Jackson Jambalaya

The fried catfish and strawberry cobbler at McDade's today are excellent.  Gityasome. 

The ACLU found out the hard way that when it swings at a Sheriff, the Sheriff might swing back.  The ACLU hit Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker last month with a lawsuit that it announced in a highly charged press conference last month.  It raised the spectres of Mississippi's pasts and accused the Sheriff of placing the Madison County black community "under a state of seige".  Sheriff Tucker was having none of it and fired right back at the ACLU in a response filed yesterday in court.  The Madison County Sheriff refused to back down to the ACLU and got right down in the mud with his accusers.  Earlier post and copy of lawsuit.

A relative of one of the suspects in the murder of six year-old Kingston Frazier lashed out on Facebook recently.  It is a very intriguing post:

The Byram Police Department issued the following statement and pictures.

Lord Snow has assumed a rather prominent role at the Mississippi Department of Education, as it represents both MDE and those who do business with the agency.  Butler Snow acts as both a lawyer for MDE and a lobbyist for clients who obtained very lucrative contracts.  The Mississippi Way continues in more regal fashion.

Madison-Rankin District Attorney issued the following statement.

Our huge visitors are wrapping up their visit next week - it was extended to July 4th! If you have not come by to be growled at by the T-Rex and baby, chirped at by the Coelophyses, or spit on by the Suchomimus, you are missing out! These nearly full-sized animatronic creatures from the Dinosaur Company are simply the coolest thing, and really help highlight what "extinction" really means.

Mississippi State Treasurer Lynn Fitch issued the following statement.

Mark Mayfield's widow and his family sued, take a deep breath, Lord Snow, Lord Snow CEO Don Clark, City of Madison, Madison Police Chief Gene Waldrop, The Queen, Madison Police Investigator Chuck Harrison, Madison Police Investigator Vickie Currie, Attorney Richard Wilbourn, III, and a bunch of Does.  All government officials were sued individually as well.  The lawsuit claims the defendants are guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment, depriving the late Mr. Mayfield of his civil rights upon arrest, and other torts.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.  Attorney Dorsey Carson represents the plaintiffs.  The complaint is posted below.

The Public Service Commission issued the following press release.

The murder of little Kingston Frazier returned to the news this week when a preliminary hearing was held Monday for Dwan Wakefield, Jr., Byron McBride, Jr., and DeAllen Washington. All three men are charged with capital murder in the death of six year-old Kingston Frazier. Madison County Justice Court Judge Bruce McKinley ordered that the defendants be bound over to the grand jury. JJ purchased a copy of the transcripts of the preliminary hearings and posted them below.  Read what took place in the courtroom Monday for yourself.  There was a great deal of very disturbing testimony. 

A hoodlum shot at a Belhaven resident when he was caught casing a driveway.  The victim posted on Nextdoor:

Patrick House, who has run 10 marathons and more road races of various lengths than he can count, remembers trying to complete one mile back in the spring of 2010.

“I was huffing and puffing and sweating like crazy,” House says, chuckling. “I didn't know if I would finish it but I finally did. It took me right at 17 minutes. I was whipped.”

Former Innovate Mississippi Chief Financial Officer Tonya Klauser pleaded guilty on June 12 to two counts of false pretenses.    The indictment accused her of filing false expense reports and embezzling from her employer from 2010 to 2013.  Innovate Mississippi is the former Mississippi Technology Alliance. The second count provides the gist of the case:

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is terminating a management contract with Power Wellness.  UMMC hired the Chicago company to operate the former Courthouse Racquet Clubs when it purchased them from John Black in 2014.  UMMC sent this email to Wellness Center employees:

The University of Mississippi Medical Center issued the following press release. 

Madison County Justice Court Judge Bruce McKinley ordered three men accused of killing six-year old Kingston Frazier bound over without bond until the grand jury meets.  Dwan Wakefield, Jr., DeAllen Washington, and Byron McBride, Jr. appeared in court today for their preliminary hearings.  They are all charged with capital murder after little Kingston was kidnapped at the I-55N Kroger in Jackson and shot to death in Madison County. 

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following statement.

Posted below are the public records requests submitted to Jackson since January 1, 2017. 

U2 will appear at the Superdome on September 14.  Tickets are still available but if you can't wait for the show, here is a bootleg recording from the War tour in 1983.  The sound quality is surprisingly good. Enjoy.

Madison County resident Heath Hall will be become the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration.  Mr. Hall posted this message on Facebook:

 Notorious Jackson hoodlum Vidal Sullivan still sits in the Hinds County jail awaiting trial.  However, the District Attorney could send him back to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for violating his probation but has yet to do so.  JJ reported on March 29:

If you can't make it to church this morning, enjoy this 1988 sermon from the late Dr. Frank Pollard of First Baptist Church (Jackson). 

Former Ole Miss Assistant Athletic Director Barney Farrar vigorously defended himself against allegations that he was the mastermind responsible for recruiting violations in the football program.  JJ obtained a copy of his response through a public records request and posted it below. 

This pretty cool Youtube video shows the Beatles as they age through the years.

"It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time," wrote Isaac Asimov. "People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?"

JJ obtained an audio recording of the initial appearance of Joshua Garcia earlier this week in U.S. District Court. It is posted below and a little over eight minutes long.

JPD posted the latest crime stats on Twitter yesterday:

or Like a Good Neighbor, Ruger is there.  A thief took a left turn in Albuquerque and wound up being taped up on tape when he tried to rob a home while the homeowner was away.  However, he didn't reckon on the wonders of modern technology:

A Mississippi Supreme Court Complaint Tribunal disbarred Vicksburg Attorney Michael Winfield from the practice of law on June 6.  Mr. Winfield conspired with a client to defraud an estate and a Chancellor so they could split $50,000 in 2013.  Mr. Winfield is the brother for former Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield.  Paul Winfield was convicted of bribery while Mayor. JJ first reported on Michael Winfield's inability to properly practice law in a 2014 post, A Lesson in How not to Practice Law, that covered a different case.

A restaurant frequented by one-percenters was forced to shut down today due to a break in a water main at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Manship:

The little 8 year-old who was shot in the head last weekend will make a full recovery.  JPD posted this picture of the little tyke on Twitter:

A preliminary hearing will be held in Madison County Justice Court Monday at 9:00 AM for Dwan Wakefield, Jr., Byron McBride, Jr., and DeAllen Washington.  They are charged with capital murder in the death of six year-old Kingston Frazier. Judge Bruce McKinley will preside over the hearing. 

The Public Service Commission issued the following statement yesterday.

Moody's downgraded the rating of Hinds County's general obligation bonds from Aa2 to Aa3 in a bulletin issued yesterday:

The Kingfish filed a public records complaint against Ole Miss two weeks ago with the Mississippi Ethics Commission.  The university refused to provide a copy of the NCAA complaint against the football program and the school's response that contained the unredacted names of boosters cites in the documents.  Ole Miss said it would really really like to provide the records with those unredacted names but it awaits guidance from the Commission.

Attorney General Jim Hood issued the following press release. 

HBO just dropped a second Game of Thrones trailer.

Note: Audio of hearing posted below. 

The wheels of justice continued to grind up the fates of Jamison Townsend and Joshua Garcia.  A federal grand jury indicted them on June 6 for using a firearm to rob Bill's Coin & Jewelry Exchange and kill three men in December. The two accused killers made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court yesterday.   The couple fled Mississippi after the murders and were caught in Junction, Kansas several days later.  They are currently being held without bond.

Do you remember when a 7,000-yard golf course was considered a ridiculously long monstrosity? Do you remember when a 300-yard drive was considered prodigious? Do you remember when golf pros hit 7-irons 150-yards and wedges about 100?

It's been thirty years since greatness hit the movie screens:

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

Jarvis posing on social media week after robbery

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health tried to bury a report that blasted its shortcomings from the public. However,  the good guys won a round last week as the Clarion-Ledger's won it's fight to obtain a copy of the report.  The report said Mississippi spent much less per child on mental health services than the national average while it spent more of its budget on expensive institutionalized care than did other states.  The Justice Department weighed Mississippi's delivery of mental health services to it's children and found it to be very wanting.  The state naturally followed it's natural inclination to keep it all a secret and fought the newspaper in court over releasing a report ordered by the state.  Some highlights of the report are:

Someone put together over thirty years of WLBT ID clips on Youtube.  You will probably recognize one voice at 2:55. Enjoy.

You may have heard Mississippi Power Company asked for another rate increase for its Kemper County Lignite Plant. The request was in a June 5 filing in response to an order by the Mississippi Public Service Commission to review an earlier temporary rate increase. That earlier 15% increase was for the cost of Kemper’s turbines generating electricity from natural gas plus some incidental costs related to Kemper’s inoperable gasifier. It was scheduled to decrease as some of the costs it covered were amortized.

Jackson Mayor-Elect Chokwe Lumumba, Jr. issued the following statement.

Shooting victim Jason Brent continues to recover at UMMC although the road is long, painful, and tough. He was shot during a robbery at Battery Sales & Service on West Fortification Street.  His family posted these updates on their public Facebook pages:

It looks like the Madison County Board of Supervisors might issue bonds for $8 million.  The resolution is on the agenda for tomorrow's regular board meeting.  The resolution states:

The media is agog over anything mentioning Trump, Russia, or FBI.  Camille Paglia slammed the media last week for making a fool out of itself while Trump goes on about his business in a Weekly Standard interview. She said

Last week, that conceptual gap was on prominent display, as the media, consumed with their preposterous Russian fantasies, were fixated on former FBI director James Comey's maudlin testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Comey is an effete charlatan who should have been fired within 48 hours of either Hillary or Trump taking office.) Meanwhile, Trump was going about his business. The following morning, he made remarks at the Department of Transportation about "regulatory relief," excerpts of which I happened to hear on my car radio that afternoon. His words about iron, aluminum, and steel seemed to cut like a knife through the airwaves. I later found the entire text on the White House website.   Rest of interview.

If you can't make it to church this morning, enjoy this sermon from the late Dr. Frank Pollard.  One of the best preachers to ever grace Mississippi. 

Ole Miss Head Football Coach Hugh Freeze defended himself against the NCAA's charge that he lost control of his program.  The response was obtained through a public records request.  It appears Ole Miss and Coach Freeze have gone "all in" together on their response to the NCAA.  Coach Freeze argues that he created a culture of compliance at Ole Miss and blames the violations on individuals who lied to him as they evaded NCAA rules. 

The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following statement.

A Jackson waitress nailed her boss in the face with a chocolate cream pie after he mistreated her at a local restaurant.  Chris Costas reported the culinary crime to the police and had her arrested for assault.

A local ad agency is fighting a battle with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety over the payment of advertising invoices.  Media outlets in Mississippi are owed nearly $700,000 for DPS's advertising campaigns.  DPS says the agency must pay the bills first and then get reimbursed.  The ad agency claims the state is supposed to pay the invoices when presented instead of proof of payment by the agency.  The Clarion-Ledger reported yesterday:

A video of a JPD officer coming out on the short end of a short scuffle is making the rounds on Facebook:

 "we have now what we have always needed, real partnership with the government"

The Mississippi State Medical Association represented the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure for two years as a lobbyist.  The Board paid MSMA $30,000 in fees for its services.  The Board is the regulatory agency for physicians in Mississippi. MSMA calls itself "the largest physician advocacy organization in Mississippi, representing nearly 5,000 physicians and medical students."

Hinds County deputies arrested Jackson attorney Walter Zinn Friday night for a DUI.  Zinn lost to Trent Kelly in a runoff to replace the 1st District Congressman Alan Nunnelee in a 2015 special election.  He also served as a policy advisor to Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Sr.

The City of Jackson is now providing free swimming pools:

Jackson Jambalaya filed a public records complaint against Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason at the Mississippi Ethics Commission last week.  JJ attempted to obtain the weapons qualifications scores for Hinds County deputies last year but Sheriff Mason denied the public records request.

The New Black Panthers announced on Facebook that they will protest at the Mississippi State Capitol today over the beheading of Jeremy Jackson:

In the recent Fed Ex St. Jude Classic, Ole Miss sophomore Braden Thornberry shot 71 in the first round, 69 in the second. Thornberry, playing for the first time in a PGA Tour event, was warming to the task.

You may not want to try this in public......

The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following statement.  

JPD issued the following statement.

The Mississippi State Department of Health issued the following statement.

The Mississippi State Medical Association tried to get the Kingfish to remove his own comment on this website.  There was a rather vigorous discussion that took place on JJ when I posted the news about the firing of Executive Director Dr. Jerry Hall by the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure last month.   I made a comment about MSMA Executive Director Charmain Kanosky on May 22, 2017 at 7:58 AM that drew the ire of the white-coats:

34 days until season 7 of Game of Thrones begins. There will be some pretty long episodes in this season:

JPD identified the beheading victim as Jeremy Jerome Jackson on Twitter:

The city of Jackson issued the following press release. 

A copy of the lawsuit is posted below. 

Rebel Rags sued Mississippi State football players Leo Lewis and Kobe Jones for defamation in Lafayette County Circuit Court Friday.  The complaint also named Lindsey Miller and several John Does as defendants.  A NCAA Notice of Allegations charged that an unnamed Ole Miss booster gave free merchandise to two unnamed players in violation of NCAA guidelines.  Lindsey Miller is the step-father of Laremy Tunsil.

JPD Chief Lee Vance held a press conference to discuss the murder of Johnny Brown and an unknown man whose head was decapitated last weekend.  Chief Vance urged anyone who had information to contact JPD or federal agencies.  He stressed there are ways to submit such information anonymously.  JPD also requested assistance from federal agencies.  He said right now no theory "was off the table".  WLBT's video of the press conference is posted below.

JPD and Hinds County deputies arrested William Frazier on December 17, 2016 for shooting into an occupied vehicle.   Frazier is the father of Kingston Frazier. JJ obtained the police report through a public records request. The police report states:

A former Belhaven employee won a sexual harassment lawsuit, while Carlos the Clown's client stands accused of destroying evidence.  Erica Stewart sued Belhaven and its employee, Tarold Durham in U.S. District Court last year for sexual harassment.  Attorney Carlos Moore represented Ms. Stewart. Judge Carlton Reeves granted Durham's motion for summary judgment. However, Belhaven is a pit bull that won't let go of something between it's jaws, as it is also seeking sanctions against Ms. Stewart for getting rid of her cellphone after she was asked to provide text messages for discovery.  It also didn't help Mr. Moore's case upon discovering his client sent a nearly-nude selfie of herself to Mr. Durham before he sent a picture of his um, member, to her. 

The late Dr. Frank Pollard discussed taking on life's bullies in this 1988 sermon. 

Ole Miss released its response to the NCAA's  2017 amended notice of allegations earlier this week. The NCAA charged Ole Miss with 21 violations that took place from 2010 to 2016.  The university admitted that "significant violations occurred" regarding the conduct of its football program but then patted itself on the back for "taking responsibility" and imposing its own penalties on the football program.  However, Ole Miss fiercely denied it had lost institutional control of the program - the most serious charge made by the NCAA. 

Strong words from Governor Phil Bryant in his state-of-the-state address back in January:

"To the taxpayers who hear this message, rest assured your Governor recognizes that you are sovereign. You, by the power of your vote, grant us the authority to govern. The Mississippi Constitution makes clear that, 'All power is vested in and derived from the people.'"

JPD issued the following statements on Twitter:

Readers were asking so here is the Mayor's campaign finance report that was filed on May 30. He managed to raise $263,264 in his campaign.  JJ would love to post the reports for the other Mayoral candidates who were on the ballot last week but they couldn't seem to get around to actually filing their reports.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney issued the following advisory. 

Note: This post originally appeared on December 4, 2012.  The post became relevant again when the Southern Poverty Law Center recently sued the state of Mississippi over the funding of education.  SPLC claimed that majority white school districts enjoyed better ratings because they received more funding while majority black school districts suffered less funding.  However, this 2012 post reviewed the Mississippi Children's First for 2011-2012 that were produced by MDE.  Sadly, MDE stopped producing them when Dr. Carey Wright assumed office.  A sampling of the reports is posted at the bottom of this post.  The data is five years old but still relevant.  JJ initially reviewed the reports to see if there was any difference or patterns between successful and failing school districts.  No real patterns developed.  However, JJ did see what the SPLC did when the reports were reviewed by race and thus delved further into the weeds.  MDE did produce the reports for 2012-2013 school year.  A sampling revealed the findings from the previous year were still valid.  Earlier post with copy of SPLC lawsuit.


Highlights of post:
-All district report cards reviewed with charts included below. 
-Districts reviewed on # of teachers hired/Total # of employees
-Total spending per student compared by grades and majority race. All federal, state, & local funding dollars is included.
-Statistics are compared between majority-black and majority-white districts. Charts included.
-Districts over 80% of one race are compared to each other. Charts included.

A review of annual report cards for all Mississippi public school districts reveals some uncomfortable trends: majority-black districts in Mississippi spend more money per student, hire a fewer percentage of teachers, and have worse ratings than majority-white districts. The picture worsened for districts at least 80% black. They spend $2,000 more per student than  districts at least 80% white while performing much worse.

Hartford, Connecticut is has some of the same problems facing Jackson.  Joseph De Avila reported in the Wall Street Journal this week:

Update: JJ submitted a public records complaint to the Ethics Commission yesterday.  

Ole Miss refused to provide this website with a copy of the 2017 NCAA Amended Notice of Allegations that did not redact the name of boosters cited.  JJ submitted this request last weekend to the Office of General Counsel for Ole Miss:

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

It seems the ACLU's star plaintiff in it's lawsuit against the Madison County Sheriff's Office has a rather colorful past.  One Khadafi Manning has been convicted of drug dealing and also arrested for domestic violence.  He is also suing the MCSO for targeting the Canton Estates Apartments with roadblocks and illegal searches while he sues Canton Estates for being too dangerous.

Update: Hemphill turned himself in and is being held without bond. 

JPD identified a suspect in the shooting and armed robbery that took place at Battery Sales & Service on West Fortification Street yesterday and he is known to JJ readers.  JPD issued the following bulletins on Twitter:

A victim of a shooting that took place during a robbery yesterday at Battery Sales & Service on West Fortification Street is recovering from surgery although he is still in critical condition.  JPD posted these messages and video on Twitter yesterday:

So, as this is written, Mississippi State and Southern Miss are about to play in a regional championship in Hattiesburg and your correspondent is roughly 4,400 miles away in Dublin City.

And your correspondent won't return until after either State or USM plays LSU in a Super Regional this weekend in Baton Rouge.

It's now official: Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Jr.  Richard White kicked butt in Byram.  The Florence Mayor went down in defeat.  Jake Windham won by a huge landslide in Pearl. Down in Hattiesburg, long-time Mayor Johnny Dupree lost decisively by nearly two thousand votes to State Representative Toby Barker.  Fire away in the comments. 

Note: This post reports the NCAA Amended Notice of Allegations against Ole Miss.  The Ole Miss response will be reported in a later post.  

The NCAA charged Ole Miss with a lack of institutional control over its football program in an amended notice of allegations that was provided to the school in February.  The notice contains 21 charges against the program. Ole Miss posted a copy of the 2017 NCAA notice of allegations and the university's response to them on its website today. .The notice and response is posted below.  The notice states that 15 boosters were involved in the violations but redacts their names.  Several coaches and athletic department employees were allegedly involved in the cheating as well.   The alleged violations took place from 2010 to 2016.

The Clinton police have been busy.  CPD issued the following statement and mug shot.  This dude might be a future Darwin award candidate one day.  He has potential.

The Clinton Police Department issued the following statement and mug shot.

Time to take a break from news and politics.  Check out this webcam of some Ospreys down in Orange Beach. If you visit Orange Beach and look around, you might notice a few utility poles that have no wires attached to them but have a nest at the top.  That is no mistake as the power company erected those poles just for the Ospreys.   Those little seahawks just love utility poles and would tear up the lines when building their nests.  Thus the power company installed the naked poles and even placed webcams so people can watch the little birds after they hatch.  Enjoy. If the above link does not work, try this one.

Clinton police arrested an employee of the Hinds County Sheriff's Office Saturday for DUI. Al Shurden is a detention officer at the Work Center. He was released on bond. 

The Mississippi Ethics Commission told Ole Miss that it must provide the names of boosters who were named in an NCAA Amended Notice of Allegations.  The Commission sent a preliminary report and recommendation to Ole Miss last Friday.  Steve Robertson of Scout.com had filed a complaint with the Commission after the university refused to provide him with a copy of the amended notice. The Commission will adopt the recommendations if neither party objects or after a hearing is  held.

Carlos the Clown is actually running for President of the National Bar Association.  NBA is a national association for black lawyers.  Mr. Moore started his "Stay Woke" campaign with this message to the Magnolia Bar:

The murder of little Kingston Frazier was nothing short of evil. The Jackson metro area was paralyzed.  A family was devastated and traumatized.  Grown men and women cried when the news of the murder was reported.  Seasoned cops said it was the worst day of their careers. However, the Hinds County Sheriff's handling of the case raised questions not to be ignored.  A suspect was released.  The Amber Alert was not submitted for several hours.  Public statements were made that weren't true but were later called mistakes. Law enforcement should never be above reproach and the murder of Kingston Frazier is no exception. 

There is a measles outbreak in Minnehaha.  There are 73 confirmed cases and all but four patients were unvaccinated.  The Washington Post reported on June 1:

The late Dr. Frank Pollard praised mothers in this 1988 sermon.

An Ole Miss booster who was disassociated from the football program sued Ole Miss to keep his name from being disclosed.  The lawsuit was filed in Hinds County Chancery Court on May 23.  A public records request asked for a copy of the NCAA amended notice of allegations.  The notice stated the names of several boosters who were disassociated from the football program.  Mr. Doe withdrew his petition on May 26 without prejudice.

There is a really cool way to look at Mars.  Click on this link and move your cellphone around.  This link is best clicked on a cellphone or Ipad.  enjoy.

Our boy Broderick Robinson is back in jail.  JPD issued the following press release about the arrest of Broderick Robinson and his brother.

Former Mississippi State University linebacker Quinton Culberson has been on a downward spiral for the last year.  He was convicted of a felony DUI last year but continues to have substance abuse problems.  He was arrested twice in November for business burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia.  He was again arrested for violating the terms of his probation. 

Source: Carolina Panthers

Whoever the new Mayor of Jackson is will have to make several quick decisions thanks to a new state law*. The interim Directors of Public Works and Finance can't get paid after July 1 and the JMAA Board of Commissioners will lack a quorum after August.  Anna Wolfe reported in the Clarion-Ledger yesterday:

A regular fixture of Jackson is sadly no more.  Doris Berry closed down her  fresh produce stand at the Farmer's Market on West Street recently.  Jacksonians enjoyed her service for over 68 years.  Ms. Berry posted this message on Facebook:

Gone

Marshall Ramsey is known for poking fun at politicians through his cartoons.  However, everyone needs a change of pace and Marshall is no exception.  He has been sketching WWII planes this week as a form of art therapy.  Check them out. 

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

The Mississippi Department of Corrections issued the following statement.

Defenders of embattled Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith spoke out about his Rankin County indictments at a press conference yesterday.  Othor Cain posted this video on his Facebook page: