Jackson Jambalaya

What part of PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO ALLOW CELLPHONE CALLS ON FLIGHTS does the government not get? The Department of Transportation proposed allowing phone calls made through wi-fi on flights:

Cecil McCrory wants to withdraw his guilty plea in the Chris Epps scandal. McCrory pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2015.  McCrory worked with Chris Epps to shake down MDOC vendors for bribes and kickbacks.  McCrory would act as the middleman and pay off Mr. Epps when he was MDOC Commissioner.  McCrory alleged that he was innocent of the charges and poorly represented by his lawyer, Don Leland. Earlier post about motion to withdraw. McCrory also charged that then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst "manipulated" his case for his upcoming run for Mississippi Attorney General.  McCrory is now represented by Carlos Tanner.  However, the transcript of the hearing tells a somewhat different story.

 The Jackson Public School District Board of Trustees fired Dr. Gray.  However, Dr. Gray didn't leave without defending himself in a column published in the Clarion-Ledger.  JJ is going to set the record straight because Dr. Gray took no responsibility for anything as he made excuses and cast blame anywhere he could. 

 Update: McDonald is in police custody.

Crimestoppers issued the following bulletin and photos:

You.can't.make.this.up.  Some students at THE Ohio State University protested the shooting of a terrorist who used a knife and a car to maim and injure eleven people on campus two weeks ago.  The student newspaper, The Lantern, reported Thursday:

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann issued the following press release: 

Can't make it to church this morning?  The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached on overcoming "Life's Discouragements" in this sermon. 

State Auditor Stacey Pickering issued the following press release:

American hero John Glenn died this week at the age of 95 years old.  This video shows him in action and why he commanded such respect across decades of time. 

What is taking place right now in Dallas is nothing short of a pension Armageddon.   The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System invested in risky real estate deals, including a swanky 200 condo development in downtown Dallas at the height of the housing meltdown. Retirees have withdrawn well over a half a billion dollars from the system as they fear its imminent collapse.  The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday:

JPD issued the following statement:

Secretary of State Dibbit Hosemann issued the following statement:

Attorney General Jim Hood issued the following press release:

Cecil McCrory filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering  yesterday in U.S. District Court.  McCrory worked with Chris Epps to shake down MDOC vendors for bribes and kickbacks.  McCrory would act as the middleman and pay off Mr. Epps when he was MDOC Commissioner.  McCrory alleged that he was innocent of the charges and poorly represented by his lawyer, Don Leland.  McCrory also charged that then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst "manipulated" his case for his upcoming run for Mississippi Attorney General.  McCrory is now represented by Carlos Tanner.

You really can't make this up.  Josh Collins, a New Orleans police officer, posted this message on his Facebook page:

Madison Municipal Court Judge Dale Danks just issued new guidelines that states suspects between the ages of 18-21 must remain in jail for 48 hours unless parents can be notified. 

The future grocery store may not have cashiers or cash registers.  Amazon is rolling out its futuristic grocery stores in 2017.  See the video for yourself.

The economy hasn't grown since 2007.  Such news will come as a surprise to more than a few people but a Gallup Report says that is exactly what has happened - or rather, hasn't happened. Gallup said the economy is "dangerously running on empty."   Gallup prepared the report for the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.   The report stated:

Madison-Rankin District Attorney issued the following press release: 

JPD issued the following statement:

Collection of all posts on the Frazier case.

Claiborne Frazier struck out yet again in court.  The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal of his guilty plea in 2014.  Frazier pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.  U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett sentenced him to sixty months in prison.  Judge Starrett also ordered him to pay $8.5 million in restitution to his victims . The brief opinion is posted below. 

The Executive Director of the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure wants to make physicians who might be tempted to sexually assault a patient think twice before they do it.  Dr. John Hall proposed passing legislation that will close loopholes and toughen the criminal statutes for sexually abusive doctors.  The next session of the Mississippi Legislature begins next month. Earlier post. However, some doctors on the Board do not exactly see eye to eye with Dr. Hall.  The Mississippi Business Journal reported this week:

75 years has not erased the horror that was the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The Japs had run roughshod over China and throughout the Pacific for years.  They decided to knock out the U.S. Pacific Fleet using tactics that had worked on the Royal Navy and against Russia nearly forty years earlier.  The rest is the Day of Infamy.  Take a moment to remember the souls of those who died that day and those who fought back.  JJ took the liberty of posting videos of that fateful attack. 

Don't know how many times I've been asked this lately but it's a lot: Where does Clinton's Cam Akers rank among the high school football players you've seen play in Mississippi?

You can't make this up.  A woman complains in the Washington ____ that the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency ruined her chances at a decent love life:

The Keifer's restaurant on Poplar Street was robbed last night.  An employee apparently left the back door ajar.  A gentleman came through the back door and robbed the restaurant.  He was armed with a pistol.  The loss is estimated to be between $500-1,000.  The suspect is a black male who was wearing a purple hoodie.  His face was covered.  There were no injuries. The incident happened after closing when only a few employees were present.

Cases of mumps infections tripled in 2016.  The Wall Street Journal reported today:

JPD posted the following information on Twitter:

Is yet another crony capitalist deal about to blow up in Mississippi? Our favorite reporter, Anita Lee of the Sun-Herald, reported that the city of Biloxi sued Biloxi Baseball and Overtime Sports over a deal that has apparently soured:

The Seattle Police Department posted this story on its website:

Jackson Ward 2 City Councilman Melvin Priester, Jr. opined on the parking meter contract on Facebook:

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

The Justice Department issued the following statement:

Belhaven has a prowler.  Keep an eye out for the dude who is in the picture and video posted below.  A reader send them to this correspondent and said " this guy was creeping around my back door at 1am in Belhaven." JPD is aware of this incident. 

Where's James Dean?

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Marine Corps legend General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense. The General has been a fount of quotes over the years.  Read some of them for yourself. 

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

A new Rogue One video made it to the internet:

JPD issued the following statement:

How appropriate. Fate chose the week of the Egg Bowl for legislative leaders to have to wipe lots of egg off their faces.

How silly. House Republican leaders passed a rule, with Senate mimicry pending, to deny media access to the Legislature’s contracts, only to find out they were violating their own law.

Leftenant Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement: 

Crimestoppers issued the following alert and photo for this Madison County fugitive:

Big game tonight in Starkpatch, as Clinton and Pearl face off to see who will be the Heavyweight Champ in Mississippi high school football.  The city of Clinton posted the following information for the game tonight:

Kid loses his leg but saves his little brother in a pit bull attack.  So what does his father do? Run off with the money meant for medical expenses and the family vehicle.  The Sun-Herald reported this morning:

Wondering what to watch on tv? It's at least six months before Game of Thrones returns.  There is one episode left of Westworld.  However, don't despair.  Vikings returned last night to the History Channel.  If you have not seen this series before, give it a try.  The first four and a half seasons are available on Amazon Prime Video.  Here is the trailer to the second half of season 4:

The Mississippi Supreme Court remanded the capital murder conviction of Laqunn Sharod Gary back to Hinds County Circuit Court after it held that Judge Jeff Weill violated the Gary's due process.  Gary confessed to a murder but then tried to challenge his confession and asked for a hearing to suppress the evidence.  Judge Weill denied his motion for the hearing.  However, the Court ordered Judge Weill to hold the hearing and then possibly hold a new trial if the confession is disqualified.  The opinion is posted below.  Judge Weill nemesis public defender Allison Kelly represented the defendant. There was no dissent.

Anyone who has survived driving through the Waterworks Curve the past week has seen an abandoned bus on the side of the road that looks like it came out of The Gauntlet.   WLBT reported this week:

Collection of all PERS posts

The Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System continues to spin its wheels in the mud as the latest actuarial report states that the program is only 60% funded.* The Board of Trustees received the news at the presentation of the annual report at the October board meeting.  The actual report and video of the presentation are posted below.  The nutshell version of the report is that the numbers that should be getting smaller are getting larger while the numbers that should be getting larger are getting smaller.   In other words, PERS is going in the wrong direction.