Jackson Jambalaya

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following press release:

Best Buy is shutting it down on County Line Road.  The Clarion-Ledger just reported:

The Jackson budget fight has dominated the headlines over the past several weeks.  Here is a quick snapshot of Jackson's revenue over the last ten years.  The charts are based on numbers found on annual audits the city of Jackson submits to the State Auditor.  They are posted on the State Auditor's website.   Read the charts and weep.  JJ will provide some more snapshots of Jackson finances later this week. Click on the charts to enlarge for better reading.

The Jackson City Council presented its own budget recommendations two weeks ago.  Councilmen Tyrone Hendrix, DeKeither Stamps, and Junior posted their plan on Facebook and various websites. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS AND DISTURBING CONTENT.  

A series of Facebook photos showing a Jackson woman bragging about burning a cat is making the social media rounds this morning.  The photos include a picture of the burned cat as well. JJ has not been able to verify the identity of Shay Houston although there is a Facebook account for the Shay Houston mentioned in the pictures below.   It is hoped that some readers will know this woman and provide more information.  Email is kingfish1935@gmail.com.

 Trump took a few shots at Hillary in ways that well, might make Republican candidates and pretty boys cringe:

BMI and several copyright owners sued Freelon Restaurant Grill & Bar in U.S. District Court on August 4 for copyright infringement.  The plaintiffs claim Freelon's allowed the public performance of several songs without permission or license to do so from either BMI or the copyright owners.  The complaint and schedule of alleged offenses is posted below.

Madison PD issued the following press release:

Tony Davis sent this email to the media this afternoon.  Sheriff Tyrone Lewis filed a defamation lawsuit against him and his ex-wife in Hinds County Chancery Court.  A deposition was apparently scheduled for Monday.  Here is the email.

Now that the race is over, JJ can show you some of the trash that was thrown in the Hinds County District 2 Supervisor's race.  Several radio stations refused to accept this ad.  Naturally the Clarion-Ledger included the complete ad in its story on the ad.  Campaign manager for David L. Archie must have thought he hit a home run when the newspaper did him that favor.

Attorney Chris Walker issued the following press release.

A Mississippi Department of Public Safety employee sued DPS for sex discrimination and retaliation in U.S. District Court on August 10.  Penny Corn was the Grants Director for the Office of Homeland Security at DPS.  The department is currently fighting several discrimination lawsuits and complaints.

Kate Royals of the Clarion-Ledger busted the Jackson Public School District for awarding a $3.5 million contract to some "consultants" who worked with the district to improve academic performance.  The newspaper reported:

A young woman claimed she was tased by Flowood police earlier this week during a traffic stop. WAPT reported:

Think your smartphone is the hottest thing on the planet?  Are you a slave to the AT&T and Cspire wars?  It appears Chinese smartphones are way ahead of what we can do with our smartphones in America and are leaving us in the dust.  The Wall Street Journal reported last week:

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey issued the following statement:

David L. Archie melts down on Kim Wade's radio show yesterday after KIM Waaaaaaaaaade asked him about his loss to Hinds County District 2 Supervisor.  This one is classic. 

Steve Dallas faces a brave new world. Click on images to enlarge.

Vester Flanagan sued his employer, WDBJ, for wrongful termination in 2014 after he was fired from the tv station.   The case was dismissed but WDBJ submitted reports on his behavior as part of its defense. The court file is 167 pages but here is a road map to the relevant and more interesting pages:

The Jackson City Council voted 6-1 this week to pay two investigators $15,000 to complete an review and issue a final report on the water/sewer department and the Siemen's contract.  The investigation was initiated by a report from Raftelis Financial Consultants.  Mr. Stokes said he would approve an investigation of the Siemen's contract but opposed any investigation of public works or the water/sewer department.  See for yourself.

House collapses on Boyd Street.

JJ rarely posts book reviews but this one that appeared in the Wall Street Journal Saturday is one of the more poignant ones. Martin Rubin devled into a case where a family's legacy was looted by the Nazis while they were murdered in the Holocaust.  Mr. Rubin writes:

Mississippi Secretary of State Gibbert Hosemann issued the following press release:

Vester Flanagan sued his television station employer for racial discrimination after the station fired him in 2000.  The case was ordered to mediation.  The two sides settled and the case was dismissed with prejudice.  The complaint and mediation report are posted below. Comments are turne off. Make them in the other thread about this subject.

Enoch Sanders protested to the Jackson City Council about collecting unpaid water bills.

 Second update: Williams killed himself.  Correction: State police corrected themselves and said he is still alive after shooting himself. He faxed a 23 page statement to tv station last night or this morning.

Update: Police searching for former WDBJ reporter Bryce Williams.  He posted videos he took of the shooting on Facebook and Twitter.  More info posted below. 

Warning: Graphic and violent video. 

Two WDBJ (Roanake, Va.) reporters were murdered at Smith Mountain Lake (Va.) while covering a story live on tv. Here is the video.  The first one shows the shooting. The second shows the coverage by their station.

A Hinds County judge ordered Tony Davis and Shelia Lewis to remove all posts about Sheriff Tyrone Lewis from Facebook and other social media.  Shelia Lewis is the Sheriff's ex-wife.  The defendants posted on Facebook that Sheriff Lewis molested a child, committed statutory rape and fathered a child by an under-age girl, and  other "defamatory accusations".  The Court held Sheriff Lewis would be able to prove these posts were not true and that the "evidence produced thus far shows the statements to be false."  Earlier post with copy of complaint and exhibits.

Here we go.  Predictions:

Surprise, surprise.  The David Archie people are showing their expected level of class on election day today or should we say Hinds County District 2 Supervisor is the victim of some campaign terrorism?

Many of Jackson's  dining establishments sponsored newspaper ads the opposed raising the wages of their own waitresses.  The 1940 ads appeared in the Jackson Daily News and were in response to a called strike:

Nobody's lawsuit against the Mississippi Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Governor has generated no small amount of interest as Nobody seek to stop the state's investigation and possible prosecution of those who distributed anonymous flyers and mailers in Madison County for the August 4 elections.  However, here are some interesting coincidences about that pertain to Judge Carlton Reeves and the lawyer for Nobody.

Nobody slugged it out in federal court last Friday with the Mississippi Attorney General over an investigation into anonymous flyers and mailers that appeared in the August 4 elections in Madison County.  Secretary of State Englebert Hosemann and Attorney General Jim Hood are investigating the flyers.  They said the use of anonymous flyers violate state law and those responsible may be prosecutred.  Nobody filed suit in U.S. District Court last week and asked Judge Carlton Reeves to issue a temporary restraining order that would stop the investigation.  The complaint states the plaintiff is Anonymous.  Attorney Graham Carner represented the plaintiff.

Kathy Sykes, candidate for House of Representatives #70, rolled out some robocalls today in the Belhaven area. One talked about rolling things back if she loses and the other was an endorsement by Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jr.  Yes, the consiglieri for Harvey and probably the best known lawyer for the Democrats in Mississippi wants to "roll" things back. Here they are.

The IRS will penalize small businesses $100 per day if they "reimburse employees for the cost of premiums for individual health insurance polices or pay their health care costs directly".  The maximum penalty is $36,500 per year.  The new rule became effective on July 1.  The Mississippi Department of Insurance provided the documents posted below that explain the new rule and its ramifications. 

Twelve different organizations filed applications for tourism sales tax rebates since January 1, 2013. JJ obtained the applications through a public records request submitted to the Mississippi Development Authority. The applications are posted below. They include rebates as low as $1.9 million and as high as $96.2 million.  These applications are just that, applications.  They do not state whether the application was approved or rejected. 

Trump has a secret admirer.

Jackson Police Chief Jimmy Wilson warned in a 1993 letter addressed to FBI Special Agent  in Charge Joseph Jackson (Jackson office) young boys complained that Frank Melton molested them after they were placed into his charge by Frank Bluntson.

Time for the Ashley Madison fun.  One guru went into the Dark Web, retrieved the database, and ranked all 115,181 zip codes.  Someone else created a Mississippi database.

JPD issued the following press release:

JJ filed a public records request for the Renaissance at Colony Park, LLC application for the Mississippi Tourism Sales Tax rebate.  The Mississippi Development Authority provided the following information yesterday.  The application was made in December 2013 but does not specify any phases of the development.  It states the maximum rebate could be $29,594,938.  MDA did not provide any other documents or amendments. 

Judge just loooooooove people who file their own lawsuits and do so by writing out the complaint.  Here is one for ya to read.  It is not one of the usual variety of prisoner lawsuits but is a suit against Alcorn State University. 

Irb Benjamin pleaded not guilty today in U.S. District Court today.  A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Benjamin on August 18, 2015 for conspiracy and bribery.  Benjamin obtained MDOC contracts through his company Mississippi Correctional Management.  Benjamin also obtained contracts for other companies by acting as a consultant.  He would allegedly split the consulting fee with then-MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps.   The first page of the indictment below provides the plot of the scheme hatched by the Commissioner and the Jack Gordon protege.    He is represented by "Plea Bargain" Joe Holloman.  Benjamin is free on a $10,000 bond.  Trial was set for October 16, but it will undoubtedly be postponed to a later date.

Nobody sued Secretary of State Eggbert Hosemann, Attorney General Jim Hood, and Governor Phil Bryant over the investigation of several anonymous flyers and mailers that were distributed in the recent primary elections in Madison County.  The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court and assigned to Judge Carleton Reeves.  Nobody also seeks a temporary restraining order.  The complaint and TRO request are posted below. 

Note: This website was the first source to question Mr. Benjamin's involvement in this scandal. November 24, 2014 post.  

U.S. Attorney Acting United States Attorney Harold Brittain, issued the following statement:

Ok, folks.  Here is the much awaited video of the Costco forum held at Ridgeland High School last night. It was a packed house and the discussion grew pretty heated at times.

Just Stevie Nicks goofing around backstage.