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[Rob In Stereo] Evaluating a Five-Star Album

My family subscribed to Rolling Stone magazine through my grade school years. Though the stories often went over my head, I was always avidly interested in the album reviews—especially the star rating.

[Talk] Let It Shine

It probably goes back to his babysitter on the southside of Chicago who was a deejay. As he grew older, Corio Thomas continued to fall in love with the music of the streets. By age 14, he was playing house and hiphop, sampling old disco records seldom heard outside nightclubs. By age 17, he moved to Ripley, Miss., to live with his grandmother; there he started spinning on the radio in Tupelo. Thomas realized that music was his niche; he started to observe any and everything related to music in and around Mississippi.

BizProfile: Dedicated To The Board

Ricky Byrd was an avid skater in his youth. He spent the '70s street skating with friends and participating in several races. He grew up from his youthful skating ventures to have "real jobs" with Simmons and General Electric. He got married and started a family. However, Byrd says that skating has always been his passion, and owning a skate shop has been his dream for the past 30 years.

Lobbying for Arts

"Give us a dollar, we'll give you a dime." That's the main refrain of the Motion Picture Incentive Act (House Bill 1780), which won the endorsement of the Mississippi House two weeks ago and was awaiting approval by the state Senate as the JFP went to press. The bill passed out of the House by a landslide margin of 117 votes to 2—gratifying news to Ward Emling, Nina Parikh and Betty Black at the Mississippi Film Office, as well as Reps. Diane Peranich and Mark Formby (she authored the bill, he presented it on the House floor), and other advocates of enhancing the state's appeal to filmmakers.

Chutzpah, Y'all

Then, she pursued Madonna, JFK Jr., the New York Yankees and the beautiful people at the Cannes Film Festival. Now, it's the Sweet Potato Queens and congressional candidates at the Neshoba County Fair. Photographer and New Yorker-turned-Jacksonian Suzi Altman knows who she wants to shoot and how to chase them down, sometimes wearing a "Girls Kick Ass" T-shirt. "I am quick, little and determined," said the 5-foot-3 Altman.

Dirty Debris?

Garrett Enterprises owner Socrates Garrett said his company and subcontractors have already removed more than half the debris lining the streets after tornado winds tore through the Jackson area last month.

Mississippi Hires First Medical Examiner in 15 Years

A former Alabama medical examiner with a history of high-profile international cases began his role as Mississippi's first medical examiner in 15 years on Nov. 1.

PSC Moving to Next Fight on $2.4B Coal Plant

The Public Service Commission announced a unanimous agreement to continue hearings into the need for a new $2.4 billion coal plant in Kemper County. "The Public Service Commission finds that Mississippi Power Company (MPCO) has demonstrated that public convenience and necessity requires or will require additional generating capacity and energy as early as 2014. Further, after a review of the entire record, the commission notes that the record contains no credible evidence to support a finding that MPCO has no need or that this commission should not proceed to Phase two of these proceedings," Commissioner Lynn Posey wrote in a release Monday.

Power Industry Watchdog Grows Three New Teeth

The Mississippi Public Service Commission will be getting $824,901 to better watchdog the power industry. This morning, District 1 Rep. Travis Childers announced the grant award from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, which the PSC applied for earlier this year. Childers said the money will create jobs, improve training, and increase energy efficiency.

Robin Webb

Concert pianist, composer and activist Robin Webb, 52, has been living with HIV and AIDS for more than two decades. Diagnosed in 1988 as HIV positive, his doctor told him in 1990 that the virus had progressed. "You have AIDS," he told Webb. "... You need to put your house in order."

Kemper Coal Plant Hearing Draws Protest

A crowd of 100 piled into the chambers of the Mississippi Public Service Commission this morning, offering a variety of opinions in support or opposition to a proposed $2.4 billion coal gasification plant in Kemper County.

Here's What's Happening this Weekend

Two words for this weekend: Mistletoe Marketplace. If you haven't even begun to think about the upcoming holidays, this annual event presented by the Jackson Junior League will get you so psyched for everything Christmas that you just might sit on Santa's lap this year. It's happening at the Mississippi Trademart and closes at 7 p.m. Saturday. For more information, see the JFP Best Bets page.

Ain't Easy Being Green

Lifelong Mississippian and local folk musician Sherman Lee Dillon made history on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 27, when he filed a statement of intent and announced his candidacy for governor, becoming the first person in Mississippi to run for public office on the Green Party ticket. However, instead of spending the night previous to his big announcement schmoozing with potential donors or hunkered down in campaign headquarters, Sherman Lee and his band, the Tuff Nutts, entertained a crowd at Hal & Mal's, as they often do. Except for a brief, private interview, no public mention was made of Dillon's political aspirations. Even as his campaign manager Landon Huey sipped a non-libation near the stage and wrote out a speech by hand, Dillon went on about the business of giving his fans what they came for…good music.

Fitness Reawakening

It's an oft-quoted statistic that Mississippi is the most obese state and has been for a while. But in the capital city, at least, folks are working together to get healthier.

Why It Matters: Abortion and Birth Control

Whether women have access to abortion services and birth control is a longstanding and divisive issue in politics; here's an AP analysis of what is at stake.

David Coates

Most who knew David Coates knew him as a offensive-minded football coach, loving father, dedicated athletic director and a man who never enjoyed the spotlight.

Center Foes Hold Court

The debate over a convention center tax proposal, on the ballot this November for Jackson residents, heated up this week with the two major campaigns showing decidedly different tactics. A youthful convention center rally took place on Saturday in favor of the proposal, including an enthusiastic speech by Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., a slide show of supporting information for the plan, and musical appearances by The Broken String Band and the Vamps.

Supes Mull Prisoner Health

During Monday's regular board meeting, Hinds County supervisors discussed a potential change in medical service for inmates, which the county currently handles on its own. The meeting was open to the public, but crucial details had already been discussed privately—with no notice provided to the media.

Sewers to Cost City Big

The city of Jackson will soon have a sewer repair bill that could rival the city's entire annual budget.

Obama Opponents Strive to Make Emails Campaign Issue

"There were emails about all sorts of information that was becoming available in the aftermath of the attack," Carney said. "The whole point of an intelligence community and what they do is to assess strands of information and make judgments about what happened and who is responsible."

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