Jackson Free Press

A field of 10 horses will try to win the second leg of the Triple Crown, the 142nd Preakness Stakes, on Saturday, May 20. Five horses, including winner Always Dreaming, are in the field after running in the Kentucky Derby.

Always Dreaming is the morning-line favorite and will break from the No. 4 post with 4-5 odds. There is some good luck breaking from the No. 4 post, as well. Thirteen winners have come from that spot, with 2007 winner Curlin being the most recent.

Second choice Classic Empire, who is at 3-1 odds, will break in the No. 5 post. Classic Empire finished fourth in the derby two weeks ago after he got caught up in the traffic of the 20-horse race.

Lookin At Lee, who finished second two weeks ago, will be in the No. 9 post and is the third choice at 10-1 odds. In the derby, Lookin At Lee was at 33-1 odds but ran through the field at the end of the race.

Cloud Computing didn’t race in the derby and will break from the No. 2 post at 12-1 odds. Horses that didn’t run the Kentucky Derby are known as “new shooters” in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

Gunnevera in the No. 6 post and Conquest Mo Money in the No. 10 post are both at 15-1 odds. Gunnevera finished seventh in the derby, but Conquest Mo Money is a new shooter whose owners paid $150,000 supplemental to be in the Preakness and Belmont.

Hence finished in 11th place at the derby and will break from the No. 3 post at 20-1 odds. It was a poor showing overall for Hence two weeks ago, as he never really got going in the race.

A trio of new shooters round out the field at 30-1 shots to win at the Preakness. Multiplier will break from the No. 1 post, Term of the Art will be in the No. 7 post, and Senior Investment will be in the No. 8 post.

The Preakness Stakes at one and three-16ths miles is the shortest of the three Triple Crown races. The Kentucky Derby is one and a quarter miles, and the Belmont Stakes is the longest at a mile and half.

Rain caused the derby to have a sloppy track, but it did little to slow down Always Dreaming. Weather isn’t expected to be a problem at the Preakness on Saturday, which forecasts say will be cloudy and 70 degrees.

NBC Sports Network begins coverage at 1:30 p.m., and NBC picks up the coverage at 4 p.m. The Preakness Stakes itself is scheduled to run at 5:45 p.m., but expect it to take longer with the pre-race festivities.

Seriously, Mississippi, you can't quit you.

Ole Miss today confirmed rumors we've been hearing—that Gov. Phil Bryant, who is under fire in the state and nationally for signing SB 2681, is going to be the commencement speaker at the University of Mississippi, which is still trying to recover from the latest bigoted incident on campus.

I'm, frankly, astounded at the timing. I know many people at Ole Miss are working to move the university past its past, but how in the world does this choice help? Who makes these decisions?

Here's the verbatim release:

OXFORD, Miss. – Gov. Phil Bryant is set to visit the University of Mississippi on May 10 to deliver the main address at the university's 161st Commencement.

Mississippi's 64th governor, Bryant was sworn in on Jan. 10, 2012. Before becoming the state's chief executive, he was lieutenant governor from 2008 to 2011. He also served as state auditor and represented his legislative district in the Mississippi House of Representatives for five years.

The Moorhead native speaks to graduating students, their families and other guests at 9 a.m. in the Grove. This year's graduating class includes about 2,650 spring candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees, plus some 1,000 August 2013 graduates.

"Over the years, we have had leaders from many fields come to campus for our commencement addresses, and Gov. Bryant has provided valuable leadership to our state in both the legislative and executive branches for nearly 25 years," Chancellor Dan Jones said. "By championing education and business reforms, he has helped drive economic development and provide a brighter future for all Mississippians. We look forward to the insights and challenges he will offer our graduates."

Recipients of doctor of philosophy degrees are to be hooded by their major professors in a 7:30 p.m. ceremony May 9 in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College ceremony begins at 4 p.m. at the same location.

A shuttle service for handicapped and elderly visitors is available Saturday before the main ceremony. Shuttles will pick up people needing assistance from various locations and take them to the seating area. (Wheelchairs, if needed, must be provided by families.) The headquarters for the shuttle service will be at the Department of Parking and Transportation tent, at the intersection of University Avenue and All American Drive. To request assistance, call 662-915-7235.

In case of rain, the ceremony will be moved to Tad Smith Coliseum. If the weather is threatening, a decision on moving the ceremony indoors will be made by 8 a.m. and announced through media outlets, text messaging and the Ole Miss website.

Following the main ceremony, individual schools and the College of Liberal Arts hold ceremonies at various times and locations to present baccalaureate, master's, doctor of pharmacy and juris doctor degrees and awards. The schedule is as follows:

• College of Liberal Arts master's degrees – 11 a.m., Fulton Chapel

• Patterson School of Accountancy – 11 a.m., …

The late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba didn't just inspire his voters, he also took risks for others without expecting to be repaid in return. As others remembered him, the immigrant community never got to say goodbye to the late Lumumba, who won a Freedom from Fear award in 2011 for an anti-racial profiling ordinance he wrote as a city councilman. But that doesn't mean we're not concerned about ways in which we can keep his legacy alive in our own way. The anti-racial profiling ordinance championed by Mayor Chokwe Lumumba during his time as a city councilman intended to keep the police from inquiring a person's immigration status whenever they were in contact with Jackson police.

Though this ordinance was a step in the right direction, the ordinance wasn't always implemented leading to instances of racial profiling against a local Jackson family recently, which sets a terrible precedent for how Latinos and the various immigrant communities are treated across the state of Mississippi. The time is now to take larger risks for immigrant communities, even if they aren't always able to vote due to their lack of immigration status. Undocumented and documented immigrants alike contribute to Jackson and Mississippi's economy, culture and life on a daily basis, and deserve better recognition and services from the city they call home, build businesses in, and pay taxes to.

Several mayoral candidates are currently sitting in the Jackson City Council, and others are in powerful positions in which they can have a positive impact in immigrant communities. To all Jackson mayoral candidates: you do not have to win this election in order to include us in your future vision or plans for Jackson, and the time to start including us is now. It is especially important to find ways to include those who are undocumented, and youth who are not eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) because they are basically paying taxes without any representation from anyone in the state or federal level, and the City of Jackson has the power to represent those who are not given a voice through regular electoral processes.. Here are some suggestions for what Jackson's mayoral candidates can and must do for immigrant communities whether they win these elections or not:

1. Open city and local job opportunities to undocumented people. Jackson is having a conference on co-operatives and these are endeavors immigrant communities can be a part of. Beneficiaries of the DACA program can now legally work for the city of Jackson, and it's important to encourage them to apply for open positions in the city. Those who are undocumented are legally able to open businesses and participate in work co-operatives using a Tax ID assigned by the IRS or registering an LLC, and it is imperative that the city of Jackson keeps track of this knowledge in order to open more economic doors of opportunity to undocumented people and the city of Jackson itself.

2. Develop and …

Management & Training Corporation will take over management of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility and two other Mississippi prisons, the Associated Press is reporting. MTC will also assume management of East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian and the Marshall County Correctional Facility in Holly Springs.

Michael Johnson might be best know for his golden shoes he wore during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He is the only male athlete to ever win the 200-meter and 400-meters in the same games.

Johnson is currently working in England for the BBC as a commentator. He made some recent comments to British media outlet the Daily Mail, that has created some buzz.

The Daily Mail published comments made by Johnson about slavery and athletics. Here are a few quotes from the article:

‘All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations."

"Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."

Are Johnson's comments fair or foul? Read the whole Daily Mail story here.

Johnson is not the first sports figure to make these claims. Former CBS Sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder made similar comments in 1988.

ESPN did a 30 for 30 film on Snyder and his downfall after his comments.

This week, Mississippians got in an up roar when several news outlets referred to our state as the "Landmass" between New Orleans, LA. and Mobile, AL. It has made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter with a post even of the JFP site.

Fifty years ago today, Gov. Ross R. Barnett blocked African-American student James Meredith from enrolling at the University of Mississippi.

Meredith's appearance on the Oxford campus sparked violent protests and prompted President John F. Kennedy to dispatch federal troops to Mississippi.

Barnett was fined and, later, a body of water was named after him. Meredith got a statue erected in his honor, about which he told the Jackson Free Press in 2008:

Like all the other major schools in the country, they were put under heavy pressure to do a "Black Thing." The night before statue dedication, they did their "Black Thing," and asked me to come early and attend it. I've been trying for 20, 25 years to figure out how to bury James Meredith and go back to who God put me here to be. And I chose that night. And I told them in my presentation to them ... that for the last 10 or 15 years I've been fighting hard with the university to cut out the "black this, black that" thing. That is the worst thing in American education today, the "black this" and "black that."

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2012/sep/20/8555/

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson is wading into the Jackson mayor's race, and endorsing Councilman Chokwe Lumumba over political upstart and businessman Jonathan Lee.

In the R-and-B-laced radio ad, Thompson refrains from naming Lee but says: "When I see Republicans from Rankin and Madison counties endorsing the other so-called Democrat, I know something is fishy."

Thompson goes on to say that the Republicans supporting the other candidate are the same people who "opened their checkbooks last fall for Mitt Romney in an effort to kick President Obama out of the White House."

As JFP city reporter Tyler Cleveland has pointed out, six of Lee's 10 biggest contributors have given to the GOP or Republican causes in the past. Thompson hits every buzzword, saying "these Republicans want to pass charter schools, create voter-ID laws, cut Pell Grants, end Medicare and reduce Social Security benefits."

At the end of the ad, Thompson advises voters not to fall for "old Republican tricks" and to "vote for the real Democrat" on May 21.

In other states I've lived, it would have been highly unusual for a Congressman to get involved in a party primary. Perhaps this is normal for Mississippi. Or, maybe it's just normal for Rep. Thompson?

Jackson State will not play a homecoming game this season. Here's what is happening instead.

Tons of new releases and Best of Jackson...

Mississippi native Duvalier Malone has started a petition to remove the Confederate symbol from the Mississippi state flag. The online petition form has over 1,100 signatures. In a statement, Malone said he "wants to create enough momentum for Mississippi to have another referendum vote on the flag, which will hopefully result in positive change."

The petition is written in letter format, and Malone cites recent racially motivated violence in Jackson as well as the Charleston massacre, saying that positive change can come from such atrocities.

He writes, "Now is the time to join forces and face this issue, which has cast a shadow on our state for too long. Even Republican Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn agrees: Now is the time to leave the Confederate battle flag behind us -- before another innocent person is attacked in its name."

As previously reported by the Jackson Free Press, unless Gov. Bryant calls a special session, the flag debate will have to wait until January for the Legislature. If the petition turns into a ballot initiative, it would need a minimum of 107,216 signatures, with specific number requirements from each of the five congressional districts.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/jul/07/22026/

Mayor Tony Yarber, a former principal, issued the following proclamation for School Choice Week in Jackson:

RESOLVED, by the Mayor of the City of Jackson, Mississippi that: WHEREAS, all children in Jackson should have access to the highest- quality education possible; and

WHEREAS, Jackson recognizes the important role that an effective education plays in preparing all students in Jackson to be successful adults; and

WHEREAS, quality education is critically important to the economic vitality of Jackson; and

WHEREAS, Jackson is home to a multitude of high-quality traditional public schools, public magnet schools, public charter schools, and non public schools from which parents can chose for their children; and

WHEREAS, educational variety not only helps to diversify our economy, but also enhances the vibrancy of our community; and

WHEREAS, Jackson has many high-quality teaching professionals in traditional public schools, public magnet schools, public charter schools, and non public schools who are committed to educating our children; and

WHEREAS, School Choice Week is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective educational options; and

NOW THEREFORE, I, Tony T. Yarber, Mayor of the City of Jackson, do hereby recognize January 24- 30, 2016 as SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK, in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and urge all citizens to observe this week.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2016/jan/27/24260/

Gov. Phil Bryant has signed the Jackson airport 'takeover' bill into law. Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, announced the news on his Facebook page today, with a photo and a message that said:

"Gov Phil Bryant just signed the airport bill, SB 2162. I believe that this will have a great impact on the future of our airport and its economic impact on our state. I am proud to have authored this bill and appreciate my good friend, Rep. Mark Baker, for carrying the bill in the house. I also appreciate the Lt. Gov, Speaker, Senate and House members that supported the bill."

Update 7:35 p.m.: Mayor Tony Yarber issued this statement regarding SB 2162, "The City of Jackson maintains its position that this unconscionable legislation hijacks the City's authority to operate its municipal airports. Gov. Phil Bryant's signing of the bill shows he has sided with the cell of lawmakers and entrepreneurs commissioned to commandeer the City's municipal airports. We will not yield to the legislation, but will challenge its constitutionality. Senate Bill 2162 is unconstitutional and not supported by either state or federal law. Be assured that the officials with the City of Jackson will continue to stand up for its citizenry when it comes to unconstitutional measures."

For coverage of the airport 'takeover' bill visit: jacksonfreepress.com/airport.

The House passed House Bill 555, which previously failed and was held on a motion to reconsider, which would require Attorney General Jim Hood to get the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state's permission before pursuing litigation that costs more than $250,000. The bill caused some debate, and some Republicans voted against the measure. Today, however, some lawmakers chose not to vote while other switched their votes. The bill passed by a vote of 63-56, with three lawmakers not voting.

Hood issued this statement in response:

“A legislator advised us that Entergy demanded another vote on the bill and that it be made retroactive. It’s no coincidence that the State’s case against Entergy is now active again in federal court, and this company fears having to pay more than $1 billion for its illegal acts," the statement says. “Obviously, House leadership and proponents of this bill bow down to their corporate masters, and it’s unfortunate that this bill’s supporters put such pressure on conscientious Republican legislators to change their vote. I am grateful for the bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans that saw this bill for what it is: an unconstitutional, political power grab that puts the interests of corporations ahead of Mississippi citizens.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

According to WJTV the Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to declare a state of emergency in South Jackson to support work on a 48-inch water main; the work may require a significant time period of disrupted water service in the area.

My email today is absolutely filled with city politics. I just came out of a meeting and discovered that the Jackson 20/20 PAC that we wrote about in this earlier story has now endorsed candidates other than Jonathan Lee (when we wrote the story, all the money had gone to pay Lee's campaign folks). Attorney Dorsey Carson sent an email out inviting people to meet the candidates today at Hal & Mal's.

In response, attorney and Harvey Johnson supporter Sam Begley replied to Carson, copying me, a local blog and The Clarion-Ledger reporter who made Lee supporters very happy this weekend by reporting that Begley had sent an email to someone linking to judgments against Lee (a story we broke last Wednesday--but based on an envelope of documents, not on that email which we did not receive). In those replies, Begley accuses the 20/20 PAC of "laundering" money to Lee's campaign.

Here is the 1/31/13 Jackson 20/20 campaign finance report.

Begley also included links to other potential judgments against Mississippi Products Inc., Lee's family company. Rather than try to sort it all out immediately, I'm pasting the entire email thread below, as well as the invitation to the PAC's candidate gathering. (I also have some other comments about The Clarion-Ledger story this weekend, but this post is confusing enough, so I will blog it separately.)

We in no way endorse Begley's accusations in the emails. We are posting this for the public to examine yourself.

Here are the emails; the most recent one is on the top:

Dorsey, Being the sage lawyer you are perhaps you can explain why, with the only documents of record with the Mississippi Secretary of State showing Jonathan Lee as the President of Mississippi Products,Inc., the decision makers for your PAC would endorse a man for mayor whose company can't pay its bills, to the tune of $170,000, and lets default judgments be taken, then hides from WJTV and evades questions from the Jackson Free Press., and tells us he never owned the company and hasnt been associated with it for more than a year. Oh, and it looks like MPI has an answer due on a complaint brought by yet one more of its vendors. see link below and documents attached. Please tell us that this is just a business dispute that happens all the time. SAM

Hinds County Civil Case Detail: Diversey Inc. v. Mississippi Products Inc.

On 4/29/2013 4:25 PM, Carson, Dorsey wrote: I'll resist the urge to respond, Sam. If the media wants a comment, then I'll be more than happy to provide one on the record.

Dorsey

From: Sam Begley [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 4:17 PM To: Carson, Dorsey Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: After work "MEET THE CANDIDATES" hosted by Jackson 20/20 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. TODAY: Jonathan Lee, Kevin Lavine, Joseph Kendrick, and De'Keither Stamps

Thanks Dorsey. The "multi candidate endorsement" appears to be a nice way to launder money intended for Jonathan Lee …

Sadly, it was only a matter of time before it happened here in Mississippi--a black man was killed by a white cop amid mysterious circumstances and officials are trying to keep tensions from simmering.

It happened on late Wednesday night in tiny Stonewall when, according to various media outlets, a 39-year-old black man named Jonathan Sanders had some sort of altercation with a white officer named Kevin Herrington.

Stewart Parrish, an attorney Sanders had once hired to represent him on a case, told Meridian television WTOK that Sanders was riding in a buggy exercising his horses when Herrington stopped Sanders, initiating an altercation that ended in Sanders' death, reportedly by choking.

The exact details are, of course, muddy. Early reports suggested that Herrington used a flashlight to subdue Sanders. Stonewall Police Chief Michael Street denied those reports, but hasn't gone into much detail about the incident that happened between 10:30 and 11 o'clock at night, citing his department's ongoing investigation. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is handling the case.

"We just ask that the citizens allow that to take place, not to try to take anything out in the streets. Our door is open," Street told WTOK.

Street's comments are an obvious reference to protests sparked by the deaths of African American men by--often white--police officers in the past year. Sanders' death is hauntingly similar to that of Eric Garner in New York City last summer. Like Garner, Sanders reportedly told Herrington that he couldn't breathe in the moments before he died, Parrish told the media.

The Guardian reported that Chief Street said "Sanders had no active warrants against him and that Harrington did not know who he was when the confrontation took place."

However, that didn't stop Jackson's local daily newspaper, the Clarion-Ledger, from using Sanders' mugshot (most other media outlets chose a picture of the victim warmly smiling with family members or with his horses; see below) and devoted the end of its story to talking about his rap sheet, writing:

"Sanders had crossed paths with authorities before. Circuit Clerk Beth Jordan said Sanders was out on bond from an April arrest for possession of cocaine, and that he had been convicted on charges of sale of cocaine in 2003."

The paper went on to point out: "MDOC Communications Director Grace Fisher said Sanders was given five years to serve with five years probation. He was released on May 23, 2007. Sanders' arrest record also shows arrests dating back to 2001 for disturbance of the family peace, sale of a counterfeit substance, domestic violence, and some traffic violations.

Several dozen commenters took the paper to task. Said one woman in the comments section: "Never fails; the weaponless dead victim is always prosecuted in the media to deflect how they ended up dead at the hands of police. Shame on the Clarion-Ledger."

As for the officer, the C-L made a point of noting that Herrington, according to Chief Street, "has never received any complaints of …

No one can say the New Orleans Saints are standing pat after three straight 7-9 seasons. This offseason, the Saints have been busy exploring options, making deals and bringing in players for meetings.

New Orleans will be hosting another high-profile player on Monday, April 10, when former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson comes for a visit. Peterson hit the free-agent market when the Vikings decided not to pick up his $18-million option in February.

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have already met with the running back. At this late stage of free agency, it doesn’t hurt to kick the tires on the 32-year-old future Hall of Famer.

Peterson missed most of last season with injuries and most of the 2014 season suspended due to legal issues. Sandwiched in between those years, the 2015 season saw him rush for 1,485 yards, leading the league in rushing.

Peterson has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in seven of his 10 seasons in the NFL and rushed for double-digit touchdowns in eight of those. He failed to reach the end zone in 2014 and 2016, however, and rushed for a grand total of 149 yards those two seasons. New Orleans will have to decide if they would be getting the 2015 version of Peterson or the injury-prone 2016 version.

It is no secret that running backs begin to decline after reaching age 30 in the NFL. Peterson is known to keep himself in great shape and once recovered from an ACL tear during the 2011 season to rush for 2,097 yards in 2012, winning league MVP honors. It isn’t out of the question for the running back to produce another bounce-back year for whichever team he signs with in 2017.

New Orleans currently features Mark Ingram as its No. 1 running back. The 27 year old rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the first time in his career last season. It was just the second time in his career that he played in all 16 games, and he is still under contract for two more years.

If the Saints are going to sign Peterson, the team might have to change its offense. Both running backs are better when they get 20 or more carries in a game. That means that New Orleans must not rely on quarterback Drew Brees to carry the whole offense.

New Orleans will have to become a “run first” team if it signs the former Viking. Otherwise, the team is just wasting money on a big-name player when it still has a slight opening for a deep playoff run.

Ingram and Peterson would be a great one-two punch at the running-back position, but neither has been a major part of the passing game. New Orleans would have to make sure that it has a third-down-pass catching back. Peterson has also never been good at pass blocking during his career.

There are plenty …

Folks tailgating at The Grove this fall on the campus of the University of Mississippi will no doubt talk about potential NCAA sanctions. At some point, the talk might turn to another university that’s just over 630 miles from Oxford, Miss.: Baylor University in Texas.

Rebels fans might be scratching their heads wondering why they are looking down the barrel of the NCAA’s gun, but Baylor University isn’t. The answer is simple: There are no rules in the massive NCAA rulebook on what is going on at Baylor. Last year, a sexual-assault scandal in the football program came to light, and since then, the allegations have continued to mount.

Each new lawsuit against the university is painting an ugly picture about what was going on at Baylor. Still, the Bears will get to compete for the Big 12 title and head to a bowl game, but not the Rebels.

In an article on Sports Illustrated’s website, SI.com, writer Andy Staples breaks down the reasons why the NCAA won’t punish Baylor.

He points out that the organization jumped the gun against Pennsylvania State University in 2012.

The NCAA punished Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case. For the most part, many of the sanctions have quietly been reduced or repealed.

Personally, I was against the punishment for Penn State, not because of I’m a fan of the university but because the NCAA overstepped its boundaries. We can all agree that the NCAA should relax some rules and do away with others, but it can’t just make up rules on the fly.

Public outcry drowned out common sense. For the NCAA, the PSU case became, “We have to do something,” and not a question of whether organization had the ability to do something. The NCAA has learned its lesson so far in the Baylor case, but public outcry grows by the day.

It is amazing that an organization that has rules for when a coach can call or text a recruit doesn’t have rules when something horrific like what happened at Penn State and what is happening at Baylor. Maybe that should change.

Even before the Penn State scandal, the NCAA had a chance to change the rules and bring the hammer down on programs that were covering up crimes. In 2003 also at Baylor, basketball player Carlton Dotson murdered fellow teammate Patrick Dennehy.

Then-Head Coach Dave Bliss lied about Dennehy, saying he had become a drug dealer to pay his tuition. In reality, Bliss was paying for Dennehy’s tuition in order to get around NCAA rules.

Long story short, Baylor got in trouble, not for trying to cover up a murder, but because a coach playing fast and loose with rules in the NCAA books. Bliss got a 10-year show-cause penalty, which has ended his chances of coaching at another NCAA school.

It was a chance for the organization to look at changing …

According to NewsMax (ugh) our esteemed former lobbyist/former governor/current lobbyist Haley Barbour was on Fox News this weekend complaining that President Obama isn't paying enough attention to the debt.