I've got two different things I need to say this week, and they're almost impossible to segue between, so let me just get the first one out of the way.

The city needs to fix State Street and other streets that it has purposefully torn up for installing new traffic signals or what not. I drive up and down State Street at least four times a day, and these roads are destroying my little car. Wear and tear is one thing, but I think it's fair to expect, at the very least, that the city itself will not create little bumps and gullies and leave them there long enough that they degrade and get worse as cars pass over them. There must be a golden rule in infrastructure improvements—"Do No Harm" or something like that?

Well, Jackson Road Planning People, you're harming the hell out of my car.

Even the people I know who do have big trucks are pretty put off by State Street right now. FIX THE DAMN ROADS.

OK, that's done. Now to the other thing.

One of the successes of the past election cycle on a national level was the use of the Internet as another medium for fact-checking the candidates on all sides of the political spectrum for the truth in their statements and advertising. A number of outlets used the infinite number of digital bits at their disposal (as opposed to the finite words available on a newspaper's page) to check up on what the candidates were saying in debates, in their commercials and in their mailers, among other places. The leader of the pack was FactCheck.org, which did (and continues to do) an excellent job of checking the facts of both candidates in the presidential races, along with some other key races and issues.

Along with FactCheck.org, the blogging community, comprised of left- and right-leaning sites, has been instrumental in the use of the Internet and other resources to ferret out facts and reveal the misinformation that politicians use in their campaigns and materials, as well as the misstatements by their supporters and even by reporters covering those candidates and campaigns.

Now, switch gears and let me talk about the Jackson Free Press' Web site. In January 2005 we topped 200,000 page views for the first time in our relatively short history—just one year ago we were getting about 60,000 to 70,000 page views per month. Just since January we've had more than 175 people join the site so that they can post or comment on items; we've been averaging well over 2,000 visits to the site per day.

One of the things we've done since the holidays is install a new Forum section on the site, where readers are able to post their own topics and generate discussion. While any such forum tends to take a while to ramp up, we've been pleased with the results—in the past six weeks, more than 475 posts have been made to the Forums in 32 different topics. And the level of growth of participation is something approaching exponential—over half the topics have been created in the past two weeks.

So, with the blogs we've had going over the past few years and the forums we've just started, we've decided we should be able to muster the resources, hopefully, to establish our own "truth watch" for the Jackson city campaigns and elections that are coming up this spring. We're hoping we can go beyond the limits of a print newspaper (including the daily paper, which often skips on the fact check and sticks with the "he said, she said" horse-race reporting) and use our Internet site—along with our growing community of online participants of all political persuasions—to get to the bottom of the statements and characterizations made by the various campaigns for mayor and City Council this fall.

If you'd like to follow that discussion or participate in the fact watch, visit http://www.jacksontruth.org and get a sense of how things work. (That URL will redirect you to a portion of our current site, but we'll be working on a unique interface for the "truth watch" section over the course of this week.)

If you think a fact is in dispute in a news story or debate, then let us know by writing or visit the site itself and use the HTML form that we make available for sending in stories. We'll look into your complaint and, if you're right, and we can correct an important fact in the campaign, we'll post it. The same is true with materials you get in the mail, push-poll calls you get by phone and so on. If you get such materials that concern you, and you can forward them on to us, please do so. You can also fax to 510-9019, or send materials by mail to: JFP Truth Watch, P. O. Box 2047, Jackson, Miss., 39225.

In the main section of JacksonTruth.org, we'll be posting stories about the characterizations and facts, much as FactCheck.org does; you'll be able to comment on those stories (if you happen to disagree with them or want to expound further). We'll also be setting up another forum section specifically geared to city politics, and we'll post those headlines on the JacksonTruth page as well.

We've all gotten pretty used to the hand-wringing in the corporate media about dirty politics and negative campaigning—usually after the campaign is over—but the truth is that the Fourth Estate has a responsibility not just to report the "horse race" aspects of a political campaign, but the facts and falsehoods that are inevitably a part of the campaign as well.

This time around, we'd prefer not to wait for the "can't we all get along?" editorials after the election is over. Let's see if we can use the Web and a little virtual shoe leather to make a difference while the campaigns are still going and keep these politicians—and media outlets—on their toes.

It should be a fun ride to the election this spring—if only my cars axles hold out long enough to get to my polling place this spring on STATE STREET.

Todd Stauffer drives an aging Miata.

Previous Comments

ID

69666

Comment

I think State Street (as part of the original Route 51) is still a state-aid road which means it's up to MDOT to maintain it. I don't think the city could legally resurface it even if they wanted to. Of course I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time--LOL).

Author

ed inman

Date

2005-02-17T18:33:40-06:00

ID

69667

Comment

Ha! Well, that'd be funny if it's true. It seems like it's the city that has torn up State and a number of other streets around town to put in new traffic lights and, presumably, some sort of sensor. I'll check that, though, and, if I'm wrong, I'll write about how Haley needs to fix the streets :-) - T.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2005-02-17T18:43:20-06:00

ID

69668

Comment

I'm glad you called attention to this! I thought it was just me. I swear, since the work began on State, my front struts are starting to go bad... I've lost one hubcap with another one that was about to fall off before I decided to remove them all. It's one thing for a pothole to exist or form due to heavy rain or unexpected events but this was created by the city or state and there is at least a 2-4" difference between the road and the trenches they've created. We have outrageous taxes (including car tags) and I'm still having to repair damage this work has caused to my car over the last two months or so. There's no reasonable reason for my struts to be knocking... My car is only 2 years old and used mostly for interstate travel except for commuting between Fondren and Belhaven (where the road madness exists). Grrrrrr...

Author

kaust

Date

2005-02-17T18:44:47-06:00

ID

69669

Comment

Yes, Stuart Irby and I were chatting about this today, and I was yelling about how the city shouldn't tear up the streets and then leave them for weeks or months without fixing them, that it's not the same as a pothole, blah, blah, blah, and he wonderfully said, "Yeah, it's like getting half a haircut." Tee, hee. Maybe that should be the quote o' the week in the next issue.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-17T18:51:25-06:00

ID

69670

Comment

I was yelling about how the city shouldn't tear up the streets and then leave them for weeks or months without fixing them Have you called the Mayor's office to complain about it? Isn't that something you should be pushing in the public interest, finding out why it takes so long to complete that type of work?

Author

Proud To Be Right

Date

2005-02-17T20:57:03-06:00

ID

69671

Comment

The mayor said something a few weeks ago about the contractor dropping the ball on this one. Said they were going to have to put some pressure, or something, on them to get going. Didn't quite understand what he meant. But, the good news................................ The one at Fornication and State was paved and smooth as a baby's butt today when I drove through there. Maybe the one at riverside and state are next? Think there was another at northside and hanging moss and another somewhere else in the same shape. Don't know the status of those.

Author

dw

Date

2005-02-17T21:38:55-06:00

ID

69672

Comment

Yes, Proud, we did a story about it a couple weeks ago. This publisher's note is calling "piling on." I don't have a red hotline to his office, for the record. Thanks for the suggestion, however.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T00:24:21-06:00

ID

69673

Comment

I don't have a red hotline to his office, for the record. Oh, just the Chief's office. I recall the other day you were eager to follow up directly to the Chief on a crime related issue posted on this board about an incorrectly classified crime. The Mayor's office has a formal process for submitting complaints about road conditions and the like. I don't agree with his management by Hotline approach but the process does exist and his office does work the complaints that come in. It sounds like you did not pursue the process.

Author

Proud To Be Right

Date

2005-02-18T09:03:27-06:00

ID

69674

Comment

Oh, just the Chief's office. I recall the other day you were eager to follow up directly to the Chief on a crime related issue posted on this board about an incorrectly classified crime. LOL, PBR. I said to Matt that we would investigate complaints such as what he was talking about to see what was happening on it. I don't think this is a call that the chief will look forward to -- much as he doesn't like many of the ones he gets for us trying to get more info than they put in the press release. If you're going to talk about me, dude, know what you're talking about. The Mayor's office has a formal process for submitting complaints about road conditions and the like. I don't agree with his management by Hotline approach but the process does exist and his office does work the complaints that come in. It sounds like you did not pursue the process. No, I didn't submit a complaint. I had a reporter call and find out what they had to say about it (before The Ledge did it) and printed it. Then this week, Todd wrote a publisher's note, out Tuesday a.m., about fixing the damn streets. They're out there today fixing the streets. Causal? I have no idea. But I'm trying to use my resources get some improvements made here. You? The councilman is right. Go kick your (stuffed) dog. You're a tiresome anonymous troll.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T10:54:14-06:00

ID

69675

Comment

They really are fixing State Street today. Praise be! Any reports from other parts of the city?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T13:15:42-06:00

ID

69676

Comment

"They really are fixing State Street today. Praise be! Any reports from other parts of the city?" Well, Xmas comes early! I'm overjoyed since I will have to drive that strip this afternoon and weekend multiple times.

Author

kaust

Date

2005-02-18T13:18:32-06:00

ID

69677

Comment

All bow to the power of the JFP and Todd's Publisher's Note! See, if you print it, not only do all of us Ladd-ites automatically agree, but now the City of Jackson bows to your will.

Author

kate

Date

2005-02-18T13:23:13-06:00

ID

69678

Comment

It's that hotline, you know. We have a secret ring known only to us and the mayor. I just wish they'd pick it up quicker when we're trying to get public records.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T13:25:07-06:00

ID

69679

Comment

There's an agenda.... How do I get a copy or is it crypted in each issue?

Author

kaust

Date

2005-02-18T13:25:41-06:00

ID

69680

Comment

Definitely encrypted -- details of the conspiracy only available to Laddite Insiders, or those who obsess over us on talk radio.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T13:29:32-06:00

ID

69681

Comment

... or Web sites where they can't think of anything to talk about but the power of the JFP. ;-D

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-18T13:30:37-06:00

ID

69682

Comment

Rumor has it: If you read the JFP back-to-front, you'll want to rent independent films or beat an SUV with a bat or eat a tofu-laden pasta dish. I knew it! First the Beatles and now the JFP! Damned liberal media trying to pollute our minds!

Author

kaust

Date

2005-02-18T13:36:48-06:00

ID

69683

Comment

Mayor's action line: 960-1111- you can report any problem or violation. Now, I'm not saying what will happen next...

Author

Justin

Date

2005-02-18T14:14:58-06:00

ID

69684

Comment

Road report: State Street is smooth as a baby's butt now. However, the intersection of Northside Drive and Bailey (next to the New Deal) is as rough as State was last week still. I hope that spot is on the radar for repair THIS week. Any other updates to report?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-02-21T11:12:16-06:00