Jackson Jambalaya

Just when you thought it might finally be safe to swim in Mississippi's contractual storm waters, the MDE and Mississippi True contracts erupted.

A Madison County contractor was convicted of bank fraud in 2006.  The Justice Department charged Chris Creely with one count of bank fraud and alleged that he arranged for fraudulent mortgages of over $300,000.  The defendant pleaded guilty in 2007.

Yes, some people still use Instant Messenger but that will change by the end of this year. AOL announced today:

Yesterday was a sad day for a Jackson landmark, the Eudora Welty Library.  Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney minced no words and said the building should be condemned. The bricks are falling off of the walls, mortar is crumbling, the second floor is nearly ruined by a leaking roof, and there is raw sewage in the basement.  A far cry from when Sears opened the building  to much applause on March 21, 1947.  However, JJ aims not to mourn the building but memorialize it as it once was. JJ reached back into the archives of the newspaper and posted some of the building's past glory below. Enjoy.

Credit: CNN

Check out WAPT's headline from yesterday:

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following press release.

The Mississippi Hospital Association created Mississippi True to get Medicaid managed care contracts.  Such contracts are big business as three such contracts worth $2 billion were up for grabs this year . Mississippi True loves to play the homeboy card as it beats its chest and loudly proclaims that the Medicaid money should go to a Mississippi company.  There is just one problem: Mississippi True's flag actually belongs on foreign soil.

Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney issued the following statement.

Teresa Malone pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to one count of attempt & conspiracy and one count of bribery of a public official.  The court filing states:

Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason made a rare public appearance and spoke to reporters yesterday about security measures for the Mississippi State Fair:

The 172 Security Forces Squadron at Thompson Field needs your help.   See below for details.

 JJ's comparison of the Jackson and Desoto County school districts has received no small amount of attention over the last two weeks.  The numbers don't lie as JPS was repeatedly found wanting when compared to Desoto County public schools.  The Mississippi Department of Education drilled deep and made the same findings back in 2011 yet the study fell into a black hole.  Keep reading, this is good information that needs to be a part of the public debate. 

The Senate confirmed Mike Hurst as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi by voice vote last night.   Mr. Hurst will become U.S. Attorney when the President signs the order.  Senate report. Senate sources say the order should be signed within seven to ten days. Mr. Hurst was the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi until he resigned in 2015 to run against Jim Hood for Attorney General. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker issued the following statement:

JPD issued the following statement, picture, and video.

Look who the ACLU honored for "Criminal Justice Reform":

JPS failed in its attempt to stop the MDE takeover court yesterday.  Hinds County Circuit Judge Bill Gowan ruled against JPS's petition for an injunction yesterday. JPS filed the petition for a temporary restraining order on September 23.  The case was assigned to Judge Bill Gowan. JPS argued that it should have been given thirty days to respond to a 700 page audit of the district but was given only eight days to respond by MDE. The petition claims that MDE denied the district's right to due process.

JPD issued the following statement. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.

Chism Strategies released this memo and poll about The Flag. 

'Nuff said.  Enjoy the video.

The Richard Schwartz & Brent Hazzard radio show has been spicing up the airwaves every Wednesday morning on WMPR.  Listen to the hottest talk radio show in Jackson posted below.  The two questioned the value of getting a college degree on the show.  Guest was Gilbert Sturgis.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  Such is the motto of the Mississippi Hospital Association as it tries to get a managed care contract from the Division of Medicaid.  MHA lost when the Division awarded $2 billion in contracts for the MississippiCan program earlier this year.  It lost again when it asked a Chancellor to block the contracts.  It suffered another setback when the Contract Review Board didn't reject the contracts.  However, MHA's managed care company, Mississippi True, sued the Division of Medicaid in Hinds County Circuit Court last Thursday in an attempt to force the Division to award it the coveted Medicaid managed care contract.

Nothing to see here, move along.  Such is the response of our legislative Solons to questions about Dr. Wright and the Board of Education passing out sweetheart deals to friends of Dr. Wright. 

The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached from Exodus 20:8-11 in this 1986 sermon.  Enjoy Dr. Pollard if you can't make it to church this morning. 

It's South Park, so expect the worst, and yes, there is crude language.

The Mississippi Department of Education paid over $214,000 to a community activist in Memphis in 2015 yet can't seem to locate a contract for the payments.  Joseph Kyles was also arrested recently for allegedly beating his girlfriend because she would not get an abortion. The Clarion-Ledger reported:

The Legislature’s quickie budget hearings produced few surprises last week. Schools, colleges, and universities, as usual, asked for lots more money while legislators, as usual, focused on holding down spending.

Governor Phil Bryant issued the following statement.

JJ compared the staffing of Jackson Public Schools District to the Desoto County School District.  There is no other way to describe the analysis: JPS is bloated.  JPS has 941 more employees despite having 6,589 fewer students.  JJ obtained more information from Desoto and also included the Rankin County School District in the comparison.  The story gets even worse.

Someone is finally a resident of MDOC after spending a couple of weeks in the Lowndes County jail.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering blasted the Mississippi Department of Education for awarding contracts while trying to get around public purchasing laws in a report. +.  In other words, the State Auditor accused the Superintendent of repeatedly giving sweetheart deals to her friends while the Board sat back and watched.  Payments were made for hundreds of thousands of dollars with no documentation while numerous contracts were structured to avoid bidding and any review by outside parties.

Rosemary G. Aultman, Chairwoman of the Mississippi State Board of Education, submitted the following column.

Yet another group of owners of a Mugshots franchise have sued fellow Mugshots owner Chris McDonald and several companies he owns, in federal court for alleged fraud and Rico violations.   Chad Eron, Jim Walsh, Patrick Johnson, Stephen Arant, and Alex Pitt accused McDonald of borrowing nearly $1 million against their three Mugshots restaurants in Alabama without their knowledge and paying bogus invoices to Mr. McDonald-owned companies.  The owner of the Ridgeland Mugshots filed a similar lawsuit in April. Earlier post.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.

Millsaps College and Chism Strategies released its polling results in a "State of the State" memo today.  Some highlights of the memo are:

The Clinton Police Department issued the following statement and six colored glossy photographs with arrows and an explanation on the back of each one.

Jackson Mayor Chowke Lumumba asked the Jackson City Council to hire Octagon Group for lobbying services last night. Quincy Mukoro is the owner of Octagon.  The current lobbyist is Worth Thomas.  The request submitted to the City Council set the maximum compensation for Octagon at $135,000.  The term of the contract would be one year.  However, Jackson pays much more money than do other cities and counties in Mississippi for lobbying services.  Check out what municipal and county lobbyists made in 2016:

Some items appearing on the agenda for tonight's meeting of the Jackson City Council:

Senator Thad Cochran issued the following statement.

JPD issued the following statement.

The Richard Schwartz & Brent Hazzard radio show has been spicing up the airwaves every Wednesday morning on WMPR.  Listen to the hottest talk radio show in Jackson posted below. The two attorneys discussed the JPS takeover. 

Sometimes JJ actually wishes it were making up a post and this is one of those times.  An employee at the Hinds County Sheriff's Department engaged in a relationship um,  on several levels with an inmate.  She sent a letter to the inmate, who of course could not keep it to himself.  The letter is posted below. 

A Madison County grand jury indicted Leronnie Michael in June for Culpable Negligence Manslaughter in the death of Jackson Busby.  Madison Police arrested Michael on December 22, 2016 after he allegedly drove the wrong way on I-55 N and struck another car in a head-on collision.  Madison Police stated in a press release at the time of the wreck:

The sexual harassment lawsuit against Belhaven University started out with much sound in the media but was ended by the fury of the judge.  Unfortunately, the same media that engage in a hi-tech lynching of Belhaven and its employee when attorney Carlos Moore and his client, Erica Stewart, filed the lawsuit couldn't bother to report that the Judge threw out the case, sanctioned the Mr. Moore, fined Ms. Stewart, and said she destroyed evidence. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.