Jackson Free Press

Mother Jones posted a piece back after the Aurora shootings that has now been updated in light of the Sandy Hook murders that happened on Friday. Their point -- the country now has 300 million guns in circulation; up from 200 million in 1995. At the same time, there's a definitive increase in laws that have loosened gun owners abilities to carry those guns in more and more places.

The question is... have all of those guns and gun laws made us any safer? The gun lobby says yes. The analysis, however:

In the wake of the slaughters this summer at a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, we set out to track mass shootings in the United States over the last 30 years. We identified and analyzed 61 of them, and one striking pattern in the data is this: In not a single case was the killing stopped by a civilian using a gun. Moreover, we found that the rate of mass shootings has increased in recent years—at a time when America has been flooded with millions of additional firearms and a barrage of new laws has made it easier than ever to carry them in public. And in recent rampages in which armed civilians attempted to intervene, they not only failed to stop the shooter but also were gravely wounded or killed.

So, if we're still waiting for that one time that all of these guns and all of these gun laws actually brings down a mass murderer -- might now be a time to consider other measures aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands? (And, perhaps, getting people more mental health help?)

In a response to a release from the city yesterday citing decreasing crime numbers you can read about here, the campaign to elect Regina Quinn put out this press release Thursday afternoon:

"Today the Jackson Police Department released statistics stating that overall crime is down 16.2%. As of December 2012, three months ago, the City of Jackson reported 66 homicides, compared to 54 in 2011. Police also said violent crimes were up in 2012, with rape and aggravated assault up 8 percent. The current administration emphasized the fact that property crimes were reduced. Yet, they have offered no strategy to deal with the constant increase in violent crimes in our capital city. What does it say about the quality of life in Jackson when the city boasts a decrease in property crime, and offers no solution to loss of 66 lives? Just this year alone, two young people lost their lives over a dice game. We must take control of crime, especially violent crime. I want you to trust that you can count on Regina Quinn to take Jackson in a New Direction."

A release also included a link to a WAPT report with some background on those homicide numbers. JPD has maintained that it cannot do much about murders aside from solving them, which they have become remarkably apt at doing. Nearly 65 percent of murders in Jackson were solved in 2012, 15 percent higher than the national average of 50, according to WAPT's report.

A University of Mississippi student-body panel ruled this week that the male winner of a campus popularity contest would not longer have the title "Colonel Reb."

The Daily Mississippian, Ole Miss' school newspaper, reported that the Associated Student Body Judicial Council ruled the title of “Colonel Reb” was unconstitutional per the student government bylaws.

The DM quotes former ASB Judicial Chair Courtney Pearson, who last fall became the first African American homecoming queen in Ole Miss' history explaining: “An anonymous complaint was filed and the ASB Judicial Council took the appropriate steps to hear the complaint.... We followed the appropriate guidelines that we could have according to the most current Codes and Constitution. The decision is final.”

The Colonel Reb character is a old coot of an officer in the vanquished Confederate army, and has stirred controversy over the years. In 2003 then-Chancellor Robert Khayat announced in 2003 the Confederate throwback adopted as the official mascot in 1979 but whose image had been around since the 1930s, would no longer be a staple of Ole Miss on-field matchups. Khayat’s public reasoning was that having “a 19th century person representing a 21st century university in such a highly visible role” seemed odd.

As they are prone to do when anyone so much as sneezes in Colonel Reb's direction, Ole Miss were furious about the ASB committee's decision. Rob Pillow, ASB Attorney General Rob Pillow, vowed to investigate the name change, which he concedes is permanent.

It's unclear whether North Korea has gone ahead with its plan to launch a nuke, but it does appear that the universe has imploded.

Today, the Obama Administration announced it would hold off on cutting a program that partially reimburses hospitals for caring for the poor -- and Mississippi's Republican Medicaid foes are welcoming the news.

These funds, known to health-care policy wonks as disproportionate-share hospital payments, were set to expire next year. Under a deal the White House struck with hospitals to get their support for Obamacare, hospitals agreed to accept DSH cuts in exchange for putting more people on state Medicaid rolls.

However, Republican governors in states that are most in need of improved health-care vowed to resist growing their Medicaid programs.

Governing magazine reports that Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said "postponing the reductions would allow states to complete their decision process about the Medicaid expansion."

Surprisingly, Mississippi Republicans are trumpeting the Obama Administration decision. The Legislature reached a stalemate on funding Medicaid as well as expanding the program during the legislative session that recently ended.

Gov. Phil Bryant, who is expected to convene a special session to deal with Medicaid, said he is "pleased" with Obama.

Said Bryant, through a news release: "I have long advocated that cuts to this program should not be used to affect budgets in states that choose not to expand Medicaid. This move should give us additional time to make a reasonable decision about any changes to the Medicaid program."

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Social media is buzzing today about a New York Times article that features a lot of amazing personalities and locally owned businesses that make our city great—many of which started in the city's last decade of progress. This is the kind of media we need to see more of about the city—not the whole metro, but the city itself—and it's up to all of us to create the kind of place that national media want to cover. Cheers to all of you, especially the folks we love who ended up in the article. Nice going, Jackson!

My only regret about it is that the reporter didn't look around more parts of our city for cultural points and businesses to include. One that I believe should be in any article about Jackson's progress is Koinonia Coffee House, which is not only an excellent restaurant, but has become a gathering place for diverse Jacksonians. I like to think of it as our own tiny Busboys & Poets. And now that city election season is nearly over and emotions running less high, it's going to be even more fun to hang out in again. In fact, I just got off the phone with a St. Louis organization that brings a diverse group of black and Jewish students to Mississippi every summer, and they just assume that is where they will gather at least one time during the trip. Go there if you haven't!

Any other spots y'all think they missed? Feel free to add them below.

• The Barnett Reservoir Foundation and the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District will host a Memphis Barbeque Network (or MBN) judging class at the Rankin Reservoir Community Center from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. It's $80 to enter, but this is awesome because A) An MBN team will cook ribs and pulled pork on site, and B) You get to eat it and learn how to judge the results. There are only 30 spots in the class, so check out the web site. The Barnett Reservoir Foundation and Pearl River Valley Water Supply District is holding an MBN contest called "Smokin’ on The Rez" on Nov. 1-2 at Old Trace Park at Barnett Reservoir.

• One of the best kept secrets in Jackson is Blue Monday at Hal & Mal's hosted by the Central Mississippi Blues Society. It's a celebration of the blues, and musicians are invited to come jam. That's every Monday night, 7:15-8:15 Front Porch acoustic hour, followed by CMBS's Blue Monday Band at 8:45 'til 11PM. Check out their web site here.

• One thing I've always enjoyed as a reporter is Friday Forum, an informational meeting held every Friday morning at Koinonia Coffee House. It's co-hosted by former mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee, and always has interesting guests talking about topics of interest. This week's guest is Kathy Times, Vice President/ COO of WhereToGo411.com. Times will be speaking about the State Institutions of Higher Learning's Minority Economic Opportunity Initiative/WhereToGo411 Partnership. Should be fun so come on out.

Snoop, Swamp Babies, and new stuff...

A special Record Store Day release, regional picks and new releases...

Two special concerts and new releases...

"...the District will ask its convocation speakers to refrain from religious activity," Jackson Public School District Superintendent Cedrick Gray wrote in a letter after complaints about prayer in school convocations.

(Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 2014)—In response to the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center’s letter sent on Aug. 25, 2014, the Jackson Public School District in Jackson, Mississippi, has agreed to eliminate religious activity, including prayers and sermons, at future convocations for its faculty.

“We’re very pleased that the school district has promptly responded to this issue and has made assurances that future school-sponsored assemblies will comply with the Establishment Clause,” said Monica Miller, an attorney with the Appignani Humanist Legal Center.

Earlier this week, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to the school district on behalf of a concerned teacher, who reported that a Christian reverend included prayers, a liturgical call and response, and biblical references in his remarks. Other speakers at the event also included religious language in their speeches and specifically invoked Scripture, “God” and the “Lord.” In a letter sent yesterday, representatives from the district state that such religious activity will not be included in future convocations.

“By upholding the separation of church and state, the school district is respecting the rights of teachers of minority faiths, as well as the rights of teachers who do not profess any faith,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.

A copy of the letter sent to the school district can be viewed here, and a copy of the school district’s response can be viewed here.

Marriage—it's what brings us together.

That is, unless you live in Yazoo County and were planning on having a justice court judge officiate your ceremony.

Earlier this week, Judges Pam May and Bennie Warrington sent a letter to the board of supervisors saying they wanted to opt out of having to perform marriage ceremonies.

In a WJTV news report, Yazoo Supervisor Caleb Rivers presumed the letter was spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages across the country. Rivers said the board voted unanimously to let the judges stop doing any marriages at all.

It was only a matter of time. Not long after the SCOTUS at the end of June, state Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, suggested that the state get out of the business of marriage licenses. Up in Grenada County, a circuit clerk who was retiring anyway bowed out a few months early because she didn't want to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"I believe you can do whatever you want to do in the privacy of your own home but as for Yazoo County we're just not going to allow it," Rivers, the supervisor, told WJTV's reporter.

Love birds looking to tie the knot in Yazoo County needn't fret, though.

Robert Coleman, the circuit clerk there, confirmed to the JFP that his office will still be issuing marriage licenses.

It'll just be up to couples to find someone—other than justice court judges—willing to perform the marriages.

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If you totally spaced and forgot to attend the grand opening of the Grammy Museum of Mississippi in Cleveland, originally proposed for early this fall, don't worry. There's always next year.

Earlier this month, the museum’s board of directors announced that the state-of-the-art, 27,000-square-foot facility on the campus of Delta State University would not be ready for visitors in September as expected. By Tuesday, Sept. 22, they had settled on its new grand-opening weekend, March 5 and 6, 2016.

“The intricate details of the exhibits themselves are very complex and involve multiple-process phases from start to finish,” Lucy Janoush, president of the Grammy Museum Mississippi Board of Directors, said in a press release. “In order to make this project the showcase it should be, consultants and contractors need more time to finish the exhibit.”

Plans for the Grammy Museum Mississippi, the first satellite site of the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, began in 2009, when Mayor Billy Nowell and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce approached Allan Hammons of Hammon & Associates advertising firm about developing a music museum akin to the B. B. King Museum in Indianola, which Hammons helped design and coordinate as its interim executive director.

Hammons eventually led the charge in approaching the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences about building a sister site to the Los Angeles Grammy Museum, which opened in 2008.

For more information on the museum's process from concept to near-completion, read the Jackson Free Press’ cover story, "Follow the Gold-Record Road: Creating the Grammy Museum Mississippi," from March 18, 2015.

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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."

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.

After 18 years in the international alternative music scene, Motion City Soundtrack has announced that the band will enter an indefinite hiatus following its upcoming 29-date United States tour.

The tour will begin May 5 in Portland and end June 24 in Minneapolis, the city where vocalist Justin Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain, the two remaining founding members, first began playing together as Motion City Soundtrack in 1997. Over the course of the band's career, Pierre and his cohorts released six studio albums, the most notable being 2007's "Even If It Kills Me," which reached No. 16 on the Billboard Charts, and 2010's "My Dinosaur Life," which debuted at No. 15. The group released its final album, "Panic Stations," on Sept. 18, 2015.

"It has been a quiet winter for us," the band said in a press release. "We've had some time at home after a very busy 2015. With this time, we've been able to think about the past, present and future of Motion City Soundtrack.

"All of this thinking has led to several conversations, and these conversations have led us to a very bittersweet realization: We have no idea what the future holds, but for now we are done. Needless to say, we're feeling all the feels - you may be, as well. If so, or if you've ever been touched by our music, we ask you to come out and sing along with us one last time in 2016."

For more information, visit motioncitysoundtrack.com.

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Verbatim release:

City of Jackson Launches Self-Service Portal for Water Customers

The City of Jackson will launch the new customer self-service portal on Monday, Aug. 1, providing convenience and useful information to the City’s water customers. The portal allows water customers to pay bills online, view account balances and copies of previous months’ bills, and monitor and track water usage.

Customers can visit https://waterwebcss.jacksonms.gov/OUCSSPortal to set up an account.

Users of the self-service portal will see the same data that is available to the Water Department as they generate monthly bills. Data is available in near real-time and is supplied from the automatic water meter on your property. If customers need more information than what is available on the portal, they can contact the Water Sewer Business Administration at 601-960-2000.

Customers can take simple steps to reduce water consumption and water bills:

Five-minute showers use about 10 gallons of water, or about 75% less water than baths.

Turning off the water while you brush teeth can reduce your water usage to less than 1 gallon, whereas letting the water run for 2 minutes will waste as much as 4 gallons of water.

Watering your lawn uses about 2 gallons per minute; consider how much time you need to water your lawn—and whether the lawn really needs it.

If you wash dishes by hand, you can use as much as 27 gallons of water. Consider scraping dishes first, letting them soak in soapy water before rinsing, and not letting the water run the entire time you’re washing.

After Chane announced earlier this month that he would no longer do Fondren's First Thursday, the event's future was up in the air. However, Fondren Renaissance Foundation recently announced that it will come back as Fondren After 5. Here is some information about the new FA5 directly from Fondren.org:

Rotating presenters • Ever Changing Activities • Always Family Friendly

Fondren After 5 – Always First Thursdays – is a neighborhood open house, presented by the merchants and restaurants of Fondren – with opportunities to enjoy good food from one of our nearly two dozen restaurants, bakeries, bars and coffee shops and shop with our unique mix of merchants, mixed in with street-side fun.

In April, Duling Avenue, presented by Hals & Mal’s, Babalu Tacos & Tapasa, Saltine Oyster Bar, Abita Brewing and New Belgium Brewing, is the focus of activity with “Duling Avenue Live.”

Future months include:

May – Fondren Reniassance’s Arts Eats & Beats June – Duling Avenue Live July – State Street Concert Series August – Duling Avenue Live September – Duling Avenue Live October – State Street Concert Series November – Jackson Indie Music Week December – Fondren Renaissance’s Fondren Unwrapped

Welcomed by Fondren Renaissance, whose mission is to empower others to build a better Fondren!

CORRECTION: The original version of this story said Fondren Renaissance Foundation has taken the reins of Fondren After 5. However, for each event, different organizations and businesses such as FRF, Hal & Mal's and Saltine Oyster Bar will be in charge of FA5. The Jackson Free Press apologizes for this error.

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Like a proud mother watching her child's first foray into the spotlight to glowing reviews, we at the JFP love to send links around the office of national stories realizing what we already know (that Jackson is pretty cool). Here are a couple stories circling our in-boxes this week:

The Atlantic Cities website published a story this morning called "Where Millenials Can Make it Now." The author, Nona Willis Aronowitz, traveled the country looking for the best cities for twentysomethings. She writes that she avoided "cities already deemed magnets for young, creative people—place like New Orleans, Austin, or Detroit." In the end she, chose nine cities, including Jackson. She puts Jackson into the category "Small Ponds for Big Fish" (Omaha, Neb., also makes this category), and describes our city thus:

"These are cities where creativity and entrepreneurship are on the rise, even as the rents remain reasonable. Chances are, small ponds have DIY art scenes: Omaha boasts a thriving start-up economy and the still-relevant force of Conor Oberst’s Saddle Creek Records while Jackson’s Fondren and Midtown neighborhoods have sparked a local art community. Yet even in the gentrified corners of town, the price points remain low by necessity, since most people aren’t making much money. And since there isn’t a shortage of space, local politicos are practically begging young people to take abandoned buildings and empty lots off their hands. Many of the twentysomethings I spoke with in these towns were on a first-name basis with the mayor or city council. One Jackson native was even running for office. These cities have a growing population of young people who would rather start something from the ground up and live cheaply than scramble anonymously in huge cities."

Aronowitz will be elaborating on her travels and the cities she chose over the next two weeks, so check back for more on Jackson.

Read her introductory story here: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/11/where-millennials-can-make-it-now/7454/

And keep an eye on the landing page for "Where Millenials Can Make It" for Jackson's full feature: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/special-report/where-millennials-can-make-it/

Another publication, the website Credit Donkey, recently named Jackson the fifth-best small city for starting over. The story comes from a study that took into account factors of population growth, income growth, unemployment rate and percentage of single adults. The idea is that these cities are great for mostly young, single folks looking for a new job and a new life. Here's how they described Jackson:

"If you’re single and hoping to start over in a new city, Jackson is one of our top locations for you, especially if you want some authentic Southern charm. With a strong music scene, particularly gospel and blues, Jackson is aptly nicknamed the "City with Soul." Literature lovers will want to visit the Eudora Welty House to explore the home and gardens of the Pulitzer Prize winner who wrote The Optimist’s Daughter. You can also visit the Medgar Evers Home Museum to learn about the civil rights activist’s contributions to our nation’s history."

See that story here: …

This past week I wrote a Publisher's Note called "AFA Bearing False Witness Against Businesses?" about the American Family Association's "action alert" wherein they called the "We Don't Discriminate" campaign discriminatory, despite the very basic tautological problems with their argument. (It seemed to me they were going to have to define "don't" as "do" in order to make their argument make any sense.)

So I was intrigued this week to see the AFA has now edited that exact same alert from its original headline of "A List of Businesses Displaying Hatred Toward Religious Freedom" to the new headline "Businesses Suckered By Homosexual Reaction to MS Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

The alert is otherwise dated the same (suggesting, falsely, that they wrote the current text on May 9, 2014, when it actually sometime between May 16th and 19th), it has the same URL and it still has the title "A List of Businesses Displaying Hatred Toward Religious Freedom" at the top of the window.

Here's a screenshot of the original:

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/may/20/17455/

Here's the new one:

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/may/20/17456/

Aside from the fact that replacing their earlier statements and pretending they wrote them 10 days ago once again calls into question this self-proclaimed Christian organization's relationship with the Ninth Commandment, it's also instructive to note where they now pretend their argument has been the whole time -- gays are apparently suckering businesses into putting the sticker in their window.

Again, a reminder: The campaign is a reaction to a law signed recently in Mississippi that may allow businesses to discriminate against other based on their religious beliefs. The sticker proclaims a given business' desire to work with all customers despite that law.

Given that the law -- which AFA, partner organizations and Governor Bryant wanted -- is now in existence, the sticker can help people at risk of being discriminated against know that a business won't discriminate against them.

The sticker doesn't say a darned thing about other people or businesses who don't have the sticker.

That said, this is, at least, a slightly better tactic on the part of the AFA for its own sake, since the original plan (still evident) was to simply castigate the businesses for proclaiming their anti-discriminatory stance.

Blaming the businesses, in hindsight, was pretty stupid, as the businesses have a clear right (a.) not to discriminate against their customers and (b.) to tell people about it.

(Pretending that The Gays are using their convince-o-tron on hapless business owners is, at least, a slightly less stupid tactic. Progress!)

Now, the new text calls on those who read the alert to further the AFA's agenda by asking the business owner if they aware the sticker is "part of a plan to bully, intimidate and demean Christians."

Since it's not, then that's false witness, but the AFA seems to operate with a special exemption from the 9th.

Maybe re-reading Proverbs 6:16-19 would help?

The following is a verbatim press release from the American Civil Liberties Union.

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit challenging debt collection practices that have resulted in the jailing of people simply because they are poor. The case was brought on behalf of Kevin Thompson, a black teenager in DeKalb County, Georgia, who was jailed because he could not afford to pay court fines and probation company fees stemming from a traffic ticket.

"Being poor is not a crime. Yet across the county, the freedom of too many people unfairly rests on their ability to pay traffic fines and fees they cannot afford," said Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poorest among us, disproportionately people of color, more harshly than those with means."

The ACLU charges that DeKalb County and for-profit Judicial Correction Services Inc. (JCS) teamed up to engage in a coercive debt collection scheme that focuses on revenue generation at the expense of protecting poor people's rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 30 years ago that locking people up merely because they cannot afford to pay court fines is contrary to American values of fairness and equality embedded in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court made clear that judges cannot jail someone for failure to pay without first considering their ability to pay, efforts to acquire money, and alternatives to incarceration.

No such consideration was given to Thompson, who was locked up for five days because he could not afford to pay $838 in fines and fees to the county and JCS – despite the fact that he tried his best to make payments. The lawsuit charges that Thompson's constitutional rights to an indigency hearing and to counsel were violated by DeKalb County, JCS, and the chief judge of the local court that sentenced him to jail.

"What happened to me, and others like me who try their best to pay fines and fees but fall short, is unfair and wrong," said Thompson. "I hope this lawsuit will help prevent other people from being jailed just because they are poor."

These debt collection practices have had a devastating impact on people of color in the Atlanta metropolitan area. While blacks make up 54 percent of the DeKalb County population, nearly all probationers jailed by the DeKalb County Recorders Court for failure to pay are black – a pattern replicated by other Georgia courts.

"In a country where the racial wealth gap remains stark, the link between driving while black and jailed for being poor has a devastating impact on communities of color," said Choudhury.

The case, Thompson v. DeKalb County, was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. It names DeKalb County, Chief Judge Nelly Withers of the DeKalb County Recorders Court, and Judicial Correction Services Inc. as defendants. Rogers & Hardin LLP, the ACLU of Georgia, and Southern Center for …