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The Skinny on Polk

Hattiesburg native Patrik-Ian Polk has wrapped another film and is working on more television shows to add to his credentials. Polk, who is gay, explores issues of race and sexual identity in some of his projects. His work has won national awards and is gaining a more mainstream audience.

Faith Leaders Call for Death Penalty Moratorium

About 20 Mississippi faith leaders gathered in the rotunda of the state capitol yesterday to appeal for a moratorium on executions in the state. The press conference came one day after the state Supreme Court announced May execution dates for two men on death row in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

Judge Blocks New Mississippi Anti-Abortion Law

Clarion-Ledger is reporting: "Mississippi's new abortion law infringes on a woman's 14th Amendment right to have an abortion early in the second trimester, a federal judge has ruled. In a ruling made public today, U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee kept in place a preminary injunction he issued July 2 that prevented the law from going into affect. The law would have limited abortions after the 13th week of pregnancy to hospitals and ambulatory surgical clinics."

Coming Soon: 1-Percent Sales Tax Increase?

Faced with steep spending increases to meet the challenges of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's consent decree and Jackson's crumbling roads, Mayor Chokwe Lumumba says he is moving ahead with a 1-percent sales tax.

The Battle for Downtown, Part 2: What Should Farish Become?

Nothing rivals the level of disappointment over what has happened on Farish Street, the historic area on downtown Jackson's periphery designated as the future site of an entertainment district.

Smokey Joe's Café

If you're in the mood to bob your head to some upbeat oldies while taking in a visual dancing spectacle, don't miss New Stage Theatre's "Smokey Joe's Café."

Free Crossroads Film

Enjoy a free showing of the Mississippi documentary "The Year of Our Lord on Thacker Mountain Radio" with the Crossroads Film Society. The documentary is based on the book "The Year of Our Lord," by T.R. Pearson.

MEMA Director Greg Michel Hospitalized with COVID-19 Complications

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a statement Sunday that Director Greg Michel has been admitted to a hospital with pneumonia, a complication from is infection with COVID-19.

Blake Thompson

Mississippi College trustees on Monday said they had chosen Blake Thompson to lead the 5,000-student Baptist-affiliated institution.

Grand Jurors Decline to Indict Officers in Shooting Deaths

Grand jurors in Mississippi's most populous county have declined to indict four officers involved in recent shooting deaths.

MSU 'Shooter' in Custody, Schools on Lockdown

What was described as an 'active shooter' at Mississippi State University is in custody, according to the school's official Twitter feed for emergency and advisory information.

Wilco, ‘The Whole Love'

It should be evident to those of you who read my column that I am not a rock 'n' roll aficionado. I do not dislike the genre; I just need very little to sustain myself. I get all the rock I need from about a dozen bands taken in small doses.

Anna Franklin's Teacakes

When she was alive, Polkville, Miss., resident Anna Franklin used her teacakes to comfort the bereaved. "Everybody who went into the coffee room at Ott and Lee Funeral Home in Morton knew Anna Franklin had been there," my mom said. "She brought teacakes to the funeral home every time she heard about a death in the community."

JPD Investigating Communications Failure

Jackson Police Department Assistant Chief Lee Vance said he is looking into suspected communication failures that held a crime victim's car in impound for more than a month.

‘The Nightmare Is Over': Levon Brooks Finally Free

After serving 18 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, Levon Brooks walked away from the Noxubee County courthouse a free man this morning. Arrested for the rape and murder of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Courtney Smith, in 1990, Judge J. Lee Howard released Brooks on his own recognizance on Feb. 15, pending today's hearing. Brooks received a life sentence for the crimes in 1992 after two years in jail waiting for his trial.

Mississippian Nominated to Oversee Forest Service

President Barack Obama has nominated Mississippi State Conservationist Homer Lee Wilkes to oversee the Forest Service as undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Agriculture Department, reports The New York Times.

It's the Weekend: Live it Up

The weather might be getting colder, but don't let that stop your weekend fun. When you get off work today, head to the Handworks Holiday Market at the Mississippi Trade Mart (1200 Mississippi St.) and start your holiday shopping. The market is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5, and children under 12 get in free; call 205-991-9840 for more information. When you finish your shopping, head to Millsaps College Galloway Halls of Residence (1701 N. State St). and see sculpture and digital-arts students' collaborative performance at 7 p.m.; free. You have plenty of other entertainment options to get your groove on this week. Tonight, Amalgamation performs at Underground 119 at 9 p.m.; Sherman Lee Dillion plays the blues at F. Jones Corner until 4 a.m.; and Mia Borders plays at Martins at 10 p.m. For the city's best happenings check out Best Bets and the JFP Music Listings for your weekend entertainment.

Lalee: No Better Off Today

Gary Pettus has a good follow-up today on the story of Lalee Wallace, a Delta grandmother who was the subject of an HBO documentary. The JFP did a story about Lalee and the film way back in our first issue. The story shows that little has changed for poor people like Lalee in the Delta -- as if a film could change a system engrained by years of slavery, Jim Crow and poverty:

JFP on WLEZ Podcast for 2/25/10

jfp022510.mp3

OK, this is not *really* the podcast, but I'll put up a subscribe tool later today so that people can subscribe to this show and all future shows. Meanwhile, here's the download link:

Truth in Barbecue

One of my favorite college professors, Lee Rackstraw of Booneville, once told me, "If a restaurant doesn't have enough respect for the art of smoking meat to advertise EITHER proper spelling of the word: Barbeque or Barbecue, then I don't bother to stop by and see if it's good or not. BBQ doesn't spell anything!" Well, Spooney's spells out the word BARBEQUE and does a respectable job of smoking of meats on the grill.

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