Excellent riposte, Mr. Cleveland. The mayor and our police force have separate responsibilities than to create a sea-change in the cultures of those committing crimes. The overwhelming majority of violent crimes committed in Jackson and elsewhere are by people with no structural rooting to their family and no respect for life. A mayor cannot influence that. It sounds like LadiesFirst and the Quinn campaign are blowing a different quality of smoke.

This is such sad news. My thoughts and prayers to his family.

Holy smokes, Mr. Priester. I almost wish I lived in your district so I could vote for you.

Pretty intriguing information, on the whole, if it really is accurate. Elected officials with almost no money coming into the coffers? Or, does "N/A" stand for donations and expenditures of <$200. Hopefully Mr. Tillman and Mrs. Stokes will receive some contributions to stave off their challengers. Though with the trashing-in-public that Ms. Jackson received at the hand of the Stokes' in the last election, Mrs. Stokes will likely, sadly run unopposed. Have the other potential candidates disclosed why they failed to submit the proper paperwork?

Knowledge06, it's the attitude that you and others have that if you don't live in Jackson you're automatically part of the problem and not the solution that dooms small-minded folk like you. Listen closely, I want Jackson to thrive. I want Jackson to grow. I want JPS to improve the education of Jackson's children. I want more Jacksonians to have jobs and be less dependent on the largesse of government entitlements. I want Jackson's infrastructure to be rebuilt. I would hope that all suburbanites want this for Jackson. But your government has failed you. Your civic leaders have failed you. Until y'all correct these ills and become more taxpayer- and business-friendly, you're gonna see more and more people become not part of your solution.

Knowledge06, I do not live in Jackson. I was born in Jackson and graduated from JPS. Left for college but came back for medical school. Left for the Navy and came back to finish my training. Moved out of Jackson for good in 1999. But I work in Jackson. I traverse Jackson's roads and, when I can't find something in my county I may even wind up purchasing it in Jackson. Now, do I have the credentials to speak out on Jackson or don't I? Like robbier suggests, only people who live in Jackson can speak on Jackson? Bulls***. You don't like what I got to say? Guess what, only you care.

For what it's worth, my "take care of their own" comment was a sideswipe at the Hinds BOS and their penchant for no-bid contracts for "professional services." A volley at the Jackson City Council and Mayor's office for their inability to manage monies/grants and work together. The fact that a Stokes sits on both is probably not lost on many, not that they're the cause. Simply an opportunist at the trough.

Hot Rod,

What Tahoe hit on took several readings to discern. There was some pretty creative, virtual punctuating on my part, not to mention trying to figure out where a wild hog's ass came into being. I gather that were Tahoe faced with the choice between a pro-business, fiscal conservative and another tax-and-spend Democrat, the Democrat would get the vote every time. While you and I may agree that engendering an atmosphere of capitalism and pro-business practices would be the surest way to stem the efflux of tax monies from Jackson, clearly the majority of its inhabitants do not. They keep on electing the same old, tired people who are just trying to get paid and take care of their own.

i would like to know when grammar and syntax and punctuation becomes necessary to function in this world! i mean, why did i spend all of that time in school learning this stuff if you really don't have to use it? can i forget all of the algebra and math, too? Oh, my bad. Caps Lock got stuck. Oopsy!

Gawdalmighty! This would have been a good one to go to. With the state clamping down on Airwave and asking the Hinds BOS to send their monthly payments to the DOR because of Airwave's failure to pay taxes. Even Lt. (ahem) Graham and Kenneth I. Stokes can do little about this. Maybe, just maybe, this represents Pickering's first foray into the malfeasance that is the Hinds BOS. You know, working for Airwave must be pretty lucrative. Change out a few siren battery packs a few times a month, split $66k amongst 2-3 people and overhead (I wonder how they paid for their building, anyway). Sounds like a good gig. Just gotta remember to pay taxes, too.