Jackson Jambalaya

 Broadway shows return to Jackson for a three-show run next year.  

 A Goon Squad victim is in trouble with the law.  

 Legislators slapped themselves on the back earlier this year as they congratulated themselves for fixing PERS.  Once again, rhetoric fails to meet reality as the PERS financial reports released yesterday tell a different story.  Read and weep. 

Hattiesburg attorney Corey Ferraez is back in jail after a judge revoked his bond. 

or when "equity" meets reality

The University of California at San Diego found out the hard way what happens when it lowered standards while high schools inflated grades: Too many kids simply do now know how to do basic math. 

 No, not the Lane Train but the train at the Jackson Zoo.  The Jackson City Council voted unanimously to terminate the contract with Big Mokey Trains of Arkansas yesterday.   

Jackson Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes went on the warpath yesterday. 

 Even Keith Richards.  Variety Magazine reported: 

Christmas is a season of joy, celebration, and remembrance—the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. But it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle: the sales, the gifts, tian a food/the nonstop loop of Christmas songs playing in every store.

 So said Madison County Supervisor Casey Brannon to fellow Supervisors Gerald Steen, Karl Banks, and Paul Griffin after the Gang of Three snuck through a road plan that kept all the road money for themselves.  Needless to say, Supervisors Brannon and Trey Baxter were not pleased. 

Across the U.S., public pension unfunded liabilities generally decreased, falling about 9 percent from $1.62 trillion in 2024 to $1.48 trillion in 2025. That’s the good news. The unwelcome news is that a recession or other severe economic downturn could raise state and local public pension debt to as much as $2.74 trillion by 2026. Mississippi’s Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, has an unfunded liability of roughly $26 billion. PERS is the public pension defined-benefit system that provides retirement benefits to some 360,000 current and former public employees in the state, including elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators, university and community college faculty, staff and administrators, and other state employees.

 Jackson Mayor John Horhn issued the following statement. 

 Lane Kiffin is still in their heads up in Oxford.  Exhibit A: 

State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement.  

To say Last Call was incinerated last night is no understatement. The photos posted below say it all. Thankfully, no one was hurt. 

Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement yesterday.

 The infamous Last Call Bar & Grill on Old Square Road caught fire last night.  Pictures and video tell the story. The fire began after midnight.  

 There will be a new route for the St. Paddy's Day parade next year. 

 Attorney John Collette will no longer represent Rudy Warnock.  Collete filed a motion to withdraw from U.S.A. v. Warnock et al today in U.S. District Court Friday: 

 Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement Thursday. 

 What was expected to be a night of fun turned into an evening of controversy at the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation's Legacy Gala on December 5 when the star performer, rapper David Banner, spoke his mind. 

 Some people apparently enjoy going to jail.  

 It's that time of year and you know what that means: It's time for my award-winning egg nog recipe:

 A nasty family fight has broken out between Jackson Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes and his nephew, Daniel Cooper .  Stokes accuses his nephew of pushing dat dope at his food truck while Cooper says he is just pushing quesadillas.   However, Cooper is fighting back.  Molly Minta and Anna Wolfe reported in Mississippi Today: 

What is there to do in Norman, Oklahoma? 

 Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statements. 

Everyone likes to receive gifts.  However, some gifts are easier to receive than others.  It is hard to receive a gift knowing it came at great cost to the person giving.  Pride can be such a stubborn thing at times. Using parables and a heart-touching story, the late Dr. Frank Pollard discussed how hard it can be to receive salvation for we are a people with much faith in ourselves even though we can't save ourselves.  Enjoy the 1997 Christmas sermon posted below as Dr. Pollard preaches from Romans. 

A pair of Muslim savages massacred 11 Jews at a Hanukkah festival in Bondi Beach, Australia.  While police cowered in fear and did not return fire, check out what one hero did. 

An Advent story entitled “An Unexpected Lesson” led to a captivating lesson from ChatGPT.

 First Consul Tate Reeves issued the following statement Thursday. 

 Move over, Plano, Texas.  We got us a new champ in come from behind victories.  

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe declared his famous foreign policy during his annual message to Congress. In essence the Monroe Doctrine opposed European colonization and intervention in America and the Western Hemisphere. It warned other nations not to interfere in political affairs of the Americas. The United States of America was born to be strongly independent.

The biggest eyesore in Northeast Jackson may not be an eyesore much longer if Jackson Environmental Court Judge Jeff Reynolds has his way.  

5114 Old Canton Road in 2023

 A minor-attracted person (sarcasm) got into a little bit of trouble at the grocery store.  

Cliff Notes began as short plot summaries of classic novels and stories. Now they are cribs about complex topics and spin. Corps Speak is the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) clever spin that evades responsibility for higher and longer Mississippi River floods (a complex topic). This story began when Congress put the Corps in charge of flood control (1928 Flood Control Act) to prevent another 1927 flood disaster.

 Just when you think Bennie Thompson can't go any lower, he does.  

 Nothing like some good cooking straight from the bayou.   ZeroBear PolyBear left us his Chicken Lafourche recipe in a downloadable format.  It is a nice change of pace for someone who is tired of turkey and ham during the holiday season.  Enjoy. 

 Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement. 

 Convicted and sentenced he may be but Rudy Warnock is not going down without a fight. 

Ag Commish Andy Gipson appears on the Empower podcast with host Grant Callen.  They discuss his life in public service and work on issues such as gun rights and protecting the unborn.  The gubernatorial candidate delves into his time in the legislature, accomplishments at Commissioner,  agenda as Governor, and how to strengthen families.  Andy Gipson is never boring and this podcast is no exception.  Enjoy. 

 No comment is needed for this video of an eating establishment in Ridgeland.  

 A State Representative got slapped down by Ted Henifin after he bowed up to the JXN Water Manager in a legislative hearing this morning. 

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement. 

 The city of Jackson issued the following statement. 

"It's hard to be on the field when you are locked up."  

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd laid down the law after some yutes from Philadelphia decided to go on a crime spree at Dicks Sporting Goods while in town to play in a football game.   Check out what Sheriff Grady had to say about the little thieves and their sorry-ass coach.  

Update: Eric Gilkie and Andrew Grant will be sentenced January 15, 2026. 

 Former CMU Commissioner Cleveland Anderson is going up the river after U.S. District Court Judge Kristi Johnson pronounced sentence: 

 Ole Miss legend Archie Manning says what he thinks about a certain former Ole Miss head football coach.  Well, it might be Archie Manning speaking in the video as AI is getting real good nowadays.  So is this AI or not AI? 

Former CMU Engineer Rudy Warnock will be going to prison for public corruption for twelve years.  A jury convicted Warnock of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery (I&II), one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (III), and wire fraud (IV).  

Author’s Note:
Robert St. John’s Mississippi Christmas hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago. It’s a collection of recipes and stories from the Christmases, the people, and the neighborhood that shaped me— and the ones still unfolding. The piece below didn’t make the final edit, not because it fell short, but because its heart shows up in several other places throughout the book. Even so, it has become a steady part of my readings on the book-signing tour.

Some families grow up with postcard Christmases—crackling fires, golden retrievers by the hearth, snowflakes on the St. Augustine. Then there was us. Our holidays were about as “Hallmark” as a ham sandwich on white bread.

 Just another night at 4th Avenue downtown.