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Barbour, Carroll Bash Jackson With Old Statistics
"Jackson is one of the 10 most dangerous cities in America." How often are you hearing that jingle right now? From Haley Barbour. From Hinds County D.A. candidate Wilson Carroll. From The Clarion-Ledger. From your co-workers. From your Aunt Lula in Kemper County who won't visit you. Scared to death yet? Don't start packing your bags, though. Read the fine print first. With a little careful sleuthing, you'll discover that crime is dropping steadily and dramatically in the city since a spike early this year, and felonies are nearing their lowest level in over 20 years, despite what the challengers have to tell you.
Tough Questions for Mitch Tyner
The uncut version.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Tyner answers tough questions about his Davidian quest for the state's top office, if liberals can love God, and whether or not he's a closet Democrat.
Ledger: Melton ‘Should Have Learned'
Oh, and they end the thing with this:
In another demonstration of why their newspaper is so awful, The Clarion-Ledger edit-boyz today declared that, now that Judge Webster has thrown out the probation warrants against Melton, that the mayor "should have learned that doesn't mean he can break his parole with impunity." How's that, Ledge? How did a judge from elsewhere throwing out every bit of his parole violations, calling them "technical," send the message to Melton that he cannot "break his parole with impunity"? Are we on the same planet here? Is logic allowed through the front door over there?
For The Girls
While reading the first draft of Natalie Collier's cover story this issue about domestic abuse, I was overtaken by emotion and memories.
Melton Asks Warner to Oversee Ex-Con Staff
At District Attorney-elect Robert Smith's victory party, Mayor Frank Melton said that Smith is one of his long-time "kids" who will now help him with the young men of Jackson he is trying to save. "I thank God tonight that I have somebody now who will help me with these children ... who will put these drug dealers in jail."
Auditors: Billions Squandered in Iraq
AP is reporting:
About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer money is at risk. The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done. More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall.
DA and AG Dismiss Case Against Robbie Bell
Attorney General Jim Hood
[Verbatim statement from the AG's office] "The criminal case against Robbie Bell was dismissed today for lack of evidence in the case. The decision was made by both the Hinds County District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Attorney General after an exhaustive investigation and finally, discussion with the victim's family."
Playin' Hurt in Jacktown
Thank you, Jackson, for being you.
We feel confident in saying that there a few headaches in the Jackson area today after hundreds of people packed into the Mississippi Museum of Art for the JFP's Sixth Annual Best of Jackson party. Local restaurants brought so much food that we had to scramble for extra tables. The beer and the wine from Kat's kept flowing. DJ Phingaprint worked the crowd into a frenzy as usual. Fedoras, pinstripes and flapper dresses were in abundance. The highlight of the night came around 7 p.m. when the JSU Sonic Boom drum line marched from outside straight into the packed museum and to the dance floor to perform. And perform they did. (Rumor has it that members of The Weeks tried to join the drum line later, and June Hardwick later reported that she heard them in her house blocks away.) Oh, yes, Josh Hailey outdid his gold lame jumpsuit from last year. Let's just say that, save for a sombrero and big black moustache and some itty-bitty speedos, he would have been buck naked. What's next year for Josh? We tremble to think.
‘I Will Cream You Personally'
Looks like we left the press conference too soon yesterday! The Clarion-Ledger is reporting today that Mayor Frank Melton threatened one of their reporters:
Melton Plans Quick ‘State of the City' at the Alamo
Mayor Frank Melton says he only plans to talk for 30 minutes Friday morning on the "state of the city." The Clarion-Ledger reports:
Dems Challenge Melton's Residency
ht>This story will appear in the print edition of the Jackson Free Press on Wednesday. by Adam Lynch
A Soldier's Story: The JFP Interview with James Meredith
James Meredith talks to the Jackson Free Press about identity education, Barack Obama, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin.
End Near for Racist Politics in Mississippi?
Wearing a long coat, she stood in front of a statue of Elvis Presley when she told the crowd that if her friend Colin Hutchinson "invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row."
Gary Anderson Sends George Dale to the Showers
Democratic challenger Gary Anderson defeated incumbent Insurance Commissioner George Dale 51-49 percent Tuesday night. Dale had mounted his re-election campaign under intense scrutiny for his support of and by the insurance industry in the wake of Katrina. The tort-reform lobby had campaigned heavily for him, saying he was the candidate to counteract "lawsuit abuse" and accusing him of being the candidate for "personal injury lawyers." Many victims of Katrina have sued their insurance companies for trying to pay their policies, in most cases saying they lost their homes due to wind, not water. Because only a slab was left in many cases, policy holders could not point to a water line, as insurance companies said they needed to do. Many people on the Coast are still living in FEMA trailers.
Tarring and Feathering Faye Peterson
I was sitting in the student center at Belhaven College Friday afternoon, participating in a media-ethics forum with several other media leaders from around town. The conversation was compelling, and there was a great deal of mea culpa (not to mention JFP back-patting, I'm happy to report) over how local media covered, or did not cover, Frank Melton's shenanigans during the campaign and in the early months of his tenure as mayor.
The JFP Bloggers' Guide to Success in Life and Business
Thanks to a conversation that started about tipping over on under Kaze's column about race dialogue, I promised I would start a thread so that JFP readers could discuss tips about etiquette in life and and business (and continue the tip conversation if they want). So here is my thread, as promised. I'll start with a few random things I've learned from running my own business in Mississippi; feel free to add your own and discuss:
Rumsfeld to Soldiers: Stop Your Whining
New York Times editorial today:
