Jackson Jambalaya

The Mississippi Business Journal published a nice feel-good story about how Sanderson Farms saved the Mississippi PGA tour event and helped Blair Batson Children's Hospital:

The task force charged with reviewing the MDOC scandal and proposing reforms met this week and issued several preliminary recommendations to the way MDOC and other state agencies award contracts.  The task force also proposed placing so-called "consultants" and "government affairs specialists" under the same rules lobbyists must follow.  Some of the recommendations are posted below.

Public Service Commissioner Lynn Posey issued the following press release:

Here are the November crime stats for Rankin County.

Another vehicle drives through protestors blocking a street in Hollywood:

Representative Steve Holland (D-Party City) issued the following press release:

 This post was originally published on April 19. Actually it was thought to be published because it was still in the system as a draft. It is now published for your review.

Chokwe Lumumba, Jr. promoted Farish Street development at the March 20 debate at Johnnie Champion Community Center:

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following press release:

Here is the most recent 990 for Mississippi Baptist Medical Center:

Note: The problems at Singing River Health System (Jackson County) continue to mount. The Sun-Herald has been breaking stories about the troubled hospital system since November. It is important to start from the beginning, so JJ is posting stories about this fiasco starting from several weeks ago, to give readers the history of this story.

The Sun-Herald reported on December 5 that Singing River was stopped from closing down its troubled pension plan.  The newspaper reported:

Ben Allen hosted Clarion-Ledger publisher Jason Taylor on his show last week.  The show appears each week on WJNT, 1180 AM, at 8:05 AM.

The fight over who should receive $500,000 from a Precious Martin life insurance policy continued in court this week in State Farm v. Crystal Martin and Brandi Barnett. Ms. Barnett charged that the deceased attorney had numerous affairs when he was alive in an answer to a cross-claim filed by Crystal Martin. The saga began when State Farm filed a complaint for interpleader and asked the court to decide the proper beneficiary for the policy. The life insurance policy named Ms. Barnett as the beneficiary although Precious Martin was married to Crystal at the time of death.

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Mayor Tony Yarber appeared on the show this morning. 

Here are the Jackson crime stats and crime maps for the week ending December 14, 2014.

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber will appear on the show this morning. Call in number is 601-366-1180. The show starts at 8:05.

Flowood Poh-lice arrested one Eddie Devine for a carjacking at Dogwood yesterday. WLBT reported:

The Clarion-Ledger suffered from a serious bout of investigative journalism last weekend and published several stories about Mississippi government's  addiction to no bid contracts.  Reporters Emily Le Coz and Geoff Pender provided some rather interesting findings that deserve more attention:

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

The Wall Street Journal argued in a November 3 editorial that blacks have suffered under the reign of President Obama while the plight of other groups have improved:

The Mississippi Business Journal reported:

That didn't take long.  Incoming County Court Judge Larita Cooper-Stokes hasn't even assumed office and she is already asking for help.  She asked the Hinds County Board of Supervisors last week to provide $15,000 to hire a "judicial assistant":

Want more proof that the Jackson County Board of Supervisors and Chancery Clerk were completely negligent in their duties to oversee the Singing River Health System? JJ obtained the Singing River audits for the last five years through a public records request.  See for yourself the operating loss or profit that is stated in each audit.  These audits were submitted each year to the Supervisors and Chancery Clerk.

The best bid may not be the best bid.  Such is the thinking on the Jackson city council.  The city council postponed voting to designate Bancorp South as a depository for the city's public funds at its regular meeting last Tuesday.   Trustmark provides the current depository services to the city.  The Yarber administration accepted bids from Trustmark, Bancorp South, and BankPlus for banking services.  The bids are posted below:

Note: The problems at Singing River Health System (Jackson County) continue to mount. The Sun-Herald has been breaking stories about the troubled hospital system since November. It is important to start from the beginning so JJ is posting stories about this fiasco that start from several weeks ago so as to give readers the history of this story.

The Sun-Herald reported on December 3 that Singing River Health Systems CEO Kevin Holland informed employees in a letter that the organization will liquidate the pension fund in the near future:

WAPT provided more details on the arrest of Dr. Michael Molleston.  The story includes video from the security cameras at The Belhaven Parking garage.

Secretary of State Catbert Hosemann issued the following press release:

Governor Phil Bryant issued the following press release:

Mr. Leland Speed and Ashby Foote, III appeared on the show Wednesday. 

Teacher of the Year. Literacy Specialist.  Such terms describe Phelton Cortez Moss.  Mr. Moss made the case for the Common Core curriculumn in a column published yesterday in the Clarion-Ledger.  It was a column that appeared to be written by someone who is not a "literacy specialist". 

The Singing River Health System pension fund scandal continues to worsen as it becomes clear the pension fund was ignored and allowed to fall apart since 2009.  Scenes of scared retirees dominate the news as politicians scramble for cover as these same retirees and reporters look for answers.  The Jackson County Board of Supervisors claim ignorance as a "reason" for allowing the financial disaster to take place.  However, the hospital system submitted an audit every year to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors.  JJ obtained copies of the audits from 2009 to 2013 through a public records request.  The auditors stated that Singing River had quit funding the pension but no one paid attention.  The auditors did not do anyone any favors as they buried the details deep in the audits and did not make a serious effort to warn the Supervisors and Chancery Clerk.  What emerges from reading the audits is a picture of a pension fund that was cut off and allowed to die by the Singing River health system administration. 

Attorney Generalissimo Jim Hood issued the following press release:

The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following press release:

The city of Jackson issued the following press release:

WLBT reported Kenneth Stokes is at it again:

The Office of the U.S. Attorney issued the following press release:

106 vote margin. 2,023 to 1,917.  Here are the sheets:

Here is the Singing River Audit for 2009 and 2008 as submitted to Jackson County several years ago.  I'm posting this for anyone who wants to ramble through the weeds and see if there is anything noteworthy in these financial statements.

Ridgeland Police arrested Krista Brown for allegedly embezzling $9,556 from her employer, Material Girls. Material Girls is owned by Whitney Giordano Foster.  Ms. Foster said she was the General Manager of Material Girls and worked at the company for over seven years. 

Note:  The problems at Singing River Health System (Jackson County) continue to mount.  The Sun-Herald has been breaking stories left and right about the troubled hospital system. It is important to start from the beginning so JJ is posting stories starting from several weeks ago and bringing readers up to speed on this crisis down on the coast.

The Sun-Herald reported on December 1 that the Singing River Health System only had 23 days of operating cash on hand.  The newspaper also reported the Jackson County Board of Supervisors wanted to question former Singing River CEO  Chris Anderson about the fiasco that is Singing River's finances. Mr Anderson is the current CEO of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. The newspaper reported:

The Lieutenant Governor's office issued the following press release:

Here is the dead suspect who tried to kill police officers yesterday in Ridgeland  yesterday:

The problems at Singing River Health System (Jackson County) continue to mount.  The Sun-Herald has been breaking stories left and right about the troubled hospital system. It is important to start from the beginning so JJ is going to post stories starting from several weeks ago and bring readers up to speed on this crisis down on the coast. Make no mistake, it is a crisis as several hundred employees paid into a pension system only to find they were um, misled and that is putting it mildly.  Here is this story from November 19:

The House Democratic Caucus issued the following press release:

Anonymous is now working the Jessica Chambers case.  See the links below:

What's wrong with this picture from today's Clarion-Ledger?

This little chart from the Wall Street Journal shows what's happened to measles since the anti-vaccination movement picked up steam:

Well, well, well. It looks like Tommy Orlando Young got his bond revoked yesterday for failure to appear in court on December 10:

Last night's show on WMPR was real interesting.  The co-hosts, Malcolm Johnson and Crystal Martin, gave thanks the new CEO for the airport is black.  They even went so far as to repeatedly say the airport was a "plantation" and has been a "plantation" for years.  However, they were just getting warmed up as you will see. Skip the first couple of minutes as its just intro stuff.

Senator Thad Cochran's wife, Rose, passed away. She recently entered hospice care.  Funeral arrangements will be posted when available.  Governor Phil Bryant issued the following statement:

 Update: Here is this little photo of young Mr. Young that was taken shortly after he got out of jail:

The Madison County Journal slammed the $1.2 million airport study in an editorial last week.  The newspaper said it the airport will never be built and the true purpose was to generate fees for certain contractors.  Read on.

Chris Epps' attorney John Colette filed a motion seeking a continuance for his federal trial today.  The trial was scheduled to begin on January 5, 2015.  The motion states the prosecution does not object to the continuance.

Google away. Here is his background.

Rankin-Madison District Attorney Michael Guest issued the following press release:

Madison resident and overall good guy Bill Billingsley issued the following press release:

The Mississippi Business Journal reported that the Board of Commissioners for the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority will announce the name of the new CEO at a press conference today:

Rankin-Madison District Attorney Michael Guest issued the following press release:

Ben Allen interviewed Ward 1 candidate Dorsey Carson for the first half hour while I subbed for Ben and interviewed the other candidate, Ashby Foote, in the second half hour.

A Rankin County jury convicted Nathaniel Cooper on one count of dog-fighting and one count of conspiracy.  He received a three-year prison sentence and a $3,000 fine for the dog-fighting charge. He also received a five-year prison sentence and $5,000 fine for the conspiracy charge.  He classified as a habitual offender. The sentences are to run consecutive and he must serve day for day. Earlier post on arrest.

Saturday Night Live didn't broadcast this sketch but its making the rounds on Youtube.

Here are the "C" ratings given to restaurants since September 18 by the Mississippi Department of Health.  The department will reinspect the restaurant within a few days after it receives the failing grade.  The restaurants posted below passed their follow-up inspections unless otherwise noted. 

It looks like the Commissioners who sit on the Board for the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority want to get paid per diem while traveling on "airport business".  The board meets twice a month in a work session and a regular board meeting.  Board attorney John Walker asked the Attorney General to determine if JMAA could pay Commissioners a per diem expense for while attending trips on airport business.

The Department of Justice issued the following press release:

Little Brodrick Robinson was scheduled for trial today for house burglary.  However, Judge Kidd has  a civil trial held over from last Friday, so he canceled his criminal docket today.  The trial was postponed to a later date.  The courtroom Friday was filled with suits, as they tried their case before the learned jurist.  So the suits get their justice while the homeowners of Jackson have to wait for theirs. Nice. Here are some of the other cases against Mr. Robinson:

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following press release:

The port of Savannah surged for the last decade  while Mississippi screwed around with the port of Gulport for years.  Bloomberg News reported:

Today we all remember the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. We took our licks, toughened up, and gave them more than they ever bargained for when they pulled off their sneak attack. If interested in a good movie telling the story of the attack, watch Tora, Tora, Tora. It was made back in the 1970's, and is far superior to the theatrical piece of garbage starring Ben Affleck a few years ago. This is a link to a gallery of photos taken after the attack at Boston.com. Here is color video of the attack:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke slams Eric Holder and others in an address to the National Press Club.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported that an Oxford resident was inspired by The Million Pound Bank Note:

 State Farm v. Crystal Martin and Brandi Barnett will probably be the legacy of the now-deceased Precious Martin as his wife and Brandi Barnett both dispute who should be the proper beneficiary of a  $500,272 life insurance policy held by Mr. Martin that named Ms. Barnett as the beneficiary. Crystal Martin also said Ms. Barnett lived in a home owned by Precious Martin and accused her of "seducing" her husband as she sued her for alienation of affection. The case has been assigned to Judge Henry Wingate. 

Is measles making a comeback? Dr.Haider Javed Warraich argues the once-conquered disease is indeed on the rebound, but in areas where parents are not vaccinating their children against the disease. Dr. Warraich asks if the state should mandate such vaccines. He lauds Mississippi for its tough policy against exemptions, but points out some Mississippians want to weaken the law and thus endanger public health. Ironic since Mississippi is probably one of the least healthy states. Dr. Warraich writes:

Former Jackson Municipal Court Judge June Hardwick sent a racially inflammatory email about Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill one week before the November 4 election. Apparently the judge does not employ the type of justice she enjoyed from another judge in Hinds County.  Ms. Hardwick wrote:

What happened to Star Wars? Why did the franchise suddenly decline?  This 2010 L.A. Times interview with former Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz provides some answers:

Here is some political porn for the polijunkies out there.  Here are the precinct reports and summaries for the Ward 1 City Council primary election.  Some quick notes:

Mayor Tony Yarber issued the following press release:

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following press release:

WLBT reported that local fast-food workers will go on strike tomorrow:

Here is the airport study presented to the Madison County Board of Supervisors Monday:

Here are the preliminary totals for Ward 1:

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following press release:

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber issued the following press release:

The Madison County Journal reported the Madison County Board of Supervisors received a study recommending three sites for a new airport.  The Journal published these posts on its Facebook page yesterday:

Here are the crime stats and maps for Jackson for the week ending November 19, 2014:

Rankin-Madison District Attorney Michael Guest issued the following press release:

There is another Cochran out there.  Can you imagine this guy in politics?

Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves called for Mississippi to abolish the Common Core program in this address at the Stennis Institute luncheon today:

There is a great deal of advertising on this site by the candidates for the Ward 1  City Council election.  Please take the time to watch their videos and read their ads.  The field is a good one.  I  wish we had a field of candidates such as this one in every election for councilman, supervisor, and alderman.  Hell, you can already tell one obvious difference between these guys and most of the city council: they actually have real jobs. They've slogged through the neighborhoods, knocking on doors, asking for votes. Endured the stage fright of debates.  Given up time for work and family and instead given it to you because they thought Ward 1 was worth fighting for on the city council.  They respect you enough to advertise on this site and ask for your vote so please try to show them the same respect and learn more about them on this site as well.  Tomorrow is an important election in Ward 1 so please get out and vote. 

This recent video of Mr. Farrakhan gets good at 4:00.