Jackson Free Press

I got my hopes up today when I saw an item on a city council workshop meeting agenda about a tax increment financing (TIF) for a hotel project in downtown Jackson. We've heard rumors for weeks the city is close to a deal with a hotel management group to build and open a much-needed convention center hotel.

Unfortunately, this wasn't it.

The city council meeting didn't happen because there weren't four members present at 4 p.m., but mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. stuck around long enough to fill us in on that item.

"This is not the much-anticipated convention center hotel," Johnson said. "This is another much-anticipated hotel down on West Street at the site of the old Mississippi Valley Title building. ... It's a good project, it's an exciting project, but it's not the convention center hotel."

Westin Hotels has apparently bought the old MS Valley Title building, and plans on tearing it down to put in a hotel at the same location. Details on the plan are not available yet, but the agenda item to be voted on by the city council at tomorrow's regularly-scheduled 10 a.m. meeting calls for the city to provide tax incentives not to exceed $1.75 million to the hotel group.

The mayor added that they are in talks with a hotel group about the convention center hotel project, and that hopefully they would have something to say about that before the end of the month, which is his last day in office before mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba takes office on July 1.

"We just need to figure out exactly what we need to do to make sure of what the city's portion of the deal would be, and try to get some indication from them that that proposal would be acceptable," Johnson said. "Then they can move ahead with some financing. At that point, we'll pass some kind of resolution of support or something along those lines."

Hopefully the city council will get a quorum tomorrow, because I'd sure like to hear more about the deal.

The campaign to elect City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba as mayor announced several endorsements from key city leaders Friday morning in front of City Hall.

Among the endorsements Lumumba received were State Representatives Earl Banks and Jim Evans and District 5 Hinds County Supervisor Kenneth Stokes and his wife, Ward 3 City Councilwoman LaRita Cooper Stokes. Former mayoral candidate Regina Quinn, who endorsed Lumumba through a press release earlier this week, was there to back up her reasons for endorsing the one-term Ward 2 Councilman for mayor.

"I'm here to strongly endorse Chokwe Lumumba to be our next mayor," Quinn said, adding that she came to her decision after "serious thought." Quinn cited a past Clarion-Ledger story that revealed that women in Jackson were being paid, on average, 73 percent of their male counterparts were for the same job.

As she said in her press release, Quinn stated she thinks Lumumba is the only candidate who will take swift action to correct what she called a "sad situation" in terms of women's pay.

After Banks and Evans pledged their support for Lumumba, Kenneth Stokes, speaking on his behalf and for his wife, who was in Chicago on Friday, took an opportunity to defend his candidate against some of the attack ads launched by his opponent in the May 21 runoff, Jonathan Lee.

The ad shows Chokwe Lumumba making a speech on Feb. 13, 2009, at what looks like a book store, where the candidate talked openly about the police, religion and the Democratic Party. The ad uses Lumumba's own words to lead viewers to believe that Lumumba doesn't like police, isn't a "Barack Obama Democrat" and doesn't believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"(The accusations against Lumumba are) just nonsense coming out of evil people's mouths," Stokes said. "Chokwe has done more work with young people in this community, coaching basketball and mentoring them, showing them there's a better way to live. As Charles Tisdale would have said, Chokwe is a man among men. He's the type of leader who won't back down. This is Jack-town, and we need a man. I'll repeat it in case somebody didn't hear me - We need a man."

Lumumba has already said publicly that the clips from the video featured in the ad were taken out of context, that he has always supported the Jackson Police Department and that if voters watched the full video, they would see he wasn't implying what the ad infers.

Stokes finished his statement by saying he didn't intend to cuss, but that the Jackson Free Press "can kiss my ass!" He made this point with emphasis to a round of laughter from the assembled city leaders behind him. When asked after the press conference why he made the statement, Stokes said he said it because the JFP should have endorsed Lumumba, but did not elaborate more on the record. The Jackson Free Press has not endorsed a mayoral candidate for the runoff.

Lumumba concluded the …

We just received this release from Attorney General Jim Hood's office:

An undercover operation has resulted in several arrests and numerous businesses facing allegations of unauthorized dispensing of contact lenses, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

Investigators with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Public Integrity Divisions, working with the Mississippi Optometry Board, conducted a two-month undercover investigation which resulted this week in seven arrests involving the owners and operators of S & K Fashion & Beauty Supply (Indianola), Fantasy City (Vicksburg) , Fantasy City #2 (Vicksburg), and Underground (Ridgeland). The defendants are accused of selling contact lenses to the public without licenses. Approximately 870 pairs of cosmetic contact lenses and over $1,000 were seized.

“This practice is particularly dangerous because contact lenses must fit properly,” said Attorney General Hood. “Without proper fitting by a licensed optometrist orophthalmologist, a number of eye issues may arise. Those issues could range from minor eye damage to a total loss of vision. Also, the quality of contact lenses may vary drastically and be unsafe for wearing. This is particularly a problem this time of year when people are wanting to enhance their costumes with a change in eye color.”

Those arrested and charged with the illegal sale of contact lenses without a license are:

Jeong Hyun, 42, Indianola , (Owner, S & K Fashion and Beauty Supply) two counts of facilitation sale, 10/30/2013

Margaret Turner, 57, (Operator, S & K Fashion and Beauty Supply), one sale count, 10/30/2013

Elle Turner, 42, Indianola, (Operator, S & K Fashion and Beauty Supply), one sale count , 10/30/2013

Chong Heard, 65, Vicksburg, (Owner/operator Fantasy City #1, Vicksburg), two sale counts, 10/29/13 Suncha Beech, 61, Vicksburg, (Operator, Fantasy City #2, Vicksburg), two sale counts, 10/29/13

Michael Kang, 49, Ridgeland, (Owner/operator Underground #10, Ridgeland), one sale count, 10/29/13

If convicted each defendant faces up to one year behind bars and $1,000 in fines per count. As with all cases, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and will be prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Patrick Beasley.

As I blog, the United States Navy and the City of Jackson are unveiling at City Hall the crest of the USS Jackson. Lanier High School’s color guard were scheduled to open the ceremony with the presentation of colors of the U.S. flag and Jackson State University’s Band Ensemble was to perform the National Anthem. City of Jackson officials will gave remarks, and Commander Michael B. Davies of the United States Navy unveiled the crest.

The USS Jackson is an Independence-class littoral combat ship. Although there have been other ships named for former U.S. President Andrew Jackson, she is the first ship to be named specifically for Mississippi's Capitol.

Construction began on August 1, 2011 with the first cutting of aluminum at Austal USA's modular manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. The name of the ship was announced on Oct. 5, 2011.

Job seekers and students will receive a helping hand as Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and the city of Jackson host the Third Annual Jobs for Jacksonians Job Fair: Graduation Matters on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Metrocenter Mall.

Jacksonians who are seeking employment are urged to attend to discuss employment opportunities with business participants and to register with the city's Jobs for Jacksonians Coordinator for future opportunities.

More than 75 vendors, including local, national and international companies, are expected to have booths.

Other service providers will also be on hand to conduct interviews and resume writing seminars, and to share best practice tips to improve college preparedness. Local colleges and junior colleges will be represented to discuss educational opportunities as well.

The job fair is sponsored by the City of Jackson, the Governor's Job Fair Network of Mississippi, Millsaps College, the Department of Veteran's Affairs and Metrocenter Mall.

According to a press release from the desks of U.S. Attorney Greg Davis and Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, a police impersonator is contacting metro area residents claiming to be a Hinds County Sheriff's Deputy.

The release says the impersonator is demanding social security and drivers license numbers, and telling people if they do not turn over the information, they will face immediate arrest. Davis and Lewis warn that these types of calls are not being made by law enforcement agencies, and advising that you should never give out any identification information over the telephone to someone you do not know and trust, even if they claim to be a police officer.

The case is being investigated by the Hinds County Sheriff's office and the U.S. Secret Service. If you have been contacted by someone you believe to be an identity thief, or if you have any information about the scam, you are encouraged to call the sheriff's office at (601) 974-2900 or the U.S. Secret Service at (601) 965-4436.

Jackson State is off to a hot start again this season, and is the only remaining unbeaten team in SWAC play. This weekend's matchup with Grambling State, which has lost 13-straight SWAC games and 17-straight overall, shouldn't do anything to derail that.

But this game just got interesting, with news surfacing yesterday that Grambling's players boycotted practice a day after they walked out of a team meeting with the school's administration on Tuesday.

Among the gripes players have for administration is mistrust between the team and the coaching staff, and the fact that the team had to bus from Grambling to Indianapolis to receive a 48-0 beat-down from Alcorn State, while the Braves flew in and out for the contest.

Grambling fired coach Doug Williams last month after the team lost their first two games this season by a combined score of 71-19.

The budget for Jonathan Lee's campaign to become next mayor of Jackson has officially topped $400,000 since the start of 2013.

In a report filed Tuesday, May 14, 2013, with the City Clerk's office, the treasurer for Jonathan Lee's political action committee "Friends of Jonathan Lee" says the Lee campaign raised $66,459 since April 11, putting his calendar year-to-date total at $401,019.12.

The report says Lee has also spent $372, 762.08 total, and $65,815.41 of it since April 11, 2013.

The report, which you can read here, shows that Lee received several large donations in the past month, including a $2,500 donation from Guy H. White of Ridgeland and a $2,000 donation from Emmerson Asset Management, LLC. He also received $1,000 donations from The District Land Development Company, Bennchmark Construction Corp., Fondren Place Apartments LLC, Integrated Management Services and private citizens Susan McNease of Jackson, Steven Speights of Jackson, Samuel Lane of Jackson and Deshun Martin of Jackson.

Lee's opponent in the May 21 runoff, Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, also filed his report on time (yay!). His report indicates that his campaign has just topped the $100,000-mark, year-to-date, with $31,957 of that coming after April 11, 2013.

Lumumba has received large contributions in the past month, including a $5,000 from Adekuule Adekuubi (trust me, we are digging trying to figure out who these people are), $2,000 from Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. (an engineering company out of Baton Rouge, La.), $1,500 from himself, $1,300 from New England Contractors LLC (a Jackson business) and $1,000 donations from Adam Shakoor of Detroit, Mich., Herbert Irvin of Jackson, Mississippi Boys Hoops Inc. of Jackson, attorney John Walker of Jackson, J&J Wholesale of Clinton and attorney Winston Thompson of Jackson.

Ward 4 City Council hopeful De'Keither Stamps also filed a report, which you can read here.

Stamps report says he received a total of $4,940 between April 28 and May 11, 2013, from himself, coffee roastery engineer Nikdra Ford and Honeysucker and Honeysucker Inc. He spent $1,931 at A2Z Printing, and split the rest of his spending between Wal Mart, Raceway, Spaceage Marketing and Printing and Poll Watchers. He reports $277 cash-on-hand.

See, it's not hard to follow the law.

Mayor Chokwe Lumumba at today's special meeting of the Jackson City Council put forth a $502.5 million budget proposal, which represents a 43.3 percent increase in spending over last year's budget of $350.8 million, to be funded by rate increases on water and sewer services and a return of "overfunding" for Jackson Public Schools.

"This can has been kicked down the road for years," Lumumba said. "I don't see the point in kicking it any farther."

The "can" Lumumba referred to is an aging sewer system, a consent decree from the Environmental Protection Agency that calls for $400 million to be spent over the next 18 years, drainage issues and street repair needs that far outpace the budget allocated to fix them. Lumumba admits his new plan won't solve those problems either, but the first-term mayor assured the council and crowd of approximately 50 that his plan is "a step in that direction."

The budget increases a handful of departments by a small percentage, but, under the plan, Public Works would grow by a whopping $22 million to a total of $398 million.

So, how's the city going to pay for it?

If the budget is passed as-is, the average rate for water will increase from $15/mo. to around $21/mo. and the average rate for sewer will shoot from $14.50/mo. to just over $31/mo., according to the Lumumba. For people who can't afford that increase, the city will set aside a special fund - the Vulnerable Peoples Fund - that the mayor said will have $175,000 in it to help people with fixed income.

City Finance Department Spokesman Rick Hill said that increase will produce a little more than $30 million in additional revenue for the city. In addition, Lumumba said 5.53 mills that were never supposed to be allocated to Jackson Public Schools will account for an additional $6.4 million to balance the budget.

The city council has a couple of weeks to research and respond to the mayor's proposal, and a public hearing has been set for 6 p.m., Sept. 5, at City Hall for citizens to weigh in.

Stay tuned!

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the leadership of the city of Jackson is united behind Jackson State University's proposal for a 50,000-seat domed stadium.

The proposed project, expected to cost approximately $250 million, got votes of confidence from the city council Tuesday night and from Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. Wednesday afternoon.

"I agree with this concept (of a domed stadium)," Johnson said. "I have gone on the record and said that I don't want to lose seats. We're the capital city and we have 62,000 seats in our stadium. We have to compete with Little Rock, Mobile, Baton Rouge and Memphis, as well as other venues in the south. If we ended up with a new outdoor stadium that seated 25,000 people, then I couldn't support that. Then I started meeting with the people at Jackson State, and a domed stadium would be unique to the state and the region. It also offers versatility that an open-air stadium would not offer. "

Jackson State officials have estimated the proposed stadium would infuse $64 million annually into the city's economy and host music and entertainment events and conventions along with sporting events.

The 50,000 seats would make the stadium the third-biggest stadium in the state behind Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford and Davis-Wade Stadium in Starkville. Both of those venues were built with private donations, are open-air and used almost exclusively for football.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba maintains that he is well enough to lead Jackson for the next four years, despite an article that appeared in Wednesday's edition of the Clarion-Ledger bringing his health into question.

Reporters raised questions Lumumba's health during the mayoral race, and notions that his well-being would interfere with his mayoral duties were dismissed by the campaign as rumors. But last week, the 65-year-old Jackson mayor withdrew himself from representing Archie Quinn, who is accused of killing Stacey Gray, 35, of Oktibbeha County, reportedly for medical reasons.

The Ledger article leaned heavily on the reporting of the Starkville Daily News, which reported that Lumumba withdrew for medical reasons, citing a "serious medical examination" scheduled for this week. The newspaper also reported that Lumumba had previously tried to resign from the case, citing a hefty workload from his new gig as mayor. Those motions were denied by Judge Lee Howard, who refused comment for the story.

Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Lumumba's press secretary Latrice Westbrooks released this statement, which also appeared in the Ledger article.

"Mayor Lumumba is healthy and while he dispelled any questions or concerns regarding his health, he, as anyone, has routine medical examinations, check-ups and consultations which are private. There is nothing that was stated during the Archie Quinn case that would indicate that he is nothing short of healthy and fit to serve the people of Jackson."

Lumumba beat prostate cancer in 2000, and has fully recovered from a bout with pneumonia, which landed him in the hospital last year.

The campaign to elect Regina Quinn mayor of Jackson has sent over a copy of the campaign finance report it plans to file for 2012. You can read it here.

Quinn's biggest supporter is her husband John May Jr., who gave $25,966 over a six month period.

The report does not have the seal of Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, meaning the copy we received had not been filed when it was scanned and sent to us, but this is the first glimpse into the finances of the Quinn campaign to date.

Last night was a treat.

The football season officially kicked off with No. 1 Brandon defeating No. 6 Madison Central 21-14 in front of an estimated crowd of 9,000 interested onlookers at Madison's Jaguar Field.

The Bulldogs (1-0) broke a 14-14 tie late in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard Devin Wilson touchdown run. Brandon's highly-touted quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 15 of 28 passes for 216 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and completed a 47-yard pass to Chris Ward to set up the final touchdown.

With less than two months left before Jacksonians head to the polls to decide the fate of a proposed 1-percent sales tax increase, Mayor Chokwe Lumumba is taking his message to the people.

Lumumba will host a town hall-style meeting at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1 at Pearl St. African Methodist Episcopal Church at 2519 Robinson St.

The Mayor will discuss the 1% sales tax proposal, and explain the use of the tax revenue to make infrastructure improvements. The meeting comes as Jackson's City Council debates whether to push the referendum vote to a later date in order to improve it's chances of passing with the 60 percent threshold it must have to become reality.

Under state law, a violation of any candidate's campaign-finance disclosure requirement could result in the state withholding certification of nomination, withholding salary of office, and a misdemeanor conviction that carries up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.

But the city hasn't seemed interested in enforcing those election rules. Mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba was a month late on the 2012 report, and filed his pre-primary election report, due Tuesday, April 30, on Election Day, May 7.

Similarly, the Jackson 20/20 PAC, which is strongly backing Jonathan Lee, did not file its pre-primary report until the day before primary day, six days late.

Lumumba and the 20/20 PAC will get a shot at redemption tomorrow, when reports covering any money raised or spent by candidates from April 28 through May 11 are due by 5 p.m.

After that, the 48-hour reports should be pouring in.

Ward 2 Councilman-elect Melvin Priester, Jr. , Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon and incumbent Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. all filed 48-hour reports last week, but they were the only ones.

Under Mississippi Sunshine Laws, candidates seeking the nomination of a party in a municipal election must file a report with the city clerk if they receive any donations of $200 or more after the tenth day, but more than 48 hours before 12:01 a.m. on the day of the election.

In English, that means that if a candidate gets a single contribution of more than $200 (which both mayoral candidates in the runoff have received consistently) then they would have to notify the City Clerk's office within 48 hours of receiving the donation.

We're hopeful all this information will be readily available, and we're ready to update the site as we receive them. Another special thanks to the Jackson City Clerk's office, which has been professional and helpful from the start of this process back in January.

After dropping the opening game of the best-of-three College World Series Championship at Omaha, Neb. Monday night, Mississippi State will need to win two games in a row to capture the school's first national championship.

The Bulldogs (51-19) will face the UCLA Bruins (48-17) in Game 2 tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

UCLA starting pitcher Adam Plutko lifted the Bruins, scattering four hits over six innings of work before he left the game with the 3-1 lead. Including Monday night's win, the Bruins have only allowed seven runs in their past seven games combined.

Mississippi State will have to break that streak by getting some key hits, a feat they struggled with Monday night. The Bulldogs were sluggish out of the gate, and Plutko retired the first 10 hitters before Alex Detz singled with one out in the fourth inning.

In what could be seen as a win for Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., the Jackson City Council voted this afternoon to approve his proposed $12 million bond to repave major thoroughfares throughout the city.

The city council voted 3-1 in favor of the measure, with Ward 2 Councilman and mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba casting the lone vote against. Ward 1 Councilman Quintin Whitwell, Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Tony Yarber, and Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon all voted in favor.

Ward 3 Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes, Ward 4 Councilman and mayoral candidate Frank Bluntson, and Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman were not present.

The mayor's plan calls for at least $1 million to spend on road and street resurfacing in each of Jackson's seven wards, as well as sidewalk, bridge, and culvert improvement and repair.

More details at JFPDaily.com tomorrow.

When it comes to who has been elected mayor of Hattiesburg, the votes are in, but the results are not. After failing to find a clear winner in the first go-round in June, the Hub City is trying again - and failing miserably.

Absentee ballot counting continues late Wednesday afternoon following Tuesday's special election, which was monitored by representatives from the Department of Justice and Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office.

The good news is that Hattiesburg isn't alone in its futility. Apparently the whole world is following along, as #haelex is currently the third-highest trending topic on Twitter.

Challenger Dave Ware, an independent, led incumbent Democrat and former gubernatorial candidate Johnny Dupree by 32 votes when the absentee counting began this morning. Political cartoonist Marshall Ramsey has already chimed in.

In an odd turn of events last night, Ward 3 Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes balked at a chance to bring her own motion to "unauthorize" the Jackson Redevelopment Authority forward, even though all she had to do was second a fellow council member who had already moved to adopt her motion.

You can watch the video for yourself (just click on item 34).

When the motion was read, Margaret Barrett-Simon (Ward 7) moved to adopt the proposal, and Quentin Whitwell (Ward 1) immediately gave it a second. That opened the door for discussion and for Council President Charles Tillman to call a vote.

That's when Cooper-Stokes launched into her prepared speech on JRA, which began with a history lesson.

When she got to the end of sentence number one, Barrett-Simon interrupted.

"Oh wait, I'm sorry, I thought we were on another one," she said. "I withdraw my motion."

Tillman acknowledged her withdrawal, and said he needed a motion to adopt to go with Whitwell's second to bring the motion forward for a vote. Whitwell asked Cooper-Stokes if she would like to make a motion. "No, I just want to comment," she answered. At this point, Barrett-Simon let out what sounded like the tiniest of giggles.

"You can't comment unless we bring the item forward," Whitwell said.

"I just want to make my comment," Cooper-Stokes again responded.

Seconds passed before anyone spoke again. Whitwell finally agreed to withdraw his second, and instead moved to adopt the item. Tillman again acknowledged and asked if there was a second. Everyone in the room is looking at Cooper-Stokes, but she just stares straight ahead without changing expression.

After Tillman pronounced the item dead for lack of a second, he told Cooper-Stokes the council would then entertain her comment.

Her comment was about a three minute speech on JRA, without specifically going after the board or its leadership. It was more about what Jackson doesn't have commercially than JRA shortcomings.

"Where in the world is our economic engine?" Stokes asked. "I believe it has fallen apart, as we listen on a daily basis to cities all around us. Cities that are less-endowed than us that we can build, manufacture and have activities for their children. It's ridiculous what we're living with in the city of Jackson."

When she finished, Whitwell took the opportunity to really go after the JRA board, then used it as a jumping off point to criticize Cooper-Stokes for not standing behind her own agenda item.

"Well, since we're going to allow comment without a motion and a second," he began (Lumumba, seated to his left, is grinning). "I'm not suggesting that this order is perfectly written, but we have a crisis on our hands in the city of Jackson, because we have incredible opportunity for economic growth, yet we have a redevelopment authority that is completely inept. I have said this over and over again, and, you know, quite frankly I'm a little shocked and astonished, because we have a council …

The progressive group Women For Progress held their bi-annual meeting at the Old Capitol Inn Friday, and the guest list looked like a who's who of women running for municipal office in Jackson. Most notably, mayoral candidate Regina Quinn and city council candidates June Hardwick (Ward 7) and Fran Bridges (Ward 5) were in attendance.

What stole the show, however, were the startling numbers that the group is trying to combat. Among other problems highlighted, women hold just 17 percent of seats in the U.S. Congress, 23 percent of seats in state legislatures in the U.S. are held by females, and just six out of 50 states have female governors.

Add all that up, and the United States ranks 87th in the world when it comes to the number of women serving in its national legislative body.

The answer, according to the group, is to encourage more women to run for office. Thus the title of Friday's meeting: "She Should Run."

To learn more about Women For Progress, check out their web site here.