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Heeding Hip-Hop's Higher Calling

<b>An Interview with Russell Simmons</b>

A devout yoga practitioner, ruthless entrepreneur, dedicated philanthropist and burgeoning political player, Russell Simmons is most famous as the co-founder of Def Jam Records, the label that launched Run-DMC, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, and along the way propelled hip-hop out of the ghetto and into the Mall of America.

Dear Meadville: Thomas Moore Tries To Wake Up His Hometown

Photo of Mac Littleton by Kate Medley

On his July pilgrimage back to his native Mississippi, Thomas Moore got his hopes up. With the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the Jackson Free Press documenting his effort, Moore went back to his native Franklin County, and over to Natchez, and up to Jackson and Neshoba County, to ask the good people of Mississippi to support his efforts to finally see justice for the murder of his brother, Charles Eddie Moore, and his friend, Henry Hezekiah Dee, by local white men on May 2, 1964.

Singing the Broken Pipe Blues

When the water in their sinks and showers slowed to a drip last week, many Jacksonians found their thoughts turning subterranean. Following five days of freezing temperatures, water mains across the city began to burst Sunday, Jan. 10. By Friday, the city had seen more than 150 breaks in its water system. Jackson Public Schools and area colleges were closed most of the week, along with state offices and many businesses.

What's Happening in Libya: A Guide to the Best Coverage

Here's the best reporting ProPublica has found not only on yesterday's killings but also on post-war Libya. What are we missing? Please leave your favorite stories in comments.

Bernie Mac: 1957-2008

The famous comic actor had been battling sarcoidosis and said he was getting better, but pneumonia is what took his life today. From CNN:

Bloggers Speak Out

Mississippi keeps cropping up out there on the weblogs (called "blogs," we're talking about Web sites that update daily with news and politics coverage) and—almost universally—in a familiar context. I saw our fair state mentioned last week on the Democratic "inside baseball" site http://www.dailykos.com)]DailyKos, in a completely gratuitous mention that's par for the course: "Don't fear, however. CT is a safe Dem state. There's as much chance of Bush taking the state as of the Dems taking Mississippi."

Under the Radar: From Darwin to Sex Ed

A flurry of new bills hit House and Senate committees this month, bills that get little attention with the media focusing on cigarette tax bills and the Legislature's knot-twisting to fully fund Medicaid and the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Your Name In Lights

You gotta love the folks who decide to do something instead of just complain about it. Last year, in response to the common refrain "We never get any decent independent films in Jackson," the Crossroads Film Society decided to expand from its core mission—supporting and nurturing independent filmmakers through educational programs and the annual Crossroads Film Festival in April—to make it possible for more people to see the great independent films that are being made all over the country and the world.

John Dicker: Taking On The Other Uncle Sam

Journalist JohnDicker, 32, has worked on films and in labor unions since studying film at Ithaca College in New York. The Bedford, N.Y.-native's non-fiction work has appeared in The Nation, Salon and the Colorado Springs Independent, among other publications. His first book, "The United States of Wal-Mart"(Tarcher/Penguin Putnam, 2005, $12.95) is a funny, biting examination of the power and practices of Wal-Mart, including how the large corporation has shaped America.

A Gift From God

It's class time at the Hinds County Detention Center, and Sheriff Malcolm McMillin is taking a reporter to see how it works. The county holding facility is one very lengthy drive down Highway 18, just across the street from the exit that leads hundreds of young people to Hinds County Community College every morning. There is, perhaps, irony in the location. Some young lives not destined for one direction often take the other.

[Talk] Alabama on our Minds

In an effort that riveted the attention of the nation and even got Alabama favorable copy on The New York Times editorial page, Alabama's Legislature passed the largest tax increase in that state's history on July 7, 2003. (It's now headed for an up-or-down voter referendum on Sept. 9, 2003.) The act, spearheaded by the state's freshman Republican governor, Bob Riley, was designed to make Alabama's tax code less regressive by shifting some tax burden from the poorest Alabamans to the richest landowners and corporations. The goal: Increase revenues to fill a projected $800 million shortfall in the Alabama budget. Oh—and the governor wants to please God.

Group Forms to Save Fondren Strip

An online petition asking developer David Watkins to preserve a 1938 strip of Fondren businesses on North State Street has gained the support of 189 people. Watkins proposes to tear down the strip and replace it with the Whitney Place Development.

Supervisors' Clash Continues

On Jan. 3, Hinds County Board of Supervisors Vice President Peggy Hobson Calhoun arrived at a meeting between county supervisors and executives of Central Parking Corp. over a proposed $14 million parking garage in downtown Jackson. At a Board of Supervisors meeting the previous day, she had expressed concern over the $14 million price tag estimated by Central Parking and announced to

Challenging the Next Generation

It was our own hometown David and Goliath story. Bernie Ebbers and WorldCom were the symbol of what Mississippi could be. WorldCom was the lone Fortune 500 company in the state, and Ebbers its ebullient, charismatic, down-to-earth hero. Everyone—from employees to stockholders to Wall Street—were charmed. Believers invested everything, buoyed by the company's phenomenal growth.

Don Imus - Back at it again

Surely you've heard about Imus' latest racial episode. This time, he commented on Adam Jones (who doesn't want to be referred to as PacMan anymore). Mr. Imus made reference to the fact the what people should be made at is the amount of times Jones has had run ins with the law. I guess he was saying that the reason this guy has been arrested 6 times is because he's black.

FOX News Skewers Joe-the-Plumber's ‘Israel' Remarks

Really. It's remarkable that the McCain campaign has set this guy up to make a fool a fool of himself to try to spread their hateful lies about Obama and Israel. Watch this:

Senate 28: Meet the Candidates

So far, each of the candidates Senate District 28 special election scheduled for Feb. 5 wants full funding for public education, opposes charter schools, supports Medicaid expansion and sees continued development along the Highway 80 corridor as key to job growth.

Listen Up Ladies! Uncle Sam Might Want You Too

The Obama administration's recent decision to lift the ban on women in combat has opened the door for a change in the law that currently compels only men between age 18 and 25 to register for a military draft, according to legal experts and military historians.

Pardon Me? Chickfest Honors Rep. Brandon Jones

When Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour suspended the sentence of convicted domestic murderer Michael Graham last summer, citizens of Pascagoula were outraged. As shocked and furious as his community, freshman Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, knew something had to be done.

Favre Retires, Saints Prospects for Winning First Game of Year Improve

Looks like this is just now coming across the wires, with AP reporting Favre's apparent retirement:

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