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UPDATE: McCain Flip-Flops, Headed To Oxford
Update: CNN is reporting that Sen. John McCain has announced he will be attending tonight's presidential debate in Oxford, despite his earlier refusal to participate if an agreement had not yet been met to resolve the looming economic crisis.
Harvey Talks Back: The 2003 JFP Interview with Mayor Johnson
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. is having one hell of a year. On the one hand, the Vicksburg native has presided over a city for six years that seems to have shifted into high-gear renaissance mode, or certainly as high gear as re-development has been in this city since harmful out-migration to the suburban areas began decades ago. About everywhere you look in the city, it seems there is construction; dilapidated buildings are being razed; a city that has been left to decay for many years by other administrations seems set on re-inventing itself at a slow, if steady, pace. Yet, there is a dark side.
Melton Plans to Re-Arrest Acquitted Man
Anyone else think it's odd that Mayor Melton is reacting so dramatically different to the latest acquittal of alleged gang members after being so lukewarm about the "Grayhead" acquittals? In both trials, a major witness backed out of testifying, helping enable acquittals. In both cases, the young men are accused of horrible crimes. But in the Grayhead case, Mr. Melton seemed offended that they were called "gang" members, and in this case, he is clamoring for Vidal Sullivan to be re-arrested, even saying he will take it to a different county—leaving a Mississippi College professor to warn that the public should be very concerned about Mr. Melton's statements.
PROFILE: Harvey Johnson
ht>Incumbent Aims to Finish What He's Started by Adam Lynch
On The Road Again with Frank Melton
On Sunday, April 2, photographer Jaro Vacek and I went to Frank Melton's home on 2 Carters Grove to meet with the mayor's Mobile Command Center crew for a night on the town, so to speak. First, though, Melton showed us his home, his mammoth bedroom, his swimming pool underneath his bedroom (the room is the same length as the pool, he said), his "TV room" with a huge theater screen and 10 gray recliners, his "bat cave" (as Judge Karen Gilfoy used to call his office), his kitchen overflowing with food.
Keep Your Eyes On The Prize
When the message came Thursday that a grand jury in Neshoba County had indicted at least one conspirator in the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, I started screaming. Staffers bolted into my office to see what had happened to me. I could barely squeak out that the one thing I've wanted most in my adult life had come true. My hometown was facing its past that's not yet past.
[Editor's Note] We the Job Creators
When I was asked to go to the White House in early March to talk about business in Jackson, I didn't know what to expect. I just said "yes!" and headed to Washington, D.C.
We the Job Creators
When I was asked to go to the White House in early March to talk about business in Jackson, I didn't know what to expect. I just said "yes!" and headed to Washington, D.C.
Where Is Emergency Housing for Gustav Evacuees?
Are you fleeing Gustav and looking for housing? You can find a list of emergency shelters in Mississippi here. Print a Red Cross evacuation plan here. Here's a checklist of the supplies you need.
* Corrections to Talk of Jackson *
The JFP's Talk of Jackson section has a couple really dumb errors this week. (As a result, two writers are currently hanging in the newsroom from their toenails. Don't tell anyone.) Here are the errors:
[City Buzz] Colonel Snoop Reporting for Duty, Sir
JACKAL SMOKED OUT … Like the rest of the world, Jacksonians of all political persuasions were all aglow in the days leading up to Christmas over the capture of long-time dictatorial butcher Saddam Hussein. We were surprised, though, to see how quickly some locals tried to make political hay out of the capture. Within two hours of the announcement, one loquacious blogger posted on the JFP site, "Game, set, and match. 4 more years. Yeeeeeeeehawwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!" About the same time, a local businessman sent around a photo of the bearded Saddam to his e-mail list, saying simply, "Recent photo of potential candidate that can out do even Howard Dean in demonizing 'W.'" It was forwarded to us by an artist with the subject header, "It didn't take long." We prefer a simple non-partisan "good riddance" to the Butcher of Baghdad. …
A Dream Deferred
Thomas Moore got a dose of his home state that he could like last week. After the Jackson Free Press published a narrative of his visit back to Meadville and Jackson last week, his quest for justice for the Klan murders of his brother, Charles Moore, and friend Henry Dee, started gaining steam. JFP bloggers immediately began collecting money to buy new tombstones for both men's graves.
Transitions
When managing editor Maggie Neff walked into my office a couple months ago and closed the door, I sensed what was coming. She and husband J.P. were moving to Chattanooga at the end of the summer.
Obama Opens Up 14-Point Lead Due to Palin and Attacks
CBS News just announced the results of its latest poll, which finds that Barack Obama has opened up a 14-point lead over John McCain in one week, and has taken a commanding lead among independent voters. Voters cite the choice of Sarah Palin and the vicious attacks out of the McCain-Palin as primary reasons:
Kamikaze: Left Behind, by Alphonso Mayfield
The term "kamikaze" is a well-known phrase used to identify Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions during World War II. However, the term has a much deeper significance with the translation of the "Divine Wind." The last translation is a remembrance of two seemingly divine storms that crushed the attempts of Kublai Khan to invade Japan in 1274 and served as inspiration for those famed pilots. So on the surface a kamikaze can mean many different things. Like the term, rapper Kamikaze, born Brad Franklin, is not what he appears on the surface.
EDITORIAL: McMillin Needs a Chief, Not a Badge
This editorial appears in the print edition this week. The mayor has requested that Council schedule a time at a special meeting today at 4 p.m. to confirm Sheriff McMillin as police chief.
Melton: Hood Is Wrong
Read PDFs of documents that Melton faxed to the JFP to prove that he can carry weapons places prohibited by state law. Click here for the PDFs.
JFP is Turning 9—What's Your Favorite JFP Memory?
I'll include a couple to get us going:
We need your help, JFP Nation. Our 9th birthday issue publishes this week, and we want to include favorite JFP-related moments (funny or serious) from staffers, readers, freelancers, etc. Please post below. We'll put what we can in the print edition. Thanks, all!
ACLU to Challenge Mayor's Tactics in Town Hall Meeting - Aug. 1
Please join the ACLU of Mississippi, the Jackson Free Press, the Magnolia Bar Association, the NAACP and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement in a special town hall meeting to address the rights of citizens. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 6 p.m. at Jasper and Associates Complex, located at 3365 Medgar Evers Blvd.