Jackson Jambalaya

Robert Shuler Smith should change his name to Robert Shuler Soros.  George Soros threw $382,000 into a PAC that spent $56,433 to support the Hinds County District Attorney in the August 4 primary.    George Soros is the sole donor for the Mississippi Safety & Justice PAC.  The PAC spent $147,254 in only two races and has $177,388 cash on hand. 

Here is the Berrrrrrrrrt Case update:

The city of Jackson issued the following statement:

JPD issued the following statement:

Here is the latest update Berrrrrrrrrrrt Case.

Hate it when this happens.

The wimpification of America continues.  A third-grader holds an entire school hostage in San Francisco. KCBS (SF) reported:

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

Time to work on the pipes.

Bankruptcy Trustee Henry Hobbs, Jr. asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to convert the bankruptcy petition for Bella Maria, LLC from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7.  Bella Maria, LLC is the corporate name for the now-defunct Julep's Restaurant.  Julep's closed Sunday night. 

The owner of the Cherokee Inn threw in the towel and filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on September 23. BMI sued Hayes McMillan and his restaurant last year over alleged copyright violations. Mr. McMillan closed the Cherokee in May but that did not satisfy BMI. BMI hounded the Cherokee in court after it closed for damages related to the playing of several songs by a cover band without BMI's consent. Earlier post with copy of lawsuit and more information on BMI lawsuit.

$70 million in Kior loan money turns into $600,000 for Mississippi.  The Republicans made hay out of the beef plant fiasco, now it is their turn to take some lumps although both Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly voted for the Kior project.  It is now time to look at what MDA had to say about the project while it was merely a proposal instead of a failure.  Amy McCullough reported in a 2011 Mississippi Business Journal article:

Attorneys have billed over $3.4 million to the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority since 2012.  JJ obtained the monthly billings through public records requests and reviewing claims dockets.  The years have been good to law firms that represented JMAA.  The overall budget for JMAA in 2014 was only $17.8 million.  The billings are:

Here is the latest update on Berrrrrrrrrrrt's condition:

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors told Jackson City Councilman Dekeither Stamps that he needed to take his complaints about precinct changes to the Jackson City Council.  Mr. Stamps charged two weeks ago at a Jackson City Council meeting that the Hinds County Election Commission was moving and closing precincts.  The Hinds County Election Commission recently proposed moving eleven voting precincts.  Gone was the bombast and aggressive manner as a much more subdued councilman appeared before the supervisors Monday as they explained to him that it was the city who changed the precincts when they originally served both the county and city.

10:20 update:  Clinton Police arrested Ashton White last night at an apartment complex off Savannah Street in South Jackson. White had been wanted in connection to three home burglaries in Clinton.

The Clinton Police Department announced the following arrests and seeks the public's help in finding a suspect:

Berrrrrrrrrrrrt Case actually sat up yesterday and made it to a wheelchair although he was not able to drag race down the floor. Not quite there yet. Here is the latest update:

Highland Village manager Masa Liles addressed the LeFleur East forum two weeks ago to discuss the changes taking place at Highland Village.  She said high-end retailers would be coming to the shopping center and that while "change is hard" but change can be good as well.  She said Highland Village is a "one of a kind" shopping center. 

Here is the latest on Berrrrrrrrrrrt:

Kior really did engage in alchemy, just not the type promised by the Mississippi Development Authority.    WTVA reported that the state will get less than one million dollars for the sale of the equipment:

When we last left our hero Opus, he had finally found his winning wedge issue: two spaces after a period.  However, things never go as intended in Bloom County .

 Update: MDA provided this statement to JJ: "Until the receivership proceedings in Lowndes County Chancery Court are completed, Mississippi Development Authority is unable to comment."

The Columbus Dispatch scooped everyone and reported that the Kior plant finally sold:

The West Rankin Utility Authority asked a Hinds County Court to throw out Jackson's notice of appeal.  Jackson filed a notice that it intended to sue the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and West Rankin after DEQ awarded a permit to construct a wastewater treatment facility to West Rankin last month.

You.Can't.Make.This.Up. A group of protesters demanded public bathrooms at convenience stores yesterday as Councilman DeKeither Stamps debuted in his new starring role as Stokes Junior. WLBT reported:

Not yet time for the Recovery Tour but Berrrrrrrt Case is hanging in there:

Julep Restaurant and Bar shut its doors tonight.  It is sad to see this establishment became a casualty on the restaurant battlefield.  The food was good.  Brad the Bartender gave great service.  The fried green tomatoes, the hamburger, the sweet potato fries, the food was just plain good.   It had a great location.  However, the restaurant filed for bankruptcy in May and was apparently unable to survive.

Action and reaction, such is the nature of warfare.  The NFL and NCAA are changing the nature of football as they pass more rules favoring offense, limiting defense, and targeting targeting.  Oddly enough, football coaches are borrowing a few ideas from rugby and Australian rules football as they seek to help defenses regain their edge.  It is no coincidence that the rise of Seattle and Ohio State to championship status began when they imported the different style of tackling.  The Wall Street Journal published a thorough article on the "new" style of tackling:

Here is the latest update on Berrrrrrrrrrrt:

Are we raising a generation of kids that are spoiled brats or simply and literally nurtured to death? Dr. Peter Gray, Professor of Psychology at Boston College, posits in Psychology Today that helicopter parenting is ruining kids and leaving them unprepared for life.  Students seek mental help for the most trivial of matters and are unprepared to accept responsibility for their own failures in the classroom.  Dr. Gray writes:

Berrrrrrrrrrrrt is still hanging in there.  Here is the latest update.

Local artists displayed their work of social commentary at Fondren Park last night:

The Mississippi Fair Commission sued the Jackson Police Department in Hinds County Chancery Court this afternoon.  The Fair Commission asked Chancellor Denise Owens to order JPD to provide police protection outside the fairgrounds that are in downtown Jackson.  A hearing will be held Tuesday at 9:00 AM.  The Fair Commission argues:

This message was posted on a neighborhood bulletin board today. JJ confirmed its authenticity with the author.

Jackson City Councilman DeKeither Stamps attacked Hinds County Election Commissioner Connie Cochran last week during a meeting of the city council.  The race card was played and Stokes could not resist jumping in to help his colleague play it.  The Hinds County Election Commission is changing some precincts.  Some precincts do not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.  Some of the polling places have notified the county that they do not want to continue to be used for elections.  Then there are the fire stations.  The Election Commission has been trying to move polling places away from the fire stations because there is no air-conditioning, no heat, and little parking.  A miserable experience for everyone concerned.  Doesn't matter.  It was the 1960's all over again at the Jackson City Council.  Watch for yourself:

Here is the latest update on Berrrrrrrrrrt Case:

The Baton Rouge Business Report examined the challenges facing the Baton Rouge area in an excellent article published this week.  The city has lost several corporations such as Amedysis, the Shaw Group, and Albermarle. BRBR asks whether cities such as Baton Rouge can even compete against "first-tier" cities. Keep in mind the city has a major university downtown and an major airport that is one hour away.    This article should be required reading for all business and political leaders in the Jackson metro area. Some excerpts:

The New York Post reports:

The Daily Mail (UK) showed further proof that Ashley Madison is nothing more than an online scam as well as a lesson to Nigerians in how to scam the internet. The newspaper reported:

The Madison Police Department issued the following press release:

It seems the more things change in Madison County, the more they stay the same.  The Madison County Journal reported today:

The long slog towards recovery continues.  Here is the latest update on Berrrrrrrrrrrt's condition:

Socrates Garrett defended minority set-aside contracts in this Youtube video.  The video was recorded at a business development conference.