Jackson Jambalaya

A Hinds County grand jury indicted Dominique Matthews on February 26  for the December armed robbery of the Marathon gas station on Hanging Moss.  JJ readers may remember Dum-dom from this video:

The City of Jackson issued the following list flooded streets.

Representative Andy Gipson (R-Glock) submitted the following column to JJ.

A Hinds County grand jury indicted Andre Kennedy on February 26 for kidnapping, armed robbery, and burglary.  Kennedy and his accomplice Edwin "Guttalife" Robinson kidnapped a doctor from his Ridgewood home early on a Saturday morning, May 16, 2015.  A doctor who just happened to be a competitive shooter.  The indictment states the charges are terror-enhanced.*  The case is assigned to Judge Jeff Weill.

Ennis Proctor this July will become only the eighth Mississippian inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. Trust me: No administrator, here or anywhere, could be more deserving.

The city of Jackson issued the following press release.

Lock and load.  A murder suspect is on the loose.  Consider him to be armed and dangerous.   JPD issued the following press release and mug shots.

Update (6:45 PM): Copy of Ben Allen indictment.

Original post (3:54 PM): Downtown Jackson Partners issued the following press statement:

Update (6:46 PM): District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith texted Howard Ballou  "This is an ongoing investigation and he (Mr. Pickering) is welcome to come testify under oath." 

Original post (3:03 PM): State Auditor Stacey Pickering defended two employees indicted by a Hinds County grand jury in a press release that is posted below.  Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is prosecuting them for allegedly obstructing an investigation of Ben Allen and his use of funds as Executive Director of Downtown Jackson Partners.  Pickering minced no words and provided several documents with the statement.  Earlier post with copy of indictments.

Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves issued the following press release:

Governor Phil Bryant issued the following statement:

Update (10:38 AM, 3/11/16): Cases is assigned to Judge Winston Kidd. Judges Jeff Weill and Tomie Green recused themselves. 

Update (6:40 PM): Copy of indictment is posted below.   The indictment charges him with ten counts of embezzlement and mishandling of Downtown Jackson Partner's funds.  The indictment also charges him with spending DJP money on Mayor Tony Yarber's inaugural gala. 

Original post (10:40 AM) Multiple sources have confirmed to JJ that Ben Allen was indicted on ten counts.  It is not yet known what the specific charges are but sources say they are related to this Jerry Mitchell story that appeared in the Clarion-Ledger in 2014.  More information will be posted when available.

Will Trump crush Cruz? Will Cruz pull off the upset? Can Bill replace Will or will the ex-Champeen take back the title? Stay tuned. Election night is upon us.

9:50 PM Senate race update:

Secretary of State Hibbit Hosemann issued the following election day update:

A murder suspect is still on the loose after escaping from the Warren County jail last week.  The reward for his capture is now $26,000.  The Warren County Sheriff's Office posted this message on Facebook:

Consider this the Presidential Primary post. The Trumpster wowed 'em in Madison yesterday while Cruz paid homage to all things catfish and the giant cross in Florence.   Kasich be-bopped through here last week although he met with "The Party" instead of the voters.  Can't trust the folks with pitchforks, you know.  We got to see Bill himself grace us with his presence as Fondrenites oohed and ahhed.  Bernie? Who dat be?  Bernie didn't even visit the state. Oh well.  Here is a round up of the primary news:

Copies of indictments are posted below.

Update (10:44 AM, 3/10/16): Attorney Hiram Richard Davis, Jr.  represents both defendants. 

A Hinds County grand jury indicted David Huggins and Karei McDonald for "first degree hindering prosecution by obstruction" on February 26, 2016.   Mr. Huggins is the Deputy State Auditor and Mr. McDonald is an investigator for the Office of the State Auditor.  The indictment states the two acted together to "hinder the prosecution" of Ben Allen.  

The water at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Jackson has "higher than normal" amounts of lead. The school announced the test results in a letter sent to parents of lower school students last week. The letter is posted below.

A Hinds County grand jury indicted Deputy State Auditor David Huggins and Investigator Karie McDonald.  The Clarion-Ledger reported the indictments were related to an investigation about Downtown Jackson Partners.

We got ourselves a Senate race tomorrow in Northeast Jackson and Madison County as Bill Billingsley and Walter Michel face off tomorrow at the polls.   Feel free to comment below. 

JPD issued the following press release about a double homicide that took place on Fontaine Avenue (NOT Fontaine in NE Jackson):

College students at the University of Pittsburgh left a campus speech in tears after a speaker said something they didn't like.  Where is my safe space?  The Pitt News reported:

JPD issued the following statement and mugshots:

Nancy Reagan passed away.  She will be missed. 

The state newspaper has been engaging in a serious bout of investigative journalism in the last few Sunday editions.  It took aim at our seriously weak and ineffective campaign finance laws.  Some call Mississippi campaign finance "legalized bribery".  The Clarion-Ledger  began its series on February 20 with this story:

Thank you, Politco.  The ehealth section of Politico Pro picked up JJ's "Shameful" post from Thursday:

Anita Lee reported in a Sun-Herald blog post that a company just won some nice incentives from the legislature to create jobs on the Gulf Coasts has been laying off workers at its Gulf Coast operations.  Ms. Lee reported:

From the email bag:

It's time for a document downpour for the weekend. JJ posted several emails written by members of the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure yesterday.  JJ does not want to be accused of cherry-picking so here is the entire batch of emails JJ received from the Board after submitting a public records request.  Read through all 683 pages to your heart's content.  The batch includes emails, transcripts of the telemedicine hearing, and other correspondence pertaining to the telemedicine issue. 683 pages, although much of the documents are duplicates.  However, do not fear, for the Kingfish provided a road map for you to navigate through the batch. 

Secretary of State Gigbert Hosemann issued the following press release.

The Jackson Public School District has no records or invoices for professional services that were provided during the $118 million refinancing of bonds that took place in 2015.  The District paid $1.2 million in fees to lawyers, financial advisers, and other parties to conduct the transaction.  The same issue only generated nearly $550,000 in fees when it was sold back in 2007.  JJ tried to obtain the invoices for the professional service fees through a public records request.  However, JPS claimed it had no copies of invoices or other records for such services.  Earlier post.

The pilot shortage is hurting airlines that serve smaller markets such as Jackson.  Republic Airways filed for bankruptcy in no small part due to the shortage.  The Wall Street Journal reported last week:

The Senate recommitted the bill expanding the "Nurse Practitioner radius" from 15 to 75 miles in Mississippi.  Nurse Practitioners had not been allowed to work more than 15 miles from their supervising physician.  Senator Terry Burton announced the Board of Medical Licensure agreed to change its regulations to the 75-mile radius.  He said the new regulation will appear on the Board's website in 28 days.  Senator Burton also said there is currently no limit on how many Nurse Practitioners can be supervised by a physician.  There had been a common assumption that state law imposed such a limit but Senators Burton and Dean Kirty said the actual laws did not have a limit. Burton's bill was a committee substitute for a similar one sponsored by Senator Angela Hill.

Airport bill passes Senate on a vote of 29-18. The bill was amended to remove the language giving the Governor the power to appoint nominees provided by Jackson, Rankin County, and Madison County.  Here are the actual votes:

Update: Bill Clinton will be in town this afternoon.

The Presidential race moves to Mississippi next week and Mississippi is actually getting some attention.  For all the gnashing of teeth over protracted nomination fights - elections can be soooo messy - it is nice to actually have a voice in the primary fights.  It's  much better than in elections past when the fight was over after South Carolina.  Here are some updates.

 A fight over the use of telemedicine rages behind the scenes at the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure.  Telemedicine is used by tens of thousands of patients in Mississippi as its growth has exploded over the last few years.  However, emails and other correspondence show the Board has been waging its own war on telemedicine as it seeks to control the market and limit its use.  One board member even calls his employer "shameful" for offering telemedicine to its employees. The Executive Director chews out the board attorney for daring to offer an opinion whether some forms of telemedicine are legal. Other emails show the lengths the board has gone to to regulate the market while avoiding the rules it must follow in doing so.   JJ obtained emails through a public records request. 

Apparently banning segregationist practices is the new white supremacy.  The Daily Tennessean reported last month:

Secretary of State Catbert Hosemann issued the following press release:

It seems our fearless leaders in the Mississippi House of Representatives voted to expand the vaccine exemptions available to children today.  The measure passed nine votes and had thirty-three sponsors.  The bill will allow parents to obtain vaccine exemptions from out of state-doctors.

Far be it from me to become involved in the Academy Awards controversy about the lack of nominations for African American actors. I hope the people voting know more about it than I do.

Fact is, I only know what I like and what touches me. And one of the 2015 movies that touched me most was “Concussion” – a film starring the immensely talented Will Smith, which dealt with the catastrophic effects of repeated concussions for professional football players.

Several taxicab drivers who wish to start their own taxicab companies sued the city of Jackson today in Hinds County in Hinds County Chancery Court.  They claim Jackson's taxicab licensing ordinance is unfair and keeps them from obtaining a license.  The case has been assigned to Chancellor William Singletary.

Leftenant Governor Tate Reeves issued the following press release:

Attorney Generalissimo Jim Hood issued the following press release:

Dr. Vann Craig will retire from his position as Executive Director for the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure on March 24.

The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority issued the following press release:

The Madison Police Department issued the following statement and mug shot.

Disruption is the new buzzword in corporate America as old business models are blown up and new ones created on an almost daily basis with the advent of the smartphone. Few things are immune to the technology tidal wave that is sweeping across the economy and the practice of medicine is no exception. Meanwhile, government is often ill-suited to handle such disruption and often does not know what to do. Mississippi is no exception as shown in the fight over telemedicine. It is a fight that is little understood or covered by the press but may impact what healthcare options are available to Mississippians.