Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Dear Judge Wingate: Meet Lumumba Transparency

Judge Wingate got a chance to see chutzpah defined in his courtroom Friday as the Lumumba administration claimed it is always transparent about the water system.  Of course, Hizzoner and hiz pals have told so many lies about the water system that it is probably hard for the honorable judge to keep up with them all.  

City attorney Tori Martin asked for the hearing so she could complain Water Manager Ted Henifin was not transparent about the Jackson water system.  Judge Wingate turned her gripes right back upon her and asked "are you saying that you expect the manager and Court to continue the same kind of transparency, communication the city has exhibited over the years? You're saying the city has been transparent, are you not?"  Ms. Martin merely said "all of our records have consistently been public documents." 

Well, Judge Wingate, Ms. Martin is doing her best imitation of Joe Frazier as she bobbed and weaved while answering that question.  However, JJ is going to help out the Court.  Posted below are some of the Lumumba administration's major coverups involving the Jackson water system. 

The 2020 EPA Emergency Administrative Order

 The Mississippi State Department of Health sounded the alarm on the water system in 2016. Successive administrations blew off the Health Department until the agency went running to big brother EPA near the end of 2019.

The EPA inspected the water treatment plants in February 2020 and discovered they were falling apart due to neglect, incompetence, and a shortage of employees. The agency issued an Emergency Administrative Order in March 2020 that was filled with crucial but eye-glazing details.

The lack of a technician meant "continuous monitoring equipment" at O.B. Curtis was "not repaired or calibrated" for over three years. pH meters, flow measurement devices, and other crucial equipment were not maintained. The continuous pH meters were off by up to 2 units in some cases. Plant operators were somewhat operating in the dark as they simply could not know the quality of the water they were treating. One-third of the south Jackson wells were out of action. 

The staff didn’t conduct jar tests even though the system could not determine turbidity. No one knew if the membrane filters worked because no maintenance was performed. The UV filters used to disinfect water went offline for weeks at a time. A multitude of cheap parts did not work even though they are easy to replace. The sludge handling facility was inoperable. Record management, a foundation of water system management, was sloppy or at times non-existent.
 
 

 Jackson's negligence didn't end with the water treatment plants.  The city ignored all federal laws requiring Jackson to create and implement a lead service line replace program for years.  Flint, Michigan, anyone? 

The order set various deadlines for repairs and reports but Jackson repeatedly blew off the deadlines.  Internal 2020 Health Department emails warned the water system would collapse if it experienced an "adverse event."  The 2021 ice storm was such an event and shut down the water system it did, a water system that functioned properly during earlier ice storms.  While the Mayor blamed the weather, the EPA order told a different story.  Unfortunately, no one knew about the order until this website broke the story about the order in April 2021.

Mayor Lumumba kept the EPA emergency administrative order secret for over a year until this website broke the news of its existence in April 2021.  He never informed the public nor the City Council about the order. When asked about the order, Mayor Lumumba obfuscated, calling the order a "letter" or an "administrative process gap" at times as he tried mightily to avoid all talk of the order. 

No chutzpah was too small for the mayor as he blamed the public for being "ill-informed" about the orderr as he quashed all discussion. When the order was mentioned, Mayor Lumumba deflected as he claimed the EPA said the water was safe to drink. 
 
However, the issue was not whether the water was safe to drink but whether the water plants could actually function.  The EPA order covered the working condition of the water treatment plants, not the quality of the drinking water. Big difference. Big, huge difference. It does not matter if the water is safe if there is no water to drink.  
 
The internal June 2021 Health Department emails belied the Mayor's claims as well: 
 
 This year has shown that the City of Jackson’s Water system is rapidly building toward a “perfect storm”: 1) Poor asset management and maintenance, 2) financial difficulties with an unwillingness to spend needed funds, and 3) the inability to consistently achieve compliance with various provisions of the SDWA (Safe Drinking Water Act). Considering the NEIC’s visit in February 2020, I believe that we can agree that the city is going in a negative direction. Logs indicated system components are being stretched to their breakpoint and membrane trains are one continuous failed MIT away from a shutdown along with logbook statements such as “called J. H. Fewell to go up on high service flows per M. Carter due to customer low pressure calls”. Plants are on the edge of failure. Items that are repeatedly reported by upper management as functional or repaired are continuously reported by plant staff as having issues or failing in the WOR and the Operator log submissions (specifically the MIT system for trains). we are very concerned about the city of Jackson’s growing amount of mechanical issues at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant and overall its ability to maintain adequate production of safe drinking water for its customers.
 In other words, the Lumumba administration lied about the water treatment plants as they fell apart.Unfortunately, it would not be the last time the Lumumba administration covered up the truth about the water system. 

Fibbing the New York Times

 Mayor Lumumba repeatedly blamed the state, telling national media such as the New York Times the state did not pay its water bills.  The lapdog media slurped it all up with nary a challenging word. Such things are not done today, you understand.   Yet again, the mayor lied and lied repeatedly about the unpaid water bills as he told the same tale to the local and national media outlets.

 This website dug into the weeds and published records showing the state did indeed pay for its water, usually over $1 million per year. The mayor backtracked,   claiming at a press conference he was "misinformed" as the media took him at his word.  It would not be the last time the mayor was so “misinformed".  

                                        The Supply Chain Problem That Wasn't

  A fire broke out at the plant in April 2021, ,knocking out an electrical panel that controlled several pumps. Water production fell as the plant operated on the proverbial shoestring. The media wondered nine months later why the pumps were not yet fixed. The mayor said at a January 31, 2022 press conference that "supply-chain problems" kept  Jackson from getting the electrical panel it needed to bring the pumps back online.

However, JJ caught the mayor shucking and jiving yet again. Health Department emails in December showed the Lumumba administration never ordered the electrical panel.  The agency told Jackson to order the part within thirty days. Jackson finally did so –the day before the deadline expired in January. The panel finally arrived in May, a year after the fire.  


 
 The Chemicals That Did not Crash the System

The water system lost pressure in November 2021. The Lumumba administration said the injection of a “bad batch of chemicals” into the system in November caused system pressure to drop to 65 psi. The “bad batch” indeed caused problems but that is not what crashed the system.

Health Department emails yet again told the real story as they revealed the lines feeding the chemicals into the injection point were clogged and did not work.
 
 Such lines are supposed to have back-up lines but those were the back-up lines. Health Department representatives caught a plant employee using a rubber hose to inject the needed chemicals. Yet again, the failure to maintain and replace equipment broke the Jackson water system while the administration hid the truth.   
 
Ammonia Leaks, Anyone? 
 
 The O.B. Curtis plant suffered an ammonia leak that interrupted treatment for “more than two days" in June. However, the city only issued a boil water notice and warned some areas might lack water pressure. The city did not report the ammonia leak nor the evacuation of the employees to the public nor  the Health Department. The media discovered the leak when a report of the leak appeared on the National Response Center’s website.  The Chief of Staff refused to answer any questions on whether any employees were injured, citing HIPAA
 
The Flood That Didn't Flood
 
  A 24-hour rainstorm dumped over five inches of water on the Jackson metro area. The O.B. Curtis plant easily survived the 2020 and 2014 floods but its luck finally gave out although flooding did not reach the plant.  JJ drone photos shot at 4 PM on August 29 show the floodwaters never came close to the plant.  Mayor Lumumba tried to say they were taken before the flood.  Sorry, Mr. Mayor.  Former 30-year Clarion-Ledger photographer Rick Guy shot those photos for JJ.  

The lack of transparency doesn't stop with Jackson's water system.  Mayor Lumumba has not posted Jackson's crime stats on the city's website in three years despite his claims to transparency.  

These are just a few examples of Lumumba transparency, Judge Wingate.  Read into them what you will.  Kindly note how none, absolutely none of these community groups had a problem with lies and coverups until the Water Receiver started running the system and passing out contracts.  They don't care about the truth as all they care about is lining their pockets and that, my friends, is the bottom line.

 

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo.

Anonymous said...

Ditto... BRAVO KF!

Anonymous said...

Reporting you'll never see from the Barksdalers and the Mississippi Fraud Press.

Anonymous said...

All of this information is clearly racist.

Anonymous said...

What to Know About Pathological Liars.

Anonymous said...

Cellphone accidentally dropped into the shredder or someone knowingly put a cellphone into a pile of papers about to be shredded in order to destroy the phone?

Anonymous said...

The City is required to send out the annual Health Department assessment of the water system. Did Jackso comply or did they break the law?

Anonymous said...

Never forget that the Mayor's chief of staff DOES NOT EVEN LIVE IN JACKSON.

Anonymous said...

How have criminal negligence charges been avoided? Or at least civil negligence against the city/mayor? If the water system was run by a private company they'd be bankrupted by now with lawsuits over breach of contract and negligence claims.

Anonymous said...

I sure hope Judge Wingate receives and reads this "expose". Good reporting, King...

Anonymous said...

First Rukia Kai tries to bail out baby brother and now the fired mole's wife presents herself as some sort spokesperson for a "community group" suddenly concerned with transparency. You just can't make this stuff up!

Anonymous said...

Oh the mayor is sooo special, just wait until he gets to congress and can really help his people.

Anonymous said...

What about this mornings conference called by Judge Wingate to hear the complaints of “citizen groups” about transparency & contracts.

Anonymous said...

Typical manipulative disinfo by a racist hate blog.
I bet Putin is donating gold directly into your offshore accounts.

Tag him said...

I hope the judge reads Kingfish

Anonymous said...

Does the EPA, like IRS and other Fed agencies, have an arms cache worthy of a SWAT ops response team to confiscate COJ's records? Lil Choke wouldn't know integrity (or standard best management practice) if it was a snake in his ass.

Anonymous said...

@2:00 p.m. If you had a front row seat to the Lumumba administration and all it's antics would you live in Jackson? Can't blame the chief of staff for that!

Anonymous said...

this post irritates the Kush-

Anonymous said...

@1:52 What to know about pathological liars

I took the bait. I clicked. This is the part that they got wrong:
Treatment for Pathological Lying. Treating this behavior is complicated. No medication will fix it. The best option is psychotherapy . . . .
No, the best option is voting him out of office.

Anonymous said...

He´d rather climb a pole to tell you a lie than to stand on the ground and tell you the truth.

Anonymous said...

Apparently, Judge Wingate is fed up with the City Attorney Martin. He should do us all a favor and stop communicating with Lumumba and his ilk who even a child knows why they're becoming so desperate.

Anonymous said...

Transparent as the city water

Anonymous said...

Narcissistic personality disorder

Straight Pipe said...

...and now the fired mole's wife presents herself as some sort spokesperson for a "community group" suddenly concerned with transparency.

@2:04, She's another plant like her hubby was in Henifin's shop. She works for Rukia Lumumba though she'll never come clean and disclose that to Judge Wingate without being asked.

It is the same M.O. for the Lumumbas over and over again. Many front organizations with different names all to give off the impression of a reach and community support level that doesn't actually exist. The number of actual people trotted here and there to parrot the Lumumbaspeak is fairly small as the Lumumba's lose operational and message control when the fabricated front groups present too many talkers.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Mr. Fish you will allow this to post this time?

New word, at least for me:

kakistocracy
noun
US /ˌkæk.ɪˈstɑː.krə.si/ UK /ˌkæk.ɪˈstɒk.rə.si/
A government that is ruled by the least suitable, able, or experienced people in a state or country.

Examples:

Who rules in a kakistocracy?
We are living in a new era of kakistocracy.
Kakistocracies are governments ruled by the stupid and ignorant.
What we have here is the world's only kakistocracy.
The total lack of integrity of the administration is proof that we now live in a kakistocracy

So, we have a Mayor who presides over a kakistocracy, in addition to displaying the
Dunning-Kruger effect.

What a winning combo for the COJ.

Anonymous said...

If Lumumba wants to continue to address the court, make him a party. Then he and his attorneys can come to court all they want.

Anonymous said...

Excellent reporting (of facts, by durn), Fish man

Anonymous said...

After todays hearing with Catori Martin not Even knowing Ethics Training anything goes, however, not so fast as Judge Wingate is in control of his courtroom. Today is another example of Complete Incompetence of both Atty. Martin & the Mayor. I remember a meeting with both of them prior that the lady speaking could not say one word without the Mayor whispering in her ear. Well this deserves National attention. Remember Chuck is going to DC. Next week & I am sure will call a press conference to tell His Version of the story. If any of them are stupid enough to Lie to a Federal Judge they Deserve any punishment that the Court issues or Fines the COJ!

Anonymous said...

The saddest part it, the facts and indisputable failures would not change one voter to have a less favorable opinion of Chuck.

These facts only matter to those of us with a brain and we already knew this without literal proof.

That sobering thought will tell you all you need to know about the trajectory of the US.

Anonymous said...

@3:02 - I wear khakis. Crown me!

Anonymous said...

All the Mayor wants is to control who gets the Contracts to do the water work so he can receive kickbacks from the contractors.

Anonymous said...

May I say neither the Venal Bishop Crudrup, Picket, nor the lady with the hijab speaks for the Black community I belong to. Cru up and Picket have churches in the most dilapidated and crime-infested parts of south Jac,son, full of unwed mothers and failing schools bringing down the entire. PS. The r complaints should be directed at JPS rather than our water sys m. Enq ring minds should ask, is there anything, any,thing that was inherited from Danks and Ditto that is functional in this city?

Anonymous said...

3:02: And which national political party has made it a selling-point to have no government experience whatsoever?

As for today's hearing, only a Jackson lawyer would bring witnesses to court to testify, and then tell the judge she didn't know ahead of time that there would be an evidentiary hearing, so she thought the rule on witness sequestration did not apply.

To Ms. Tawwab, Welcome to federal court. It is not a city counsel meeting or a town hall. You don't get to just show up and and run your mouth, and you don't get to control the evidence that's presented (that's the judge's job).

Anonymous said...

All you folks piling accolades on the KF should consider throwing some cash his way. I have no idea how much this stuff costs but it is almost always a good thing to help a brother out.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, King. Sunshine from the media is the only anecdote to the corruption that lies within human nature. Thanks for shining the light on the corruption in the Bold New City.

Anonymous said...

I can laugh at the antics of Labumbla the Clown, but it’s because I don’t live in Jackson.

Anonymous said...

Maybe some accountability will ensue. That would be a welcome change.

Anonymous said...

Chutzpah? You should have seen him yesterday. He told the City and the activists that he knows what he is doing. He is unquestionably in charge, and is qualified to be in charge. He is a product of Jackson - raised here, went to school here, engaged in the civil rights movement and is now a sitting federal judge. He recognizes an expert when he sees one - and recognizes when someone wants to be an expert but does not have the qualifications. Not one person speaking to him could point to one person that is more qualified than Ted Henifin to repair and manage the infrastructure in Jackson, and the fact that Ted is from out of state does not matter. The fact that Ted not a minority does not matter. Neither of those facts will get water and sewer to the citizens of Jackson. It is not political. Let the man do his job and appreciate the fact that people who didn’t have water now have water - water that is safe to drink. He can’t fix it all today - it has been broken too long - but let him do his job. And believe that Judge Wingate will make sure it gets done. If you want to be a part of it, go get some education, training and experience and go to work. Otherwise, shut the hell up and let people who do have education, training and experience do their jobs.

Anonymous said...

Safiya Omari doesn't even live in the City of Jackson.

Anonymous said...

Not once, individually or collectively, have these organizations went public to condemn Lumumba's transparency issues. But they want Judge Wingate to believe they are legit voices now qualified to criticize Mr. Henifin:

Jackson People’s Assembly = (Lumumba controlled)
Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition = (Lumumba controlled)
Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign = (Rukia Lumumba legal advisor to Mississippi chapter)
Grace House = (CofJ kicks in $500,000+ annually)
Mississippi Votes = (Exec Director was/is Lumumba mayoral campaign worker)
International Museum of Muslim Culture
People’s Advocacy Institute = (Lumumba controlled)
Institute for Democratic Education in America = (Org filled with Lumumba-ites)
Mississippi State Conference - NAACP
Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity = (Rukia Lumumba on BOD)
Working Together Jackson = (Crudup Sr self-promotion facade org)
Southern Poverty Law Center


WLBT story:

Wingate asked Crudup if he knew of any African American firms in the water business.

**He was not aware of any** but said there are several firms who can repave streets, dig up broken lines, and the like."

Crudup said Working Together Jackson also wanted to ensure “contract justice.”

Straight Pipe said...

@10:14, YUP. You got it!

A coordinated deployment of artificial power and political heft that doesn't exist. Only the other day Catoria was adamant that it was 5 groups. No, no, now it is 12.

They must think Wingate and Henifin can be browbeaten into submission by these fake public groundswells. Maybe the Poor People's Campaigners can choreograph one of those parade entrances to the Courthouse with the cheerleaders and all that other regalia like they did downtown in front of the Governor's mansion? Where's the big stage and the blocked off streets and the singers and that Hutt William Barber?

Sad testament to the journo-effectiveness of the local media (except Kingfish) that they don't or won't bother to ask the most basic questions about those astroturf grievance fronts. WLBTWJTVWAPTCLetc get played over and over again. Coleman considers himself some senior investigative big fish small pond reporter extraordinaire yet can't produce a basic venn diagram to expose the Lumumba family nexus as you roughly did.

Anonymous said...

Of note ... None of these organizations were vocal, demanding accountability and transparency from the mayor and his administration for the MANY years of inadequate water, sewer and other city services that deteriorated significantly under Lumumba's rule. Nor did they criticize his lack of a plan except to blame the problem on the state's refusal to give the city a blank check to fix what there was no strategy for. Again, its all about control and the money. If there are qualified, competent AA contractors that can perform needed services, by all means use them. However, Lumumba's history in this regard is not good. Having someone start an LLC when you are notified of available funds, does not a qualified contractor make.
And while they are blaming Siemens for a large part of all that has gone wrong with the water system, they fail to acknowledge that Siemens agreed to the required minority set aside, and hired incompetent minority contractors (Lumumba recommended)for water meter placement and billing software.

Anonymous said...

Blaze On

Anonymous said...

Good job, Kingfish.


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