Bush Pitched SS Plan in Canton Tuesday
According to the Sun Herald George W. Bush will speak today around noon at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, where he's expected to address "fixing the hole in the safety net" of Social Security, according to press secretary Scott McClellan.
Eating Popcorn and Paying Dues
This week marks the Sixth Annual Crossroads Film Festival, and in this issue of the Jackson Free Press you'll find reviews, recommendations and a program guide to give you a sense of what to look for this Thursday through Sunday as the film festival is going on. I hope, if you're reading these words, you'll make an effort to attend. It takes all of us to bring quality independent film to Jackson, and attending the Crossroads Film Festival is a big part of making that possible.
Dial Those Extra Digits Today
We cussed our phone system all morning until we remembered this. If you're in the 601 area code, don't forget that you now have to dial 10 digits to reach anyone, even if they're down the street or across the hall. All the more reason to put numbers in your cell phone address book -- it'll be interesting to see if those extra three digits cause an uptick in fender benders this week.
Hills And Gullies On State Street
I've got two different things I need to say this week, and they're almost impossible to segue between, so let me just get the first one out of the way.
2005: The Future Is Now
This year at least doubled the number of ballots we had to contend with for the Best of Jackson 2005 reader poll and for that we are eternally grateful to you, our beloved readers.
[Geek] Gawking At Gadgets
Image courtesy of Apple Computer
Topping the gadget list this week is Apple's new Mac mini, an entire computer that is only a little bulkier than a stack of six or so CDs in jewel cases. Looking more like a coffee cup warmer than a PC, the Mac mini sports a 1.25 GHz G4 processor, 256 megabytes of RAM and a 40 gigabyte hard disk for $499; a $599 model sports a 1.42 Ghz G4 processor and an 80 gigabyte drive. (Check it out at http://www.apple.com/macmini/ on the Web.)
The Artist and the Councilman
Photograph by Jessica Kinnison
Mid-afternoon on New Years Eve, Ward 1 City Councilman Ben Allen is finishing an eight-year run on the Jackson City Council, and artist William Goodman is heading toward his first major exposition in New York City. Worlds apart, Allen surfs through introductions with his gold wedding ring resting against the crease of his jeans, leaning back in his chair just as he does in City Council meetings. The purple acrylic paint on Goodman's fingernail looks bold against the green grapes, as he grabs another from the bag he brought with him to the interview.
The Best in Sports in the Next Seven Days
Thursday, Jan. 13
High school basketball, Battle of the Border Basketball Classic: The boys prep showcase at the Mississippi Coliseum has expanded to two days. Saturday's games: St. Andrew's vs. Corinth (1 p.m.). Madison Central vs. Ridgeland (3:15 p.m.), Lanier vs. South Gwinett, Ga. (5 p.m.).
Helping the Tsunami Victims
When he heard about that the disaster had struck on Dec. 26, Jackson attorney Taylor Ferrell made an phone call to Chennai, one of the devastated cities in southern India. After volunteering as an English teacher at an orphanage there for three weeks, he had left on Christmas, the day before the tsunami gushed through the city's coastal areas. Ferrell made contact with those he had worked with and was assured that all the children and other volunteers were just fine.
Running with the Young Guns
I just typed "04" in the date for this file and then corrected myself. It's that time of year again. After our week off for the holidays, we're back and ready to take on the world, even if we can't get the year right yet when writing a check or dating a file.
The Road to Wellness: Week 1
Ah, the South. The smell of the pine trees, the thrill of a cool evening after a storm, and … the fried food. I like to joke with friends in other parts of the country that even the vegetables are chicken-fried. The unfortunate part—for the weight conscious, at least—is that it isn't much of a joke.
The Road to Wellness, Week 2
Zen and the Art of Monkey Training
"I don't think there are barbecue chips on the Road to Wellness," Ms. D opined, as we ambled away from the Semiahmoo Marina in Blaine, Wash., after enjoying a sunset cruise around Semiahmoo Bay complete with wine, cheese and chips. But we'd had a great time, and it was Friday (cheating day), so we cut ourselves some slack.
The Road to Wellness, Week 3
<b>To Creet or Not to Creet</b>
A recent article in The New York Times suggested that workplace stress is costing us $300 billion a year in the United States, and that's just what corporations are spending on stress in terms of health care, lost productivity and stress-reduction technologies. What we, as individuals, pay in terms of health and dollar costs is probably quite a bit greater than that.
Road to Wellness, Week 4
<b>A Change In Lifestyle</b>
"So how is your diet going?" wrote David, my best friend from grade school, who pops up on iChat for a conversation every day or two.
The Road to Wellness, Week 5
Super Deluxe Lifestyle Diet
I've managed to completely swear off sodas in the past few weeks—I've switched mostly to unsweetened brewed tea and water. Likewise, I've kept away from fried chips, except on Fridays when I give myself a day off. And with the weather finally—knock on wood—turning to fall, it's a great time for some long walks.
The Road to Wellness, Week 6
<b>Walking on the Dock of The Bay</b>
Since I pretty much get to decide where the Road to Wellness takes me, then I say it goes through Bay St. Louis, Miss. Ms. D and I always enjoy any free moments we have to spend down on the Gulf Coast, and Bay St. Louis has its share of the things that appeal to us most—happy, creative, artistic people; good coffee and a place to walk or roam through a touch of nature.
The Road to Wellness, Week 7
<b>: Fruits For Our Labors</b>
Ms. D is a fan of the book "The Healthy Hedonist," by Janet Bridgers, which, while it may have a title that scares off some of our fundamentalist-leaning friends, need not be feared. The "hedonism" here is simply an approach to a lifestyle that says you don't have to be on a strict diet in order to be healthy. Chocolate, an evening drink and even guacamole are allowed as occasional indulgences. In fact, the book's approach—that getting healthier should be a bit more fun—is the approach I need this week.
The Road to Wellness, Week 8
<b>'Uncombining' Your Meals</b>
Adding more discipline to your diet means that the occasional indulgence is more satisfying. That's how things felt when we settled into some decadent desserts after a fine Italian dinner at Amerigo the other night to celebrate Ms. D's birthday. She even gathered up half her key lime pie to bring home with her—partly out of a sense of extending the pleasure, partly in a show of strength in the face of temptation and mostly because they gave her nearly half of the damn pie.
The Road to Wellness, Week 9
<b>Getting Well Again</b>
This past week has been a challenge for wellness—both Ms. D and I have been under the weather, she more so than I. That's meant relatively little exercise and, while we continue to try to eat healthily, the focus has turned to managing and recovering from our illnesses.
The Road to Wellness, Week 10
<b>Working to Live</b>
After 10 weeks of the wellness column, I'm still no wellness guru. There's an awful lot more that I could be doing for myself, but when I started I promised that I would take things slow. And did I ever.
[Stauffer] Shop Mississippi, Buy American
I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart, and that's only been made worse by a recent Frontline episode entitled "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" The show has made me think, once again, about the behemoth that I love to hate. I haven't shopped in a Wal-Mart or Sam's Club in well over seven years and, if the current trend holds, I never will again.
Mississippi Youth Vote ‘Blue'
You've heard it a million times since Election Day: It's hard to be redder, electorally speaking, than the state of Mississippi. Well, yeah—unless you're under 30. Young Mississippi voters not only turned out in record numbers; they led the South, and much of the nation, in the percentage who voted for John Kerry for president (63 percent) over George W. Bush (37 percent).
I Want a Reality-Based President
I want George Bush out of the White House. I think his "conservative" administration has been anything but fiscally conservative, and I'm sick of George Bush dodging responsibility for his actions.
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.
FactCheck.org: New and Recycled Distortions in Debate #3
The debates are over and the results are clear: both candidates are incorrigible fact-twisters.
Bush said most of his tax cuts went to "low- and middle-income Americans" when independent calculations show most went to the richest 10 percent. Kerry claims Bush "cut the Pell Grants" when they've actually increased. Both men repeated misstatements made in earlier debates, and added a few new ones.
Barbour Postpones Medicaid Transition
PR from the Governor's office:
(Jackson, Miss.) -- Saying that a litigation (sic) had confused 50,000 Mississippi Medicaid recipients beyond repair, Governor Haley Barbour said today he would postpone the state's efforts to transition those recipients to Medicare and look to Medicaid reform opponents to come up with the $100 million needed for Mississippi's cash-strapped Medicaid program if the transition does not go into effect.
The Convention Center Quandary
Although the JFP did its own feature story on the convention center a few weeks ago (Sept. 23-29, 2004), and I've talked to many of the players personally, I was still hoping that The Clarion-Ledger's recent package of stories and opinions would help me come to a conclusion about the convention center's viability. But what I read was just more of the same, and I'm not much closer to a decision on what makes the most sense. (Although I did get a giggle out of Sid Salter sounding off in support of new taxes and a big-government municipal project.) By next week, the JFP hopes to endorse one way or another. But we need a few more answers first.
It's About the Issues, Stupid!
The polls say this, the polls say that. This group is alleging this, this group that. Who cares about voting? The candidates are all alike. At the JFP, we reject the idea of "horse race" campaign reporting—that is, reporting on the race more than the issues at stake. Too often, what really matters gets lost in the sensationalist headline of the day. So, between now and Election Day, we will feature at least two major issues each week, breaking down the positions of the presidential candidates, as well as local politicians, as best as we can. In addition, we are launching the 2004 JFP PoliticsBlog at jacksonfreepress.com with a special page prepared by Ayana Taylor on each candidate who will appear on Jackson ballots in November—from president to local election commissioners. We will also feature these issue summaries on the blog, where you can comment on the candidates and the races.
Pennies for Your Votes
The day after the Capital City Convention campaign was announced last week, Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, owners of BRAVO! and Broad Street restaurants, pledged 1 percent of their sales between then and the election to the Capital City Convention fund. The two did so in dramatic fashion,with Good spilling pennies on the sidewalk in front of his podium while saying, "We're putting our two cents in." Good estimated that his company's total donation could be $5000 or more, based on the prior year's sales.
Jackson Convention Center: The $65 Million Question
Update: On Thursday morning, Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, owners of BRAVO! and Broad Street restaurants, announced that they were pledging 1% of their sales between now and the election to the Capital City Convention fund. Good and Blumenthal both expressed support for the convention center, saying it would be good for business and downtown Jackson. Good says they chose the 1% approach "to validate how inconsequential 1% is to a restaurant transaction, when compared to the great good it can serve." Good estimated that his company's total donation could be $5000 or more, based on the prior year's sales. by Todd Stauffer
Kerry to Bush: ‘You Own It'
John Kerry unleased a new campaign theme today, which paints George W. Bush as the "Excuse President" by focusing both on lost jobs and on the mounting casualties (and apparent disarray) in Iraq.
When A Plan Comes Together
"I love it when a plan comes together" was the signature line of George Peppard in his role as Hannibal Smith on the 1980s TV show "The A Team." It's unfortunate that I can't get it out of my head, but it's apropos in more ways than one. I recently saw George Peppard again in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," as I seem to be on an inadvertent VHS tour of Audrey Hepburn's career. Because many of my neural pathways were developed in the 1980s, it's difficult for me to see Peppard in any setting and not think of Hannibal Smith. It's my own personal hell.
Attack of the State Street Sandwiches
If there's anything Jackson offers in spades it's a good lunch—particularly plate lunches and meat-and-veggie smorgasbords such as Collins' Dream Kitchen, Two Sisters, George Street Grocery, 930 Blues Café, Gloria's Kitchen, and many others. But what you may not be getting enough of are some of the city's best new sandwiches. In fact, returning students may not even know about some of these places as they've all opened their doors in the past year or less. And here's another odd fact—all three have opened within two miles of each other on State Street—biking distance for Millsaps, UMC and Belhaven students and only a short drive for Tougaloo's and JSU's sandwich fans.
International Organization to Observe U.S. Election
CNN is reporting that, for the first time, the U.S. presidential election will have international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The request for observation came after 13 Democratic members of Congress petitioned the State Department to request election monitors from the United Nations. According to the story, OSCE is the "largest regional security organization" in the world and it has sent monitors to 150 elections in 30 countries.
[Stauffer] On Mr. Moore and Making Us Talk
I saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" twice in the past few weeks—on opening night in San Antonio, and a second time at the UA Parkway Place in Flowood, during a screening that the Jackson Free Press sponsored with Crossroads Film Festival and The Collective. In the time between the two screenings, I'd read some of the responses to the movie, including many from the independent press. In fact, independent and alternative news outlets seemed to be treating the movie more critically than the mainstream press, which was, perhaps, more eager to move on to more important news … such as the release of "Spider-Man 2."
‘Lawsuit Abuse' Over
Champagne corks were popping at Bravo the evening of June 3, even as some diners were sobered by the day's events. That afternoon, the Mississippi House of Representatives had suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, accepted Senate tort-reform language, voting to send the legislation, HB 13, to Gov. Haley Barbour. The bill features major pro-industry tort reform, including $1 million damage caps for business liability—even for extreme negligence that leads to loss of limbs and disfigurements.
The State of a Stalemate
The first week of the special session called by Gov. Haley Barbour to focus on civil justice reform ("tort reform") and voter ID was, at best, cantankerous. At the end of the week, very little had been accomplished, and many legislators expressed a great deal of frustration.
Watch Those Low-Carb Torts
This past week I've taken advantage of my access to a press pass to sit in on some fascinating meetings in the Capitol. From Judiciary A meetings on "both sides of the hall" (as we insiders say) to the floor of the House of Representatives, I've watched our democracy in action. And, while some might be inclined to call this particular show of democracy a train wreck, I've gotten a little too much of a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" feel to completely denigrate the process.
Face-Off: The Battle for ‘Tort Reform'
When Sen. Gloria Williamson walked up to the podium on the first day of the 2004 Extraordinary Session called by Gov. Haley Barbour, she had one goal. The senator from Neshoba County, a Democrat, wanted to convince the Senate—an assembly of mostly well-to-do Republican men lined up behind Barbour's mission to end "lawsuit abuse"—to do the right thing. She wanted to appeal to the human side of the chamber, to convince them to continue allowing Mississippians who had suffered horrendous disfigurement as a result of a defective product, negligence or an act of malpractice to collect "pain and suffering" damages.
Should Tort Awards Be Capped?
Tort law is used to determine who is responsible when someone is injured and how much a guilty party should pay an injured person. Our current tort system is designed on the principle that the responsible party should be required to pay for the costs of an injury, including economic damages—lost wages and medical bills—and non-economic damages, such as "pain and suffering" damages. A jury can award a third type of damages, called punitive damages, when they feel that the damage is due to overt negligence.
Politech: ‘Insurance Reform,' Populism Surfaces in House
Well, they can't say the House hasn't gotten a chance to vote on tort reform. They have, in the first day of the 2004 Extraordinary Session called by Gov. Haley Barbour. And they voted against it.
Home, My Home
Freddie Mac is guaranteeing up to $10 million in loans that SouthTrust Bank will be offering as mortgages to new homeowners in West Jackson, which can be used to buy or refurbish homes in the 1100 through 1300 blocks of Grand Avenue, south of West Capitol Street and parallel to Robinson Road. The loans, which require a lower down payment than standard mortgages, will be given to families identified by the Voice of Calvary Community Development Corp. as having completed classes on debt management and personal finance; once prepared, the new homeowner can borrow up to 120 percent of a home's value to be used for improvements or debt consolidation. The program is called "Catch the Dream Jackson."
Score One for the City
The city of Jackson moved a step closer to a convention center last Saturday, when the Legislature passed a bill that allows for a voter referendum on the issue. The bill will enable the city to raise $65 million by putting additional taxes on restaurants and hotels in the Jackson city limits. Now 60 percent of voters in the city of Jackson will have to vote yea for it to pass and become a reality, assuming Gov. Haley Barbour signs it; he has indicated support for a Jackson convention center.
‘Gone Weekly'
If there's one JFP-related question I've heard more than any other from folks around Jackson in the past few weeks and months, it's been this one: "Are y'all going weekly?"
A ‘Livable' Retreat
On Monday, April 12, the JFP revealed on our Web site the fact that Jackson had been named one of the "most livable places" by Partners for Livable Communities (http://www.livable.com). Let's be frank here. We were all a little shocked. OK, maybe that sounds cynical—it was just surprising that Jackson was already on that list. It's been clear for at least a year or two that it was headed in that direction, but you get used to the crime headlines and suburban politics and empty storefronts—and all that jazz. (Or is that the blues?) But the rest of the week after that announcement followed it up nicely—especially the street festival atmosphere in Fondren, which capped at least a week's worth of jawing on Jackson's problems—and their solutions.
[Stauffer] A River Running Through It
The LeFleur Lakes project will be something that Jackson talks about for some time to come. Originally the brainchild of developer and engineer John McGowan, the "Two Lakes" project, as it�s often called, is a plan to dredge a canal in the bed of the Pearl River and then flood the river to create what (arguably) could be called two lakes—an upper and a lower, with the dividing line somewhere around LeFleur's Bluff Park. Some supporters tout the project as a miracle solution to Jackson's problems—or, at least, the flooding and economic development woes. With waterfront lapping up to the outskirts of downtown and all along the eastern edge of Jackson, people will flock back to Jackson and once again fill the city's tax coffers, they say.
[Drive] Revenge of the Minivans?
What is the deal with my life and minivans? All of a sudden I seem to find myself ensconced in the little buggers just a little more often than I care to admit. (Although the careful reader will note that I'm admitting it here in print.)
A Filmmaker in Movieland
What amazes me after having read "Scorsese on Scorsese" (Faber and Faber, revised 2003, $15) is how much divergent work this one great American director has been able to get done in Hollywood. It took this book, edited by Ian Christie and David Thompson, to really focus my attention on Martin Scorsese's career and put it in perspective—somehow, before reading this, I was sure that he was at least two different men. But it's true—the director of "Gangs of New York," "GoodFellas," and "Raging Bull" is the same man responsible for "The King of Comedy," "After Hours," "The Age of Innocence" and, yes, the "Last Temptation of Christ." The man whose fame arose in part from his collaborations with Robert DeNiro even directed "Cape Fear" and was offered, believe it or not, "Analyze This."(Good move turning that one down, Marty.)
[Crossroads] Cyber-Man
"No Maps for These Territories" is a fascinating glimpse into the philosophy and biography of William Gibson, the science-fiction writer best known for coining the phrase "cyberspace." Beyond that claim to fame, Gibson is a very real person and an entertaining one, with a charming self-deprecation and an interesting way of looking at the world.
[Stauffer] Movin' On Up
Read about the JFP's exciting moves—from moving into new offices in Fondren to hiring a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter.