bailouts two weeks ago. Madison County made two bond payments in 2011 of $258,328 on May 11 for the Parkway South and $374,021 on October 24 for the Parkway East Public Improvement Districts after they sent a notice of default. The two PID's sold nearly $40 million in bonds to finance construction of the Galleria Parkway. The Mayor questioned the legality of the Supervisors making the bond payments for the Parkway East and South public improvement districts. Needless to say, supervisors and their attorneys did not agree with her assessment of the bailout.



Board attorney Mike Espy said the payments were legal because they are a loan. The Madison County Journal reported last week: "Board of Supervisors Attorney Mike Espy called the payment a short-term loan to the PIDs and said if not repaid after two years the county has the "probability and certainly the ability to step back" and terminate the contribution agreements unless the PIDs reimburse the county."

Mr. Espy repeatedly called the bailout a loan. He said it was legal for the county to make loans under the contribution agreement. Former board attorney Eric Hamer said the bondholders would sue the county if the payments were not made. Just one problem with Mr. Espy's assertions. He can call this bailout a loan all day but the payments posted below were made directly to Hancock Bank from Madison County. Hancock Bank is the paying agent for the bonds. Earlier post on whether payments were a loan.

The contribution agreement Mr. Espy cites did not say anything about a loan but instead said "the county shall advance to the trustee the outstanding amount required to satisfy the deficient debt service payment" (Page 3 of the Parkway East contribution agreement.). Issuing statement

It does not matter if the bailouts are a "loan" anyway because the Mississippi Code had something to say about counties making bond payments for PIDs last year:

"The issuance of bonds under the provisions of this chapter shall not directly, indirectly or contingently obligate the state or any governmental unit of the state to levy any taxes or to make any appropriation for their payment arising out of contracts authorized under this chapter."

"Any appropriation". Expenditure. Spending. Outlay. Grant. Even Loan. It doesn't matter what term is used, paying for those bonds is a spending of money on behalf of the PID and was banned by Section 19-31-29. Even though the law was changed this year to permit counties to make bond payments under contribution agreements, the new law is not retroactive. It is the contention of this website the 2011 payments were illegal as the law banned all appropriations for making bond payments on behalf of PIDs.

Mr. Espy argues they are legal because the agreement did not obligate the "full faith and credit" of the county. He also says Section 19-31-17 allows the PID to obtain revenue from "all sources". However, no one is disputing the ability of Parkway East and Parkway South to receive money from the county. The issue is what does Section 19-31-29 say about PID bailouts and it makes it clear the county can not spend any money on bond payments for PIDs. Thus the contribution agreement and the 2011 bond payments were a direct violation of the law at the time.

Earlier posts:
Are bond payments illegal
More on the Parkway bond payments. Its not a loan
Editorial: No tax increase for Madison County

Note: One interesting observation. Board President John Bell Crosby voted against the tax increase but was mighty silent. Here is a good piece of advice to the Board President. If you're going to vote against tax increases, then you better lead the fight against them if you want to win your little election next year. Just saying you voted for it won't be enough. Madison is not Jackson.

If you didn't see Felix's record-setting jump today. Here it is.



Simply amazing.

Saturday Night Live broadcast its take on the Vice-Presidential debate last night:

Politico published a long story a week ago on some changes in the Romney campaign. Interesting piece and they are not really changes but a changing of levels of influence. Some excerpts:

"For months, Ann Romney and her eldest son, Tagg, were dutifully supportive of the political professionals running Mitt Romney’s campaign. All the while, their private frustration was mounting.

Shortly before the first debate, it finally boiled over.

What followed was a family intervention. The candidate’s family prevailed on Mitt Romney, and the campaign operation, to shake things up dramatically, according to campaign insiders. The family pushed for a new message, putting an emphasis on a softer and more moderate image for the GOP nominee — a “let Mitt be Mitt” approach they believed more accurately reflected the looser, generous and more approachable man they knew.

Chief strategist Stuart Stevens — whom the family held responsible for allowing Romney’s personal side to be obscured by an anti-Obama economic message — has seen his once wide-ranging portfolio “fenced in” to mainly the debates, and the television advertising that is his primary expertise, according to campaign officials. Tagg Romney, channeling his mother’s wishes, is taking a much more active role in how the campaign is run.

The family rebellion, long building despite Mitt Romney’s initial reluctance to change, reached a climax in September, amid mounting evidence that the status quo was doomed to failure. The course correction came after internal polls showed him losing nearly every swing state and a loud chorus of second-guessing among prominent conservatives....

This story is based on campaign sources with direct knowledge of the events. The sources insisted on anonymity in order to discuss internal disputes and operations.

When the history of this campaign is written, the family intervention will be among the most important turning points in the Romney saga. Until the weeks before the first presidential debate, the candidate sided with Stevens over his family’s skepticism, accepting the strategist’s view that the best way to win was to point out President Barack Obama’s flaws and articulate generic promises to do better....." Article

Circuit Judge Richard McKenzie (Retired) denied Hinds County Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves' request to be placed on the November ballot. Ms. Graves filed her qualifying papers with the Chancery Clerk one day after the deadline. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors refused to place her on the ballot after receiving an opinion from the Attorney General stating she had not qualified for the race on time. Here is the ruling:

Here are the latest crime stats:

Jackson crime stats for week ending September 16, 2012.

Jackson crimes overview for week ending September 16, 2012 .

August 2012 report for the Reservoir area

City of Madison crime reports through October 9, 2012.

Byram crime reports through September 29, 2012.

You read the headline correctly. Obama campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the only reason Libya was an issue was because of Romney:



STEPHANIE CUTTER: In terms of the politicization of this — you know, we are here at a debate, and I hope we get to talk about the debate — but the entire reason this has become the political topic it is, is because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. It’s a big part of their stump speech. And it’s reckless and irresponsible what they’re doing.

BROOKE BALDWIN: But, Stephanie, this is national security. As we witnessed this revolution last year, we covered it–

CUTTER: It is absolutely national security–

BALDWIN: –it is absolutely pertinent. People in the American public absolutely have a right to get answers.

Romney had something to say about that:



MITT ROMNEY: I think today we got another indication of how President Obama and his campaign fail to grasp the seriousness of the challenge that we face here in America. His campaign said this today about the Benghazi terrorist attack—they said this, and I quote, “The entire reason this has become the political topic it is, is because of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.” No, President Obama, it’s an issue because this is the first time in 33 years that an United States ambassador has been assassinated. Mr. President, this is an issue because we were attacked successfully by terrorists on the anniversary of 9/11. President Obama, this is an issue because Americans wonder why it was it took so long for you and your administration to admit that this was a terrorist attack. This is a very serious issue. These are very serious questions and the American people deserve serious answers and I hope they come soon.

Then Ms. Cutter doubled down:



No, Miss Cutter, it wasn't Romney who asked for security and didn't get it. It wasn't Romney who denied requests from security teams to stay in Libya. It wasn't Romney who went on every single sunday morning news show and said it was a mob outraged by a Youtube video no one ever saw. It wasn't Romney who went on David Letterman and blamed videos. It wasn't Romney who said it was an angry mob when the cameras showed there was no mob. It wasn't Romney who waited several weeks to send an FBI team to examine the consulate in Libya. It wasn't Romney who decided to go party with Jay-Z or fund-raise in Vegas while this was going down. It wasn't Romney who basically called the Libyan President a liar when he said it was a terrorist act and there was no mob. Meanwhile the NBC reporterette tried to badger him into admitting it was a mob outraged by a video to no avail. In fact, the only people pushing the angry mob that couldn't handle Youtube was the Obama administration yet its all Romney's fault.

What the Obama administration SHOULD have done was say "we don't know what happened in Libya, we are investigating and trying to find out what happened. When we do, we will take action and bring these terrorists to justice. We want to thank the Libyan government for helping us and will provide you more information as it becomes available." That's it. Nice, simple, professional.

The Obama administration for whatever reason freaked and pushed the Arab Street angle knowing it was a lie. Now they are trying to blame the intelligence community i.e. Petraeus and Panetta. Good luck with that one. There is more to come out on this story and it won't be pretty. The last thing the Obama people need during a re-election campaign is "Obama lied after his ambassador died" but he is going to get it at the rate this is going.

Local columnist and former speechwriter Brian Perry came on the radio show yesterday to discuss the presidential debates. Boards lit up the whole hour. Click on this post to listen to the show.

Going to live-blog the debate tonight. I don't expect either candidate to crush the other. Get Joe off the stump and into a more controlled setting, he tends to do better. Ryan will know his facts well to take it and give it right back. If Ryan's age is brought up, he should just say his age was fine when Clinton or Obama were elected. When someone is expected to crush the other in a debate, the reverse usually happens. Think Perot-Gore and Kemp-Gore. Just opened the wine. This should be fun. Good luck to both sides. We all want the same thing: Saturday Night Live to get some really good material tonight.

Time to get started.

Biden kicks off. Let the games begin and we who are about to die salute you. DAMN. Starts off with Libya. Biden calls this a tragedy? No, a tragedy is an illness, natural disaster, a wreck, not an act of war. Biden gets off Libya quickly and moves on to other foreign policy attacking Romney. Wonder if Ryan will say "I don't blame him for getting off the subject so quickly". Ryan's turn. Going through the timeline and slamming them on using the Youtube excuse. Wonder if Donna Ladd will say he is lying. Damn. Ryan asks if we should have the Marines in Libya. Joe flashes that goofy grin. Biden keeps smiling. and almost laughing. Not smart. People see Americans dying in Libya and have a bunch of questions after seeing the stories change daily. Last thing they want to see is laughter or grins.

"Bet against America all the time"? First real punch Biden throws. Get ready. It will be like this all night. Biden now blaming the intel community and saying "we weren't told they wanted more security"? Moderator says that's enough, lets move to Iran. One guy is being serious, one guy is laughing on camera. Biden says the sanctions are the most crippling ever. True or a Biden um, "truth"? Biden explaining the nuclear process. Sounds more like an expert now. He should stay like this all night. Both are making good points here. I'm going to call the Iran part a draw. Now Biden is mocking him while Ryan is talking. Not a good idea. Ryan giving him a pass on sanctions. Yes, the sanctions cripple Iran BUT the Republican Guard and the Ayatollahs are just fine just like the elite in North Korea are. Doesn't make that point. Now on to the economy.

How long will it take to get unemployment under six percent? Dumb question. I'm sure there is a timeline for such things. Every stock analyst would love to predict that one. Biden FINALLY brings up the 47%. Now he is defending the common man and showing outrage towards Romney. Um, Grover Norquist? Joe, most Americans won't know who he is. Damn. Biden just attacked him. Clearly rehearsed but made his points. And now undoing it with that stupid mocking grin. Ryan jabs back with current economic facts. OH DAMN. Ryan brought up Romney's giving to Obama's and Biden. Surprised he went there. It just got personal. Oh boy, now we are comparing personal giving and tragedies. Was hoping we wouldn't go here.

Biden getting him good on asking for stimulus money for constituents. Ryan has a problem here and Biden is going to get his money here. Ryan is not answering that directly besides saying "we do it for all constituents". Ryan better get control here or else it gets away from him. Score this one for Biden. Now on to Medicare and health care.

Joe showing off the pearly whites while Ryan talks again. Not smart. Joe going after the $716 billion claim. Everyone at MSNBC finally yelling "ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!" Medicare does NOT go insolvent in 2016. Will Ryan get him there? Where would their money be if in the market? Um Joe, the market came back. Joe keeps cutting him off. Ryan needs to just confront him. He just did. Ryan needs to stand up to Biden more. Biden keeps trying to cut him off and take over the debate. Ryan should just stop him completely and say "Mr. Vice-President, you are better than that and the American people expect better from you." Street fighter in Joe comes out, Ryan comes off a little wonkish.

Time for taxes. Biden makes predictable argument. Millionaires contribute more. Spare the middle class, etc. Ryan makes good point about how money of "the rich" can only pay for so much. Ryan spouting numbers while Biden spouts cliches on taxes. Biden wanting to show off his teeth so bad yup, he did it again. Moderator tells Ryan he refuses to release specifics about tax plan. Ryan being vague here. Ryan could point out he wants to imitate what the Dems and R's did in 1986 with the bi-partisan tax reform act. Biden uses Reagan against Ryan. Nice move. Now uses hedge funds against Ryan. Not bad. Now he brings up capital gains "loophole". Opening their for Ryan but will he use it? Your Iphone was paid for with capital gains tax cuts for example. Now tries to scare people with losing the housing deduction. "Now your'e Jack Kennedy", Ryan, use Reagan's line and say exactly, you left the regular people by going to the left." Biden is going to blow this with his unprofessional behavior. He did a much better job debating Palin. Time for defense and Afghanistan.

Biden finally brings up Osama Bin Laden. Soberly defends policy of withdrawal in 2014. This is Biden at his best. Ryan says they want the "transition" to be successful but says foreign policy is unraveling overseas. Doesn't point out the Afghan soldiers turning on us. However, she brings it up. Biden really missing it here on Iraq, deadline made things worse, the surge cured it. How much longer will we spend on Afghanistan? She has now control of the debate. Gloves are off. He tried to mix it up with Biden but Biden got ahead on that one.

Now on to Syria. Biden starts out strong with his area and gives specific information on Syria itself. Good point: Last thing America needs is a ground war in the Middle East. America is war weary and he knows it and doesn't mind playing to it. I'm calling this one a draw so far. They both got their jabs in. Ryan trying to have serious debate. Biden does at times, but then ruins it with bouts of unpresidential behavior.

Abortion? Red meat for the bases. Ryan says oppose abortion with exceptions for rape and life of mother. Now moves to freedom of religion argument and plays to the Catholic vote. Ironic as both are Catholics. Biden points out he is a Catholic and how it influences his doctrine. Biden says he is pro-life personally but refuses to impose it on others and says politically he is pro-choice. Now take up the "assault on the Catholic Church". Says the Church is not forced to pay for or provide contraception. Opening for Ryan but now attempts to drive wedge between Romney and Ryan. Ryan goes back to Catholic Church. "Why would they keep suing you"? Oops, moderator cuts in, um yeah. Biden now uses Supreme Court appointments here. Interesting. Usually its the Republicans who use Supreme Court appointments as a campaign issue. Now for the close.

Moderator brings up negative tone of campaign and asks if they are embarrassed. You first, Joe. This debate is going like I expected. Close to a draw. Nice close by Ryan. Now comes the fear tactics by Biden. Good time to use it when response time is limited. Ryan finally has enough and jumps in. Moderator stops him, something she didn't do when Biden did it repeatedly.

Closing time. Ryan brings up "honesty". Joe whines about who gets more time. Biden makes closing statements while looking awar from the camera most of the time. He says he is "frustrated" over the 47% comments and now brings in his mom and dad. Ryan states economic numbers and goes to the "things are not working theme." One goes for personal anecdotes, one goes for logic and economics.

Hmmm.... who won this one? Draw. Biden muddied the waters a good bit with his claims and at times very unprofessional behavior. Ryan made good points and got jabs in but didn't have good answers for several points Biden made such as the stimulus grants. Biden had a minute or so more time than Ryan. Yes, the moderator interrupted Ryan more than Biden but Ryan didn't stand up to Ryan as much as he could have either. Sometimes you just have to try and take over, something Biden understood all too well but then ruined it. Ryan came off as a very serious person, not an out of control ideologue as the Democrats would like to paint him to be. I think Biden is going to take a beating tomorrow over Libya comments. Prediction: little effect on the race.

Attorney Precious Martin and Hinds County Constable Jerry Moore will try to seal a lawsuit filed them in federal court today. Attorney Precious Martin and Ricky McClinton filed a motion to seal the case in the complaint filed against them in U.S. District Court last week. The motion also accuses attorney Dennis Sweet of possible "unethical and illegal conduct." Precious Martin, Ricky McClinton, attorney James Bobo, and Hinds County Constable Jerry Moore are defendants in the lawsuit. Attorney Chuck McRae represents the defendants. Earlier post with copy of complaint

Judge Linda Anderson scheduled the hearing today at 2:00 PM. The hearing was scheduled last week as a telephonic conference (common in federal court). This correspondent asked the court if I could listen to the teleconference as it is a public hearing. Judge Anderson ruled she would hear the motions in open court today since the media made the request. Copy of motion to strike/seal, Supporting Memorandum for motion to seal, Response to motion to strike, Separate motion to seal case

Attorney Dennis Sweet filed the complaint on July 2 on behalf of Renetta Vance Howard and Veionisia Vance. Renetta is the mother of Kyuena Vance. Kyuena Vance was killed in May. She and Shyeuna Vance stopped to help a disabled motorist on Highway 80. A vehicle slammed into the disabled vehicle, killing Kyuena. She left behind three children that had three different fathers. Ms. Howard filed a petition for guardianship of the three children on behalf of the grandmother and three fathers.

The plaintiffs alleged in the complaint Attorneys Precious Martin and James Bobo repeatedly contacted Ricky McClinton in an effort to represent his daughter in the wrongful death action. Mr. McClinton then filed a petition for guardianship in Hinds County Chancery Court. He was represented by Precious Martin and James Bobo. The complaint states Mr. Martin filed another petition for guardianship for Mr. McClinton. The child was living with Ms. Howard.

The complaint states Chancellor Dewayne Thomas signed an order granting guardianship to Mr. McClinton. The plaintiff alleges Mr. McClinton, Constable Moore, and a John Doe went to Ms. Howard's home in Bolton to get the child after meeting with Mr. Martin. Ms. Howard refused to let them in the home. Mr. Moore called the Hinds County Sheriff's office for back-up (JJ confirmed this but was told they were responding to a back-up call. They had no idea what was the reason for the call.). They allege the constable kicked open the door, took the child, and handed her to Ricky McClinton who then left with her. Mr. Sweet argues there was no valid warrant nor a valid court order awarding custody as the court order issued by Judge Thomas only established a guardianship.

The complaint states Mr. Moore searched the home and Veionisia was arrested and charged with marijuana possession. The complaint states Mr. McClinton has been arrested at various times and that giving him custody is not "in the best interest of the child." Some of the alleged charges are domestic violence, gun possession, and drug possession. Mr. Martin asked the court to seal an exhibit filed by the plaintiffs. The exhibit contains various arrest reports and affidavits made against Mr. McClinton. The exhibit does not contain any convictions and it is important to note no convictions are mentioned in the complaint. The defendants point out there are no convictions in their memorandum in support of the motion to strike mentioned later in this post. Earlier post with affidavits and complaints

Brett Baier on Fox presented this timeline of events in Libya and America since 2011. Not too flattering. Its eleven minutes long.



If it doesn't play, this is the link. Apparently the embed is not working so give me awhile and I'll Youtube it. Its a 2 GB file so its going to take me awhile to download and upload. In the meantime, here is a clip from O'Reilly last night. First five minutes presents many of the same facts.

The FBI announced the indictment and arrests of four local individuals for stealing $23,000 and seven Ipads from a hotel room. The FBI alleges they thought they were ripping off drug dealers from out of state. The name of one of them will ring a bell to long-time readers of this website: Kent Daniels.

Yup. The same investigator that was involved in the Heather Spencer case, Elicia Hughes case, and was busted with drugs back in 2000 while at JPD. Those arrested are:

George Hilliard, age 43, Kingsbridge Road, Madison, MS, was taken into custody at the FBI office in Jackson, MS;

Zack Robinson, age 45, a deputy with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested at his residence in Jackson, MS; (Sheriff Tyrone Lewis said he is on administrative leave without pay pending the resolution of this case.)

Kent Daniels, age 44, of Byram, MS, a former Jackson Police Officer and investigator for the Hinds County District Attorney, was arrested in Jackson; and

Watson Lee Jackson, Jr., age 42, a former deputy with the Madison County Sheriff’s office, was arrested at his residence in Ridgeland, MS.

The FBI press release states:

"As part of the conspiracy, the defendants would discuss how to steal cash from drug dealers traveling into Mississippi from other states.

On September 30, 2011, Robinson, Daniels and Jackson drove to a hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi, to steal personal property from individuals they believed to be drug dealers traveling to Mississippi from other states. Robinson entered the hotel room and took a bag containing approximately $23,000. Also on September 30, 2011, Hilliard, Robinson, Daniels and Jackson did steal and knowingly convert to their own use the money in the bag and seven (7) iPads belonging to the United States.

The defendants made their initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Keith Ball. Each subject was released on a $10,000 bond and trial was set for December 3, 2012. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of fifteen (15) years in prison and a $500,000 fine."

Then there is the matter of Kent Daniels. Kent Daniels was the subject of a 2008 post after his named kept appearing in several controversial cases. I wrote in an earlier post concerning the first assault on Heather Spencer:

"The police reports states she had 57 staples ( 3 rows), a finger splint, a spring wrap on her wrist, and that he tried to strangle her. Ms. Spencer also states in the report she had a fracture.... It is at this point several questions about JPD's conduct are raised. The charge was reduced to Simple Domestic Violence, a misdemeanor, by Detective Daniels."

Detective Daniels next appeared in the Elicia Hughes trial where he decided to "interview" female subjects in the case at Red Lobster. Frank Melton then assigned him to be a "bodyguard" for District Attorney Robert Schuler Smith. He is reportedly now working as an investigator for attorney Precious Martin.

Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning spoke to Mississippians last Thursday at Gov. Bryant's Energy Summit. He made many effective arguments for the Kemper plant -- except for the one that matters: Cheap electric bills for those Mississippians who have to pay for the plant.



Halfway through minute 12 of the video Fanning begins to talk about Kemper. He says...."Rest of the article at Bigger Pie Forum

This post is paid content.

Balancing the needs of a multi-generational blended family with your own wishes can be a complicated task, especially when it comes to estate planning. Since many Americans marry more than once, it is a challenge that will come to many.

Even when blended family members get along, estate planning can be complicated. The potential for acrimony among family members can be so great that some people choose to avoid addressing the issue of who will inherit what altogether. However, as any estate planning attorney will tell you, having no plan is not a good plan.

Overall, an effective estate plan for a blended family will ensure that:
*Any ex-spouses do not inherit;
*Your own children are protected;
*Your current spouse is provided for;
*Any estate taxes are minimized.

Estate plans are as individualistic as the families they cover, so it is always advisable to consult with an expert before finalizing your plan. Although there are a plethora of online resources and books on the subject, estate planning for the blended family does not make a good do-it-yourself project.

A Personal Family Lawyer can provide you with the individual attention you need to create an estate plan for your blended family. If you’d like to learn more about estate planning for blended families, call our office right away to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

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This post is a paid advertisement by Pamela Hancock, Attorney at Law.

Santelli and Liesman go at it yesterday on CNBC over the jobs numbers in this video.

Going to have Brian Perry on the show to discuss the presidential race and debates. 8:05 AM. You can stream it on the Tunein Radio app for Iphone, Android, and Blackberry.

The CEO of Southern Power spoke at the Energy Summit last week. Want to guess the one topic he never mentioned? The video is below.



Clue: It starts with a "K".

Apologies for the poor quality of the video. Had to shoot from a platform at the back of the room.

Treasurer Lynn Fitch holding a fundraiser in Oxford:

Here is more reaction on MSNBC on the presidential debate last week:

This video is pretty funny. Attorney Mark Brand, representing the Devineys, opposed the expansion of the Faircloth landfill last week at the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. Yup, the owners of this

The Clarion-Ledger published a foreclosure notice on Metrocenter Mall in the newspaper today. The creditor is First Credit Bank of Los Angeles, California and the debtor is Jackson Metrocenter Mall, LTD, a Texas corporation. The foreclosure does not affect several properties as they are owned by other entities. Belks is owned by Retrometro. The city of Jackson owns the former Dillards building. The Sears and Burlington stores are owned by the tenants. The notice states:

"UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE ARTICLE 9 FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that First Credit Bank ("Secured Creditor") will offer for sale at public outcry, for cash or immediately available funds via federal wire, to the highest bidder the Collateral (as defined below), pursuant to its rights as a Secured Creditor under a Promissory Note, Commercial Security Agreement, and Deed of Trust, all dated February 16, 2005 and as amended on June 16, 2009, and as further amended effective November 16, 2010 ("Loan Documents"), executed by Jackson Metrocenter Mall, Ltd., a Texas limited partnership, ("Debtor"), and applicable law, and will sell within the legal hours of 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 2012, at the main North door of the County Courthouse in the First Judicial District of Hinds County, City of Jackson, State of Mississippi. Debtor owns the Collateral located on, in, or around, or related to Debtor's business conducted on real property commonly known as "Metrocenter Mall" located at 1395 Metrocenter, Jackson, Mississippi 39206 (the "Business"). Debtor has good and valid title to the Collateral, subject to the first priority perfected security interest of the Secured Creditor. The Debtor has defaulted under the terms of the Loan Documents. Pursuant to its rights as a Secured Creditor under the Loan Documents executed by the Debtor, and applicable law, the Secured Creditor will sell at public auction for cash, free and clear of its lien, but without further warranties of any kind, the following Collateral: All of the personal property of Debtor, located on the real property commonly known as "Metrocenter Mall" located at 1395 Metrocenter, Jackson, Mississippi 39206, and more particularly described on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, and whether now owned or hereafter acquired, including: a. fixtures; b. furnishings; c. equipment; d. accounts; e. general intangibles; f. instruments; g. contracts; h. agreements; i. rents; j. monies; k. payments; l. all other rights related to the Collateral. All of the above described personal property is referred to herein as the "Collateral." Each item described above shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the U.C.C. As provided in the U.C.C., the Collateral shall include the supporting obligations, proceeds and products of each item listed. Also included in the definition are all accessions, attachments, accessories, parts, replacements, substitutions of, and additions to any of the items listed above, whether added now or later, and all records and data relating to any item described in this Collateral section, whether in the form of a writing, photograph, microfilm, microfiche, or electronic media, together with all of Debtor's right, title and interest in and to all computer software required to utilize, create, maintain and process any such record or data on electronic media. Debtor may request from Secured Party an accounting of the unpaid indebtedness under the Loan Documents. Secured Party shall provide such accounting upon request at a reasonable cost to be paid by Debtor. Dated: October 1, 2012 First Credit Bank Secured Creditor by and through Counsel Suzanna Baker Neill Bryant Wells, Moore, Simmons & Edwards, PLLC 4450 Old Canton Road, Suite 200 Jackson, MS 39211 Contact: Neill Bryant Phone: 601-354-5400 Fax: 601-355-5850 Email: bryant@wellsmoore.com Publication Dates: October 8, 2012 October 15, 2012 October 22, 2012 October 29, 2012 EXHIBIT "A" TRACT ONE SURVEY DESCRIPTION A certain lot of parcel of land lying and being situated in the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, being known as the Metrocenter Mall, and being more particularly described as follows, to-wit: ....."

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 last week to reject the application for expansion filed by Faircloth for its landfill off of Springridge Road. The boardroom was packed as over 100 people attended the public hearing for the application. Here is the video of the entire hearing.



What was sad to watch was the battle of the preachers. Yup, each side went and grabbed a preacher to speak out about the landfill at the hearing. I wonder what thee Good Lord did when two of his devoted ministers both prayed to him for completely opposite results.

Speaker of the House Philip Gunn begins his Idea Tour Monday at the state capital in Jackson. The Speaker's press release stated:

Suggestions Rolling in for Speaker Gunn’s Ideas Tour

Jackson, MS—Ideas ranging from healthcare to education reform have already been streaming in to the Speaker of the House Philip Gunn’s office in anticipation of Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas Tour. The circuit of meetings kicks off Monday, October 8, at the State Capitol in Jackson.

As a non-partisan town hall style series of meetings, Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas Tour is a forum for all Legislators, citizens and the press to attend. People are encouraged to bring suggestions they may have on issues they would like to see addressed in future sessions. Ideas may also be submitted through the Speaker’s website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

“We are pleased with the response we have had so far to Mississippi Solutions,” said Gunn. “Mississippians are vested in their state and its future. The goal of these stops is to incorporate Mississippians’ voices into the solutions we lawmakers work on each session.”

Through bipartisan committee chair appointments, Speaker Gunn created a functional House of Representatives in his first session as Speaker. The House Redistricting map was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. Business-friendly legislation was passed, along with many other laws that focused on education, healthcare and keeping Mississippi within its budgetary means. Legislators finished the 2012 Legislative Session 10 days early, saving Mississippians more than $350,000.

Each meeting will last one hour and 15 minutes.

Monday, October 8

9:00 a.m.—Jackson, Capitol, Rm. 113
1:00 p.m.—Greenwood, Downtown, City Council Room
4:30 p.m.—Hernando, City Courtroom

Tuesday, October 9

9:00 a.m.—Tupelo, Tupelo City Hall, City Council Chambers, Second Floor
1:30 p.m.—Columbus, City Hall, Main Street
5:00 p.m.—Meridian, City Hall, Third Floor

Thursday, October 11

9:00 a.m.—Hattiesburg, Cultural Center, Main Street
1:30 p.m.—Biloxi, City Hall

Friday, October 12

10:00 a.m.—Brookhaven, State Room, State Bank and Trust

To submit your ideas for Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas tour, please visit www.philipgunn.org, Facebook @PhilipGunnMS and Twitter @PhilipGunnMS.

Speaker of the House Philip Gunn begins his Idea Tour Monday at the state capital in Jackson. The Speaker's press release stated:

Suggestions Rolling in for Speaker Gunn’s Ideas Tour

Jackson, MS—Ideas ranging from healthcare to education reform have already been streaming in to the Speaker of the House Philip Gunn’s office in anticipation of Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas Tour. The circuit of meetings kicks off Monday, October 8, at the State Capitol in Jackson.

As a non-partisan town hall style series of meetings, Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas Tour is a forum for all Legislators, citizens and the press to attend. People are encouraged to bring suggestions they may have on issues they would like to see addressed in future sessions. Ideas may also be submitted through the Speaker’s website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

“We are pleased with the response we have had so far to Mississippi Solutions,” said Gunn. “Mississippians are vested in their state and its future. The goal of these stops is to incorporate Mississippians’ voices into the solutions we lawmakers work on each session.”

Through bipartisan committee chair appointments, Speaker Gunn created a functional House of Representatives in his first session as Speaker. The House Redistricting map was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. Business-friendly legislation was passed, along with many other laws that focused on education, healthcare and keeping Mississippi within its budgetary means. Legislators finished the 2012 Legislative Session 10 days early, saving Mississippians more than $350,000.

Each meeting will last one hour and 15 minutes.

Monday, October 8

9:00 a.m.—Jackson, Capitol, Rm. 113
1:00 p.m.—Greenwood, Downtown, City Council Room
4:30 p.m.—Hernando, City Courtroom

Tuesday, October 9

9:00 a.m.—Tupelo, Tupelo City Hall, City Council Chambers, Second Floor
1:30 p.m.—Columbus, City Hall, Main Street
5:00 p.m.—Meridian, City Hall, Third Floor

Thursday, October 11

9:00 a.m.—Hattiesburg, Cultural Center, Main Street
1:30 p.m.—Biloxi, City Hall

Friday, October 12

10:00 a.m.—Brookhaven, State Room, State Bank and Trust

To submit your ideas for Mississippi Solutions—an Ideas tour, please visit www.philipgunn.org, Facebook @PhilipGunnMS and Twitter @PhilipGunnMS.

The Clarion-Ledger called on Hinds County District 3 Election Commissioner Jermel Clark to resign:

"The Hinds County absentee ballot fiasco is an unforgivable dereliction of duty that should result in a change of leadership on the election commission at the very least.

State law says the responsibility for ensuring absentee ballots are produced on time falls to the chairman of the county election commission. For Hinds County, that is District 3 Election Commissioner Jermal Clark. After eight years as an election commissioner, his admission that he doesn’t know how to operate the software required to complete the ballots is shocking. His excuse of never having received training doesn’t cut it. It’s his own fault for not ensuring he received the proper training well before the deadline for absentee ballots to be printed. He is, after all, the commission chairman.

The Hinds County Election Commission allowed internal strife and egos to get in the way of sufficiently serving voters. In-fighting and childish behavior has made a mockery of democracy in Hinds County, and they should all be ashamed.

Below Clark’s name on the list of those who should be held responsible is District 4 Elections Commissioner Connie Cochran. Her conduct before the Hinds County Board of Supervisors earlier this week was abysmal. Calling a fellow commissioner “too dumb to do the ballot” during a public meeting is uncalled for.

More inexcusable is the fact that she refused to show Clark how to produce the ballots. Her objection to doing so was over the order candidate names would appear on the ballot. In the past, the names appeared in alphabetical order. Clark wanted the names to appear by party, with Democrats first, Republicans second and other parties last. Cochran said she would only show Clark how to do the ballots if he listed candidate names alphabetically.

While we agree that the names should be listed alphabetically, it’s clearly more important that people be allowed to vote. Cochran’s stubbornness in this situation was unwarranted and has contributed to this travesty. She should be ashamed, and she should publicly apologize to the voters she failed....

The Hinds County Election Commission has a long, sad history of unprofessional behavior. Clark has been the root of much of the conflict on the commission, so in some way he brought this on himself. That said, this failure belongs to every member.

At this point, a brand new slate of election commissioners is exactly what Hinds County needs. Short of that, Clark should resign as chairman of the commission. He has failed, and he does not deserve the leadership position he holds." Editorial

The Democratic Party issued a press release criticizing the Election Commission as well:

"The Failure of the Hinds County Election Commission is a Disgrace

JACKSON--"The news that military ballots and absentee ballots have not been available for ten days, despite the clear requirements of state law, is disappointing. However, given the history of the Hinds County Elections Commission, it is unfortunately not surprising" said Jacqueline Amos-Norris, Chairperson of the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee. "The same commission that has spent months vigorously purging voters and moving voters to the inactive rolls and the same commission that routinely botches the conduct of elections, has once again failed to meet the federally-mandated deadline to provide absentee ballots to our military and other voters. When will the Hinds County Elections Commissioners demonstrate some basic level of competence? This inexcusable failure diminishes public confidence in our elections, and has the practical effect of suppressing voter turnout and impeding qualified voters from exercising their constitutional right to vote. We demand that the state and/or federal governments step in and force the Hinds County Elections Commission to afford every qualified voter the right to vote, and we insist that every legitimate vote be counted. The incompetence, the infighting and the unprofessionalism must end."

"Looking to the future, we are already researching options to change state and federal law so that failsafe steps can be put into place. These chronic problems must not be allowed to be repeated again and again. The Democrats of Hinds County, and all the voters of our county and state deserve better," Amos-Norris said.""

The Mississippi Supreme Court disbarred Michael J. Brown. I could give you the details but the order does a nice job of spelling out Mr. Brown's transgressions. Here it is.

Mr. Brown currently resides in the Rankin County Jail.

Rudy Giuliani spoke at the Energy Summit yesterday. It's a pretty good speech, with humor mixed in and zingers at the federal government. Here is the video of his speech. Sorry for some of the noise at the beginning as he gave his speech during the luncheon. It improves as the speech continues.

This didn't make the Belhaven newsletter, but it took place the other night and is verified. JPD is told shots fired and takes 15-20 minutes to get there. Nice. Here is the message:

"As a follow up to last weeks email, it appears that a similar incident occurred this a.m. I woke up (around 3 a.m.) to multiple gunshots, a car screeching down my street, and a car alarm going off. Thankfully, a neighbor who heard a girl screaming grabbed his gun and went to help. That's what Belhaven is-a great group of neighbors looking out for, and taking care of, each other."

They called JPD, told them shots fired, etc, long response time. Nice. This is the second such incident in a week. The girl was pinned down on the ground with two guys on her. She got home late, when two guys out of nowhere attacked her. The neighbor fired several shots and they took off. My understanding is he didn't have a completely clear shot.

Had a good time on WJNT yesterday. I opened with a monologue about Jackson Public Schools. The transcript is posted below. Moved on to MPACT, Hinds County, and the Election Commission. Pete Perry called in and we discusses his arrest by Jerry Moore during an Election Commission meeting in August. Yup. Its discusses at the end of the program. I won't spoil the details for you.





Well, the Jackson Public School board is at it once again. They passed a budget this summer for $86 million which included a property tax increase of 2 1/2 mills. That amount wasn't good enough for the new Superintendent. Dr. Gray came back and submitted a budget request of $88 million with yet another tax increase. No one from the school district, from Dr. Gray on down, had the guts to come face the city council and make the request- they sent it over in writing. Such is their contempt for the taxpayers and the extent of their moral cowardice. The city council balked. Didn't matter because the school board then sued the city council last week for the tax increase. The school board said in their complaint filed in court it didn't matter, that under the law they didn't have to provide ANY notice if the increase was under 4 mills. This is what your school board thinks about you. It doesn't matter what the law says, they don't think you, the taxpayers, should have any notice when they decide to raise your taxes and if anyone says otherwise, they'll go out and pay attorney Dorian Turner $200 an hour to get their way.

Then there is Dr. Gray and the new report cards for schools. The legislature changed the law this year and ordered schools and districts to use a grading system of A,B, C, D, F instead of the system of star through failing where everyone was a champion and no one a loser. Unfortunately the $11,000 a month the district pays to attorney Dorian Turner does not her instructing Dr. Gray on what the new law means because he completely ignored it in a video two weeks ago explaining the system's latest ratings. Not once did this master of all things educational mention A, B, C, D, or F in relation to Jackson Public Schools. Not once. Dr. Gray instead referred to them under the old system: star, high performing, successful, academic watch, low performing, at risk of failing, and failing. He didn't stop there. Dr. Gray states in the video: The Mississippi Department of Education "uses seven classifications to rate Mississippi schools". Dr. Gray says (4:14) "there are no schools at risk of failing or failing. This is a drastic and dramatic improvement." In other words folks, Dr. Gray flat out lied to you and did it while wearing a bowtie.


However, the truth is 82% of JPS middle and high schools are rated for "D" or "F" and 45% of all schools rated "D" or "F". Only 3 middle and high schools are "C" and none are "A" or "B". Dr. Gray does not mention anywhere in the video the letter grades for the schools themselves nor the district. Dr. Gray instead states the district is rated "Academic Watch". He says "We are proud of our accomplishments but not proud of our results." The video then scrolls through all of the schools with their ratings under the old system.

The report cards for all schools are:

A: 3
B: 5
C: 16
D: 13
F: 10

Compare reality to what the press release said: JPS has 18 Academic Watch and 11 Low Performing and no schools labeled At Risk of Failing or Failing. Although JPS has no schools labeled as “Failing” or “At Risk of Failing,” the District overall label is “Academic Watch.” What this means is that although JPS experienced improvement in academic achievement, it did not meet the challenge of academic growth

Unbelievable. If this isn't giving the state a big "screw you" I don't know what is. New rating system? What new rating system. This is just more proof the leadership of Jackson Public Schools is out of control. They don't care about you, they don't care about the kids, and they don't care about the future of Jackson. This is all about sweetheart deals and pimping the taxpayers while strutting around in their suits and carrying their ipads. The Board doesn't think you deserve to know when they want to raise taxes, give hundreds of thousands of dollars to their friends while they squander bond issues, or lie to you when they are told how to tell you your schools are really doing. Meanwhile they have no problem selling out your children into the slavery of illiteracy and ignorance. They think nothing of abandoning the children as long as they have their little piece of turf in MIssissippi and if you say anything, they just ignore you or call you a racist.

Well, I'm sick of it. They can pull all of the games they want but they aren't going to do it in the dark as they've been doing for years. I'm going to keep exposing them on this show and on Jackson Jambalaya. The future of this area, the future of these kids, the future of the parents who do care about their children and are stuck in Jackson is simply too important. Keep it up Dr Gray because before too long, we're going to take this away from you. The Republicans aren't stupid. Many democrats in this town aren't stupid. They see what you've become- a rotten carcass that is eating itself into oblivion. The Republicans are going to step in next year and pass a charter school bill and trust me, they will have their eyes squarely on Jackson when they are writing the bills. So enjoy it while it lasts, Dr. Gray. Have fun Dr. Gilmore Love. Enjoy your sweetheart hire, Mr. Sergeant. Because come next year, you're going to become alot less relevant as we take these children away from you and give them what they need: a damn good education under some leadership that actually cares about them.

Here we go.

Lehrer talked a good game. Now lets see if he can deliver. They shake hands, nice to each other. No one dressed up as the statue of liberty throwing out silver dollars.

First question. Right out of the box: jobs. How to create them. Prez goes first. Opened with Happy Anniversary. Obligatory "worst financial crisis since Great Depression". Says we shouldn't look at where we've been but where we're going. Jabs Romney on tax cuts for the wealthy. Predictable. Now Romney up. Nice joke about anniversary. Romney says his plan has five parts: energy, education, free trade, cracking down on China, and helping small business. Ooook. Lehrer refers to trickle-down. bias? Nice play by Obama to bring up corporate tax rate. Clinton was good at co-opting Republican issues. Did Obama just do that in saying they both agree to lower them? Nice comeback by Romney with the "buried" reference. Good job by Romney to go through the problems with the economy. Romney just tripped on the corporate tax rate issue. People love hearing their deductions disappear. Should've mentioned the 1986 tax reform act and Reagan and its success. Romney stressing too much he won't cut taxes too much or for too many people. Obama goes back to the $5 trillion tax cut claim. Now Obama attacking Romney. Obama like Cassius Clay. May be wrong, may be misguided, but he's going to keep coming at ya. Romney blew it here. Mitt, don't say inaccurate, say "not true". They are now getting bogged down in numbers and battles of the studies. Advantage Obama.

What Mitt should've done was bring up all the stimulus programs that didn't work. Cash for clunkers. Stimulus programs that were really bailouts of state governments. Bailout of GM that failed. Homeowner assistance that didn't work. List the others and then say instead he will stop the stimulus, cut the spending and taxes, and let the economy produce. Obama bragging how much he lowered taxes for the middle classes and small businesses yet Romney is letting him get away with it. Dear Obama, those "billionaires and millionaires" who are small business are the ones who HIRE. Will Romney point that out? Yes he did. They employ "half" of those employed in small business. Obama brings up Clinton for growing the economy. Yes he did. With a Republican Congress cutting taxes and limiting the growth of spending. Romney doesn't mention that fact. Obama is dictating the pace and making Romney react. Slight edge to Obama.

Now Lehrer moves on to the deficit. Both are comfortable, come across as old pros who've done this gig a few times. Romney keeps saying he "won't borrow money from China" to pay for unnecessary programs. Obama attacking Romney while Romney has that "yeah, go ahead, I'm about to shred you". Romney tagging him on the deficit. "You've said before you'd cut the deficit in half". Ouch. Romney lecturing Obama on his deficit record. Lehrer has lost some control of this debate. Obama calling oil industry tax breaks as "corporate welfare". You know, the oil industry probably pays workers with NO college education more than any other industry. How come no one brings that fact up? Obama talking about these plans and what he will do. I'm sure Romney is waiting to just bring up what he has or has not done. Oh damn, Mitt compares oil industry to green energy welfare. $90 billion v. $2.8 billion. DAMN. You don't just pick the winners and losers, you pick the losers. OUCH. Romney is owning Obama on this issue.

Entitlements. Just poured third glass. Obama says basic structure of SS is sound. HUH? Look at the damn annual report. It is RUNNING OUT OF MONEY!!! Romney brings up Medicare cuts of $716 billion. Weird. A Republican opposing Medicare cuts. Finally says "Obamacare". Now Obama gets ready to fire back. He does but looks shaky most of of the time. Obama slamming Romney's plans for Medicare. All Romney has to do is come back and say "you're cutting $700 billion. Who's destroying Medicare?" No one has YET mentioned it goes broke in 12 years. Romney missing a chance there but he came off a little stronger. Obama spouts his answers but is coming off somewhat weak and unsure. Romney should've nailed him on claim government costs are lower than private sector costs on administration. Slight edge to Romney. Romney ahead by a nice margin thanks to round 2.

Now on to Dodd Frank. Obama defending Dodd Frank. Romney should nail him on Corzine right here. The lax prosecutions of Wall Street. 2500 page bill no one read. Damn, Romney schooling him on Dodd Frank and its regulation of mortgages. Romney still ahead.

Healthcare. Now THIS will be interesting. Obama stuttering and saying "uh" alot. He should be nailing this one. Now he tries to tie Obamacare to Romneycare in Massachusetts. Obama won't look him in the eye but instead looks down as Romney points out Obamacare flaws. This Spanish red is really good. Forget Lehrer. Can we have Kirsten Powers as a moderator? Damn, Obama is stuttering again defending Obamacare. There is Romney with that knowing smile again. Not like Bush's smirk. This has a hungry look to it. Obama says Romney has no plan to replace Obamacare. Obama's attacks are weak. This is not the same Obama I saw taking McCain to school in 2008. Obama making more platitudes and cliches. I thought both were weak on this one.

Role of Government. Time to look into their souls. Education. Romney comes out for school choice and wants money to "follow the child". Obama is asked if they are really different. Obama trots out the tax cuts for rich paid for with education cuts rhetoric Romney smiling again when he says this. No one has mentioned there is a shortage of 600,000 skilled workers nationwide. Now Obama brings up student loans and blames bankers. This is the best we can get on education? Damn. Romney says $90 billion spent on green energy would have hired $2 million teachers. Romney goes back to government picking winners and losers line. Damn. Romney says feds should grade schools. Oooook. Obama grimacing. Romney doesn't bring up Obama's kids go to private schools or Obama cutting vouchers for kids in DC.

Did Lehrer lose control of the debate or did he just let them go at it? Obama never mentioned 47%. Interesting. Time for closing arguments. Obama doesn't mention his record, only says he "kept my promise" to fight for the American people. I've heard that before. Hallman. Orgeron. Fulmer a few years ago. Dubose. You get the idea. Romney of course brings up the economy and Obama's record.

Romney won this one. No gaffes, attacked Obama's record without getting personal. Obama started out decent but after first round, stuttered, looked down alot, mouthed platitudes and cliches for the most part. Romney seemed to have a better command of the facts. Now for the pundits and spin doctors.

Pre-debate thoughts:

Live-blogging the debate tonight. If I'm advising Romney, I'm telling him to go after Obama but don't be pesky about it like Dan Quayle was in his debate. Don't worry about being liked, worry about being respected. Talk about the economy, pin it on the President. If Libya comes up, tie in the lack of leadership and the misrepresentations on what took place to his lack of leadership and poor judgment on the economy. He is just as smart as the President and has been a leader in his own right. Show it. Watch Reagan in debate. He wasn't afraid to throw punches. He didn't just mouth slogans, he backed them up with facts. Worst thing Romney can do is appear as the soulless icon of corporate America. Obama will tear that up if he does.

If I'm advising Obama, I'm telling to keep doing what he's been doing. Attack Romney. Blame failed policies of the Republicans and say we've learned from them what not to do, unfortunately, Mr. Romney still hasn't learned and we can't afford for him to figure it out. Obama likes to dig in the knife or get personal, I'm warning him not to do it or fall into that trap. Talk about how great a country America is and how he is going to keep this country moving forward and doing more for its citizens.

I expect a boring debate. Not like 2008 when McCain was lethargic and over his head but more like 2000 when you had two candidates of similar intelligence who traded a few shot but provided boring debates. Now just opened the wine and getting started. Its about time to rumble.

Dr. Arnold Smith filed a reply to the state's answer to his peition for Habeas Corpus in Leflore County Circuit Court yesterday. Dr. Smith charged the autopsy shows the fatal shot that was fired by an Attorney General investigator struck the victim (yeah I know) at the top of the crown of his head, traveled through the head, and exited around the jawline.

The rest of the shots that struck Mr. Byrd were in the area of his legs. The fatal shot was the only one to strike above his pelvis. The diagram can be found in the exhibits included in the documents posted below. Jackson attorney William Bell represents Dr. Smith. Retired Hinds County Circuit Judge Breland Hilburn presides over the case.

Dr. Smith argues the Attorney General's employees killed Mr. Byrd and thus Dr. Smith can not be charged with capital murder since he did not commit the underlying offense. The defendant then asks the court allow him to make bail.

Note: So let me get this straight. The agents shoot Byrd several times in the legs but the fatal shot is the only one above the waist and travels through the top of the head to the bottom of the jawline? Interesting. Very interesting.

Want to know what keeps Governor Bryant and MDA awake at night? Something like this story reported in the Wall Street Journal yesterday:

"The newest, largest and most technologically advanced steel plant in the U.S. is for sale, likely ending an ambitious effort by German steel company ThyssenKrupp AG to establish itself in the Americas.

The $5 billion plant in southwestern Alabama—the biggest steel facility built in the U.S. in four decades—opened in 2010, importing steel slabs made at ThyssenKrupp's new $6.8 billion plant in Brazil and processing them into high-grade sheets for car and appliance makers. The arrangement represented an unusual attempt to link steelmaking on different continents. Former ThyssenKrupp Vice President Kai Mahnke, who left the company last year, described the paired plants in a 2010 interview as "a virtual, integrated steel mill, even though there are" thousands of miles between them.

Now ThyssenKrupp is pulling the plug on that $11.8 billion investment, citing high production and transportation costs, a weakening market and intense competition. The Steel Americas division, of which the two plants are the only production facilities, incurred a $1 billion loss for the first nine months of the fiscal year that ended Sunday.....

ThyssenKrupp is seeking book value, or $8.86 billion, for the two plants, and has enlisted Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to help sell the facilities. Bids were due the last week of September.

Dan DiMicco, chief executive of Nucor Corp.,the No. 2 steel producer in the U.S. by tonnage after U.S. Steel Corp., said relying on Brazil for steel was a "bad idea" and ill-timed given the market's downturn. "This thing never should have been built, but the reality is that it's there, so we'll take a look at it," said Mr. DiMicco, who declined to comment regarding analyst estimates that Nucor would offer $1 billion for the Alabama plant. ThyssenKrupp declined to comment.

Others considering submitting bids include U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal according to analysts and people in the industry. One possibility for U.S. Steel: trading its mill in Slovakia to ThyssenKrupp for the Alabama plant. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker declined to comment.

ArcelorMittal is taking a serious look at the plant, said a company official, who declined to elaborate.

Analysts and industry experts said South Korean and Chinese steelmakers are interested in the Brazilian plant, which employs 3,500 people. The Alabama plant employs about 1,500....

ThyssenKrupp decided to build instead, and use a low-cost country to make the basic-commodity-type product and ship it to the U.S. for value-added processing. At the time, the cost of making steel in Brazil was considerably lower, according to ThyssenKrupp. The company could earn more money shipping steel to Alabama, even with the added shipping costs of $20 a metric ton, than selling it in Brazil. Alabama was selected over Arkansas and Louisiana, which were also competing for the plant, after Alabama offered nearly $1 billion in tax breaks and incentives, including site preparation and job training.

A spokesman for the company said it won't need to repay the incentives in the event of a sale, because "all the obligations have been met."

For the six months ended in March, the Brazil plant shipped out 1.7 million tons of steel slab and the Alabama site delivered 1.4 million tons of carbon steel to customers, ThyssenKrupp said. The company had planned for each plant to have a final capacity of five million tons a year, including all kinds of steel....

Importing unfinished goods from a lower-cost base to the U.S. for final, value-added work is a common strategy for manufacturers, who want to keep production costs low but also be near customers to respond to demand, said Thomas Mayor, a vice president for New York-based Booz & Co. who advises companies about supply chains.

"Their strategy made sense in 2007, at that point in the cycle," Mr. Mayor said. He added that the company "got hit with the double whammy of a bad market and facilities where employees are still fairly low on the learning curve." ThyssenKrupp declined to comment.

Relying on a foreign mill for slab steel is unusual, said William Selesky, a metals and mining analyst with Argus Research, who is based in New York.

"Normally, there aren't supply chains like that," Mr. Selesky said. "It's a blip on the radar screen."

Success depended on labor and raw-material costs in Brazil remaining low and steel prices in the U.S. remaining high. Instead, the opposite occurred. Prices of benchmark hot-rolled coil steel in the U.S. have fallen to $620 a ton, from more than $800 during the summer of 2011.

"Production costs in Brazil are rising disproportionately due to increasing labor costs, inflation effects and in particular the appreciation of the Brazilian currency," ThyssenKrupp said in May. In addition, the company said ore prices have increased sharply, putting Steel Americas at a competitive disadvantage compared with U.S. producers that have their own iron-ore and coal mines.

The Alabama plant, located on 3,700 acres near Mobile and equipped with specially designed cameras that monitor steel as it is rolled, coated and treated, is highly regarded but remains a tough sell.

"It is an awe-inspiring project," said Lisa Goldenberg, chief operating officer for Delaware Steel Co. and president of the Association of Steel Distributors. "But they overspent, and they overestimated the volatility of the American market." ThyssenKrupp declined to comment.

Location is another issue. "They make a wonderful, world-class product, but unfortunately, the freight cost is insurmountable as far as getting the product up here," said Jim Barnett, president of Grand Steel Products Inc., a company based in Farmington Hills, Mich., that sells steel to the construction, automotive, mining, agriculture and furniture industries.

The $50- to $90-a-ton cost of shipping steel from Alabama to Michigan, he said, is "somewhere between 12% and 16% of the cost of the steel."Article Thank you, Mr. Bernanke.

WLBT will cover this story tonight and trust me, it should be a good one from what I understand. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors hired a new Director for the Emergency Operations Center tonight. The vote was Supervisors Peggy Hobson-Calhoun, Doug Anderson, and Kenneth Stokes voted to hire the current director at Tougaloo College. There were three finalists, two of which were white, including the interim director Joey Perkins. What took place yesterday was a disgrace.



The Supervisors should have grilled each candidate behind closed doors. The position has been vacant since the board fired Director Jimmie Lewis several months ago. Four of the Supervisors did meet with the finalists in private. I did write four. The only supervisor who did not was Kenneth Stokes. He decided to interview only Mr. Perkins at the podium. In short, he gutted him in front of the whole room while nary a word of protest was given by the rest of the board over the treatment of a county employee. Start at the 4:05 mark. Just watch it. Stokes shows his stupidity and ignorance in spades. Having said that, the Board should have taken this behind closed doors instead of embarrassing this poor guy in front of everyone. I wonder if they would have done this to one of another race?

It should be pointed out most EOC Directors have a law enforcement background. The directors for Rankin and Madison do. Larry Fisher had one. Mr. Perkins has one. Want to guess who doesn't? The one hired from Tougaloo. I won't say any more as I don't want to steal Bert's thunder.

Madison County Republican Party will have a debate-watching party tomorrow night at Burgers & Blues:

The former CEO of Intel had a few things to say about our educational system yesterday on CNBC:

Note: This is some of the best video I've ever shot for JJ. These two didn't care and just went at it. Just watch.

The regular meeting of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors today was better than the WWF as two Election Commissioners, Jermel Clark (District 3) and Connie Cochran (District 4) went after each other at the podium. Mr. Clark is the President of the Election Commmission. Mr. Clark admitted the military absentee ballots were not mailed out to service members by the deadline.



Ms. Cochran finally appears at 13:30. She doesn't appear in part I.


This is not the first time these two have butted heads nor will it be the last. Mr. Clark (no, not THAT Mr. Clark), addressed the Board of Supervisors and was the only commissioner present. He accused Mrs. Cochran of sabotaging the election process, changing ballots that were mailed, removing the ballot from the computer system, and refusing to train him.

Supervisors Robert Graham and Kenneth Stokes asked questions about his allegations until Supervisor Phil Fisher said it was not fair to keep attacking someone and making decisions without giving her the opportunity to defend herself. Mr. Graham agreed and asked someone to call Mrs. Cochran.

Mrs. Cochran appeared at the podium a few minutes later and gave it right back to Mr. Clark. She said the reason he didn't know how to perform certain tasks was because he "refused to take the initiative." She said she had removed the ballot from the system because there were changes that had to be made to two precincts and the system would not allow any alterations to be made while the ballot was active. She said he was "misleading" the board of supervisors and finally said he was too dumb to understand how to operate the system.

The entire disagreement apparently stemmed from a dispute over the placement of candidates on the ballots. Mr. Clark wanted Democratic candidates placed first in each race, above the Republican candidate. Ms. Cochran told the board the Election Commission had placed the candidates for the major parties in each race in alphabetical order. Mr. Clark told the board he did not agree with that placement and said it was a tactic by Republicans to manipulate the ballot. He said Bill Marcy would be placed above Bennie Thompson and Marilyn Avery above her challenger. However, such bias does not appear to be the case upon closer inspection as under an alphabetical system, Barack Obama would appear above Mitt Romney, Gore over Wicker, and Banks over Waller.

Ms. Cochran told the board since she refused to draft the ballot with all Democrats placed first as desired by Mr. Clark, he attempted to create his ballot. She said after several days, Mr. Clark asked her for help. She said she would - if the candidates were placed in alphabetical order as the commission had done for over twenty years. Mr. Clark did not agree with her conditions and sent a letter to county officials accusing her of being "resistant" (Letter posted below). Board President Robert Graham repeatedly tried to get the two to direct their comments to the board but usually to little avail.

Mr. Clark naturally took greeeeeeeeeeat offense to being called dumb (but never apologized for his earlier accusations of sabotage and election fraud). He repeatedly referred to Mrs. Cochran as "that woman" or "this woman" as he refued to call her by name. The entire Board made it clear they wished the election commission would quit bringing their fights to them when the Supervisors have little authority to do anything regarding the commission. The Supervisors eventually voted to launch an investigation.

Hinds County Democratic Party announced precinct training session and debate watching party for Wednesday in this press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: JACQUELINE AMOS-NORRIS
October 1, 2012 (601) 969-2913 or jnorris@mississippidemocrats.org
HINDS COUNTY DEMOCRATS TO HOST DEBATE WATCH PARTY AND ORGANIZING SESSION ON OCTOBER 3

JACKSON-The Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee will conduct a Precinct Organizing Training at 7 :00 PM on Wednesday, October 7, to be followed by a Presidential Debate Watch Party later in the evening. Both events will be held at "The Room", 421 Woodrow Wilson Drive in Jackson.
"We are 'Fired Up and Ready to Go' to re-elect President Obama and our Democratic nominees up and down the ticket. As we launch into the final month of the campaign, we are working to organize voters in every precinct in Hinds County to turn our in record numbers. This event on October 3 is a combination workshop and rally. Hinds County Democrats will deliver on November 6.," said Jacqueline Amos-Norris, Chairperson of the HInds County Democratic Executive Committee.
The Training/Watch Party on October 3 is open to all Democrats. For more information, call 601-969-2913.

Hinds County Board of Supervisors appoint Tony Gaylor as interim attorney.
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Hinds County Board of Supervisors attorney Crystal Wise Martin submitted her resignation last month. Her resignation is effective October 3, 2012.

The Mississippi Prepaid College Tuition Savings program issued its annual actuarial report several weeks ago. The report states the program's funding level fell to 76.8% in 2012 from 83.3% in 2011. The MPACT Board of Directors voted unanimously in August to suspend new registrations pending the outcome of a financial audit. Post reporting suspension It must be pointed out when reading the report the projections assume no further participants are enrolled in the program and thus does not include their future payments.

MPACT's investments yielded a rate of return of only 0.6% for the twelve-month period ending on June 30, 2012. The S&P 500 fell 0.45% in the same period while the Russell 2000 decreased 0.05%. The Dow remained virtually unchanged. The stock markets plunged in August 2011 and spent the rest of the 52-week period recovering. Treasurer Lynn Fitch told the Joint Legislative Budget Committee two weeks ago MPACT's investments averaged a rate of return of only 4.8% since its inception, a far cry from the assumed rate of return of 7.8%.

Then-Treasurer Tate Reeves told JJ in 2010 the asset allocations for MPACT were equities (62.1%), bonds (27.7%), cash equivalents which include short-term treasuries (7.4%), and real estate (2.8%). It is not known what the current asset allocations are. 2010 post on MPACT.

The problem facing MPACT is the current rate of return is below the 8.6% tuition inflation rate for state universities. There were 22,293 participants in the program in 2012. The funding level was at or above 100% funded from 1997 to 2000. The funding level dipped to 76.1% in 2002 after the recession but recovered to a funding level of 95.2% in 2007 only to fall again to a low of 72.9% in 2009 after the meltdown of 2008.

Actuary Mike Brister calculated the costs of closing down the program and refunding the money in a September 7, 2012 letter to program director Claire Whittington:

"As requested we have prepared a valuation of the MPACT Program under MS. Code Sec. 37-155-25. We assumed all contracts with a “Projected Maturity Date” before 2018 would have tuition payments made by MPACT as due. All other contracts would receive a refund of amounts paid in with interest. This amount, $107,782,980, was determined by Intuition. The following compares the results for the Program without change (Current Program) and the Program under Sec. 37-155-25 (Closed Program)."

Mr. Brister estimated it will cost $107,782,980 to refund contributions to participants. The deficit from paying tuition and refunds against current assets would fall to $63,765,887.

Facts from the June 30, 2012 Actuarial Valuation and Report:

Deficit: $94.4 million (p.2)
2012 Funding level: 76.8% (p.1)
2011 Funding level: 83.3% (p.1)
Return on Assets: 0.6% (p.1)
Increase in average tuition for 4-yr colleges: 8.6% (p.1)
Assumed rate of return: 7.8% (p.1)
Assumed annual tuition increase: 6.5% for 4-yr colleges (p.1)
Participants in 2012: 22,293 (p.1)
Participants in 2011: 21,218 (p.1)
Market Value of Assets: $265,125,878 (p.2)
Present Value of Contract Liabilities: $407,454,351 (p.2)
Contributions: $47.9 million (p.3)
Rate of return required to satisfy all future benefits/expenses: 12.22% (p.7)
Projected year for assets to be fully depleted: 2025
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by Big 3: 83%
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by JSU: 11%
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by the rest: 16%

Note: One observation I've made for years. The MPACT board of directors meets several times a year. There is no mention anywhere on the MPACT or Treasurer's website of the meetings or when they are held. Nothing like secret playbooks. Looks like I'll have to harass them every two weeks.

Post covering 2010 hearing including more charts and reports.