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Michael Rubenstein

Michael Rubenstein's office in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame is cluttered with sports awards and pictures, and a little plastic sumo wrestler stands on his desk. Born in Booneville, Miss., he moved to Jackson for a state job in 1974 after graduating from Vanderbilt University. How he ended up in sports broadcasting and working for a sports museum is serendipity.

[Williamson] 100 Years of Waste

You flip a switch, and the light goes on. It's like magic. It is easy to forget how much impact electricity has, how it allows us to work at night, stay warm, send e-mail around the world and compute our debts. But generating electrical power has other effects. It is still one of the largest sources of air pollution, although—primarily due to emission controls—the levels of most air pollutants are dropping, according to the EPA.

OBAMA WINS; Eyes on Mississippi Tonight

Thoughts? Comments? Returns? Concerns?

The polls just closed, and the world is watching Mississippi's Democratic primary. (Sit up straight.)

[Gigs] From Ole Miss to Al Jazeera

Annie Kate Pons knows the South. The Old Miss grad was born in Hereford, Texas, the beef capital of the world, and her dad was a cattle rancher. A committed Christian, she used to work for Fox News in Washington, D.C. Now she works for Al Jazeera English, a 24-hour television channel, broadcast by satellite to 100 million households worldwide.

The Best is (Also) Yet to Come

You hold in your hands the culmination of weeks worth of voting, counting, research, photography and writing—the Best of Jackson 2008 issue. It happens to be the biggest issue of the Jackson Free Press ever—and hopefully something you'll be proud to keep around the house or office and refer back to for the ensuing months of this nascent year.

The Case For Innocence

It was Ron Williamson's obituary in the Dec. 9, 2004, issue of The New York Times that caught attorney and author John Grisham's eye.

‘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.

Karen Parker

I met Karen Parker on a warm December afternoon with the sound of wind chimes drifting through the open door of New Vibrations, her Fondren book and gift store "for the evolving spirit." She was unpacking necklaces when I arrived. "They have stone gems inside the vials, and each little stone represents an emotional benefit, like allowing you to de-stress or feeling like your energy is protected," Parker explained.

Delta Blues Update

SAMPLE OF FUTURE "LIVE" BLUES EVENTS IN THE DELTA (full list at http://www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html )...

Ben Allen and Mike Peters on Downtown WLEZ-FM

Ben Allen and Mike Peters are on the radio right now at WLEZ-FM (103.7 FM)( talking about the potential of downtown development RIGHT NOW. Streams live at http://www.wlezfm.com.

Dems Bolster Power in Legislature

Photos by Adam Lynch

The Mississippi Legislature moved into Nov. 7 looking on the surface much as it did prior to the elections, party-wise. But education proponents say the new Legislature will likely be more friendly to issues such as full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and an increased tobacco tax, and the new House line-up may mean trouble ahead for Republican districts.

Cathead Blues Update

11/7 - Guitar Mikey CD Release Party

SAMPLE OF THIS WEEK'S "LIVE" BLUES EVENTS IN THE DELTA (full list at http://www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html )...

Haley Barbour Wins Second Term

(Post by reader promoted from forums.)

The Associated Press is reporting that Haley Barbour has won a second term as governor. This in a state that is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Many believe Haley is the only politician who came out looking good after the natural disaster.

LAST CALL: VOTE Today Until 7 p.m.

Attorney General: Jim Hood - won

The Jackson Free Press urges everyone to go to the polls today and vote in state and county elections. Polls are open until 7 p.m. Following are the JFP's endorsements in races where we prefer one candidate to the other (which is slightly different from the print version. We dropped our endorsement of David Blount, and added one of Dick Hall due to the tone of campaign ads.)

BREAKING: Lee Vance New Police Chief; Anderson Out?

More details as they emerge.

WAPT is about to report that Mayor Frank Melton today promoted Commander Lee Vance to the position of police chief, meaning that current Chief Shirlene Anderson is out.

Eaves Launches Anti-Barbour Web site

The John Arthur Eaves campaign just e-mailed a link to a new Web site devoted to giving what they call the real story on Haley Barbour's record. The site opens with the following:

Sculpting the Gourd

I have carved pumpkins since I was a child. As kids, my sister and I carved the typical triangles and jagged mouth for a traditional jack-o'-lantern. A few years in a row, we painted the outside of the pumpkin instead of carving it, in hopes of preserving the fruit a bit longer. Then I discovered these wonderful things called carving kits. I purchased one at Target, and for just two or three bucks I got several patterns and some tools for carving: a couple of tiny saws, some hole-punching tools and a scooper.

Delta Blues this Week