Jackson Jambalaya

 Need something good to watch this weekend? Check out these movies streamed on Youtube for, dare we say it?, Free!

Rankin County Chancellor John McLaurin dismissed a lawsuit against former Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper Ivana Williams yesterday.  

 In today's edition of Flashback Friday, we are going to travel back in time to one of the biggest scandals in American history. 

State Bean Counter Shad White issued the following statement. 

Sometimes that PolyBear does really dumb stuff.

 The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation issued the following statement.

 Mary Mahoney's to pay $1.35 million

Mary Mahoney's. A name that stands for the good times that are the Gulf Coast, Southern elegance, and tasty cuisine.  However, Mary Maphony's might be a more apt name after the Federalis caught the restaurant passing off frozen foreign seafood as fish fresh from the Gulf of Mexico for years.   Triggerfish Almondine, anyone? 

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens is apparently trying to get into the hotel business.  Mr. Owens' company submitted a bid for the Jackson Convention Center hotel project to the city of Jackson. 

 The city of Jackson issued the following press release. 

 The Goon Squad may be gone but their misdeeds live on thanks to the wonders of modern technology.   Veteran reporter Jerry Mitchell uncovered a WhatsApp message thread where Goons bragged about their exploits.  Mr. Mitchell and his team reported in Mississippi Today and the New York Times: 

State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement. 

Much was made in the media last week about the FBI executing search warrants on Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and his downtown cigar bar.  However, other warrants were executed as well.  

For the 26-plus years this column has been in existence I have typed over 1,000 words a week, every week, never missing a week. That’s over 1,300,000 total words published in your newspaper. These days, in addition to newspapers, this column is also consumed online and through email subscriptions.

After winning 73 percent of the vote on April 19 among workers in a Chattanooga, Tennessee Volkswagen plant to join the United Auto Workers union, organized labor leaders began to predict a growing erosion of decades of Southern state opposition to labor union membership. Specifically, union leaders began to predict victory in an upcoming union vote in Mercedes plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.

 A family was carjacked in West Jackson Friday.  The Ring doorbell camera captured the horror on video.  WAPT reported: 

 Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is holding his regular press conference at 633 North State Street.  The presser is live-streamed below. 

 Tonarri Moore is in federal custody.   His federal case docket states: 

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 Gary Pettus authored the following post for UMC. 

George Doby’s oldest child was 5 when he earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing school.

Murder suspect Tonarri Moore is an informant in the prosecutions against Marshand Crisler and Torrance Mayfield.  

 A true masterpiece recently popped up on Paramount Plus.  That's right, the 1980 version of Shogun is now available for streaming. If you want to see some great tv, this mini-series is well worth your time.  The current version on Hulu and FX is quite good as well.

A trans "woman" won the Washington (State) High School 400m State Championship Friday by a full second over the nearest competitor.  

 What happens when God comes to visit?  The children of Israel found out as they gathered before Mount Sinai.  The stiff-necked people remained stiff-necked and sent poor Moses on a lifetime mission of shuttle diplomacy.  The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached they had it all wrong as they rejected freedom. Hear what he has to say in the 1996 sermon posted below.  

Speaker Jason White wants to study elimination of income taxes and cuts to grocery sales taxes. He ought to focus on property taxes. That’s more the interest of supervisors, mayors, and school officials along with lots of taxpayers.

 A Jackson City Councilman said Hinds County District Jody Owens and several out of state "investors" met with him in February to discuss the convention center hotel and related projects. 

It’s difficult to listen to those who are offended by “everything.” Of all the things that have offended the weakest among us, few of us ever imagined that “motherhood” could be offensive to anyone. And yet, the sanctity and praise of motherhood by a commencement speaker has been besmirched mercilessly by many who consider motherhood to be inferior to a professional career.

 Tonarri Moore is wanted for murder.  WJTV reported: 

 Correction on earlier post posted below.

Smith-Wills Stadium is quite the cash cow for Tim Bennett.  The baseball enthusiast operates Churchill's Smoke Shoppe at the stadium.  However, the cigar bar is not his only cash cow.  Mr. Bennett leases the parking lot to the Veterans Administration for $370,000 per year.  

 The Clinton Police Department issued the following statement. 

The Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Jason White,  spelled out his vision for Mississippi last week at a luncheon sponsored by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.  He talked about school choice, tax cuts, reforming healthcare laws, and yes, restoring the ballot initiative.  Enjoy. 

I have been accused of making recipe posts that were too complicated and that is probably true. Here is one that is country boy simple and straight forward. Its tasty too.

 It's college baseball tournament time and for today's funny, we have this little gem from the Lone Star State. 

The Mayor tried to get JXN Water Manager Ted Henifin in trouble with the EPA, oh how he tried.  For all of his troubles however, the EPA blew off Mayor Lumumba.  

 Rankin-Madison District Attorney Bubba Bramlett issued the following statement. 

 Animals. Savages.  Barbarians.  Such words are too kind to describe Hamas terrorists as they taunted captured Israeli women, women beaten and bloodied, with promises of rape and Hamas babies. 

 Rachel Vanderford authored the following press release for UMC. 

When Patricia Hurrod's aggressive cancer continued to defy chemotherapy and radiation, she found hope in a groundbreaking, advanced treatment offered only in the state at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. 

CHICAGO— No one would ever accuse me of being a creature of habit. Other than my morning breakfast routine, I have managed to live a life free from getting pigeonholed into repetitive activities. There aren’t too many places I visit on an annual basis. For the past quarter of a century my wife, two kids, and various groups of their friends spend a week on the beach in the Florida Panhandle. But other than that, there is only Chicago.

 The Fibbers are executing a search warrant on the Hinds County District Attorney's office and the Downtown Cigar Company on Pearl Street. Mr. Owens owns the cigar bar.  

In a Louisiana congressional redistricting case, the Supreme Court decided last week to allow the state to use congressional maps that created a second Black majority district among the state’s six total districts.

 Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement yesterday. 

 Note: Comment in the earlier post today. 

Churchill Smoke Shoppe announced on Facebook it is shutting down for now: 

 Gary Pettus authored the following essay for the University of Mississippi Medical Center. 

 It was Dustin Clarke who found the wedding band with the inscription, “Ever true to thee,” in an unmarked grave.

 Churchill's busted for selling liquor without permit

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba accused the state of racism after Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill that would terminate the lease of Smith-Wills Stadium with the city of Jackson.  Standard stuff for the Mayor when he can't get his way. 

 Check out the Oregon State Championship Women's 200m race. Notice anything? 

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba held his regular press briefing. It is posted below.

Is there something in the water in District 2 of Hinds County? 

The "reading-gate" scores are in and unfortunately, nearly half the kids in Jackson are not reading.  JPS's third-grade "reading-gate" scores plummeted to 54% this year.  You read that correctly.  Barely half of Jackson third graders can read at grade level.  The results are rather disappointing as 67% passed the test  last year.  

 Red Mountain Entertainment issued the following press release. 

 Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement. 

 "Water, water, everywhere nor any drop to drink" is a famous line penned by Coleridge.  However, what if you are dying of thirst and although surrounded by water, you refuse to drink?  Sporting a turtleneck, the late Dr. Frank Pollard comes back to life as he discusses this conundrum as he preaches from Psalm 42 in the 1996 sermon posted below.  Enjoy.

Two recent editorials in Emmerich newspapers deserve our attention. Both dealt with people held in jail too long and the legislative responses this past session.

 The Byram Police Department issued the following statement.

Why have the media, academic elite and global elite attacked President Trump since he announced his run for president in 2015? Why did all these forces continually attack him and demean his supporters throughout his first term in office? Who benefits if Trump is ineffective? Who benefitted from Trump’s policies?

Injuries included a brain bleed

The attorney for a Mississippi State University student is demanding the Oktibbeha County District Attorney and MSU leadership take action against MSU football player Demonte Russell after he allegedly "cold-cocked" the student, causing serious injury.  

 The construction of the Top Golf development is moving along rather nicely.  It is supposed to open before Christmas.  

Many university degrees produce a negative return on investment, according to a report out this week. Data from the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity shows that the cost of many college degrees is not offset by increases in lifetime earnings.

 A Rankin County grand jury indicted Nicholas Webb for sexual battery and statutory rape on April 25.

 When you see the Miller bottles in this photo, you will know this is not a new recipe.

State Auditor Shad White issued the following statement. 

 The city of Jackson issued the following statement. 

Update: Sheriff Bryan Bailey said nothing was found. 

Police are looking for a body on Tazan Road in Rankin County right now.   

 "There was no shame in his game."  So said JPD Chief Joseph Wade as he announced at a press conference yesterday that Daveon Lindsey confessed to killing Melvin McNair, Jr. at Parham Bridges Park. 

HBO dropped a trailer for House of the Dragon yesterday.  Team Black or Team Green?

 Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement. 

 JPD is chasing the suspect in the Parham Bridges murder right now.  Chase started around Walgreens (Canton Mart) and is now on the frontage road.  

The view from my desk is inspirational. I’ve been in the same office for 27 years. There are no windows, but I have surrounded myself with things that inspire me and things that I love.

 A body was found at Parham Bridges Park this morning.  WLBT reported: 

On Capitol Hill, the calendar is driving increased partisan attention on the new U.S. Farm Bill. The current 2018 Farm Bill will expire on Sept. 30. Congress and President Joe Biden extended the five-year original term of the bill on Nov. 16, 2023.

Carly Gregg tried to get her million dollar bond lowered and close the courtroom today but Rankin County Court Judge David Morrow postponed the hearing to June 4 after her lawyer, Caleb Coleman, failed to follow notice requirements for filing such motions.  

Gregg & Attorney Caleb Coleman

 The state of Mississippi is taking back Smith-Wills Stadium.  HB #1983, Section 22 states: 

Enough is enough.  Tired of the hatred for all things Jewish at Columbia, 540 Jewish students at the Ivy League school stood up to the hate they have experienced since October 7.  Unlike the protestors who hide behind masks, they signed their names to a letter describing their treatment at their own university for the past seven months while making a damn good defense of what it means to be Jewish.  The letter is posted below.   

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 Last Call, anyone?

 The Ridgeland Police Department issued the following statement. 

   The Ridgeland Police Department issued the following statement. 

 And they are off to the races.  KIM Waaaaaaade announced last week he will run for Mayor of Jackson at the Jacksonians for Jackson meeting.    His speech is posted below.  Fire away. 

 There was a triple homicide in a home at 7146 Old Canton Road in Ridgeland today.   The house is south of the intersection of Rice and Old Canton Roads.  

 Stubborness versus truth. It's a conflict that plagues us since the beginning of time.  Unfortunately, the world today is amoral and rejects truth.  What is one to do in such a world? The late Dr. Frank Pollard offered some advice in the 1996 sermon posted below.  Enjoy.

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, employing over 11,000 workers, is the largest shipbuilder on the Gulf Coast and is currently constructing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.

Warning: Partial physical and psychological nudity posted below. 

 Doing the Bold in the Bold New City.

Yom HaShoah, “Holocaust Remembrance Day,” was May 6 this year. Many of us commemorated six million Jews who were brutally starved, gassed, burned, shot, and tortured between 1933 and 1945 before Allied forces liberated 23 primary concentration camps along with literally thousands of other kinds of camps where Nazis terrorized, tormented, and terminated “undesirables.” Never forget!

 Backup power plans in the works

JXN Water issued the following statement. 

 Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and JXN Water issued the following statement. 

 The NAACP is not too happy about the EPA's rejection of its civil rights complaint against the state of Mississippi.  The NAACP issued the following statement. 

This has been a good week for education reform in Mississippi. Our lawmakers might not agree on much, but last Saturday, they finally voted to replace the old education funding formula with the new Mississippi Student Funding Formula.

 JXN Water issued the following statement. 

 The Honor Society issued the following press release. 

The Brothers Johnson* struck out again after the EPA dismissed the NAACP's environmental civil rights complaint against the Mississippi State Department of Health this week.  The NAACP's complaint blamed Jackson's water failure on the state discriminating against Jackson for years because it was a majority-black city.  

 Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann authored and sponsored this post.  

 The Mississippi Department of Human Services issued the following statement. 

 Once upon a time, Jimmy Ruble was a boss!

 Annie Oeth authored the following press release for UMC. 

 It was 200 years ago yesterday since one of the finest pieces of music ever created debuted.  

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued the following statement. 

QUEENS, NEW YORK— After 62 years, and millions of miles logged, I have learned that travel is about one thing— connection.

While not an absolute, it’s been my experience that political change comes slowly in Mississippi – as slowly as molasses on a cold biscuit.

 Some people are not too happy with Mississippi Congressman Mike Ezell.

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

An Ole Miss student got a sweet deal even though he burned out a fraternity pledge's esophagus by pouring bleach down his throat. 

Update: Video replaced with longer video showing protestor was flipping off frat boys.  

Someone apparently got stupid at the pro-Hamas rally on the Ole Miss campus last week.  

 Hate it when this happens to me on the road. 

 Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is holding his weekly press conference right now.  The presser is streamed below. 

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

A Biloxi City Councilman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule I controlled substance.

 William McHenry is a free man. 

 The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation issued the following statement. 

As the world turns so too does Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. A year ago he championed expansion of Medicaid to benefit mothers and children. During last year’s elections he championed Medicaid reform to benefit the working poor. This year, with the House finally ready to act, he threw a monkey wrench into the works. Hosemann said he is for Medicaid expansion, but only if it includes a work requirement.

Ready for some French taunting?  

 MDAC Commish Andy Gipson issued the following statement. 

 The Capitol Police issued the following statement. 

October 7 was the worst day for Jews since the Holocaust as Hamas butchered over 1,200 people and wounded thousands more.  What stood out was the sheer savagery of Hamas as they massacred men, women, and children.  Scores of women were raped and mutilated.  Victims and corpses were paraded naked in the streets.  A true day of horror. However, such should not be forgotten as time passes.  

Former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg produced Screams before Silence, an hour-long program about October 7.  Rape victims, first responders, and former hostages tell their stories of how Hamas made Jewish women their sexual toys, often before killing them. The video is posted below and is well worth the watch.

 Karissa Bowley issued the following press release. 

Ever wondered why there has been so little progress towards school choice in Mississippi?

 Jackson City President Aaron Banks can breathe a little bit easier.  

 The Justice Department issued the following statement. 

 Back in the day, I just about lived on this stuff from the Student Union Grill at MSU. Looks both Green and Fluffy, doesn't it?

Gazan Arab supporters found themselves heavily outnumbered at a protest they held at Ole Miss today.

 Beth Ann White is going to prison.  Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens issued the following statement. 

 Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas ruled Bul Mabil can obtain an independent autopsy but placed a few conditions on the autopsy.  Judge Thomas held: 

Embezzling $42,000 from the Brandon High School Booster Club Band landed Donna Floyd in prison.

 Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement Monday. 

 Speaker of the House Jason White and Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann issued the following statements. 

Sparks flew in the courtroom yesterday as the late Dau Mabil's brother and wife sparred over who had the right to order an independent autopsy of his body. The courtroom drama revealed Mabil and his wife experienced marital problems shortly before his disappearance.  Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas will rule on the case by tomorrow.

 This post is sponsored and authored by Mississippi State Treasurer David McRae. 

It's a rivalry for the ages... Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State.

Tonight, that pair will face off at the College Series Baseball game in Pearl, Mississippi. If you plan to attend, please stop by the Mississippi College and Career Savings tent (on the concourse of Trustmark Park) to talk with me and sign up for the chance to win one of TWO $1,000 MACS scholarships.

I hope this extra cash will help a couple of local families get a little closer to sending their child or grandchild to one of Mississippi's state-of-the-art universities. They're both institutions we can be awfully proud of.

LIVERPOOL— I am midway through a 10-day tour of England and Scotland with a group of 26 Americans. All have travelled with me before. For a few of them it’s their seventh trip as my guests. They are a stellar crew and I have become friends with all of them before this current journey started.

It was my privilege a decade ago to speak at the inaugural Scott County Sports Hall of Fame induction when the organization was founded. For the induction of the 2024 class, organizers invited me back to help honor this year’s class.