Jackson Jambalaya

 Mississippi is now entirely surrounded by states that have either passed, or are in the process of passing, laws that will give every family school choice.  A proposal to do something similar in our state never even made it to a full vote in the legislature.

 Let's step back into the 1980's.  The scene: everyone's favorite restaurant.  Notice anything different? 

Insurance Commish Mike Chaney issued the following statement. 

Murder suspect Marcus Johnson was arrested in Louisiana yesterday.  JPD issued the following statement Tuesday: 

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba claimed last week Jackson would have to raise garbage collection fees because JXN Water is doing a poor job of collecting payments.  Well, JXN Water said not so fast, my friend, and issued the following statement: 

 Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement. 

The Goons were sentenced this morning in Rankin County Circuit Court.  The proceedings are posted below, courtesy of WAPT. 

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Naples is the birthplace of pizza. It’s an ancient and historic seaside city that can be a little scary at times these days, but it is Ground Zero for the savory pie the world has come to love. The Neapolitan version has been around Southwestern Italy for more than 500 years. Pizza eventually travelled across the Atlantic and through Ellis Island in the late 1800s. The first restaurant to sell pizza in America was Lombardi’s in New York.

It is a truism in the Mississippi Legislature that a bill can die three deaths before it is truly dead.  Such applies to the PERS "reform bill" the Senate killed last week. 

After more than 40 years of reporting and writing about crime and punishment in Mississippi, I’ve seen the pendulum swing from “get tough” to “out of sight, out of mind” to “who’s making money off the system now?”

 The House & Senate are squaring off over the MAEP formula.  

 Can you spot the mistake in this Clarion-Ledger story about the airport takeover that was published last week? 

 The Pearl Police Department issued the following statement and pictures. 

 Generation Z is saying to hell with four-year degrees and student loans as its members instead "pick up the tool belt."   The Wall Street Journal reported April 2: 

 Well, we kind of missed the eclipse yesterday thanks to some clouds that refused to cooperate with our plans.   Enjoy the heavenly event in all its glory in the videos posted below.

Wednesday will be yet another nail in the coffin for the Goon Squad as  Circuit Judge Steve Ratcliff sentences them after they pleaded guilty to various state charges in August.  U.S. District Judge Tom Lee sentenced them last month for their federal charges in the torture of Michael Jenkins, Eddie Parker, and Alan Schmidt.   The state charges and sentence recommendations are posted below. 

 Yet another business is leaving Jackson.  

 JXN Water issued the following press release. 

 State Bean-Counter Shad White issued the following statement. 

Coach Prime is having some problems with his players.  Start at 3:24 in the video.  

One of the best movies ever made returns to the big screen this week in the  Jackson area even if you don't give a damn.  Showtimes are posted below. 

Will there be signature achievements by the 2024 Legislature or just signature flops?

 The family of Tupelo High school track star Andrew Brown issued the following statement. 

 All this has happened before and it will all happen again. 

After weeks upon weeks and months upon months of disturbing news both here and abroad, Easter weekend and Resurrection Sunday in particular dawned with much needed hope for peace and resolutions of conflicts and divisions. We no longer live in an America where people are comfortable living and letting others live as they see fit within the confines of common sense. Most of us want to fix what’s wrong with everybody else.

 It's been thirty years since Kurt left us today.   Here is a little something to remember him by. 

The next 24 hours are going to be maddening for Andrew Brown as the Mississippi High School Activities Association decides whether to reinstate the freshman track phenom for the 2024 outdoor track season . 

There is a reason Jackson's Mayor is called "Lyin' Lumumba."  The Mayor's latest fairy tale involves Jackson's water system.  Anthony Warren at WLBT reported: 

Without going too deep in philosophy, let me say life has given us many lemons.

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 Annie Oeth authored the following press release for Children's of Mississippi Hospital. 

 Well, that was fun.   MHSAA threw yours truly out of its building today when I tried to cover a hearing in the Andrew Brown suspension today.

The Sisters of the Order of Rukia are going to get a seat at the table in the Jackson water case.  U.S. District  Judge Henry Wingate approved the Poor People's Campaign and People's Assembly motion to intervene in the Jackson water case.  They filed a complaint asking the Court to give them oversight of the water system through a "community water board."  

America is now six months away from a Presidential election.  If current polls are correct and Donald Trump comes out ahead in the key battleground states, we could soon see a conservative in the White House, and a conservative-controlled Senate and House.

 Gary Pettus authored the following press release for UMC. 

As the Solar Eclipse of 2024 looms, be warned that the face of the sun may not be the only thing that will fade.

Jackson's water/sewer system will remain on the Lumumba plantation for yet another year after the House killed SB #2628 yesterday.   The bill  would create a new public utility district that would in turn purchase Jackson's water/sewer system from the city. 

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, ITALY— As a kid almost every restaurant in my hometown was independently owned and local. Granted, there weren't too many full-service restaurants in my hometown back then, but it’s all we knew. It wasn't until the 1990s that we began to see the influx of chain restaurants as the city expanded westward. We are inundated with chains these days.

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement. 

Daniel Porter Jordan Jr.’s passing was noted in many of the nation’s leading newspapers, including The Washington Post. Jordan, one of America’s most distinguished and respected historians, died March 21 of a heart attack was 85.

Lieutenant Governor Responds 

Speaker of the House Jason White issued the following statement. 

 Bill Maher had a little bit of reckoning for the Covidiots on his show Friday night.  Of course, by Covidiots, we mean the so-called Covidexperts who got so much wrong or as he called it, those who are "Stuck on Stupid."  Enjoy the skewering. 

 Rankin-Madison District Attorney Bubba Bramlett issued the following statement and mug shot. 

 Rankin-Madison District Attorney Bubba Bramlett issued the following statement and mug shot. 

Last week, the Senate Government Structure committee held a public hearing on House Bill 1590 which aligns Mississippi’s retirement board structure with national models and prevents the rate hike approved by the current board to increase by hundreds of millions of dollars what taxpayers contribute to the plan known as PERS (Public Employees’ Retirement System).

 The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce issued the following statement. 

 Madison County caught a break.  Sheriff Randy Tucker said the county will recover at least $2.2 million of the $2.7 it lost to a bogus vendor recently.  The Sheriff announced the news at the regular meeting of the Madison County Board of Supervisors this morning.  

Andrew Brown may be one of the leading track stars in Mississippi but the MHSAA banned him from participating in the 2024 track & field season. His crime?  Brown dared to compete in the New Balance National Indoor Track & Field Championships in March, a non-MHSAA event. The Monolith was not pleased.  

Patterns are patterns and the owner of the Briarwood 1 Building definitely has a pattern.  Check out what Mike Kohan pulled recently.  WLUC (Michigan) reported: