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Capitol Report: Will They Or Won't They?
The Legislature only has until Jan. 31 to decide whether it will reinstate the Medicaid benefits taken from 50,000 people characterized as Poverty Level, Aged and Disabled (PLADs) last session. This deadline is a strict one, set under a court order issued Oct. 1 by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate. However, making that choice is easier said than done.
McMillin Talks on Irby ‘Conspiracy'
Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin this week fired back at accusers who say he led a conspiracy to go easy on Karen Irby, whose intoxication and high-speed driving killed two doctors and seriously injured her husband, Stuart, and herself after leaving the Jackson Country Club the evening of Feb. 11, 2009. Police reports show that she crossed five lanes of traffic in her black 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500 and hit a Chevrolet Silverado C1500 pick-up truck head-on; it burst into flames, killing Drs. Mark Pogue and Lisa Dedousis.
Charter Schools Cause Shuffle, Get Boost
Mississippi's charter schools got a boost when the Mississippi Senate passed a HB 238 on March 2. Charter schools are independent public schools, cut loose from regulations of a school district, but they are publicly funded and hold to the basic definitions of a public school. They cannot exercise preference in admissions, cannot teach religion and cannot charge tuition.
Dumb S*** Rebel Without a Clue
Yes, that's what a troll just called me on another thread before it was deleted.
[Greggs] Male Rules For Dating
While sitting down and enjoying an "adult beverage" with a few guy friends the other night, the topic of dating came up. Now, I've always maintained that I wouldn't write about dating in a column. I've previously mentioned that I just don't do it well, and recent events in my life prove it. Dating for me at this point consists of believing that Michael Buble speaks to me through the radio. He is commanding me to stalk him. Every time he sings "Save the Last Dance For Me" with that Sinatra-like smoothness, he's shooting a rainbow straight through my heart laced with obsessive compulsion and covered in a restraining order. That man knows exactly what he's doing.
The Kill Zone
Moving wounded and dodging American bullets in Fallujah
Entering the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah was difficult, but not impossible. We came in along the backroads, following the Euphrates River past beautiful date groves, villages of clay houses, and herds of goats. The air is marvelously dry, clean, and bright, the polar opposite of Baghdad's choking, fume-ridden skies. It is a fantastic and timeless landscape.
The Rocky Road (unfortunately, I'm not talking about ice cream)
For some reason, sitting at the computer position makes my right shoulder ache. Just that one. It's like scapula tunnel syndrome. I'm going to need a deep tissue massage before I go back to school in August. The JFP may be fun, but it is not for the faint at heart. I still have blisters from when Stephanie and I walked around Fondren running Chick Ball errands, because, you know, I just had to wear heels that day. (Number 5 thing I've learned at the JFP: Always keep a spare set of flip-flops in your car.) I almost fainted once when I was waiting to go into a board meeting because I hadn't eaten. I was talking to a woman who worked in the building and I had to interrupt her to say, Um, can you show me to the bathroom before I collapse, please. I didn't actually say that, of course, I have, in fact, heard of tact, but I did sort of freak her out, which I felt bad about later. (Lesson 6: Always keep a granola bar in your purse, or large pockets, as the gender identification may be.)
Tsunami Benefit Raises $4,311
The JFP-Collective-Rock 93.9 benefit last night at the Red Room at Hal & Mal's has raised $4,311.50 for disaster relief! Hal & Mal's donated 10 percent of sales for the evening. The checks will be mailed to Oxfam late Friday. The event was a raging success. Thanks to the musicians, volunteers, local businesses, artists and all the Jacksonians, young and older, who turned out to make the event such a success. The music was hot, and the community spirit was even hotter. Most of all, we thank JFP intern Swetha Regunathan who spearheaded the event and designer Jakob Clark who made such amazing music come together on one stage for such an important cause in less than a week. Cheers to them, and to Jackson.
‘These Are Not Fair Trials': The JFP Talks With John Grisham
Since publication of "The Innocent Man" in 2006, author John Grisham has become a strong advocate for the Innocence Project, lending his name and voice to help establish the organization's Mississippi office in Oxford. "The Innocent Man" was Grisham's first—and very likely his only—foray into the world of non-fiction. A man who has always had strong opinions about the legal system, he is even more adamant today about why it's broken and how to fix it. I spoke with him via telephone in mid-November 2007, and below is the full text of that interview.
No Tea Party of the Left, Please
The pent-up frustration caused by not speaking out in a clear voice finds a venue this Saturday when some Jacksonians will gather in Smith Park for Occupy Mississippi, a localized version of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement that spread to other U.S. cities in recent weeks. We fear, though, that many of the frustrated protesters could lack focus and are venting.
Moore Alleges DA ‘Misconduct'
The attorney for Sharrod Moore, who is awaiting his Sept. 15 trial for the Nov. 14, 1995, murder of Jackson police officer Robert J. Washington, is accusing Hinds County District Attorney Robert S. Smith of "prosecutorial misconduct." Smith, they say, used "perjured" witness accounts to get the indictment, has not provided timely discovery documents and alleged a police "cover-up" in the case in a Jackson Free Press interview in May.
Community Events and Public Meetings
5 p.m., America Reads-Mississippi Member Recruitment at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.), at the Sally M. Barksdale Educational Resource Center. ARM members tutor full-time during the school day, before and after school, over breaks and in the summer. Members support school and community efforts to increase parental and community support and involvement, recruit volunteers and attend monthly training to gain skills necessary to meet service obligations. Members who successfully complete 1,700 hours in one year will receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award worth $5,350, which can be used to attend college or pay off current qualified student loans. Call 601-979-1474.
Ending the Silence
Bringing Rape and Sexual Assault out of Shame's Closet
Anthony Sowell had been out of prison about three years after serving 15 for attempted rape when he ran into Gladys Wade outside a neighborhood store in Cleveland, Ohio, on Dec. 8, 2008. When she said she wouldn't go to his house to drink beer with him, Sowell became emphatic.
Where The Streets Have No Name
I've flown to Chicago twice in a month to give writing workshops at Northwestern's journalism school, and each time I've been swept up in a wave of compassion and love. I like to think it's because so many Mississippians have made the city their home, but that may well be a bit egocentric of me.
LADD: Hoofbeaters Make It Real
Remember the reception to honor the Murrah Hoofbeat staff Tuesday, March 4, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center (downtown at 528 Bloom Street). Come have cookies and punch, and congratulate these young journalists.
Chip Pickering Leaving Congress
Rep. Chip Pickering, a Republican representing the Third District, announced today that he is not seeking re-election next year. One wonders if the Democratic Party will now go out on a limb and attempt to take the seat, or if they will allow perennial candidate Jim Giles to take the seat by default.
Still Waiting
Marriage might be far away from most teenagers' minds, especially as they relish freedom from teachers and textbooks this summer. But waiting until then to engage in sexual activity was the message more than 40 teenagers heard during an abstinence rally earlier this month.
[Balko] Killed on a Technicality
In 1994 Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of raping and murdering 84-year-old Georgia Kemp. Firefighters found Kemp dead in her Columbus, Miss., home after a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the house. Investigators determined the fire was intentional.
Please Help With Presents for Katrina Kids
Dec. 4, 2006—Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne just forwarded us this e-mail. Everyone, please do what you can to help these children get presents this year; drop-off info in Jackson and Oxford is included at the bottom: