Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Business Journal is reporting that Farish Street in downtown Jackson may soon have a new developer with plans to move forward with an entertainment district.

Mississippi has earned a D- grade on the Center for Public Integrity's 2015 investigation of state government transparency and accountability issues. The state's overall rank nationally is 33rd out of 50 states.

After this year's election, it should come as no surprise that Mississippi was ranked last in the campaign-finance category.

As early as the primary elections, disputes over personal campaign-finance spending raged. For example, Stacey Pickering, the state's auditor, used campaign-finance money to buy an RV and a garage door. He said at the time that the FBI was not investigating, despite reports to the contrary.

Advocacy organizations played important roles in the campaign-finance game too--especially in DeSoto County where four Republican legislators were ousted for their anti-charter school views when Empower Mississippi, a pro-charter organization, funded their opponents' successful campaigns.

The only regulations in place in Mississippi state law limit corporate donations to candidates or political parties. Individuals, lobbyists, political initiatives or political action committees are not limited in their spending on candidates or campaigns, an important factor in the Initiative 42 public-school funding campaign and the "Vote No" anti-42 campaign this last election. Dark money--donations made through or by organizations with no transparency about motivation or primary sourcing--influenced both sides of the Initiative 42 debate.

Mississippi also received failing grades in the following categories: public information access, electoral oversight, executive accountability and judicial accountability.

The report stated that Mississippi could rise from its last-place rank if legislators would examine and update campaign-finance laws in the state.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled Lauren Czekala-Chatham's divorce legal in concurrence with the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in June. Czekala-Chatham filed for divorce from her estranged wife in 2013 in Mississippi, and has been waiting for an order from the Mississippi Supreme Court since July when both the state and Czekala-Chatham's lawyer filed entry motions for judgment in the case following the Obergefell decision.

After a four-month silence, the Mississippi Supreme Court has finally ruled, but not without pontificating. Five of the Mississippi Supreme Court justices signed the order in support of granting Czekala-Chatham a divorce. Chief Justice William Waller and Justices Michael Randolph, Ann Lamar, Randy Pierce and David Chandler ordered a short entry of judgment in Czekala-Chatham's favor, reversing the previous DeSoto County Court ruling that said Czekala-Chatham could not get a divorce. Justice Pierce wrote a separate statement in support of the court's order.

Four justices objected to the order, however. Justices Jess Dickinson, Josiah Coleman and Leslie King, however, in three separate written statements, objected to the order, and Justice James Kitchens joined Justice King's statement. The 36-page order and statements are available here.

Czekala-Chatham released the following statement after the court's ruling:

"I'm happy this battle has been won. But the war on discrimination is still on going. I continue to struggle with the negative consequences that being in the public's eye has caused. I will soon be divorce (sic) from my former spouse. And realize there are still road blocks when testing discrimination laws. So much still needs to be addressed. This fight has damaged my life in ways I can't recovered (sic) from. Searching for employment for 18 months has put a mental and a financial strain on me. Any potential employer can google my name and I'm dropped as a potential candidate. You can win the battle but the war on discrimination is very much real."

Candidates running for state office filed their final pre-election campaign finance reports on Oct. 27. Click a candidate's name to view the full report.

Governor

Phil Bryant (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $2.74 million

Amount still on-hand: $1.38 million

Robert Gray (Democrat)

Amount spent on this election: $3,100

Amount still on-hand: $1,700

Lieutenant Governor

Tate Reeves (Republican)

Amount spent on this election: $640,000

Amount still on-hand: $3.6 million

Tim Johnson (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $213,000

Amount still on-hand: $15,900

Secretary of State

Delbert Hosemann (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $321,000

Amount still on-hand: $1.2 million

Charles Graham (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $8,500

Amount still on-hand: $150

Attorney General

Jim Hood (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $1.26 million

Amount still on-hand: $350,000

Mike Hurst (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $861,000

Amount still on-hand: $86,000

State Auditor

Stacey Pickering (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $302,000

Amount still on-hand: $49,000

Jocelyn “Joce” Pritchett (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $158,000

Amount still on-hand: $4,000

Treasurer

Lynn Fitch (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $395,000

Amount still on-hand: $5,700

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican)

Amount spent this election: $111,000

Amount still on-hand: $162,000

Addie Lee Green (Democrat)

Amount spent this election: $765

Amount still on-hand: $5,700

*Numbers rounded for clarity, incumbents listed first; numbers taken from October 27, 2015 Campaign Finance Report Filings with the Secretary of State's office.

Judie Gray Livingston, the woman who didn't even know her eldest child was running for statewide office before August, said she always thought he'd make a good governor.

"It was always my desire that he would run for governor," Livingston told the Jackson Free Press. "I think that's every mother's (desire)."

Livingston joined her son and daughter, Angela Gray (who is also her big brother's campaign manager), at a prayer vigil for Democratic candidates this afternoon at Smith Park.

Gray, 56, unexpectedly won the Democratic primary in August to become the party's nominee.

Meanwhile, across town, Republicans held a cook-off and rally today at the Ag Museum to promote their slate of statewide candidates.

Judie Gray said she prayed for the passage of the school funding Initiative 42 as well as for salary increases for teachers and state employees as well as infrastructure upgrades.

"This is a positive thing he's done. There's nothing negative," she told me. "He's all about the people of Mississippi wanting to improve."

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The number of Mississippians without health insurance has grown over the past year. Over 16 percent of Mississippians don't have health insurance in all but six counties, according to data from Enroll America and Civis Analytics. This number supersedes 2014 numbers and can be seen visually on the New York Times' Upshot blog.

Mississippi's Republican leadership has opted to not expand Medicaid, and Medicaid enrollment numbers have leveled out in 2015, and are on the decline according to the state division's report. In July, 737,854 Mississippians were enrolled in Medicaid; now, 730,354 Mississippians are enrolled.

The Upshot reported that the decision to not expand Medicaid in states with large numbers of uninsured constituents puts people in the "Medicaid gap," since they are unable to qualify for Affordable Care Act services due to their low incomes. Medicaid expansion will likely be reconsidered in the 2016 Legislative session.

Dick Hall, the Central District commissioner to the Mississippi Transportation Commission, had a little surprise for Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber today.

Well, not exactly little.

It was a $3 million check for Mill Street reconstruction. Hall grew up in Fondren and said he wanted Mill, which runs from downtown northward to Fondren, to be restored to its heyday.

The presentation came at the end of a press conference to announce at $16.5 million federal DOT grant to Jackson for a North State Street project, from Sheppard Road to Hartfield Street. The project will also include a portion of West County Line Road in the Tougaloo community.

Yarber said both the North State Street and Mill Street projects are part of the 1-percent sales tax master plan, which he said would free up funds for other projects in the plan.

The fund currently contains approximately $21 million; Yarber said his administration expects to recommend a project manager to the city council in the next few weeks.

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Mississippi is one of three states selected to receive the Toyota USA Foundation Grant for career education. The $1.5 million grant will be shared amongst students in Mississippi, New York and Kentucky. The grant will span over a three-year project that focuses on increasing student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and manufacturing careers. Four Mississippi high schools will receive the grant funding.

The grant focuses on preparing high school students for careers and improving graduation rates simultaneously. The project uses an online, Web-based program to train freshman and sophomore high school students in STEM and manufacturing skills that can help students obtain certificates at the end of the program.

In a press release from the Mississippi Department of Education, state superintendent Dr. Carey Wright said, "One of the Mississippi Board of Education’s goals is ensuring every student graduates high school and is ready for college and a career, and this program fits perfectly into that goal. We greatly appreciate Toyota USA Foundation’s commitment to providing career and educational opportunities to our students."

The following Mississippi schools have been selected for the Toyota grant project:

• Saltillio High School in the Lee County School District
• New Albany High School in the New Albany School District
• Pontotoc High School in the Pontotoc City School District
• North Pontotoc High School in the Pontotoc County School District

The following is a verbatim statement from former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour:

Advocates of the proposed constitutional amendment known as Initiative 42 have twisted a passage in my 2007 State of the State address to mislead voters into believing I support their very harmful ballot measure. Not only am I against Initiative 42, I strongly urge all Mississippians to vote “against both” measures on the November ballot.

When I spoke to the Legislature in January 2007, our state had turned the corner in the Katrina recovery: The federal government had been extremely generous with disaster assistance legislation; state tax revenue had exploded as tens of thousands of homes had been rebuilt or repaired; casinos that year would have an all-time record gaming haul; all of which produced the highest state tax revenue in our 188-year history. Further, our country was in the sixth year of consistent economic growth and low unemployment.

Based on those facts I proposed record funding for our K-12 schools, a funding level that met the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), as well as increased state funding for higher education. The money was there to spend at those levels, and everyone expected state revenue to increase in the coming years.

Yet the country began a deep recession in late 2007, which lasted nationally until mid-2009.
During the Great Recession, Mississippi’s general fund revenue came in $197.1 million or 1.67% below estimates in FY 2009 and a whopping $452 million or nearly 9.5% below estimates in FY 2010.

As Governor I had to reduce spending across the board in FY 2010 by 9.4% in order to meet our requirement of having a balanced budget. Consider the consequences if Initiative 42 had been the law at that time: Instead of all departments and agencies sharing in the 9.4% cut, K-12 (which absorbs about 40% of our state’s general fund budget) would have been exempt from cuts, and every other function of government – universities and community colleges, mental health facilities, and public safety – would have had to be cut nearly double, or approximately 18%.

As this recent history shows, Initiative 42 is terrible as a practical matter because it ties the Legislature’s hands and jeopardizes funding for other critical areas of state government.

It is also awful public policy because it totally eviscerates the constitutional system of separation of powers that has been fundamental to American government since 1789.

Initiative 42 would usurp the setting of K-12 education policy and budget, taking it away from the Legislature and Governor – elected by all Mississippi voters – and give it to the judicial branch; indeed, to one chancery judge, elected by one-fourth of the voters in Hinds County.

While advocates of judicial policymaking and budget setting say that one judge’s decisions would be appealable to the State Supreme Court, how is it a good idea to allow judges – elected for their judicial temperament, legal knowledge and ability to apply law to facts – …

From the office of Mayor Tony Yarber:

The City of Jackson urges citizens to complete a new survey that will help the city move forward with its open data initiative.

Last month, Mayor Tony T. Yarber signed an executive order that will pave the way for a city government that’s more open, transparent and data driven. This concept was centered on the city’s engagement with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative. As a part of that initiative, Jackson is committed to releasing key data sets within the city to its citizens, businesses, and organizations. The goal is to make constituents more informed about what’s occurring within the city. A survey seeking public feedback has been made available on the city website at www.jacksonms.gov or by clicking this link: bit.ly/1Mdeku7. Copies also will be available at public libraries and community centers.

We’re encouraging citizens to take the time to fill out the survey so the city can identify the sets of data most important to constituents.

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As Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps pointed out this week, the folks behind Johnny T's Bistro and Blues has done what people have been sitting around waiting for the city, state and a procession of developers to do for years: Giving people something else to do downtown, on Farish Street.

This weekend, joining F. Jones Corner in the Farish Street Historic District, is 540, located upstairs from Johnny T's.

A grand opening comes Oct. 24 for Jackson State University’s Alumni Homecoming After-Party and will feature DJ Moneycure.

According to a release, 540 features "an elegant bar, performance stage, VIP seating and a stunning hardwood dance floor that beckons the trendsetters, progressives and explorers of downtown nightlife."

In addition, the lounge includes a "panel of wall-to-wall mirrors and the intricately placed lighting, coupled with the modern black and chrome furniture."

540 is also available for hosting contemporary wedding receptions, corporate events or charity fundraisers. Hours for 540 are Friday and Saturday 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.; the space is also available for private events Sunday through Thursday.

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The twists and strange turns of the 2015 Jackson State football season continued today as the Clarion-Ledgers announced it was going to halt beat coverage of the team. This decision was made after JSU stopped making players and assistant coaches available to the media on Tuesdays and Wednesdays before practice.

Since Harold Jackson was fired on October 6, the Clarion-Ledger says that JSU has violated its own media police by only making interim head coach Derrick McCall available to the media. The only time since Jackson was fired that players and assistant coaches were allowed to speak to the media was after the Tigers 28-22 loss to Alabama A&M this past Saturday.

JSU stated that mid-term exams as the reason players weren't made available and this week announced it was a coaches decision not to let them speak to the media. Due to only one person's view point, coach McCall, the C-L decided not to have a beat reporter cover Jackson State until the matter is resolved.

While it is unusual for local media to not cover a team, it is not unheard of even in this age of mass media. Last August, the Miami Herald stopped covering Florida International football after their beat reporter was denied credentials to the beat reporter.

The Clarion-Ledger says their beat reporter spot for JSU will remain vacant until the matter with the university is resolved. Reporter Antonio Morales will move to different sports coverage including other SWAC schools.

Earlier this month, the 42 for Better Schools campaign asked the Mississippi secretary of state's office to review ballots across all 82 counties in Mississippi after finding errors on ballots in Hinds County.

A Mississippi voter in Hinds County found the errors when the voter went to complete an absentee ballot, 42 for Better Schools spokeswoman Patsy Brumfield said at the time.

The same errors on the absentee ballot had been visible on the Hinds County sample ballot. The letter "A" was removed from the Initiative 42-A choice, so voters can vote "FOR Initiative Measure No. 42" or "FOR Alternative Measure No. 42." Without the letter "A" to designate the alternative, voters might vote for the wrong initiative Brumfield said.

Now, Hinds County officials want to reach out to people who voted absentee and ask them to submit a corrected ballot. Pieter Teeuwissen, the attorney for the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, said the county otherwise could be open to litigation.

At today's board meeting, supervisors, attorneys and election commissioners braced for mass confusion over the ballot initiative, which requires the Legislature to adequately fund public schools or be compelled to do so by the courts.

Connie Cochran, the District 4 representative to and chairwoman of the Hinds County Election Commission, called the initiative "confusing."

"I think what we're going to have is a lot of people who just don't vote" on Initiative 42, Cochran told supervisors today.

Board President Tony Greer, the only Republican member of the board, said even though he believes Initiative 42 to be a "perilous slope to changing the constitution," he does believes voters need proper information when going to the polls.

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Education topped the talking points at the Women's Foundation of Mississippi annual meeting on Thursday. Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve Jobs' widow), Donna Barksdale and Toni Cooley discussed education at national and statewide levels. Jobs is passionate about transforming the educational system in the U.S., and she recently launched a project called XQ: The Super School Project, a project to reimagine high school structure and design by engaging students in the conversation. The XQ project came to Jackson this week, which was why Jobs was in town.

Jobs, Barksdale and Cooley discussed philanthropy and the importance of funding in education. Initiative 42 was discussed and promoted, and Jobs said she supported the Mississippi citizen-driven initiative because funding public schools is necessary for them to leap frog to the place they need to be.

"Everyone in this room should commit to passing Initiative 42," Jobs said.

Jobs said passing Initiative 42 is a tangible way for the community to get involved in education in Mississippi. Jobs' XQ Project focuses on rejuvenating the old high school model, rethinking classroom structure and models.

"If we're going to condemn the system, we ought to understand the system," Jobs said.

Jobs emphasized that students need the ability to be lifelong learners and creative thinkers. Jobs, Barksdale and Cooley discussed the importance of education, particularly for women. Donna Barksdale's husband, Jim Barksdale has donated to pass Initiative 42 and attended the annual meeting on Thursday.

Mississippi Museum of Art Executive Chef and Culinary Curator Nick Wallace is in the kitchen behind The Palette Café at the museum, talking to his staff members as they pass through. In a small pot behind him, pig ears boil in a combination of vinegars, spices and sriracha. Eventually, they'll transform into a fried-green-tomato and pig-ear Panini for the October 'sipp Sourced menu, which he began serving at 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, and will serve through Saturday, Oct. 17.

Besides the fried green tomato and pig-ear Panini, the menu for "Scary Good Creepy Cuts" will feature a range of dishes with "scary" types of meat—chicken liver and gizzards, pig tails, oxtails and turkey necks.

It fits, considering the Halloween theme for this month's Museum After Hours. But besides that, Wallace wanted to take less desirable cuts of meat and turn them into something more elevated.

"To me, I think (Halloween) is pretty super, like in the Louisiana area," he says. "I think it's getting there for Mississippi, but I don't think it's there yet. This gives us a way to really embrace October, the Halloween season, all that stuff, which is great. As far as the menu is concerned, with the creepy goodness, all the cheap cuts of meat, that's how I was raised."

He grew up on a farm in Edwards, and says that his family used every cut of meat on the animals they cooked.

"We didn't throw anything away because we just couldn't afford to," he says.

For this month's 'sipp Sourced, he wants to bring that back.

"People that are poor really are the best cooks ever, because they'll take a chicken gizzard and boil it and marinate overnight, then fry it, and you think it's the best thing in the world," he says.

For those who are hesitant to try some thing like pig tails, Wallace will also serve dishes that include meat cuts such as the scaredy-cat seafood po'boy, which has shrimp boudin sausage, lettuce, tomatoes, blood sorrel, sun-dried tomato aioli and crispy catfish, served with fries. And for those who are vegetarian or vegan, don't worry. The menu also includes dishes such as the zombie-fried green tomato panini, which is basil, mustard, onion marmalade, breakfast radishes and Swiss cheese on sourdough bread, served with fries and ketchup. The adventurous eaters can try dishes such as the "no-guts-no-glory" fried chicken livers, which are served with white gravy, whipped potatoes, bread-and-butter pickles, braised greens and hot sauce.

Mississippi Museum of Art's Museum After Hours (380 S. Lamar St.) is Thursday, Oct. 15, from 5 to 10 p.m. The event will include works from artists who learned from, knew or were influenced by Marie Hull, whose art is currently on display at the museum and a showing of the film, "Night of the Living Dead." For more information, visit msmuseumart.org or find 'sipp Sourced on Facebook.

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The Rankin County School District is under fire for one teacher's disparaging comments against atheism. The American Humanist Association's legal center sent the district a letter on Tuesday detailing a complaint from a student and her parent that said the student's history teacher, who is also a pastor at a Baptist Church, has made several jabs at atheism in comments made in class throughout the year.

Northwest Rankin High School, where this history teacher teaches, has had trouble with the First Amendment before. A few months ago, the district came to a settlement with a former student who sued and won after she was forced to attend a blatantly Christian assembly during school hours.

The letter is not a lawsuit, but it asks the district to comply with the Establishment Clause and provide written notices to all faculty reminding them to not make remarks "promoting religion and disparaging atheism." The American Humanist Association has asked for a response from the district within a week. The seven-page letter details parts of the Constitution and legal history that could be argued to prove the teacher's comments unconstitutional.

Monica Miller, an attorney at the association's legal center wrote, "Good faith is not a defense to contempt and you are court-ordered to ensure that your employees are complying with the Consent Decree and Establishment Clause."

The American Humanist Association provided counsel to Magdalene Bedi, the Northwest Rankin High School student who sued and won after being forced to attend a Christian assembly in 2013. The district must pay damages to Bedi for additional violations since they violated two consent decrees after she filed her original lawsuit.

The 42 for Better Schools campaign has asked the Mississippi Secretary of State's office to review ballots across all 82 counties in Mississippi after finding errors on ballots in Hinds county. A Mississippi voter in Hinds County found the errors when the voter went to complete an absentee ballot, according to 42 for Better Schools spokeswoman Patsy Brumfield.

The same errors found on the absentee ballot are also visible on the Hinds County sample ballot. The letter "A" is removed from the Initiative 42-A choice, so voters can vote "FOR Initiative Measure No. 42" or "FOR Alternative Measure No. 42". Without the letter "A" to designate the alternative, voters might vote for the wrong initiative Brumfield said.

The wording of the voting language also changed. The wording to vote against Initiative 42 incorrectly reads, "AGAINST APPROVAL OF EITHER Initiative Measure No. 42 OR Alternative Measure No. 42A". It should say, "AGAINST BOTH Initiative Measure No. 42 and Alternative Measure No. 42A."

The original sample ballot did not contain these errors and supporters of Initiative 42 are calling on the secretary of state to review all other counties' ballots for the same errors. In a press release, co-campaign manager for 42 for Better Schools, Jonathan Compretta said: "These gross errors will lead to additional confusion on a ballot already made confusing by the legislative leadership. The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to ensure that ballots in each county are correct in every aspect."

I came out of Game 3 against the Carolina Panthers with some optimism for the team—along with a resigned sense that 2015 is looking more and more like a rebuilding year for the New Orleans Saints.

I guess that shouldn’t be a shocker — considering the high-profile trades, draft picks, and the number of rookies the Saints are starting on this team, the idea that they would go far this year was perhaps a pipe dream in the first place.

What may end up being more interesting is the groundwork they’re laying for the future.

Game 3 Recap

After watch the game tape my first impression is that this was really a decent outing for the offense—especially since backup quarterback Luke McCown ran the offense for the first time (in a game that mattered) since he put on a Saints uniform.

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Particularly in the first half, the offense moved down the field almost at will.

McCown got the ball to many different weapons in the first quarter: Spiller, Ingram, Coleman, Snead, Robinson, Cooks, Johnson, Hill, and Watson all touched the ball in the first two series alone.

After re-watching those two drives I realized that (a.) I’m still not giving Ingram enough credit—he had some key, hard-fought rushes in that second drive in particular and (b.) this could be a very interesting offense once running back C.J. Spiller, acquired this year from Buffalo, gets more touches and is a bigger part of the gameplan.

It’s also interesting to think that the Saints will be able to field Spiller, Ingram and Cooks at the same time—and give defensive play-callers a few headaches.

On the defensive side of the ball, credit the Saints for getting pressure on quarterback Cam Newton in their first series and stopping running back Jonathan Stewart, forcing a punt. They did neither of those things the next series, allowing Carolina to reply with a TD that looked routine.

So, at 10-7, the Saints got a third look at the ball with 5 minutes left in the half; that drive went nowhere, as consecutive penalties pushed the Saints into a 2-and-25 situation that they couldn’t quite dig out of, despite a 21-yard, 3rd-down pass to Watson.

After a punt to Carolina’s 19 yard line at 2:06 in the half, cornerback Brandon Browner immediately gave up a 52-yard bomb to Carolina tight end Greg Olson, and Carolina dribbled down to the 2 yard line, but ran out of time and settled for field goal to tie the game at 10-10.

Saints linebacker H. Kikaha got his first sack of the game in Carolina's first series of the second half, a coverage sack that resulted in Carolina punting away its fourth possession. After a penalty on the Carolina punt (which Marcus Murphy had muffed and run out of bounds), the second attempt was a charm—Murphy took the ball back 74 yards with a quick, efficient punt return for a TD that showed him doing exactly …

Jackson resident Sharon Brown has received approval to start collecting signatures on a ballot initiative to remove a Confederate emblem from the state's flag.

“Today we received our official ballot title and summary from the state and are excited that we are one important step closer to giving the citizens of Mississippi the opportunity to have their voice heard on this important issue. I appreciate the Secretary of State and the Attorney General for working expeditiously to get our initiative ready for circulation. It is exciting to know that we are one step closer to addressing this issue once and for all. We will be holding a press conference on October 9th to announce our next steps. Additional information will be forthcoming," she said in a release.

The ballot summary states:

Initiative Measure No. 55 proposes to add the following language to the Mississippi Constitution: “The flag of the State of Mississippi shall not contain or include any reference to the Confederate army’s battle flag or to the Confederacy.” As an enforcement mechanism, a Mississippi citizen may petition the Mississippi Supreme Court for a write of mandamus requiring the State, its political subdivisions, their agents, officers, or employees to comply with the amendment."

Read our coverage of the state flag debate at www.jfp.ms/confeds.

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What's in a name?

Well, a rebranding of the local the mass-transit system, JATRAN, got under way quietly with a press release from the city this morning.

The Transit Services Division wants public input on what to rename the authority. The public-comment period last through October. Citizens can vote through on online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ST7X9ZZ.

From the survey, you can suggest your own name (e.g. "Jumpin Jack Flash," "The Ripper," or some such) or pick from one of these pre-fab/suggested names:

• Jackson Jazz • Jackson Area Express • Jackson Metro • Pearl RiverRunner • CityBus • CityLink • Beat • Blues • CAT (Capital Area Transit) • GoJackson • JBus • The J • Magnolia Ride • The Ride

The results of the survey (which, face it, will probably be Jumpin Jack Flash) will be shared with the Jackson City Council at their Tuesday, November 17, 2015 meeting.

According to the city, "the person who suggests the best name for JATRAN and is approved by City Council will receive a special prize." (Editor's note: should be free bus rides for life).

Happy voting.

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