Jackson Jambalaya

If one wants to know why Jackson is falling apart, look no farther than Ward 5 Jackson City Councilman Charles Tillman and his properties.  Mr. Tillman owns 65 properties in Jackson.  The pictures posted below show the deplorable state of some of his houses.

These pictures are a perfect example of what is wrong with Jackson leadership.  Mr. Tillman has served several terms on the Jackson City Council. However, he vies with the Ward 7 Councilwoman to see who can miss the most meetings.  These pictures alone show he is unfit to serve, much less lead, Jackson.  Mr. Tillman would not be allowed to get away with this crap in Madison, Ridgeland, Pearl, Brandon, Clinton, or Flowood.  He is neither fit to serve nor fit to lead and that, my friends, is the bottom line.  Jackson can no longer afford to suffer such leadership. 

Update: The young boy died. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.

Quite a few people probably didn't make it to church this morning thanks to the weather.  JJ presents this 1989 sermon from the late Dr. Frank Pollard. 

Collection of all posts on the Gold Coast.  

It is Saturday night and that means JJ is publishing another post on the Gold Coast of Rankin County.  This week's edition covers the battle for the soul of Jackson that took place between the bootleggers and "the law".  Troops raided the Gold Coast, court dockets filled up, politicians screeched, and yet somehow, the whiskey flowed.

The Jackson Mayoral candidates had one last debate before Tuesday's Democratic primary.  The Clarion-Ledger and League of Women Voters hosted them at the Mississippi College Schools of Law last night.  The newspaper's video is posted below.  However, headphones might be needed as the audio was not of the highest quality. 

The home of a Canton mayoral candidate is in foreclosure right now.  This notice was published in the Clarion-Ledger on April 20:

Millsaps College and Chism Strategies issued the following press release and poll.

The city of Jackson issued the following press release.

This video is a good lesson in how not to be a cop even though the cop is from Brusly, La.  Watch for yourself and judge. The news broadcast video runs for a minute.  The "good stuff" starts at 1:00.

Mississippi Today reported that Mississippi Baptist Health Systems is merging with its cousin in Memphis:

Chokwe Lumumba, Jr. filed his campaign finance report last night.  Read it and weep.

Update (4/28/2017):  Eric Johnson turned himself in this afternoon and after being processed, he was released on a $1000 cash bond until his court date of May 9^th at 1:30 pm.

The Ridgeland Police Department issued the following statement:

Burglars and violent criminals constitute most of the inmates in the Hinds County detention centers.  JJ reviewed a roster of the inmates.  Less than twenty percent of the Hinds County inmates were arrested for drug crimes and most of those offenses were trafficking.  The statistics remain little changed from three years ago when this website conducted a similar review. 

Crimestoppers issued the following bulletin.

More than 90% of all Mississippi kids attend public schools. That means that 90% of the state’s workforce, voters, parents, and leaders come from public schools. More than 60,000 teachers and support staff work in Mississippi’s public schools, and Mississippi state government spends more than $2 billion a year on public education. In addition, local taxpayers spend untold millions more. Is it any wonder that the subject of public education is always at the forefront for most Mississippians?

Hinds County resident Kenny Bryant sued recording artist R. Kelly for alienation of affection in Hinds County Circuit Court on April 21.  The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jeff Weill.   Mr. Kelly sang hits such as I Believe I Can Fly and If I Can Turn Back Time.  He has sold over 40 million records in his career.  The complaint is rather salacious in nature as it accuses Mr. Kelly of giving his wife chlymedia and having a sexual relationship with his wife that began a few months after they were married and continued for several years.

Collection of all posts on PERS.  

Well, well, well. It seems the local media finally deemed PERS worthy of its notice.  Of course, the AP's Jeff Amy didn't do any real reporting but instead regurgitated a report spoonfed to him by a think tank but progress is progress.

The Taxman, otherwise known as the Mississippi Department of Revenue, wants to tax the short-term renting of homes and apartments.  DOR filed a notice of a proposed amendment to an existing rule with the Secretary of State on March 24.  A hearing will be held today at the department's Clinton office at 3:30.   The proposed amendment redefines a hotel or motel to include single-family dwellings:

The 2017 NFL Draft begins Thursday, and there is really only one sure thing. That is, mistakes will be made.

It happens every year.

JPD issued the following statement:

The campaign finance reports for the Jackson Mayoral candidates was due at the close of business today.  All major candidates except Chokwe Lumumba, Jr. filed a campaign finance report.  However, a new PAC, Democracy for America, was formed for the express purpose of helping Mr. Lumumba.  It raised and donated all of $1,000 to his campaign.  Here are the reports.

 Vice magazine published a rather interesting version of the reign of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Sr. - from the viewpoint of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.  JJ posted some excerpts of the April 2016 article below along with some color commentary from yours truly. 

The widow of Mark Mayfield wants to ask a Madison County attorney some questions concerning his involvement in the Rose Cochran "nursing home scandal" that took place in the 2014 Senate race.  Robin Mayfield filed a complaint for discovery against Richard Wilbourn in Madison County Chancery Court on January 18, 2017. Mr. Mayfield committed suicide after he was arrested for allegedly participating in a plot to use pictures of a vegetative Rose Cochran in a campaign video attacking Senator Thad Cochran.  Earlier post on arrest.

Madison-Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest issued the following statement.

Campaign finance reports for the Jackson municipal elections are due tomorrow.  The last deadline for these reports was January 31, 2017.  Candidates Mayor Tony Yarber and Robert Graham submitted their January reports.  A PAC for Chokwe Lumumba, Jr. submitted one.  John Horhn submitted one to the Secretary of State for his State Senator campaign finance account.  The reports are posted below.  Enjoy.

The Mississippi Parole Board voted to grant parole to convicted embezzler and disbarred attorney Jason Zebert.  Zebert was released on February 19, 2016.  

It appears a fight broke out at the baseball park in Ridgeland Friday night.  The video below shows two men being separated by a crowd of bystanders by the concession stand.  

We are going into the home stretch of the Mayor's race.  We will be covering it from now until the final ballots are cast.  Consider this post to be an open thread for your to comment on the election. Fire away. 

Former Jackson State University Coach Harold Jackson sued his former employer in Hinds County Circuit Court Wednesday for employment discrimination.  Mr. Jackson claimed JSU discriminated against him and breached his contract when it fired him for having a losing record of 6-11 in 2015.  The school hired him in 2014 after firing Coach Rick Comegy. The school paid him a salary of $260,000 -a $60,000 increase over Coach Comegy's salary. 

If you can't make it to church this morning, enjoy this 1987 sermon given by the late Dr. Frank Pollard at First Baptist Church. 

HBO released several photos of the upcoming season of Game of Thrones:

 Collection of all posts covering the Gold Coast of Rankin County.

1940 was a typical year on the Gold Coast of Rankin County: Bootleggin', whiskey, shootings, and good ole fashioned hell-raisin'. Jackson City Limits and The Dock had nothing on this place.   Someone even thought it would be groovy to drop some acid on the Sheriff.  Posted below is a collection of 1940 articles from the Clarion-Ledger covering the Gold Coast.  Enjoy. 

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn are touting their great success this year in holding down the cost of government.

An East Jackson man was mighty upset as he shot up an operating room at a local hospital.  28 year-old William Dewitt got drunk, went to the Owl's Nest in East Jackson,  and cut a man who worked at the infamous nightclub.  The slicing and dicing of the black man did not satisfy Dewitt's rage so  Dewitt commandeered a taxi and chased the victim to the hospital. He entered the operating room and shot at a nurse who attempted to warn the rest of the staff.  a  Dewitt is white.   Thankfully, only the walls suffered the fury of his bullets as the gunshot victim hurled himself at the hoodlum and caused a shot that was aimed at the nurse's abdomen to miss.  Dewitt was arrested.  The newspaper article is posted below.

Public utilities are supposed to be boring. VERY boring.  However, we are talking about Canton and there is nothing staid or quiet about Canton.  The Blackmons and Warnocks* are fighting over the control of Canton Municipal Utilities in a way that brings to mind the old feud between the Junkyard Dog and the Fabulous Freebirds.  The two sides are slugging it out in federal court right now after CMU fired Rudy Warnock as its engineer after the Blackmons took control of the board of CMU.

However, 69 pages of the text messages of Rudy Warnock were attached to the minutes of the December 22, 2016 meeting of the board of Canton Municipal Utilities before he was fired.  The text messages give one a view of what is going on behind the scenes as threats as all kinds of drama takes place, including threatening to have a reporter beat up. 

The city of Jackson issued the following statement. 

An old friend of JJ received a get out of jail free card although he is still a jailbird.  The Mississippi Parole Board granted parole to disgraced attorney Vann Leonard last year.  He embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients several years ago.  However, his crimes are considered to be "non-violent" and thus he qualifies for parole after serving 25% of his sentence.

JJ is very suspect of so-called bombshells that suddenly appear right before a big election.  It is no secret Kimberly Bracey is suing Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber for sexual harassment. JJ broke the original story about the lawsuit last year.  Speculation ran rampant during the last few weeks that something would be filed right before the election and guess what? Something was. JJ was not going to report this new development in the lawsuit until May 3.  However, the news media is covering it and the Mayor issued a statement so here is the coverage.

The city of Jackson proposed forming a regional treatment authority with the West Rankin Utility Authority for the operation of its wastewater treatment plant on March 13.  Unfortunately for Jackson, West Rankin rejected the proposal.  JJ obtained a copy of the proposal and posted it below.

Auburn finally did something right.  Some Antifa protestors showed up to go all Berkely at a Richard Spencer speech. Some of them apparently forget that the anti-Klan laws applied to them while they protested the Klan.  Irony.  Watch for yourself.  These cops didn't play- unlike those in Berkeley who played while protestors were beaten.

Governor Phil Bryant vetoed a so-called "criminal justice reform" bill. The do-gooders patted themselves on the back as they crowed about how they were going to bring some true justice to the criminal justice system in Mississippi. However, HB #1033 takes aim at communities that try to protect their families from crime in the name of a "disparate sentencing" study. 

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District issued the following statement.

No, we are not talking about Kenneth Stokes but a member of the CMU board.  One Rudolphus Magnus Warnock is engaged in a court fight with Canton Municipal Utilities.  An affidavit was prepared on his behalf but it has not yet been submitted to the court.  The affidavit charges that one Cleveland Anderson offered to have Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler and Madison County Journal reporter Michael Simmons whacked for $10,000 each.  It is not known if the alderman planned to finance the whacking with CMU bonds.

Mississippi Secretary of State Ribbit Hosemann issued the following press release.

A lawsuit accuses a Jackson lawyer of embezzling $40,720 from his clients in a wrongful death lawsuit.  A Covington County family sued attorney Ramal Cotton in Hinds County Chancery Court on September 14, 2016.  Mr. Cotton sits on the boards of the Voice of Cavalry Ministries and the Downtown Jackson Neighborhood Association.  The plaintiffs are currently trying to throw him in jail. 

The NCAA announced last week that college football recruits will now have a chance to sign a scholarship in December rather than wait until the first Wednesday in February, the traditional national signing day.

It's been 75 years since America showed what it is really made of during one of it's darkest hours.   It was 1942.  The Japs kicked our ass at Pearl Harbor and then proceeded to run roughshod over the Pacific.  Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle came up with the idea to attack Japan with B-25's launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier.  A suicide mission that might actually be crazy enough to work.  The rest is history.  The Japs couldn't believe that we dared to bomb their homeland.  It boosted morale at home and showed the Japs there was going to be a fight after all.  It nudged them into attacking Midway and the rest is history, as they say.  What is often forgotten is the brutality suffered by the captured pilots and those who helped the others escape in China.

The Ridgeland Police Department issued the following video, pictures,  and statement.

Meet Battlefield Dubb and his boyz.  Dubb is having a good ole time at the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond jammin' to WJMI and starring in live Facebook videos.  Check out this pic:

The Jackson City Council got to see the two sides of Larry Nelson, Sr.  The south Jackson businessman decided to show some love for Jackson City Councilman Tyrone Hendrix in a rather um, interesting way at the March 21 meeting(1:25):

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement.

The first rule about Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club so these Youtube videos will merely show the Fight Club that met at Alcorn State recently.

 Much ado has been made about the Capitol Complex Improvement District bill that was recently passed by the legislature.  Some have praised it as a major step forward for Jackson while some are shrieking hysterically that it is a state takeover of Jackson.  It's time to put the myths to rest.  JJ posted dissected the bill and posted its findings as well as a copy of the bill below. Read it for yourself and make up your own mind about what it all means.

Click on image to enlarge

We dropped the Mother of All Bombs on ISIS in Afghanistan last week.  Check out this footage of the blast that was shot at the ground level.

The Madison Police Department issued the following press release and mug shots. 

The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached this Easter Sunday sermon in 1993.  If you can't make it to church this morning, enjoy Dr. Pollard's preaching.

Collection of all posts covering the Gold Coast of Rankin County. 

 The most infamous bootlegger in Mississippi history was probably G.W. "Big Red" Hydrick.  The Byram cotton farmer moved to Florence in the 1930;s and began a life of notoriety that spanned several decades on the Gold Coast of Rankin County.  He killed a woman, burned down rival nightclubs, beat black female students, egged on the mob at the Woolworth lunch counter, and shot numerous people.  In other words, he was a mean ole cuss who did what the hell he wanted to do when he wanted to do it.

Photo credit: Daily Clarion-Ledger

Of course, what everyone wants to see is something like this:

The city of Tupelo is standing up to attorney Carlos Moore.  A federal judge imposed sanctions of $3,000 on the attorney last month after he failed to respond to discovery requests in a wrongful death lawsuit.  Mr. Moore sued the city of Tupelo last year on behalf of the family of  Antwun Shumpert after he was shot to death by a Tupelo police officer. Mr. Moore asked the court to reconsider imposing the sanctions on him.  He said he was affected by several death threats that were made against him in a separate lawsuit concerning the state flag.  The city said that Mr. Moore had used his "death threat defense" in other cases as well and asked the court to ignore it. 

North Street residents are sick and tired of being sick and tired of a noisy pump that is operating 24 hours a day for several months now and expressed their displeasure:

The Viking Range brand continues to become more tarnished.  Viking's agreed to pay a $4.65 million fine to the Consumer Product Safety Commission for hiding defects that caused its ranges to burst into flames from customers. The Commission issued the following statement:

Someone freaked out over the mere presence of a Chick-Fil-A on a college campus.  The Duquesne Duke reported on March 26:

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement and picture.

The city of Jackson issued the following press release. 

I'm not going to say a word.  Just watch this video of Ineva Pittman telling the Jackson City Council at its March 21 meeting that Rankin County might try to poison Jackson's water.

This diatribe by Enoch Sanders is one for the books. The Jackson community activist chewed out the Jackson city council over the proposed "regionalization" of the wastewater treatment plant at the March 21 meeting.  Enjoy.

It's been 21 years since a sniper went crazy at the Po Folks restaurant on Ellis Isle one Friday afternoon:

The West Rankin Utility Authority rejected a proposal from Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber to "regionalize" Jackson's wastewater treatment plant:

Mississippi's boys of spring – at least the ones who play college baseball – rarely disappoint. The spring of 2017 is no exception.

Check out this flyer promoting a Chokwe Lumumba fund-raiser that took place in Harlem last week.

I came across this touching article while digging around the archives of the Daily Clarion-Ledger. A.B. Smith's B-24 was shot down by the Germans over Belgium in 1944.  The Jacksonian and three other crewmen were hidden by a Belgium girl and her family. The 1948 article posted below gives the details of the heroic story. He stayed hidden until the Allies liberated the area. His rescuer visited him and his wife in Jackson when this article was written.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections issued the following statement.

MDOT told Governor Phil Bryant last week that it would have to start notifying contractors that it will be unable to pay them if MDOT is not funded.  The legislature did not fund MDOT during the 2017 regular session. MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath said many contractors would have to be notified on or before May 17.  The letter says it all:

Northeast Jackson residents are fighting the rezoning of a parcel  that is on the corner of Sheffield Drive and Ridgewood Road.  The Sheffield Area Homeowners Association sent this email to its members:

This is how you handle an election challenge.

You simply can not make this up and yes, the Kingfish opposes this stupid crap. 

A newspaper thief is running wild in Belhaven.  These messages appeared on Nextdoor:

Mayor Tony Yarber and Chokwe Lumumba, Jr.  went at it Friday night after the challenger accused the Mayor of having a "top-heavy" administration. Watch the short Clarion-Ledger video. 

Three hoodlums were killed when they broke into a home in Oklahoma last week.  The homeowner's son used an AR-15 to kill all three intruders.  A grandfather of one of the deceased outraged that someone would dare shoot his little hoodlum.  KTUL reported:

The family of the late Helen Harrion continues to wait for justice to be served upon her accused killer as the case continues to drag along in the Hinds County criminal justice system.  Alonzo Stewart was indicted for her murder but the case has not yet gone to trial as his lawyer pursues an insanity defense. 

Sorry for the slow pace of JJ this weekend.  I discovered Dispatches from Pluto yesterday and have been engrossed in that book.  Working on posts now. 

If you can't make it to church this morning, enjoy this 1988 sermon given by the late Dr. Frank Pollard.

The United States entered The Great War one hundred years ago this week.  Check out these posters that were used to rally the nation. 

The city of Jackson issued the following press release. 

The city of Jackson issued the following statement for the family of Allen Harper :

The 1% Sales Tax Commission did not meet Wednesday.  The commission is scheduled to meet the first Wednesday of every month.  However, Mayor Tony Yarber cancelled the meeting two weeks ago.

Someone apparently got mad over the moonshine bust that took place earlier this week and gave Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey the chance to audition for the job of Wendy's social media manager.

The Rankin County Sheriff issued the following statement and pictures.

The headline of this post was almost Bo Wallace: FIGJAM!!!  But instead, just read his little Twitter Tantrum posted below.

What exactly is wrong with this picture?

The Clinton Police Department issued the following statement.

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District issued the following statement.

As the final seconds ticked down in the women's national championship game, four Mississippi State seniors fought tears and tried to comfort one another.

That's to be expected. Their college careers ended one victory short of the first national championship in Hail State history. They were heartbroken after Sunday night's 67-55 defeat at the hands of Southeastern Conference nemesis South Carolina.

The State Auditor discovered students are able to access pornography on public school computers.  State Auditor Stacey Pickering disclosed the findings in a cybersecurity report that was issued today.  Some findings of the report are:

The city of Jackson issued the following statement. 

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

The Mississippi Business Journal announced the commencement of a new membership program in this video posted on Youtube yesterday.

Looking for a good CCP gun at a good price?  JJ's readers who are gun enthusiasts may not be aware but they can get some really sweeeeet deals on Smith & Wesson pistols right now.  S&W started offering a $75 mail-in rebate for the MP Shield pistols last weekend.   The online prices for some of their guns were already really good.  They are now practically a steal. 

Claiborne Frazier struck out yet again in his efforts to get out of jail.  The former J.A. quarterback and developer is currently serving a five year federal prison sentence for conspiracy to commit bank,mail, and wire fraud after he pleaded guilty in 2014.  Frazier filed a motion to vacate his sentence in December that was denied.  He filed a motion to reduce his sentence in March.  It was denied as well last Friday. 

Here are the latest crime stats for Jackson.

The University of Mississippi Wellness Centers have lost $516,000 eight months into the fiscal year.  JJ obtained the "financial statements" through a public records request.  The wellness centers are the former Courthouse racquet clubs and fitness centers.

Stokes & the radio.  What could possibly happen?

A federal judge told attorney Carlos Moore to start actually practicing law and stop grandstanding as he fined him $3,000 two weeks ago for failing to respond to discovery requests in a wrongful death lawsuit. Mr. Moore sued the city of Tupelo last year on behalf of the family of  Antwun Shumpert after he was shot to death by a Tupelo police officer.  It also appears Mr. Moore is using anonymous phone calls and memos that don't exist to support his claims as well. 

It's Sunday morning and some of you can't make it to church today.  JJ presents this sermon by the late Dr. Frank Pollard.  He preached on facing problems alone.  Enjoy.

This video of a jailhouse fight appeared on Youtube.  Is this really a Mississippi jail as stated in the video? Does anyone know which one it is?

There is literally a food fight taking place on Twitter between Wendy's and McDonald's.  McDonald's started it all by announcing it would start using fresh beef in its restaurant's next year.  Wendy's couldn't help itself:

Spaceman Spiff is BACK!!!

Give it a break, guys. The we-can’t-spend-money-we-don’t-have argument is just a little too false-hearted.